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18:59 - 10/30/2009
Fiery Furnace
A 10 m asteroid exploded over Indonesia on October 8. Really. Set off nuclear explosion sensors around the world. Film at 11. The first time I heard of it, despite the many e-zines I receive, was a small article in an Aussie newsmagazine a couple of weeks later. Wouldn't you think that would merit at least some small mention in a European or North American publication? Not even A+ had heard of it and he's as much of a science news hound as I am - moreso even about things that explode.

Maybe the reason for the absence is that the media can only deal with one "end of the world" story at a time. Yeah, the H1N1 flu thang. Yes people are dying and some of those people are within a population not normally at high risk. Those deaths are truly sad, as are all the other deaths occurring because of wars, self-abuse or the negligence and greed of others. Hundreds of thousands of deaths that should be preventable. They all cause immeasurable pain to the survivors of the victims.

Hysteria about the latest flu fear bleated endlessly through the media seems to have rendered the general population unable to see or hear about anything else these days. It's almost like an endlessly looped track that has the effect of the October 30, 1938 broadcast of H.G. Wells "War of the Worlds" where people panicked, truly believing that hostile Martians had invaded our planet based on that radio play. As it turns out, our world has invaded theirs as evidenced by all those NASA reports. In this city, people not even at risk are flooding the clinics set up to innoculate those who are, so that the most vulnerable can't even be cared for. And then there is the fact that the vaccine isn't even necessarily safe or effective. I've searched many reputable health information sites now, finding each giving different information on basic things like length of incubation period and length of infectious period.

Oh and yes, since those innoculated are probably infectious for a short time after, isn't the spread and reach of the disease being exacerbated by said immunization? During 9/11 the airspace over the US was literally shut down for a period of time. If H1N1 is such a truly dangerous virus, then why isn't the same action - closing air space for a time to stop transmission - being undertaken to protect the millions of lives limned to be at risk. Aren't our citizens' health worth more than the freezing of the machine of commerce for a week or two? Guess not.

Funny thing, I often get a sense of public opinion from my circles of email friends - the jokesters who fill my inbox each day with everything from the divine to the ridiculous to the profane. The most interesting thing about the past few weeks has been how many of those correspondents over 40 have been forwarding their scorn-filled missives over the latest "end of the world" story. They cite as their reasons statistical analyses of available data to "qui bono" - who stands to benefit from all the fear-mongering. Uh huh. As mentioned, I've been surfing all the "credible" sites - like World Health Organization, the Centre for Disease Control and responsible media websites for as much factual information as I can find, simply because my youngest and I have both been very ill with flu symptoms for over a week. I even fall in a "high risk " category because I have asthma. Big deal.

I hate having the flu but it is still just a flu. I can't talk, I can't eat, I'm running a high fever as has my son, but nothing much different than any other flu we've ever had - except for the unending psychological pressure from the irresponsible media all blibbering "we're all going to die" between commerical breaks. You know what? If the press really wanted to help, they would instead be broadcasting useful segments about "Ok so you've got the flu - reminders of what to do when you're sick" The list of recommendations? Drink plenty of fluids, stay in bed, don't interact with healthy people any more than you have to, take aspirin for fever and call your doctor/health provider only if one of these more severe symptoms appear. They could even harvest clips that were well done from archives of previous years' broadcasts. Arghhhh. Scariest sign on a door this Hallowe'en? "Knock at your own risk - H1N1 within"

During the worst of the fever I had some very strange phantom experiences. On Sunday, I kept hearing Brook Benton singing the "Fiery Furnace" song. You know, the one about Daniel and "Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego". If we'd been allowed to sing a hymn like that in Sunday School I might have even continued going longer. But never mind. Seemed as the words "fiery furnace" came up in the lyrics I really was there in the flames alongside Daniel. But it also seemed that the Angel whose wings had shielded him and his cousins also enfolded me. Seemed to see my Mother's eyes peeking out from there too. Hmmm. Searched on line to find that Angel's name - don't want to miss a "thank you" prayer - just in case.

A couple of days later, I woke to the sensation of my body and the forest floor being one and the same. As my mind "watched", all things grew out of the ground of that "body" - creation in process. Fascinating. I wondered if that was what magic really was. I must say that wrought iron railings, much as I love their elegance, are very sharp and spiky. Hurt a lot when they grew out of that ground/body. I could feel grass and all sorts of vegetation arising from that "ground", then insects emerging from there. I had a recollection/vision of the one drawing in a Kabbala text I had read years ago. The one where when, if you look closely, you can see that the Almighty's beard is actually made up of thousands of honey bees. The brain then took itself out for a long rambling discourse on the layers of meaning in that drawing and the terrible, unknowable mystery and beauty of "Mystery" at that point. Something to do with the Kabbala and Masons and Egyptian Stars and well, I won't bore you with the details, dear diary.

