July 31, 2005

• Georgia in the Hospital

  
  

  Last week was a disaster. Georgia ended up in the hospital from the fever I mentioned before. The mortgage company didn’t get an agreed upon bulk payment of several thousand bucks, thanks to the Western Union Agent. I hired a lawyer and then spent a couple of days in the hospital. We ended up dead broke by the end of it all.

  
  

  There is nothing worse than having a sick kid and feeling helpless, feeling like you are just not sure if it is an emergency or a wait for the next day kind of thing. I say seek counsel, neighbor, and friend with kids… whom ever you got. Little ones can go down fast, hours in comparison to the adult that can take several days of sickness to land in the hospital. 

  
  

  At one point, while we were in the hospital, it was late at night, Georgia was having trouble sleeping, all the meds had her little 22 lb body on vibrate. She sat up from my chest and looks at me, and says “Go in the car?” It was like she just wanted to get outta there and believe me, Dwayne and I wanted to leave too. 

  
  

  She started to feel better after two days, they disconnected her from all the wires; one for oxygen, one for IV, one for blood pressure/blood oxygen level. I stood her on the floor after she was disconnected; it was the first time she stood on the floor since we had been there.  She took a double take at things around her and then took off across the room. She was definitely feeling better.

  
  

  I do want to say I was surprised about one thing in the pediatric ward of this brand new hospital. There were no safety plugs in any of the outlets in the hospital room. I can understand that Doc’s need quick access but there should be some sort of safety precaution that would serve both purposes.

  
  

   

  
  

  I gave my input on a survey sheet and we were “Going in the Car”.

  
  

   

  
  

  Being part of the solution?

  
  

  This week I started a walking regimen, I am fat you see, and it is starting to disgust me. So I am starting out walking 1 mile around the park three times a week. I really like it. My energy level has been way up, and I am getting out to see the neighborhood. Usually I just drive by on my way to the market or work. This is different type of neighborhood interaction. After a while folks will begin to recognize me as I heave my fat butt around the park. It is a big park. There is an old mansion from the 1800’s that has been property of the city since 1920. The ground that the park is on, used to be part of the ground for the mansion. This park is a big reason why we bought this house. We are only one block away from the park. There is a swimming pool, three softball fields, a jungle gym, picnic area, indoor & outdoor BB courts, and like 6 tennis courts.  There has been something really grinding on me as I take my walks. It has been grinding away at me since I first moved into the neighborhood.

  
  

  Our ‘hood doesn’t have any discernable dividing lines, “oh I live in such and such” not the case here. We are in a ‘hood that is in-between city and subdivision.  There are perks to that of course, but also some challenges.

  
  

  For example, I have no idea (after a year & half of being here) if there is a neighborhood association, if they have meetings what they talk about or do for the neighborhood. I have no idea if there is a neighborhood watch program. The guy down the street from us got robbed a couple of weeks ago, it would help if he didn’t leave his garage door hanging open day and night, but still.  There are a lot of old folks in our ‘hood, their children are grown and they don’t leave the house much. As these folks move on, either to their children’s homes or other places. Their homes are being sold for a fair price. Some families are buying and fixing the houses up, there is a for-profit company in here buying the homes up and trying to turn profit after extensive upgrades. I mean they could be making anywhere 10 to 40 grand per house. This is a minor thorn in my side. I could explain, but I want to get to the topic that is really bothering me.  So, knowing all of this there are still rentals in the area, on some streets it seems these rentals can be in large swaths.

  
  

  The low numbered side of the street we live on is like that. The homes are a totally different style, size and quality than the home on the higher numbered homes. As if they were built at different times. Anyway, this other side of the street is dirty, trash everywhere, furniture on the porch and kids running wild in the streets. One child actually got injured when a car that some other kids were playing in went out of gear and ran him over. Dangerous when parents are not paying attention. I see pregnant teenagers walking around, hanging out on the corner. Shitty cars lining the street so you have to slalom up the road.  On my side of the road, my neighbor cut his grass if it get over ¼ inch, then makes sure to blow all remnants off the driveway before calling it a day. Wants me to cut down my tree because it makes a mess with seed droppings. The lady down the street keeps her grass ¼ inch long because of a fear of snakes. No cars are parked on the streets, too many hard learned lessons on this stretch of road. A few times now, kids have been racing up our street headed for the pit that is the other side of our street and “accidentally” hit cars. No one parks on the street.

  
  

  I am tired of looking at it. I am tired of seeing this filth. You can be poor without being dirty.  Ask any old folk that lived through the depression, folks were poor but they maintained respect for themselves and what they had. It drives me nutz to see these young folks living in filth, learning that they can be part of the problem; they can be dregs of society and propagate.

  
  

  I see trash at the park, trash on the sidewalks leading to the park, lots of freakin trash. When I am blazing by in my car, I don’t really see it. These walks have opened my eyes.

  
  

  On Friday, Georgia and I walked around picked up trash. It is my first step in making a difference in this neighborhood. I will take many more. I will keep you posted. I am on a warpath.

  
  

  On an unrelated note, I am finally ready to sell some wind chimes on Ebay. When I list them, I will let know all know.

  
  

  

  
  

   

  
  

  

  
  

   

  
  

  

  
  

   

  
  

  

  
  

   

  
  

  

  
  

   

  
  

  

  
  

   

  
  

  

  • 10:09 am
  • 1 Comment