Lexington Roads Still Not Clear/School Still Out ...

 So this is New Circle Road yesterday, the major artery connecting the city - so you can imagine what our lesser roads look like!

Let me explain what that means.

So because we are one of handful of the few cities in America not built around bodies of water, Lexington's roads instead connect much like a wagon wheel, with Lexington in the center. 

The major spokes of the wheel are Nicholasville Road, Harrodsburg Road/Broadway, Richmond Road/Main, Winchester Road, Tates Creek Road, Versailles Road, Leestown Road, and Newtown Road.

Connecting all of these spikes are 2 circle roads (or half circles) , located a few miles from the city center and then on the outskirts of the city- New Circle Road (inner circle) and Man O'War (outer half-circle).

(Man O'War isn't a full circle, it ends at Winchester Road in the Northeast and Versailles Road in the Southwest. It was meant to be one day be a circle, but you'd have to remove horse farms like Calumet to do so, and no one wants to do that, understandably.)

The latter two operate like highways, and in other words, New Circle Road is a major lifeline for the city and it still looks like that, 2 weeks later.

(And as I said, as for the other streets, fuhgettabout it. Our street is still nearly covered in ice.)

For example, this is a picture of Bay Colony Lane, a newer residential suburban street about 2 miles west of Lexington's city center, that someone took yesterday ... 

Sorry, Mayor Linda Gorton - but I gotta say in living here 38 years, I have seen way worse storms that took less time to clean the streets.

I mean, we're always behind Northern states with cleanup, but this was only 6 inches of snow and the worst was ice, but still, never seen a worse cleanup job - kids out of school for 2 weeks and there's still giant strips of ice on Richmond Road?

Nope - not acceptable. 

Governor Beshear agrees, literally using the term" unacceptable" -  because not only have the interstates been cleared for over a week, but Louisville city streets have been clear for over a week as well.

In fact, he says he offered help a week ago, but Mayor Linda Gorton - a Republican - declined help from our Democrat Governor. 

(She has just now accepted his help.)

Also, the city has no idea what streets have been cleaned and what haven't - because they didn't keep track.

I will also say I didn't see much pretreatment and a rare truck during or just after the storm.

Usually, we see trucks pretreating the day before and during, just about every 2 hours - not this time!

It's like they gave up before it even started. 😂

Welp, there goes her re-election (though I don't think she's eligible anyway after 2 terms.)

She's a moderate Republican, so we'd still best be careful what we wish for, because we could always get worse - like a MAGA Republican. 

I hope not - because we're one of 2 (light) blue counties in the state (Fayette - Lexington, Jefferson - Louisville), but ya never know.

Turpin Children: House of Horrors 2 - Diane Sawyer Exclusive on ABC/Hulu

You may recall the worst case of child abuse in recent history in America, the Turpin children - 13 children starved, chained, beaten, living in their own feces - only rescued because 17-year-old sister, Jordan, escaped the house and dialed 911.

Thus, it may shock you that they were abused again in foster care - the Olguine family -  who took in 5 of the youngest children (who received $15,000 a month for doing so) - despite a claim of sexual abuse by a prior foster child in their care.

And yes, this time, 2 of the girls were sexually abused by the foster father.

How could this happen, especially to such a high profile case?

Because press, CPS, and everyone so enthralled with them simply wanted to believe it was happily ever after for them without ensuring it, thus abandoning them - that's how.

Their new foster family took the $15K a month and got drunk on a nightly basis, verbally and physically abusing them, telling them no one would ever love them, they were less than worthless, and that their parents were right about them, they deserved abuse, and imprisoned in the home again - with the father  trying to make them believe that being wanted sexually (as children) was the closest they'd ever come to being loved.

Confused about what love was and what was normal and what wasn't, scared no one would believe lightning struck twice, at first, they told no one except each other. 

However, they'd had just enough counseling when first rescued that therapy had sunk in enough for them to at least try to tell someone.

When they did try to tell their CPS workers, they weren't believed - blamed on trauma flashbacks instead of reality. 

That is until older sister, Jordan - not housed with the foster family -  rescued them once again by appealing to a child advocate she'd met during the original process, who launched another investigation - and proof of abuse was found.

The Olguines were arrested - father, mother, and adult daughter  living with them - and plead guilty to various child abuse crimes, with the father in  pleading guilty to 7 counts of lewd and lascivious acts on a minor child.

I am beyond disgusted that this can go on even with high-profile cases like theirs, whom they should've ensured went to a fully vetted family with no prior complaints filed. 

I am beyond disgusted with the press who dropped them like hotcakes and didn't follow up.

And worse, with the social workers of CPS, trained to know better, how to recognize the signs - who dismissed and gaslighted them - all to find out it was actually true - again.

Even sadder, two of the children considered suicide as the only way out, beginning to believe their abusers, that they deserved the abuse and there was no hope for them.

These children are full of wonder at the world and grateful - so if they ever speak about anything ever again, listen - because you can bet it's real.

