Friday, March 30, 2007
June and Harry came over for the first time in maybe six months. Harry had cancer surgery and has been fighting to get his strength. He is still very thin but is getting better.
Saturday afternoon June, Harry, April, Julia, and I went to visit Mother at the nursing home.
Jerry and Ted Moore were there on a watch over their mother who died later that day. We talked to them. I was describing how June acted on the sidelines of Harry's team's softball games. Mother saw me and laughed, the first time she has laughed in a long time.
Later that night James and Rene, John and Charlotte, Cindy with Jesse and Morgan, June, Harry, and April, and Julia all came to my house for supper. James and Rene went to get Mother but she would not come.
We had a good meal. Julia had bought stew that morning and it was very good.
Afterward we just talked. For some reason we got onto how we had met our spouses. It was a lot of fun.
I'll tell more about it later.
Saturday afternoon June, Harry, April, Julia, and I went to visit Mother at the nursing home.
Jerry and Ted Moore were there on a watch over their mother who died later that day. We talked to them. I was describing how June acted on the sidelines of Harry's team's softball games. Mother saw me and laughed, the first time she has laughed in a long time.
Later that night James and Rene, John and Charlotte, Cindy with Jesse and Morgan, June, Harry, and April, and Julia all came to my house for supper. James and Rene went to get Mother but she would not come.
We had a good meal. Julia had bought stew that morning and it was very good.
Afterward we just talked. For some reason we got onto how we had met our spouses. It was a lot of fun.
I'll tell more about it later.
Monday, March 26, 2007
Julia and I went to two visitations tonight.
On Saturday when we were visiting Mother at the nursing home, the Moore boys, Ted and Jerry, were there. Ted is my old boy friend. Unfortunately, their mother was in her last hours. Besides knowing her through Ted, she was the nurse at Dr. Smith's office when I was growing up.
She died later and visitation was tonight.
Julia and I got there about 5 when visitation started. I finally met Ted's wife. She was very nice and,yes, I do admit that she looks like me but I also think that Ted looks a lot like George Rodney and acts like him. Jerry Moore was in Julia's class at Chester County High.
Then we went to Bell's for supper. I got a barbecue sandwich and Julia got a chicken sandwich.
James had called me today and told me that they had gotten a funeral notice for Mrs. Morton.
I called the funeral home in Lexington and the visitation was tonight.
Mrs. Morton lived in that shack of a rental house down by Cousin Pearl's. I don't know what Mr. Morton had but he never worked. Mrs. Morton worked like crazy.
Mother and I spent many days in the cotton field with Mrs. Morton, her son Guyron (that she always called Boy) and her two daughters Connie and Helen. Guyron was my age and the two girls were younger.
Guyron was very quiet in the fields. He never said so but I think he may have resented spending all that time with just females.
The girls were chatterboxes but I didn't pay much attention to them. Connie, like Mrs. Morton, seemed not quite there intelligency-wise. Helen was always beautiful.
Mrs. Morton worked with Mother on other occasions Once she was ironing for Mother at a time that Daddy was in bed with his bad back. Mother went to the garden for something and Mrs. Morton left because she could not be in a house alone with a man. (If you had ever seen dear Mrs. Morton, this would be even funnier.)
Guyron died maybe 20 years ago when he fell while working on something, maybe a water tower?
So after our supper, Julia and I went up to Lexington to the funeral home there.
As we were going in, Julia asked if I would recognize Connie and Helen. I said I would not but as soon as I walked in I recognized them. Connie immediately said Hello, Mary. I was shocked she knew who I was. But her recall of people and places from long ago was phenomenal. She asked about Sonja. She inquired after Uncle FL, Aunts Velma, Maureen, and Allene. She seemed very happy to see us and we enjoyed reminiscing about those times in the cotton field.
Helen was a different matter. She was dressed as if she had never spent a day in the field. And I don't think she wanted to be reminded of it. She said hello to us rather coldly and turned away.
Oh, well.
Connie introduced us to Guyron's children, a boy and a girl, now grown up
On Saturday when we were visiting Mother at the nursing home, the Moore boys, Ted and Jerry, were there. Ted is my old boy friend. Unfortunately, their mother was in her last hours. Besides knowing her through Ted, she was the nurse at Dr. Smith's office when I was growing up.
She died later and visitation was tonight.
