Tag Archives: 1968 swine flu

Milestone Birthday

Well friends, today is going to be a busy day as I get ready for the final part of the Abbesses’ milestone birthday celebration.  Tonight we are having friends over to celebrate and it should be nice.  Only problem is that I have to do some more housecleaning and then go get all the food.  My original plan for food fell through when Primo Pizza began their move to a new location a couple miles away and are not available this weekend as they get the new restaurant set up.  I’m on “Plan B” which simply means finding food in sufficient quantity and quality for the event.  Good thing that I plan ahead right?

The Pig Flu aka H1N1 is No Joke

Despite what many naysayers are saying the H1N1 is no joke.  I know one patient in our hospital who contracted it and died.  Likewise I know of a hospital chaplain in our area who sings in the same choir as the Abbess who has it and a really good friends’ daughter is currently in hospital after having contracted it and getting pneumonia.  While this may not be like the 1918 outbreak it still has potential to cause a lot of problems and maybe kill a lot of people.  I remember the 1968 outbreak, I was the only one in my family not sick.  That outbreak was quite severe.  Unlike the naysayers and critics of preparation I find the fact that health care workers and others refusing immunizations to be idiotic.  In the 1976 outbreak in Toronto one half of the deaths were health care workers.  When H5N1 the Avian flu hit China it caused significant causalities to health care workers to include some of the top Pulmonary specialists in the country  who wanted to be in the front lines treating the outbreak.  My old Commanding Officer at 3rd Battalion 8th Marines had what he called a “You might be a Dumb Ass if” list which was kind of like Jeff Foxworthy’s “You might be a Red Neck if” list.  I think that not getting immunized, especially if you are a health care worker makes the list. So “You might be a Dumb Ass if you are a Health Care worker who refuses to get immunized against something that has the potential to kill you or make you very sick.”  ‘Nuff siad.

Baseball

The Orioles are keeping Manager Dave Trembley for next year.  I have made a number of posts here and my other sites that I said that I thought that he should go.  After hearing the interview of him after the Orioles drubbing of the Blue Jays last night I do think that it is the right move.  My single argument against him was that he was too nice.  He made the comment that next year he “will drop the hammer” more often and not simply be the nice guy teacher.  I do expect that the young talent on the team will respond to this and that with some good off season acquisitions that the O’s will have a lot better year next year. I’ll do more on this later.

Thank You

I want to thank all of my readers for your response to this blog.  For those who began with me and those who have become regular readers you know that this is part therapy for my PTSD as well as a place that I can actually wrap my brain around a lot of things that interest me.  Likewise I have made sure on occasion that some of my posts have irritated those on both sides of the ideological spectrum.  This has occasionally made my life interesting as a few folks have insinuated that I am not a Christian or that I am a traitor to the country because I do not swallow their party line.  I have made sure not to delete those comments.

However, many of my readers have known me for years, and somehow still like me, I am as I say on my “about” page all about friendship and when it comes to friendship religion, politics and Dodger fans I can still be friends with those that I may differ with.  That is part of the joy and richness of living for me.  My friends are a diverse group of people who I probably could not have together in the same place without it looking like a recent “town-hall” meeting.

I have many new readers as well, a large number who have found me through Alphainventions.com a very good referral site to get your blog seen in real time.  I have had a number of sites now link me to their site because they first saw me on Alpha Inventions.  Most recent was Mark Dowe whose “Journal from Scotland” is very interesting and the USS Houston site which has linked to me.

To all my readers I thank you for reading and your comments.  If there is a subject that you would like to see me write about sometime let me know, I might just take you up on it.

I do plan on continuing my “Going to War” Series as well as writing about my life with and recovery efforts for my PTSD.  Likewise I will always be giving my “View from 102” on Baseball and other sports subjects, military history, faith in the public square and all the other stuff on my subjects list.

Most of all I thank you for reading, thank you for your kind words, thoughts and prayers and for occasionally challenging me with good questions.  Likewise thanks to those who question my salvation, patriotism or parentage, you all enrich my life.

As always keep me in your prayers, especially for my dad and his Alzheimer’s disease, those that I work with as we deal with life and death every day, those afflicted with the wounds of war both physical, psychological and spiritual and those who serve in Iraq, Afghanistan and around the world in harms way.

Blessings to you all!

Peace,

Padre Steve+