Eh, ’twas a rough night. For the second time in a month, I was awakened in the wee hours by overwhelming nausea. Considered barfing, didn’t, and eventually it faded enough that I could sleep again. I don’t know what it might be, and don’t plan to worry about it until it happens again. Chances are, I’m fine. You’re always fine, until you aren’t.
Speaking of which: Courage, Moe.
It’s Good Friday, which means nothing much is going on, here or anywhere else. Further, not much will be going on Monday, either — the cities are closed, the schools are closed, etc. I’m all for adequate leisure time, but criminy, some of these folks need to work in newspapers for a while. We got New Year’s, Memorial Day, July 4, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas off. Excuse me while I chomp my cigar and whine about kids these days.
Fortunately, we have some pretty good bloggage today, starting with our own Coozledad. His gander is up to something with his sheep. Drake, I mean: Akbar Brynwaladrllwnin. Wouldn’t you love to be an animal on Coozledad’s farm? It must be all that late-night singing around the campfire.
I know we’ve talked about Kiryas Joel before here, the ultra-Orthodox Jewish village north of New York City. The NYT did a piece on them this week; on paper, they’re the poorest place in America, although in KJ, things are more complicated than they look on paper:
About 70 percent of the village’s 21,000 residents live in households whose income falls below the federal poverty threshold, according to the Census Bureau. Median family income ($17,929) and per capita income ($4,494) rank lower than any other comparable place in the country. Nearly half of the village’s households reported less than $15,000 in annual income.
About half of the residents receive food stamps, and one-third receive Medicaid benefits and rely on federal vouchers to help pay their housing costs.
Kiryas Joel’s unlikely ranking results largely from religious and cultural factors. Ultra-Orthodox Satmar Hasidic Jews predominate in the village; many of them moved there from Williamsburg, Brooklyn, beginning in the 1970s to accommodate a population that was growing geometrically.
My local pet store is my favorite pet store ever. Clean, sweet-smelling, it’s the sort of place where even the creatures doomed to end up as another’s dinner, like the white mice, look happy and healthy. Lately they’ve added a ringtail lemur, just for the amusement of customers. There’s a house tortoise, Franky, who lumbers around the store as an official greeter. And there’s a large pond in the front, where lives two lunker red-tail catfish, an aropawa and some sort of freshwater ray. One of the catfish got sick a few weeks ago. The video on how they figured out what was wrong with it is worth watching. You can see Franky watching in one of the later scenes.
OK, an appropriately somber Good Friday to all. Remember, tomorrow night is “The Ten Commandments” — Oh Moses, Moses, you stubborn, splendid, adorable fool!
And a good Easter, as well. Think I’ll go read for an hour, until I feel fully human.
prospero said on April 22, 2011 at 12:23 pm
it’s Good Friday, when we go to church in the afternoon and we pray for people of other religions. Strange, eh? For a demonic sect? Tea and sympathy, Nancy. You’re fine. These things happen. You are a blessing. A good writer with interesting ideas. When writing, how does one choose barfing over puking? Seems like an interesting choice of words, to me. Barfing seems sort of passive, victimized. Puking, on the other hand seems to be deliberate and violent, something intended.
Anyway Nancy, I hope you are feeling better. We watched the panther movie. It was wonderful. The music was so ood it was ridiculous. Grew up in Detroit, went to school with Bill Thigpen. That was one awesome Detroit legend. Played hoops like Bill Russell, wrote for Michigan Daily. Paul fucking Bunyan in Detroit. Assasinated by drug lords. I went to HS with him. He was legendary. Blew Rudy T. off the court. There is your detroit story. I used to burn body parts at the Metropolitan Hospital incinerator, right next to the emergency room. In those days, it was the infamous Detroit Police TMU versus the Panthers. TMU used mortars, teargas, whatever. They were the most racist pigs ever. The cops were criminals no doubt.
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4dbirds said on April 22, 2011 at 12:31 pm
Moe, I’m sending you all my positive thoughts and well wishes. Cancer sucks.
