On Thursday 29 October, the Whipple held its first creative writing workshop. Led by Katy Price, Melanie Keene and myself, the group of twelve explored ‘object stories,’ inspired by some beautiful and fascinating museum objects.

Discussing poems in the workshop

Many thanks to Sarah, Melanie, Katy & Steve for their workshop contributions!

Next, workshop guests were asked to consider one of three objects from the Whipple Collection, which were displayed specially on a central table within the circle of chairs.

A ‘Jigsaw Puzzle’ Globe, a Model mulberry, and a Ship-Shaped Sundial.

Jigsaw Puzzle Globe (photo: Whipple Collection)

After some discussion, we allowed for about 40 minutes of thinking and writing. A small amount of information was displayed beside each object, and if they wanted, the writers were able to access the further information on the Whipple website.

Once we had deliberated, chatted, written, crossed out, and considered, everyone bravely volunteered to share their work, either by reading out what they had written, or by explaining their thoughts and ideas as to what they wanted to do with the material.

There was a brilliant array of voice and creative imagery. Everyone seemed to come up with rich and interesting material, and they were invited to share their poems with me so I could post them on this blog, and possibly beside the museum objects themselves.

Model Mulberry (photo: Whipple Collection)

Daniel, co-coordinator of the Science and Literature Reading Group in the HPS department and workshop attendee, generously sent me his wonderful poem about the model mulberry:

Daniel and John with the workshop objects

The Turnip-Snedder by Seamus Heaney

Next, we looked at an excerpt, read brilliantly (with feeling!) by Simon: from Orhan Panuk, My Name is Red (faber and faber, 2001), pp. 124-125.

Chapter 19

I am a gold coin

Behold! I am a twenty-two-carat Ottoman Sultani gold coin and I bear the glorious insignia of His Excellency Our Sultan, Refuge of the World. Here, in the middle of the night in this fine coffee-house overcome with funereal melancholy, Stork, one of Our Sultan’s great masters, has just finished drawing my picture, though he hasn’t yet been able the embellish me with gold wash – I’ll leave that to your imagination. My image is here before you, yet I myself can be found in the money purse of your dear brother, Stork, that illustrious miniaturist… Hello, hello, greetings to all the master artists and assorted guests. Your eyes widen as you behold my glimmer, you thrill as I shimmer in the light of the oil lamp, and finally, you bristle with envy at my owner, Master Stork. …

… I take pride in being recognised as a measure of talent among artists and in putting an end to unnecessary disagreements. …

            Before I arrived here, I spent ten days in the dirty sock of a poor shoe-maker’s apprentice. Each night the unfortunate man would fall asleep in his bed, naming the endless things he could buy with me. The lines of this epic poem, sweet as a lullaby, proved to me that there was no place on Earth a coin couldn’t go.

            Which reminds me. If I recited all that happened to me before I came here, it’d fill volumes. There are no strangers among us, we’re all friends; as long as you promise not to tell anyone, and as long as Stork Effendi won’t take offense, I’ll tell you a secret. Do you swear not to tell?

            All right then, I confess. I’m not a genuine twenty-two-carat Ottoman Sultani gold coin minted at the Chemberlitash Mint. I’m counterfeit. They made me in Venice using adulterated gold and brought me here, passing me off as twenty-two-carat Ottoman gold. Your sympathy and understanding are much obliged. …

Later in the workshop, we had a great discussion about the poem The Still Lives of Appliances by Rebecca Elson.

In doing some research I found these two videos on YouTube that go into detail about this Whipple Procedure and gives more information about pancreatic cancer.  I hope this helps someone if they are looking for information. This is a two part series and both video links from YouTube are provided here.

It’s like washing a pig. I’m serius. It’s exactly like washing a pig. It’s messy; it has no rules, no clear beginning, middle, or end; it’s kind of a pain in the ass, and when you’re done, you’re not sure if the pig is clean or even why you were washing a pig in the first place. Welcome to the creative department.

Luke Sullivan em Hey, Whipple, Squeeze This

Media, Street traders and litigators feign outrage over Apple’s failure to Tweet daily on Steve Jobs’ health

It was revealed on Friday that Steve Jobs had a liver transplant back in March. After a several months of recuperation, Steve Jobs will soon return to work at Apple. Story over, move on! Steve is … and so are Apple (AAPL) shareholders.

