This post is late for several reasons, but the main one is that I had a gall-bladder attack and subsequent operation a little over a week ago. Anyone who has been through this (or appendicitis or an attack of kidney stones) knows that this is horribly painful. My post-op recovery didn’t go very smoothly, with my digestive system completely locking up. The hospital stay was highlighted by neglect and incompetence (and likely high costs - I haven’t gotten the bills yet). My post-op problems didn’t come to a head until two days after I was released, and, despite considering re-admitting myself on Christmas morning, my good friends Howard and Vallerie Stanley, where I stayed for a few days, contacted some nursing friends, and found that I really just had to walk to get the system going again. This worked, although it’s taken several days for my digestive system to become even semi-normal. Everything still tastes funny, and there is still some abdominal soreness.
This isn’t the forum for politics or problems in America, but my recent brush with the medical system really showed me how dysfunctional the medical system is here. The financial incentives are all wrong: the doctors and hospitals don’t care how much things cost - “insurance” covers it, while the insurance companies try to save costs by denying payment. I noticed a lot higher use of technical gew-gaws compared to the last time I was in for something serious in 1991. However, many mistakes were made. Doctors are virtually absent and even RNs (Registered Nurses) are spread very thinly. The only ones who seemed motivated were the medical equipment salesmen and the doctors who were trying to get you to come to their “for-profit” specialty clinics. No wonder costs are completely out of control. This is a fertile area for discussion and change - but I’m tired of it right now.
The second reason for lateness is that, shortly after I arrived home, the boot hard-drive in my main PC crashed. This is only the third drive crash I’ve had in over 12 years, but it is always traumatic. Fortunately, I keep my working files on other drives, and had backed up some system files, so the data loss was minimal. However, I had to diagnose and then replace the bad drive, and rebuild a new version of Windows XP (rolling in all the latest updates using nlite), do the tedious install, then, once up, spend literally two days downloading updates to Java and Norton antivirus, among other things. (Keep in mind, I am still on a 28.8k dial-up line). My convalescence has caused me to become careful and mindful, rather than pissed-off, plus it is the perfect excuse for not getting things done! As a result, the computer crash hasn’t felt as bad as it would if I was in a crunch.
While not being Christian, I don’t mind vicariously enjoying the holiday season. As John Michael Greer says:
“As human beings, we’re all far enough from the luminous center of things that we have to take meaning where we can find it; if someone can grasp the eternal renewal of spirit in darkness through the symbol of the midwinter birth of Jesus of Nazareth, I can’t find it in myself to object. From my perspective, though not from theirs, of course, we’re celebrating the same thing.
Nor, for that matter, do I turn Scroogelike at the thought of gifts, big dinners, and too much brandy in the egg nog. I can’t think of a human culture in the northern temperate zone that hasn’t found some reason to fling down life’s gauntlet in the face of winter with a grand party. Whether it’s the Saturnalia of the ancient Romans, when cold grim Saturn turns back just for a moment into the generous king of the Golden Age, or the Hamatsa winter dances of the Kwakiutl nation of Canada’s Pacific coast, when the cannibal giant Baxbakualanooksiwae, “Eater of Men at the River Mouth”, is revealed as the source of mighty spiritual gifts, this sort of celebration reflects a profound set of realities about our life in the world. Besides, I’m fond of brandy, and egg nog, and a good party now and then, too.”
In that spirit, here are a couple of fun music-related Christmas links:
The Twelve Composers of Christmas by Michael Monroe (suggested by John Nunes, requires Javascript)
White Christmas by Irving Berlin, sung by the Drifters (suggested by Lynn Olson, requires Adobe Flash player)
These are a little late for Christmas, but maybe save them for next year. Oh, and have a great new year!
