Bin Laden

By now, I'm sure that most of you have heard the news.  Osama Bin Laden has been killed.  

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42852700/ns/world_news-south_and_central_asia/

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/05/01/usama-bin-laden-dead-say-sources/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-13256676

While I am happy that a terrorist group has lost its leader, I am still somewhat saddened.  I know that Bin Laden was an absolutely terrible human being.  However, that does not make me want to rejoice in his death.  A celebration at the death of any human being makes me sick to my stomach.  

I'm torn at this moment.  I am happy that Al Quaeda will be (hopefully) shut down by the loss of their leader (although I think it's probably just as likely that they will amp up their efforts).  I still cannot find it within myself to rejoice in the death of another human being. 

Lost: Jin & Sun

Last year, my roommate, Brandon, got me to start watching Lost. I got through it pretty quickly. At the beginning of this season, I watched the episodes every Tuesday night at 9:00. However, as I quickly realized, it is a lot different to go from watching every episode in quick succession to watching one episode every week. Especially when that show is Lost. It is an incredibly complex and confusing show. So, I decided to wait until the show finished and then I would watch all of the final episodes.

The show ended on Sunday. So, on Sunday, I started playing catch-up. As of right now, I only have the finale to watch. Some questions have been answered, but I'm still pretty lost. haha... how fitting. ;)

I wanted to address something that was particularly upsetting/moving to me. The story of Jin and Sun.

***SPOILER ALERT***

They started off as a couple in an unhappy marriage. Then they gradually worked things out. It was beautiful. Well, happiness isn't allowed for long on Lost, so that had to change. They were soon separated by space and then, eventually, by time; several decades even.

Sun eventually came back to the island to find Jin. She spent forever looking for Jin, and Jin looked for her as well. Finally, the find each other. Jin promises that they will never be separated again. It was magical and beautiful and wonderful. I admit, I cried. I absolutely LOVE their story. Probably because it is a story of love overcoming all.

However, again, happiness is not allowed for long. So, sure enough, the following episode, there is an explosion on the submarine and Sun is trapped. Water starts to fill the sub. Jin tries to free her, but he can't. Sun begs him to save himself, but he refuses. He promises to never leave her. He holds her hand, and they drown together.

And I bawled my eyes out. The only other scene that even came close was when Juliet fell down the hole and Sawyer tried to save her. Sun and Jin still win though. If it would not have been so incredibly moving, I would have been PISSED. I'm still not very happy about it, but at least their ending was beautiful.

Assisted Suicide

There was a story in the news recently about Sir Edward Downes. He was a famous orchestra conductor. He was going blind and deaf. His wife of 54 years was dying of cancer. So, they decided to commit suicide together. They flew to Zurich where there is an assisted suicide clinic and died together with their dignity still in tact.

A lot of people don't believe in suicide. They think it's morally wrong. I am opposed to killing, unless it's done in self defense (and even then, I prefer it as only a last resort). I believe this because I think it's wrong to take someone else's life away. However, if someone wants to take their own life, I think they should be able to. Don't get me wrong. I am not supporting suicide. I want people to get help for their problems and be at peace. What I am saying is, your life is yours to do what you wish. If you wish to end your life, you should have that choice.

I especially believe this to be true for the sick or elderly. If I have some awful disease which causes me unending pain or causes me to lose my dignity, I will want the option of ending my own life. And, I would prefer that there be an easy option. People shouldn't have to turn to shooting themselves or slitting their own wrists. Assisted suicide helps people go out on their own terms. With a little bit of dignity. And it's much easier to deal with. It's in a controlled environment under the supervision of a licensed professional.

I mean, for crying out loud, women can terminate the life growing inside of them, but people aren't allowed to take their own lives?? What sort of logic is that? We even kill our death row inmates in a humane manner (I do not agree with the death penalty, but at least they're going out with some dignity in a humane manner). And our pets; we take them to a vet and have them "put to sleep" when they are no longer able to live full and happy lives. But, we cannot extend this courtesy to our fellow men and women??

It just doesn't make sense to me. If I want to kill myself, I should be able to do so. If I need help, I should be able to ask for it. And the people I ask to help should not be persecuted for it. It's my life. I should be able to go out on my own terms; with dignity and peace. I hope that, should I ever feel the need to end my life, I will not have to go all the way to Switzerland to do so.

Who Knew??

So, my sister has a mole on her back that started changing colors. She made an appointment to have it removed a few weeks ago. Well, they couldn't remove it because she had to have some shots and a physical to enter the nursing program. She had to schedule another appointment to have the mole removed.