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coozledad said on April 22, 2011 at 12:33 pm
When my wife was still working with an animal rescue group, the group’s vet wound up having to anesthetize one of the dogs and remove a place setting or two of a child’s plastic tea service.
I’m glad they were able to fix that catfish up. In some ways I’d like having an aquarium big enough to hold a couple of sea bass, but the thought of all that work is enough to give me nausea.
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Kim said on April 22, 2011 at 12:47 pm
Moe: Keep taking the treatments, but I (not a doctor, don’t play one on TV or YouTube) prescribe Cooz’s blog. Cancer does suck, and I am hopeful you will find peace. I know you have the power of this community rooting for you.
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Julie Robinson said on April 22, 2011 at 1:01 pm
Moe, I’m so sorry to hear about this. Extra Easter prayers for rebirth this year.
My hubby is now almost four years out of the newspaper business and days off like today still catch us by surprise. He even gets the day after Thanksgiving off! Right now he has borrowed a kid to give him an excuse to color eggs and is having a grand old messy time. I’ll join them in a minute.
Jefftmmo, reading your comments from last night about JCSuperstar, it’s great that you’re encouraging your son to read and listen to lots of expressions of faith. I listened to it yesterday, as well as Godspell, Handel’s Messiah, and Bach’s St. John Passion. We also watch Jesus of Nazareth, or as it’s known in this house, the Gospel according to Zefirelli. Along with services and Bible reading, those are all part of Holy Week for us. Happy Easter weekend to all.
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prospero said on April 22, 2011 at 1:42 pm
I went to school with Bill Thigpen, who was one astounding hoopster, and became a writer for the Michigan Daily. He exposed drug dealers and got killed for it. I’d be eternally grateful to Nancy Nall if she’d write this story. Back in Panthers days, Panthers ruled the nightime in detroit. They actually assasinated drug dealers. I worked the trash dump at Metrpolitan Hospital, where my dad was the chief of Peds. That was the days of the TMUs. Detroit cops were roving bands of racist assholes. They murdered black people when it struck them. They were pigs. Revolting indiscriminate and anti-Consitutional vigilante Detroit cops that showed up at Thirteenth and Indiandale and just shot the shit out of Panthers. This was so much like some asshole like the governor of Arizona, it makes me wretch, or barf. Or puke. These people are sub-human. . Stealing money by prevaricating about poor people? Shit, you’d think these assholes were Republicans.
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Judybusy said on April 22, 2011 at 1:57 pm
Moe, please know I am thinking of you and rooting for you! I hope the news about treatment is better in the future.
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jcburns said on April 22, 2011 at 2:17 pm
We’re thinking of you, Moe. Your descriptions of the “if you pass this threshold, then you can’t do this, on the other hand…” nature of Health Care America boggle the mind.
Meanwhile, the State department would like you to fill out a Biographical Questionnaire to apply for a U.S. Passport, listing all addresses since birth; lifetime employment history including employers’ and supervisors names, addresses, and telephone numbers; personal details of all siblings; mother’s address one year prior to your birth; any “religious ceremony” around the time of birth…and…number of copies of Orwell’s 1984 in the house, perhaps?
What the hell?
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MichaelG said on April 22, 2011 at 2:23 pm
I hope things improve soon, Moe. We’re all thinking of you.
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alex said on April 22, 2011 at 2:29 pm
Moe, I’ve always insisted that I’m not a praying man, but the truth is that I save it up for times like these.
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garmoore2 said on April 22, 2011 at 2:38 pm
JC, I looked at both the form you’re referring to and the proposal for its use. It’s required if you have insufficient proof of citizenship. From the comments, it appears that the form would be required of less than 1% of applicants (the comment I remember best is the one saying that it would affect 1 in 200 applicants). I agree that the form is burdensome (can any of us remember all our addresses, employers, etc?). But I can’t really fault the government for taking additional steps to confirm citizenship in cases in which the traditional means of proof either can’t be produced or are of questionable validity.
