Senior Women Web

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  • Joan L. Cannon Wrote: Pets, Pleasures, a Black and White Great Dane and a Kleenex Cat

     

    By Joan L. CannonThe Yearling

    Reams have been written about how animals — pets, in most cases — contribute to the comfort of human lives. Most of us have wept over Flag in The Yearling, Black Beauty, Old Yeller, and many more. Even unfortunate city kids have an inkling of what fur-bearers offer in tacit sympathy and devotion. They see homeless people hugging a stray and get the message. The more fortunate have known a number of animals intimately.

    One of the things about animals to me is their place as memory triggers. Our family has a small number of members who are unaware of what they’ve been missing all their lives, and it makes me wonder if it’s too late to show them. My son-in-law is allergic to cats. I don’t know about his sons, who are polite to our dogs. No one in that group seems ever to have wished for a pet. It makes me nervous about their children, should they ever have any. Certainly I’ll never forget my mother taking a switch to my legs when she caught me trying to frighten our cat our from under a bush where he’d hidden. There was no answer to her question of how I’d like that, as I rubbed my stinging calves.

    He was followed by a big black and white female improbably called Snowball. While we had her, I acquired a reject from the biology lab’s nutrition experiments in what would now be called middle school. A white rat still showing evidence of malnutrition that I named Confucius. He loved to ride on my shoulders under my hair that was clipped at the nape with a big barrette. He would poke his pink nose and pinker eyes out under one of my ears and let his tail hang out under the other.

    Read more at:  http://www.seniorwomen.com/news/index.php/pets-pleasures-a-black-and-white-great-dane

  • What Do You Know About the Problem Solvers Caucus in the House of Representatives? They Unveiled New Bipartisan Solutions to Rebuild America’s Infrastructure, Among Other Concerns

    About the Caucus

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    Beginning in 2017, the Problem Solvers Caucus became an independent member-driven group in Congress, comprised of representatives from across the country – equally divided between Democrats and Republicans – committed to finding common ground on many of the key issues facing the nation. Co-Chaired by Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) and Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), the Caucus’  aim is to create a durable bloc that champions ideas that appeal to a broad spectrum of the American people. It is a group united in the idea that there are commonsense solutions to many of the country’s toughest challenges. Only when we work together as Americans can we successfully break through the gridlock of today’s politics. 

    In the 115th and 116th Congress, Problem Solvers Caucus members agreed to find bipartisan solutions on issues including:

    Coronavirus Recovery and Contingency Planning: The Problem Solvers Caucus and a bipartisan group of Senators announced a four-month bipartisan, bicameral COVID-19 emergency relief framework that would help American students, families, small businesses, workers, and health care providers during this crisis, together as the ‘908 Coalition’ drafting the COVID relief legislation that was turned into law.  Earlier in the year, Problem Solvers’ released the most comprehensive bipartisan document to come out of Congress in its Reopening and Recovery “Back to Work” Checklist detailing benchmarks that will need to be hit to reopen safely. In addition, the Caucus was forward-looking in encouraging leadership early on to consider remote options for Member participation and voting, drafting a letter and live streaming a “Virtual Congress” demonstrating that it is viable to continue legislative business during the crisis in a safe, modernized way. 

    Infrastructure: Despite overwhelming bipartisan support for reinvestment in America’s infrastructure, congressional gridlock has caused our nation’s highways, roads and bridges, transit and railways, ports and airports, and water and sewer systems to fall into disrepair. The Problem Solvers’ report “Rebuilding America’s Infrastructure,” is a comprehensive bipartisan proposal that includes recommendations on building a twenty-first-century infrastructure for a twenty-first-century economy.

    Health Care: Beginning in the 115th Congress, the Caucus identified and promoted several commonsense proposals to help stabilize the individual health insurance marketplace and reduce health care costs, especially the price of prescription drugs. In 2019, the Caucus released a list of principles for lowering drug prices for people in a bipartisan, bicameral way with Senators Susan Collins, Joe Manchin, and Bill Cassidy. These principles include a decisive statement on price and patent transparency, accessibility, and research and development. 

    Immigration: In June 2019, the Caucus voted as a bloc to deliver aid to children and families at the border that might have otherwise been delayed due to partisan divides in the House and Senate. In a continued dedication to the issue, Members of the Caucus traveled together to tour a border facility and analyze the situation firsthand. Problem Solvers are in ongoing discussions to explore viable solutions building upon the agreements drafted last Congress.  

