Local Saturday - Neighbors

For much of my life in upstate New York, I was fortunate enough to live in a stable neighborhood with long time neighbors.  The neighbor on one side had lived in his house since the 1950's, and enjoyed my son's company.  The neighbor on the other side moved into his house in early 1990.  Across the street was another long time neighbor, and, nearby was still another neighbor, in a rental, who also had struck up a relationship with my son (who was growing up back then.)

Times change.  People change.

One neighbor retired to North Carolina.  One is in a nursing home, his mind claimed by dementia.  One died.

But yesterday evening, we had a short mini reunion. Parked in front of the house of the neighbor who is in the nursing home, we found his youngest son, who was in high school when we moved in.  His hairline is receded now.  His wife, who is a minister, talked to someone nearby.  The former neighbor works with teens at his local church.

They were there to pick up something belonging to his father.

What memories did that object bring back to my former neighbor?

Talking to him brought back memories for me, too.

One of them was about the death of his mother, which will be the basis of my first Falling Wednesday rerun feature on Wednesday.  Then, it made me think of my mother in law, trying to recover from her latest fall.

Is life like a bowl of cherries?

One of the things constant about life is change.  (Taxes, too.  And getting older.)

Join me Wednesday for my first Falling Wednesday.

Day 8 of the Ultimate Blog Challenge #blogboost

Skywatch Friday - Look Down at the Sky

On July 2, we visited Cutler Botanic Gardens in Binghamton, New York.  This small botanic garden, which is free of charge to visit, has a beautiful display of day lilies.

While it was too soon to see the display in its full glory, we found that some recent rainstorms had left some portions of the grounds flooded.

Here a bird looks at water where water should not be.  Perhaps the bird was also intrigued by the reflection of the sky in the puddle directly to his or her left.

You don't always have to look up to see the sky.

But if you had, you would have seen this beautiful sunny day.

Want to see more skies from all over the world?  Visit other bloggers participating in #SkywatchFriday.

Day 7 of the Ultimate Blog Challenge #blogboost.

Willow Tree - Thursday Tree Love

Taken July 2 in the Cutler Botanic Gardens in Binghamton, New York.

In the last few days leading up to the photo, we had several hard downpours.  Although Sunday was clear, parts of the garden had flooded, including this area near a willow tree (to the left).

The willow is a fascinating tree.  Its bark is rich in salicylic acid, used in the treatment of acne.  The branches are flexible and root easily in water.  It flowers early, with small yellow flowers, a sure sign of spring.

Sometimes, it is best to be flexible and bend in the storm, rather than be stiff and be broken by the wind and rain.  This is the lesson of the willow.

Join Parul and other bloggers in #ThursdayTreeLove.  Simply post a picture of a tree and visit other blogs participating in this meme.  While you are at it, visit bloggers participating in the Ultimate Blog Challenge, a month long challenge asking participants to blog daily.

Day 6 of the Ultimate Blog Challenge #blogboost

Summer Memories - Independence

Today, I think of memories of independence, not Independence Day.

Were you puzzled yesterday (July 4), the United States' Independence Day, when I blogged "The title of this holiday has a bit more importance to many of us than anytime in the past few years.  More (not political) on that later."

But later never came because sometimes life throws us a surprise.

There's a story behind that unfinished thought, and it has to do with another type of independence - a story that everyone in the world can appreciate.

Two years ago, I had a blog feature called Falling Friday for several months.  I was attending a class designed to teach seniors how to reduce their falling risk.  I am in my 60's, and have fallen several times.  I've seen, first hand, how falls have ended independence for people I know, or for people that people I work with know.  After a few months, I ended the series.

It isn't just seniors who are prone to falls.  Tragically, the son of someone I went to high school with died in a freak fall in 2015.  The son left a child and a pregnant wife, and the death stunned students where he taught.

So, back to my story.

Twice in the past week, my mother in law ended up in the emergency room.  The first visit came about after she reached up into a closet to get some napkins.  The box fell on her, and she fell back, hitting a cabinet and then the floor. Thankfully, the CT scan of her head was negative.

But she hurt.  And it was not getting better. 

The second visit, to investigate the pain, was not a medical emergency, but her doctor was unable to see her and their office recommended the ER.  It was the day before Independence Day, and much of our country closes down on the 4th. So, Monday afternoon, off she went.