Because though PTSD/trauma triggers are real- like a war veteran running for cover with a car backfiring - more often than not, it's actually their PTSD hypervigilance that kicks in, setting off alarm bells - usually for good reason. 

And if nothing else good can come from their story, I hope it's this ... 

We need to stop believing the following myths, which keep people trapped in abuse cycles:

    

1) Good things only happen to/God blesses good people and bad things only happen to/God doesn't bless bad people. 

(Catholics might take issue with that  - they make saints  out of those who suffered most in life.)  

 

2) People always bring bad things on themselves.

Though it's true bad choices lead to bad consequences, sometimes bad things just happen, and sometimes people prey upon them  - and they actually happen more to powerless people than others - not because they're bad people, but bad people choose them specifically because they won't be believed. 

Consider the young girls Epstein chose purposefully  - from broken, abusive and/or poor families or foster care, little social support, won't be believed - same thing.  

 

3) They're the common denominator of both situations, so  they're the problem.   

Erm - not always. Though there are genuinely people who chronically have trouble everywhere they go, here's what's also true  ...   

We also live in a power-abusing society, especially currently, and power-abusing people love to  "punch down,"  taking their stress out on others - or sometimes even prey on -  the most vulnerable, powerless, naive people they can find, considering them weaker, knowing no one will believe them.    

And once again, consider the girls Epstein chose - girls from  broken, poor, abusive families and foster families with no support, purposefully, knowing they wouldn't be believed.

 So though they might be the common denominator, it might not be for the reasons that you think - and it's not because they're cursed or chronically unlucky, either. 

Their only responsibility in the situation could just be low self-esteem, they don't believe they deserve better or even know there's better, so they take it for far too long.

Or  because others consider them weak/vulnerable or powerless,  which rings like a dinner bell to power-abusers and predatory people.

What can they do about that?

Well, you can't do much about power if you're genuinely powerless.

But you can learn to be less naive, less open, less trusting, learn better boundaries and how to say "no" from the get-go rather than waiting, and learn how to either actually be, or at least appear, stronger and more confident than the vibes you're giving off - and above all, start believing you DO deserve better!

How to tell the difference between troublemakers versus chronically "vulnerable" or people with low self-esteem or naive/vulnerable people?

Who they blame. 

If they ever blame themselves - sincerely - even momentarily (before their therapy kicks in and balances their responsibility versus others lol)  - you're likely dealing the low-self-esteem or vulnerable types who get picked on a lot instead of true troublemakers.  

 

On a positive note - upon watching the new Diane Sawyer series on Hulu (whom I don't mind saying I'm a little pissed at for her lack of follow-up after the first interview 4 years ago)  I said this to my husband ... 

"I know it sounds weird, but ... those children glow, they radiate. It's not just great skin now, but there's a little light with all of them - it's like the light of innocence and finding joy despite sorrow, it's remarkable."

Hold onto that light, joy, and wonder at the world still, Babies ... 

There might be many drawn to it who want to exploit it, benefit from it, or even smash that light and joy, just because they can and they perceive you as weaker/vulnerable - don't let anyone steal  your joy and light.  

Throw away the tapes playing in your head about deserving this treatment where they belong, in the trash.

Because they are all lies - and it doesn't matter how many adults picked up and sang that song to justify their abuse, that doesn't make lies true.

Also, you have learned everything there is about what ISN'T normal - so now continue counseling so you can learn what IS normal.

Praying for you, if God listens xo

 

Genesis 50:20 "What was done to me was done for evil, but God, in turn, intended for good for the saving of many lives."

 

When Gaslighting Stops Working: White House Admits to Digitally Manipulating Photo of Protester Using AI ...

Apparently, when gaslighting us for what we can see with our own eyes is no longer working, the White House and crossed the line and is now resorting to digitally altering  images.

Case in point - this is Nekima Levy Armstrong. She is a civil rights attorney and ordained minister. 

She was part of a Minnesota protest during church services, protesting ICE removing people from church services. 

As stupid as that idea was - protesting ICE removing people from church by interrupting the church service yourselves (they should've known that would get twisted) - what happened next is worse.

Kristi Noem posted her originally picture on the DHS site - then the White House took her arrest photo and digitally altered it and Karoline Leavitt (WH press secretary) posted it to X ....

 ... adding the tagline ...

As you can see between the original DHS photo and the WH photo, there's a drastic difference  - darkening her skin and making her look anguished and crying like a Karen, instead of calm and resolute. 

Also, she isn't far left - she's a civil rights attorney and ordained pastor herself.

This isn't just racism, sexism, and fabricating propaganda  - it's pure evil.

When the NYT, The Guardian, and several other press confirmed the photo had been manipulated, they reached out to Karoline Leavitt, who referred them to Kaelan Dorr, the WH Deputy Communications Director, who responded:

“YET AGAIN to the people who feel the need to reflexively defend perpetrators of heinous crimes in our country I share with you this message: Enforcement of the law will continue. The memes will continue. Thank you for your attention to this matter,”

Okay, Kaelan - if interrupting church services to protest is a heinous crime, then what is ICE snatching  undocumented immigrants out of church pews?

