Friday, November 6, 2009

Disturbing

Sometimes I disturb myself. Like with this little tidbit of personal information. I have several tumors, and when one has to be removed, it gets a name. A regular sort of name. The one that was above and slightly behind my right ear was Ralph. The one on the underside of my chin was Harry, because of the one lone hair it occasionally sprouted. The annoying one on my neck was Herman, and that's what my dad used to call me when he wanted to get under my skin. The group that was removed when I was 21 (discussed in an earlier post) we can call the Brothers Grim. And lastly the one on my face, right side, I've dubbed Arnold. Arnold wasn't really a tumor (hence the name... "It's not a toomah") but a cyst that abscessed and had to come out ASAP.
But the naming all started with Ralph. You see, years ago, when I was 22, I dated this guy. And his mother had a tumor in the exact same place. She had named it Ralph, because it had been with her for so long. So I named my matching one Ralph too. It was the only one to get a name before it had to be removed. So far all the names are masculine, and have some meaning behind them. So. What do I call the one on my back that is coming off on the 16th? I'm having difficulty thinking up an appropriate name for him.
I just remembered that I did name one other one that hasn't been removed yet, and not only that, it has a feminine name. Rosey. She's on my forehead. I also feel I should point out that all of these tumors are really small. Mole sized, but not moles. And they get removed when they start to act up.
Should I talk about food now?
No? Too soon?
Ok.
Sometimes other people disturb me. Like what my crazy relative told me yesterday. She lives in Texas (I know, I could stop there and you would still understand). She and I were discussing the incident at the military base not too far from her. The one in the news. The one where the officer lost his marbles and started shooting up a theatre. She informed me that the gunman was muslim, and that was why he did it. She went on to tell me that there has been talk of rounding up all the muslims in the U.S. and deporting them. That's right. She said it like this was a good thing. It worries me sometimes that crazy appears to run in my family.
I pointed out to her that we (as a country) can't really do that as we have laws about that sort of thing. You know, you can't discriminate against some one for their race, color, or creed. Civil rights. Basic rights at that. I also pointed out that this country was founded on freedom of religion (among other things). She seemed to think that it was perfectly alright to ship 'em all out because, you know, they all want to kill us. Forgetting that nearly every group has extremists and you can't judge an entire group of people by the actions of a few. She said it was part of their religion to try to kill us all. And by "us" she meant everyone who isn't muslim. THEN she went on to say that the saddest part of it all was that those people (and by "those people" she meant everyone who isn't christian - her brand of it at that) were all going to hell. Did I mention that she kinda scares me sometimes? I'm RELATED to this person! I share genetic traits with her. Luckily, that's about all I share with her.


--Little Bird is soon to be carved

6 comments:

Bob said...

Intolerance becomes the downfall of every society, doesn't it? People believe what they want to believe. Occasionally, a light will come on for someone, but it is only because they want to believe. Unfortunately, that light is not always a bright light. It seems that for all that this country says about the Japanese internment, this country, as a whole, hasn't learned much about tolerance.

In regards to the name you are searching for, isn't there some connection your the story about your aunt or is just a coincident... hmmm...

Jules ♂ ♪ said...

You should call your tumor/mole Sir Mix, after his song Baby Got Back.

As far as crazy people and their politics. Before I ever start talking politics I make sure they don't:
A) Watch Fox news
B) Listen to Rush Limbaugh

If they do either A. or B. I refuse to talk politics, because they will not listen to your argument and try to force thier opinion on you. I have had more enlighting conversations with walls. :[

Shadow © said...

Awww, it's okay Avis.

When my mom got a brain tumor removed, she named it "Georgia", because it was on her mind. No joke. :[

Little Bird said...

Shadow, that has to be the funniest thing I've heard in a long time! I hope she's doing well! Your mom, not Georgia.

Jules ♂ ♪ said...

Another name suggestion:
Bryan
For his song 'Get off my back'

DeepInTheHeart (Jenni) said...

Hey, Avis, I hope we can still be friends.
My friend, Robin, had NF, so when you mentioned it on FB and your blog, I was interested in how you're doing.
I obviously made a fail, however unintentional, and I apologize. I have my own serious health battles (fibromyalgia, IBS, depression) and I work(ed) in mental health patients' rights. The system is so screwed up. I got frustrated badly trying to make sure my clients could get the help they need while seeing some horrible abuses of the system by people who would rather take money than do what they were able to do. It left less for the people who really needed it. Right now I'm mad at the State of CA for cutting their SSI contributions to the disabled because of their asinine budget problems. I'm also having trouble with my own health insurance and income issues. The little bit of work I tried to do has made Social Security Disability my nightmare; I'm being penalized and it was cheaper to stay at home and just collect a check rather than help other people in difficult circumstances. Meanwhile, my dad is trying to support his disabled wife and daughter and being taxed to death so it's harder to pay for the costs of our upkeep.
So, maybe you can see where I was coming from, but I understand how that first comment sounded offensive.
*squeeziesifyou'llhavethem*