neurotwitch

Sunday, November 15, 2009

more baby pix

Dad, aka Papa Jim, went downstate for his birthday (81st!), which was on November 5. He sent a batch o’ photos—here are some of them:

The Four Greats: Papa Jim, Riley, David, & Breanna (click to enlarge)

Papa Jim & Breanna (click to enlarge)

Aunt Kelly and Breanna (click to enlarge)

posted by lee on 11/15/09 at 12:10 AM
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Saturday, October 31, 2009

welcome breanna marie & alexandria

Breanna Marie McCaskey, born Saturday, October 24, 2009 at 8pmish, at Wyandotte Henry Ford Hospital in Wyandotte, Michigan. Six pounds, eight ounces according to Granny Carolyn.

Breanna Marie McCaskey (click to enlarge)

Amber, Brian, and Breanna Marie (click to enlarge)

Daddy Brian meets baby Breanna (click to enlarge)

Also, Alexandria LaPorte met the world on October 16, in Chicago I think. I don’t have any details, have to ask, but I know Bob LaPorte is thrilled (thank you to Wendy for sending on the photos!)

Alexandria LaPorte a few minutes after she was born on October 16, 2009 (click to enlarge)

As soon as I get some more details and photos, I’ll make a gallery for the October babies!

posted by lee on 10/31/09 at 09:43 PM
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Thursday, October 08, 2009

health care reform is a moral issue

Keith Olbermann, on MSNBC, devoted his entire show last night to a Special Comment. You can listen to it by clicking on this link. He argues that it is both immoral and anti-American that one’s access to health care depends upon how much money one has; how wrong it is that a father has to go bankrupt to pay for a child’s medical treatment while others get the best health care money can buy because they’re rich.

We must reform a system that lets my father get better care than yours does, or better care than Mike’s daughter does, because by the accident of life, I make more money than he does, or my checkbook can hold out longer than his does, or yours does, as the bills come endlessly like some evil version of the enchanted water buckets in Fantasia.

The resources exist for your father and mine to get the same treatment to have the same chance and to both not have to lie there worried about whether or not they can afford to live!

Afford to live? Are we at that point? Are we so heartless that we let the rich live and the poor die and everybody in between become wracked with fear — fear not of disease but of Deductibles? Right now, right now, somebody’s father is dying because they don’t have that dollar to spend. And the means by which the playing field is leveled, and the costs that are just as inflated to me as they are to you are reduced, and the money that I don’t have to spend any more on saving my father can go instead to saving your father that’s called health care reform!

Death is the issue! How can we not be unified against death? I want my government helping my father to fight death! I want my government to spend taxpayer money to help my father fight to live and I want my government to spend taxpayer money to help your father fight to live! I want it to spend my money first on fighting death. Not on war! Not on banks! Not on high speed rail!

Olbermann proposes that we donate to the organization that brings together medical professionals to provide free clinics to the uninsured and under insured so they can hold free clinics in the capitol cities of the six Democratic Senators blocking real health care reform: “I want Sens. Lincoln and Pryor to see what health care poverty is really like in Little Rock. I want Sen. Baucus to see it in Butte. I want Sen. Ben Nelson to see it in Lincoln. I want Sen. Landro to see it in Baton Rouge. I want Sen. Reid to see it in Las Vegas.” It makes a lot of sense to me, so I will donate what I can when the mechanism is put into place.

My fear is that Health Care Reform will be enacted—as it should be, with the public option—but that Congress is its infinite ineptitude won’t protect us from being gouged by the insurance companies before the reforms are in place (2013, the last I read). Like the royal screwing we’re getting now from the credit card banks because Congress neglected to protect us during the interim. But my greatest fear is that the USA really is an oligarchy, a 21st Century banana republic, and Congress will cave and do nothing, or as close to nothing as they can.

posted by lee on 10/08/09 at 03:20 PM
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Thursday, August 20, 2009

my current hero

Finally, someone tells it like it is.

posted by lee on 08/20/09 at 03:44 AM
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Friday, August 14, 2009

4th generation gallery - at last

Okay, finally, I put up a gallery of the photos I’ve acquired having to do with Riley and David. It’s in no special order, and some are taken by Dad, some by others, some from Diana—sorry no specific credits on this (I lost track). You can find it here: The 4th Generation: Riley and David. Please let me know if something is mis-captioned.

Lots on my mind but not enough time right now to rant.

posted by lee on 08/14/09 at 12:53 AM
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Saturday, August 01, 2009

paint the house: check

One of Dad’s entries on his summer To-Do list was getting the house painted. After getting his color choice approved by the homeowners’ association (don’t get me started on these little pockets of fascism), he had Darryl and Scott do the work (Darryl is brother Scott’s friend from at least high school, if not earlier) and they did a great job.