An X-ray revealed that my mother in law had broken her coccyx.  It's an injury that can't be treated except to manage the pain  Here, time will have to be the doctor.

Right now, she's not supposed to move a whole lot.  She needs help even to get out of bed and into her lift chair and it will be an interesting next few days.

More worrisome, though, is the possibility of her losing her independence completely. At her age, even a few days without much movement will impact her strength and ability to care for herself.  The longer she can't move, the greater the chance of deterioration.

My memories flash back.  I've known my mother in law for some 46 years.  I remember her as an active woman who mall walked, bowled, and would gather with her friends after mall walking for bagels and coffee.  Those years are long over.

Losing our independence is what we fear the most.  The last thing any of us wants is for our adult independence to become only a memory.

Had falling education been around for my mother in law back then, would it have helped?  We'll never know and I don't speculate.

So that others might be helped, I've decided to rerun those posts.  I still do the anti-falling exercises I was taught.  I believe that if even one person is helped by me rerunning the series, it will be worthwhile.

So, starting next Wednesday, Summer Memories will be replaced by a summer rerun - my experiences with anti-falling education two summers back.  I hope you will join me, and let a friend know, too.

Day 5 of the Ultimate Blog Challenge #blogboost.

Independence Day 2017

The title of this holiday has a bit more importance to many of us than anytime in the past few years.  More (not political) on that later.

For now, here is a patriotic display of flowers for your enjoyment.  Our colors in the United States are red, white and blue.

Let's light it up, with three cheers for the red, white and blue.

Double red impatiens.  Don't they look like tiny roses?  I am taking a chance growing them this year - for several years I stayed away due to the impatien killing downy mildew that killed off my plants each summer (literally in hours) for several years before a fellow garden blogger warned me about what I was facing.  Our nursery told us it was "probably" safe to grow this year, and I jumped right on it.  I missed them so much.  I hope they make it through the summer.

Single red impatiens.

Red geraniums.

White:  sunpatiens, the third year I have planted them. 

And this....well, they are pretty.  I thought they were bacopa, but maybe not.

As for blue, there are few true blue flowers out there, and I don't grow any.  So, from a nearby stand of wildflowers, some chicory.  Yes, I know.  More lavender than blue, but they look blue when you aren't looking at pictures, but the real thing.

This has turned out to be an interesting Independence Day.  More on that tomorrow.  Hoping your Fourth, if you celebrate, is safe and enjoyable.

Day 4 of the Ultimate Blog Challenge.

Music Moves Me - Independence Day Music Fest

Climb aboard the music train!  It's time for another installment of Music Moves Me.  Today is July 3 and the theme is "Songs of Independence, picnics & celebration for 4th of July".

So, without further ado, let's get this music train a'rolling.

I so loved a 60's group called the Fifth Dimension.  One of their hits was a song called "Stoned Soul Picnic".  I have absolutely no idea what the lyrics mean ("Surry down to a stoned soul picnic...") but I decided to feature the version sung by the songwriter, the talented Laura Nyro.

Although there are no picnics mentioned in the lyrics, I think of picnics when I listen to this hit by the Cowsills - Indian Lake.

But, truthfully, I'm not the biggest fan of picnics.  Switching now to patriotic songs and July 4th celebrations, I want to go a little "old school". I love fireworks, and the patriotic songs which accompany Independence Day fireworks.

There are some songs that are absolutely perfect, with not one note out of place.  One of those songs is a march written in 1896 and first performed in 1897: John Phillip Sousa's "The Stars and Stripes Forever". I refuse to watch any July 4th fireworks show that doesn't feature this song.

Another song I must hear, sung by Neil Diamond, is America, from the movie The Jazz Singer.  The lyrics "“On the boats and on the planes, they’re coming to America”is the song of my grandparents coming to America to escape persecution and start a new life. They knew they would never see their homeland again - and they never did.  "My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing..."

The late great James Brown, singing "Living in America", another required fireworks song, originally from the movie Rocky IV.  If you don't rise at the end of this song and shout "I feel good!", I feel for you.

One more.

In summer camp I learned this song "You're A Grand Old Flag", written in 1906.  Why not end with this, sung by James Cagney?  You can click through the video to hear the original piano score from 1906.  I still remember the lyrics, too, after all these years!

Thank you for stopping by!

