Off His Meds?

I recently was at a large public gathering at the finish line of a relay race.  There were thousands of people milling around….runners who had finished, family and friends who were cheering runners on, officials, and vendors.  The scene was pretty chaotic.

I wonder how many people were aware of a young man in a rust colored jacket, purple scarf and dark-colored ball cap.  He walked hurriedly through the crowd all over the venue.  Sometimes he walked away from the group on a raised sidewalk along the lakefront.  More than once, he hurried toward the lake front as though he might jump in, but stopped at the very edge.  The constant activity of the group seemed to agitate him.

From a distance, I could see him talking, and I thought it might be on a cell phone.  However, I was close enough on multiple occasions to realize that he wasn’t on a cell phone.  He would say something in a high squeaky voice, and then answer himself in a low growling voice.

Once I had noticed him, I couldn’t help but look for him and check on what he was doing.  I saw absolutely no security at this event.  I suspect that the majority of the time a schizophrenic off his meds is harmful only to himself.  But, we have all read of other cases when a psychotic episode has resulted in harm to others.  Maybe he is one of the “public characters” in that small city and was known to the officials and viewed as harmless.  But, his frantic activity made me ill-at-ease.

I do not know what the solution is to the mental health crisis that is obvious in our society.  Closing institutions and supposedly integrating the mentally ill into society has not worked very well.  It has increased homelessness, and jails are full of psychiatric cases which guards are not properly trained to handle.  Having spent 3 months of my time in nursing school at a truly dreadful psychiatric institution, I can attest that institutionalization is a nightmare too.  One of the wards we were assigned to as students had no head nurse.  The aides were so sadistic and unmanageable that they could not get a nurse to stay there.

Having a family member with mental health issues has made me aware that the mental health care system is difficult to access and that once accessed there are barriers to receiving continuity of care.

The young man in the rust colored jacket may have been off his meds, but he appeared clean and neat, so someone must be watching out for him.  There are many for whom that is not the case.

Fallen Sparrow

I worked in the backyard today, doing some raking and spring clean-up.  We have three large cedar trees in the yard, and in an attempt to keep the lower branches from being eaten during the winter by the local deer, we put wire fencing around them in the fall and remove it in the spring.  My husband is currently out of town and hasn’t had a chance to remove the wire fencing yet, so I could only rake up to the fencing.  I couldn’t get under the trees.

As I raked near one of the cedars, something caught my eye, and I examined it more closely.  The wire fencing was more than long enough to go around one of the trees, so my husband had left the extra fencing on end and coiled up inside the fencing that encircled the tree.  I saw the body of a tiny sparrow stuck in that tube of wire fence.  The poor little thing was long dead.  If it had been alive, I suppose I would have tried to figure out how to get it out of there.  Although, putting the fencing up and taking it down is not a task I have ever tried to do.

I felt sad to think that the sparrow had probably died slowly, trapped, unable to free itself.  Of course, it was only a little sparrow, but…..

Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?  Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of Your Father.  Matthew 10:29

I did not see the struggle of that sparrow.  But, God did.

Matthew 10:30-31 goes on to say…And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.  So don’t be afraid, you are worth more than many sparrows.

It is not possible for the human mind to comprehend the mind of God.  I suppose that is one reason atheists believe he isn’t there.  How can a mind be so large that it encompasses the universe, sees every sparrow that falls, and knows when we brush our hair and a few pieces come out in the process?  If he knows that trivia, he certainly knows about events in the political scene, is aware of the disasters that befall groups of people, and sees our personal joys and sorrows.

Some people refuse to believe this.

Some believe it and are angry with God for allowing the bad things that happen….although, they don’t necessarily thank him for the good.

I want to be among those who are grateful and in absolute awe.

What Really Happened at the Kasich Town Hall

I attended a John Kasich Town Hall in Watertown, NY on April 15^th and heard every word the man said.  After a presentation about his personal background and policies he has seen work successfully during his times in the House of Representatives and as Governor of Ohio, he took questions from the floor.

In response to a young woman’s question regarding sexual harassment and attacks on college campuses, he gave a lengthy answer on policies which should be in place to protect young women and deal with them correctly and compassionately if they do have such an experience.  At no time did he say anything that any reasonable person would construe as blaming the victim.  He mentioned his own daughters going away to college soon and gave the bit of fatherly advice that a young woman should avoid a party where there is a lot of alcohol.

