tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7569355678882263943.post8116137378365544896..comments2023-10-28T06:45:31.002-07:00Comments on Brooke Hopkins & Peggy Battin: At the InaugurationSara & Greg Pearsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05484783478337960032noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7569355678882263943.post-86762777635356147682009-01-23T10:23:00.000-08:002009-01-23T10:23:00.000-08:00Have a look at this link: interesting research hap...Have a look at this link: interesting research happening.<BR/><BR/>http://news.wired.com/dynamic/stories/S/SCI_STEM_CELLS?SITE=WIRE&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2009-01-23-07-22-11T.R. Hummerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12113264848463596680noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7569355678882263943.post-29977054480352874402009-01-22T22:18:00.000-08:002009-01-22T22:18:00.000-08:00Peggy & Brooke... off to bed, but just wanted ...Peggy & Brooke... off to bed, but just wanted to say thanks and good night. I don't know if I have a cold or if it is just inversion sniffles, but I will await better days to come over. XO RonRon Barnesshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05182568733112013856noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7569355678882263943.post-31170546216910969172009-01-22T13:28:00.000-08:002009-01-22T13:28:00.000-08:00Here is what I wrote just after the inaugural...In...Here is what I wrote just after the inaugural...<BR/><BR/><BR/>Inaugural Thoughts<BR/><BR/>Finally I feel as if I can get on with the rest of my life. Barack Obama is safely ensconsed in the White House and God is in his heaven.<BR/><BR/>There were ironic and metaphoric images: e.g. the Dr. Strangelovian picture of Dick Cheney in a wheelchair clearly not communicating with anyone in his immediate surroundings. He was no longer smirking.<BR/><BR/>The untraditional concluding benediction by Rev. Joseph Lowery added a whimsical tone with his concluding words:<BR/><BR/>…we ask you to help us work for that day when black will not be asked to get in back, when brown can stick around ... when yellow will be mellow ... when the red man can get ahead, man; and when white will embrace what is right. That all those who do justice and love mercy say Amen.<BR/><BR/>And the crowd said “Amen” thrice.<BR/><BR/>There was a moment of anxiety when the Obamas exited their limousine to walk along Pennsylvania Avenue; curiously a friend emailed me, “Tell them to get backing the car, tell them to get back in the car.”<BR/><BR/>The real question is what to do about John Stewart and Keith Olberman. For eight long years the only way I have been able to deal with the Bush Administration is either through humor (Stewart) or outrage and indignation (Olberman). I need a break, at least from Keith. Perhaps twelve-step program.<BR/><BR/>Just looking at Obama’s face may be enough. I hope.<BR/><BR/>1/20/09Dr. Lou's Bloghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15689797430916643802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7569355678882263943.post-36096112550323119902009-01-22T02:45:00.000-08:002009-01-22T02:45:00.000-08:00Thank you for description of the crowded day room ...Thank you for description of the crowded day room as you watched the inauguration, the room full of people of varied levels of health and ability rapt and united on an historical day. I like the picture of the once-paralysed doctor, his folding his frame into the window sill. How fortunate are his patients. <BR/><BR/>We watched it here on CNN as the clouds lowered and the rain resumed after the bright morning. It was an emotional experience. I wept as Aretha sang, overcome by what I can’t name. Denis points out that Obama’s first act as president was to correct the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Obama showed remarkable composure, reflecting the presence of mind that will, I hope, serve the country and the rest of the world well.<BR/><BR/>I also appreciate your candour in describing the morning’s routine. Whatever is written in bioethics about dignity, there are some indignities of personal care that necessarily follow disabling injuries, the truth of which you’ve long come to terms with, I’m sure. All the same, I remember how wrenching it was to watch as my friend’s care required the introduction of, say, the paper briefs, then what must frankly be called diapers. It’s one of the things that resonates in your accounts of your experience, as I follow from afar. It reminds me of the question I asked you, Peggy, two years ago and your answer, that we come to accept in time that which we once believed unbearable.<BR/><BR/>It’s hard for friends to contemplate the inevitable indignities borne by those who have been so recently strong, independent, proud. Just as it is disheartening to face the experience of going out into the world, the first time Brooke becomes, to those who don’t know him, ‘the man in the wheelchair over there’. It is disheartening to be with someone you love, someone you know as a precious and rare human being, but to realise the world sees only the disability. So you cope not only with the difficulties of awkward physical manoeuvring in public spaces, all the while holding the desire that your loved one be seen for who he really is. These are challenges that cut to the core. I wanted always to say, ‘Don’t you see the man who is here?’ But many could not.<BR/><BR/>I know, however, Brooke’s natural dignity shines through and will continue to shine through, as my friend’s did throughout. There is courage, grace of spirit and dignity of mind that cannot be diminished or sullied, no matter the physical condition. You and Brooke share that.<BR/><BR/>I’m glad too that Brooke can eat without difficulty and that talking time has been extended to four hours. Well done!<BR/><BR/>You both remain in my thoughts and heart. How I wish I could share the moment as you wiggle your shoulders together, accompanied by Bob Marley. It is an image to treasure.<BR/><BR/>LorraineLorraine Sealhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01497806391999639680noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7569355678882263943.post-32022623613191869792009-01-21T22:03:00.000-08:002009-01-21T22:03:00.000-08:00I knew you'd be watching the inauguration. So much...I knew you'd be watching the inauguration. So much there that was heartening, including the fact that there were so very many people on the Mall and all over DC, and there was hardly any trouble. I heard today on the news that there were no reported arrests: NO arrests. And there were very few injuries of any kind. We've seen a lot of the bad side of humanity the past few years that it feels almost miraculous to be reminded of the good.<BR/><BR/>I'm not sure why I'm writing this, Brooke, except that for some reason the whole time I was watching this grand phenomenon unfold I was thinking of you: so many of the kinds of things we used to discuss in your classes seemed to be manifest in the day that I wanted to share something of my own impressions with you.<BR/><BR/>Onward, Maestro.<BR/><BR/>--Terry HummerT.R. Hummerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12113264848463596680noreply@blogger.com