There are some funny people and some very interesting people on staff here at the tiny Healdsburg District Hospital in Sonoma County, Northern CA. One of my favorites is a guy named John from Zimbabwe whose accent sounds like hes an Aussie. He works nights with another African from Nigeria also named John who is very tall and dark with a terrific smile. Nigerian John joked with me that they were the white African John and and black African John. He and I had a wonderful discussion about the Nobel Peace Prize winner and lover of trees Wangari Maathai whose sister in law Burbanks Farm hosted for a tree-planting ceremony back in 2012. I was speaking of my book Confessions of a Plant Activist all about my fight to save a specimen wisteria vine and said I wished the trick Wangari used to stop the bulldozers from clearing trees to make way for a business park in her country was universal and I couldve used it. In Nigeria, if an older lady pulls her dress up over her head exposing her body to you, she is leveling a curse upon you. Hey, dont laugh, in that case, it stopped the destruction of the trees when the President of Nigeria pulled the demolition crews back! When Zimbabwe John was on the other night, Id asked for a cup of coffee to stave off one of the terrible caffeine headaches I get. John delayed and found me about an hour later literally crying from the pain. Im so, so sorry, he said, I shouldve gotten the coffee when you first told me... So, from then on, every night, Zimbabwe John sends Nigerian John to get me coffee without any prompting on my part. Tonight I had to renegotiate with Elizabeth (my nurse for the night shift) but she is very good and understands so, here I sit sipping on my anti-headache coffee as I write this... Watching the aftermath of the horrible storm we just had on TV last night on gives a brief idea of how bad it was... They shut down several schools -- not so much because the schools were in bad shape but because it is extremely dangerous to drive around in our county right now. You hit one of those standing patches of storm water across the road and it brings you to a screeching halt -- most times with horrible repercussions... My roomie is a delightful Mexican mother and grandmother who had a collapsed lung. Her children and grandchildren have been by her side day and night since she got here... I have to say her daughters look so UNCOMFORTABLE sitting up in a chair sleeping next to her bed through the night. Hubby and KTE wanted to come by yesterday -- an idea which I kaboshed immediately... No need to be out there risking life and limb when I am fine and have the best care youre likely to get for MILES around
Posted on: Fri, 12 Dec 2014 11:21:14 +0000
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