    Criminal Justice Reform: Working with a bipartisan coalition, including Van Jones, Jared Kushner, Grover Norquist, and Congressman Hakeem Jeffries, the Problem Solvers Caucus helped Congress pass much-needed criminal justice reform to provide relief for those who earn and deserve a second chance in the 115th Congress.

    Rules Reform: On January 3, 2019, the House enacted an unprecedented agreement made with Leader Pelosi and Rules Committee Chairman McGovern, known as “Break the Gridlock.” These commonsense congressional rule changes promote increased openness, bipartisanship, and transparency, by instituting a new “Consensus Calendar” for any bill with more than 290 cosponsors, requiring three days’ notice for Committee mark-ups, and preferential treatment for popular bipartisan amendments. For the first time in two decades, the new rules package received support from both Democrats and Republicans.

    Gun & School Safety: The Problem Solvers Caucus agreed to support H.R. 4477, the Fix NICS Act of 2017; H.R. 4909, the STOP School Violence Act of 2018; H.R. 4811, the Securing Our Schools Act of 2018; and appropriations to fund mental health programs established by the 21st Century Cures Act, all of which were passed by the House of Representatives and Senate and signed into law.

  • Fact Sheet: The American Families Plan: Add at least four years of free education; Provide direct support to children and families; Extend tax cuts for families with children and American workers

    BRIEFING ROOM

    APRIL 28, 2021 • STATEMENTS AND RELEASES
    Biden signing lw

    Today, President Biden announced the American Families Plan, an investment in our kids, our families, and our economic future.




    Creator: Adam Schultz | Credit: White House; Copyright: This photograph is provided by THE WHITE HOUSE as a courtesy 

    In March, the President signed into law the American Rescue Plan, which continues to provide immediate relief to American families and communities. Approximately 161 million payments of up to $1,400 per person have gone out to households, schools are reopening, and 100 percent of Americans ages 16 and older are now eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine. The Rescue Plan is projected to lift more than five million children out of poverty this year, cutting child poverty by more than half. While too many Americans are still out of work, we are seeing encouraging signs in the labor market, as businesses begin to rehire and some of the hardest hit sectors begin to reopen.

    But the President knows that we need to do more. It is not enough to restore where we were prior to the pandemic. We need to build a stronger economy that does not leave anyone behind – we need to build back better. President Biden knows a strong middle class is the backbone of America. He knows it should be easier for American families to break into the middle class, and easier to stay in the middle class. He knows that we need to continue to enable those who dropped out of the workforce – particularly the approximately two million women who left due to COVID – to rejoin and stay in the workforce. And, he knows that, unlike in past decades, policies to make life easier for American families must focus on bringing everyone along: inclusive of gender, race, or place of residence – urban, suburban, or rural.

    The American Jobs Plan and the American Families Plan are once-in-a-generation investments in our nation’s future.  The American Jobs Plan will create millions of good jobs, rebuild our country’s physical infrastructure and workforce, and spark innovation and manufacturing here at home. The American Families Plan is an investment in our children and our families — helping families cover the basic expenses that so many struggle with now, lowering health insurance premiums, and continuing the American Rescue Plan’s historic reductions in child poverty. Together, these plans reinvest in the future of the American economy and American workers, and will help us out-compete China and other countries around the world.

    To grow the middle class, expand the benefits of economic growth to all Americans, and leave the United States more competitive, President Biden’s American Families Plan will:

    • Add at least four years of free education. Investing in education is a down payment on the future of America. As access to high school became more widely available at the turn of the 20th Century, it made us the best-educated and best-prepared nation in the world. But everyone knows that 12 years is not enough today. The American Families Plan will make transformational investments from early childhood to postsecondary education so that all children and young people are able to grow, learn, and gain the skills they need to succeed. It will provide universal, quality-preschool to all three- and four- year-olds. It will provide Americans two years of free community college. It will invest in making college more affordable for low- and middle-income students, including students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs), and institutions such as Hispanic-serving institutions, Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-serving institutions, and other minority-serving institutions (MSIs). And, it will invest in our teachers as well as our students, improving teacher training and support so that our schools become engines of growth at every level.
       
