64 thoughts on “Our Daily Thread 9-26-12”

  2. Repeat after me…The dentist is my friend. You don’t want to look like one of those dried up apple dolls they sell in the mountains do you?

    Monday we turned on my Mojo Dialer. I have 3 phone lines ringing until someone answers then I start talking. I can dial about 60 to 75 calls in an hours and have reached about 5 or 6 people. Now I am learning to toggle between that program and my database program where I keep the notes. All in all it is pretty cool. There is a lot of garbage to weed through. Luckily I am savvy enough not to ask for Sonny Crockett when the guy answers the phone “This is Pat”. People think they are so clever. Sometimes it really is a wrong number. Yesterday a woman called me back to ask how I got her number and what this was about. Someone has been registering her on various websites as some sort of joke.

    I really am impressed with this company. My only gripe this morning is that I think the motor has died in the power window of my truck–driver’s window. Wonder how much that will cost me?

    Have a good one everyone.

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  4. Going to the dentist…I don’t like it either, Chas. The so-called “cavity-prone years” (teens to twenty-something?) never ended for me. 😦

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  6. My friend has been leading a Bible study on the book of Philippians for quite some time now (we go very slowly and examine a lot of other related scriptures). We’ve been on chapter 4, verse 8 for the last several times we’ve met. I’m finding myself meditating on this verse a lot as I go through my days.

    QoD: What’s your favorite part of the verse, and why? Or what do you love about the verse in its entirety?

    “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.”

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  7. Hey, it could be worse, Chas. I’m going in for my mammogram tomorrow. 🙂 Got to the dentist last month. Having #toomuchfun — as they’d say on Twitter.

    It’s my early-early day today, have to go in to make all the cop calls. So after a quick shower and feeding the animals before dawn (which rather confuses them, I think), I’m trying to hard-boil an egg for breakfast and throw together a quick lunch.

    I’ve been making these wonderful chopped up salads, but there’s no time for that — and I don’t do these things the night before, which I know would make “sense.”

    Not my style to always do things that make sense. Besides, last night was chock full with the dog class.

    It’s finally cooling down here a bit this week, let’s hope it lasts. I’m really so over the 85-90 degree days by now. 😦

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  8. Good Morning 🙂
    It rained all afternoon and into the evening yesterday…I took an afternoon nap! Snow in the high country and on Pikes Peak…it’s a welcome sight.
    6Arrows…that verse always centers me…with oh so many distractions in this life, ’tis good indeed to think upon these things

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  9. QoD: It takes me right back from a temporal to an eternal perspective.

    How about a minor alternative question of the day or a MAQoD? My Idahon sister has a Christian friend whose son married a Mormon woman agaist their wishes. The woman wanted to remain a LDS since to not do so would allienate her family. The church said she had to be sealed in the church, SOOO while she is legally married to one guy she is “married” in the church to a Mormon man who is also legally married to someone else. This woman has to sit with this man and his wife when she attends church. She is also suppose to run any major decisions past him. So here are my minor Qs: Have any of you ever heard of this practice? (Mumsee?) How can this be the church that fought so hard in CA to keep marriage between one man and one woman with a straight face? (no pun intended) And, why are there any women in the world who put up with this sort of thing?

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  11. Adios: I have not heard of that specific practice, but the LDS’s doctrines of ‘salvation’ are wrapped up in ‘marriage’. They only decided to stop the practice of polygamy because they decided that they should obey the law of the land they lived in. In other words, their essential doctrines have not changed, they have just made an outward compromise. They are somewhat like the Muslims in this. This also means if the only reason for Mormons not practicing polygamy is the law of the land, depending on Romney to uphold traditional marriage is dangerous. Random and I aren’t only ones who think he is bad news. I was talking to my pastor, who has lived in the States, and a relative, who lives in the States, and they had both come to the same conclusion independently. In fact, it was my pastor who alerted me to the fact that the Mormons are starting to swing in support of gay marriage.