X mas Dolly is the Conductor of this trip, and the other Conductors are her fellow bloggers Callie of JAmerican Spice, ♥Stacy of Stacy Uncorked♥  and Cathy from Curious as a Cathy !  Oh, did I mention there is a giveaway at Xmas Dolly's site, too?  Just sweetens the blog hop a little more.

If you live in the United States, may you have a rockin' Independence Day tomorrow.  And if not, Happy 4th! 

Day 3 of the Ultimate Blog Challenge

Welcome To My Blog

To my present readers and those who are visiting from this month's Ultimate Blog Challenge:

Welcome!

I am a 64 year old living in upstate New York, still working full time, and helping my spouse and other family members with the care of my elderly mother in law and autistic brother in law.  Right now my role is advocacy more than anything else for me, but that role could change at any time.

With this blog, I try to create an oasis of calm, showing you the beauty that is my world here in the Binghamton, New York area.  I have been blogging since April of 2009, inspired to finally jump in to blogging by a tragic mass shooting near where I work.  You can check out my very first blog post if you want to read more (note, I would edit it a lot more if I was writing it today).

I've been blogging daily since late April of 2011.  I started doing that with a blog challenge, and just kept on going.  I don't know when that streak will stop, but this will be my 2,787th post.

My current lineup of posts depends on the day of the week, so you can join in daily, or just for the items that interest you.

Mondays are Music Mondays - lately, I join in a meme called Music Moves Me, and I will be joining them tomorrow.  Tuesdays are whatever I want to blog about.

Wednesday is Summer Memories - memories of all kinds.  My Wednesday feature changes with the seasons.

Thursday is Thursday Tree Love, another meme.

Friday I participate in Skywatch Friday, where bloggers from all over the world join to show the sky in their part of the world.

Saturdays are Local Saturdays.  Sundays - whatever I want to blog about.  And, the 15th of the month is still another meme, Garden Bloggers Bloom Day.

Elmshorn Rose, Cutler Botanic Gardens, July 2, 2017

Here's a little taste of what to expect if you visit my blog.

Our times are so uncertain - I rarely post about politics, and hope that you will feel welcome here.

So, I would love to know who you are.

Did you come from the Ultimate Blog Challenge?  Or, are you a long time reader?

Once again, welcome!

Oh Canada's 150th (And a Recipe)

Happy 150th birthday, Canada!  You aren't my native land, but you are only around 180 miles from where I live in upstate New York.

I haven't visited you, Oh Canada, since 2008.

My loss.

I wanted my Canadian readers to know how much I love their country.  I love your 150th logo, too, despite the fact that it had its share of controversy.

The best part of Canada Day, for me, is the custom of cities and towns serving Canada Day cake.  Although not traditional, I bet this easy dump cake would make a great birthday cake.  It's relatively low in calories, too.

1 box angel food cake mix
1 20 oz can crushed pineapple in juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (or 175 degrees C if you are in Canada).  Mix the two ingredients.  Pour into a 9 x 13 cake pan, greased.  Bake until golden brown.  Cool before serving.

If I was making this into an American Independence Day cake, I would serve with strawberries and blueberries.  But, it sounds so good, I may just bake it today (despite the heat and humidity).

Speaking of independence, I wanted to share my only Canada Day experience with you.

For many, many years I took Independence Day for granted.  I shouldn't have - I grew up in a neighborhood where a lot of Holocaust survivors had settled, and I met other immigrants - from Cuba, from Romania, from China.

But I had never spent an Independence Day away from the United States until 2008, when my spouse and I found myself leaving the United States for Canada, on our way to Saint John, New Brunswick.

We had always wanted to see the Bay of Fundy, and that was the week my spouse was able to get off - the week following July 4.

At the U.S./Canada border, a Canadian border agent questioned our motives for visiting Canada and looked at us funny - like we were about to commit some kind of crime.  Why, after all, would two Americans want to leave their country on July 4, this most important day in our history?

We were finally allowed in, and quickly realized we were in a place where July 4 was simply the day between July 3 and July 5.  No big deal.  And, we realized, there would be no fireworks.  No parades.  No nothing.  Crickets.

Well, we had asked for it, leaving our native land.  It did feel a bit lonely, I admit.

I love fireworks.  I love 4th of July fireworks even better.  What had I been thinking? But, so be it.

After a long drive, we arrived at our lodgings in downtown Saint John, New Brunswick. We wandered down to the waterfront, hungry.  After deciding on a restaurant, we sat at an outdoor table and put our order in.   And then we overheard the people at the next table, excited about the fireworks Saint John was going to have, a short walk away, that night.

