"When it rains, it pours"

You may have heard an expression “When it rains, it pours”.  I thought of that expression while watching the movie “Ordinary Angels”, based on actual events in Louisville, Kentucky in 1994.  A three year old girl needs a liver transplant NOW. Will a suitable one be found?  Can she be brought to a hospital capable of the operation with the narrow time limits ?  Yes, when we need something, many things can go wrong - many!

I will post tomorrow

It is a bit late now.

The word "doctor"

My friend has a story of his son knowing that the boy’s father is somehow a “doctor” but “not the kind that helps people.” My friends take a bit of offense!  Of course, we “help” people!  What about all those lessons we taught?  Huh?  Huh?  What about that?

I understand that the title ‘doctor’ was invented as the third level in advanced learning, much like the three levels in a guild of “apprentice, journeyman and master”, as in master carpenter or master plumber.  The three levels of “graduate, master and doctor” are often used to indicate levels of learning in colleges and universities.  We still have the word “physician” to mean specifically a person having knowledge and skills (hopefully) to assist people with problems with their bodies.  If you fall and break some bones, you may want help from a physician, not a doctor of Spanish literature.

"Sipsworth" by Simon Van Booy

A nice old lady, expecting to die soon.  I picture my mother’s mother who was a gem.  Three quarters thru the book, I find she is not my picture at all.  

She sees a mouse.  Uses calm and gentle actions to befriend the little animal.  Names it “Sipsworth”.  

Looking for a good book?  I recommend ‘Sipsworth”.

I asked Google

I asked Google Search if any part of me is unchanged since birth.  It answered that my inner ear bones and parts of my eyes are “largely” unchanged.  I have the same DNA I was born with.  That is not much of me.  Most of me is more recently supplied.  That seems to indicate that I am alive here in my 80’s.  I am reminded of Buckminster Fuller’s statement: “I seem to be a verb”.  When you look in a mirror, you can easily think that it is same person you saw years ago but it is a slight modification.

Contradictions

Sometimes I get some pages stapled together and some of them are blank except for the sentence “This page intentionally left blank.”  I feel confident that the page is not blank since that sentence is printed on it.  I wouldn’t be surprised if the sentence is there to assure the recipient that no important pages were omitted.  

Sometimes I am asked to verify my identity.  I get a number by email, text or phone and my identity is accepted when I get that number back to the source.  When I get this set of digits, I am usually warned “not to share this number with anyone”.  Sometimes, I am told “we will never ask for this number.”  I share it with the sender and am temporarily verified.

"1,2,3"

The two of us are old and getting even older.  So, in the spirit of the age of abbreviations, we have encoded our frequent comments upon parting:

1. Drive carefully

2. Call me if you need me.

3. Enjoy yourself.

The code is “1,2,3”.  Do NOT share that code with anyone!

"Eisenhower" again

When you look through my notes, you may find that I wrote the name “Eisenhower” here and there.  I wasn’t imagining myself as Mrs. Dwight Eisenhower, wife of the 34th president.  Girls used to write the name of a guy they liked after “Mrs.”.  Maybe some do these days.  I wasn’t doing that.  I read that the word “Eisenhower” written in typical handwriting has helpful curves and twists to break in a new ball point pen.  

My blog “Fear, Fun and Filoz” has 6127 posts including this one.  A nice feature of Google blogs is a search window.  That means an older brain like mine with an older memory like mine can put in a search window something like Eisenhower to see if I wrote about using that word to get a ball point pen working properly.  I did on October 15, 2025.

Hidden Studios Tour

We traveled to half of the Hidden Studios.  Saw some friends and some good art: painting, pottery, sculpture

https://hiddenstudiosarttour.com/

Transmission time

Most of the time, our digital devices seem to work pretty much instantaneously.  But sometimes, there are delays.  I realize it is unAmerican to suffer delays but they can be unavoidable.  When a hot news item breaks, when all the students in the local high school are using their phones, when employees begin using their devices at the appointed hour, there may be a slowdown.  It takes time for signals to travel.  It takes time for human brains and fingers and electric currents to get their work done.