I recently spent a week in the hospital. I had an abrasion in my esophagus, and I threw up about half a liter of blood. I do not know where I got the abrasion. I was told that it was the size of a paper cut. I had been sick all day. I threw up in the library restroom. I went to the bus station where I continued to regurgitate. I could not make it to the toilet when I threw up the blood. Someone called for an ambulance, and the bus station was evacuated.
It seemed that the doctors were trying to get me out of the hospital before I was ready. I was still feeling unsteady in my feet, and I was having difficulty swallowing even liquids and soft foods. On the list of prescribed medications that I received at the hospital was listed a piece of Nicorette gum. I remember a nurse giving me a piece of chewing gum. When I asked her what it was she said that it was for my breath. I was asked several times if I smoked cigarettes, and I told them that I usually did not smoke more than one or two cigarettes on a day. I do not know why I was told a lie about this gum.
While I was in the hospital my glasses could not be found. (Well, one of the lenses had been missing for awhile, but I can could still see better with one lens than I could without it.) The absence of my glasses added to my headache. I was not able to read while I was in the hospital, and I do not watch TV. I asked several times where my glasses were, and I never received a direct answer. I was told that this kind of loss was common at the hospital. Of course they do not compensate patients for this loss. I did find my glasses when I received my belongings when I left the hospital, but I do not know how long they had been there.
A few times before I left the hospital I was told that my blood counts were good, and that I was ready to leave the hospital. They paid more attention to numbers than they did to how I actually felt. For part of my stay in the hospital I wore a wrist band with the words "Fall Risk" on it. This seemed to be ignored. There were times when I felt dizzy and had difficulty getting anyone to walk with me to make sure that I did not fall.
I am even more convinced now than I was before that the hospitals in this country are more interested in making money than they are in the health of the patients, that they consider the rules of the hospital more important than the health of the patients and the main focus of the healthcare system of this country is making money.
Sunday, December 30, 2018
Saturday, December 29, 2018
"Illumination Night" by Alice Hoffman
Alice Hoffman's novel Illumination Night is one of the better novels that I have read in a long time. It was published in 1987. The characters are diverse. Not all of the characters are likable, but life is like that. The plot is well conceived. I grew to care about the characters and wanted to see what they would do and what would happen to them. There are surprises in the plot. I would be interested in reading more books by the same author. I would recommend this novel.
Sunday, December 16, 2018
Friendship
I enjoy it when I can spend money on friends or give money to friends, but the guys who want me to do these things for them should at least act like they want to be around me for other reasons too. I may enjoy paying guys to be able to suck them off, but if I am going to pay a guy to let me suck him off I refer paying someone who is not a friend. I am willing to give a friend money, and I am willing to give blow jobs to friends. I prefer not to pay friends to let me give them blow jobs. I love doing anything that I can for friends, and this is not limited to oral sex. I like to see my friends happy, and I want my friends to feel good about themselves. I love my friends unconditionally. I have a few friends whom I miss very much. This time of year is usually hard for me, and not having a home is making this year more difficult. I will survive though. I still want to enjoy some ice cream with some friends.
Friday, December 14, 2018
"Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption" by Laura Hillebrand
The time I spent reading Ubroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption by Laura Hillebrand was time well spent. It is the true story of someone who went from a child who was often in trouble to being an inspiration. There are things in the book that are hard to believe, but whether or not the book is 100% true is not important. I have friends to whom I recommend this book. I have a friend who is not happy with where he is in life, and I want him to know that his current situation is not permanent. I want him to feel good about himself. I do not want to lose his friendship, and I will do anything that I can to help him to be who he wants to be. Anyway, this book is well written. There is one minor thing that irritates me about this book. It has notes at the end of the book. If you are going to put endnotes why not put numbers in the text of the book? This does not detract from the book, but it is an irritant to me nonetheless. A film based on this book has been written. I have not decided yet whether or not I want to see the film or to read the books that were co-authored by the hero of this tale.
Thursday, December 6, 2018
"Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl" by Harriet Jacobs
I learned a lot by reading Incidents of a Slave Girl by Harriet Jacobs. I learned that what we have been taught about slavery in the United States has been watered down. This book should be required reading for the people say about the Confederate flag that it is not hatred but heritage. They for get what the heritage is. Slavery was a cruel institution. Slaves were not treated as human. The author's daughter was pt in jail at the age of two, because the author had run away from slavery. The son was also put in jail at close to the same age. The masters could legally treat the slaves in any way that they wanted. This included throwing infants and murder. The marriage of two slaves could be ended by the master. No one should have ever been treated as the slaves were. This book needs to be read by more people.
Thursday, November 29, 2018
Is Everything that I Write Here Fact?
Is everything that I write here fact? Is it possible that I write some things to provoke a reaction? Is it possible that parts are exaggerated or completely fictitious? Am I writing this post to stay out of jail? Am I a perverted, old drug addict who will do anything to get a cock in my mouth? I'm not going to answer these questions, unless you are willing to give me a lot of money, piss and or cum. Answeres may be true, but I offer no guarantee.
Thoughts on Five Books
I have not posted anything since reading these five books: The Rule of Four by Ian Caldwell and Dustin Thomason, Salvador by Joan Didion, White People by Allan Gurganus, Dark Rivers of the Heart by Dean Koontz and Laments for the Living by Dorothy Parker. This is a mixed assortment of books. There is some entertaining reading, some mediocre reading and some poor writing. At least one book is a mix of mediocre and terrible writing.