Regardless, Ms. Levy Armstrong IS an attorney - and she got her own attorney and is suing the White House.

Considering there is no precedent set yet on AI, not sure how that's gonna go, but if it's defamation of character with loss of reputation (usually only if you can prove financial loss), there's a better chance, but it's still iffy.

But whatever, ya bunch of Nazis. 

Desperate much, after Alex Pretti?

Sorry you have to cheat to win, because you can't win otherwise. 

All of this has to end someday, you know - I hope sooner rather than later - and I pray for justice for all of YOUR heinous crimes.

PS - McCauley Culkin's Tribute to Catherine O'Hara Was The Sweetest (and Most Raw)

 

I hope that Catherine O'Hara - never center stage until Schitt's Creek, always in the background doing something wacky, often taken for granted  - can see how much she was actually universally loved 😂

I don't know what it is, these days, with people expect/push you to post something meaningful and coherent on social media immediately after the person dies, when people close to the person are often still processing it and grieving most (we should really stop doing that).

I expected Eugene Levy to take a while, their friendship and collaboration lasting over 50 years, and as Eugene's son, Schitt's Creek Creator/action, Dan Levy said, she was family to them.

He did, and it's also sweet, but you can also tell he probably ran it by people several times first to make sure it wasn't too raw and personal, and likely not in a state to fully express the grief.

I think that Macauley Culkin, on the other hand, let it fly raw, wrote his thoughts down as they came to him -  and knowing that Macauley Culkin legally emancipated from his own abusive show parents (which he never spoke about until recently), but stayed very close to Catherine and called her "Mama," says it all ... 

In fact, she was the one to present his Hollywood Walk of Fame to him, proving that not only was she a better mom than the mother who forgot him twice in the Home Alone movies, but his own parents. 

(His message also kind of implies he got to talk to her on the phone, wishing he was there with her, in the end, doesn't it?)

Macauley Culkin did not have a very good time, in show business, and all but walked away except for rare appearances.

He doesn't names about anyone in the business -  unless - they were exceptionally protective of him/good to him, which is only a handful of people - Catherine being one of them. 

(In other words, if you're in the business and Maccauley Culkin says their name at all, they're usually a keeper. 😊)

____________________________________

PS - It is super important that we support and protect our child actors more than we have done in the past, Ladies and Gentleman - that we at least suspend our usual judgment and criticism of celebrities in the public eye when they are children, as it has proven to have devastating effects on them.

There also should be more accountability for exposing them to a world they're too innocent and naive to be a part of yet, whether that's the parents, their managers, agents, other cast, or crew.

There are only a handful of actors, directors, and others in the business who have notably done so or tried to do so - Catherine O'Hara was one of them. 

Notable others are John Candy, Jamie Lee Curtis, Robin Williams, Director Chris Columbus, and Ron Howard, and others.

(That doesn't mean they succeed at steering them and protecting them from everything, because there are a lot of predatory people out there, but they notably try.)

Catherine O'Hara, Dead at 71

 

This one, I couldn't believe - she was just watching her career blossom again after Schitt's Creek, Beetlejuice 2, and The Last of Us, and appeared so healthy!

You may also remember her from the first Beetlejuice and Kevin's mom in Home Alone.

I personally have been a big fan since her early days as part of the original cast of SCTV (she's a Second City-Toronto alum) and part of the ensemble cast in a string of Christopher Guest comedies (except Spinal Tap).

She seemed so vibrant and healthy!?!

Except she did suddenly look overly thin and as if she had aged a decade at her last public appearance at the Emmys in September ...

... I don't know for sure, of course, but it looks like ... cancer.

It was described as a short illness, though, so I'm wondering if it wasn't one of the cancers usually only caught at later stage because of mild symptoms or ignored symptoms, and when they're bad enough to see a doctor, it's too late, like colon cancer or especially pancreatic cancer. (Breast cancer sometimes, but these days, those are usually caught earlier.)

Pancreatic is particularly sneaky - it often has no symptoms at all until you're already stage IV. For example, my mother-in-law had some mild indigestion in November 2013, which progressed to nausea, vomiting and rapid weight loss by December, went to the doctor and was diagnosed with stage IV pancreatic cancer, and she died 2 months later, on February 18th.

Incredibly gifted, comedic/improv actress, rest in peace 😢

The Advantages of Getting Older (And Being a Former Struggling Single Mom)

So after the snow turned to a wintry mix on Sunday, our parking lot is still largely frozen with snowy ice clumps.

Our new apartment complex has garages available, so Mark and I opted for one - so at least Mark didn't have to chip ice and shovel out, but it was still tricky navigating the parking lot.

However, some people did not op for a garage, and this young couple was trying to get out to get to class today, and I realized their mistake trying to back out, spinning their wheels. 

The girl was talking on her cell phone on speaker to someone, who I think was her sister, asking what to do because she had to go to class, but her sister had to go to a meeting. 

So I hollered ... 

Me: "Hey, Guys, Good Morning! I have some cardboard boxes from where we just moved, do you need some? You can put them behind the tires." 

