Classes started this week. I think I am really going to like the lower division class a lot. More than half of the students are freshmen, and they are so polite and attentive. It was a heavy lift to get through the week, though. I came down with a bad tooth ache - apparently I clench my teeth when I sleep if I am stressed, something I discovered five years ago, and the result has been that I had to get a crown two years ago. Well, I guess with Rudy's illness I have been doing it like crazy, all my teeth have been bothering me -- and the crown needed a root canal, which I got today. I made it through the first week back on campus with the help of drugs (I had to tell the students so they would know I am not always so dopey) and I'm glad to report that it's over. It hurts worse now, though, just in a different way. Not as intense, just generally more sore all over. Next week I go in to get impressions for a night guard, that will hopefully break me of the bad habit.

The source of my worry is doing well. One thing Rudy is taking is a controversial anti-cancer drug called hydrazine sulfate that isn't approved for people. There is a whole political opera with the National Cancer Institute and American Cancer Society being very hostile to it. I may write more on this in the future, but in a nutshell: Apparently, cancer uses carbohydrates for fuel. It will find energy somehow if it can't get enough and so it also drains the fat and muscle of the body. Hydrazine sulfate inhibits this process, and so it helps to stop the weight loss end state cancer patients suffer. Anyway - it seems to be working for Rudy. He looks a bit better, and his appetite isn't great but it has improved. The specialist said he would have to be euthanized during the month of August - well it is September 2 and he is still here, happy and energetic. I can't say enough good things about the holistic approach. Something to think about for the skeptics.

The hurricane and aftermath are heartbreaking. It is hard to envision, sitting here in my safe, comfortable house. But speaking of politics, I am really disgusted by the endless talking heads on television. Who is to blame? Oh it is the federal government, the local authorities, the state, poor planning, blah, blah, blah. Maybe it is the throbbing in my face that is sparking my irritation, but I couldn't take it any more. We walk the dogs every day in the beautiful cemetery behind our house (yes, we do bring plastic bags and clean up after them in case you are wondering). There are the monuments honoring the rich and the poor. People who died a year ago, 50 years ago, and 150 years ago. Simple homemade stones and elaborate Victorian pedestals. There is one that says "in honor of all the infants who died here in the epidemic of 1918."

As I listened to the idiots blather on about the failure of the disaster response I was so frustrated by the ignorance that I jumped up and shouted, "I can't take it any more! Why are these people so fake, so plastic? Do they not understand that someday they will be pushing up daisies beneath a tombsone? That tragic things happen? There is no way to avoid it? Life is not always orderly. Why are they in denial? Yes - it can happen here in the USA. Yes - it can happen to anybody. All the planning in the world cannot change that. People get sick, people die. Babies go hungry and they cry. That's life. Get a reality check. When will they accept that?"

My anger isn't intended to minimize the tragedy for the folks who were hurt by the storm. I can only pray for them (and donate to charities). But over time I find journalists and people who play partisan politics more and more revolting.