Lost Week
Dear Family and Friends,
Welcome to this week's "Thoughtlet."
These words are my personal diary and a weekly review of ideas,
beliefs, thoughts, or words that will hopefully be of some
benefit to you: my children, my family, and my friends.
Well, here I am behind seven Thoughtlets, and as I go back
to my daily calendar and my e-mails and my daily swallow
sheets, which are normally my source of memory recall, there
is nothing there to remind me what happened this week.
Maybe it is the trauma of the broken window and the memory
flood it brought back (0537.html), or the evacuation
(0439.html), or Melanie, Colby, and Taylor moving in (0440.html),
or being a team leader on Hurricane Rita clean-up in Vidor
(0441.html), or hearing the words `Here's My Man' (0442.html),
or finishing up the Tiles work at GDC and seeing a surprise
cover on Newsweek Magazine (0543.html), the trip to
Washington D.C. to participate in meetings related to the
recently passed transportation bill and U.S. GEO (0544.html),
thoughts about being a farmer (0445.html), the 2005 SEG
(0546.html), working with Don Vossler (0547.html), or maybe
I'm just getting old and my memory is going the same direction
as my hearing and my waistline. The bottom line, as I look
back, is it was kind of a lost week.
I do recall an e-mail at work where someone suggested I
look at a web site with air photos of Katrina before and
after. I captured one pair of photos from New Orleans which
are to the right. I recall going home that evening
to see President Bush standing in front of this same
Catholic Cathedral giving his speech regarding Katrina.
I'm sure part of my lost week was being caught up in
watching the news each evening about all of the problems
related to Katrina.
I did find some notes. On Tuesday I made a note about
the announcement they are closing Astroworld. I realize
this was a bigger part of most of you kid's lives than it
was mine. Land prices and a fatality last year and some
violence in the parking lot earlier this year. Oh well!
There was a nice thank you note from Sara Ellyn:
<![CDATA[ `Dad & Andrea,
Thank you so much for making my birthday so special.
It means a lot that you took the time & energy to drive
up here for just an evening. I had a great dinner. And
I love the comfy pillow cases and Beninese table cloth.
I appreciate what you two do for me. Thank you.
(heart) Sara Ellyn']]>
Then I realized this was the week I got the note from
Sarah Elizabeth and Roice saying they are `tying the knot'
and suggesting we `Save the Date' of 06 01 06. I'm glad
to see Roice remembers something from his scouting years!
Also found two possible stanzas for Prime Words:
<![CDATA[ `Comet: Layered icy dirt balls
Spending most of their time
Fluffy in the deep freeze
Of the outer Solar System' (a)
(a) Science News 10 Sep 2005 p 168 written 13 Sep 2005
`Man may work
From sun to sun
But woman's work
Is never done' (b)
(b) John Lienhardt, The Engines of Our Ingenuity' #1088]]>
Walt Lauer, a processor at GDC that was doing the processing
on the Ji Dong project in China disappeared this week. There
was good reason to believe there was foul play. He left food
on the stove. Turns out he drove out to Las Vegas, won about
$4,000. and decided to move to Alaska. It was definitely a
lost week for him and for work that was scheduled to be done
at GDC. However, on the positive side, on Friday Sherry (Nelson)
Maddox (../0138.html and 0410.html), Keith and Evelyn Nelson's
daughter, had a baby girl, Sarah Abagail, who was 5 pounds
10 ounces. So even though it was a lost week for me and Walt,
it was a found week for Sherry and Jeff Maddox.
Despite it being a lost week, there was an interesting
e-mail from Frances Anne Smeath, whom we met at the opening
of the Shirts Collection (0532.html), which has information
all of us, especially for my five daughters, my three
daughters-in-law, and those of you with young children:
<![CDATA[ `Drug Recall (Very Important Please Read )
All drugs containing PHENYLPROPANOLAMINE are being recalled.
You may want to try calling the 800 number listed on most
drug boxes and inquire about a REFUND. Please read this
CAREFULLY. Also, please pass this on to everyone you know.
STOP TAKING anything containing this ingredient. It has
been linked to increased hemorrhagic stroke (bleeding in
brain) among women ages 18-49 in the three days after
starting use of medication. Problems were not found in
men, but the FDA recommended that everyone (even children)
seek alternative medicine.