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  13. Good morning! Kids are off to school. My parents are coming into town today to stay with us for a couple of days. Kids are really looking forward to the visit. So am I. My parents run a vacation cabin rental business on their property in the Hill Country (see MullersArkRanch.com), so when we visit them ,they are often busy attending to the needs of the business. But, when they come to my house, it is a much more satisfying visit! They are getting old (79 & 76), but still lead very active lives. I feel blessed to have them both still with us.

    QOD: I love that verse. It’s one of the first ones I memorized as a new Christian. I love it b/c it tells me exactly what is worthy of spending my time thinking about. I have struggled with depression for years (although it is now well-managed through medication) and frequently had self-limiting and discouraging ruminations. This verse supports the idea that thoughts have power and the importance of training our mind to dwell on those things which build us and others up rather than tear down. It encourages me to bring every thought captive to Christ. It encourages me, period.

    Chas: Good luck at the dentist. I, too, have a terrible fear of the dentist. I go, but quite reluctantly. I’d rather see the OB/GYN any day, and that’s saying something!

    Donna: Hope your mammogram goes well and isn’t too uncomfortable. I need to get one also as I turned 41 last February and the doctor said 40 is the recommended starting age for mammograms. I keep meaning to make the appointment, but it never seems to get done!

    MAQoD: I know nothing about this, but can’t imagine being okay with it. What a bizarre arrangement! How can you possibly “become one flesh” with your spouse if you have to run all major decisions by someone other than your spouse? This makes no sense to me at all. I, too, have doubts about Mitt Romney, but believe he will do less damage than another four years of Obama. But, I must admit, I know very little about the Mormon religion. I have been impressed with how much money he donates to charity (of course, the liberal media barely mentions it). I really wish we had nominated someone else in the Republican primary. Now I will vote for the lesser of two evils.

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  15. QoD: I remember that verse popping into my mind at one time when I seemed to be unable to STOP thinking about about some unpleasant things. I mentally asked myself, “How do you stop thinking about something” and the answer was that verse.

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  16. Donna (and whoever else wants to tell me I’m an idiot): At age 63, I have decided to discontinue mammograms and colonoscopies. There is zero cancer in my family currently and as far back as anyone remembers so I have convinced myself that they are a waste of time and money. Plus, since my right breast was injured in a car accident (4 years ago), the mammo report always comes back as questionable and they make me come back in and explain to them ONE MORE TIME that it’s nothing (which they agree is the case but don’t seem to put the info in the file and won’t talk about it over the phone so that I have to go back in every time).

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  17. I always liked Andy Williams, thanks for the video AJ. I always liked his Christmas TV shows, and still enjoy his Christmas albums. My favorite of his recordings is “Canadian Sunset.”

    He certainly was instrumental in putting Branson, MO on the map, wasn’t he?

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  18. Mormonism from what I have heard. Yes, that is a common practice. The young girls are out there as bait to bring the young men into the fold. But when the young men are resistant, the church must step in to keep the young woman on the right spiritual track. Her spiritual husband is the one who is to give her guidance and direction. She must be married to a Mormon who will later be calling her into heaven so it is rather important. Women cannot make it on their own, their husbands must call them. But they don’t necessarily get called. If a guy has ten spiritual wives for example, he may call them to different levels of heaven or not at all. Anyway, I digress.

    Yes, there are Mormons in Idaho and other places who practice this. Sadly, there are other people doing the same. They also go ahead and have multiple wives the whole way. We were acquainted with a guy who, a couple of years ago, decided the Mormons had a good thing going so he took a second wife. It took some persuading to get his wife to go along but he succeeded. He subsequently lost his job as a school superintendent or principal or some such thing.

    Mormons are quite secretive about a lot of their practices but this one is coming out in the open more and more lately. I wonder why?

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  19. Linda Shaffer,

    I discontinued all of that stuff a long time ago. I will probably die from something eventually or sooner. And I have had relatives with cancer but I suspect it had more to do with their use of the Pill than with genetics. I can worry about it and stress over it and get all sorts of false readings or face whatever happens through my neglect.