 

Young Couple: "We have some behind the front wheels, but nothing." 

 

Me: "Yep, but it's your back wheels that are spinning, trying to back out, up and over the ice, out of the pocket. What if you tried putting the cardboard behind the back wheels, too, far enough to get up and over the ice? We just moved so we have a ton of broken down boxes, if you need?"

So they did so and voila, out in 5 seconds!

They gave me a little excited thank you wave, I smiled and winked, gave a little thumbs up and clap, and off to class they went. 😊

We older adults often think it's common sense, forgetting that we, too, learned from experience ourselves long ago, if someone didn't tell us first.

So young ones - or people who aren't used to snow - snow tires help, but won't get you out entirely. So if you don't also have chains to put on your tires (few do here, and they help more with deep snow than ice anyway) - then the next best thing to use is sand, but who has that lying around?

So try cardboard behind all 4 tires, or at least behind or in front of whichever tires are the issue, depending on whether you're going backward or forward.

(This also works for mud, btw.)

Now, if your car actually breaks down or something, I can't help you 😊 (Well, I can maybe tell you what's wrong, at least, based on sound, but only certain things - but I can't fix it).

Things you learn as you go, especially if you had no one else around to help.

Resourcefulness ... something aging, former struggling single moms have in spades. 

PS - Bovino Out From The Backlash, a Comment Elsewhere ...

 

Greg Bovino, chief border patrol agent/head of the ICE operation in Minnesota - who sometimes likes to play Nazi SS dress-up for interviews and special occasions, for what reason, we don't know ...

 - is OUTTA THERE, woo hoo!

(Or at least Trump said he was, later today.)

He's not fired, he's just being removed from Minnesota.

Kristi Noem's job/power now hanging by a thread, too. Love IT.

Like I said, when Republican veterans and 2nd-amendment/gun advocates get involved, things will change.

So ... I never comment anywhere anymore because ... why, right?

But yesterday, I was viewing these videos and someone legitimately asked the question about Alex Pretti, "What's he holding in his hand?"

I said "It's a cell phone he's holding because he was filming."

I totally forgot about it until I got an alert on my phone because some douchebag -  who commented to everybody, but was not the OP (original poster) of the video, replied to me ... and I ended him ... erm, I mean it, ended it. 😂

Hehehe.

That oughtta have him scratching his head for a second. But just for a second, because then he'll go back to earning his paycheck as a paid troll.

At least I hope he's a paid troll ... because since he's not the OP, running around leaving pro-ICE comments all day, to every single commenter, without even getting paid, is even sadder 😂

Then he's just dreaming, from his mom's basement, that one day, ICE will stop rejecting his applications and accept him, maybe if he posts enough pro-ICE YouTube comments😂

Dream big, my friend, dream big.

When Veterans Take Notice: Alex Pretti Shooting Videos Again Contradict ICE/Homeland Security/Trump Administration's

 

ICE/DHS and the Trump Administration said that Alex approached them with a gun, attacked ICE with intent to kill.

Several video angles disagree.

Here is ABC's timeline walkthrough.

After ICE pushes 1 shouting protestor down, trying to pin her (orange backpack), Alex begins yelling at them to get off her and begins filming - the object in his hand is clearly a cell phone, not a gun.

Alex walks closer, still filming and shouting.

Two ICE agents walks over to him and pepper spray him in the face.

He continues to yell at them to get off the orange backpack protestor.

They now push him down, hit him in the head with a metal object at least 5 times, black-beanie guy shoots him once, another guy a second time, then the group backs up some and it's unclear who, but at least 5 more shots were fired.

Here's what's different about this shooting and what's raising even Republican alarm bells with veterans taking up his cause:

1. Alex was an ICU nurse at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Minneapolis, who had taken care of many Trump Republicans and had been a part of several honor ceremonies for them - and they and their families remembered. 

The VA, veterans, and their families have pressed conservative press about why they're not mentioning him, not showing the videos, and worse, villainizing him if they do mention him, when they knew him - and thus, veterans began sharing the videos themselves on social media.  

Since then, military press has honored Alex with his story.

Further, veterans have called their own local Republican senators requesting a congressional investigation.

 

2. Alex had a conceal and carry license and was a gun owner, and though he had one in his belt at the time, he never drew it - the object in his hand was a cell phone. 

 

Gun-owner advocates have sounded the alarm about gun ownership in his case - because he had a license and belted his gun legally, and though he easily could've pulled his gun and used it in self-defense, he didn't. 

That is exactly what they advocate, responsible gun ownership and training - try everything else to defend yourself before you shoot - proving it is ICE who is poorly trained and has no restraint.

In fact, his GoFundMe page to pay for his burial has now reached the $1 million mark.

Conservative press cannot spin this one and villainize him because of his work with the VA and care for veterans, but that doesn't stop  them from trying ... see how Fox News is finally mentioning him today ... 

Yeah, that's not gonna work either, Faux News.

