Morning Update: 10/25/24

Winning becomes difficult when losing is the dominant experience. Yesterday, we were dealt another setback as Kat was diagnosed with pneumonia, likely a leftover symptom from having COVID-19 a couple of weeks ago. Kat’s chest had been hurting the entire time, but she assumed that she had pulled a muscle or something with all the coughing. Then, she coughed up blood yesterday. To the ER she went. They did multiple EKGs and X-rays before coming to the conclusion that she had pneumonia. This means she won’t be at work until at least Monday, and possibly beyond that if her condition doesn’t improve sufficiently. This hits at a time when her books are so full that she had clients scheduled six days out of the next seven, and well past that.

The kids are rather busy at the moment as well. Tipper is going to a friend’s Halloween party after school today. G is adding an entrepreneurship track and a media emphasis to his already packed schedule. We’re at that stage where even when they’re home we hardly see them. As long as they’re doing well and are happy, we’re supportive of everything they’ve got going on.

Meanwhile, cancer sucks. I’m blaming the fact that my leg bones are screaming on the weather. We’re not going to get a lot of rain, but the change in pressure is enough to make life a bit more miserable than it was. For me, the challenge is how to take care of Kat without walking any more than necessary. Some things can be farmed out or delivered, but we need to visit two different pharmacies to pick up meds for both of us. Getting out isn’t something we’re likely to find invigorating.

Against this backdrop, I’m finding it difficult to be sympathetic toward any news that doesn’t immediately affect our lives. McDonald’s says onions from California-based produce company linked to deadly E. coli outbreak and more fast-food chains are dropping onions from their menus as a result. Okay. We have plenty of healthy onions at home and weren’t planning on eating fast food this week in the first place. Can we be done with this story?

King Charles acknowledges ‘painful’ slavery past as calls for reparations intensify and at the same time, President Biden’s trip to Arizona will be the first time a U.S. president has apologized for the abuses that happened at the schools over a period of 150 years. When politicians apologize for sins committed by other people in a different century, what really changes? Yes, the acknowledgment is nice, but the government isn’t a person. The apology doesn’t mean crimes against other marginalized people groups are suddenly going to end. Neither does it mean that the families of those affected by those crimes are going to get their loved ones, or their loved ones’ potential offspring, back. When we can’t punish the people who were directly responsible, are the political speeches anything more than empty words?

Election polls are pretty much tied at 48% for each party. This is going to get ugly because people on both sides think that democracy hinges on them winning. But then, we’ve never been a united people. Never. Ever. Why should we expect such now? This isn’t even the worst it’s ever been. There is not a political system in the world that is fool-proof. There are just too many fools.

An alert just popped up on my monitor that there is lightning nearby. If it cares to linger, I have a list of targets for it to hit.

At least it’s Friday, which in itself is rather meaningless, but it means there’s football tomorrow. Although, the Rams beat the Vikings, 30-20 last night. The game was an offensive battle as people are starting to return from the injured list. That could be a precursor to what we see this weekend.

Or maybe I’ll just curl up and sleep through the whole thing.