Accident Update

 As you know my son and grandson were in that horrible accident at the beginning of the year. Both are doing well. They are up and still doing therapy for their injuries.

Last week my son and his doctor discovered that a bone in one leg was not as strong as it should be. That means it will not heal properly.

So surgery was scheduled for Wednesday, November 25. They will put a larger and more sturdy plate to replace the one that is there now.

His son is spending Thanksgiving with his mother. His daughter is spending Thanksgiving with my youngest son and his family. So my son would be in the hospital for most of Thanksgiving day before going home that afternoon.

This morning he got a call that his surgery was rescheduled. Now he will go in the day after Thanksgiving. He will still go home Saturday.

Now he will be able to spend Thanksgiving with his brother and his daughter.

Have a happy Thanksgiving. Remember to give thanks for all the good things in your life.

Election: Finale

 Our elections are over. Joe Biden has been projected to be the next President of the United States.

A lot of people took to the streets dancing and singing. Some were happy that Donald Trump will no longer be president. Some were happy that Biden will. I believe most were celebrating a combination of both.

At the same time supporters of Trump are not happy. Claims have been made of voter fraud and miscounts of votes.

It took longer than usual for election experts to make the projections of who would win. There were a variety of reasons for that. It was a hard election to call.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic more people voted by mail than ever before. Depending on the rules set by election commissions in each state those mail-in ballots were counted at different times.  

Some states allowed preparing the ballots for counting before election day. That means verifying the signature on the outside envelope by making sure the person is registered to vote, the signature matches the registered voter's signature, and that the voter has only voted once. Then the ballot is removed from the envelope and put in a pile to be counted on election day.

Some states do not allow any work to be done with mail-in ballots until election day. Of those some states allow counting to begin when in-person voting begins and others wait until in-person voting is finished.

All those votes need to be added to the total vote count.

Some states have early voting. They allow people to vote in person several days before the election. Their votes cannot be tallied until election day.

Of course on election day people can vote in person. The lines of voters can be quite long especially if they are observing the distancing required because of COVID-19. 

Once the polls close counting begins. As the count occurs some totals are reported. Experts begin to look for trends. Once they have enough information they project a winner. That is not an official winner. It is only an educated guess.

In any election there can be a close number of votes for the candidates or maybe some problem with the voting. The voting rules take this into account.

Either candidate or both can challenge the voting. There is a fee to be paid then the problem can be investigated. Discrepancies are looked at. There may or may not be adjustments made to the count depending on findings.

Finally the vote counts are certified. The counts are deemed legal and final.

In our presidential elections there is another step. Electoral college.

Each state has a number of electors based on its population. There are a total of 538 electors. All states except Nebraska and Maine use a winner take all method of assigning votes to electors. The winner of the most votes for each state determines who the electors vote for.

The electoral collage meets in December to cast their votes for president. A candidate needs at least 270 electoral votes to become president.

Why have an electoral college? The founders of our country recognized that the large cities would have more votes than rural areas. New York City and Los Angeles could conceivably be in charge of the country and those of us elsewhere would have little say in the running of our government.

This election was record setting in many ways. The main thing I see is that each candidate received more than 70 million votes. That is amazing to me.

So on January 20, 2021, the President of the United States will be Joe Biden.

Veterans Day

 November 11 is Veterans Day. It is a National holiday to honor those who have served in our military. 

It is called Veterans Day because we are showing respect for our veterans. It is not Veterans' Day or Veteran's Day.

Veterans Day should not be confused with Memorial Day. Memorial Day originated to honor fallen service members. They are the ones who did not come back alive.

It was originally called Armistice Day to commemorate the truce called months before the actual end of World War I. The truce began on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918. 

In 1919 President Woodrow Wilson declared a celebration for November 11 for parades and speeches to begin at 11:00 AM. 

In 1926 Congress passed a resolution stating that "the recurring anniversary of this date should be commemorated with thanksgiving and prayer and exercises designed to perpetuate peace through good will and mutual understanding between nations". Twenty-seven sates had already designated November 11 as a holiday. With the signature of the President it became a national holiday. The United States flag was to be flown on all federal buildings. Schools and churches and other gathering places were encouraged to participate.

In 1938 Armistice Day became a recurring holiday to honor the veterans. In 1954 at the urging of service members Congress amended the 1938 Act to include veterans from all wars not just World War I. That same year President Eisenhower changed the name of the holiday to Veterans Day.

The Uniform Holiday Bill was signed in 1968. Trying to extend holiday time off several holidays were to be celebrated on Mondays. The first observation of Veterans Day on the fourth Monday of October in 1971. It was so confusing that President Ford changed it back to November 11, 1975.

Traditionally there are parades, speeches, and other celebrations on November 11. Government offices are closed. The President will lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington National Cemetery.

This year most places will not have the conventional parades and gatherings. COVID-19 has restricted a lot of public activities. Maybe next year.

My father was a proud veteran of World War II. Several other family members have served our country. On Veterans Day I will remember them all.

Election

 Did you vote yet? If you did thank you. If not there is no time like the present.

                                   Vote

Happy Halloween

 

What Happened?

Have you ever had something happen that you were unable to find out the outcome? Did you ever find out?

