Gardeners Welcomed Back; Failing Rates of Life Expectancy defined; in the United States; But I am in the Cat Bird’s Seat; Profuse Defined; Obsession Defined; You Are The Best By Tina Turner; I am Apparently Great According to the Gardeners; Photograph of Doctor’s Statement and Unicorn Crowded Patio

This has been a good morning. I awoke to see the gardeners working on the landscaping of this apartment complex.
Me: Welcome back! It is good to see you! We have missed you!
They: Thank you!

Then, just for good measure, I threw them a blow kiss. I am fully vaccinated so it was no problem, Hahaha. Then I fired off a thank you to the newly hired manager of this complex. This man is getting things done! He has honored each and every one of my requests. Some people here just complain about things amongst themselves – being a victim which is an extremely comfortable stance for some. But Alexis McBride seeks to find solutions, and by the way, my way works. Please note that I thanked the person responsible by sending him an email — It is best to be positive and not just complain.

Did some basic tidying, due to the magnificent services of WWW, I live in a clean and orderly apartment – for the first time in my whole life and I am 78. I thank her as well, profusely actually (and pay her as well). Profuse, now there is a word with the greatest of synonyms; copious, prolific, abundant, ample, extravagant, lavish, liberal, unstinting, fulsome, effusive, gushing, immoderate, unrestrained, excessive, inordinate; over the top, gushy. I do not think that thanks can ever be over the top, or gushy or excessive if the thanks are genuine. And my thanks are always genuine.

But then onto some bad news. Opened up my computer to the New York Times to find this news: “Covid-19 has caused the largest decline in U.S. life expectancy since World War II, the federal government reported yesterday. But Covid is not the only reason that life expectancy in this country fell last year to its lowest level in almost two decades. Even before the pandemic, the U.S. was mired in an alarming period of rising mortality. It has no modern precedent.

It’s hard to imagine a more alarming sign of a society’s well-being than an inability to keep its citizens alive. While some of the reasons are mysterious, others are fairly clear. American society has become far more unequal than it used to be, and the recent increases in mortality are concentrated among working-class Americans, especially those without a four-year college degree. For many, daily life lacks the structure, status and meaning that it once had, as the Princeton University economists Anne Case and Angus Deaton have explained. Many feel the connection to an employer, a labor union, a church or community groups. They are less likely to be married. They are more likely to endure chronic pain and to report being unhappy. These trends have led to a surge of ‘deaths of despair” a phrase that Case and Deaton coined), from drugs, alcohol and suicide. Other health problems, including diabetes and strokes, have also surged among the working class. Notably, the class gaps in life expectancy seem to be starker in the U.S. than in most other rich countries. “

Now, for me, it is not necessarily bad news. I do have a four-year college degree (and more, do remember that I have more degrees than ex-husbands (3 ex-husbands). Faithful readers will recall that my Primary Care Physician of some forty-three years once predicted that I would live forever. However, he later modified this in a written statement that I would live “at least one hundred years.” A copy of that signed declaration will be included. I do not suffer from despair, that is for sure. People would ask me for his name, so that they could live forever. Nope, never did give his name, nor never shall. His expert professional judgment was based on science, there are four factors which formed his opinion. You cannot just hire this man of incredible integrity and expect him to come up with an answer you want to hear. Nope! Besides that, if everyone made appointments with him, he would have no time for me. But that is an interesting story that shall soon be revealed. He, actually, is not my doctor of record any longer. Everyone is fine with that – me, him and her. The new doctor is a woman whom he hired to assist him in his practice.

