StumbleUpon | PiperWilson's blog posts

http://PiperWilson.stumbleupon.com/review/12650379/

Sat, 15 Sep 2007 11:52:47 -0700

"You have to write the book that wants to be written.
And if the book will be too difficult for grown-ups,
then you write it for children."

-Madeleine L'Engle
1918-2007

http://PiperWilson.stumbleupon.com/review/12650254/

Sat, 15 Sep 2007 11:47:33 -0700

Circular Reasoning Works

http://PiperWilson.stumbleupon.com/review/12522501/

Mon, 10 Sep 2007 19:15:37 -0700

http://PiperWilson.stumbleupon.com/review/12516226/

Mon, 10 Sep 2007 14:56:03 -0700

The Invisible Woman

By Nicole Johnson

It started to happen gradually. One day I was walking my son Jake to school. I was holding his hand and we were about to cross the street when the crossing guard said to him, "Who is that with you, young fella?" "Nobody," he shrugged. "Nobody?" The crossing guard and I laughed. My son is only 5, but as we crossed the street, I thought, "Oh my goodness, nobody?"

I would walk into a room and no one would notice. I would say something to my family - like "Turn the TV down, please" - and nothing would happen. Nobody would get up, or even make a move for the remote. I would stand there for a minute, and then I would say again, a little louder, "Would someone turn the TV down?" Nothing.

Just the other night my husband and I were out at a party. We'd been there for about three hours and I was ready to leave. I noticed he was talking to a friend from work. So I walked over, and when there was a break in the conversation, I whispered, "I'm ready to go when you are." He just kept right on talking.

That's when I started to put all the pieces together. I don't think he can see me. I don't think anyone can see me. I'm invisible. It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask to be taken to the store. Inside I'm thinking, "Can't you see I'm on the phone?" Obviously not! No one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all. I'm invisible.

Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this?

Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, "What time is it?" I'm a satellite guide to answer, "What number is the Disney Channel?" I'm a car to order, "Right around 5:30, please."

I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated summa cum laude -but now they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again.

She's going, she's going, she's gone!

One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England. Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself as I looked down at my out-of-style dress; it was the only thing I could find that was clean. My unwashed hair was pulled up in a banana clip and I was afraid I could actually smell peanut butter in it.

I was feeling pretty pathetic, when Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, "I brought this for you." It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe. I wasn't exactly sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription: "To Charlotte, with admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees."

In the days ahead I would read - no, devour - the book. And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work:
* No one can say who built the great cathedrals - we have no record of their names.
* These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished.
* They made great sacrifices and expected no credit.
* The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw every thing.

A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, "Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it." And the workman replied, "Because God sees." I closed the book, feeling

http://PiperWilson.stumbleupon.com/review/12497069/

Sun, 09 Sep 2007 21:20:45 -0700

This is one of my first essays. I published it on Helium.com. It is rated #1 in its title.

No one likes to go to the emergency room. That's understandable. For one thing, the fact that you are there means that you have a problem that you cannot deal with on your own. Not only that, but you get to pay someone else an exorbitant amount of money at the same time. It is also irritating waiting centuries for your turn, I mean, hours for your turn. I have figured something out; when the staff take you straight back to an exam room instead of making you wait 4 hours, this is NOT a sign of good service. Customer service is not a high priority for emergency room personnel. That doesn't mean that they will go out of their way to inconvenience you. It means that they have bigger fish to fry. Let me reiterate, going straight back to an exam room is BAD.

Almost 10 years ago, my six year old son had a chest cold. All of the sudden, he started complaining about stomach pain. My internal "Red Alert" lights started flashing, so I took him down to the ER. It wasn't a busy night, and we made it to the triage nurse within 10 minutes. She took his pulse and blood pressure and also tested his O2sats (blood oxygen saturation levels) which turned out to be 87. She said, "Why don't you two come on back?" Then the ER staff were all doing something for my son. It wasn't dramatic like on TV, but they were definitely scurrying. I was confused because I didn't think it was all that bad. After all, an 87 is a B+, right? In a word, no. But I'm still not a doctor, so I don't know why and don't care all that much. I do know that my son had actually pneumonia, not just a head cold.

Two years ago, my other son was getting his nightly (high blood pressure) medicine ready when he spilled the bottle. So, he picked all the pills up. After he picked them all up, because he had been in the process of taking his medicine to begin with, he proceeded to swallow the entire handful. Over doses are nothing to trifle with, so we headed straight to the ER. Thank God that he told me right away! When we got to the hospital, I told the nurse what we were there for, and we headed straight back to an exam room. We spent the next two nights in the hospital.

Last June, I fell at work and broke my left elbow, badly. Or, depending on your point of view, I did a very good job breaking it. I arrived at the hospital in an ambulance. Once I got there, my wheelchair was parked in the waiting room and I waited over an hour and a half to be seen. That is not a long wait, all things considered, but it is far from a straight shot to the doctor! I was definitely injured, but the fact that I was waiting to go back told me that I was not in imminent danger.

I am not talking about the aberrational situations where people have died because they should have been seen earlier. That is a whole other topic. For the average Joe, waiting in the ER for treatment can be torture. You depend on the staff to end the interminable wait and so you analyze them, like a hunter stalking prey. From your point of view they flirt, fight, and gossip instead of discernibly treating patients. At times like this, remember waiting is good.

http://PiperWilson.stumbleupon.com/review/12376456/

Wed, 05 Sep 2007 11:17:13 -0700

I use the Safari Browser, which means the Stumberl toolbar doesn't work for me. I am delighted that I found this list of keyboard shortcuts. I think it will make it possible for me to do more of the things that other people can do around here. For example, I couldn't figure out a way to "Dislike" a page, not that I've seen any yet, I just didn't like the fact that I couldn't do it.

Function Windows Mac/Linux
Stumble! Alt-F1 Alt-ESCAPE
Rate the page "I like it!" Alt-F2 Alt-F1
Rate the page "Not-for-me" Alt-F3 Alt-F2
View Site Review Page Alt-F5 Alt-F3
Toggle toolbar visibility Alt-F11 Alt-F11

Peace,

Piper