A few days ago, I was thinking about my smoking. What, psychologically, got me started and keeps me going? Of course, there are the chemical-addictive factors, but beyond that, I saw smoking as one of those things that falls into a category for me ( Read more... )

Sunday night, we watched Sick, about the life and art of Bob Flanagan, a man who was a masochist and who also had cyctic fibrosis ( Read more... )

Went to hear Stephen Dunn (poet) read Wednesday night at Rhodes College: Well-intentioned, funny man; not my cup of tea. Beth and I had met Treasure (a poet friend of Beth's) there, and since she's a teacher/student/mother, she wanted to indulge her escape and have something to eat after. So we did ( Read more... )

First, Thanks for all the kind thoughts and words about my father.  He seems to be doing extremely well and is already weasel-ing his way into watching his sports and planning work for himself.  When I called him alst, he wanted to talk about the health of my car, not his heart.

--

Week after next I have a week's vacation.  I will not be able to go ( Read more... )

I found out last night that my father had had a heart attack yesterday morning. He was airlifted to Vanderbilt Hospital in Nashville. Thankfully, he is evidently recovering very well after receiving a stint ( Read more... )

I'm looking at last night as a watershed experience. I got incredibly sick, along with one of the anxiety attacks I have been prone to in the last few months. My heart was racing, my jaws-teeth locked up for stretches of time, I was cold-sweating, and I vomited until I could only dry-heave. And my mind clamped onto problem after problem in my ( Read more... )