My blogging history:
2012: diagnosed with and underwent treatment for Primary CNS lymphoma in my brain.
2012-2013: blogged on Caring Bridge.
2013: moved to Blogger.
2017: diagnosed with bladder cancer and blogged through 14 chemotherapy treatments and 37 sessions of radiation therapy, each with its own t-shirt and musical selection.
2018 to February 2020: Treated every 3 weeks with pembrolizumab for spread of bladder cancer to lymph nodes. As of June 2020, continue to be cancer free.
The local news here
in New York reported – including a video – that a coyote was seen in the
Riverdale neighborhood of the Bronx. They gave the location where the animal was
spotted as Netherland Avenue near West 231st Street, frighteningly close to our home. It turns out that this has
been going on for some days now, but this was the first we heard of it. Yikes!
When did the word “me” become
forbidden? At least once a day someone who should know better uses “myself”
when “me” is appropriate. Here is an example from a political campaign, posted by
someone widely regarded as a bright and articulate fellow (emphasis mine):
This interview format will be
a great way to hear what’s on your mind and share ideas from both (the
candidate) and myself -- it should be a whole lot of fun.
If he were talking to us, wouldn’t he
just invite us to share ideas from “both Joe and me?”
Here is some information I found:
What
does me mean? Me is
a personal pronoun that refers to one’s own self.
Specifically, it is an objective pronoun. Me takes the
function of an objectin sentences. For example,
·“I’m sorry, I didn’t
realize you were talking to me,” said the woman at the bar.
·“Give me that ax!”
bellowed the quartermaster.
·“That jerk punched me
in the face; he deserved what I did to him,” the man told the police officer.
·Ten members of the
Ukrainian secret service came looking for me last Friday.
Many
people confuse the pronouns I and me. I, of course, is a subject pronoun, while me is an object pronoun.
What
does myself mean? Myself is
also a pronoun that
refers to the speaker, although it is a different kind of pronoun than me.
Myself is a reflexive pronoun,
meaning the speaker or writer would use it self-referentially. In other
words, myself is used when the speaker both performs and
receives theverb’s action. For example,
·“I like to describe
myself as an introvert, who has extroverted tendencies as well,” explained
Mary.
·I care for myself by
running every morning, avoiding unhealthy foods, and getting plenty of sleep at
night.
·“I hurt myself falling
down the stairs,” said Joel.
Myself can
also be used intensively, like in these examples,
·“I, myself, like a
little sugar in my coffee from time to time,” said the wizened old cartographer.
·“Why would I pay
someone to build a shed for me when I could do it myself?” asked the amateur
carpenter.
I am happy to have any of you weigh in
and share your thoughts on this with me!
All this reminded me of the 1965 Petula
Clark song, “Call Me,” later recorded by numerous other artists including Helen
Reddy and Shirley Bassey. It is clear that “Call Myself” would not have worked
here!
We are still adjusting to the
challenges of being largely cooped up here at home. Fortunately, more and more
stores are offering on-line ordering and delivery, so neither of us has set
foot in an actual store for many months and have no plans to do so.
Before Passover, we did not make our
annual visit to Skyview Wine and Spirits, one of the largest purveyors of
kosher wines in New York if not the entire United States. But over Shabbat it
occurred to us that maybe, like everyplace else, they were now doing delivery.
And sure enough, it turns out that the store is not open to the public: they
are only doing delivery! So, we went through the recommended list of moderately
priced wines in the New York Jewish Week 2020 kosher wine guide and picked out
a bunch and put them in a cart, and placed an order. Within minutes, we
received a call to inform us that one of the wines is sold out, but the rest of
our order will be delivered this afternoon!
Speaking with the gentleman on the
phone, I had the feeling that he was treating this as some sort of an
emergency, and it occurred to me that at this point, sadly, for many people, an
ample supply of nice wines may well feel like an emergency.
That reminded me of a funny incident
that happened many years ago, when Dina was a senior in high school. In
preparation for her going off to college, we had gotten her a credit card, with
instructions that it could be used for emergencies (remember, back then, most
things were bought in stores). Shortly after giving her the card, Dina came
home with a pair of DocMarten boots she had bought with the credit card, explaining
that she “urgently” needed those boots. We have often referred to that “shoe
emergency” as one of our especially endearing memories of those years.