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  22. Linda…I discontinued mammograms after having three…I had one colonoscopy and was told I’m good to go for another 10 years…I took that as…you don’t have to come back! 🙂 I go for my annual checkups…my GYN knows he will not convince me to get “squished” again…some women have no troubles with the exam..that’s not the case for me…I suggested to my GYN that they invent something akin to snowcones…plop them in and send a “hover craft” to orbit abound them….he just smiled and walked out the room 🙂

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  23. Linda, my mother has a strong history of breast cancer in her family, and she had an biospy for carcinoma in situ. After the biopsy, she was recommended for further surgery and radiation treatment, but due to an error they didn’t notify her of the recommendation – she got a call from the radiation clinic asking her why she hadn’t shown up for her appointment. She now refuses to have a yearly mammogram. That was about 12 years ago, and she still has no signs or symptoms of cancer and as she says, she wouldn’t take chemo or radiation anyway. Breast cancer is overdiagnosed and overtreated – perhaps there is such an emphasis on it because of its dramatic cosmetic effects. Gastrointestinal (stomach and bowel) cancer has killed more members of my family, but it is a lot less glamourous disease to talk about.

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  24. Linda, I didn’t “discontinue”; I never started. (I have had one mammogram since a doctor wanted it for a specific reason. They too told me I had an issue for concern, sent me for further tests to verify it wasn’t an issue–as they and I both suspected, it was not–and even though it wasn’t an issue, they still wanted me to follow up in six months. No thanks.)

    My family has always lived by the idea “the less you see of doctors, the better,” and in general it’s a good practice. I’m happy that my husband is largely in the same boat. (The specifics vary for him, but the principle is the same.) Since his late wife died of cancer, if he were the sort to worry and need me to get tests for his own peace of mind, I would; but I’m happier (and I think healthier) for not being overly doctor-friendly. (If an issue “doesn’t go away” in a couple of weeks, I’ll go to the doctor. But most things go away in a few days.)

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  25. Mumsee, Re: Mormonism – your first paragraph could just substitute the word Muslim for Mormon, and it would sound like the way Islam views women. Both religions have a prophet which supercedes Jesus Christ – Mormonism may not just be a ‘cuckoo’ religion, but also a Trojan horse.

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  28. Well, there seems to be a bit of a trend (hopefully small) toward “Christian polygamy.” This website was mentioned in a book I proofed a few months ago, and others can be found by googling: http://biblicalfamilies.org/ Editor’s note: In no way do I endorse this product or service.

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  29. Well, they catch those right down the road in the Salmon and the Snake. But they get in trouble if they take them out of the water. Interesting to know what is swimming in the water with you.

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  31. I don’t consider myself “over-doctored”, but I do try to have a yearly ob/gyn exam & a mammogram. So many people in my family have died of cancer, including both my parents & 2 grandparents. So I tend to think that having a yearly exam & mammogram is being a good steward of my body & health.

    My aunt had one of those false-positive cancer scares, determined she would never put herself through that again, & stopped having her yearly ob/gyn visit. Unfortunately, she ended up dying a very painful death from a cancer that could maybe have been prevented if she had gone to the doctor for the routine tests.

    I’m not afraid to die, but I really would like to stick around to see Forrest grow up at least a little more.

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  35. Still loading your photos but I never get in the water except my hot tub and that is rare. Okay, last summer while camping, I did put my camp chair in the creek while panning for gold with my children.

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  37. On the other hand, Karen, my mom was diligent with her screenings and died at fifty two of ovarian cancer. My sister, so disturbed by my mom’s death did her screenings every six months and died at forty nine. I am living the icing on the cake at fifty five and do not do any of their checks, much to my doctor’s dismay. I will probably die of something between now and fifty or so years. Meantime, I will live my life to the best of my ability serving God in the ways He calls me.

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  39. Mammograms: I had one in my 20’s when I found a lump in my breast, which turned out to be benign, and went away on its own. They figured it was caffeine-related, so I try to avoid caffeine, and I’ve never had any further lumps.