Of course protests are organized through a network of text messages, but not just the far left - moderate, left, and far left alike, as well as religious groups were in on this one - and there's nothing wrong with organized protests, keeping track of how many at what location, as long as they aren't plotting violence!  

(I'm pretty sure y'all know that after January 6th.) 

What exactly is your point, anyway?

Are you saying the far left forced Alex and several thousand other non-far-left protestors to protest against their will, as if they were at gunpoint? (Nope - that was you all that put a gun to his head.)

That it's the far left's fault y'all shot Alex Pretti at least 7 times?

Beyond victim-blaming, it doesn't even make any sense!

So desperate for any way to spin this, but you can't, so you're throwing up nonsense.

Almost no one is buying your BS propaganda, this time, because veterans have shared the video you didn't.

Stop trying to gaslight us for what we can clearly see ourselves!

And if your press has actually shown you the video versus what ICE/DHS/Homeland Security says, and you think that statement even makes sense, you're either totally brainwashed, a total idiot, or a sociopath or psychopath, trying to gaslight us about what we actually saw with our own eyes.

Snowstorm Streaming (All Is Well, So Far ) - The Pitt

*Edited - content added.

 ... although I wouldn't exactly call this a snowstorm/ice storm, at least not yet.

Apparently, the storm shifted up and broke up a bit, so the snow part wasn't as bad as predicted - just  about 1.5 inches. But now is the wintry mix part, the ice, is starting, so we shall see.

So while everyone is hunkering down at home, it's a good time to catch up on favorite shows and watch new ones (though there aren't many, this time of year).

So we began watching the first season of HBO Max's multi-award winning "The Pitt" a few days ago and can't stop. 😂

Because as my little sister said, "I loves me some Noah Wyle."😂

It's true, who didn't have a celeb crush on sweet, awkward "Carter" from ER in the 90s?

We sure did, back in the day.

Well, some ladies dug George Clooney more, in the vehicle that launched him into super stardom, but with George Clooney being so cocky and shallow, back then (he's grown up more now), many of us were on Team Carter instead. 

During NBC's "Must-See TV" era, at the same time the ladies were crushing on Ross, Chandler, and Joey from Friends, 2 hours later on NBC, you were also crushing on Drs. Ross and Carter.

In fact, because they both premiered the same year (1994) and were both hits - Clooney and Wyle actually showed up on an episode of Friends, to go on dates with Rachel and Monica!

However, Rachel and Monica got into an argument, mimicked the other one in front of the docs, spilling all their personal secrets, which of course sent the docs running briskly away. 😂

Back to The Pitt, the main differences are Noah Wyle is now all grown up and in charge, playing a different, more edgy character, Dr. Robinowitz (called "Dr. Robby" for short).

It's still a dramedy, funny, serious, then back to funny to ease tension, just like real life.

It can bring tears to your eyes at times, just like ER - actually, not just bring tears, but you  may discover they're actually rolling down your face after the scene is over (particularly with children), it can be intense - but the issues are also updated.

And whereas ER was a different day each episode, the entire first season of The Pitt is from just a single day in the ER, showing you how much can go on there, especially at ERs that have been designated trauma centers. 

In many ways, the dramedy that was ER - initially written and produced by Jurassic Park's Michael Crichton - was ahead of it's time - diverse, soulful cast, hot-button issues like LGBTQ, school shootings, police brutality and much, more more that people don't want to talk about/pretend doesn't exist, and yet ER staff sees every day, especially in larger metropolitan areas.

ER was woke before woke was a thing - because it's reality.

So if you are "anti-woke," then don't ever work in an ER in a major metropolitan U.S. city. Not only will your patients have different skin colors and be from different cultural backgrounds, but your coworkers do too. 

Actually, I take that back - please DO work for an ER in a large metropolitan area so that you can see that your fears about people with dark skin, LGBTQ, immigrants, and non-Christian faiths are mostly based on the worst-case scenarios you read about in the news rather than every day reality.

And as much as we love The Wyle, who won both an Emmy and Golden Globe, this year, my second favorite character is charge nurse, Dana. Oftentimes charge nurses are your bulldozer-type personalities because they have to get things done, fast, rather than your nurturing caretaker type of nurses. 

In this case, Katherine LaNasa as charge nurse, Dana Evans, proves it is possible to be the eyes and ears and quick-acting charge nurse AND the encouraging caretaker. 

When Dr. "Robby" introduces the students to her as "the most important person in the room" in the very first episode, he proves he is 100% correct - she is the eyes and ears of everything that is going on and doesn't miss a trick, while simultaneously making sure everyone has eaten, is supported when overwhelmed, and perhaps needs a 5-minute breather.  Essentially, she's everyone's mom.

(I understand that in the last episode of the first season, something happens to her that may affect whether or not she continues, but I haven't gotten that far yet.)

The show in general has more empathy than ER did - with ER, it was more like certain characters did while others were kind of dicks, and there was a lot of hazing of new staff going on, which was lighthearted and funny. 

That's actually likely more accurate, but there are certain places still where staff is chosen particularly due to their empathy skills and encouragement skills with patients and staff alike, as well as being a good doctor/nurse.

