Touring the Valley

Reliable Health Information

"The Bad Doctors" (1892), James Ensor

Now that we can't trust the CDC or any other U.S. government-controlled agencies to give us reliable information, consider using websites in other countries.

Some other alternatives are private hospitals and clinics. The biggest hospital in your region probably has a good website with lots of information. Also, look into the websites of The Cleveland Clinic, Mayo Clinic, and MD Anderson Cancer Center.

Will You Love Me Tomorrow?

"Opera Reminiscences: Desdemona and Othello" (1829), William Heath

"Love at first sight" happens, but is it effective as the basis for a long-term relationship?

The first time my grandfather saw my grandmother in the schoolyard, he said, "That's my girl!" They married a few years later, and were together for life.

I had a teacher in elementary school who married her husband the day they met. At the time she told us her story, they had been married 15 years.

I know a couple who married just two weeks after meeting. They are still happily together 30 years later.

Hubby and I felt instantly connected the night we met. That was 40 years ago.

The Cleveland Clinic is a bit skeptical.
PsychCentral isn't convinced.
The counselors at Brides recommend slowing down.
Psychology Today says it isn't real.
Love at first sight is a theme or plot point in many movies.

Random Thoughts

Illustration: "Dante and Beatrice before the Light." (ca 1450), Giovanni di Paolo di Grazia

I knew some guys who had a garage band, but they didn't have a garage, so they rehearsed in someone's living room. They couldn't think of a name for the band, so they jokingly called themselves the Living Room Four. I misunderstood, thinking they had said Living Room Floor. I still think they should have used that name.

One of my high school teachers told us that the best way to improve our writing was to write something every day. I write every day. I don't know if my writing is getting better, but it is getting easier.

There were things I worried about in elementary school. I worried about failing an arithmetic test. I worried about wetting my pants. I worried that lunch in the cafeteria would be disgusting. I didn't worry that my friends and their families would be dragged from their homes and sent to another country.

In college, I took a class called Journalism 101. The teacher was adamant about knowing how to ask good questions at a press conference. Nobody in the White House press corps ever took that class.

Remember Me

Toward the end of her life, my grandmother had difficulty recognizing familiar people. One afternoon, her sister came for a visit, and they had a long conversation about the good old days. Later, Grandma commented, "That woman sure knew a lot about my sister!"

On another occasion, the whole extended family was at a party (someone's birthday, I think). Hubby and I were talking to Grandma. Suddenly, as she looked at him, her face lit up with recognition. "You're Bob!" she exclaimed.

"That's right," he agreed.

Then she turned to me with a smile. "And you're Bob's wife," she said.

Yep.