    I wish now that I had never had that mammogram after learning of the risks caused by mammograms themselves. A friend of mine who had breast cancer did a lot of research into medical procedures associated with cancer diagnosis, treatment, etc. and learned that if you already have breast cancer, a mammogram can spread the cancer to other areas. (A needle biopsy can do the same.) And having a mammogram done on healthy breasts damages the tissue when it’s squeezed so tightly between the plates, increasing the breasts vulnerability to the radiation delivered in the procedure.

    Medical professionals say they like to get a baseline mammogram to be able to make a comparison between a person’s normal breast tissue and any abnormal tissue they may find sometime in the future. Yet I have to wonder if frequent mammograms don’t lead to the very abnormalities in breast tissue that some women later get, or to cancer itself. Are yearly mammograms helping to drum up business for their big fancy cancer treatment centers? I don’t know, and I wouldn’t trust them to suddenly adjust their mammogram policies if they learned that those are increasing women’s chances for getting breast cancer.

    As for me, I’ve declined every routine mammogram I’ve been offered. For one thing, I was still having babies in my early 40’s when they started asking (getting breast cancer when you’re nursing is very rare), and for another, I’ve breastfed a total of 12 years, and am at very low risk because of that. I’m also very thin, and could easily find a lump if I had one. I easily found the benign lump I had in my 20’s, and I weighed at least 20 pounds more then than I do now.

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  43. Good morning. I spent the morning with the church’s wood ministry cutting and splitting wood for donations and low cost sales to deserving people (erring on the side of mercy and generosity on who they define as “deserving.”). After the effort, they met at church and discussed the controversial ending of Monday Night Football. I saw part of the game (at the gym) but not the ending. My comment (mostly ignored) was that the receiver and the defender were so close in the disputed game-winning catch that perhaps the replacement referee should have told them they need to get married. If he had, an issue would be whether laws in Wisconsin (where I once lived) or Washington state (where I now live) should apply. And in Washington state, it all might depend on the outcome of Referendum 74. An effort to cancel the controversial homosexual marriage law passed by the Washington state legislature. Which leads me to . . . (hint: you may want to stop reading before you delicate sensibilities are offended or shaken by my next comment).

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  44. Someone, I think it was Sails, asked why I continue to read a web site set up by Christians and for Christians, when I am an atheist. It’s a reasonable question.

    I can easily think of two answers. One might offend. I don’t want to provide excuses for being banned, so I am withholding that explanation. The other answer might run a little long. That’s fairly easy to ignore. So I am ignoring it for you.

    I also have an at least 2-part question. (1) Is the purpose of “Our Daily Thread” to be a place for Christians to talk to only other Christians? (2) Or is it a place for people of all views and beliefs to communicate with each other and exchange ideas and views? This is a serious question. Because if 1 is true, it would be fairly easy to state this as a rule and then ban or reject anyone who expresses a non-Christian opinion or point of view. If 2 is true . . . well, here I am. And again, I can explain (at least in part) why I am here, but as I said . . . well, I will explain in part, again providing an opportunity for you to ignore . . .

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  45. By the way, I was reading about Jains. I don’t think all religions are equally good (again refraining from explaining), but as religious beliefs go, Jainism seems not bad (though I have no desire to be a vegetarian). If I had any taste for religious belief, Jainism seems as good as Christianity to me. That’s just a subtle hint that I am looking forward to Re’s promised post. Her original post might have been what is sometimes called a “Freudian slip.” I am nagging.

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  46. Christians assert that they know the nature of reality. I disagree. If this was our only disagreement, the argument for my not participating here, would be stronger. However, human beings interact with each other and disagree on various matters, such as how we mate with each other. My daughter (a commendable and outstanding woman by my atheistic standards who just got a job where she will probably contribute to saving children’s lives and alleviating their suffering) and her partner (a commendable and outstanding woman who teaches well for an outstanding private school for children of billionaires where she strives to instill them with compassion as well as “book larning”) want to get married. Even though I am a bit of a hypocrite here, I so love my daughter and “daughter-out-of-law” and their daughter) that I support their desire to get married.