    • Provide direct support to children and families. Our nation is strongest when everyone has the opportunity to join the workforce and contribute to the economy. But many workers struggle to both hold a full-time job and care for themselves and their families. The American Families Plan will provide direct support to families to ensure that low- and middle-income families spend no more than seven percent of their income on child care, and that the child care they access is of high-quality. It will also provide direct support to workers and families by creating a national comprehensive paid family and medical leave program that will bring the American system in line with competitor nations that offer paid leave programs. The system will also allow people to manage their health and the health of their families. And, it will provide critical nutrition assistance to families who need it most and expand access to healthy meals to our nation’s students – dramatically reducing childhood hunger.
       
    • Extend tax cuts for families with children and American workers. While the American Rescue Plan provided meaningful relief for hundreds of millions of Americans, too many families and workers feel the squeeze of too-low wages and the high costs of meeting their basic needs and their aspirations. At the same time, the wealthiest Americans continue to get further and further ahead. The American Families Plan will extend key tax cuts in the American Rescue Plan that benefit lower- and middle-income workers and families, including the Child Tax Credit, the Earned Income Tax Credit, and the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit. In addition to making it easier for families to make ends meet, tax credits for working families have been shown to boost child academic and economic performance over time. The American Families Plan will also extend the expanded health insurance tax credits in the American Rescue Plan. These credits are providing premium relief that is lowering health insurance costs by an average of $50 per person per month for nine million people, and will enable four million uninsured people to gain coverage. 

  • Articles from Stanford’s Science Department You and Others Might Find of Interest

    Earth/Energy/Environmentwind mills in netherlands

    Kinderdijk Windmills, Netherlands; Wikimedia Commons

    Race to zero: The science behind decarbonization
    A collection of research and insights from Stanford experts who are revealing the stakes of emission cuts, enabling better carbon accounting, predicting the consequences of future emission pathways and mapping out viable solutions.
     

    Technology

    When artificial agents lie, defame and defraud, who is to blame?
    Scholars consider how the legal system might protect and regulate non-human actors.
     
    Ankle exoskeleton enables faster walking
    In lab tests, researchers found that an optimized ankle exoskeleton system increased participants’ walking speed by about 40 percent compared with their regular speed. The researchers hope someday to help restore walking speed in older adults.
     

    Health/Medicine

    AI expands the reach of clinical trials, broadening access to more women, minority and older patients
    Using artificial intelligence to scour medical records, researchers were able to double the number of patients who qualified for clinical trials, while expanding the pool’s gender, age and racial profile.

    How to lower transaction costs in health care
    A new analysis suggests the health care industry can reap many of the economic benefits of a “Medicare for All” program through incremental changes to the private health care market.
     

  • On Earth Day Find Your ‘Local’ Waterkeeper Organization; Biden’s National Climate Task Force

    Waterkeeper Alliance

    Above: Puget Sound Waterkeeper Alliance

    Waterkeeper Alliance fights for clean water.

    Waterkeeper Alliance holds polluters accountable. We’re the largest and fastest-growing nonprofit solely focused on clean water. We preserve and protect water by connecting and mobilizing more than 300 local Waterkeeper groups worldwide.

    The goal for Waterkeepeers is drinkable, fishable, swimmable water everywhere.

    Regions

    The Waterkeeper Model

    Puget Soundkeeper is a founding member of the Waterkeeper Alliance, the largest and fastest growing nonprofit focused solely on clean water. There are over 300 Waterkeeper organizations and affiliates on six continents fighting for communities’ clean water rights. Waterkeepers can be large or small, but every member patrols their waterway and enforces clean water protections when agencies and the federal government fail to do so.

    The Waterkeeper movement began on the Hudson River, when a group of fishermen united to protect the river, their livelihood and the health of everyone living nearby. Their success sparked grassroots movements across the country, eventually leading to the seven original members that founded the Waterkeeper Alliance. Soundkeeper is very proud to be a part of the Waterkeeper movement and to support the work of partner organizations across the globe.

    BRIEFING ROOM

    Readout of the Third National Climate Task Force Meeting

    APRIL 21, 2021 • STATEMENTS AND RELEASES

    Task Force Briefed on Drought in the West, Forms Interagency Working Group to Provide Relief, Announces more than $700 Million in New Conservation Funding to Invest in Climate Resilience and Carbon Removal

    Today, ahead of the Leaders Summit on Climate, National Climate Advisor Gina McCarthy convened the third National Climate Task Force. Cabinet members and White House leaders discussed pathways that will significantly reduce greenhouse gases while growing the economy, creating good-paying, union jobs, and cutting pollution on a sector-by-sector basis, consistent with direction from President Biden to develop a 2030 greenhouse gas target as part fulfilling his promise to re-enter the Paris Agreement.

