From the Ground

I haven't emphasized it or made a big deal of it, so it may have escaped the notice of some of my readers that since I arrived in Morgantown a year and a half ago, that since then I've been in living in a homeless shelter. It's a very nice program, designed to help people get back on their feet. It's taken an uncommonly long time for me to do so; more than most people would have the patience for.

However, due to qualifying for disability and some help from the shelter, I am finally moving into an apartment on my own, next Monday. April 4. Celebrations may now begin.

I'm very grateful to the directors and staff at the Bartlett House in Morgantown for their help, patience, and forbearance, and to Morgantown's Milan Puskar Health Right for their help in medical services. I owe more than I can ever repay, but if there is anyway I can now help others out of poverty and despair, I mean to do so. And for those various friends who have followed my story (You should know who you are) and offered good wishes, support, and prayers, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU.

But this is not the end of this blog, oh no. It's the beginning of a new chapter. I'm still going to be offering commentary and personal opinion...

From the Ground

On my trip out here, starting in Indiana and going through much of Ohio and West Virginia, I encountered a lot of narrow, up-and-down, winding, twisty roads. I've driven a few such, in Arizona and Utah, but there are more of them and they are longer out here.
Sometimes relationships are just that kind of thing, especially if emotions, hopes and fears, expectations, and our various roles in society get involved. I find it's necessary sometimes to put on the brakes, and slow down a bit. That's not the same as getting off the road.
I'm more than half convinced that romance is overrated. It's a disease, or maybe a pathological condition, akin to temporary insanity. I'll trade it for a stable, reliable friendship any time. Just about any time. Then again, *maybe* it's not *always* so bad...

As I was leaving the University library about lunch time, a young man was outside handing out pamphlets for "Jews for Jesus". I told him I thought it was a very good thing that some Jews seem to be accepting Jesus as the Messiah, and wished him the very best. I wanted to say more, but...I tend to get in trouble when my tongue starts wagging too freely.
I decided to call a halt to the Anne Perry series for now; I only made it halfway through the last couple of books. A friend has suggested a different one, the Mitford series by Jan Karon, that I'm going to try. I prefer to start series from the beginning, when I can. I went over to the city public library to see if they were there, and yes, they are.
The roommate who was my sometime chess partner, helped me get my glasses fixed, and so on was abruptly moved out a couple of weeks ago. I only heard rumors about why, and while I was in the city library, encountered him and heard his side of the story. I don't think he was or is being treated fairly, but I'm afraid the way he's handling it is more confrontational than conciliatory. I wish there was something I could do to help.

For those who are following this and wonder where I've been, I'm still alive and still here. But, things are finally, at long last, starting to move.

Since I'm qualified for SS Disability and SSI, which helps out a great deal in the finances department. I've started apartment hunting, so I hope to move into my own place by the beginning of the month.
I guess my heart decided I wasn't celebrating enough, so it started thumping, and pounding, and racing, and getting sore and achy. I decided that if this went on very long, I was going to be in sad shape, so called it an emergency and went into the hospital for observation early Tuesday morning (the 21st) After an echocardiogram about noon, a doctor came in about 6 pm and told me:
A) My blood pressure was too high. B) My heart condition is the same thing it was 6 months ago when I got everyone excited by flunking the stress test. C) My heart walls are twice as thick as anybody else's and stiff to boot, so there's not the capacity inside or the action to sustain a lot of activity, which accounts for the aches and shortness of breath. D) I need to bring my blood pressure down to below 100. It's 150 at the arm, which means it's around 230 inside the heart, which is enough to kill a horse and I'm not a horse so if I want to live, bring it down. E) Bringing my blood pressure down will help a whole lot of things. F) He didn't know why my heart sometimes decides to run wild when all I'm trying to do is get some sleep. G) The number one most important thing I can do is bring the blood pressure down. OK, I got the word, but did he have to tell the whole floor?
Then they turned me loose.

I've been devoting a bunch of time to e-mail correspondence with a woman I ment on LDS Mingle. There are worse things I could be doing with my time, but my list of things-I-need-to-do-but-haven't-found-time-for is growing again and I need to prune the list by geting some of them done.

I knew I was putting this off, but this is ridiculous. OK, there is a little bit of news. The Social Security Administration, in its definitely finite wisdom, has decided that yes, I do qualify as disabled. I should start receiving benefits sometime within the next 6 weeks, which should lift a significant burdent.

I had also looked into the West Virginia Division of Vocational Rehabilitation. They seem to be out of funds for this fiscal year, but if I qualify for SS Disability, I would automatically qualify for any assistance they can can offer, probably in January.

A friend recommended an LDS-oriented meeting service, LDSMingle where I've been visiting. They recently handed out a 7-day trial membership, and I've been taking full advantage of it. I should be back to mostly lurk mode in a couple of days. One person who started writing to me there has already decided to not pursue things. I expected this to happen sometime or other, but it's still disappointing.

I've been involved in writing related to the paper version of my knowledge base, a particularly slow-moving variant that I'm trying to accelerate, and not done much updating here. I learned that yes my mother does have cancer, a lymphoma, but it's supposed to respond well to chemotherapy.

All of a sudden, it appears that things are lurching forward for me. But, as usual, we shall see what we shall see.

About a week ago, a seed that's been sitting in an obscure corner of my mind sprouted.
I was thinking of an incident in the Book of Mormon (Mosiah 13:11, where Noah's priests are rebuked for having studied and taught iniquity the most part of their lives. I haven't done that, but it occurs to me that in my various studies, I've rather neglected the study of righteousness. By that I mean the practice of doing good. Too often, even if I would want to help people, I don't know how. So, I've begun thinking of ways I can do this.

Every so often, when I've been thinking about doing things for some time, I suddently and without much warning get up and move into action. I decided to go in and see the local WV Division of Rehabilitiation services. It seems they're out of funding for the year and although there are some things they might be able to help me with, it won't be until summer.