    As far as I can tell, (some) Christians’ objection to their getting married is based on their religious beliefs. If you believe (whatever you believe) about getting into Heaven or about (your marriage), or whether you will live after you (physically) die, that is your business (and probably what is best for you to believe), but if you advance or offer your belief system as a reason for my kid not to get married, I guess we are just plain in opposition. Fortunately, we live in a country where (most of the time) such disagreements are decided by elections instead of wars and other forms of physical combat. If this comment, point of view, offends you, I am not sorry. I gave you plenty of warnings.

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  47. A person supportive of my atheist group just posted (on our secular website):

    An atheist recently delivered the first known secular invocation at a Tulsa City Council meeting.

    “Let us open our hearts to the welfare of all people in our community by respecting the inherent dignity and worth of each person, and realize our differences of race, religion, and party affiliation are merely superficial. Our common humanity unites us all, and may we recognize that through our interdependence we share a common fate.

    In order to achieve the greatest good as citizens of Tulsa, it is important for us to maintain an open mind, and honor and respect the human rights of each other.

    We should consider the benefit provided by differing perspectives, and be willing to question assumptions that serve only to obstruct our path to progress.

    Rather than bowing our heads and closing our eyes in deference, we should open our eyes widely to face the reality that confronts us, without losing sight of our ideals of what we could achieve.

    Through the prudent use of reason and compassion we can ensure the success of this great city.

    Lastly, we must remember that in the face of adversity we need not look above for answers, but instead recognize the proven potential within ourselves and in each other to overcome any challenges we face.

    Thank you.”

    I think we should try for something like this in the future.

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  48. Mumsee said,

    We were acquainted with a guy who, a couple of years ago, decided the Mormons had a good thing going so he took a second wife. It took some persuading to get his wife to go along but he succeeded. He subsequently lost his job as a school superintendent or principal or some such thing.

    I have little doubt that within the next few years this will be grounds for a discrimination lawsuit and polygamy will be officially recognized as legal.

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  49. Mumsee and Linda Schaffer,

    I’m almost 52 and I’ve also chosen not to go with the routine cancer screenings. I had one mammogram about ten years ago and that’s it. I don’t intend to have another unless I have symptoms of suspect breast cancer. I feel the same way you guys do, but till now, I didn’t know of anyone else who’d made that choice. Nice to know I’m not alone.

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  50. After I posted, I read a little further and saw that there are more here who avoid the screenings. That’s kind of surprising to me, but as I said, it’s good to know I’m not alone.

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  51. Random, a few thoughts on your posts:
    The first is on your post about gay marriage. In bringing forward your personal case as an arguement for it, you place those who hold opposing views in an bind. We will be appearing to attack your family if we argue against it. An evenhanded debate cannot be held when one side has such powerful emotional connections to their side.

    I also wonder why, with your post-religious ideals, a marriage covenant has any meaning or attraction to you? If it is about civil and financial benefits, I know many Christians who say that such things need have no connection to a person’s sexual or blood relation to another person, but rather as to whether they share property and live together. Take the material benefits but leave the marriage covenant. It is a mere matter of certain words spoken in a ceremony, what can you want with that?

    Second is the subtle suggestion that any appeal to the supernatural in our discussions should be muted. If you are referring to a future debate in gay marriage, that might be arranged, as there are secular points to be made against it. However, if you refer to general discussions – you did come to a Christian site, so what else do you expect from such dreamers and madmen as we?

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  52. Random,

    First, to clarify, I’m not trying to convince you to become a Christian, although I am inclined to point out incoherent thinking when I see it, and that’s what I often do with you. But I understand that it takes the Holy Spirit to persuade.

    Your promised answer is coming, but first I’m wondering what you meant by calling my previous post a Freudian slip. Isn’t that generally supposed to be something someone says by accident that reveals something within their unconscious (or subconscious) mind? So are you thinking that I’m not really married to a Jain vegetarian man, but I just said that by accident because I really wish I was? Huh?

