Instead of getting a day off yesterday, I had a day full of activity. Eileen drove up to Whitehall to see her Mom and give her sister,Nancy, moral support. Nancy and her husband Walt have been tending to the rapidly failing Aunt Vera. Aunt Vera just turned 101 years old in September and unsurprisingly her mind is confused making her difficult to care for. Not long ago she refused to get out of the car to go in to see the doctor. Also when Eileen’s brother, Dave, took over and drove her to the Emergency Room Vera continued to refuse to leave the car. Forcing her into the ER would constitute legal assault.
Today Hospice is coming. They should be able to help. Plus they will be moving Aunt Vera to a hospice care facility today or tomorrow.
In the meantime, Nancy and Walt are caring for Aunt Vera and it is traumatic to say the least.
For my part, Eileen and I went to the Farmers Market before she left. Then I had my ballet class mentioned yesterday. I have been despondent this week. I consoled myself working on transcribing a Bach Viola da Gamba sonata into Finale. I’m hoping I can convince my cellist to read through it with me. It’s one of the Bach sonatas where he composed the right hand for the continuo player. Practice was at that time to write only the solo part and the bass line with indications of how to make up the harmonies. When Bach writes out the right hand one has a lovely little trio between the soloist, the bass line and the right hand of the keyboard player.
I went to church to practice and prepare for this morning. Then I played the afternoon class. Came home. Exercised. Made a martini and sat in the back yard and read.
1. The G.O.P. Role in the Fiscal Crisis – NYTimes.com
This is a link to letters in response to an article. I particularly liked two of them.
Susan Karpatkin from Bethesda writes:
“I am one Democrat who would be happy to negotiate with the Republicans in Congress. The Republicans have stated their opening position for negotiation. They are ready to reopen the government if we defund the Affordable Care Act. Here is mine.
I am ready to reopen the government if we add a public option to the Affordable Care Act. And while we are negotiating, I also demand a raise in the minimum wage to $15 an hour, a law that restricts chief executives and other managers to no more than 100 times the wage the lowest-paid person in their company receives, public financing of campaigns, and longer hours at polling places”
Michael Kraft writes:
“
The stance of some Republican members of Congress and others is not surprising, coming from the party that denies the human impact on global warming, is home to so many creationists and “birthers,” and cuts spending for research and education.
Gut feelings and denial of inconvenient facts are more important to them than rational analysis. Since 1968 I have worked for three Republican members of Congress and have covered the Hill for a major news agency, and this is the worst Congress I’ve seen.”
I know that many on the right consider the NYT a liberal echo chamber (including apparently Supreme Court Justice Scalia). But I think it is read by educated people and provides the best information in the USA.
Scalia’s Echo Chamber – NYTimes.com
2. Nate Silver on the U.S. government shutdown – FiveThirtyEight
I put this link on Facebook. It’s a good analysis that doesn’t hesitate to point out what’s possible to know at this point.
3. The Final Insult in the Bush-Cheney Marriage – NYTimes.com
A peek inside the administration that wreaked so much havoc we are still in the midst of dealing with.
4. West Bank – Settlers Said to Deface a Mosque – NYTimes.com
“Settlers have attacked Palestinian communities 586 times so far this year, up from 370 in all of 2012,”