Monday Miscellany

This morning Poolagirl posted this on her blog, Life Aboard the HMS Pie Rat.  
It was so well said, I just wanted to quote her.

I wish President Obama the best as he saddles up for another term. I hope the people who are so opposed to him and his ideas will bend enough to work together. Granted, not everything he says is absolutely true and right, but if we learn to COMPROMISE for the GOOD OF ALL and set aside the POLITICAL INTENT of the LOBBYISTS who pour so many FAVORS and so much CASH into the pockets of our politicians……..if we could learn a few simple ways….if we could put integrity over pride……can you imagine?

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John received this e-mail from a childhood friend who lives in Duluth, MN.  This is one of the main reasons we're glad we live in the South.

It (winter) arrived and with a blast of below zero and windy weather. The wind chill was 60 below in Hibbing last night!!! Thank goodness today is a holiday for the schools and I would not be surprised if they were closed Tuesday. I have ice at the bottom of all my windows but keep a humidifier going. It has not been cold like this for several years so I forgot how miserable it can be - you just stay inside, drink a hot beverage now and then and get those forgotten projects done. When I got up this morning it was 19 below and right now at 1 p.m. it is 13 below.
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I’ve had a copy of a disc with the reports from my initial ER visit after my fall on 31 July 2012. We’re just now getting around to looking at it. I knew it was a bad break, but had no idea how bad it was until I looked at the x-ray and read the report. “severely displaced and comminuted fracture” just below the head of the humerus. The good part was that there was no damage below that or to the shoulder joint.  The other bad news was the comment about the “severe degenerative disc disease” in the cervical spine. Well, at least the shoulder has been fixed. Don’t know what could be done about the other. Getting old ain’t for sissies.