    Now, here’s the story. When I was an undergraduate student in my mid-20’s (I started college late), I was involved in a ministry to international students. I was a relatively young Christian (a couple of years after my conversion to Christ), and I foolishly and sinfully became involved with an international student of Indian origin who happened to be of the Jain religion. At that time, he was attending church with me, and I hoped that he was on the verge of conversion himself. I had no comprehension at that time of the hold that his family religion and tradition had on his identity and that he was not even remotely considering Christianity. I related his eagerness to listen to Christian preaching to the process of my own conversion. You see, when I was still closed to the Gospel, I refused to listen or discuss anything related to the Bible. Only when God had opened my heart, then I developed that eagerness that I seemed to be observing in him. I only much later, after I was married, came to understand the mindset that made him able to love the sermons and hearing about what the Bible teaches while remaining completely closed to the gospel of Christ.

    There’s more to the story, but I’m not willing to share all the details. Anyway, we’ve been married just over 24 years and we have three children. Two are grown and the third is 16 years old and a junior in high school. You say that you and your wife are 80% incompatible, but by any measure I can think of, my husband and I are probably closer to 100% incompatible. Yet, by the grace of God, we’ve come this far, we love each other, and I still pray for his salvation daily. I don’t, however, “try to convert him.”

    The kids grew up knowing that we were in complete disagreement about the fundamental nature of truth. My husband still likes to think that his religion is somehow compatible with mine even while his daily worship is in violation of the very first commandment. I’ve never pretended to the kids that the two are compatible and they had a good enough understanding at an early age of both religions to see the incoherence of his thinking in trying to reconcile them. Initially I took them every week to church, but eventually he insisted on taking them to his Jain temple for classes every other Sunday morning throughout the school year. I think he felt threatened by them being so exposed to Christian teaching exclusively.The kids have a deep aversion to the open idolatry of Indian religion and to everything associated with it. They don’t have the same kind of aversion to Christ, but to both of our disappointment, yet probably not surprisingly, the older two eventually just absorbed the secular humanistic religion they were indoctrinated into in the public schools. The youngest still appears on the fence between Christianity and secularism. But my prayers for them continue and I still look forward to seeing what God has will do.

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  53. Roscuro, good points. You expect me to “fight fair?” I am thinking of the Indiana Jones movie (Lost Ark) where Harrison Ford, threatened by a swordsman fancily flourishing a deadly sword, pulls out a gun and shoots him. I am no more likely to “fight fair” than Harrison Ford.

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  54. Still replying to Roscuro, who said I also wonder why, with your post-religious ideals, a marriage covenant has any meaning or attraction to you?.

    My wife and I got married in a Unitarian Church because her mother wanted a “church wedding,” though mon-in-law seldom or ever went to church. Neither my wife and I wear a wedding ring now. I think it was Chas who suggested I should go to Unitarian Church. I don’t. My wife occasionally goes (in Portland) because her best friend goes. (Apparently because best friend likes the sense of community, and my wife is sociable with her when visiting.) The local (Whidbey Island) Unitarian Church is loudly and aggressively promoting Referendum 74 (defending not yet implemented) homosexual marriage. If I went to that church (per Chas’ recommendation) I would be submitting myself to bad influences. (Not that I need any bad influences.)

    Again, I am as honest as I can be. My “kids” (though in 40s) want to get married. This is a crummy reason for you to tolerate gay marriage. What I said about fighting dirty.

    When I was younger, a slogan to discourage drug use was, “Just say no.” My dirty fighting slogan is, “Unless it involves murder, torture, or rape, just say ‘yes.'” I see Ree (sorry for mistyping your name earlier) has just replied. Gotta read what she said. Will it convince me? Does the Pope you know what in the woods?

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  55. Ree, that is an interesting story. Humans are very complicated creatures. If God exists, He probably has reasons for making us so contradictory and complex.

    I have nothing very profound to say about your tale (and I appreciate you posting it). However, I am reminded a bit of a tale told me by a woman who has attended most of my secular group’s meetings. She was raised a a Jehovah’s Witness. After engaging in some of their activities (such as door to door prosetylization), she broke away from them and married a life long atheist (a man who became, like me, an atheist at the age of 10.)