Here is something that brought me joy, this joyous experience occurred on Saturday, July 17, 2021. Faithful readers will know that there is a jacuzzi just outside my door and that I am a total fan of unicorns. I meet this fantastic young girl in the jacuzzi and she has unicorn on her bathing suit. I talk about my obsession with unicorns. Obsession an interesting word: it is an obsession, uling/consuming passion, passion, mania, idée fixe, compulsion, preoccupation, enthusiasm, infatuation, addiction, fetish, craze, hobby horse; phobia, complex, neurosis; bee in one’s bonnet, hang-up, thing, bug., That is me, I have a thing, a consuming passion, a preoccupation and addiction for unicorns. It is recent. Most little girls love unicorns. My fixation began on December 31, 2020. No idea how many I have but a subsequent blog will find the count. Well, this tremendously gifted little girl and her brother became my friends.
He: I know you! My sister told me that you are the Unicorn Lady.
Me: That is me. I love unicorns.

So when we are at the pool and Jacuzzi we talk.
She: I get in the jacuzzi to come and talk to you.
Me: I am so happy because I love to talk to you.

She lives with her mother, she and her father are divorced. On July 17, 2021 she says:
She: Alexis, do you want to meet my father?
Me: Sure!! I see him sitting and supervising you – I will go and introduce myself.

So I go over to his seated presence and say the following words.
Me: Hi. I am Alexis.
He: You are Alexis???
Me: Yes, the last time I checked!
He: My kids talk about you all of the time. But I thought you were their age.
Me: OMG that is the best compliment I have received my whole life. Really????
He: Yes!! I know where you live and see your patio with all of the unicorns and thought that Alexis had the greatest parents who indulged her love of unicorns.
Me: That is hysterically and profoundly beautiful. Yeah, me and unicorns.

Anyway, we had a marvelous chat that went on for quite some time. The whole world went away and there we were laughing and joking with one another. This was near the end of the conversation.
He: I feel like I have known you my whole life.
Me: Well, me of you as well. But I have that same effect on people. One guy met in Las Vegas., actually a psychiatrist by profession, said that I had Instant Intimacy. It is actually bizarre but everyone agrees.

It is actually a rather sad thing to have as it is troublesome, not only to me but to others. I am not sure that I want this trait, this and my fame. But I have it and must learn to live with it.

The other photograph is my patio. Count the unicorns. There are actually seven. The two cans are Unicorn beer and Unicorn Sparkling wine. They were assembled by staff at Cost Plus – my unicorn collection is huge. I think I may give it to the Smithsonian upon my demise. If there still is a Smithsonian existing in 2043 (and beyond).

The end of this blog is consumed at the end of this day. The gardeners were present en masse. I greeted them and the woman gardener, the person in charge said the following words.
She: You are a great woman!
Me: Not just good but great?? I guess in the words of a song. I am Best, Better Than All the Rest! Lyrics to follow. I did not realize before Googling that it is a Tina Turner. I so LOVE her – went to concerts with my old girlfriends. It is SO WOW.

I call you when I need you, my heart’s on fire
You come to me, come to me wild and wild
When you come to me
Give me everything I need
Give me a lifetime of promises and a world of dreams
Speak a language of love like you know what it means
Umm, it can’t be wrong
Take my heart and make it strong, baby
You’re simply the best
Better than all the rest
Better than anyone
Anyone I’ve ever met
I’m stuck on your heart
I hang on every word you say
Tear us apart
Baby, I would rather be dead
In your heart I see the star of every night and every day
In your eyes I get lost, I get washed away
Just as long as I’m here in your arms
I could be in no better place
You’re simply the best
Better than all the rest
Better than anyone
Anyone I’ve ever met
Uuh, I’m stuck on your heart
I hang on every word you say
Don’t tear us apart, no no no
Baby, I would rather be dead
Each time you leave me I start losing control
You’re walking away with my heart and my soul
I can feel you even when I’m alone
Oh baby, don’t let go
Ooh, you’re the best
Aow
Better than all the rest
Better than anyone
Anyone I’ve ever met
Uuh, I’m stuck on your heart
I hang on every word you say
Don’t tear us apart, no no
Baby, I would rather be dead
Uuh, you’re the best

Google it, listen to it. I have better things to do with my time than to give you the link.

Photograph of doctor statement and the patio with unicorns to follow.

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