    Another key focus of the virtual meeting was to discuss the severe drought that is gripping the western United States. The Task Force was briefed by Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and NOAA scientist Dr. Roger Pulwalty on the severity of the drought. In areas like the Klamath Basin in southern Oregon and northern California, lake levels today are lower than occurred during the Dust Bowl. As has been shown in previous years, severe drought conditions can set the stage for worsening wildfire seasons, which in 2020 alone caused $16.6 billion in damages.  The early, severe drought situation is just the latest manifestation of the pervasive and pernicious impacts that climate change is having on American communities.

    In response, National Climate Advisor McCarthy, as Chair of the National Climate Task Force, requested that the Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and the Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland form an Interagency Working Group to address the needs of drought impacted communities. The Working Group also will explore opportunities to improve our nation’s resilience to droughts and other severe climate impacts that are upending Americans’ lives and economic livelihoods.

    The National Climate Task Force also discussed how investing in conservation can fight against climate change by enabling forests, range lands, and farm lands to remove and sequester additional volumes of carbon from the atmosphere – while strengthening the resilience of these lands to drought, wildfire, and other climate impacts.

  • Department of Justice News: Statement of Attorney General Merrick B. Garland on the Verdict in the Chauvin Trial

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    JUSTICE NEWS

    Department of Justice
    Office of Public Affairs
    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
    Tuesday, April 20, 2021

    Statement of Attorney General Merrick B. Garland on the Verdict in the Chauvin Trial

    U.S. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland’s statement following the verdict in the state of Minnesota’s trial of Derek Chauvin:

    “The jury in the state trial of Derek Chauvin has fulfilled its civic duty and rendered a verdict convicting him on all counts. While the state’s prosecution was successful, I know that nothing can fill the void that the loved ones of George Floyd have felt since his death. The Justice Department has previously announced a federal civil rights investigation into the death of George Floyd. This investigation is ongoing.”

    Component(s): 
    Office of the Attorney General
     
    04/21/2021 12:00 AM EDT

    Attorney General Merrick B. Garland announced today the Justice Department has opened a pattern or practice investigation into the City of Minneapolis (the City) and the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD). The investigation will assess all types of force used by MPD officers, including uses of force involving individuals with behavioral health disabilities and uses of force against individuals engaged in activities protected by the First Amendment. The investigation will also assess whether MPD engages in discriminatory policing. As part of the investigation the Justice Department will conduct a comprehensive review of MPD policies, training and supervision. The department will also examine MPD’s systems of accountability, including complaint intake, investigation, review, disposition and discipline. The Department of Justice will also reach out to community groups and members of the public to learn about their experiences with MPD. “The investigation I am announcing today will assess whether the Minneapolis Police Department engages in a pattern or practice of using excessive force, including during protests,” said Attorney General Garland. “Building trust between community and law enforcement will take time and effort by all of us, but we undertake this task with determination and urgency, knowing that change cannot wait.” This morning, Department of Justice officials informed Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, MPD Chief Medaria Arradondo, City Attorney Jim Rowader, City Coordinator Mark Ruff, and City Council President Lisa Bender of the investigation. The department will continue to work closely with both the City and MPD as the investigation progresses. “One of the Civil Rights Division’s highest priorities is to ensure that every person in this country benefits from public safety systems that are lawful, responsive, transparent and nondiscriminatory,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Pamela S. Karlan for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “It is essential that police departments across the country use their law enforcement authority, including the authority to use force, in a manner that respects civil rights and the sanctity of human life.” “People throughout the city of Minneapolis want a public safety system that protects and serves all members of our community,” said Acting U.S. Attorney W. Anders Folk for the District of Minnesota. “This investigation by the Department of Justice provides a vital step to restore and build trust in the Minneapolis Police Department and its officers.” The investigation is being conducted pursuant to the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, which prohibits state and local governments from engaging in a pattern or practice of conduct by law enforcement officers that deprives individuals of rights protected by the Constitution or federal law. The Act allows the Department of Justice to remedy such misconduct through civil litigation. The department will be assessing law enforcement practices under the First, Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution, as well as under the Safe Streets Act of 1968, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The Special Litigation Section of the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, in Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota, in Minneapolis, are jointly conducting this investigation. Individuals with relevant information are encouraged to contact the Department of Justice via email at Community.Minneapolis@usdoj.gov or by phone at 866-432-0268. Individuals can also report civil rights violations regarding this or other matters using the Civil Rights Division’s new reporting portal, available at civilrights.justice.gov. Additional information about the Civil Rights Division is available on its website at www.justice.gov/crt. 

