@Raggedy Ann Visited Albuquerque for a few days one fall on a business trip. Beautiful area and sky had dramatic colors at dawn and sunset. Have great day.

Thanks for the Carlin video. He was a great truth-teller and a huge loss. Imagine what he would be espousing today.

Nice pics. Albuquerque trees are leafing out, we are 2-3 weeks behind, but the pollen is in the air and I'm sneezing! It's worth it, though. I'm ready for the warm.

Have a beautiful day, everyone!

@riverlover no matter what the reason. In a locked office building misdialed 911 and hung up instead of 9 (outside line)- 1 (ling distance) hang-up, verify number and redial. Intruders beat on front and back doors of the converted house, while I was calling 911 on purpose) for assistance, before recognizing a police hat. Frightening, embarrassing and fortunately a one time event. At night and in bed much more intense.

Officer probably had your daughter's phone number before knocking as part of the call information. Suggest working with a trusted friend or relative to find out what prompted the police visit and entry of your house for a safety check. Copy of the police report might have the details. Commonly initiated by concerned neighbor, relative or a tip from a health care provider or office staff. If a choreographed visit with Senior Services, you do not want to become emotional in any communication and a third party is a good buffer. Then you can plan steps to reduce or prevent the likelihood of future visits or a forced change in residence. Let us know either in a comment or private message. Take Care.

By a cop. He said he had called, Caller ID indicates a private caller, meaning I did not answer. A safety check. He called my daughter (how do they do this so fast?) who then called me. Meanwhile flashlights and banging on doors. I yelled out "I'm fine" several times. But daughter told him where the hidden key was. So he came in. I instructed him I was all the way upstairs in my bedroom. He came up. No gun drawn, TG. Even my dog recognized a bad situation and hovered on the bed with me. He chastised me for the mess in the house. And then, assured that I was alive (I kept it to a simmer), he left. Why did I need to explain my health status to a non-health person while lying in my bed? I feel violated and see how easy this can set off volcanos. Still at a simmer, got to a high boil after he left.

@ovals49 caused by one of the other four. Time for an evaluation by a trusted doctor or pharmacist. Your advice is very good.

Worked with a women once who was taking high doses of iron supplement 4 years after a surgery. The doctor only wanted her on the med for 6 weeks after surgery. She was starting to have signs of iron overload.

As more drugs switch to nonprescription the likelihood of legacy meds increases.

It isn't just the increasing efficacy of some drugs that older persons do not "clear" out of the body as efficiently, thus effectively increasing the net dosages, but also the apparent reluctance of physicians to discontinue any drug treatment. This seems particularly likely in cases, like my mother's, where several doctors were treating multiple issues over a period of a decade or so. New prescriptions were readily added but rarely would a physician even suggest discontinuing one, particularly if prescribed by another.

At 80 years old, my mother was taking over a dozen medications, prescribed by at least six different physicians. She was walking a medical tightrope with COPD and CHF, with marginal function of both liver and kidneys. Several of the drugs she was taking were known to be hard on these vital organs, but she needed their help to breathe. It took a sharp home health care aide to question the sheer number of drugs, and a new younger geriatric primary care physician to undertake a comprehensive review of her drug regime. She ended up with five prescription medications. Her condition improved markedly, and her kidney and liver labs also improved immediately. She lived eight more good years, passing peacefully at home in her 88th year.

Sometimes less is more. All drugs have multiple effects on the remarkably complex operation of our bodies, and only some of those are positive. The particular positive effect the drug is meant to provide comes with both known and unknown negatives. Drugs interact with each other as well, further complicating the situation. The importance of periodic review of the overall matrix of prescriptions being administered can not be overstated. Equally important is finding a primary care physician with the courage to reevaluate, and reduce dosages and the number of prescriptions when appropriate. Sometimes both the quality and the length of life can be improved by both lower doses and fewer prescription drugs.

@Lookout Would be easy to walk on by and visually skip as a back ground plant in the woodland. Thanks for bringing it to our attention. It takes less effort to stay healthy than to recover from an illness.

Yellow root -
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xanthorhiza

My buddy has stream banks full of it. I pulled up enough in 10-15 min to last through the year (make 3-4 quarts of tea)...and you couldn't tell I had dug any at all. It is really bitter, but a little honey in the tea makes it drinkable. The Cherokee herbalists recommend a dose every spring and fall to stay healthy.

I'm allergic to penicillin, so I use yellow root tea for sore throats, sinus trouble, and so on. I also grow and use echinacea (coneflower- a perennial)) as a tea for sinus troubles and building immunity before or after encountering sick folks. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Echinacea

I find herbal medicine works well for me. I haven't been to a doctor for an illness since I was a teenager.

I hope you all have a lovely spring day. I'm off to B'ham to visit with my 90yo mom (who is in failing health). All the best and thanks for the OT, SoE!

@gjohnsit and capabilities. It is hard work not to allow our judgements regarding others to be influenced by presumptions we have of certain political affiliations, economic status, gender, genetics or tribal group (including religion). To avoid being singled out, we are conditioned to agree with the power structure to avoid criticism, name calling, economic consequences or violence.

It is interesting to watch the range of reactions from thinking about the words, working to build bridges, or reverse finger pointing to maintain and increase fissures between groups. They have potential as methods of people control and windows into insecurities.

Bernie must not be currently bound by legal agreements with the democratic party. Those are strong truths.

Obama fans furious at the truth

Bernie Sanders has triggered a backlash by making comments interpreted as an attack on Barack Obama on the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King.

The senator for Vermont appeared to criticise the first black US President as he branded the Democratic Party a "failure".

Speaking in Jackson, Mississippi, he said Democrats had lost a record number of legislative seats.

"The business model, if you like, of the Democratic Party for the last 15 years or so has been a failure,' said the Vermont Senator.

"People sometimes don't see that because there was a charismatic individual named Barack Obama. He was obviously an extraordinary candidate, brilliant guy. But beyond that reality..."

Mr Sanders' comments were quickly branded "patronising" and "deplorable".

Actor Jeffrey Wright, who appeared in the James Bond and Hunger Games film series, said Mr Sanders was "giving a master class on expressing TOTAL ignorance of how black folks work."

I guess white people can't criticize black people under any circumstances.

Does Bernie Sanders really believe he can run for the presidency in 2020, when he is constantly tearing down President Obama. He is a broken-down bitter and racist old man.

— E. Stamos (@BlueinPDX) April 5, 2018

Note how this tweet is from a white woman.