Julia and I got there about 5 when visitation started. I finally met Ted's wife. She was very nice and,yes, I do admit that she looks like me but I also think that Ted looks a lot like George Rodney and acts like him. Jerry Moore was in Julia's class at Chester County High.
Then we went to Bell's for supper. I got a barbecue sandwich and Julia got a chicken sandwich.
James had called me today and told me that they had gotten a funeral notice for Mrs. Morton.
I called the funeral home in Lexington and the visitation was tonight.
Mrs. Morton lived in that shack of a rental house down by Cousin Pearl's. I don't know what Mr. Morton had but he never worked. Mrs. Morton worked like crazy.
Mother and I spent many days in the cotton field with Mrs. Morton, her son Guyron (that she always called Boy) and her two daughters Connie and Helen. Guyron was my age and the two girls were younger.
Guyron was very quiet in the fields. He never said so but I think he may have resented spending all that time with just females.
The girls were chatterboxes but I didn't pay much attention to them. Connie, like Mrs. Morton, seemed not quite there intelligency-wise. Helen was always beautiful.
Mrs. Morton worked with Mother on other occasions Once she was ironing for Mother at a time that Daddy was in bed with his bad back. Mother went to the garden for something and Mrs. Morton left because she could not be in a house alone with a man. (If you had ever seen dear Mrs. Morton, this would be even funnier.)
Guyron died maybe 20 years ago when he fell while working on something, maybe a water tower?
So after our supper, Julia and I went up to Lexington to the funeral home there.
As we were going in, Julia asked if I would recognize Connie and Helen. I said I would not but as soon as I walked in I recognized them. Connie immediately said Hello, Mary. I was shocked she knew who I was. But her recall of people and places from long ago was phenomenal. She asked about Sonja. She inquired after Uncle FL, Aunts Velma, Maureen, and Allene. She seemed very happy to see us and we enjoyed reminiscing about those times in the cotton field.
Helen was a different matter. She was dressed as if she had never spent a day in the field. And I don't think she wanted to be reminded of it. She said hello to us rather coldly and turned away.
Oh, well.
Connie introduced us to Guyron's children, a boy and a girl, now grown up
Thursday, March 22, 2007
I got back last night from a week long trip to Florida. I left on Wednesday and arrived at Beth's on Thursday night.
Friday Beth and I had lunch at a barbeque place called Mojo's. Beth had been anxious to eat there but was very disappointed. She put sauce on her barbecue and it was so greasy she could not eat it.
I had a barbecue sandwich and it was okay.
The restaurant however was very interesting. On the walls were tributes of Delta and Memphis musicians. They had a stage where, I think, they must have blues bands on the weekends.
I loved one painting they had. BB Kin was in the foreground, then cotton fields leading up to Memphis in the background. Great.
Then we went to the University of North Florida campus for her to go tothe doctor. She had been having ear and sinus problems. He didn't think she had an infection but gave her andantibiotic prescription if she needed it. He also told her to pinch her nose and blow to open up her ears and it helped.
However, she decided, and I agreed, that it would be best if she did not go to Gainesville and sit out in the cold and damp.
Jay and I did go on down to the University of Florida. We got there late but got good seats and enjoyed the game. State won 10-8.
Supposedly they have just spent $13 million dollars on the stadium but it did not show. And the crowd was small.
A former civil engineering professor sat in front of us and we enjoyed talking to him. I asked him if Coach Mac, the Florida coach, was in danger of being fired. He said yes, but seemed to blame the assistant coaches more.
Laura and Todd left on Friday to go to Savannah for the St. Patrick's day festivities.
Beth and I went to the game on Saturday. Steve was supposed to go but we only got a short piece when he said he just couldn't do it. He had had a tooth ache and it was bothering him too much. Beth and I took him back and went on to the baseball game. Unfortunately we lost by two runs.
Friday Beth and I had lunch at a barbeque place called Mojo's. Beth had been anxious to eat there but was very disappointed. She put sauce on her barbecue and it was so greasy she could not eat it.
I had a barbecue sandwich and it was okay.
The restaurant however was very interesting. On the walls were tributes of Delta and Memphis musicians. They had a stage where, I think, they must have blues bands on the weekends.
I loved one painting they had. BB Kin was in the foreground, then cotton fields leading up to Memphis in the background. Great.
Then we went to the University of North Florida campus for her to go tothe doctor. She had been having ear and sinus problems. He didn't think she had an infection but gave her andantibiotic prescription if she needed it. He also told her to pinch her nose and blow to open up her ears and it helped.