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  • National Institutes of Health: Study Finds Link Between Red Hair and Pain Threshold

    April 20, 2021May Margaaret by Duncan Sandys

    Research has shown that people with red hair perceive pain differently than others. They may be more sensitive to certain types of pain and can require higher doses of some pain-killing medications. However, studies suggest that their general pain tolerance may be higher. People with red hair also respond more effectively to opioid pain medications, requiring lower doses. 

    Right, Frederic Augustus Sandys, 1829-1904, May Margaret; Samuel and Mary R. Bancroft Memorial, 1935; Delaware Art Museum

    People with red hair have a variant of the melanocortin-1 receptor (MC1R) gene. This gene controls the production of melanin, the pigment that gives skin, hair, and eyes their color. The cells that make melanin produce two forms — eumelanin and pheomelanin. People with red hair produce mostly pheomelanin, which is also linked to freckles and fair skin that tans poorly.

    While red hair has been linked to differences in pain processing, the underlying reasons weren’t well understood. Researchers led by Dr. David E. Fisher of Massachusetts General Hospital examined the connection between MC1R and pain perception. The study was funded in part by NIH’s National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS). Results were published on April 2, 2021, in Science Advances.

    The researchers conducted their experiments using a strain of red-haired mice that carry the MC1R variant also found in people with red hair. The mutation suppresses function of the melanocortin 1 receptor. These mice show higher tolerance to pain.

    By crossing the red-haired mice with an albino strain to prevent melanin synthesis, the scientists were able to study the role of pigment. They found that mice carrying the MC1R red-hair variant had a higher pain threshold even without pigment synthesis. However, the number of melanocytes—melanin-producing cells—did affect pain thresholds. This showed that increased pain tolerance was caused by loss of MC1R function in melanocytes rather than other cell types.

    The team then looked at how these melanocytes affected the pain threshold. They found that the melanocytes in red-haired mice secreted lower levels of a protein called proopiomelanocortin (POMC). POMC is cut into different hormones, including one that enhances pain perception (melanocyte stimulating hormone) and another that blocks pain (beta-endorphin). These hormones affect the balance between opioid receptors that inhibit pain (OPRM1) and melanocortin 4 receptors (MC4R) that increase pain sensitivity.

    The presence of hormones that affect both these receptors would seem to maintain a balance. But the team found that the MCR1 red-hair variant altered the balance in favor of opioid receptors. The reason for this imbalance is that separate opioid receptor hormones are plentiful and were essentially unchanged, whereas separate MC4R hormones are not known to exist, thus tipping the balance in favor of anti-pain opioid signals. The end result was more opioid signals and a higher pain threshold.

    “These findings describe the mechanistic basis behind earlier evidence suggesting varied pain thresholds in different pigmentation backgrounds,” Fisher says. “Understanding this mechanism provides validation of this earlier evidence and a valuable recognition for medical personnel when caring for patients whose pain sensitivities may vary.”

    Uncovering the mechanisms that affect pain perception in people with red hair may also help others by informing new treatment strategies for pain.

    —by Erin Bryant

    Related Links

    References: Reduced MC4R signaling alters nociceptive thresholds associated with red hair. Robinson KC, Kemény LV, Fell GL, Hermann AL, Allouche J, Ding W, Yekkirala A, Hsiao JJ, Su MY, Theodosakis N, Kozak G, Takeuchi Y, Shen S, Berenyi A, Mao J, Woolf CJ, Fisher DE. Sci Adv. 2021 Apr 2;7(14):eabd1310. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.abd1310. Print 2021 Apr. PMID: 33811065.

  • Diane Girard Writes: Rereading Books for Pleasure and Solace

    Rereading Books for Pleasure and SolaceYoung Girl Reading

    By Diane Girard

    Right: Jean Honoré Fragonard, painter, French, 1732 – 1806; Young Girl Reading, c. 1769, oil on canvas, Gift of Mrs. Mellon Bruce in memory of her father, Andrew W. Mellon. National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.

