24 September 2023
Nine hours! I’m really sleeping a lot. Not sure why. It’s not depression. Maybe I just need it. Of course, those nine hours were interrupted every hour for a trip to the bathroom. I assume that’s because they keep pumping me full of saline.
I actually feel better than yesterday although that’s not saying a great deal. I only started feeling better yesterday around the time I made a chocolate malt. Hmmm! Cause and effect!
I feel up to a walk this morning but of course, it’s started to rain. Maybe I can get one in between rain showers. There’s certainly been a difference in temperatures and humidity. It’s almost like it’s fall in South Florida. You can’t really go by leaf drop since most of our subtropical trees drop leaves in the spring or summer. It took me a while to get use to that concept.
Just as I thought I might make it out the door for the walk, this happened.
It was accompanied by a lot of wind, lightning and thunder. The walk is postponed until tomorrow.
I wasted a lot of time yesterday watching college football. Just as I thought Florida State had lost and turned to the Ole Miss/Alabama game, FSU pulled it out. Ole Miss lost. Never bet against Alabama when coming off a loss and playing at home. College football has lost a lot of its allure for me as it has become more and more commercial and as the athletic departments more and more drive the institution instead of the other way around.
On a more positive note, Ole Miss is considered academically the best four year public institution in the state (not that is saying much). I’m not familiar with Niche but this is the second time I’ve seen the rating for Ole Miss (from a different source). As far as private, my vote goes to Millsaps.
Speaking of Ole Miss and football, years ago when I was an undergraduate, the Chancellor, J.D. Williams, got caught in an elevator with a legislator in the capitol building. The legislator asked Dr. Williams why Ole Miss didn’t give out complimentary tickets to legislators like Mississippi State did. Dr. Williams replied that Ole Miss would provide free tickets when it could no longer sell them. In essence, he was saying that Ole Miss sold all their tickets and didn’t have any left over to give away. You gotta love the rivalries between state institutions.
Dr. Williams was interesting. You would see him walking around campus with his wife and he would always make a point to stop and talk with students. I met him numerous times outside the Lyceum as he cut across the campus heading to one place or another. Since that time, I never ran into another Chancellor again. Too isolated.
Ole Miss had a reputation of being a little snobby. I guess that happens when you have all the Delta boys and girls coming from their plantations to go to school. One joke that made the rounds on campus was a Mississippi State student was on campus and asked “Where is the student union at?” An Ole Miss student replied, “Here at Ole Miss, we don’t end our sentences with a preposition.” The State student then rephrased the question “Where’s the student union at asshole.”
As a freshman, I liked to hang out at the old student union building. They made great hamburgers for a decent price, it also had the post office, and that’s where the barber shops were located. To go to the bathroom, you either had to go in the basement or up to the second floor.
The second floor bathroom was fascinating. Someone had taken a pencil and the beginning of the semester and written on the wall as you entered the door “Why?” The next week, someone had written “Because.” Over the next two semesters the writing continued and completely filled all the walls and stalls in the bathroom with philosophical arguments. People would visit to just see what the next statement proclaimed. Anyone could add to the discussion. Even more important, the college didn’t bother to repaint the bathroom until the walls were completely covered and there was no more room to write anything.
The physical plant at Ole Miss had an interesting attitude. Any time a new building went up on campus, physical plant never put sidewalks in until a year had gone by. The placement of the sidewalks was determined by the natural paths students took to the building. I always thought that a smart idea. Why put sidewalks where architects thought they might need them but actually where students walked to and fro to the building?
It’s time to go grocery shopping, then lunch, then a nap, then my phone conversation with Jimmie. I guess this is another recovery day. Monday should bring the new Apple Watch to my door (fingers crossed) and Tuesday is my 6th chemo infusion. Wednesday, my computer is supposed to arrive (although it was still in China earlier this week). Friday is hydration infusion. As a retired person, I seem to have a lot on my plate.
Remember, you can order free test kits for Covid starting tomorrow at https://www.covid.gov/tests.
Stay tuned!