However, she decided, and I agreed, that it would be best if she did not go to Gainesville and sit out in the cold and damp.
Jay and I did go on down to the University of Florida. We got there late but got good seats and enjoyed the game. State won 10-8.
Supposedly they have just spent $13 million dollars on the stadium but it did not show. And the crowd was small.
A former civil engineering professor sat in front of us and we enjoyed talking to him. I asked him if Coach Mac, the Florida coach, was in danger of being fired. He said yes, but seemed to blame the assistant coaches more.
Laura and Todd left on Friday to go to Savannah for the St. Patrick's day festivities.
Beth and I went to the game on Saturday. Steve was supposed to go but we only got a short piece when he said he just couldn't do it. He had had a tooth ache and it was bothering him too much. Beth and I took him back and went on to the baseball game. Unfortunately we lost by two runs.
Saturday, March 10, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/11/magazine/11Neurolaw.t.html?ref=magazine&pagewanted=print
This article concerns new discoveries about brain activity and criminal behavior, including some research at Vanderbilt.
The part that interested me is the following paragraphs. My comments follow.
Still, Morse concedes that there are circumstances under which new discoveries from neuroscience could challenge the legal system at its core. “Suppose neuroscience could reveal that reason actually plays no role in determining human behavior,” he suggests tantalizingly. “Suppose I could show you that your intentions and your reasons for your actions are post hoc rationalizations that somehow your brain generates to explain to you what your brain has already done” without your conscious participation. If neuroscience could reveal us to be automatons in this respect, Morse is prepared to agree with Greene and Cohen that criminal law would have to abandon its current ideas about responsibility and seek other ways of protecting society.
Some scientists are already pushing in this direction. In a series of famous experiments in the 1970s and ’80s, Benjamin Libet measured people’s brain activity while telling them to move their fingers whenever they felt like it. Libet detected brain activity suggesting a readiness to move the finger half a second before the actual movement and about 400 milliseconds before people became aware of their conscious intention to move their finger. Libet argued that this leaves 100 milliseconds for the conscious self to veto the brain’s unconscious decision, or to give way to it — suggesting, in the words of the neuroscientist Vilayanur S. Ramachandran, that we have not free will but “free won’t.”
Sometimes this happens to me. For example, I will be lying in bed, thinking about getting up. I don't want to get up. There are things I need to do that I don't want to do. It feels so good in bed.
Then, suddenly, I am up and walking. What happened? I never made a decision to get up. Just like that, though, I am up. It is as if someone else made the decision, pushed a button, and made my muscles start working.
Evidently, my subconscious is making this decision and executing it, while my conscious mind didn't know about it.
I would welcome stories about this from my readers.
This article concerns new discoveries about brain activity and criminal behavior, including some research at Vanderbilt.
The part that interested me is the following paragraphs. My comments follow.
Still, Morse concedes that there are circumstances under which new discoveries from neuroscience could challenge the legal system at its core. “Suppose neuroscience could reveal that reason actually plays no role in determining human behavior,” he suggests tantalizingly. “Suppose I could show you that your intentions and your reasons for your actions are post hoc rationalizations that somehow your brain generates to explain to you what your brain has already done” without your conscious participation. If neuroscience could reveal us to be automatons in this respect, Morse is prepared to agree with Greene and Cohen that criminal law would have to abandon its current ideas about responsibility and seek other ways of protecting society.
Some scientists are already pushing in this direction. In a series of famous experiments in the 1970s and ’80s, Benjamin Libet measured people’s brain activity while telling them to move their fingers whenever they felt like it. Libet detected brain activity suggesting a readiness to move the finger half a second before the actual movement and about 400 milliseconds before people became aware of their conscious intention to move their finger. Libet argued that this leaves 100 milliseconds for the conscious self to veto the brain’s unconscious decision, or to give way to it — suggesting, in the words of the neuroscientist Vilayanur S. Ramachandran, that we have not free will but “free won’t.”
Sometimes this happens to me. For example, I will be lying in bed, thinking about getting up. I don't want to get up. There are things I need to do that I don't want to do. It feels so good in bed.
Then, suddenly, I am up and walking. What happened? I never made a decision to get up. Just like that, though, I am up. It is as if someone else made the decision, pushed a button, and made my muscles start working.