Alas, no … the sanctimonious financial media, once again, trotted out their legal beagles to weigh in on “ethics” and “disclosure responsibility” of Apple Inc. surrounding Steve Jobs’ health status. Never mind that Apple went to great lengths in January to explain that new tests revealed that Steve Jobs’ hormonal imbalance (causing his weight loss) was more complex than first thought … and that based on this new medical information, Steve would need to take a 6-month leave of absence. Okay … we all know about Steve’s past Whipple procedure and islet cell neuroendocrine tumor treatment. Given the new revelations in January, and Steve’s need to take a leave, AAPL shareholders understood that Jobs’ condition was not trivial. Clear message sent. AAPL shareholders understood that this was a serious situation that needed Steve’s focus and full attention from his medical team.

Apple COO, Tim Cook

As an Apple (APPL) shareholder, I can say “we get it,” and we respect Steve’s right to privacy during this leave of absence. The only ones freaking out are the pretenders. Serious AAPL investors are very comfortable with Tim Cook and the rest of Apple’s deep bench (Peter Oppenheimer, Jonny Ive, Phil Shiller, Ron Johnson, Scott Forstall, Bob Mansfield, Mark Papermaster, Dan Cooperman, Bernard Serlet, Sina Tamaddon, et. al.). Moreover, select members of Apple’s Board have been consulting with Steve’s doctors and closely monitoring Jobs’ health status. Finally, whether Steve Jobs moves to a less than full-time role (e.g. moving to Chairman with Cook as CEO) or not, Jobs’ DNA is deeply embedded in the company and Apple’s product menu is well defined for years to come.

To the “slimebucket” posers that continue to scream over inadequate disclosure (daily Tweets from Steve Jobs’ doctors would not be enough due to 140 character limit), I say you are not speaking for AAPL shareholders (certainly not this shareholder). You are, in fact, doing the dirty work for Wall Street’s “shoot first” traders, and “sue always” lawyers.

Here’s my favorite quote of the day courtesy of kylobbist over on AAPL Sanity …

“So let me get this straight … The Masters of the Universe on Wall Street, along with the executives and boards of the major banks and investment firms basically were running a big ponzi scheme among themselves and screwed the markets, the economy and their customers, which required a massive and unprecedented infusion of taxpayer dollars to save their hides along the way … but we are supposed to be outraged at the “ethics” and “immorality” of whether and how Steve Jobs got a liver transplant??? … Yeah, whatever”

Video: Steve Jobs’ Stanford Commencement Address 2005 – Steve talks movingly about life’s journey

On Mother’s Day, Jeanine Peterson told the story on her blog of the special gift she gave her mom, a Mayo Clinic patient. With her mom’s permission, we share a portion of the story here:

History: 3 years ago Mom was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer at age 62. Pancreatic cancer is one of the most serious and deadliest cancers. Depending on the extent of the cancer at the time of diagnosis, the prognosis is generally regarded as poor; less than 5 percent of those diagnosed are still alive five years after diagnosis. The death rate related to surgery at hospitals that do not do these operations every day is FOUR TIMES as high as at high volume hospitals. So, my sister and I took her to Mayo Clinic in my home city of Jacksonville FL.

At Mayo, they perform the Whipple Surgery (resection of the pancreas) more than 350 times a year. That is a lot of practice to get it right! I truly credit her surgeon, Dr. J. Kirk Martin with saving her life and giving her (at least) 3 more good years thus far. Once she had recuperated from the 8 hour surgery, she was then helped by Dr. George Kim in Oncology and Dr. Ko in Radiology through 6 months of ea radiation and chemotherapy. Thank you experts at the Mayo Clinic !

It wasn’t an easy year, but she was still with us. She then was cancer free and moved back to Lakeland FL (3 hours south of me.) We always knew it was going to come back…and sure enough… a year ago they told Mom that it was back and that she probably had 2 to 3 months left to live. That was a year ago! She got all the things done “on her bucket list” and moved back in with me in December so we could share some good times before the bad times hit.

FAST FORWARD to today…the bad times are here. 3 years Post-Operation and the cancer has now spread throughout the abdomen and is causing UTI infections / blockages in the portal veins and splenic veins / lots of nerve pain. After a brief 2 day stay at the BRAND NEW Mayo Hospital here (next to the clinic) they sent Mom home under Hospice Care to manage the pain.

And hence the question: What do you get a Mom that has everything and is living with pancreatic cancer?

Go here to read the answer.

Placer Times August 18, 1849

From the Sandusky Mirror.

Capt. Dibble has handed us a number of the Placer Times, printed at Sacramento City, California, dated August 18, 1849. It was forwarded by Mr. Stewart E. Bell. It is a trifle larger than a foolscap sheet and contains about as much news matter as two columns of our Daily, and is printed weekly at $10 per year by T.R.Per Lee & Co.

