Today marks the last day of my summer staycation. Having a week off does weird things to my internal calendar. Towards the end of the week, I had to make a conscious effort to remember what day it was. I did manage to make it to the lake, catch up on some reading, and generally loaf about. In other words, mission accomplished. Next year, I might even take two weeks off.
Media coverage of the Olympics is likely to crowd out news of other world events for the next couple weeks, including the escalating war between Russia and Georgia. After years of turning inward (and becoming increasingly authoritarian), Russia seems ready to flex its muscles again. It will never regain its former superpower status, but with its substantial stockpiles of oil, natural gas, and nukes, Russia can still throw its weight around; a fact that is probably causing plenty of Western diplomats to lose sleep tonight.
Time for another glimpse into my current musical obsessions:
I was returning home from a walk this afternoon when I noticed several emergency response vehicles heading towards the riverfront. Curious, I headed down there myself to see what was going on. I couldn’t see much from where we were standing, but my nurse said he witnessed a rescue boat in the waters near the Stone Arch Bridge and someone being placed on a gurney. I checked the local news sites for any mention of the incident, but found nothing.
Just another day in the big city.
Could I be any more of a cliche? This is me modeling my new pair of Birkenstocks. I’ll be wearing these for the big summer picnic that the local chapter of the Godless Pinko Public Radio Boosters throws every year. Just wearing these makes me want to write a letter to the editor extolling the virtues of organic farming. And they’re quite comfy in a decadent, liberal sort of way.
Via The Gimp Parade, here’s a Houston Press article discussing the challenges facing young adults with disabilities who are aging out of the pediatric care system. While this really isn’t a new phenomenon, the piece does a good job of explaining the institutional biases that are still the norm in many states. For example, many state Medicaid programs will not provide private duty nursing services after age 21 and will only cover the costs of institutional care. Families are suing states like Texas in efforts to get the services that will keep their sons and daughters in the community and not warehoused in facilities.
The article goes on to describe how some hospitals and clinics serving kids and teens with disabilities are doing more to prepare them for the transition to adult lives of independence and employment. I could think of a few Minnesota-based hospitals that might want to consider implementing similar programs. But the real changes will have to come from the bureaucrats. And speaking as a bureaucrat, I can tell you that we’re not always ones at the bleeding edge of social change.
Further evidence that the world is astonishingly small: Steve Elliot, the attorney interviewed for the article, was one of my mentors when I clerked at the Minnesota Disability Law Center many years ago.
I decided it was time for a new pair of shoes, seeing as how it’s been almost a decade since I purchased my current pair of Dexters. I paid a visit to Robert’s Shoes in south Minneapolis and found a nice pair of all-purpose loafers that should look quite natty on me. But I’ll be damned if I could find a pair of sandals that (a) fit me and (b) didn’t look like ass. Perhaps I should take this as a hint that the general public doesn’t want to see my bare, slightly swollen feet.
Danieal Kelly was a 14-year-old girl with cerebral palsy who starved to death because her mother didn’t feed her. But the extent of her mother’s neglect didn’t end there. Danieal was kept hidden away in a filthy apartment and often left to lie in her own waste for days at a time. She didn’t go to school and she didn’t receive any medical attention.
But what truly gets me is the utter failure of the Philadelphia Department of Human Services and its contractor to investigate the numerous complaints they received regarding Danieal’s mistreatment. She had the supreme misfortune to have her fate rest in the hands of incompetent, apathetic bureaucrats and social workers who demonstrated little interest in performing their jobs.
As I was reading the scathing grand jury indictment [contains one very graphic photo] late last night, I began to cry. I don’t cry easily, but Danieal’s story devastated me. Perhaps it was all the systemic failures that contributed to her death. Perhaps it was the bleak horror of Danieal’s life in the care of a neglectful mother. She was an innocent kid who must’ve been in a great deal of pain and nobody lifted a finger to help her. And there are probably plenty of other kids like Danieal out there, suffering in isolated anonymity.
Today marks the start of my summer vacation. For the next week, I will not have to check my Outlook calendar and I will not have to wear pants. I’m doing the financially responsible thing and sticking close to home, but I’ll manage to keep busy. There are books to read, writing to resume, friends to see, and generally much laziness to be had. Visits to the comic book store, Sebastien Joe’s, and perhaps the lakes will also be in order. And, of course, blogging will continue as usual.
Today marks the first anniversary of the 35W bridge collapse. Construction on the new bridge began soon thereafter and should be complete sometime in the next couple months. We have adjusted quite well to the bridge’s absence and it will be strange to have it back in operation soon. I would like to see the extra lanes added to Interstate 94 made permanent. They do help with the flow of traffic, especially in the bottleneck approaching downtown Minneapolis.