Headache Relief
Today will be filled with medical appointments. This morning, I have my next VYEPTI infusion for my headaches at the hospital. Basically, they will hook me up to an IV, and I will sit there for 30 minutes or so while I receive the medicine. It was mildly helpful last time. It lessened my headaches for about two months, though it didn’t help much when there were weather changes. Since I’ve reached my insurance’s out-of-pocket maximum for medical expenses, this won’t cost me anything. The last treatment was over $1400. I will have to talk to my neurologist at the Headache Clinic to see if there is any assistance to pay for the treatment. Otherwise, I will have to discontinue it. I am far from wealthy and meeting my out-of-pocket expenses every year is not a feasible option.
After my infusion, I will get lunch and then head to the headache clinic, where I have a follow-up appointment with my neurologist. We will discuss how effective the VYEPTI was, and I will discuss with her the expense of the medication. The Headache Clinic I go to is well-versed in all things headache related, as it should be. If there is a solution for financial assistance, they should know what it is. I wish insurance companies in the United States weren’t able to dictate treatments instead of doctors. It’s very frustrating when there are mountains of medical bills to pay, even when you have insurance. So please vote for Democrats and Progressives in the general election next Tuesday. We are all (except for the super-wealthy among us, but I am guessing no super-wealthy person reads this little blog) fucked if Republicans gain control of even one chamber of Congress.
After my headache appointment, I will head over to Target to get a few things. I might as well go while I am in New Hampshire. I may even go by HomeGoods, which is one of my favorite stores. I’ll probably go home after that. Quite frankly, all of that is enough for one day.
Friendships
Ointment and perfume delight the heart, and the sweetness of a man’s friend gives delight by hearty counsel.
—Proverbs 27:9
Friendship is truly one of the greatest gifts in life. In our friends we find trusted companions who know us and love us for who we are, no matter what. Friendship can also be challenging and messy, as it takes a lot of work to keep relationships with friends happy and healthy, but our friends are the people who get us through rough times—the people who very often come to us with compassion. They always have the right words because they know our needs. I’ve never heard anyone say they wish for fewer, less-meaningful relationships. Each one of us longs to be more connected, more deeply, with friends. And this is because God made us for true friendship.
Proverbs gives us wisdom for navigating the complexities of our relationships. And it doesn’t just address relationships in general, but also friendship in particular. For example, it teaches us what to look for in finding true friends. Proverbs 13:20 says, “He who walks with wise men will be wise, but the companion of fools will be destroyed,” and Proverbs 22:24-25 tells us, “Make no friendship with an angry man, and with a furious man do not go, lest you learn his ways and set a snare for your soul.”
We often treat relationships as consumers: we befriend for the benefits we receive. But like a contract, when the relationship doesn’t give us the goods we want, we leave. However, the Bible shows us that real friendship is more covenantal than contractual. Proverbs 18:24 teaches us, “A man who has friends must himself be friendly, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” God commands us in Proverbs 27:10, “Do not forsake your own friend or your father’s friend, nor go to your brother’s house in the day of your calamity; better is a neighbor nearby than a brother far away.” God warns us in Proverbs 19:4 about the fickleness of fair-weather friends: “Wealth brings many new friends, but a poor man is deserted by his friend.”
Our greatest joy is found in our fellowship with God and one another. This is why Jonathan Edwards said that friendship is “the highest happiness of moral agents.” According to the Bible, our chief happiness is in fellowship and friendship.The Bible gives us everything we need to recover a greater vision of true friendship. It shows us even our feeblest of efforts at forging friendships echo a more glorious reality—every friendship is a small and imperfect echo of God, who made us in his image to enjoy friendship forever. Friendship didn’t come from us; it came from God. And he gives us everything we need—through his word and his Spirit—to cultivate it well, for the glory of God.
Friends bring us great comfort in times of need, and the Bible tells us about the importance of our friendships. God’s Word can also be a great comfort in itself. Gary David Comstock wrote in Gay Theology Without Apology, “Instead of making the Bible into a parental authority, I have begun to engage it as I would a friend- as one to whom I have made a commitment and in whom I have invested dearly, but with whom I insist on a mutual exchange of critique, encouragement, support, and challenge. Such investment and commitment hinge on deeply felt and shared experience, meaning, and outlook- a cooperative project to live fully that both changes and remains steady through joys and sorrow.”
Moment of Zen: Cooking
I was talking to a friend the other day, and we were talking about southern food, my blog, etc. I told him that if I were to post my true “Moments of Zen,” it would always be about cooking. All the Moment of Zen posts interest me, but what truly calms me more than anything and puts me in a Zen-like state, is cooking. Whether it’s a simple recipe that takes time, a quick and easy recipe, or a complex and time-consuming dish, cooking it what center’s menu and allows me to let the rest of the world go away for a bit. Now, if I could just find a man to cook for. As they say, “The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.” If a man would give me a chance, my cooking could have him hooked forever.