The Rule of Four by Ian Caldwell and Dustin Thomason is an entertaining, well-written book about students and scholars who are trying to disentangle the mysteries behind Hypnerotomachia Poliphili, an Italian book published during the Fifteenth Century. A couple of people who are studying the book are murdered along the way. It is a book that kept my interest. The main characters are likable, and I came to care about them. I would like to read other books by Ian Caldwell.
Salvador by Joan Didion has been compared to The Jaguar Smile by Salman Rushdie. The latter is an excellent book, but the book by Joan Didion has been overrated. The book does contain some excellent writing, but those parts are quotations from the works of other writers. The writing of Ms. Didion ranges from poor to mediocre. There are parts that, even after reading several times did not make any sense. She write, "There were a number of metaphors to be found in this earthquake, not the least of them being that one major building to suffer extensive damage happened also to be the major building most specifically and elaborately designed to withstand earthquakes." How is this a metaphor? In one place she wrote about documents being given to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligent. At first the wrote that these documents had belonged to one man, then she said that they were given to him by someone else. In the notes on the dust jacket it is said that because of this book the author was seen as "one of the most distinguished and acute observers of people, places and feelings in American writing today." The author wrote, "I am indebted most of all to my husband, John Gregory Dunne, who was with me in El Salvador and whose notes on, memories about, and interpretations of events there enlarged and informed my own perception of the place." I wonder how many ideas expressed in the book were her own. I did learn some from this book in spite of the low quality of the writing.
White People: Stories and Novellas by Allan Gurganus is an example of why, in my opinion, creative writing classes tend to harm the creativity of the writer. The writing of people who teach and/or study these classes seems to lack something. There are some pieces that are almost enjoyable. They fall short though. "Blessed Assurance" is a novella about a man who sold funeral insurance to poor African Americans. This novella is the closest to be a satisfying read. I am not really interested in reading anything else by the author. The writing in these pieces tends to be prudish. I think that the title of the book is a poor choice.
Dark Rivers of the Heart is the first book that I have read by Dean Koontz. It is mostly an entertaining book. How two of the main characters meet seems a bit shaky, but they are likable. The plot is interesting even though some descriptions are more detailed than necessary. The ending is unsatisfactory. It seems that the author realized that the book was long enough, and he brought it to an abrupt end. I am interested in writing other of his novels, but it is not a high priority.
Laments for the Living: Collected Stories by Dorothy Parker is excellent reading. There is her usual mix of wit, sadness and thought-provoking writing. The stories deal with relations between the sexes, race relations and other topics. There seem to be characters that are gay and lesbian even though this is not explicitly stated. It is interesting to see how much American English has changed over the years. I think that is a shame that not paid to her writing today.
The Rule of Four by Ian Caldwell and Dustin Thomason is an entertaining, well-written book about students and scholars who are trying to disentangle the mysteries behind Hypnerotomachia Poliphili, an Italian book published during the Fifteenth Century. A couple of people who are studying the book are murdered along the way. It is a book that kept my interest. The main characters are likable, and I came to care about them. I would like to read other books by Ian Caldwell.
Salvador by Joan Didion has been compared to The Jaguar Smile by Salman Rushdie. The latter is an excellent book, but the book by Joan Didion has been overrated. The book does contain some excellent writing, but those parts are quotations from the works of other writers. The writing of Ms. Didion ranges from poor to mediocre. There are parts that, even after reading several times did not make any sense. She write, "There were a number of metaphors to be found in this earthquake, not the least of them being that one major building to suffer extensive damage happened also to be the major building most specifically and elaborately designed to withstand earthquakes." How is this a metaphor? In one place she wrote about documents being given to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligent. At first the wrote that these documents had belonged to one man, then she said that they were given to him by someone else. In the notes on the dust jacket it is said that because of this book the author was seen as "one of the most distinguished and acute observers of people, places and feelings in American writing today." The author wrote, "I am indebted most of all to my husband, John Gregory Dunne, who was with me in El Salvador and whose notes on, memories about, and interpretations of events there enlarged and informed my own perception of the place." I wonder how many ideas expressed in the book were her own. I did learn some from this book in spite of the low quality of the writing.
White People: Stories and Novellas by Allan Gurganus is an example of why, in my opinion, creative writing classes tend to harm the creativity of the writer. The writing of people who teach and/or study these classes seems to lack something. There are some pieces that are almost enjoyable. They fall short though. "Blessed Assurance" is a novella about a man who sold funeral insurance to poor African Americans. This novella is the closest to be a satisfying read. I am not really interested in reading anything else by the author. The writing in these pieces tends to be prudish. I think that the title of the book is a poor choice.
Dark Rivers of the Heart is the first book that I have read by Dean Koontz. It is mostly an entertaining book. How two of the main characters meet seems a bit shaky, but they are likable. The plot is interesting even though some descriptions are more detailed than necessary. The ending is unsatisfactory. It seems that the author realized that the book was long enough, and he brought it to an abrupt end. I am interested in writing other of his novels, but it is not a high priority.
Laments for the Living: Collected Stories by Dorothy Parker is excellent reading. There is her usual mix of wit, sadness and thought-provoking writing. The stories deal with relations between the sexes, race relations and other topics. There seem to be characters that are gay and lesbian even though this is not explicitly stated. It is interesting to see how much American English has changed over the years. I think that is a shame that not paid to her writing today.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)