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mark said on April 22, 2011 at 2:51 pm
“But I can’t really fault the government for taking additional steps to confirm citizenship in cases in which the traditional means of proof either can’t be produced or are of questionable validity.”
garmoore, you sound like a “birther.”
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garmoore2 said on April 22, 2011 at 2:58 pm
If that’s what it sounds like, I’m not very good at expressing myself. The documentation already provided by the Obama campaign back in 2008 is still considered good enough to get a passport. It may not be sufficient to convince the tinfoil hat crowd, but I don’t think the State Department is using their standards in deciding when the form in question should be used.
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Deborah said on April 22, 2011 at 3:34 pm
Moe, thinking of you, hang in there. Easy for me to say, I realize.
Nancy, I had that kind of nausea experience in the middle of the night, every once in awhile, when I went through menopause, my doctor attributed it to my hormones . It went away after a year or so. But I still get hot flashes, it’s been almost 15 years. Not trying to play doctor but you might mention it to your’s. Is there an apostrophe after that?
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Dorothy said on April 22, 2011 at 3:52 pm
Fifteen years of hot flashes? I think I’m following in that same vein, Deborah. It’s been 9 years off and on for me already. Started off slow and then built to a crescendo.
Moe I think of you frequently, and this latest news just makes me even more aware than ever. Hope it helps to know how many friends you have here and I wish I could see you in person to seal that friendship with a handshake or hug. I hope you’re feeling well today.
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Jeff (the mild-mannered one) said on April 22, 2011 at 3:53 pm
Moe, I like the idea of starving the tumors, although that seems too good for the likes of ’em. Praying for a convergence of blessings however mixed on this next leg of the journey.
Just got a contract renewal at the juvenile court which was entirely unexpected . . . and is for six months, not a full year as usual. But all “part-timers” got six month contracts. I signed, of course — whatcha gonna do? Blessings of a spring weekend for one and all, with or without a pagan goddess’ involvement, the blessed Eostre herself. Don’t know how we missed Brigitizing her into St. Eostre, with a basket of eggs symbolizing her ravishment by unbelieving legionaires from Verulamium or Londinium.
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adrianne said on April 22, 2011 at 4:14 pm
More curious data from the curious village of Kiryas Joel, my favorite hometown Satmar hangout! Did you notice, though, Nance, that the No. 2 poorest community in America is your old college town of Athens, Ohio?
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nancy said on April 22, 2011 at 4:18 pm
I did see that, and I’m very surprised. Athens is no Manhattan, but it always had a little bit of university-generated income, at least within the city limits. Out in “the county,” no such luck. We were out driving one night and came upon a family living in a school bus. Consider my time in college coincided with the fearsome winters of 76-77 and 77-78, that was no easy thing.
But the second-poorest per capita in the country? Odd.
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Kirk said on April 22, 2011 at 4:59 pm
The commenters box isn’t bouncing around now, but it’s barely legible.
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Jolene said on April 22, 2011 at 5:06 pm
Hank Stuever is giving away books. More important, he points to four worthwhile new reads, including the Joel Achenbach book on BP that I mentioned yesterday.
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ROgirl said on April 22, 2011 at 5:34 pm
Moe, more positive thoughts sent your way.
A bit of good news. The local library that was slated to close on May 1st due to unsuccessful millage votes has gotten a reprieve. It will stay open till the end of June while the city council tries to work out a budget. Apparently a majority of people polled about the library said that they would support keeping funding at the current rate or raising it if necessary.
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LAMary said on April 22, 2011 at 5:58 pm
Moe, you are in my thoughts. I so admire your stregth going through all this. As if illness isn’t enough, the absurdity of the health insurance system tests you more.
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Suzanne said on April 22, 2011 at 6:14 pm
Keeping you in thoughts and prayers, Moe. I don’t know you but know that cancer is a tough row to hoe, so please keep on keeping on.
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Christy S. said on April 22, 2011 at 7:06 pm
“I’ve always insisted that I’m not a praying man, but the truth is that I save it up for times like these.”