Mr. Bell writes that of the eleven young men from Sandusky, who were in the first overland company that arrived in California, he was unable to recognize one of them, although intimately acquainted with all of them last January. So great was the hardships they had endured, they were but the shadows of men. They had recruited and Mr. L. McGee was at work at his trade in Sacramento City. Mr. B.B. Barney was clerking at $400 a month. The other nine of the company, including Messrs. Jennings, Whipple, Pettibone and Johnson, had gone to the mines.

The mules of the Sanduskians were sold on their arrival, at three to four hundred dollars each. The baggage they started with had nearly all been left after leaving Salt Lake.

Mr. J.K. Glenn, of Lower Sandusky, arrived here yesterday morning, we understand, in the Queen City, direct from San Francisco. He went out last winter with a large cash capital, to purchase gold dust, and comes back, we learn, dissatisfied with the country, and satisfied that nothing can be made at the business he intended to engage in.

Huron Reflector (Norwalk, Ohio) Oct 30, 1849

American House Advertisement 1849

From the Sandusky Mirror.
Letter from California.

F.D. Parish Esq., has received a letter from Orlando McKnight, Esq. from which we are permitted to make the following extracts:

SACRAMENTO CITY, UPPER CAL., Aug. 26.
DEAR SIR:
I have only time to say that I am keeping the American House in this place, and that I am doing a good business, board $3 per day without lodgings. But rent and expenses are enormous, I pay my cook $300 per month. Rent at the rate of $2,400 per year. This place contains 3,000 or 4,000 inhabitants and is growing very fast. There are about 20,000 persons in the mining country and about 30,000 more coming.

Persons in the mines can make 1 oz. per day, which is worth here sixteen dollars 00 some make more. The Mansfield and Tiffin company have made 2 to 9 oz. per day per man. Mr. S.E. Bell is here, gets $16 per day and board; laborers get $10 per day or $1 per hour. This is the greatest country in the world for a poor man but a rich one better stay at home. There is a great deal of sickness at this place, but mostly caused by imprudence, sleeping out doors and living like brutes. Gov. Shannon was here last week with a company of 20 men; they are now at work on the Uba river, about 70 miles from here.

The Lower Sandusky company arrived last week. The Sandusky company are well, and doing well. I know some men who have been getting 1 lb. per man per day but they have had great luck, 1 oz. is near the average of those who are able and willing to work. Goods are sold for less than they are in New York, provisions are getting to be very cheap. Flour $18 per bbl.

O. McKnight

Huron Reflector (Norwalk, Ohio) Oct 30, 1849

Image from http://bancroft.library.ca.gov

From the Sandusky Mirror June 4th.
Californian Returned.

Mr. Stewart E. Bell, of this city, arrived from California on Saturday evening last. He comes back in good health and good spirits. He has been one of the fortunate adventurers, having had good health during his entire absence from home — about one year and three months — and, we understand a fair share of success in business.

He has been engaged in ship building at Sacramento City, and in trading and mining at Weaverville, in company with Messrs. Wensinger and Pettibone, of this city, to whom he sold his interest in the establishment when he left.

Mr. Bell informs us that every thing in California depends on luck and chance, and that the chances of being sick and undergoing much suffering and misery are greater than those of being healthy and successful.

Mr. Cornwall, formerly of Mansfield, arrived in the same steamer with Mr. Bell.

Before leaving, he sold his interest to his partner in business, Barton Lee, formerly of this city, for 450,000. Mr. Cornwall has been absent about three years.

Mrs. Lee, and family of children came out in care of Mr. Bell; and Mr. Lee will return to this country as soon as he can arrange his business satisfactorily in California.

(Mrs. Lee and children we understand, are now at the residence of Benjamin Lee, Esq. in Bronson in this county.)

Our friend McKnight was doing a successful business in Sacramento City, although in poor health. He had erected a splendid hotel in this new made city.

Messrs. Walter and Lathrop were trading at Weaverville. They had not been very successful.

H.U. Jennings has been sick through the past winter. Messrs. Whipple and Johnson have not been heard of since they left for Oregon to regain their health.

Mr. Bell informs us that cities are spring up all over the mining country with the most astonishing rapidity, where real estate is held at prices above lots in New York city. Sacramento City, when Mr. Bell arrived there, contained but 3 houses; — when he left, in less than one year, it contained 30,000 inhabitants. It enjoys the advantage over San Francisco, in commerce, that vessels pass close beside the bank of the river and land their cargoes without lighterage. Vessel property is now worth but little in California. There were hundreds of vessels at San Francisco without anything to do. Vessels that cost $30,000 in New York, could be bought for $10,000.