We lived in a very small town in Tennessee. Our street was one block long. At the end lived a very nice woman and her family. Next door lived her daughter and grandson. On the other side lived a woman who was distant and seemed un-approving for some reason. Directly across the street were a man and woman who were quite a bit older.

My husband was an over-the-road truck driver. Usually he was only home on the weekends. I had 4 small children. More often than not my kids, the younger children of the woman down the street, and her grandson from next door were at my house. Lots of happy noise.

I believe the children annoyed the people across the street. Disapproving looks and grumbling from the man were constant.

The woman went on a trip out of town to visit one of their children. She seemed to have been gone for quite a while. The man continued with his routine. Mowing the lawn, sprucing up the house, and puttering around in general.

One afternoon the man knocked on my door. I knew the children were not bothering him because they were all inside. So I answered the door.

He asked me if I could call a doctor. He was holding his arm so I wondered if he was having a heart attack.

Then he held out his arm. He had a blood-soaked towel wrapped around it. He wanted to show me. I did not want to see. He showed me anyway.

He had been working in his back yard with a table saw. Somehow his arm was caught. He had cut completely through the bone. His arm was still attached by skin on one side.

I told him to re-wrap his arm as I grabbed another towel to wrap around that. I gathered my kids and we took him to the hospital.

They took him right in. I settled down in the waiting room with my children. Someone needed to be there for him.

After several hours of hearing nothing, the man's son rushed in. I told him what little I knew. 

We stayed with the son until he was called back to see his father. I took my wonderfully patient children home for a good meal.

A few days later the son came to my door. He said they were able to re-attach his father's arm. The son was taking him home to recuperate.

My family moved back to the big city a few months later. I never heard from anyone in the man's family again. 

I have so often wondered about him. I do hope things went well for him.

Do I Have It?

 COVID=19 is somewhere in the mind of each person. A random cough and you think. "Do I have it?" A little information may ease some minds. Keep in mind that this is only a few facts. To determine conclusively you will need to see a doctor and have a reliable test.

A cough is usually a symptom of a cold, the flu, or the corona virus. I looked at all three to know what to watch for if the need should arise. I am not suffering from any of the three.

A cold. 

It is an upper respiratory infection. It affects the nose, throat sinuses, and windpipe. It is spread by contact with another person with a cold and through droplets in the air from a person with a cold.

The three main causes of the common cold are rhinovirus, coronavirus (not THE coronavirus), and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and parainfluenza. There are other causes but these are the prevalent ones.

The symptoms of a cold are: cough, sore throat, sneezing, and a runny nose.

 Cold symptoms usually start 2 or 3 days after a person has been exposed to the virus. People with colds are most contagious for the first 3 or 4 days after the symptoms begin and can be contagious for up to 3 weeks. Although some colds can linger for as long as 2 weeks, most clear up within a week.

Treatments for a cold include:  drinking lots of fluids to stay hydrated (include water, juice, clear broth, warm water with honey and/or lemon), rest (stay in bed if possible), if your throat is sore soothe it, work to not stiffen up, relieve any pain or soreness,  and moisturize the air. In most cases antibiotics do nothing to alleviate a cold.

Influenza or the flu.  

The flu is caused by influenza viruses that infect the nose, throat, and lungs. These viruses spread when people with flu cough, sneeze or talk, sending droplets with the virus into the air and potentially into the mouths or noses of people who are nearby. Stomach flu viruses cause diarrhea and vomiting.

The most common symptoms of flu are: fever, aching muscles, chills and sweats, headache, dry and persistent cough, shortness of breath, tiredness and weakness, runny or stuffy nose, sore throat, eye pain, and vomiting or diarrhea, The vomiting and diarrhea are more common in children.

Most of the time flu can be treated at home. If you have the following symptoms call your doctor or go to the hospital: Difficulty breathing, chest pain, ongoing dizziness, any pre-existing conditions that get worse, and severe weakness or muscle pain.

Dangerous symptoms for children requiring medical assistance are: difficulty breathing, blue lips, chest pains, dehydration, seizures, worsening of pre-existing medical conditions.

Some fairly common complications are: pneumonia, bronchitis, asthma flare-ups, heart problems, ear infections, and acute respiratory distress.

The best way to treat the flu is to get your flu shot before you get the flu.

COVID-19. 

COVID-19 and the flu share symptoms. It makes it hard for a definitive diagnosis. A doctor will recommend a test to be sure. You can even have both at the same time.

There are some differences. They are caused bu different viruses. COVID symptoms appear about one to fourteen days after exposure. Flu symptoms appear one to four days after exposure. COVID sufferers often experience a loss of taste or smell. COVID seems to be more contagious and to spread more quickly than the flu. Severe injury to the lungs is more frequent. The mortality rate is higher for COVID.  

Blood clots are a complication for COVID. In children COVID has caused multisystem inflammatory syndrome. 

The flu an be treated with antiviral drugs.  So far no drugs have been approved for the treatment of COVID. 

To prevent catching any of the three diseases there are things you can do. Wash your hands thoroughly several times a day for at least 20 seconds  using soap and water. Hand sanitizer can be used if soap and water are not available. Cover you mouth and nose with your elbow or a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth. Disinfect doorknobs, electronics, light switches, and counters and tables daily.

Additional precautions for COVID include avoiding large gatherings, avoid close contact with other people, and wear a face mask when you must be out in public. 

I hope this helps.