At the end of my last post, I wrote
about Noah suggesting that Barry “put Nana on pause.” Barry had a somewhat
different take on that remark: after these months of only seeing our faces and hearing
our voices on-line, perhaps we no longer seem quite real to Noah, sort of like the
character Samantha (Scarlett Johansson) in the 2013 movie “her” (definitely
worth seeing if you never did). I am
sure that there have been many times over the years when family, friends, and
co-workers wished it were that easy.
These are strange times, indeed. Just
do your best to stay well!
For many months now, we have been
having “reading time” with our two youngest grandchildren, Julia (6) and Noah
(3½). We have downloaded a bunch of books (we are always looking for new
additions) that we share on Kindle accounts on our respective computers.
Yesterday, I was reading a book to Noah
when he apparently wanted to retrieve the snack he had been eating before the
call, so he piped up and said “Sabba, put Nana on pause.”
It seems like this is the story of our
lives – everything is “on pause.” It is not a term any of us would have ever
expected to hear from a young child just a few months ago!
In the early years of our marriage,
money was quite tight. One of the ways we economized was that I took to
trimming Barry’s hair. I cannot say I was ever very good at it, but he was not
all that particular so it seemed to work. For very different reasons, we found
ourselves having to resort to this activity we have not done in well over forty
years. I do have a decent hair scissors which I use to trim my bangs between full
haircuts.
Normally, he would have gone for a
haircut before Passover, but that did not happen because by then the salons had
closed. There is a strong tradition not to take haircuts during the weeks after
Passover, and a few days ago we reached the point where they are permitted. We then
wanted to wait until the weather was warm enough to do this outside on the
patio rather than in the house. This afternoon was sunny and warm, so now was
the time.
Let me just put it this way, I am not
expecting any long lines of people to show up at our door for this service, but
two things are true. The first is that Barry continues to be unparticular about
such things. And the second is that his hair has thinned quite significantly
over the years, which made this endeavor both easier and a lot less messy.
Still, after many months, I must have cut off at least a couple of inches. The
good news is that he looks reasonably presentable and he is quite pleased.
What follows is something I saw posted on facebook. For those of you not familiar with all the holidays and observances noted in this amusing piece (albeit there are some errors, like every time you see “its” it should be “it’s”), I will provide some brief descriptions:
Yom Tov – “holiday,” literally good day
Tisha B’Av – the 9th day of the month of Av, a day on which many sad events occurred
Purim – a holiday celebrating deliverance as told in The Book of Esther
Rosh Hashana – Jewish New Year
Sukkot – Festival of Booths
Chanukah – Festival of Lights
Tu B’Shvat – the new year for trees
Pesach – Passover (“Erev Pesach” is the day before the holiday)
Shabbat - Sabbath
Havdalah – a weekly ceremony marking the end of Shabbat or a holiday
It is really quite
stunning how much our thinking about simple things has shifted over the past
two months. Take bowling alleys. While I no longer have the strength to bowl
(not to mention that I never had much talent), we have taken our grandchildren
to bowling alleys numerous times and they always enjoy it. Suddenly it is hard
to imagine not only how we ever did this but how we could ever consider doing
it again. Think about it: putting on those smelly shoes that have been handled
and worn by numerous people, sticking your fingers in those holes that are
likely never cleaned, let alone disinfected, the list is nearly endless.
Our view of what once
seemed the simplest activities has altered so quickly. So I was stunned to read
about bowling alleys reopening in a number of states, along with barbershops,
hair and nail salons, body art studios, and gyms. There do not appear to be any
strict rules about the number of new cases before these facilities are opening.
The restrictions are tough, for sure, but not as tough as the infection.
On a much happier and
lighter note, our Julia has now mastered the wonderful skill of riding a
bicycle! This is so exciting!
And our daughter Dina
has made me a video of challah braiding techniques for 6 and even 7 strands.
Maybe this week….
