Monthly Archives: May 2005

Filings: The Catch of a Lifetime

Posted on by
Reply

The Minnesota Fishing Opener is this Sunday, and Mother’s Day was last Sunday, which is a nice change from some recent years when these events have fallen on the same weekend. It has allowed me, however, to see some similarities between being a good fisherman and being a good husband – and I think I may have some pointers to share from my own experience with “the one that didn’t get away” on how to have a trophy wife.

First, let me say that the things I don’t know about fishing would fill a hundred books, judging by what I see in my library and at the outfitting stores. You can add several years worth of In-Fisherman magazines to that total as well, and do I have to mention all those television shows? I’m amazed at what you have to know if you expect to hook anything besides the meaty part of your thumb! Likewise maintaining a happy marriage can appear overwhelming at times. I know I’ve been skunked in both areas at times, but one thing I’ve realized is that experts gain their knowledge by fervently pursuing the sport they love. With that approach, becoming an expert is fun.

That applies to fishing and marriage. I love my wife and I love being married. Therefore in the 17 and a half years we’ve been married I’ve avidly sought out and collected many important bits of information about her in particular and marriage in general that have helped us become each other’s favorite pastime. Here are a few tips that have worked for me:

CATCH AND RELEASE? First off, I’m not a big proponent of catch and release when it comes to marriage. I have found, however, that there is a lot of challenge and a lot of thrills in catching the same fish over and over again! I’ve found that the secret to this is not just to be married, but to be engaged!

THE RIGHT EQUIPMENT: The expert fishermen are always sharing information on what type of bait and what type of tackle to use for different conditions. They can tell you what to use on cloudy days, windy days, sunny days and days when the fish aren’t hungry. They know what’s best for trolling, jigging and casting and the preferred food of every species. I’ve wondered, though, how many of those guys know their wife’s shoe size, or if she’s an autumn, summer, spring or winter in her coloring? Early on I memorized my wife’s sizes, favorite colors and preferred styles of clothing. Today, much of what she wears are things I’ve bought her either shopping on my own or when we’re together. Now, I don’t think a fish was ever caught because it was honored or flattered that someone had spent so much time and effort to learn about it, but it’s sure made an impression on my wife!

LURES: When you think of lures you might think small, shiny objects or furry things work best but the real “power bait” is our words. Men are attracted by what they see (I know I’ve bought certain fishing lures because they looked good to me, never mind the fish) but women are moved by what they hear. Our words build our wives up and make them feel special and make our relationships special. I try to make sure my wife hears how much she means to me, how much I value her opinion – and how much I like the way she looks in those jeans. Certainly relying on my good looks to win my wife would be like me fishing for muskies with 4-pound test line. I’ve got to work those lures, paying attention to the conditions and water temperature. Oh, and I try to stay away from the crankbaits.

STRUCTURE: The experts I read are always talking about “structure” or “knowing the bottom” (but I’m not going there).

Avian Flu About to Take Wing?

Posted on by
Reply

Several weeks ago I posted an overview of the potential threat that the avian flu in Southeast Asia posed to the world population and economy. This post was based on information and interviews I’d gathered from credible sources as part of my regular job. Since this flu is genetically very similar to the deadly 1918 Spanish flu, my report included estimates by the Department of Health and Human Services of 1.7 million deaths in the U.S. alone if avian flu infected and killed the same percentages of Americans as the 1918 pandemic.

At the time of that post, the avian flu virus still needed an autogenic mutation that would allow it to be passed from human to human. There are now reports that this critical mutation may have taken place and the virus has broken out in seven clusters in and around Haiphong in northern Vietnam. You can read “Has the Next Flu Pandemic Started?” along with other updates at this blog, Avian Flu – What We Need to Know, which is devoted to aggregating reports on this virus.

By the way, the magazine article I was editing and referenced in my original post appeared in the April 15 issue of Risk & Insurance magazine and is reprinted in its entirety here. It includes a table showing projected deaths by age group in the U.S. One of the co-authors of that story, Dr. Michael Osterholm (director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy and a professor of public health at the University of Minnesota), also wrote an article last week for the New England Journal of Medicine describing the critical gaps in our global ability to contain such an outbreak. This article is also on the avian flu site and can be read here.

Keep in mind that the concerns of influenza experts are based on the strong similarities of the avian flu to the 1918 strain and the current logistical handicaps we would face in the event of an outbreak. Projections are still just projections, and the severity of the avian flu strain, if it has mutated, may be less depending on whatever other transformations also may have occurred in the last mutation. As the story in the second link above indicates, those who have been infected so far by presumed human-to-human contact have all recovered, so the strain may not be as lethal as its animal-to-human transmission variant.

That story also points out, however, that the 1918 pandemic also began with relatively mild cases in the spring, but by fall had envolved into a killer. If this topic interests you, I suggest you bookmark the Avian Flu blog.

Closest to the Heart

Posted on by
Reply

When the dust had settled,

He took it in His mighty hand,

and squeezed it close together,

and then breathed life into a man.