The past couple of weeks have seen many different vignettes from life. My Dad called just after I last posted to you and asked if I would spend Friday and Saturday with him and his new partner. I had already promised A+ I would go with him to his best friend's Mom's funeral, but I was able to spend Friday with them. It was a very pleasant day just chatting about world and family affairs. We helped my Dad's partner winterize her windows. She said that one action saved her about 10% on her winter energy bills each year. Guess I should try that at home. I helped them a bit with a small tutorial on their internet skills and my Dad gave me another envelope full of inventory data to record for him. He also had another project he wondered if I could help with. He has about 10,000 schematics from 1920 to the '70s of radios and television sitting in his home. Could I help him sell those over the internet. Several ways I could think of to do that, but said I would like to research the options first to figure out what would bring him the best return. I'm not much of a trader by nature, but I guess I can learn. We had a very pleasant, yummy afternoon brunch then they dropped me home.

A+ and I attended his best friend's Mother's funeral next day. His best friend's wife's parents picked us up, since the ceremony was held many miles north of our city in a small town nestled in the foothills. It was a beautiful sunny day. Our hosts were fascinating to travel with, having similar interests with respect to social and political issues, so the time went quickly. We arrived at the parents' home, where most of the family had gathered to comfort each other even before the funeral. I found that the most nerve-wracking part of the experience, since emotions can be so volatile at such times. Turned out to be a family with firm roots in the Atlantic provinces with a very strong celtic feel to the interactions. I watched the small children play, while A+ helped his friend rewrite parts of his tribute to his Mom. The funeral was interesting. The three tributes from sons and family were poignant and deeply touching. Had the church service ended there, it would have been one of the most moving celebrations of a life that one could wish. Then the pastor arose and went off sounding like an ad for bankers and corporate pirates. Money and money and the benefits of even more money. Captive audience sadly. The speaker seemed to believe that the listeners' values were only about that which was of ratable material value. Guess he missed the verses about serving God or serving Mammon. Hmmmm. The community tribute at the seniors hall later was also very warm and inclusive. Photos from the life of the deceased. Large tables filled with her crafts and creations. Her musical instruments to one side as if waiting for her..... I took photos both there and back again home.

The next week more quality assurance work. At one place mid-way, my debit card not working causing a fair amount of panic. I thought maybe guerilla Alzheimer's had stolen the memory of my real pin number. Not so, as demonstrated by the fact it worked half an hour before and half an hour after the one failed attempt. Didn't reduce the stress until I wandered into my bank after finishing all those assignments to ask the banker to test it for me. Turned out the error message on the debit pad told the tale after all. It was a failure of the card reader, not of my card, that was at issue. Sigh.

The next Saturday A+ and I went to an extended family brunch, so he could meet my sibs as well as my Dad and his partner. Asking a lot, I was. It was at my brother's home in the far south of the city. The grand-daughter who I babysat while I was sick was the only one of the young ones there, attending as she was with my son, her Dad. She was obviously not feeling very well. Drippy nose and chills. Dinner came back up shortly after it had been ingested. I held her for most of the visit. A+ started out staying close by, but seemed to be attracted to the discussion in the kitchen. My Dad's partner later commented he handled himself well with all the zingers that had been thrown at him - gave as good as he got. I don't think that made me feel any better, since some of my relatives are rather rude to start, but I guess I can't protect A+ from that. While A+ was in the kitchen, I was on the deck feeding my granddaughter and chatting with some of my sibs. One of them stating that a certain ethnic group of people would get the H1N1 first because of their dirty lifestyles. Well, how did that correlate with scientists saying that genetically isolated people were those most vulnerable. In Australia it was the caucasian communities that were hardest hit, for example. Yes well. They did acknowledge that contaminated water supplies - similar to Walkerton - and crowded substandard housing were really the culprits. Glad we got that cleared up. Sigh, just what we don't need. Blaming the victims for their deaths. Kind of like blaming Afghani children for being blown to pieces by landmines/ieds. "Yeah they was just asking fer it, you know." Got back home and the flu descended in earnest.

Talked back and forth with the one person who wants assistance with social networking for his band this week. His biggest concern was protecting the privacy of his fans and clients. A lot of misconceptions about the options hopefully fixed now. First attempt at quality assurance assignments yesterday went ok, until I lost my voice. Had to come back home. What was curious was the behaviour of the one bus driver on the last visit. His bus picked me up a block away from my home on the run to the community three north of here. Long route that starts in that northern community then heads for the deep south of the city. Probably takes at least two or three hours to do the circuit once. It has a fairly tight schedule if it is to make the loop. That said, on the way north the driver kept getting out at every stop we made. A walk around each bus shelter and checking the attached garbage cans. Hmmm. Fatigue?? Got off the bus and headed to my assigned site. Ten minutes later emerging then heading back to the same bus stop so as to return home. No voice left remember? Less than five minutes later the bus pulled up. Should have had another driver, but it was the same man who had just dropped me off about a quarter of an hour ago. He should have been well south by then. Apparently he had looped around the top end of the route he was driving once more. He was still checking bus shelters and I heard him talking with his dispatcher about a missing or distressed female. It appeared that some sort of search assistance was being provided to police in order to find/help that one person. The driver was trying to keep his conversation very quiet, but I was listening more closely because of the odd reappearance on that route and his very distracted demeanor. I hope they found what they were looking for and I hope whoever "she" is, is ok. Went back home to be with my oldest - who had kipped at my home for a couple of days - and my youngest, being thankful that all we had to worry about was being sick and broke. It's all in how you look at it somedays, eh?

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