Just about everyone in this show encourages each other, checks on them if overwhelmed or burned out and asks how they can help, and at most, might lightly rib each other in an almost flirty fashion, except I haven't learned yet why Dr. Robby is so hard on Dr. Mohan yet.

FYI, Dr. Mohan is my 3rd favorite character on the show after Dr. Robby and Dana. Well, it's actually a tie for third with Dr. MacKay.

She is encouraging to everybody, regardless of their status at the hospital, and refuses to treat patients like a fast-food drive-thru and really listens to them, much to the chagrin of the hospital administrators.

She is also part of a study regarding racial inequities in healthcare, but she doesn't just study and report, she directly intervenes in real time, i.e. with overly restraining EMTs with a sickle-cell patient in  sickle-cell vaso-occlusive crisis in her chest. 

They assumed her writhing and screaming was because she was a homeless street druggie who was drug-seeking, but she was actually in her pajamas rushing herself to the hospital in the middle of vaso-occlusive sickle-cell crisis. 

In sickle-cell patients, not only is this particular form of vaso-occlusive crisis life-threatening, it's one of the most painful conditions a human can experience, not to mention inability to breathe.

They call her "Slo-Mo," and Dr. Robby is especially hard on her, although he agrees with that philosophy, and I don't know why yet.

Tying as third favorite with Dr. Mohan is Dr. MacKay, the oldest resident, becoming a doctor at 42 - who besides also being a great doctor, treats not only her coworkers with empathy and understanding, like a big sister - but each patient, regardless of what they've done, with empathy - but particularly single mothers and the homeless, who others dismiss.

Having been a drug addict previously herself, now 5 years sober, she currently wears an ankle bracelet for what reason we haven't found out yet (but I understand we do before the end of Season 1, which I haven't gotten to yet).

Dr. MacKay is actually the most inspirational character, having beaten her own personal demons to become the fantastic doctor, without any of the opportunities that the other students had.

My fourth favorite character, though we don't see him as much, is ER Nurse Mateo Diaz, and here's why: 

Not only is he the right hand of Charge Nurse, Dana, he's the nurse  responsible for going out into the jungle that is the ER waiting room full of people, taking vitals and doing initial assessments; thus, he takes a lot of shit - for being a male nurse, for being Latino, and just  because he's the first actual clinician patients see and thus the whipping post for them after waiting so long - and he does it all with a smile on his face, a kind word balanced with assertiveness, and a sense of humor.

Plus, he's cute, I admit, but the above is also very true 😂

But of course there's one obvious exception to this lovefest - one overly competitive/ambitious bully - isn't there always at least one in every group?

Dr. Trinity Santos - played by Isa Brione - is a super smart medical student, but also arrogant, overconfident, overly competitive, and overly ambitious, stepping on everyone but the attending doctors to get where she wants to go.  In short, Dr. Santos is a bully.

An ingratiating ass-kiss to the attending doctors, she otherwise tries to intimidate, bully, and publicly humiliate everyone else, steal their patients if they're interesting cases, take credit for their work -  including the residents above her. 

She likes to capitalize on the mistakes of her fellow students and ridicule them/humiliate them publicly and create nicknames based on their mistakes, all to deflect off her own even bigger mistakes.

She is also overly eager to do complex procedures without considering how they are affecting the patient and has no bedside manner at all. 

She also rocks on her heels and rolls her eyes during moments of silence for lost patients or "honor walks" for organ donors that passed as if she's bored.

And even if/when she's right about a diagnosis or a suspicion, her way of handling these things unsupervised can be just plain scary.

Now, in the old days, that one boss's ass-kiss bully in the workplace was ostracized, much like the toilet paper lady from 9 to 5. 

Nowadays, in our current political climate, intimidation and bullying  are now cool, with that 1 bully often trying to recruit others  into a mean girl troupe like it's junior high, successfully or not, blaming the victim for their own bullying.

Nice to see that The Pitt is not having it, though - they're onto her reality-TV style strategy, even the attendings, especially after she failed to run cases by her senior residents 3 times out of her own arrogance, which ended up adversely affecting patients, and the attendings found out about it. 

We did see part of what makes her tick, she apparently was sexually abused as a child, and threatens a father she suspects of molestation with his life, and though that gives us more insight into her behavior, it does not excuse it - plus anyone I've ever met who'd been sexually abused does not usually struggle with overconfidence, it's usually the opposite!

Apparently, Vanity Fair magazine has written several articles on Dr. Santos, saying she's a polarizing character, with some saying she was a feminist hero and the one we should've been rooting for all along?

Okay, what ethnically-challenged, bully-bitch narcissist, posing as a  liberal feminist journalist, wrote THAT garbage?

No, no, and no - let's think more about the actual character of the people we deem heroes before we write stuff like that, shall we?

I'm also not buying the "she was humbled later by her experiences" stance some of these article authors are taking, because she keeps doing them -  and any leopard that lacks empathy for her prey to that degree isn't going to change her spots overnight - sorry.

