Day One Hundred-Two: Water Woes

For two days in February, we didn't have any water. Our neighborhood is on a community well and something went wrong with the pump. Once the pump was fixed, it was determined that a pipe burst under the roadway. Thus, two days without water. By everyone's reaction, you would have thought that this was one of the seven signs of the apocalypse. I am not leaving myself out in this criticism. I was impatient, cranky, and as the hours progressed, even pissed off. No water?! What were we to do?!

This got me thinking about the mass consumption of water we take for granted. I know that environmentalists have been harping on this for years, but I honestly have not been paying much attention. I turn on the faucet, and out comes the water. It is now clear that there is a bit more to it. So many of my everyday tasks involve water. To start the dishwasher, you need water. To start the washing machine, you need water. To boil anything to eat, you need water. To take a shower, you need water. To brush your teeth, you need water. To flush the toilet, you need water. To simply wash your hands, you need water. These are only the things I can think of off the top of my head. It was amazing how many times I automatically reached for the faucet when the water was off. The worst of the worst was living with 5 other people and having no ability to flush the toilets. Yuck.

We got by, needless to say. My husband has a full gym and shower facilities at his work, so we were able to take showers. We filled 7 gallons of water jugs from the tap after using the 7 we purchased. We also got a 5 gallon jug from a neighbor who had his own well. We cleaned out the toilets and did a fairly good job with most of the dishes. This was 22 gallons of water we carried into the house ourselves in less than a 24 hour period. It was not nearly enough.

To be fair, there were some people who had a genuine right to be upset with the lack of water. One poor neighbor had a colonoscopy scheduled the next day, so she was literally cleaning herself out prior to the procedure. Talk about poor timing for no flushing! Many of my neighbors have small children, so that means mess. Messy diapers, messy eating, messy everything. No water makes the mess hang around far too long. On the side of selfishness or impatience, are all of us who were angry with the simple inconvenience. Two days without water interrupted our schedules, our daily flow, our routines. It was a long two days.

Putting this all in perspective was a story I remembered seeing this year about high school children who volunteered in Africa as part of the Angel Network. One young lady was brought to tears at the sight of the river where the villagers gathered their water. The river was brown, filled with garbage, rotting animals and it smelled terrible. They had to walk 7 miles down a dusty trail to get there. This was the water they used to quench their thirst after the long, hot walk. This is the water with which they relied upon daily to drink, to cook and to wash. This is far from an isolated story. Many people around the world do not have clean water. Some have clean water, but do not have ready access to it. Some have access to water, but it is unreliable, as it dries up during droughts or other natural disasters. So think about it. We really are spoiled. We not only take water for granted, we often abuse the privilege. Scientists tell us that water will become the gold of the future; the commodity most rare and most valuable. I hope that we figure out a solution before then. War over water could become a reality. Until that time, think about your consumption of water. We need to stop taking it for granted and stop wasting it. The is literally no life without it.

Day One Hundred-One: Tiger Watching "Partie Deux"

Wow. I am so sick of the Tiger Woods soap opera. Does anyone in print or broadcast journalism remember what "hard news" is anymore? Isn't it more important to learn about the Haitian recovery, the progress on the Afghan war front, the draw down of troops from Iraq, or even the complicated mess of health care reform? If you care about these or any other issues facing our nation, our electorate, our citizens, you have to look hard and long for anything informative. The news for the past two days has been dominated by the public humiliation of Tiger Woods. Apparently, he gets high ratings from something other than his appearances on the pro golf tour.

I, of course, saw bits and pieces of his public apology. How could I not? Late night insomnia means I couldn't avoid it. I have to admit, I was more than a bit mesmerized by the human drama unfolding. Who else in recent memory has been so shamed before a frenzied public? It was uncomfortable to watch, especially the pained, vacant expression of his mother, arms folded, staring into space. That has too feel really bad. Its the polar opposite of the mighty quarterback shouting into the camera, "Thanks, Mom!" Who wants to have their mother look like that for the world to see? Pure, dignified, painful disappointment incarnate.

I have to say, other than for nosey, prurient entertainment, who really gives a s*$^! I mean, really?! Will the fact that he is or is not a flaming pig change any one's life one whit? Unless you are a stockholder in the P.G.A., Nike, Buick or any of the myriad commercial ventures he pitches when not in the proverbial dog house, it doesn't matter. His rise or fall will not lower our taxes, build our infrastructure, cure our cancer or bring home our troops. I know it is human nature to get involved in all this crap, but let us remember that this is what it is. Crap. Not some allegory for the human condition, the battle of the sexes or the temptations of the rich and powerful. What it is at its essence is a tired, sad story of a spoiled little boy who got caught with his hand in too many cookie jars and now he is getting one big ass time out. He deserves it, but do we all have to watch? If ratings have anything to say about it, we will be watching this sordid tale for months to come. It's just too bad the real casualties in this are two very small, very innocent children. It is way too much to hope that they will be showed any kindness and compassion in all this from the jackals in the mainstream or tabloid press. For the sake of them, do a kindness, send a message and don't watch anymore. God help them. They are going to need it.

Day One Hundred: Cheers to Nurses

I have had the fortune, or misfortune, depending upon how you look at it, of having a total of 10 surgical procedures during my lifetime. Only 1 was under life threatening circumstances and it happened so fast, I don't remember much of it at all. Each outcome, from the very scary to the mundane, was great. Whatever ailed me was fixed. In each instance, however, the most human contact I had was with the nurses working on staff.

I think nurses are lumped into the category with teachers, police officers and firefighters: they are absolutely indispensable to our quality of life but rarely receive either the pay or gratitude they are due. After all, in nursing, it is the doctors who received all the glory. It was the pairing of 2 o.b. surgeons who delivered 3 of my children. It was 3 separate orthopedic surgeons who repaired my knees and my feet. It was an oral surgeon who took out my wisdom teeth. Yet, it was the nurses who got me through these ordeals as quickly and humanly as possible.

Until I had my children, I never stopped to thank any of the nurses in any meaningful way. After the birth of each of my sons I sent a small token gift and thank you note to the nurse who stayed with me during the delivery, the long first night and the days after. I cannot say that I did the same for the surgical nurses. These days, everyone is in and out of the hospital so quickly that it is virtually impossible to form any lasting human connection. A series of forms, an i.v. needle and a quick pep talk and in one goes to outpatient surgery. Not conducive to much in the way of humanity, but effective on a time management level. (God help us.) Because everyone is in and out so fast, the nurses I dealt with were bristly efficient; i.e. not warm and fuzzy. It's no wonder with all they have to accomplish on any given shift. Still, I took it as a personal challenge to engage them on a level beyond chilly practicality. With just a little extra kindness and a warm thank you, to a person, each nurse became quite helpful, interested and pleasant. Funny, just like life, you get more with sugar than with vinegar.

I'm sure that this is not news to anyone. Still, in this age of much needed medical reform, the human element is missing from much of our modern miracle known as Western advanced medicine. Nurses are the last link we have to that human connection. Real people are going through scary things that are routine for most doctors and surgeons. It is the nurse on the floor or in he office that will do the hand holding and give the words of comfort or encouragement. All they require from the patient, from us, is the respect and kindness they deserve. It seems a very small price to pay for good karma and good health. Cheers to nurses and all that they do.