A Different World


It has been a rough several weeks, my Mom is home and gaining her strength. She will be having physical therapy and occupational therapy in learning how to live with COPD, and the necessity of home and portable oxygen. She sounds strong and determined, and has been nearly a month without a smoke. Rachael, I and Mike have all been sick. An unspecified virus, but the doctor believes it was likely the H1N1 flu, they did not swab Rach or Mike, and mine came back negative ( she said the nasal swab was only 50-70% diagnostic), but the doctor told me she believed it was the flu, and prescribed Tamiflu. Whatever we had it shuts you completely down, sore throat, extreme exhaustion(eating and walking--to much work), respiratory distress(like breathing heavy air), and for me fever (Rach never had a fever-but everything else) Rach and I slept until we could not sleep anymore, the better part of 4 days straight, on the 5 th day we became human. I also had bronchitis before the viral sludge, which may be why I had such a hard time just getting air. Even super-Mike was laid low by the bug. Yesterday I rejoined the human race at least part-time, and today I am going to work a full day. I am still on drugs for the bronchial infection, but glad to feeling mostly like myself. I am behind in all things on all fronts, and my focus is to not fall any further behind. I am hoping that the doctor was right that I had H1N1 Flu and am now immune, but just in case I will likely still get the vaccine.

I have a poem and drawing in the October Issue of Autumn Sky Poetry, read poems and enjoy art by Theresa Senato Edwards & Lori Schreiner, J.L. Glenn & K.S. Bartow, Mel Goldberg, Guy Kettelhack, Rivka Keren, Carolyn Kreiter-Foronda, J.B. Mulligan, Kristine Ong Muslim, Katherine Riegel, Cheryl & Janet Snell, Janice D. Soderling, Rae Spencer, Ira Sukrungruang, and Donna Vorreyer. Its a beautiful issue of the romance between poetry and art and I am honored to be included.

I have been reading quite a bit and enjoying the poetry of my fellow poets, I hope to be able to share what has been catching my fancy of late. The photo, the forest floor near my dad's cabin in Alaska, he saw my black and white photos of mushrooms, and wanted to know what drew me to them, and I said, I think it is because I think of them a bit other worldly, a world within a world, unique microcosms. His response was to take me on a walk and show me where the native shrooms live. I really need a macro lens, or some photo tubes. this is the first of about 100 I took of Alaska shrooms, perhaps out of 100, I will find 10 that I like. I am mostly groovy, all things considered, happy to be here with those I love, and feeling lucky that it is not yet time to say goodbye to my Momma. I am blessed.