Love that. Ditto.
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Bill said on April 22, 2011 at 7:09 pm
I’m sending prayers your way too, Moe.
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prospero said on April 22, 2011 at 7:29 pm
Moe, maintenent, ami.
Something very good to listen to :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eof2c5fTcI8&feature=related. And another:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSlv_n-gBmk&NR=1
Most soothing voice God ever gave a man, probably.
Of course, Catholics have a patron saint for people in your situation. St. Peregrine. I’ll keep this in mind at Easter Vigil, when my legs go numb from standing in one place for two hours.
Excellent discursive on the day Il Papa washes the beggars’ feet. That “least of my brethren” part of Christianity somehow sneaked by it’s greatest Murrican purveyors and defenders. Meanwhile, Illegitimi non carborundum.
Kiryas Joel probably gets a Lieberman subsidy. And I’ve heard they’re establishing Bantustans in Poughkeepsie. To learn more about this strangeness, read The Yiddish Policeman’s Union by Michael Chabon. If Muslims behaved this way, they would have been blown to smithereens with fertilizer bombs years ago. The apparent poverty is probably explained by the median age–15. Too few MickeyD’s.
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LAMary said on April 22, 2011 at 8:37 pm
Cooz, I went to your website to see the photos of the sexually confused waterfowl and I got drawn into the account of your wedding. It was similar to mine, which was witnessed by a duck and a homeless guy sleeping it off in the nearby shrubbery near Plaza de la Raza. The thought of going for the Cantonese Opera ceremony brought back some memories. Older son Tom was on the academic decathalon team three years ago, and the subjects they had to master that year included Chinese music. He was the guy on the team who became the Chinese music expert, so for months we all enjoyed Chinese folk music, opera and pop music of the twentieth century. I don’t miss it. I will forever associate Chinese opera music with getting home from work at 7 or so, cooking, dealing with the housepets, and being bone tired.
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JayZ(the original) said on April 22, 2011 at 9:10 pm
Moe, I cannot imagine how you are feeling right now, but stay strong, remain positive, and know that there are many of us who are pulling for you to beat this.
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brian stouder said on April 22, 2011 at 11:12 pm
Pros/Michael (@26) – I could not possibly agree with you more. Ray Charles is one for the ages.
Pam dragooned me into watching Country Strong with her, and I gotta say…all that harshing some people around here did on Gwyneth Paltrow in recent days to the contrary notwithstanding….I liked her movie.
There! I said it; it was a good movie – or at least, it was affecting. You could see most of the twists coming, several scenes before you got to them, but it STILL put a lump in my throat.
Aside from that, I would have said this has been an especially and genuinely grinding week. But then I followed Nance’s link to Moe’s blog, where I read her thoughtful and evocative reflections on Maundy Thursday and loving one another and statistics and health insurance and…life; and this reminded me how fortunate we – or any similar group of people – are, to have the each other to kibitz with.
If the internet has any real and lasting value, at all, this place encapsulates from whence it comes
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Dexter said on April 22, 2011 at 11:34 pm
The Weather Channel was focussing on St.Louis where tornadoes were ripping through the area from a dual-formation with tornadoes in the hook of each cell. Lots of damage near the airport. Then , with the vibe of the storms passed, 90 minutes later the Reds-Cardinals baseball game commenced. It seemed nuts, but I guess the show goes on.
Good luck, Moe.
STORMS (Mark Twain)
“Pretty soon it darkened up, and begun to thunder and lighten; so the birds was right about it. Directly it begun to rain, and it rained like all fury, too, and I never see the wind blow so. It was one of these regular summer storms. It would get so dark that it looked all blue-black outside, and lovely; and the rain would thrash along by so thick that the trees off a little ways looked dim and spider-webby; and here would come a blast of wind that would bend the trees down and turn up the pale under-side of the leaves; and then a perfect ripper of a gust would follow along and set the branches to tossing their arms as if they was just wild; and next, when it was just about the bluest and blackest–fst! it was as bright as glory, and you’d have a little glimpse of tree-tops a-plunging about away off yonder in the storm, hundreds of yards further than you could see before; dark as sin again in a second, and now you’d hear the thunder let go with an awful crash, and then go rumbling, grumbling, tumbling, down the sky towards the under side of the world, like rolling empty barrels down stairs–where it’s long stairs and they bounce a good deal, you know.”
– Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
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Jolene said on April 23, 2011 at 12:02 am
Need to Know, a magazine show on PBS, had an interesting piece on the downsizing of Detroit tonight, as well as a piece on kids in Detroit schools participating in a contest re building cities of the future. Worth a look, if only to see what the rest of the country (or, more accurately, what the tiny percentage of the population that watches PBS on Friday nights) is seeing about the challenges that confront you Detroiters.
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Jolene said on April 23, 2011 at 12:13 am
Great passage from Twain, Dexter. A few days ago, I came across another great piece of his writing–a birthday letter to Walt Whitman written in 1889. It was published on a blog called Letters of Note, which publishes interesting examples of correspondence of all kinds. It’s a very cool letter, something of an antidote to our grim times.
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moe99 said on April 23, 2011 at 1:23 am
Thank you one and all. Your presence and thoughts were felt all day.
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basset said on April 23, 2011 at 10:51 am
Bob Seger performed at our local hockey arena Thursday night, median age of the audience was probably somewhere the other side of fifty; he did all the songs you’d expect, everyone sang along, lots of hooting and clapping every time he mentioned Michigan. We even sneaked a bottle of wine in, just like the old days. Got home at midnight, Mrs. B. gets up to go to work at quarter of four so she was not at her best Friday.
One of the twentysomethings at my work was there and had also gone to a Lady Gaga show in the same arena two nights earlier. Seger, she said, was “good” but, y’know, there were no big screens or anything, all they did was stand out there and play, Gaga was a much better concert.
Whatever you say, kid.
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Connie said on April 23, 2011 at 2:08 pm
ROGirl, I’m a library director in Oakland County. The update I received from the Troy Director stated only that they would remain open until the May date on which the City Council will once again consider the library budget. If that meeting does not result in further funding the library will still close in May with the time until the current budget year ends at the end of June to be used for an orderly shutdown as originally planned. That city council is allowed by law to levy a one mill library tax at any time but has chosen not to do so. Even if they do so now I do not believe they will collect any of the new tax until 2012.
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ROgirl said on April 24, 2011 at 9:56 am
Thanks Connie. As usual, the local news outlets mangled the full story and reported incomplete, confusing and wrong versions of it.
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deb said on April 24, 2011 at 10:34 am
Moe, you are in my prayers as well — I’m off to Easter Mass and will be thinking of you throughout.
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Deborah said on April 24, 2011 at 7:06 pm
Happy Easter to all, late in the day,but still Easter. Today Little Bird made pasta with fresh morels in a cream sauce. We’ve been salivating over this for weeks, watching and waiting when the first morels became available. I had a dinner party Saturday evening, served risotto with scallops, shaved asparagus salad and fresh berries (strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and blackberries) with mascarpone. I also had some dessert cheeses, one had chocolate and bourbon in it. Everything turned out well except the risotto turned a gray color for some reason. It never did that before, so don’t know why. Wish we’d put saffron in it to mask that, but didn’t realize it until it was plated. Oh well, next time.
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Jolene said on April 24, 2011 at 8:48 pm
Just listened to Christiane Amanpour interview Franklin Graham (recorded earlier today). What a colossal load of BS he is selling. The America of 100 years ago was, you know, such a much more civil place than the secular plain we inhabit today. And, of course, he couldn’t pass up the chance to take a few shots at Barack Obama. What a disgrace that he has influence over anyone at all.
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Dexter said on April 24, 2011 at 11:54 pm
Treme kicked off the new season with a show that gave us more music than ever before…it was a real treat. The story lines for this season were outlined clearly as well, and it looks like another great season Down On the Treme.
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