My mom called me yesterday morning upset. When I asked her what was wrong, she said, "Do you remember the appointment Tonya had about the mole on her back?" I searched through my mind trying to remember if I knew when she had rescheduled for. I was, of course, thinking that she had it removed already and that she had cancer. I was wrong. My mom said, "She got her vaccinations for the nursing program and her TB skin test came back positive." Well, I didn't freak out. She had to have one in high school before she could work for the nursing home and it came back positive but her chest x-ray showed nothing. And, my TB skin test before coming to Catawba was iffy. So, I don't think they're 100% reliable. If they come back positive, you still have to have a chest x-ray to confirm that you have it.

Well, my mom went on to say, "They scheduled her for a chest x-ray and they found something in her lungs." At this point, my stomach sinks to my toes. I don't really know what TB does. I know it used to be called consumption and it affects the lungs. That's about it. All that was going through my head was, "Nicole Kidman's character dies of TB in Moulin Rouge." I was at the point of tears.

I've never heard of anyone getting TB in the U.S. I thought it was gone. Done for. Like Polio. I mean, has anyone met anyone who has had TB??

So, I did some research and it is still killing people all over the globe. Under 1,000 people die from it each year in the U.S. (ha! I didn't even know 1,000 people each year GOT TB, let alone DIED from it!). Those are mostly elderly people. It kills about 2 million people per year in the world. That's mostly people in 3rd world countries and especially people with HIV/AIDS.

There is a treatment for it. It lasts 6 to 9 months. Phew. That's a long time. She shouldn't be contagious after week 2 of the treatment though. At least, that's what the internet tells me. She has a doctor's appointment tomorrow morning to discuss it. I'm sure there will be more tests as well.

I'm not quite so freaked out now. It's very unlikely that she will have any problems recovering. However, she's supposed to start the nursing program in the fall. If she has TB, she probably won't be able to start. And she's already put in 2 years worth of work to get to this point. So, she will be devastated if she can't continue. If there is a problem, she will hopefully be able to just delay it for a year. But, that delay will suck. She's already had to transfer and had problems with credits transferring, so she's already behind. If she has to delay even longer, she's going to be in school for longer than Joe! ahahahahahah! :) Just kidding... there are very few people who can accomplish that! ;)

But, anyway... hopefully everything will go well with the doctor tomorrow. And then, hopefully she will get good news about the mole... which still hasn't been removed.

P.S. When I was making dinner last night, I turned on the TV and the news was on. The first story I heard was about a girl in Charlotte who tested positive for TB. Isn't it weird how when you find something out, relevant things seem to pop up?? This was really weird since I'd never heard of anyone getting TB in my lifetime!

Sad news...

My neighbor passed away on Tuesday afternoon. Her husband is moving to Florida today. It's where his kids live and they're making him move. She didn't have a funeral. She was cremated. They have to pick up her cremains and then they're leaving for Florida.

She and her husband had a really sweet plan for their deaths. Suzie was the first to die, so Jay will hold on to her cremains until he dies. Then, when he dies, their kids will mix their cremains together and bury them together.

They were such a wonderful couple. They had been married for over 48 years, but they were still in love.

She was only 67 years old. And she was still really active. She didn't seem old at all. It just doesn't seem real. She was fighting like crazy for her life. She shouldn't have really lived as long as she did (after she had the heart attack when she first went into the hospital). She was a really strong supporter of Barrack Obama. She's been talking about him to us the whole time we've lived there. She thought that he was going to do great things for our country. Her daughter turned on the inauguration for her to listen to on Tuesday. She got to hear him be sworn in and listen to the speech that he gave. She died shortly after that. So, at least she got to hear what she had been waiting and hoping for before she died.

I'm really not dealing well with the situation. I don't think Joe is either. We loved our neighbors, and now they're gone. Jay is talking about coming back soon. He doesn't want to live with his kids in Florida. He wants to live in the home that he made with Suzie. I want him to come back, but only if it's going to be what is best for him.

It's funny to me that they were married for 48 years and still had such a wonderful relationship. My grandparents were married for roughly that long and they were miserable. They didn't like each other. My grandma didn't even cry at my grandpa's funeral. She was in the early stages of Alzheimers, but I don't think that that was the only reason. It gives me hope to see a couple that is still so happy and in love after almost 50 years together. And it breaks my heart to see them torn apart by death much too soon.