63 Years Ago There Was 3 Feet of Snow in Marion, Indiana

The Report

 So my father told me once up on a time. He trudged through it to Marion General Hospital to see me. Today is my birthday. I am 63. 

My oldest nephew's birthday is also today. He is 40.

I did not report in yesterday. I walked to work yesterday, leaving at 10:45, and I walked back. I had enough time getting there to eat at Chipotle's. I will say what I paid for a burrito, but I will mention that indigestion that about ruined my day. Coming back, I did not stop. My lower back started aching, and I was not sure if I sat, I would stand up again. I got back around 5:30.

I piddled around with email and a post for the blog. I fixed some spaghetti with the microwave. My abilities expand. One email I dealt with was a long answer to KH about "Road Tripping."

Then KH called, and we had a long discussion about the story. I think he finally understood the dead and fictive characters in my story are not figments of the narrator's imagination. Poor fellow may have been sent around the bend. I have not worked on it today. Maybe not for a few more days. I need a break.

I also need to take care of my taxes tomorrow.

I meant to get on here last night, but by the time I was halfway through The Blacklist, I only wanted to sleep.

I got up early this morning, got to work on my blog posts and email. I have most of Saturday filled, and I am working on Sunday. 

Instead of snow, we have rain. Rainy winter days are dismal. My shift starts at 5:30. I was planning on going to the bank, so I needed to catch the 3:15 bus. I think I will pass and do that tomorrow. Perhaps I will take the FSSA papers up to the office today instead of tomorrow. I will get the 4:15 bus instead.

My sister and K texted me today with birthday wishes. E emailed me birthday wishes. CC has not been heard from for days. Tomorrow is her pretrial conference.

My play, "The Masque of the Red Death" got another rejection:

Thank you for your submission to Sunspot Literary Journal. Although we must decline, your work offered much to admire. We would love to see other pieces you might have on offer in the hopes that we can publish something of yours.

Do consider submitting something to our current open call. 

Sincerely,

LC

Sunspot Lit

Some things I did get to read today:

8 things you can do with Linux that you can't do with MacOS or Windows

Trump-loving Republican said something awful enough that his peers actually voted to censure him 

How Bob Dylan Became a Counterculture Icon 

Tyler Cowen: “I’ve never been convinced that AI will rise up and destroy the world or turn us into paper clips.” 
 

Asking About My Depression Being Back

 Last week, KH asked if I was having depression issues. This surprised me. I thought anyone reading these posts would have a good idea of my mental health, Each time the PO comes to visit, he asks about my mental health, That question, as with most of his questions, seem so relevant to 2009; too bad he was not around then, else he might not have me as a case. Last time, the PO made what sounded to me a disparaging comment about me living a carefree and happy life, but compared to how I used to live, that is exactly what I am doing. My greatest concerns are getting enough hours to pay rent and writing the best sentences possible so I can write my stories. I spoke with K today, she was so terribly stressed out about her car, and I told her that was the reason I did not want one. I have cut out the stress in my life. Listening to CC tell me about the complications of her life, I am ready to tell her I do not want her around. She says she will be coming over, I wait for her, and end up with no work done. This I cannot afford, there is only so much time in my life. Although I am not fasting for Lent and cannot get to a church for a liturgy, I find enough solace in the Orthodox Church that my mind is no longer wrapped up in seeing only life's vileness. Vileness may not be able of destroying, but we can do our individual best in relieving some of the gloom. Which is why I write, why there is this blog. Even with an increasing number of arthritic joints, I am far, far healthier than I was in 2009, That helps fight off the depression. Zoloft helps the depression. My writing here helps fight off the depression. When the day comes that no posts appear here, then one of two things have happened: the depression has overtaken me, or I am dead. Not that there is all that much of a difference.

One purpose of this blog is to get others an idea of its problems and offer some solutions. The link below for “Depression” will take you to a listing of all my pieces on this subject. I would ask, if you think someone might benefit from my posts on depression, that you feel free to send them a link to  the post or posts you think might be helpful. Thanks.

A bit of news that i have not had time to post, yet:

 How inflammation in the body may explain depression in the brain

Inflammation in the body may be triggering or exacerbating depression in the brains of some patients. And clinical trial data suggests that targeting and treating the inflammation may be a way to provide more-precise care.

The findings have the potential to revolutionize medical care for depression, an often intractable illness that doesn’t always respond to conventional drug treatments. While current drug treatments target certain neurotransmitters, the new research suggests that in some patients, depressive behaviors may be fueled by the inflammatory process.

It appears that inflammatory agents in the blood can break down the barrier between the body and the brain, causing neuroinflammation and altering key neural circuits, researchers say. In people at risk for depression, inflammation may be a trigger for the disorder.

Research suggests that only a subset of depressed patients — roughly 30 percent — have elevated inflammation, which is also associated with poor responses to antidepressants. This inflammatory subgroup may be a key to parsing out differences in underlying mechanisms for depression and personalizing treatment.

Depression is not some failing on your part. It has its roots in the body and the mind, and all of us are as susceptible to it. Do not be shy in getting treatment. I was, you see what happened to  me, don't you?

sch 2/27/23