Conspiracy Theory

I am currently reading through Bill O'Rielly's book Killing Kennedy. It chronicles the life of Kennedy and the events and people leading up to the assassination of the president.

Since conspiracy theories surrounding his death abound, I figure I ought to throw mine into the mix. It has no basis in fact, but I think it is the most original. If I disappear within a couple of days, it is probably because it is accurate and someone has been tipped off by one of you four people about my blog.

Kennedy Assassination Theory

I believe he arranged to have himself done in.

Here is why:

He was suffering from addison's disease, which can easily be fatal, debilitating and painful.

He had chronic back pain.

He really wanted immortality, and knew that an assassination would guarantee it. (Ok, this one breaks down a little when you think of President Mckinley's assassination, mainly because no-one ever does think of it and he didn't achieve immortality).

So, according to this theory, based on my very limited understanding of both the facts and psychology, Kennedy discovered that his life was limited and he would probably die soon. Probably even in office. Not wanting to be a public spectacle as he suffered and died, he arranged to have himself done in. 

That is it. That is all I got. This theory is copyrighted! You got anything better?

And, in my experience, when you are in the same room with Mel Gibson, he is very much like his character in the movie Conspiracy Theory. Great movie. Well done sir!

A Few More...

Here are a few more I have been diving in to:

The lives and legends of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid / by Thom Hatch

Sua sponte : the forging of a modern American Ranger Dick Couch

Superman versus the ku klux klan

Egil's Saga





Dog Company: The Boys of Pointe Du Hoc

The Dealer

  "I am by nature a dealer of words, and words are the most powerful drugs known to humanity."

Rudyard Kipling

The Stay

We recently went to visit a friend of ours who was staying with their child in the hospital. It brought to mind some vivid memories of when we were in and out of the hospitals with one of ours.

In case you haven't experienced the joy of extended hospital stays, here are some of the things that you are missing:

The Food
Complaints about hospital food are almost cliche. I have found that most hospitals have greatly improved their cafeterias, offering all sorts of tasty varieties and choices. But the food the patient gets is still plain old hospital food. Does food that barely even looks like food really help you recover quicker?

 The Care
Most hospital staff are genuinely caring, concerned and competent. But every now and then, you seem to get one that seems like they either don't care, or they are perhaps just exceptionally stupid. When ours was first in the hospital, we were wondering how we would be able to go home and provide proper care until we ran into this sort of stupidity. "We gotta get outta here!" was our next thought.

Disagreements
 I know the medical personnel have a good deal of knowledge and expertise that the rest of us don't have. That is a big reason we take our kids to the hospital when they are sick. we don't know what do do and we don't have all the stuff to deal with the problem. Nevertheless, sometimes disagreements arise.
One of the defenses for this is that we know the patient better than the staff does, so we might see something they have missed.

Some of these disagreements are minor. Some are a little bigger.

The time I was seriously considering throwing the neurosurgeon out the window if he came close with his scalpel was probably a larger one. Fortunately, I have impulse control and the Nursing staff and, finally, the head neurosurgeon agreed with us. Otherwise things may have gone badly.

The Atmosphere
Hospitals, especially ones that deal mainly with children, have taken huge strides in sprucing their places up. They paint the walls in festive colors, have activities available, leave stuffed animals every time your child has contact with anyone and makes sure all the latest electronics are available for all.

But, it is still a hospital with nurses and sick people. And the floors are still dirty. If you drop that thing on the floor, you better not plan on keeping it!

The Rest of the World
When you are in there with your kid, it is a big deal. Everything should come to a stop while the world holds a candlelight vigil for their health. But, in reality, the rest of the world and everyone you have ever known goes on about their business while you are trapped in the hospital.