July 4 fireworks in Canada?

It turned out that we had arrived on the first decent day in July.  The Canada Day fireworks had been delayed by rain on July 1.  And on July 2.  And on July 3.

July 4?  The weather finally cleared up.

So, that evening, my spouse and I stood in a patriotic crowd of Canadians who celebrated their birthday, three days late, with fireworks.  Somehow, I felt right at home.

I'm so glad they held their fireworks up just so we could join them on July 4.  Who says Canadians aren't some of the friendliest people in the world?

So, once again, Canada, happy 150th birthday wishes from this American.

Day 1 of the Ultimate Blog Challenge #blogboost

June Moods #SkywatchFriday

The last #SkywatchFriday of June, 2017, here in upstate New York brings us a variety of clouds.

The golden hour June 26, taken from a window on the West Side of Binghamton, New York not long before a small rainstorm.

Clouds like white cheese curds, Binghamton, New York.

And finally, downtown Binghamton, New York, clouds put office buildings into shadow.

Join bloggers from all over the world who celebrate the sky each week in #SkywatchFriday.

Hoping all of you, from the United States or not, have an awesome week.

Linden - #ThursdayTreeLove

On Tuesday, walking on the west side of Binghamton, New York, the small city where I work, I smelled a fragrance I had not smelled in almost a year.

I had to think for a minute about where the scent was coming from.  Then I remembered.  We walked quickly, to find the tree it was coming from, and to immerse ourselves in it.

If I could write an ode to you, oh Linden, oh Basswood, oh LittleLeaf Linden, it might talk about how useful you are, how long you live, and...oh, the scent, when you bloom at the end of June.

But instead, let's let the tree do the talking. The flowers are small but...oh, that scent.

What a mighty talker it would be.

Come join Parul at Happiness and Food for #ThursdayTreeLove.  Post a picture of a tree, link back to her blog, and play along.

Summer Memories - Symphony in Yellow

For 11 months of the year I live with the memories of my lilies.

Then, in one glorious month's worth of time, they bloom.

The show is just beginning.  From my yard to yours, the first movement of a symphony.

First, these lilies come out.  I don't know exactly what type they are, but I suspect they are Asiatic lilies.   (I am famous for losing track of what I plant, and sometimes I buy plants on clearance that aren't labeled, and are inexpensive as a result.)

Then, as these bloom, my day lilies start to come out.

Each daylily flower lasts - yes, just one day.  This flower is just opening.

Fully open.

This lily, opening up, looks like a triangle.

Are they angry at each other?  No.

Lily season in upstate New York.  Soon, other colors will come along.  Come back next week for more.

A Flood and A Dream

Imagine this:

You own a successful bar.  But that is not your dream.

Your dream is to work with animals.  It has been your passion since you can remember.  But there is that matter of earning a living.

Then one day, there is a massive flood.  Your business is flooded, as is your home.

Now what?

Do you rebuild?  Or do you close your bar and follow your dream?

A man by the name of Jordan Patch decided to follow his dream.  He purchased land about 30 minutes from where I live in upstate New York.  He opened a private zoo called Animal Adventure Park.  He hoped that people would come.  They did, little by little.

Then one day, he trained a webcam on a pregnant giraffe named April and...the rest is history.

Dreams really can come true.  Just consider the story of Jordan Patch and the giraffe now beloved by literally millions.

As someone who was impacted by that same flood, in September of 2011, I am so inspired by the story of Jordan Patch.

I've written several posts about April the Giraffe, who had her baby on April 15, 2017.  But there is still one more piece to this story - the story about Jordan's little girl, Ava.

I will continue to follow the stories of April, Jordan and Ava.

Do you have a dream?  Don't wait for a flood.

Make it happen today.

Music Moves Me - The Governor's Playlist

Do you have a playlist on a music device?  Believe it, or not, I don't.  I tend to be somewhat old school with my music listening.  I have an iPhone, but I don't use it for music.  Ditto for an old MP3 player, which I only listen to on trips.  I don't subscribe to any streaming service, although I used to listen to Amazon Prime when it was free to Prime subscribers.  (When they started to charge - well, adios.)

So this from several months ago caught my eye.