I agree that double-standards for the exact same human behavior are maddening - but I also really hate it when women think the goal of feminism is behaving like the most toxic stereotypical white-male they know, then demanding equal acceptance for it, when the actual point is - maybe no one should be behaving like a toxic human being, regardless of gender?!?

Not only is that perspective actually anti-feminist attitude in that it's encouraging women to handle things like (toxic) men instead of women simply standing up for being valued and paid equally for who we already are - but it's an insult to the men who do NOT behave like that in leadership.

And FYI, Vanity Fair, when I Googled "Dr. Santos The Pitt" for the above pic, among the top Google search terms was "I hate Dr. Santos" 😂

So I initially applauded the beginning part of her sexual abuse speech myself - but then she threatened the patient's life!

Also. let me count the ways below in which she's put patient's lives, their families, the staff, and the hospital itself in physical or legal jeopardy.

But the gist of this list is, as frustrating as it may be, doctors take an oath to heal - NOT RENDER JUSTICE. 

They can report familial issues to Child/Elder Abuse services or police, but it is not their job to actually render justice and hold a patient's life in ransom.

In fact, they've even been situations where they have to treat both the perpetrator and the victim.

Specifically breaking down the multitude of ethical issues and loose-cannon legal liability issues with Dr. Santos for the morally/ethically impaired ...

1. So the mom poisoned the dad - whom she's still married to and living with - with progesterone (hormones), because she believed he was molesting their daughter, in effort to chemically/hormonally castrate him. 

Even if the molestation accusation is true ... that's a super cray cray thing for the mom to do, still married/living in the home with the dad, and should send up a red flag for BOTH parents! 

The appropriate response to suspected molestation is call the police and social services to investigate and intervene?!?

I get the fear of not being believed as women and the fear of retaliation, the temptation to take matters of protecting your child in your own hands, but at least try the legal routes first?

Plus you cannot medicate someone out of pedophelia/incest using your own birth control -  pedophilia/incest is, at present, an untreatable condition - and if the goal was chemical/hormonal castration, you especially cannot accomplish that using your birth control pills, without knowing what drugs/hormones actually do!  

 

My opinion is, both of her parents are likely unsafe and CPS should be called in to investigate them both! 

2.) The daughter never confirmed it/gave no indication it was true - and Dr. Santos tried to pressure her/approached the subject with a 14-year-old like a bull in a china shop, untrained to do so, and without consulting a supervisor or the hospital social worker first. 

 

And it's not the first time she's done this, out of her own arrogance, which resulted in adversely affecting the patient's health as well as putting the hospital in legal liability, and she's been raked over the coals for it and doesn't care. 

3.) Thirdly, you do not EVER threaten to kill a patient under any circumstances, even if you had proof they were an actual serial killer.

Doctors in particular take an oath to save lives and heal - even if they personally hate the patient, even if the patient is a proven evil psychopath - they are not God and justice is not in their purview - they are there to heal and save lives - and at most, report to authorities.

This is also why doctors do not operate or prescribe for people in their personal lives, regardless of positive or negative emotions - they can't be objective. 

And if their personal opinion of the patient cannot be separated out, they step out/refer elsewhere/ask someone else to take over, if possible. 

If it's not possible -  it's an emergency or they're the only specialist around that can do it -  then they have to numb that shit out/shelve it as best they can in some way before they work on the patient, with staff reporting any abnormalities. 

 

4.) She did not even attempt to separate her own experience with sexual molestation versus this family's potential experience (which hadn't been proven yet) before she acted.   

She clearly was acting out of wanting to punish her own abuser out of her own personal experience, rather than separating these issues out first. 

5.) Her little speech and actions weren't done out of trhe empathy or even sympathy for the child, she did it because she was enacting justice based on her own experience - and we can't ignore  how much she lacks empathy in general.

So no, Vanity Fair, you are 100% wrong, and in fact, are bordering on socially irresponsible for writing this garbage. 

Like I said, we appreciated her beginning speech, we understand her sentiment, but she threatened a patient's life out of her own experience with sexual abuse. What you are cheering on/condoning is wildly inappropriate, violates several ethics policies, legal obligations for the hospital, and last but not least, the hippocratic oath!

But I digress, I also like it because I tend to geek out on health issues, but Mark likes it because of the interesting people - but he does often ask me to interpret. 😂

Okay, I've been a medical transcriptionist for 27 years, and people think that means they can go "I have this rash, what is it?" without realizing I don't usually see the stuff, I just type what the doctors say and research conditions, make sure the documentation is correct for patient care and billing  😂

In other words, I know about enough to tell you when you should see a doctor, and that's about it! 😂

But yes, I can interpret for him most of what the abbreviated orders they rattle off are and mean, why they ordered this test or that one, what they're looking for/ruling out, why they chose this med or that one, including the dangers of them - but some of these cases presented on this who are pretty rare/obscure. 

However, taking Pharmacology in school at present, it's cool to learn the exact mechanism of action with each of the drugs, what neurotransmitters and receptors they work on, why some are chosen versus others in specific cases, etc. 

So when it comes to The Pitt?