While some were making fortunes in California, many more were finding premature graves, and others wearing out a miserable existance, afflicted with disease, and without the comforts of civilized life.

Huron Reflector (Norwalk, Ohio) Jun 11, 1850

** The Placer Times Newspaper images can be found HERE.

Featured Designer Randi Whipple has displayed a variety of her work here for us at The Gilded Closet. Her designs are completely divine and her craftsmanship first-class . The Moccasins are a made of butter soft leather and since we do live in Oregon she has finished them with a  rubber sole.  Now this is where it gets real fun. How many times have you seen a pair of shoes and gone, I love the style but not the color. Or even just the opposite. Well look no further, each pair is made to order and the color/ style combination’s are plentiful. Come on in and check out the rest of Randi’s work and much more Tuesday through Sunday. Visit The Gilded Closet

prices upon request: 503-222-1554 // info@TheGildedCloset.com

The Gilded Closet – A Consignment Boutique

1024 N.W. 19th Ave., Portland, 97209

People have invested many keystrokes into the recent Skittles social media campaign, and opinions vary greatly. Sweet or sour? Fair or foul?

While some reacted viscerally and negatively against Skittles’ garish social-media stream, we should acknowledge that likability doesn’t always correspond with the bottom line. Consider:
- Throughout the 1970s, Charmin spokesman Mr. Whipple would consistently poll as both one of the recognizable and most hated figures in the U.S. Charmin sold well anyway, because the product (not the pitchman) was seen as squeezable.
- One of the most admired TV campaigns of all time was Piels beer’s droll animated spots with the voices of radio humorists Bob and Ray. The campaign nonetheless failed to move product, though if you’ve ever tasted a Piels you know why.
- Bud Light ads tend to gain the highest approval ratings during the Super Bowl™ extravaganza. For several years, I’ve asked if anyone has any post-event sales data showing a spike in Bud Light sales justifying the investment. I’m still waiting.

In terms of generating buzz, Skittles certainly succeeded. One day earlier, no one was talking about the brand, now folks everywhere debated whether this ploy was brilliant or awful. If you measure media mentions as dollar figures, it was a huge hit. If it spared us from seeing one more horrid Taste the Rainbow TV ad, that would be a plus too. I suspect a quick spike in sales figures followed. But will that bump in sales — which, ultimately, convinces stockholders whether it’s successful — last? Talk to me in a month, but I suspect I know the answer.

(Some would cite the old chestnut there’s no such thing as bad publicity in defense of the campaign. The mark of an amateur, this phrase has never been uttered by anyone I know working in public relations for non-profits or higher ed, where one bad letter to the editor or inaccurate article will send managers to battle stations.)

My bigger concern is that this stunt cheapens what many of us are trying to do in social media; it makes this field appear the province of hucksters and spammers. People on the fence about joining the Web 2.0 community (and I know a surprisingly large number) will pause upon seeing headlines like Skittles campaign bombards social media. Bear in mind that one of the original appeals behind online communities involved escaping the sales pitches that saturate public life and popular culture. Sure, it was only a matter of time before the critical mass of social media would attract marketers, but on Facebook and Twitter the signal still far outweighs the noise.

Not surprisingly, the biggest boosters of the Skittles campaign were social-media marketers and consultants, those who earn their pay commoditizing the field. You can tell your clients that social media is about communication, but when every hit is seen as a dollar sign, do you lose sight of the big picture? We value ourselves as individuals making connections, not as one more market-ready aggreggate of demographic and psychographic data. The Skittles campaign did nothing to ultimately connect to us, and what was the branding statement? That they … had a social media campaign? The stunt may have penetrated our minds, but ultimately our mouths were filled with a lot more discussion than candy.

The pebbed glass door panel is lettered in flaked black paint: “Øystein Horgmo…Anatomical Investigations”. It is a reasonably shabby door at the end of a shabby corridor in the sort of building that was new about the year all-tile bathroom became the basis of civilization. The door is locked, but next to it is another door with the same legend which is not locked. Come on in – there’s nobody in here but me and a few volumes of Sobotta and Gray’s.

I do a lot of anatomical investigations, and I love it. Working with surgical videos I often do not understand what I’m looking at when I’m editing. It could be that the surgeon didn’t point all the anatomical landmarks during the video shoot or I’ve simply forgotten. But the surgeons have so much work on their hands, I can’t go asking them about every little detail. Besides, it’s much more fun finding it out myself. Especially when I’m right. Nothing impresses a surgeon like anatomical knowledge from a “layman”.

Case 4711: The Whipple Mystery

It was a dark and rainy night. I was editing some footage of a Whipple procedure and I hadn’t had the time to talk to the surgeon who handled the operation. I knew the basics, but I didn’t know what blood vessels where being cut and tied. Investigation needed.