In honor of the streaming music service Spotify relocating to the rebuilt World Trade Center in downtown Manhattan, the Governor of New York released his Spotify playlist earlier this year.

What kind of songs did the Governor include in his playlist?  Here's a small selection.  Hint:  not all of them are by New York artists or about New York.

Billy Joel - The Downeaster "Alexa".  A New York artist singing a song about the New York fishing industry, I just love this video. 

Bruce Springsteen - Erie Canal.  Bruce is from New Jersey, but the Erie Canal is 100% New York.

Simon and Garfunkel - America.

Art Garfunkel is a native of Queens and Paul Simon is from New Jersey, and they've come to look for America.  This song is a fond memory of my high school years, as I dreamed of walking off to look for America one day.  I loved Simon and Garfunkel.  I would listen to their albums in my room, over and over.

Two New Yorkers (Tony Bennett is from Queens and Lady Gaga from Manhattan) performing the standard "Cheek to Cheek" live.

And finally - I didn't research the New York connection, but I spent many happy hours listening to this album (on vinyl!) back in 1971.   I so love the keyboard playing on this.

Here's the entire playlist, if you are interested.

Connecting today with Music Moves Me, a blog hop and Music Train run by Marie at X-Mas Dolly.  The other Conductors  Callie of JAmerican Spice, and Stacy Uncorked♥  and Cathy from Curious as a Cathy .  Come hop to other blogs now and see what music they are playing on this Freebie Monday!

Roses 2017

This is a tradition on my blog, a cherished visit to a local botanical garden and their old fashioned roses.  Actually, not all of them are heirlooms, but this free jewel of Binghamton, New York is well worth a visit for its roses and for all of their flowers.  In fact, the daylilies are starting to bloom.

But back to the roses.  If only there was smell-o-blog, where I could transmit the fragrance to you, but there isn't, and I can't.

This year, I start with Rosa gallica 'Tuscany Superb', from around 1837.

This rose is supposed to darken into a purple but I love the color I did see.

 Raubritter, a "ground cover" rose introduced in 1936.

One of my favorites, Mme. Hardy, a damask first introduced in 1832.  So beautiful and white.

Ishpahan damask, also introduced in 1832.

Moving into red territory, how about Dortmund?  This is a climber, introduced around 1955.

Finally (this is a ramblin' blog after all), Albertine, a rambling rose from 1921.

I don't grow roses.  I used to, years ago, but had too many insect issues.  Yet, I love them, and hope you love today's post, too.

In today's world, I hope this blog can be a place to rest for a few minutes, so you can go forth with renewed strength. 

Happy Sunday!

Local Saturday - The Beauty of Food

Some photos from today's farmer's market in Binghamton, New York.

Kohlrabi.  This is a member of the brassica family and these are not roots but are a cultivar of cabbage.  The word comes from the German for "cabbage turnip".

Not quite mature onions. 

Beets.  Red beets aren't my favorite, but, aren't these pretty?

Strawberries.  What is finer (for those not allergic to them) but a freshly picked strawberry?  Alas, due to local weather conditions, the quality has not been the best.  But one day I will try a "strawberry healthycake".

And a surprise.  I suspect these spears of asparagus aren't local due to the time of year, but we bought some, anyway, as they looked so good. (Alas, our market is no longer a 100% produced locally market). They were under a tent, and its color tinted the picture purplish.

Do you have a favorite thing to buy at a farmer's market?  Or, would you visit one just for the atmosphere?

Storm Clouds - #SkywatchFriday

Last Sunday, just after sundown, a storm blew up in my neighborhood near Binghamton, New York.

Standing on my porch, I saw frightening looking clouds,  But, my spouse, who has been interested in the weather all of his life, told me there would be wind, but nothing else to worry about.

Here are some of the other pictures I took.

My spouse was right.  We never were put under a tornado watch.

The power of nature fills us with awe, as we are powerless to hold the storm back.  We are at its mercy.

Join other bloggers from all over the world at #SkywatchFriday,  where our focus is the sky.

#ThursdayTreeLove - Catalpa

You don't have to go far to find beauty.

Sometimes, it's just around the corner.  Or, it's next door.  Look around you, and you may be surprised what you find.

In my neighborhood in upstate New York are some catalpa trees. These are native to our area.

Here's a close up.

A lovely cluster of somewhat fragrant flowers. 

Besides these late spring flowers, "beans" will grow later in the summer.  It's a beautiful shade tree - a bit messy, but it can be forgiven for that.