    They have children. At least one is considering becoming a Christian and raising [grandchildren] as Christians. X, the woman in my group, tells me as an atheist grandmother, she is taking a very hands-off stance in regard to the raising of grandchildren. My granddaughter has gone to church several times so far. One of her [step]grandfathers is a very liberal Methodist minister. Granddaughter so far seems very bored with his church services. Perhaps if she went to a “fire and brimstone” evangelical church service, one that condemned “family values” considering “two mommies and two daddies” as normal and fine, she would find that more exciting.

    She is not yet an adolescent, so she has not yet hit the “adolescent rebellion” stage yet. I suppose if she started condemning her mommies and daddies, we might write her out of our (miniscule) will. However, as she goes to school with compassionate billionaires’ children she might run away with a billionaire’s child just to spite everyone.

    An Internet friend of mine lives in Australia. She is already planning to offer sanctuary to my granddaughter in case she runs away to that far.

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  56. I took a break. Apparently, I have driven everyone away, or each of you have better things to do. As I cheat, and play dirty, I am considering promising to “go away” from this web site if Proposition 74 passes. But I would probably be lying.

    I have not asked an Alternative Question of the Day. The relevance of this one (which I will probably repost tomorrow morning) is probably obvious.

    Have you ever been addicted to anything? Have you ever known anyone addicted to anything? Have you ever known anyone who was cured of an addiction?

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  59. Praying also Mumsee.

    As for the medical stuff, I’m one of those in-between people, I believe in doing the screenings — to an extent. But I’m not nearly as vigilant as some of my friends — or as vigilant as my doctor wishes I were. He’s always giving me the business when I finally show up for blood work — last time I had any of this done, including a mammogram, was in ’07.

    I have a friend who’s always going to the doctor — if she’s due for a mammogram or colonoscopy or pap smear or whatever, she’s there like on the exact day a year later. She’s beyond vigilant in my book. I could probably be a *little* more regular than I am. But barring any symptoms, I figure every couple or few years is probably sufficient (I even saw an article recently questioning how worthwhile the “annual physical” really is in most cases.)

    I tend to agree with many here — something’s gonna get us. But the screenings are helpful and I’m grateful we have them available to us. Better to catch and treat something early rather than late, obviously.

    Although with things like mammograms, there’s the added concern about getting radiation. Do we really need that every year? But every other year is probably advisable beyond a certain age.

    As for a colonoscopy, I confess I’m holding out (so far) on that one altogether. 😉 My doctor-loving girlfriend pesters me about that sometimes, but whatever. I pretend I don’t hear her. 🙂

    Now she’ll probably pester me about getting my hearing checked.

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  60. Yeah, I’ve always wondered about the annual physical too. I’ve had about three of them in my life, so they certainly aren’t “annual” for me. But basically the doctor doesn’t tell me anything I don’t already know: “You’re healthy. That will be $140, please.” I suppose if they took bloodwork and stuff it might be useful (if it wasn’t so hard to get blood from me, anyway), but really they seem pretty useless, and a healthy person going to where germs are concentrated seems a little unnecessary.

    I knew soneone who either had very good insurance or a much greater love for the doctor than I had. She’d have a sniffle and a sneeze and I’d say, “I imagine it’s just a cold; they’re going around.” But she’d call the doctor and make an appointment. She’d go in, and the doctor would say, “It’s a cold, and there’s nothing we can do about colds. Drink plenty of fluids, and make sure you get enough sleep. Come back and see me next week if you arne’t better.” Two days later she’d be OK, since it was a minor cold, but she’d still make her follow-up checkup. The mind-set was foreign to me.

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  61. Cheryl, your friend sounds like my friend. 🙂 I have called me doctor for ailments, but I’m a longtime patient so I know I can usually get either a prescription just called in or a good recommendation for the best OTC medicine to buy without going in.

    I still remember dragging in there several years ago with (what turned out to be) the chicken pox. Yikes. The doc rushed me into a little side room, wrote up the prescriptions and hustled me out the back door pretty quick! But I really didn’t know what was wrong and needed to get whatever it was diagnosed; I had been weak and tired for several days and had just begun to notice red spots on my legs.