First I checked the Internet. I found several descriptions of the Whipple procedure, but none of them so detailed as to reveal the mysterious vessels to me. I did however find out that one of the reasons the duodenum is removed together with the head of the pancreas, is that they share the same arterial blood supply. Sobotta down from the shelf. Yes, there was indeed both a superior and inferior pancreaticodudenal artery. A roll of thunder in the distance.

So the inferior one has to be cut from its source, the superior mesenteric artery. Intriguing. But wait a minute. Isn’t the distal part of the stomach removed as well? What arteries supplies that with blood? Leaf through Sobotta again. The right gastric and right gastro-omental arteries. And hey! The right gastro-omental is a branch of the gastroduodenal artery, and the superior pancreaticoduodenal is as well. They must be cutting the gastroduodenal then! And the right gastric! That must be it! I’ll be damned.

All these long words are making me dizzy. I head over to the editing station and try to pinpoint the vessels and check if the map fits the terrain. It does! Gottcha, you dirty shared blood supply!

Suddenly a greenish thug reveals himself and I have to dive for cover. I didn’t see that coming! I jump over to my copy of Gray’s and quickly whip out the cystic artery. Cut and tied. Gall bladder dealt with.

What the hell happened? Feels like I’ve been hit by a train. I need a bourbon.

I contact the surgeon and show him the edited video with voice overs. He can not understand how I managed to reveal his entire operation. “This is nothing,” I tell him. “You should have seen me when I got all the muscles right in a humerus resection.” He opens his mouth, but I’m too quick for him. “Hold your flattery,” I tell him. “It’s all in a days work for an Anatomy Detective.”

Post intro based on the opening of “The Little Sister” by my all-time favorite crime novelist Raymond Chandler.

Organs removed in the Whipple procedure.

A post over at IntraopOrate reminded me of a belief I held before knowing much about surgery. Reading it also coincided with an operation I was filming this week, in which the patient’s pancreatic tumor turned out to be inoperable.

Surgery is the last resort, right? You break your ankle and the fracture is so complicated you have to have an operation. Not good. I used to think this applied to all surgery, and I guess a lot of people do. But most of the time it’s exactly the opposite that is true, especially with cancer surgery. If you can have surgery, the disease is most likely not too advanced, and you have a chance of curation. If the tumor has infiltrated too many organs and vital blood vessels, surgery can do no good. The tumor is inoperable.

The Whipple procedure (image credit) is standard surgery for tumors on the head (caput) of the pancreas. Being suited for surgery is indeed a good sign for patients with pancreatic cancer. It is one of the most aggressive forms of cancer, and is often not discovered until it has reached an advanced stage, because it often does not cause any symptoms. How advanced the disease is can however be difficult to tell before the patient’s abdomen is opened.

The patient I was filming was thought to be operable. For three hours the surgeons dissected around the tumor and discussed if they would go ahead with the resection. They finally decided the tumor was technically resectable and started to remove the gall bladder. When moving on to the small intestine however, a number of small metastases were discovered. As they examined the entire length of intestine, more and more metastases were found. It was suddenly no point in completing the operation. His pancreatic cancer was too advanced. No bridges were burnt anatomically, so there was just a matter of closing the wound. The patient will be offered a palliative chemotherapy treatment, but the median survival from diagnosis is 3 to 6 months. For inoperable patients even less.

Utah Governor John Huntsman Jr released a statement a few days ago stating that he was pro both civil unions and other rights for homosexuals and transgendered people in Utah. Since then, he has received an enormous outcry from the public, both for and against.

While groups like Equality Utah (local) and the Human Rights Campaign (national) both came out praising the Governor for his stance on civil rights, other groups like the Eagle Forum and the Sutherland Institute came out hard against Governor Huntsman.

Mike Thompson, Executive Director of Equality Utah, said in a statement to the Salt Lake Tribune that he wants to make it clear that civil unions are not actually a part of the current Common Ground Initiative. “Equality Utah specifically dropped it’s bill regarding the second portion of Amendment 3 [which bans civil unions similar to marriage] to focus energy where common ground is clear,” Mr. Thompson said.

Many different groups, comments and email threads popped up on social networking sites, like Facebook. Many, including those started by All For One Initiative (Jacob Whipple), and PRIDE In Your Community (Me) asked members to write a quick note to the Governor thanking him for his brave stance, and posted a link to the State’s website to do so. But at the same time, groups like the Sutherland Institute also sent out threads to members asking them to do the exact opposite. “Governor Huntsman would rather be nice than right,” read the email they sent out, and they offered the same link to send the Governor not-so-nice comments.