Join other bloggers for #ThursdayTreeLove, hosted by Parul Thakar at the blog Happiness and Food.

Love a tree today.

Summer Memories - Privet

Today is the first day of summer in the Northern hemisphere.  We say goodbye to my "spring things" feature.  This summer, I plan something called Summer Memories.

The privet bloomed early this year.  It is finishing up now - this picture was taken a week ago.

To me, the scent of privet is summer, distilled.  It is the flower scent I remember the most from growing up in the Bronx in the 1950's and 1960's.

It seems to have become a tradition of sorts for me to blog about privet at the end of spring or the beginning of summer, so why mess with that theme?

Here's a post from 2015, which incorporates a post from 2014.

Local Saturday - The Last Full Day of Spring

Last weekend, we visited my mother in law's house.  The privet hedges were blooming, and the heady fragrance lay heavy in the warm, humid air.

Saturday night, my mother in law's next door neighbor came over to visit.  She let me look at her Facebook page and I saw something amazing - she went to my local high school, back in the Bronx.

We exchanged notes and I remembered we grew up less than 1/2 mile, and 20 years, apart.  But I never knew she had gone to my junior high school, or my local high school.  (I didn't go to my local high school, but I learned to swim in its pool, the pool she remembered so well.)

Ah, childhood memories.

Today is the last day of spring, and I want to bring you back perhaps 55 years (OK, a teeny bit more than 55 years) for a special memory brought back by the scent of the old fashioned privet hedges in front of my mother in law's house.  This is a post I wrote last June after a different visit to her house.

Privet and Bees, Scent and Memory

A memory of over 50 years ago.

I grew up in the Bronx, a borough of New York City, in a city housing project.  All green spaces in the project were carefully fenced away behind chain link fences.  We children would get into trouble with the maintenance men who cared for the project if we climbed the fences and dared to play in the greenery.  So, of course, we did it as often as possible.

In June, the privet would bloom.  

The blend of humidity and sweet privet scent would attract bees to the hedges.

It's a scent I love to this day.

The boys would catch the bees in glass jars.  That's not something we girls really got into.  Instead, we would look for ladybugs to catch.

Yesterday, I visited my mother in law, who lives in a suburb of New York City.

It was warm, and humid, and privet hedges were blooming in front of her house.

They were swarming with bees.

The heady scent brought me back over 50 years in a matter of seconds.  I was a little girl once again, climbing chain link fences while we looked out for the project maintenance men, so my playmates and I could have a few minutes of interaction with nature.

Scent and memory. A living time machine.

Has scent ever brought you back to a favorite childhood memory?

Throwback Tuesday - The Country of Cancer

Back in 2011, I wrote the following blog post.  Both the people I blogged about below have since passed away due to their cancers.  One, a childhood friend, would have turned 65 yesterday.
 
In her honor, I repeat the blog post I wrote after she called me to tell me of her diagnosis.

I rarely write political posts, but I felt this was appropriate this week, as the Senate ponders major changes in health care.

She loved her roses so much, I will add one to this blog post in memory of her.

The Country of Cancer

This has not been a good few weeks for a couple of people I know.

Without going into any kind of specifics, in the past week, I have found out that a friend I have had since childhood, and someone I've known locally for a number of years, have cancer.  In one instance, the "patient" knows the cancer will be fatal - the question is when.  For the other person, that "patient" is in the middle of testing to find out the exact details. The question for that person will be if it was found early enough because that cancer does not have a high survival rate. 

Both of these people are highly educated - one has a masters degree. The other worked at one time in the medical field.  Both are taxpayers.

One is a reader of this blog.

I do not like to get political in this blog, but I am going to make an exception today. And I am going to run a bit longer than I normally do.  Please bear with me.

It takes a village to support someone with cancer, and our country is doing a horrible job of it.

You can have the best of insurance and still find yourself in the position of trying to pay overwhelming medical bills.  If you don't have "Cadillac" insurance, that old Buick insurance isn't going to get you very far.

What your caretaker(s) are going to end up with is an overwhelming pile of paperwork.  There are programs to help pay the bills out there, and those programs are going to require everything short of your firstborn son.  I'm not talking government programs here necessarily - I am talking nonprofit programs for co-pay relief, charities, programs run by the pharmaceutical company, programs run (perhaps) by where you are receiving treatment.

