\u2022\u00a0 I have no desire to kiss an animal.\u00a0 Zero.\u00a0 I may pet a dog, nudge a frog, pat a horse, let a ladybug crawl to the top of my finger.\u00a0 But that’s it.\u00a0 No animal kissing — or (ugh) licking!<\/p>\n
\u2022\u00a0 Speaking of… How lucky is it that humans do not have beaks!\u00a0 “I would like to kiss you, but unfortunately I have a beak.”\u00a0 What a downer that would be!\u00a0 Though it would be offset to some extent by one’s proficiency with sunflower seeds.<\/p>\n
\u2022\u00a0 Speaking of… Birds feed their babies and birds feed each other.\u00a0 Given that, I think it is more than plausible that wild birds understand the idea of a bird-feeder, i.e., that a feeder is not just some prolific seed-bearing plant but a way for someone to feed them.\u00a0 I am also convinced that squirrels know<\/em> bird-feeders are meant to feed birds, not squirrels, and that squirrels know<\/em> they’re getting away with something when they raid them.<\/p>\n \u2022\u00a0 The statute of limitations for issues between couples should be one week.\u00a0 If a grievance isn’t urgent enough to mention in seven days, the aggrieved should forfeit his\/her right to bring it up.\u00a0 This dictum, when observed by both parties, has the early benefit of bringing to light issues that may bear on the happiness of a relationship, and the later benefit of keeping grudges and resentments from growing.\u00a0 Not that my spouse and I ever formally agreed to this but we have evolved to something like it over the past 50 years.<\/p>\n \u2022\u00a0 Certain people think their mission in life is to extract money from other people’s wallets, cooking up business schemes to exploit cracks in the system and personal vulnerabilities.\u00a0 These entreparasites<\/em> (my coinage) are not only OK with their chosen role in the economic food chain but can’t fathom why anyone would pass up the chance for such easy money.\u00a0<\/p>\n We have encountered a few such operators here.\u00a0 They present themselves well and speak impressively of their careers.\u00a0 They tell you they are the CEO of this, or the founder of that, or the chief medical officer of some testing lab<\/a> set up expressly to run gratuitous (that is,\u00a0 expensive) tests ordered by their affiliated nontraditional medicine<\/em> practice, of which this town has many.\u00a0 Most scammers do not hail from Nigeria — they work and live among us and regard what they do as success<\/em>.\u00a0 Ain’t capitalism great?<\/p>\n \u2022\u00a0 My current primary care physician is wonderful, but some PCPs don’t seem to want to deliver primary care.\u00a0 I hate getting triaged to specialists for things I know a PCP should be able to handle if they were willing to work with me.\u00a0 It’s akin to going to your car mechanic and saying “My car won’t start” and the response is like, “OK, so we need to send you to a battery specialist.”<\/p>\n \u2022\u00a0 “We need a bio-molecular physiologist in here!\u00a0 This man is dying!”\u00a0 Hard to believe that this line could be said with a straight face by any actor, even one portraying a surgeon in a Star Trek: Next Generation<\/a> episode.<\/p>\n \u2022\u00a0 Hypothesis: Humanity is becoming increasingly fractionated.\u00a0 Sub-populations choose to divide themselves into smaller and smaller socio-political units, i.e., tribes.\u00a0 This may (or may not) be due to deep-seated intolerance for diversity and an innate preference for being among “people like themselves.”\u00a0 It also may (or may not) reflect an unwillingness of pluralities to share social and economic benefits with minorities.\u00a0 The United States may (or may not) be exceptional in this regard.\u00a0 Perhaps this report, “Hidden Tribes: A Study of America\u2019s Polarized Landscape<\/a>” (More In Common, 2018), will provide us some insight.<\/p>\n \u2022\u00a0 Here’s a public service announcement from The 100 Billionth Person<\/em> Department of Mental and Spiritual Health.\u00a0 It’s a serious one, so go ahead and send your kids\/yourself out of the room if you feel like you need to do that.\u00a0 Although many readers of this blog are grandparents, this message goes out to parents and grandparents alike.\u00a0 Don’t give your children\/grandchildren cute names for their private parts.\u00a0 Later in life, they may recall such names at inopportune times and the remembrance will be unwelcome.\u00a0 So just refer to their parts by anatomical names.\u00a0 Also, refrain from giving your children\/grandchildren pejorative nicknames related to their bathroom habits, smells, etc.\u00a0 Trust me, that is not how anyone wants to remember you remembering them.\u00a0 Thank you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u2022\u00a0 I have no desire to kiss an animal.\u00a0 Zero.\u00a0 I may pet a dog, nudge a frog, pat a horse, let a ladybug crawl to the top of my finger.\u00a0 But that’s it.\u00a0 No animal kissing — or (ugh) … Continue reading