It's Saturday evening, and I'm enjoying a whiskey while I sit back in my Okie armchair. I started a couple different blog posts on subjects I'm interested in of late: how alcohol can help trads who suffer from fundamentalism overcome that ailment, and the integral importance of a parish in the life of a Catholic. But those will take some time to ruminate and reflect about. So I'll just throw out some random thoughts for now. Various ponderings that have entered my mind as of late.
Nursing homes. In my opinion, 70 percent or more of bed-ridden residents could be enjoying a relatively active life, moving around, walking, doing some little chores and hobbies, going on field trips, if they had the proper physical therapy, more nurse aides, and better paid to provide more activity for the resident. I've never heard of such a place. It seems virtually every nursing home is at best a place to take care of the basic needs of the body--bed mobility, transfers, dressing, grooming, and feeding. At best, most of the residents are left in a stupor pretending to play Bingo. It's a shame, and something needs to be done about this culture of death for our old, sick loved ones.
Blue Spring swimming hole. Bar none, the most idyllic, refreshing place to go swimming in eastern Oklahoma. A large spring. Very cold water. And nice, shaded picnic spots. If you're in Tulsa, head east on 412, take the Locust Grove exit, go north through that town to Salina, take a right at the first stop sign, and drive through the hills a few miles until you get there. It's an oasis, and we're thinking maybe to go tomorrow after Mass.
Okies. The love-hate dichotomy I have for this place has lately been pressing on my frontal cortex. Hillbilly-speak and idiotic drivers on the Tulsa freeway haven't irritated me lately. It's been the complete lack of humility and civility that often accompanies ignorant and backward behavior. I can tolerate ignorance, but when you combine it with overt, cantankerous pride, it is like trying to cover up gasoline smell on your gym uniform with cologne (a 9th grade memory). It makes the foul smell even more strange and offensive. Okies. Technically, geographically, I am one of them.
R&R Whiskey. $12 a bottle. Not bad for a decent Canadian whiskey. Wishing you could have one with me tonight.
Cheers.