Just like the original ER, maybe even a bit better - 5 stars, super, super good!

Big Snowstorm Coming Here ... or Not?

 

So I realize Snowstorm Fern is going to hit somewhere, we just aren't sure where yet - we have a 50% to 60% chance here, at present.

The Lexington Herald Leader has an article today about the biggest snowstorms you can remember here.

The article seems to be focused just on snowfall, when for me, it's more about the true ice storms than snowstorms - or snowstorms accompanied by ice.

We are never as prepared here, as the northern states, that's true, but the biggest memories for me in Lexington are the ice storms which didn't make the list. 

They're either caused by rainfall just before the snow that freezes so you can't see it under the snow OR that wintery mix where the temp is right at or just above freezing, where it feels like tiny darts hitting your face in the wind.

Besides car accidents, power lines snap, giant branches of trees snap off and fall, people slip and fall. 

When this happens, because the snow causes of a blanket of silence overall, the only thing you can hear when there's ice involved is the crackling and snapping of limbs falling off from trees all around you for miles, and worse - the crackling and snapping of powerlines - it's creepy as heck.

The ice covering everything is beautiful, but also deadly.

It's funny how you mostly remember the ones when you're an adult, because when you're a kid, it's heaven - you're out of school, you can still play outside if you're bundled up, and the ice and snow mix are great for sledding.

You remember tornadoes and hurricanes from childhood, but snowstorms, not so much, unless your power went out for days - you mostly remember the fun you had!

Except I do remember living in Cincinnati when the blizzards of 1976/77 and 1977/78 hit - but only the after effects because we were in Florida both times.

It actually lightly snowed there, too, which is rare, and we have pictures where we were visiting St. Augustine in heavy winter coats with hoods, and the next year, Disney World in sweatshirts and heavy jackets.

But I remember my friends' accounts when we got back PLUS the pictures coming in from the Cincinnati Enquirer of people walking across the Ohio River because it had frozen over!

This happens with northern rivers more frequently, but it has only happened 3 times with the mighty Ohio in Cincinnati -  1917/18 and those two times when I was a child, 1976/77 and 1977/78.

I was like "Mom, can we drive back early so we can walk across the river, too?" 😂

Yeah, no ... of course not!

I mean, I'm at Disney World, but wanted to cross the frozen Ohio, for some reason, can you believe it?

Yeah, I was a weird kid.

And that's actually a very stupid thing to do!

Other than that, though I remember the big snowstorm here in Lexington in 1998 with 12 inches within hours, I mostly remember the 2002 ice storm where we were out of power for 4 days and started huddling around the charcoal grill (outside, of course) for 10 minutes at a time, but luckily, it warmed up after 48 hours. The power just didn't come back on for another 2 days

Then the 2021 ice storm where we couldn't get the doors open on our apartment without using a hair dryer first (the ice damage causing the wood to peel off and break later).

And in 2023, when we lost power for 8 hours, huddled by the fireplace, and were just about to check into a hotel when the power came back on!

This one promises both snow and ice somewhere, we just don't know where yet, or even if it's going to be as bad as they say, or maybe even worse.

Just in case, if you haven't been to the grocery yet, get thee to the grocery now, because we went last night and it was already almost cleared out - and you would've thought it was Black Friday at Walmart in the 90s, and there were only 10 Tickle Me Elmos for sale!

Okay, not that bad, but people were breathing heavy and there was a lot of snatching/grabbing, going on. 

For the record, yes - I did get up at 4 a.m. on Black Friday in 1996, to show up at the Nicholasville Walmart to try to get my daughter a Tickle Me Elmo at Walmart. 😂

I went there because I thought less people would go to that one, but when I asked the people in the line in front of me what they were there for, and heard "Tickle Me Elmo," I realized I had virtually no chance with at least 50 people in front of me, but still waited anyway -  until the doorman shouted they were all gone. 

No fights broke out here, people were orderly, but the general national craze was cray cray!

I wouldn't have fought anyone over it anyway.

I have always been of the mindset that if people want something so badly they're willing to hurt others to get it, emotionally or physically, then I say "Here, just ... take it, it's not worth all of this drama on everybody. You can demean yourself get down in the gutter if you want to over it, but don't expect me to follow - - but ill gotten gain does no good, ya know."

And no worries - in the end, after I told her dad she wanted one and I had tried and tried, he somehow bribed somebody at work out of theirs and she got one! (Thank you, Z! lol.)

Then I think she played with it for about a year and never touched it again! 😂

And there's the lesson - how long was the child going to play with it anyway?

Sometimes I wonder if people that were willing to treat others badly to get what they want, for survival or not (usually not), ever ask themselves - "Was it worth it?"

But then I remembered that most non-therapized people always believed they're justified AND I remembered ... I really don't care how things turned out for them, in the end. 😂

Regardless, let's settle down, people, this isn't a zombie apocalypse or even a hurricane, it's a snowstorm.

Preparedness and caution is warranted, not panic.

Be careful, be safe, be prepared, but also, be kind ... and help others if/when you can!