What seems to be interesting about these different groups, is that while people like Gayle Ruzicka, Eagle Forum, Sutherland Institute and even many of Utah’s own legislators are bemoaning the loss of such a popular ally in their campaign against civil rights, the groups that praise Mr. Huntsman like Equality Utah are quick to point out just how ignorant their moans are.

The Common Ground Initiative is not now, nor has it ever been, a push for Gay Marriage. These bills provide basic protections for the gay and transgendered citizens of Utah, which multiple polls have shown the majority of Utahn’s support.

Utah needs to wake up. Because we are so very close to achieving some measure of equality in this state. And even (I hesitate to even say it) if the Common Ground Initiative bills were to all fail, it’s too late to turn back. It is too late for these pitiful little groups to stop the overwhelming tide of support for the LGBTQ community. And most of all, it is too late in history, people are too well educated to fall for the tired old arguments that these people seem hell-bent on leaning on.

Quotes courtesy of the Salt Lake Tribune

“Fractured ribs,” Roethlisberger said. “Luckily, in the game, I didn’t take any big hits to make ‘em hurt. But I knew all along there was something wrong. There wouldn’t have been anything they could have done about fractured ribs anyway. It was just suck it up and play.”

Once again I can not lie, Just like Eddie House, I was a huge fan of Ben before there was even a good reason to be a fan. I attribute it to the fact that when I played football at Umass Amherst, my head coach Mark Whipple left at the end of the season to become the QB coach for Bill Cower’s Steelers.  His first order of business?  Draft a quarterback.

Since then Ben has not only taken some of the greatest party pictures in the NFL (see above), but he has also; won 2 Superbowls, was the youngest QB to ever win a superbowl, and ranks 7th all-time in passer rating with 89.4.  Plus now it comes out that he played Superbowl XLIII with fractured ribs, and surprise-surprise HE KNEW!  Just think about all those plays he extended in the pocket where he easily could have been brutally blind sided by a number of Arizona Cardinals. Now in respects to another author on this page, who might not share my same appreciation of Ben that I do, I’m not gonna put him in the same category as the elite QB’s in the NFL (Brady, Manning… ?), because in all reality he doesn’t belong there yet. However, I will say this; putting all commercials and super model girlfriends aside… Big Ben is without a doubt among the elite Dudes in the NFL.   

Sincerely,

Fx 

Tonight I attended the Sutherland Institute’s “Sacred Ground” kickoff meeting. For those not familiar, this is the newly formed opposition to Equality Utah’s Common Ground Initiative. This post is mostly going to read like a journal I fear, as there is a lot of information to get through.

To start off, the “gays” were the first ones to arrive at Thanksgiving Point, standing in line in the cold waiting to get in. Once the doors opened, we were shepherded into a long thin tent leading up to the main doors, inside of which was a table to sign in, and about 8 security guards. It was a notable difference from Equality Utah’s “Common Ground Initiative” kickoff event, which was an open-to-the-public, media and all-welcome event. To actually get in, you had to have previously registered with the Sutherland Institute, including providing your home address and email, although they didn’t tell you until afterwards that you were signing up to receive regular mail from them.

Deciding that opposite opinions were not welcome, the Sutherland Institute sent out an email to many of the prominent gay activist leaders in the community (Jacob Whipple and Michael Mueller) in the hours prior to the event letting them know they and their groups were no longer welcome to attend. This went so far as the young man who checked me in apologized for the extra security, saying, “there are supposed to be a lot of bad people trying to get in tonight, so we’re being very careful.” To enforce this decree, they pulled the list of attending people from Facebook, and listed them as banned from the event. Many people, not aware of this change, were actually forcibly removed from the event. Rebecca Huggins, a local single mom who registered well in advance, attempted to sign in with the registration people. Watching closely, she saw them scan down to her name, note a check mark next to it, then was asked to speak to the security guard. “He said I needed to leave immediately,” Rebecca said, “then he grabbed me by the elbow and attempted to escort me out.” Rebecca, who was there not to protest, but to listen and see what the Sutherland Institute had to say, was shocked and in tears after her ill-treatment.

Once inside, the 9 of us who made it in were kept under an intense watch Sutherland’s gestapo (what my Mom called them ) to ensure that we didn’t cause any problems. And having an hour to kill before it actually started, I decided to talk to every single person around me. It was interesting, but every person I talked to, without exception, was actually for the rights the Common Ground Initiative stands for, namely the Fair Workplace and Housing Bill. Several commented that they couldn’t believe that was still legal [firing or evicting based on sexual orientation alone], and would definitely support those rights.

