The Desert Independent

Dr. Glenn Mollette You don’t have to stay in the nursing home if you don’t want to. If you can manage to get out and have a place to go then it’s your life. Even if you want to spend your remaining days crawling in the floor to the kitchen or the bathroom then it’s your God given right to live out your days in such a way.

Too often people feel as if they do not have choices. Some nurse or social worker says, “Oh, you can’t leave here.” Really? If you are mentally and physically able then you can show them by getting up, putting on your clothes, if you are able, and walking or crawling out the door.

A few years back, an acquaintance went to the emergency room. After 30 minutes of feeling like she was being treated very poorly, she got up and left. An attending nurse called for her to stop saying, “Wait, you can’t leave!” The acquaintance said, “Watch me.” The nurse responded, “You have to see the doctor!” The acquaintance said “No, I don’t.” To which the nurse responded, “You can’t leave without signing this paper!” The acquaintance responded, “I’m not signing anything,” as she walked out the door.

Most of the time we are submissively obedient to everything the medical community says to do. Many years ago, when Magic Johnson was diagnosed with HIV, many of us believed he would die very soon. That was in 1992 and he is still alive today. Johnson once said, “I do what my doctor tells me to do.”

It only makes sense to pay attention to our doctors. Most of the time, they know more than we do. If your cardiologist says to take statins or high blood pressure medicine then it would be wise to do so until you can get your numbers under control.

A friend of ours was advised by her doctor that she needed a hysterectomy. The doctor scheduled the procedure. Days before the procedure our friend called to say she had some unresolved questions. The doctor never called her back so our friend called and emailed the doctor’s office to cancel. The morning of the scheduled surgery, the doctor called the woman from the surgical room infuriated because our friend did not show up. Our friend said, “Doctor I never received a return call to answer my questions, so I cancelled the surgery.” The doctor said, “I can answer those questions here, you need to come on now.” Our friend said, “” No, I won’t be there, I have questions about this procedure that I need to have resolved.” The doctor verbally berated her and forbid her to cancel. MORE

Bear Poop & Bells

Home Country
Fiction by SLIM RANDLES
To The Desert Independent

May 5, 2021

It was sure nice, Windy thought. Just sitting out here in Mamie’s yard with my dog, Ramses, and some refreshments Mamie brought out that did not include raw meat or vegetables no one could pronounce.

“Don’t that there sun feel good, Mamie?”

She smiled and nodded and drank more tea.

“Afore you know it, them ol’ bears’ll be out and wrasslin’ around fer somethin’ to eat. Gotta be careful in the woods, ya know. Take a rifle along. What? Oh, a thirty-ought six should be plenty, I’m thinkin’. ‘Course ya hafta place yer shot right. Nothin’ worse than a wounded bear.”

Mamie thought something less than killing the bear should work right.

“Well, Mamie,” said Windy, “there’s two schoolers of thought on that one and one of ‘em’s wrong. Ya see, the hippy dippy folks carry a spray ‘em can of pepper juice with ‘em in the woods. And they wear these here little bells on their belt loops.”

Mamie smiled and nodded.

“The idear bein’ that little bell a dingie-dongin’ ‘round will tell the bear, hey, thass a hooman bein’ and you better watch out cuz he’s smarter’n you are. But les’ jest say that ol’ bear’s got hisself a hearin’ problem and that bell don’t mean nothin’ to him. Wellsir, thass where that danged pepper spray comes in handy. Yep, ol’ Organtic Woodsman hisself pulls out that can and jest lets her rip right in the bear’s face. I’ll jest bet that smarts somethin’ awful, too.

“But later, you know, when they’re trackin’ that bear down, he makes hisself easy to tell from other bears, cuz his poop smells like pepper and its got little bells in it.

“Yep. Thirty-ought six should be enough.”

Brought to you by Sweetgrass Mornings, by Slim Randles. See it at University of New Mexico Press. MORE