Scott (l.) and Darryl (r) pose next to their handiwork, August 1, 2009. (click to enlarge)

From all directions:

The front, which faces East. (click to enlarge)

The South side. (click to enlarge)

The back of the house, which faces the sunset. (click to enlarge)

The North side. (click to enlarge)

Wow! What a difference! See the original color in this entry: painting begins. I’m looking forward to seeing it later this month (and seeing Dad, too!)

posted by lee on 08/01/09 at 09:53 PM
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Friday, July 31, 2009

riley rocks

Riley was baptized on June 28th. As usual, I have more photos than time lately to post (very busy at work, but this is NOT a complaint!) and I am so, so far behind in posting, so really truly I’ll make a 4th Generation gallery soon ... but here are a few photos I really like. The first was sent to me by Riley’s Grandma Diana—I think this is a terrific picture of Great Papa Jim and Riley:

James Fleming with great granddaughter Riley Rose Downey, June 28, 2009

This one of Great Uncle Scott holding his grandniece Riley is another photo I love—not sure who took it ... Dad maybe? (click to enlarge)

And I love this photo, also from Diana, though it also makes me sad because Mom should be in the photo too—Mom would’ve loved the new babies in the family. She’s present in this photo in my mind’s eye, smiling at Riley, Kris, and Jamie. (click to enlarge)

Ok, here are two more I like. This one is of Great Aunt Kelly and Riley, not sure who took it:

Kelly Robertson and Riley Rose Downey, June 28, 2009

And finally, one more (until I get the gallery up)—here is one of Great Aunt Carolyn and Riley:

Carolyn Fleming and Riley Rose Downey, June 28, 2009

And that’s enough for now.

posted by lee on 07/31/09 at 03:59 AM
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Tuesday, July 28, 2009

painting begins

Dad is painting his house. Here you see him up on a ladder prepping, with painter Darryl below and brother Scott taking the photo. Dad is a damn stubborn Scot just like his mother was (click to enlarge the photo).

The house is being painted terra cotta and I’m really looking forward to seeing it next month (and photos when it’s done, I hope). I kinda wish we were there now—with Scott and Darryl there, and Kelly and Leo, along with Dad, it would be fun.

posted by lee on 07/28/09 at 07:41 AM
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Wednesday, July 15, 2009

it was very, very quiet

Because feathers, when they’re flying, don’t make any noise. Nor do the doggies make noise when they’re making feathers fly (click to enlarge):

It was time to get new pillows anyway. But Ruby and Bingo didn’t know that ... Stanley took this picture so I could see what the puppies did while I was out grocery shopping—he cleaned up the mess before feathers spread throughout the house. It’s bad enough we have huge dust bunnies composed of pet fur without adding feathers to them.

posted by lee on 07/15/09 at 08:52 AM
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Saturday, June 06, 2009

off to bermuda

Dad left on his cruise for Bermuda this afternoon. Maureen, Stanley, and I saw him off from the Black Falcon Cruise Terminal. He wanted to take a cruise (a leisure cruise—his stints in the Navy and as a merchant seaman don’t count!) and took the plunge and booked this cruise to Bermuda via Norwegian Cruise Lines out of Boston.

We arrived at the cruise terminal shortly after 1 p.m. and Stanley and I waited with Dad while Maureen dropped the car off. The line was astonishing, at least two city blocks long, and that’s the line to get through security.

Stanley and Dad, the outside line, June 5, 2009. (click to enlarge)

Maureen caught up with us after parking—and the line moved surprisingly fast. We’d already moved up a block by the time Maureen found us. I found out later that, when fully booked, the ship Dad is on, the Norwegian Spirit, carries 2,000 passengers. The lines were intimidating if you’re not used to that sort of thing, and it can get pretty confusing trying to figure out where to go once past security, but we kind of followed the crowd and got directions from the women who seemed to be in charge of keeping the queue in order and moving. Security was no hassle except Stanley set off the alarm and had to be hand-wanded—turns out it was the staples from his heart surgery that the scanner didn’t like. He showed the guard his chest and was waved through.

Looking through the window at the Norwegian Spirit while waiting to check in, June 5, 2009. (click to enlarge)

Dad was both nervous and excited, but the line continued to move fairly fast. To look at the crowd in the terminal you would think the din would be overwhelming, but it wasn’t, and the flooring was made of the stuff, the rubbery layer, that makes standing for a while bearable—and the entire line to checkout took just an hour. I guess we shouldn’t have been so surprised that it went so fast—NCL has been doing this for quite some time now.

Jim Fleming, getting ready to embark, June 5, 2009. (click to enlarge)

We got to stay with Dad until he reached the gangplank. We waved good-bye and then drove around the wharf areas to see what was there and stopped at, I think it was Yankee Lobster Market, for a late lunch—lobster rolls for Maureen and Stanley and I got a scallop roll. The clam chowder is nothing special, but the scallops and cole slaw are really good.

Dad called Maureen about an hour after the ship left the dock, which he said happened around 4:15 p.m. He told her he likes his cabin, had already met some people, and was off to grab some dinner. Maureen said he sounded pretty happy. We think he’s going to have a great time and I’m looking forward to his reports from shipboard—I hope he can send at least a photo or two if he wants to. Ah, a cruise ...

posted by lee on 06/06/09 at 02:53 AM
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