Rough Day
Wednesday evening, I had my COVID booster and flu vaccination. The actual shots themselves weren’t too bad, even if the pharmacist who gave them to me was not the friendliest person I’ve ever met. He was young and cute but didn’t even smile once. Anyway, that’s not the point. Yesterday, I had my usual reaction to the COVID booster. It began with a bad headache and body aches. All of my joints hurt. Then, came the fever. My skin felt like I had pins sticking in me everywhere. By last night, my fever had reached over 100, and I went to bed at 7:30 pm. I woke several times, but eventually went to sleep for good around 10 pm.
Thankfully, this morning, I feel much better. The fever and body aches are gone. The headache isn’t completely gone, but does that surprise anyone? I almost always have a migraine. It comes with having “chronic” migraines. On Monday, I will go for my next VYEPTI infusion in the morning and see my neurologist in the afternoon. Last time, the VYEPTI provided some relief, so I hope it will this time as well.
The Naked Gunner
You have probably all seen this photograph by Horace Bristol form 1944. It has been widely reproduced and viewed as a symbol of bravery, loyalty, and erotic masculinity. In October 2020, the photo was included in a Sotheby’s auction of Classic Photographs. Lot 13, “HORACE BRISTOL | PBY BLISTER GUNNER, RESCUE AT RABAUL” sold for $ 27,720, well over the estimate of $ 8,000-$12,000.
“PBY Blister Gunner, Rescue at Rabaul, 1944” is one of the most iconic photos of the Pacific War. But the identity of the “Naked Gunner,” as it is popularly known, remains a mystery to this day. The photo was taken by Horace Bristol (1908-1997), a founding photojournalist for the illustrious Life magazine. In 1941, Bristol was recruited to the U.S. Naval Aviation Photographic Unit, as one of six photographers under the command of Captain Edward J. Steichen, documenting World War II in places such as South Africa and Japan. It is not known if the Bristol ever asked the soldier for his name as he captured his image. Sadly, we will never know. Bristol died in 1997, having kept a discreet silence on the bomber’s identity if, indeed, he ever knew it.
Bristol ended up being on the plane the gunner was serving on, which was used to rescue people from Japanese-held Rabaul Harbor (New Britain Island, Papua New Guinea) when this photograph was taken. In an article from a December 2002 issue of B&W Magazine he remembers:
“…we got a call to pick up an airman who was down in the Bay.
“The Japanese were shooting at him from the island, and when they saw us, they started shooting at us. The man who was shot down was temporarily blinded, so one of our crew stripped off his clothes and jumped in to bring him aboard. He couldn’t have swum very well wearing his boots and clothes.
“As soon as we could, we took off. We weren’t waiting around for anybody to put on formal clothes. We were being shot at and wanted to get the hell out of there. The naked man got back into his position at his gun in the blister of the plane.”
The fearless airman was deployed as part of a rescue campaign known as Operation Dumbo. Dumbo was the code name used by the United States Navy during the 1940s and 1950s to signify search and rescue missions, conducted in conjunction with military operations, by long-range aircraft flying over the ocean. The purpose of Dumbo missions was to rescue downed American aviators as well as seamen in distress. Dumbo aircraft were originally land-based heavy bomber aircraft converted to carry an airborne lifeboat to be dropped in the water near survivors. The name “Dumbo” came from Walt Disney’s flying elephant, the main character of the animated film Dumbo, appearing in October 1941. The campaign saved many Americans and their allies from a watery grave.
The PBY Catalina (a waterbomber) for which the naked man was a gunner, was an amphibious aircraft, recognized and celebrated by American aviators and flight crews for its vast range and endurance. According to the PBY Naval Air Museum, Washington website, the ‘versatile’ aircraft was capable of dropping “torpedoes, depth charges and bombs” while providing defense for their crews from “multiple high-caliber machine guns.” The airborne fleet, designed by Isaac Machlin Laddon and manufactured by the Consolidated Aircraft Corporation, was used all over the world, but particularly in coastal areas, to “patrol for enemy fleets and perform rescues.”
You can see more of Bristol’s photographs if you go to http://www.horacebristol.com.
Authors
Recent Comments
Michael Edwin Simond… on Drawn to Form: The Academic Nu… vandycolt on Moment of Zen: Fun in the… noisilycool3bc985058… on A Quiet Thursday noisilycool3bc985058… on The Winter War The Winter War | The… on The Broken Dawn Top Posts & Pages
Amazon Associate
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. So, if you click on a link that takes you to Amazon.com, I may earn a commission.
Trust me, it isn’t much, but every little bit helps.
Joe
The Closet Professor 