Writing Group Night

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Good evening all,

I want everyone to see how Bernice is managing to work for hours at her computer every day between time devoted to her exercises, short walks, and the normal sustaining activities. She is in her bedroom and is seated in her recliner with her legs elevated. Getting her legs raised is all-important for when she tries to work at her big desktop computer it is fatigue/pain in her legs that frustratingly shortens her sessions there. The recliner has a side lever that raises and lowers the leg rest. We were lucky to get this modest-sized recliner and it was with the help of son Arthur just after Bernice's fall in March which broke her pelvis. Arthur and Debbie picked up the recliner at that time and it is serving splendidly now. Son Harvey is responsible for his mom's dandy new laptop which is resting on a convenient lap rest that has a beanbag-like bottom and a flat top surface to support the computer. Next to her is her multi-shelf cabinet that holds all her current working papers as well as her phone and whatever. I must tell you that Bernice complains that my unskilled photography distorts and enlarges her feet so I am confident that all of you can overlook these shortcomings.

While I am keying this in I am in my downstairs study and Bernice is with her writing group upstairs in her study, I have written before about this group who have been together some 30 years to read their writings to each other and receive thoughtful and helpful criticism. These gatherings are private and never attended by outsiders. When the reading session is over we will all sit down for a dinner made up of interesting and always tasty contributions from the group............. It is now post-dinner and i am mellowed from good food and dessert. A spinach pie, salad, couscous with beans, crusty breads, and pumpkin-cheese pie and cookies. The guests have departed after helping with much of the cleanup and it is time for me to windup.

I have decided to say nothing of the election. After all, what could I say? Could I repeat the observation that many of the very people who have ranted against the health care bill and been taken in by masterful media ranters, are often the very ones who will benefit. They are either not aware that we are the only industrialized country lacking universal health care and we had 50 million citizens with no health insurance at all. Would i have the temerity to remind these folks that it was Bush who entered office with a surplus, got us into two terribly expensive wars in terms of our treasure of wealth and human life, who oversaw the economic crash and left office with a monstrous deficit the right has whined about? No, better to skip these issues and go quietly. I might consider commenting on those against any climate legislation who insist that global warming is a sham or wonder about the qualifications of new legislators who might have to deal with education issues but do not believe in evolution. No, i see that it is fruitless to make any election comments at all except to say that if there is some entity somewhere at all concerned with our welfare, I do hope she will lessen our discomfort.

A better night to all,
Merwin