Evidently, my subconscious is making this decision and executing it, while my conscious mind didn't know about it.
I would welcome stories about this from my readers.
Thursday, March 08, 2007
The next game was the semifinal in Emma's league. Both team's colors were Chester County blue. Then in the final game we saw, Adam's game, both teams wore black. Unusual.
We watched that game and I think Emma's team can beat the one that won that game. Ken will be a basket case by Friday.
Adam's team also won. Adam is not very good, but he tries and is enthusiastic. George says Adam is good at defense.
The winner of the final game is a black team from Franklin. They will play Adam's team for the championship Friday night. They will probably win. Or is it that we just automatically think blacks are better. Ken says they are aggressive.
On the way home, George started talking. When I say x, I am protecting the Ruckers. George did mention an exact figure. George said: x thousand dollars. That is a lot of money. Mom and Dad paid x thousand dollars in income tax. I don't know why they did that. It is confusing to me.
It must be right because Anne and Ken glared at each other.
The kids were excited about going to school Tuesday. They have been studying geology and were going on a field trip to Cumberland Caverns including eating their sack lunches inside the cave. George related to me how caves are formed. (There is a crack in the rock. Water flows into it. It freezes. More water flows and it does that for thousands of years and it makes a cave.)
We watched that game and I think Emma's team can beat the one that won that game. Ken will be a basket case by Friday.
Adam's team also won. Adam is not very good, but he tries and is enthusiastic. George says Adam is good at defense.
The winner of the final game is a black team from Franklin. They will play Adam's team for the championship Friday night. They will probably win. Or is it that we just automatically think blacks are better. Ken says they are aggressive.
On the way home, George started talking. When I say x, I am protecting the Ruckers. George did mention an exact figure. George said: x thousand dollars. That is a lot of money. Mom and Dad paid x thousand dollars in income tax. I don't know why they did that. It is confusing to me.
It must be right because Anne and Ken glared at each other.
The kids were excited about going to school Tuesday. They have been studying geology and were going on a field trip to Cumberland Caverns including eating their sack lunches inside the cave. George related to me how caves are formed. (There is a crack in the rock. Water flows into it. It freezes. More water flows and it does that for thousands of years and it makes a cave.)
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
Anne called Sunday night to tell me that both Adam and Emma would be playing int semifinal games in their basketball leagues. (George did not play ball this spring.) She suggested I come up Friday for the finals.
Odds were 3-1 that one would not be playing on Friday so I went up Monday to see the earlier games.
When I got to their house, only Ken was there. He is Emma's coach and was very nervous and anxious. Then Anne, George, and Emma got home. Adam was at an occupational therapy class. Ken's mother brought him to the game later.
The game was over in Franklin, a good ways over.
Emma's team color is maroon and they are the bulldogs. She suggested that and the team okayed it.
The other team was also in maroon. Their shirts are two sided so they can be worn either white or the team color. In this case the other team wore theirs on the white side.
They won the game fairly easily. The other team really had only one player who did anything. When the bulldogs had scored 18 points Ken said he knew they would win because that girl could only score 16 points. After a player has scored that many points she cannot play any longer. Emma once scored 14 points and they took her out early.
I don't know how many points Emma scored but she did well and I was very impressed with her rebounding.
When Emma came over, her face was red as a beet. She got that from George Rodney. He would get very red with exercise. Anne and Beth both do this, too, but the boys don't.
Odds were 3-1 that one would not be playing on Friday so I went up Monday to see the earlier games.
When I got to their house, only Ken was there. He is Emma's coach and was very nervous and anxious. Then Anne, George, and Emma got home. Adam was at an occupational therapy class. Ken's mother brought him to the game later.
The game was over in Franklin, a good ways over.
Emma's team color is maroon and they are the bulldogs. She suggested that and the team okayed it.
The other team was also in maroon. Their shirts are two sided so they can be worn either white or the team color. In this case the other team wore theirs on the white side.
They won the game fairly easily. The other team really had only one player who did anything. When the bulldogs had scored 18 points Ken said he knew they would win because that girl could only score 16 points. After a player has scored that many points she cannot play any longer. Emma once scored 14 points and they took her out early.
I don't know how many points Emma scored but she did well and I was very impressed with her rebounding.
When Emma came over, her face was red as a beet. She got that from George Rodney. He would get very red with exercise. Anne and Beth both do this, too, but the boys don't.