    I return to some of my favorite books these days for fun and for comfort. And, as the pandemic has shown me, reading printed books gives me a break from peering at words and images online. I enjoy cat videos as much as anyone but sometimes, I need something more personal. I don’t have a huge home library, nor do I have a large collection of the classics. My local library has many of them and it is two short blocks away.

    The books I reread aren’t necessarily high-falutin’ tomes. I’m a short person and I don’t claim to be an intellectual. So, what have I reread recently? A week or two ago, I finished Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women again. I have the copy my mother gave me when I was eleven years old. The front cover has parted ways with the interior and the pages have some foxing but I love it still. Of course, I know what happens to all of the Marches and that is part of the book’s charm.

    Although Beth died and that was sad: she was too sweet to survive the whole novel. Jo claimed my admiration when I first read about her and she remains in first place. I wish that Alcott had allowed her to continue to write after her marriage, even so, the book was progressive for its time and the characters are memorable.

    For contrast and with no obvious morals tucked into the story, I sometimes reread H.E. Bates’,  A Little of What You Fancy. The Larkins are, as the cover of my 1979 edition notes, ‘thirsty, hungry, lusty, happy, irrepressible — immortal’. Bates wrote several books about the Larkins and there was a TV series called ‘The Darling Buds of May.’  The stories are set in the English countryside and Pop Larkin’s motto is the more the merrier, which also applies to his amorous activities. If income tax evasion, opposition to the tunnel under the English Channel, a lot of tippling, and women expressing healthy sexual appetites distress you, I suggest you don’t read the book.

    It’s set in the very early 1960’s when women’s roles began to change. Ma Larkin who has eight children and doesn’t approve of the pill believes in letting nature take its course and after one of her daughters seduces the vicar, it does. Naturally, all’s well that ends well and here are lots of laughs before that. I don’t know about you, but I need humor more than ever and so this non-serious very British read retains its appeal.

    When I’m confused or downhearted, I return to Madeleine L’Engle’s book, A Circle of Quiet. She wrote about her time living in a small New England town with her young family, her need to believe in a creator, the joys and sorrows of her domestic life, and her writing career. If that sounds heavy, it isn’t. L’Engle had humility and the ability to laugh at herself. Some of her best anecdotes are based on her perception of her own failings. She avoided being what the girls in her boarding school days referred to as ‘pi’ for pious while she explored whether life has meaning and other difficult topics. I find something different to consider every time I reread her words.

    There’s a small library for the residents of my building and sometimes I choose a cozy mystery paperback from its shelves. It might turn out to be one I’ve read years ago and I don’t mind that at all, if the writing is good. On a stormy night (but not the dark and stormy one), it’s fun to return to a book where, within its pages, good will triumph over evil and the mystery will be solved. What a fine escape from the realities of today’s world!

    I rejoice in the delights I see when I return to the pages of Painting – Musee d’Orsay. Maybe I’m cheating since the book is filled with photos of paintings, but there is an introduction by Stephan Guegan and printed insets about some of the works. My daughter gave me the book after our trip to Paris in 2015. It is a heavy coffee-table edition and usually I keep it on a shelf  next to Notre-Dame de Paris, at the Crossroads of Cultures by Marie-Jeanne Coloni. The Notre Dame book returns me to the feeling of awe I experienced when I was there. The two books are neighbors on my shelves. They have an uneasy alliance because they are both from France but one is overtly religious and the other one isn’t. If I wish to take one out to peruse, I must take out the other one too and so I do.

    While the pandemic grinds on and other disasters occur, I’m thankful for a respite from the news, even for a brief period of time. I recommend rereading whatever pleases you, and if you cannot stop until two in the morning — at least you’ll be in good company.

    Read on, dear folk, read on!

    ©Diane Girard for SeniorWomen.com

  • milk and sandwich

    Rose Madeline Mula Writes: I Feel Like That Carton of Milk In the Refrigerator Which Is Beyond Its Expiration Date

    milk and sandwich

    By Rose Madeline Mula

    Other than receiving a diagnosis of a terminal illness, what’s the worst thing you can hear in a doctor’s office?  For me it’s a toss-up between, “It’s time for another colonoscopy” and “When were you born?”  My response to that is “When dinosaurs roamed the earth,” which isn’t too much of a stretch.   Why Tyrannosaurus Rex is extinct and I’m still here is a mystery. One that many would like to solve.   “What’s your secret?” they ask.  Beats me.   