Government?  Well - there's the Department of Health and Human Services and Social Security, too. (and some people want to abolish them, don't they?) There's Medicare.  Just as a reminder, Medicare is a program of our Federal Government.

Need assistance?  You'd better have your income tax returns, your insurance card(s), your checking account statements, your savings account statements, your pay stubs, and about 50 or so other things (or so it will seem), all at the ready.  Make lots of copies because you are going to need them.  Stock up on stamps.  Hope you have a decent computer, and lots of time on your hands when you don't feel like absolute crud.

The caretaker and the cancer patient must struggle to pay those bills while juggling (maybe) a job, (definitely) either chemo, radiation, or both, and lots of issues.  Sounds like a job for the son or daughter of Superman.  If they are only human, and fallible, they are in trouble.  Do you know any of the children of Superman?  I don't.

Suddenly a caretaker?  There are federal job protections but we know how that can work, depending on how decent your employer is.  Cynical?  I personally know someone who was a caretaker for her father, and lost her job because of it.  The person wasn't a resident of New York State but she could have been. It does happen. 

We have a seriously broken system. We expect people to do all these things while fighting a dread illness.  Fighting that illness should be the first priority.  Financing that struggle should not be part of it.

But too many times, it is.

It hurts, but in our holiday season, it hurts more.  In an area recovering from a natural disaster like we are here in upstate NY, it hurts even more.

In the United States, we call ourselves "the greatest country in the world".

But, they and the people who care for them can rant all they want, but that cancer patient and his/her family needs help and ranting won't (so to speak) pay the rent.

So they will buckle down like so many others have done before them,  and walk that path of nails.  If they are lucky they will have a lot of support of family and friends.  But not everyone has that.  There are too many cracks to fall through for the citizens of this "greatest country of the world".

Become politically active, you say? It's hard to advocate for change when you are in a survival situation.

Observe it well.  Educate yourself.  Unless things change, the next time this dread disease knocks, one of us bystanders may be answering that door.

So sad that this is just as true in July of 2017 as it was in November of 2011.

Music Moves Me - Memories of a Friend

Today, on Music Moves me, the theme is "Songs with a Location in the Title".

Brooklyn rowhouses

A friend I grew up with would have turned 65 today, and I'd like to remember her in this post.

She lived most of her life in Brooklyn, and my father was a native of Brooklyn, so why not start with the location of Brooklyn for my first song?

Neil Diamond - Brooklyn Roads

Those who know me well know I am a Simon and Garfunkel fan.  So, I switch to Manhattan and offer this song, "Bleeker Street".  

My friend's husband is a musician, someone who performs in community choruses and helps to moderate a music group on Facebook.  I was honored to see him perform once, the spring after Superstorm Sandy hit New York City.  The theme of the concert was water.

Today, I immediately thought of a song about seas; I guess "Beyond the Sea" is a song with a location in it.  Isn't it?

My friend and I both went to the same high school as Bobby Darin (just not at the same time).  In fact, that wasn't his name at the time - his birth name was Walden Robert Cassotto.  Sadly, as a child, he suffered from rheumatic fever, which weakened his heart and caused him lifelong problems.  He died, from complications of surgery related heart valve replacement surgery, when he was only 37 years old.

"Beyond the Sea" was released in 1960.  That, and "Mack the Knife", are two of my favorite songs.

Finally, I have blogged about this song before, but it fits this theme so way.  Glen Campbell was born in the same year as Bobby Darin, and now, he is perhaps in the final months of his life, his mind taken from us by Alzheimer's.  This is my favorite Glen Campbell song - Wichita Lineman.  In fact, several of his hits have locations in their title.

If you are just here for music, jump to the bottom of this post and join the other dancers on the dance floor of Music Moves Me.  If you wish to join the hop, come on in, the music is fine!

The rest of this post is a small remembrance of my friend.

I remember how much my friend loved to garden.  When I think of roses, or strawberries, I think of my friend.

Today, roses are in bloom where I live in upstate New York, and the strawberries are ripe.

Here are some posts I wrote during that last period in her life.

Crocheting for charity
A backyard grows in Brooklyn (featuring her small backyard garden)
More of her backyard
Haiku in Brooklyn 

Monday’s Music Moves Me is sponsored by X-Mas Dolly, Callie, Cathy, and Stacy, so be sure and visit them, where you can also find the Linky for the other participants.