Povey Prattle

  I am a bloke who is in some aspects very old fashioned. That frame of mind leaves me feeling naked if I am not wearing a wrist watch. Yes I can check the hours and minutes on my 'phone and on  my I-Pad; but for me, that simply does not cut the mustard. My faithful old Timex watch recently gave up the ghost.  I was bereft of its presence on my wrist. Friends Donna and Ashley came to my rescue.   They presented me with this today. Perfect! A large and easily read watch face; with clear Arabic numerals.   Perfect for me and for my preferences. I no longer feel nekkid! Thanks D and A.

  QUARANTINE   A bit of the history of the word.  In the USA a quarter coin.  In the U.K. a quarter as a measurement (" a quarter pound of  sweets (candies)  please") The Spanish, French and Italian words for "four" have a similar root. Thus the original  quarantines were for forty days (maybe with the idea that Jesus had been  in the wilderness for forty days) --------------------------------------------------------------------- Here is a neat piece from the Croatian Tourist authority about Quarantine and Lazarettos in Dubrovnic. FOREGROUND     The L a zaretto near Dubrovnik’s (Croatia)  eastern gate. A Lazaretto?    Here is the story.   Since the Middle Ages, Dubrovnik developed the trading activities by sea, but also with the hinterlands and in the 14 th  century it was already a very successful business town. During the medieval period it often faced leprosy and other contagious diseases and because of that there were special areas outside the city, leprosarium

HURRICANES, STORMS, EARTHQUAKES, ROAD ACCIDENTS DO NOT KILL PEOPLE! They do not kill. They cause deaths.    These events do not have intentionality.  They have tragic consequences.  It's all a matter of words  -  via language fusspot jmp

  The beautiful blue kitchen of the French painter Claude Monet in his house in Giverny-France,1883

My  Sacroiliitis pain is still intense, ameliorated a bit by the two Tylenol  tablets (three times a day, taken with food) which the Physician on call recommended. She also advised me to severely limit my walking. My first expression  of gratitude kicks in!  My friends  John C and Rick R are taking Zion on his longer morning and afternoon poop walks. He has caught on to the fact that John C and Rick R are taking  him out for a poop walk (During the  day I can stagger across the street from time  so that Z can lift his leg). He seems to understand that this will be a very brief walk. Second gratitude . Another friend, John V. took my shopping list and debit card to the local Publix Supermarket and filled a shopping bag with  comestibles and other essentials to tide me through the next few days (important as a tropical storm may be heading our way). Third gratitude. I inherited this top class walker about eight years ago when my neighbour Edith died.   What a gift for such a time as this

Sacroiliitis  (say-kroe-il-e-I-tis) is an inflammation of one or both of your sacroiliac joints — situated where your lower spine and pelvis connect. Sacroiliitis can cause pain in your buttocks or lower back, and can extend down one or both legs Please, if you can, avoid this condition.  I couldn't  .  Last week it re-visited me with a vengeance, having been first diagnosed by an Orthopedic  Surgeon about a year ago. In my case it is precipitated because my right foot arch has  collapsed. It's pretty miserable pain. Walking is tough, so I am relying on friends to take Zion for his longer poop walks.  I can just about manage the shorter pee walks. Thanks to my friends who take Z on those  longer poop walks. Yes, I have an orthotic device in my shoes; and yes I had a 'phone conversation with the "weekend on duty" physician in the practice I  use.  She gave me some semi-helpful advice re pain control. Despite her wisdom  It's pretty miserable pain. But  I rate t

  I normally read the American Declaration of Independent on the Fourth of July. It is in many ways a noble document until... ... until we reach this complaint: "He (King George) has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages , whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and condition". There you have it. Racism built into our foundational documents.  How can I celebrate this? Instead, on 4th July this year I am reading, savouring, and being corrected by the 1852 speech of Frederick Douglas.   https://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/document/what-to-the-slave-is-the-fourth-of-july/ The speec h is very long for our facebook/twitter lives. If you cannot or will not read the whole thing, here is the pertinent extract;  one which places The Declaration of Independence  into the light of truth  Fellow-citizens; above your national, tumultuous jo