    It can’t be my diet.  I eat Pop-Tarts for breakfast.  Yes, the frosted ones.  As for my other meals, I have seen vegetables, but seldom on my plate. I don’t want to crowd the ricotta/mozzarella/parmesan-laden lasagna and the tennis-ball size meatballs oozing fat and flavor. 

    Actually, I make lasagna only rarely; and other than an occasional omelet, it’s the only home-cooked meal I eat. The rest of the time I rely on processed frozen meals whose ingredients lists include more unpronounceable, unspellable components than found in the laboratories of Dow Chemical.  Favorite sandwich: peanut butter and Marshmallow Fluff.  Lots of both.

    But since I’m still here, you probably think I counteract all those no-no’s with regular vigorous workouts.  Wrong. Unless tossing and turning and sprinting to the bathroom frequently every sleepless night count.  It’s not that my intentions haven’t been admirable.  I have compiled a binder of exercises so comprehensive it would make the most conscientious physical therapist jealous.  

    Image above: Sarah Nichols/FLICKR/Creative Commons

    I somehow feel that researching and printing out an extensive array of exercises that I plan to start doing “some day” will magically make me fit just by osmosis. I do the same with food, by the way. 

    I am the proud owner of an impressive collection of imaginative recipes of veggies from asparagus to zucchini which I have Googled, printed and filed in a folder that I keep right next to my pristine Air Fryer and Instant Pot. They are pristine not because I am a meticulous housekeeper but because I have yet to use them.  I keep hoping that simply buying each new appliance will magically transform me into Julia Child II.  So far, however, the only one of her “talents” I’ve been able to emulate is dropping food on the floor and picking it up before anyone notices.

  • Update, Friday April 16: C.D.C. Panel Keeps Pause on Use of J&J Vaccine, Citing Need to Assess Potential Risks An Advisory Committee Debated the Very Few Cases of a Rare Blood Disorder

     

    The federal government’s call for a pause on using Johnson & Johnson’s coronavirus vaccine could last at least another week, further complicating efforts by federal and state health officials to reschedule appointments, and reassure jittery Americans that the vaccine is safe and effective. https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/04/16/world/covid-vaccine-coronavirus-cases?name=styln-coronavirus&region=hub&block=storyline_live_updates_block_recirc&action=click&pgtype=LegacyCollection#johnson-covid-vaccine

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s independent vaccine advisory panel, known as the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP, has been scheduled to meet for a second time since shots were halted, next Friday, to discuss safety data related to a small number of blood-clotting cases in Johnson & Johnson vaccine recipients. It is unclear whether the vaccine was responsible for the clots.


    US Food and Drug Administration – YouTube Channel

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ELXnGYgsJY
     

    Anne Schuchat, MD (RADM, USPHS, RET)

    The following statement is attributed to Dr. Anne Schuchat (right), Principal Deputy Director of the CDC and Dr. Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research

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    Media Statement

    As of April 12, more than 6.8 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson (Janssen ) vaccine have been administered in the U.S. CDC and FDA are reviewing data involving six reported U.S. cases of a rare and severe type of blood clot in individuals after receiving the J&J vaccine. In these cases, a type of blood clot called cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) was seen in combination with low levels of blood platelets (thrombocytopenia). All six cases occurred among women between the ages of 18 and 48, and symptoms occurred 6 to 13 days after vaccination. Treatment of this specific type of blood clot is different from the treatment that might typically be administered. Usually, an anticoagulant drug called heparin is used to treat blood clots. In this setting, administration of heparin may be dangerous, and alternative treatments need to be given.

    CDC convened a meeting of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) on Wednesday to further review these cases and assess their potential significance. FDA will review that analysis as it also investigates these cases. Until that process is complete, we are recommending a pause in the use of this vaccine out of an abundance of caution. This is important, in part, to ensure that the health care provider community is aware of the potential for these adverse events and can plan for proper recognition and management due to the unique treatment required with this type of blood clot.

    Right now, these adverse events appear to be extremely rare. COVID-19 vaccine safety is a top priority for the federal government, and we take all reports of health problems following COVID-19 vaccination very seriously. People who have received the J&J vaccine who develop severe headache, abdominal pain, leg pain, or shortness of breath within three weeks after vaccination should contact their health care provider. Health care providers are asked to report adverse events to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System at https://vaers.hhs.gov/reportevent.htmlexternal icon.