I respect Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel, and all those who challenge the current U.S administration.
I respect people who answer questions.
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I respect my friends on Twitter, including those X’s algorithm keeps flagging as “probable spam.”
Every day, I capture images of those I respect.
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On Constitution Day and every other day, I respect everyone who stands up to defend the constitution.
I respect this.
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I have so much gratitude for those I respect, including YOU!
My job, as a group therapist, is creating safe spaces for listening and sharing.
My avocation, as a songwriter, is creating music worth listening to.
Yesterday, as I was listening to co-workers during a team-building exercise, I found out about these signs that are showing up at a pedestrian walkway in Somerville.
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After listening to that, I had to find out more.
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I love listening to cats.
Here are some listening quotes:
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Here’s what I’ve been listening to:
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Here are more images for today’s listening post.
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I’m listening to the Daily Bitch, among others.
Now, as recommended by Wendy (above), I’m listening to Amos Lee.
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Finally, it’s time to be listening to my gratitude for YOU!
For the last few weeks, I’ve been writing a song — “I Don’t Wanna Be Late (Don’t Wanna Be Early Either)” — which is about maintaining happy mediums.
As I’ve realized how many happy mediums we struggle to maintain, I’ve added verse after verse, until the song is now over 13 minutes long.
I assume that people don’t wanna listen to a song that’s too long (or too short), but this morning I’ve written a new verse about my needing to maintain a different happy medium. I won’t record this verse but I will share it with you:
My INR can’t be low. It can’t be too high either.
As all my doctors know, to survive I have to be neither.
What’s so bad if my INR’s too low?
Strokes and a clogged mechanical heart valve, Bro.
What’s so bad if the INR’s high?
Over-bleeding, I might be needing to say goodbye.
A year ago, my INR was too low and I had a mini-stroke. Since then, I’ve been working hard to maintain happy mediums for my INR (above 2.7) until this unexpected reading on Sunday:
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No one was happy about this and to regain a happy medium, I’ve injected myself with something called Lovenox, stopped eating greens, and upped my dosage of Coumadin. But we don’t want me to go too high, either, so I’ll be retesting myself this morning.
In the meantime, do you see happy mediums in the rest of my images for today?
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I need to get ready to retest my INR, hoping that nobody has to take me to a doctor today. If the INR is not a happy medium, I’ll be talking like a pirate (“Arrrrggghhhh!”)
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Arrrgghh! Now it’s too high. (It’s suppose to be below 3.5). As some of us suspected, Sunday’s too-low reading was false one. (That’s the first time I’ve experienced that with my home monitor.) I’m happy that I challenged my doctor’s initial plan for me to inject myself twice a day and wait to retest until Friday. And happy that I’m well on my way to restoring my happy medium.
Here’s what I find on YouTube when I search for “happy mediums.”
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Thanks to all who do their best to maintain happy mediums, including YOU!
Yesterday, in my Coping and Healing group, the members talked about what’s going on in the world, expressing the wish that different people could be sitting down, sharing, and getting along.
What’s the secret to getting along? According to the group members yesterday, it’s listening to each other with respect.
I need to be getting along to work early this morning, so here are all my other photos from yesterday:
Here‘s “Getting Along” by the Swedish band Royal Republic:
What are your thoughts and feelings about getting along?
I won’t be getting along without gratitude to all who help me create this daily blog, including YOU.
Some days, it occurs to me that the whole world has gone bananas.
Yesterday was one of those days.
This is now, bananas and all.
Here’s a song I used to sing with my son, when life didn’t seem quite as bananas as it does now.
Yesterday, Michael told me he thought Senator Al Franken should resign immediately. I told him I thought that was bananas. But I am bananas about Michael and his thoughts.
Also, a friend I’m bananas about told me that yesterday’s post suggested that there was something demeaning about being a secretary. I replied:
I don’t think there is something demeaning about being a secretary. That was not de meaning of my post.
Was that bananas?
Please express any thoughts and feelings you have about the bananas in this post.
Thanks to all who helped me create today’s bananas blog and — of course! — to you.
In this daily blog and elsewhere, I like to present my best side. That is, I tend to focus on the positive and to share hopeful and optimistic thoughts and feelings.
Of course, each one of us has more than one side, and all of those sides are important.
Today, “my best side” in this post actually refers to somebody else showing a worst side.
Several decades ago, when I was in my 20’s, I was doing my best to create a marketing brochure at a high tech company. The high tech company had hired an advertising company, now defunct, to help us produce that brochure. One day, the account manager of that advertising company, the project manager within my company, and I discussed who would appear in photographs for the brochure. Here’s the worst side of that conversation:
Project Manager: We would like to use some of our employees in the photographs for this brochure. As a matter of fact, we would like to include Ann in one of the photos.
Me: So, make sure you get my best side in the photo!
Account manager (turning to project manager): Well, in that case, she’d have to be bending over. (sleazy laugh)
Me (stunned and shaking my head): WHAT?????
All of my sides were horrified that the account manager of an advertising agency we had hired had just objectified and dissed me, so blatantly, in front of me and my co-worker. I was so appalled, I spoke to many people on different sides of my company, hoping to get them to see my side — that the account manager’s behavior was unacceptable, unprofessional, and worthy of swift retribution.
Here’s the worst side of the story — nobody did anything about it. The project manager didn’t protest, the female executive I spoke with suggested I just let my anger go, and the high tech company continued to work with the account manager and the advertising agency. I remember being VERY disappointed how none of the decision makers at my company took my side.
Why am I focusing on this dark side of human nature today? Here’s my best answer for that: two days ago a candidate for President of the USA was shown demonstrating a similar misogynistic and women-objectifying side. Today, as I write this, most sides are protesting his behavior, which I see as progress.
Back in the late 1970s, I would have wished that somebody else took my side when I was so egregiously objectified and dismissed. However, I’m grateful for the opportunity to tell my side of that story, today.
What are the best sides of the photos I took yesterday, before I knew which side of myself I was going to show in today’s blog post?
What does your best side believe about this post? On my side, I believe that I and other human beings deserve to be treated with respect on all sides.
My best side now wants to thank Aretha Franklin, my long-time friend Barbara (who colored “your beautiful heart”), my son Aaron (who FaceTimed with me from Scotland yesterday morning), all those who helped me create today’s post and you — of course! — for witnessing and bringing different sides, here and now.
As more people are finding out about my open heart surgery scheduled for September 21, they are asking me some variation of today’s title question:
Are you nervous?
It’s a good question. I’m not sure how to answer.
If I don’t know how to answer, it makes me less nervous to turn a question around. So I’ll ask you:
Are you nervous?
Are you nervous about
Are you nervous about the music I might choose for this post?
Based on my photos, I’ve nervously chosen two tunes (here and here on YouTube).
Are you nervous about leaving comments?
Are you nervous that I’m going to forget to thank those who helped me create this post or you for reading it?