The actual meeting kicked off with an opening prayer (I’ll admit, atmosphere was identical to an LDS General Conference), and Shelly Locke (snidely compared to a Steppford Wife by someone nearby) welcomed everyone there. There were 3 speakers, Paul T. Mero, Representative LaVar Christensen, and Lauralyn B. Swim.

Paul’s topic was “Marriage, Family, and Freedom.” He began by telling of the two great revolutions in history that stuck out in his mind, the American Revolution, and the French. “One of these revolutions went on to create the greatest nation in the world,” Paul stated, “while the other lasted only a short period… This is because of what the revolutions were founded on.. The French Revolution was built on liberty foreign to the natural man… that every person was born of natural and civil rights. While the American Revolution was built on the idea of inherited rights..that we do not invent freedom, we are given them by God.” He went on to explain that political freedom comes from what we ought to do, not from what we want to do, and Gay Marriage will make family’s rights disappear. Paul even had some pictures with him, and while showing a building in various stages of construction, likened it to the foundation of families. Straight families stand firm on good foundations, while gay families fall. Paul also explained to the crowd that “knowledge and reason are what seperates us from animals,” and, “we must always remember where we came from, and what we are here for so we can be better people.”

Next up was LaVar Christensen, who spoke on, “A Principled Approach to Same-Sex Politics.” LaVar went into detail about the rights that are given in this country, and stated that, “secularism is stripping rights of their eternal implications.” According to LaVar, “We do not make laws, we merely distort and twist God’s laws,” so we must do all we can to correct that. LaVar continued on a more light-hearted tone, getting a laugh out of the crowd when stating that some people think that it is wrong for the majority to vote on a minority’s rights. “That the [LDS] Church supports any of these rights is lunacy.”

Lauralyn Swim didn’t have much too add, but rather praised the previous two speakers, and explaining that, “this is against those who have decided to cast aside the wisdom of the ages…for we are the Defenders of freedom, protectors of liberty and guardians of virtue.”

All in all, the only topic heard all night was Gay Marriage. Over and over it was flaunted as the stain on the Earth, and completely and irrevocably immoral and wrong. What was most noticeably lacking, was there was not one mention of a single bill in the Common Ground Initiative. Not once did they elaborate on how protecting people’s jobs and housing was going to bring on Gay Marriage.

It truly seems, that all these people can think of to do is scare people with a future topic, and hope they don’t pay attention to today’s issues. For if they do, it’s already been shown that these rights are the will of the majority of the state.

P.S. Quotes may not be absolutely perfect (hard to write so fast!). However no meanings or intent have been changed, and there has been no significant changes in wording.

(This post was created for the “PowerandGlory” CarePage created when I was first diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.)

Today, hundreds of Utahns marched from Washington Square in SLC up State St to the Capitol Building in support of the “Common Ground Initiative.” The weather? Not the most pleasant, freezing rain coming down the whole time, but it failed to stop the enthusiasm as marchers chanted the full 7 block march.

Jacob Whipple, who also organized the Temple Square rally in November said he wanted this rally to coincide with both President Obama’s inauguration and the beginning of Utah’s 2009 legislative session. “They [the legislature] need to remember, and be reminded that this session is one of the most important in Utah’s history,” remarked Whipple a few days prior to the event.

Utah, known nationwide for it’s “quirky” conservatism has an enormous majority standing against rights like same-sex marriage. But in this session, marriage is not an issue, rather more commonplace civil rights like housing and workplace protection, death benefits, and expanded health care for partners. 3 statewide polls have been released in the past week, including one by the SL Tribune, and another by Equality Utah showing that a majority of Utahns are in favor of these basic civil rights.

photo courtesy of KSL.com

Well I still havent heard from anyone with Whipple regardless of their countless promises to get back with me. I have done a great deal of research over the weekend on furnace and AC systems as well as other companies and their prices.

It seems I was gouged even worse than I thought and on top of all that I was charged the $11.95 for my subscription to the premium service account even though I was assured on Jan 6 that I would not be billed for it. My account was billed today so I know there was enough time for them to cancel that since Jan 6th.

I also found out that the brand of system they installed is considered one of the most bottom line furnace/AC brands out there.

I tried calling and speaking to Cynthia just about every day from Jan 12-15 and I left her several messages with the other receptionists. She said she never got the messages but she did finally call me back on Jan 15.
I told her that I had not heard from anyone even though she promised me a call back from the managers manager on the seventh. She told me that the manager must have gotten busy and now she is out of town till the 19th so she would have to call me back then.
I then told her, “this is the kind of thing I was talking about and exactly why I canceled my subscription to their premium service. I call and call and call and never get anywhere with them.”
She said, “I am sorry but I have always come through for you and returned your calls.” I then told her that I had left her a dozen messages and she told me she never got any of them.