He saw that one was not enough,

that man alone was just a part,

and so fashioned woman from a rib,

closest to the heart.



That’s why she knows the rhythm,

of the Spirit’s inner work;

her ears hear its direction,

and to its voice she is alert.

Some call it intuition,

when she perceives what God imparts,

but she’s only taken her position,

closest to the heart.



And now each life beginning,

grows from a tiny seed within,

nurtured by her body,

and all the hope that’s placed therein.

For God chose her to be the one,

to give this gift its start,

and to hold it safe against her breast,

closest to the heart.



With Godly counsel and support,

she helps her mate contend,

for by himself he’d be just one,

but she adds the strength of ten.

He’ll love her as he loves himself,

(at least he will if he is smart),

and exalt her second only unto God,

and closest to the heart.



And when her days are golden,

and she’s given all that she’s possessed,

many are the ones,

who’ll rise up and call her blessed.

And when she passes through that gate,

into the place that’s just like home,

they’ll clear a path before her,

and she’ll kneel before His throne.

“Arise my precious daughter,

for I’ve loved you from the start;

come now to the place I’ve made for you,

closest to my heart.”



-JS-



Happy Mother’s Day from the Night Writer.

Hey, Y’all – This Southern Belle is a Peach

Posted on by
3

One of the coolest things about the blogosphere is the linking and the sometimes surreal “six degrees of separation” experience you can get when, like Alice, you follow the White Rabbit (an Ether Bunny?) through the ‘net.

Today I was going through the referral list of my SiteMeter report when I saw a blog name I hadn’t seen before. I followed that link and read a post there that lead me to another link, which had a post that lead me to a blog called Suburban Blight, written by Kelley, a desperate housewife in Atlanta-burbia.

Good Lord, she makes me laugh, and we can all use that on a regular basis so I recommend you check her out. Visit her blog and help her come up with a name for her new favorite adult beverage, or find out why her young son asked her to wear a bra – and the blog reaction she’s had as a result of that post.

Anyone who enjoys Cathy in the Wright and the rest of The
MAWB Squad will feel right at home.

All Esteemed Up

Posted on by
1

It’s graduation party season again, and today’s StarTribune – again on the cusp of a breaking news story – has tips on how to plan a successful party. Included was this tip from expert Mary J. Anderson:

“Most moms think [their graduates] want to have a party. But a lot of kids don’t want the attention. Maybe their self-esteem is low or they don’t want to be in the limelight.”

This is a horrible implication: children are graduating from our high schools with low self-esteem even though this subject has been the focus of a public school education since this year’s graduates were in kindergarten! How are these youngsters going to learn self-esteem now that they’re no longer in school?

I guess colleges and businesses will have to add remedial self-esteem classes for those who have graduated, but there’s still time to help those yet in school. I propose we add self-esteem to the 8th grade math and language skills competency tests; call it the “No Child Left Behind Hanging in a Locker By His Underwear” program.

Hmmm…if a low-self-esteem grad doesn’t want a party, does it mean a kid with high self-esteem could have two parties?

A Peek Into the Future?

Posted on by
Reply

If you’re curious how President Bush’s Social Security proposals, including privatized accounts, would affect you then check out the calculator below. The calculator was designed and originally distributed by the Heritage Foundation.

HT: Kevin at The Eckernet who said:

Using the proposed Bush plan for Social Security I would come out about 28% better. Of course, under said Bush plan I have the choice to be a dumbass and stay under the old way of doing things.

So let’s see. I get the choice to make more money with my own money to use in the future so I don’t have to use someone else’s money as my money??? I keep missing how that is bad…but then again the DFL is smarter than the rest of us.

Persistent Questions About Vegetative States

Posted on by
2

Last Saturday a firefighter diagnosed as being in a “persistent vegetative state” for ten years began to recognize people and talk. Several months ago a woman diagnosed as being in a “minimally conscious state” for 20 years began to talk and carry on conversations and says she was aware of the Oklahoma City bombing and 9/11. (Read the story here.)

My greatest frustration with the Terri Schiavo case was the refusal of her husband to allow further testing and therapy to confirm or improve his wife’s condition and the Kafkaesque position of the courts to give credence to the diagnosis of one less than impartial neurosurgeon while steadfastly ignoring testimony from other neurosurgeons, radiologists and Terri’s caregivers when deciding a case of life and death. Meanwhile most of the general public thought “I wouldn’t want to live like that” – no doubt based in part on the assumption that after all these years there was little hope for improvement – and turned away.

Granted, the cases mentioned in the link above are rare, which is why they were publicized at all. (I also find it interesting that neither of the people mentioned above, upon regaining consciousness and the ability to speak, apparently has said, “Why didn’t you just kill me?”)

We don’t know how high the odds would have been for a similar recovery by Terri, mainly because there was never an independent evaluation of her condition. We do know her parents were willing to care for her no matter how long it took.

Would Terri, too, have started to speak in another 20 years, 10 years – two weeks? That’s a question for which we will now never have an answer. It is a question, however, that I hope Michael Schiavo, George Felos and Judge Greer ask themselves everyday for the rest of their lives.