The following medications contain Phenylpropanolamine:
> Acutrim Diet Gum Appetite Suppressant
> Acutrim Plus Dietary Supplements
> Acutrim Maximum Strength Appetite Control
> Alka-Seltzer Plus Children's Cold Medicine Effervescent
> Alka-Seltzer Plus Cold medicine (cherry or orange)
> Alka-Seltzer Plus Cold Medicine Original
> Alka-Seltzer Plus Cold & Cough Medicine Effervescent
> Alka-Seltzer Plus Cold & Flu Medicine
> Alka-Seltzer Plus Cold & Sinus Effervescent
> Alka Seltzer Plus Night-Time Cold Medicine
> BC Allergy Sinus Cold Powder
> BC Sinus Cold Powder
> Comtrex Flu Therapy & Fever Relief
> Day & Night Contac 12-Hour Cold Capsules
> Contac 12 Hour Caplets
> Coricidin D Cold, Flu & Sinus
> Dexatrim Caffeine Free
> Dexatrim Extended Duration
> Dexatrim Gelcaps
> Dexatrim Vitamin C/Caffeine Free
> Dimetapp Cold & Allergy Chewable Tablets
> Dimetapp Cold & Cough Liqui-Gels
> Dimetapp DM Cold & Cough Elixir
> Dimetapp Elixir
> Dimetapp 4 Hour Liquid Gels
> Dimetapp 4 Hour Tablets
> Dimetapp 12 Hour Extentabs Tablets
> Naldec on DX Pediatric Drops
> Permathene Mega-16
> Robitussin CF
> Tavist-D 12 Hour Relief of Sinus & Nasal Congestion
> Triaminic DM Cough Relief
> Triaminic Expectorant Chest & Head
> Triaminic Syrup Cold & Allergy
> Triaminic Triaminicol Cold & Cough ....
I just found out and called the 800# on the container
for Triaminic and they informed me that they are
voluntarily recalling the following medicines because of
a certain ingredient that is causing strokes and seizures
in children:
> Orange 3D Cold & Allergy Cherry (Pink)
> 3D Cold & Cough Berry
> 3D Cough Relief Yellow 3D Expectorant
They are asking you to call them at 800-548-3708 with
the lot number on the box so they can send you postage
for you to send it back to them, and they will also issue
you a refund. If you know of anyone else with small children,
PLEASE PASS THIS ON. THIS IS SERIOUS STUFF!
DO PASS ALONG TO ALL ON YOUR MAILING LIST so people are
informed. They can then pass it along to their families.
To confirm these findings please take time to check the
following:]]>
http://www.fda.gov/cder/drug/infopage/ppa/.'
Of course, if one of my 5 daughters or my niece or a daughter-in-law
or a grandchild were to die from a stroke from having taken one
of these medicines, and I had not made an effort to pass on the
information, then it really would have been a lost week."
Since the 38th week of 1996 I have written a weekly "Thoughtlet"
(little statements of big thoughts which mean a lot to me).
Until the 43rd week of 2004 I sent these out as an e-mail. They
were intended to be big thoughts which mean a lot to me.
Over time the process evolved into a personal diary. These notes
were shared with my family because I know how important the
written word can be. Concerned about how easy it is to drift and
forget our roots and our potential among all of distractions of
daily life, I thought this was a good way to reach those I love.
It no longer feels right to send out an e-mail and "force" my kids
and my family to be aware of my life and struggles.
Everyone has their own life to lead, and their own struggles to
work through. I will continue this effort, and will continue to
make my notes publicly accessible (unless I learn of
misuse by someone who finds out about them, and then will
aggressively
pursue a legal remedy to copyright infringement and I will put the Thoughtlets
behind a password).
The index to download any of these Thoughtlets is at
http://www.walden3d.com/thoughtlets,
or you can e-mail me with
questions or requests at
rnelson@walden3d.com
(note if you are not on my e-mail "whitelist" you must send 2 e-mails
within 24 hours of each other in order for your e-mail to not be trashed).
With all my love,
Dad
(H. Roice Nelson, Jr.)