    I nearly fainted while waiting for the prescription to be filled at the pharmacy afterward and wound up staying out of work for I think more than a week.

    Kind of weird to call in to work to say I had the chicken pox at my age, too. The editor goes, “Um, you’re kidding, right?” I never had it as a kid even sitting next to kids in school who had it. I figured I was permanently immune. But somehow I picked it up in my 40s, I still don’t know how I was exposed.

    As people get older it is a good idea to get blood pressure checked and other things — including blood sugar and cholesterol levels in blood tests.

    At the other end of the spectrum, I know a woman in her mid-40s who was raised Christian Science (not practicing now) and never goes to the doctor. And her health, to me, appears to be very poor, she has lots of problems, for example, with her feet (numbness and sharp pain, swelling, very red skin), etc.

    Those kinds of symptoms obviously can point to some serious conditions. So not getting any of that checked — ever — is a little risky in my mind.

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  62. Men have a similar issue in regard to screenings: tests for prostate cancer. Our Christian neighbor has been diagnosed with breast cancer. As it’s kind of a personal topic, I haven’t asked her any questions about how it was detected. So far she is responding well to treatment.

    My Christian, millionaire “Taiwanese” cousin died of breast cancer, despite the best treatment her money could buy. One of my best friends (many years ago) also died of breast cancer. Our fate is always in the hands of God or whatever. I feel OK today, but tomorrow? Who knows.

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  63. Ree wrote . . . I’m wondering what you meant by calling my previous post a Freudian slip. Isn’t that generally supposed to be something someone says by accident that reveals something within their unconscious (or subconscious) mind? So are you thinking that I’m not really married to a Jain vegetarian man, but I just said that by accident because I really wish I was? Huh?

    No, you strike me as a very honest and forthright person, but we seldom know much about the people we communicate with on line. For all you know, I am a male lesbian pretending to be an atheist. Eddie Izzard is a very talented British heterosexual cross-dressing comedian/actor (and I would guess atheist, but I don’t know off-hand) who does in fact define himself as a male lesbian).

    You said that you and your Jain husband are 100% incompatible. I am a very literal-minded person. I would define 100% incompatible as at least divorced (if not convicted of spouse murder), so I guess that you and hubby are at least 98% incompatible. But that’s just me.

    I meant Freudian slip as not wanting to share that you were married to a non-Christian. But as I said, I envision you as a very honest and forthright person. Anyway, Freud was more of a sex-observed existential philosopher than a sex-obsessed Jewish Viennese psychiatrist.

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  64. Now I am posting not a QOD (alternative or not), but a practical and evil question. I can prove that I am evil. Not only do I not believe in God, I think abortion should be rare but legal.

    Anyway, Washington state has several initiaitives and ballot measures, all excruciatingly boring unless you live in Washington state (and even the probably excr. boring) except one to “roll back” or “roll forward” (I am not sure which roll in the hay metaphor applies) queer marriage. (“Gay” is not an appropriate word, “homosexual” is too boring, “queer” perhaps has the right tang to it).

    Whidbey Island is often divided into “North” and “South”. South has a quite a few religious believers (though quite a few of them are repulsively and disgustingly liberal). North is a little more conservative; not surprisingly given the presence of a Naval base. Though several of the members of my secular group come from Naval atheists; so go figure.

    Anyway there are two public hearings about the various intiatives and ballot measures. The queer marriage measure will most likely pass overwhelmingly in the South. As I have a taste for conflict and disagreement (though not physical combat) — one of the reasons you find me here — I plan to go to the North Island hearings. Fortunately, my wife (who dislikes conflict) is not attending. As she will be unhappy when I show up and say, “My daughter is queer. She wants to get married. I support her. Want to make something of it?”

    Besides probably getting me beat up, or smothered with Christian love, this will probably not get me anywhere in my evil plot to let my daughter get married. As my wife often chides me, I have no tact. So, if I am attending a meeting where people are opposing queer marriage (rather like most or all people at World Mag — oops, wrong web site, I mean Wandering Views, how can I convince them to forget to vote against queer marriage?

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