She said the managers manager would be calling me on the 19th when she got back into town.

For the last few days I have been working on this drawing.  Draft outline, drawing (penciling,) scanning, and cleaning up. 

This piece of art was made for a friend of mine, Charlotte, who also inspired this piece. 

My Friend Charllote

See the work on deviantart.com here, where you can buy a print of it if you want.   I may post some of my other art soon…

Cheers and God bless!  Thanks for viewing.

-b

So November rolls around and here in Utah, things start to get pretty cold pretty fast. We started running our heater nightly and being money/energy conscious we kept the thermostat at around 65-68. We started to smell natural gas, and our carbon monoxide alarm went off so we decided it was time to get the heater checked out.

I did a bit of research, and wanting to get the furnace checked as soon as possible, I had Whipple Heating and Air scheduled to come out. According to their website they have some really good guarantees and seemed like a reputable company. The service call was $6x and was for a furnace inspection and green sticker.

Kurt showed up from Whipple and took a look at the furnace. He found that it was 16 years old (vs being told it was 4 years old when we bought our house) and told us that it would be dangerous to run the furnace at all and we should have it replaced. He pulled some parts out to show us. He also said that there was a part that was going bad that if replaced could help the furnace work for a bit longer if we didnt decide to get the whole system replaced right away. He also said if he replaced this part for us for $xx, and we did get a new system through them, the cost of the part and the cost of the service call would be deducted from the cost of a new system.

We opted to have the part replaced because we could just have it deducted if we got a new system through them and we scheduled for a “comfort advisor” to come to the house the next day.

Thanksgiving is a special time, a time for family and friends. I have been reflecting on just how important this is.

Clare had lived a good life. She was sixty something and otherwise healthy. She didn’t go to see ‘doctors’, she didn’t think it was necessary. She reported several days of pain in the lower back area.  The pain was constant and unrelenting.  Something must be wrong.  She had lost weight as well, although she thought it was due to her ‘diet’.

Unfortunately the scans showed a mass in the head of the pancreas.  I had to give the bad news – “cancer”.  That was the only word she could hear.  Everything else was a jungle of jibberish.  It couldn’t have been a worse diagnosis. Things would never be the same.

Clare endured 11 hours of surgery – undergoing a radical procedure called a ‘Whipple’ to try and stop the disease.  Half of her pancreas was resected, part of the stomach and upper small bowel were repositioned.  Man and machines kept her alive. Her post-operative course was ‘rocky’– a wound infection, a blood clot in the arm, gastric outlet obstruction.  It seemed like she would stay in the hospital forever.
Finally, after three weeks of hospitalization, she was going home.

Celebrating Thanksgiving meant more than it usually did. Seeing the children and grandchildren gathered around the table was a heartwarming experience. Hearing the laughter, seeing the smiles, smelling and tasting the food was a real ‘Thanks giving’.

Thanks to the doctors, the nurses and the support staff for extending Life, for beating back cancer into the darkness from whence it came. Thanks to the family and the friends – for the phone calls, the emails, the letters and of course the flowers. Thanks for the thoughts, the prayers, and the kind words. Thanks for even the little things -they mean so much.

We should all give Thanks, for Life and Love flourish once again. Stay healthy Clare.

RW

Called every day, multiple times per day trying to get hold of the person I last had contact with, Cynthia. When I first spoke to her it was about canceling my Whipple premium care subscription (11.95 per month) that they had signed me up for when I got my heater installed. I also wanted a receipt for my purchase since they had never given me one. I wanted to have the reciept emailed and Cynthia told me the subscription would be canceled and I wouldnt be billed, but she didnt know if they could email reciepts so she would call me back.

When she called me back, about 4 hours later, she wanted some more information as to why I was cancelling my subscription. I told her “I have had nothing but bad service from Whipple from the day my system was installed and I would not be calling them for any repairs, so did not need the subscription to their premium service” She assured me that that kind of thing is not what they like to hear and she would do everything she could to fix my problem.
I told her about my previous calls to her manager, and the managers promise to send me a check for 298$ for the duct cleaning, and the manager pretty much blowing me off and not doing anything she said. I asked Cynthia if there was any record of me calling, she said there was none. Cynthia then asked what I would like to do about it, or if I wanted to talk to that same manager about it. I told her that I would prefer to talk to that managers manager and she said she would have that person call me as soon as she was available, that night or the next day for sure.