In continuing with previous reflections, one I did a few weeks ago.
I had become struck by the fact that many of the children who are patients in the hospital happen to display coping skills beyond expectation and, consequently, beyond their parents as well. The truth of the matter is that many of these kids are far more accepting of their diagnoses than their parents are, no matter the prognosis. Yet at the same time it is easy to go into a room and dismiss the patients ideas about their future because of their age. Or worse, expect the patient to not understand what is happening to them at all and then completely ignore the meaning they have come up with to help themselves through the situation.
I have seen parents grow more and more distant from their children, to the point that they stop visiting. I have seen parents take fantastic care of their children, being 100% supportive. It's not that all family's are bad or good, it's about how well they are able to mold themselves to their current situation. Frankly, children are often better at rolling with the punches than most adults.
A child's life is not wrapped around an ideal. Parents come in with beliefs, expectations, understandings of what life is and how it "ought" to work. Kids don't have that rigidness. And this is completely a side note, please don't "explain" death as: "You go to be with Jesus". That is not an answer, it's a loaded statement that they really don't understand and then the chaplain gets to unpack that for them into a way they can understand. Death is part of life so explain it in simple, clear, honest, and understandable terms. The sooner you do it the better. Acceptance of death as a natural thing will save them years of misery in the long run.
As I began to think of these sage-like children I remembered Lewis Carrol's:
You Are Old, Father William.
"You are old, Father William," the young man said,
And your hair has become very white;
And yet you incessantly stand on your head--
Do you think, at your age, it is right?
"In my youth," Father William replied to his son,
"I feared it might injure the brain;
But now that I'm perfectly sure I have none,
Why, I do it again and again."
"You are old," said the youth, "as I mentioned before,
And you have grown must uncommonly fat;
Yet you turned back a somersault in at the door--
Pray, what is the reason of that?"
"In my youth," said the sage, as he shook his gray locks,
"I kept all my limbs very supple
By the use of this ointment--one shilling a box--
Allow me to sell you a couple."
"You are old," said the youth, "and your jaws are too weak
For anything tougher than suet;
Yet you finished the goose, with the bones and the beak--
Pray, how did you manage to do it?"
"In my youth," said his father, "I took to the law,
And argued each case with my wife;
And the muscular strength, which it gave to my jaw,
Has lasted the rest of my life."
"You are old," said the youth, "one would hardly suppose
That your eyes was as steady as ever;
Yet you balanced an eel on the end of your nose--
What made you so awfully clever?"
"I have answered three questions, and that is enough,"
Said his father; "don't give yourself airs!
Do you think I can listen all day to such stuff?
Be off, or I'll kick you downstairs!"
The poem describes a youth who continually questions the wisdom of his elder and rightly so. In the end the father answers, as many parents do when they are asked a lot of questions, with the non-answer of: "Because I said so".
My message to the other chaplains was not to discount any of our patients because of their age and don't expect bountiful wisdom from all parents because of
their age. Instead we must be prepared for anything, to be anything that is needed. Because everyone is in need of something: wisdom, comfort, understanding, hope, someone to listen, someone to play a video game. But not everyone is willing to take the time to find out what it is. Really, it's easier to check out their cover, make a judgment, and then give them what
you think they need.
Two loves of mine, typefaces and animals, combined into one glorious entity. What's not to love?
Great movie. I thought it was going to be your sort of standard bank robbery gone awry kind of movie. Of course it has that, but I was not expecting the social issues that take place in this retelling of actual events. Pacino is great. His character is real, likeable, and just in over his head. I suggest you check it out.
I've seen the second GitS movie and the anime series, but I had yet to see the original. If you are unfamiliar with GitS, it is the future and computerization is at a peak. The main character and most of her cohorts are either partially machine, cyborgs, or completely synthetic with nothing original than thier mind and "ghost", aka soul. The animation was fantastic, even in the action scenes. A regrettable aspect of this "watch instantly" stuff is the inability to switch language and subtitles. I'm normally not a fan of english voice acting and this was not an exception. I know it's hard to make english dialog fit and I respect them for the effort, just not my cup of tea. If you are into film in any form, check it out.
Yes, my guilty pleasure of the bunch. Some of you are thinking: "How is this one the guity pleasure?!" but it is for me. I wasn't a huge fan of this in the theaters, I thought it was adequate/good. Wanted a little Jack Sparrow and hadn't seen it since it came out so what the heck. I may have liked it better the second time, something that doesn't happen too often for me. I'm sure everyone has seen this movie so I won't explain it. It was good enough.
This was a short 40 minute action/horror jaunt into the demon slaying world. I have seen much of Blood+ but have never seen this short original picture of Saia. Production I.G have been and continue to be dope. The animation is beautiful. Here is something I don't say often, the english voice acting was good; some of the best I've heard. Possibly because both Japanese and English are present, but whatever the reason it's good. Obviously bloody and for an adult audience
Georg Lucas, before he became the great destroyer he is today, began as a great provider. But somewhere around 1984, I think, he went and lost his damn mind. Strangely enough this transition happened around the time he made The Ewok Adventures, an amazing piece of fail. THX 1138 is an interesting film. It's the future and drugs are mandatorily used to pacify people. The most interesting aspect to me, and this shows where my biases lie, was in the portrayal of religion in the film. Many futuristic movies tend toward a ultra modern societal view in which religion is banned or simply lost due to lack of interest. I was very interested in how "religion" was an encouraged aspect for these people, not in a spiritual sense but as another means of control. For many people today prayer is simply a coping mechanism, and the films depiction of religious activity was far more real and disturbing than a future without spirituality at all. I liked it, liked all the actors, especially liked the themes it brought to mind i.e. absence of action, religion, big brother, sexuality, etc. I suggest it for those who are into sci/fi. If you aren't a science fiction person, I would pass on it maybe.
I had wanted to see this for while. This is a documentary of the battle for the high score in Donkey Kong and the men who ruin their lives in pursuit of it; I'm not sure if that's how the people view it but I sure do. This is an interesting step into gamer culture. If I may digress for a moment, I am a nerd.
Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae was a Canadian born physician, professor, author, poet, and soldier. When World War I broke out, McCrae was appointed a field surgeon in the 1st Field Artillery Brigade and head of the field hospital during the Second Battle Of Ypres. Death was a matter of sort during these days of intense fighting. Yet one death in particular stung deeper. Lt. Alexis Helmer had been a student and friend of McCrae prior to the war, and on May 2, 1915 he was killed in battle. In the absence of a chaplain, McCrae presided over the funeral for his fallen friend.