Sooooooooooo……out of ALL the things about this topic and others that he addressed, guess what is being headlined by social media? 

KASICH IN WATERTOWN ADVISES WOMEN TO AVOID PARTIES WHERE THERE IS A LOT OF ALCOHOL

This has caused all manner of nasty comments by people who were NOT there and assume this was a focus of his remarks.  It has been twisted into “he blames the victim.”

This actually does not surprise me at all.  I have been astounded through the years at the way the media influences how the populace thinks.  Many times when I have attended or been an active participant in a meeting later reported on by the media, I have seen this phenomenon.  The reporter will seize on one small element of the meeting which can be blown up into something inflammatory, or he/she will have a preconceived notion of what they want to report on and squeeze the content of the meeting into the desired mold.

To be fair, the local television station did more of a summary and did not mention this issue at all in their initial broadcasted comments.  The madness occurred on social media where news fragments are spread ever so much more quickly.

Of course, Kasich’s advice is actually sound.  When alcohol flows freely, bad things happen. 

No sober man should take advantage of a drunk woman.  But a drunk women is pretty stupid if she expects a drunk man to be more responsible for his actions than she is for hers.

So, it makes my blood boil that the media grabs attention by perversion of truth.

And

It makes my blood boil when women want equality, but implement it with stupidity.

Where is My Car?

Today I spent some time wandering around the mall parking lot wondering where on earth I had parked my car.  Part of my problem was a bit of disorientation, because I had come out a different door than I had entered, but that isn’t really my excuse.  I don’t normally get disoriented by these slight changes.

As I wandered around, and after finally finding it, I was pondering all of the things I actually do remember.  How can I remember these things, and not remember where I left my car about 30 minutes ago?

I remember my childhood address and phone number, numerous phone numbers that are currently valid, my social security number, my present address and most fortunately, my name.  Although I was in high school 55 years ago, I still know the beginning of Caesar’s Commentary on the Gallic Wars…in Latin!  I can still tutor a high school student in algebra, geometry and trig.  From the security and zero-pressure area of my living room, I can come up with answers to many, many Jeopardy questions.

But….I don’t know where my car is parked!

Perhaps I was distracted by the fact that I had earlier forgotten my wallet.  I arrived at the first stop on my list of errands, reached into my purse to get the wallet and pay…and….no wallet!  Then I remembered that I had more cash in my wallet than I normally carry, so just before leaving home, I took out my wallet, removed some of the cash, and put it in a safe place.  Apparently putting the wallet back into the purse wasn’t part of the routine.   ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRGH!  I had to drive all the way back home, retrieve the wallet, and start over.

I related my woes to Bill, and he asked me why I didn’t just push the horn button on the key chain.  Well, then everyone would have known I couldn’t find my car!

Jesus Washes Me White as Sand

Come now, let us reason together says the Lord, though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.  Isaiah 1:18

The brilliant whiteness of snow is used to portray purity in the Bible.  Our sins stain us, but the sacrifice of Jesus can cleanse us and make us so clean that no telltale spot of our sin remains.

While playing on the beach recently one of my granddaughters created a bit of art in the sand.  She wrote “Jesus Washes Me White as Sand.”  The beach did have rather white sand, and I would never criticize this fractured bit of scripture.  She has shown an understanding of the important concept behind the verse.  Before any of my children or grandchildren were born, I was already praying for them to grasp the meaning of these words in a very personal way…..in a way that would permeate every corner of their souls and lives.

Each of my children and grandchildren is unique.  Some are beautiful, some are highly intelligent, some are loaded with personality, some have a sunny disposition or an amazing sense of humor, and some have ambition or a specific talent.  I did not pray for any of those things to be true.  Before I ever had children I prayed that my children and their children would grow into people who would be totally committed to God and to His plan for their lives.  It is all I ever asked of Him.  I never felt concerned about having a child who might deviate from the norm, if only this was true of him or her.  I know God has done His part in revealing Himself to them.  It remains for each of them to do their part in allowing Him into their lives.

It remains for each of us as individuals to allow Him into our lives.