Peter's Place

I'm sick. I've been sick since Wednesday evening. I think it's my annual bout of bronchitis. Or it could be COVID. But I doubt it. But with all the anxiety over COVID, IDK anymore. I think all the anxiety they have given us over COVID has left us unable to determine when we have a simple cold or the flu, or something like bronchitis, or something worse--like COVID--or some other sort of infection.  More likely than not this either is my annual bronchitis or a URI (upper respiratory infection). But I'm sick and miserable. Oh. I'm being redundant. But I'm sick so I'm allowed a bit of redundancy. I'm certain I'm not the only one who feels this way. That is, that one little sniffle--or in my case, a single cough--sends off alarm bells and trips to CVS buying out every single possible home COVID test there is on the shelves. Because I've already had COVID-19. And not the trimmed-down Delta or Omicron variants but the OG one that first came out, when ...

Folks, I know I've been absent from cyberspaces throughout the realms but I would be remiss were I not to make every effort to bring forth this warning about some very strange and dangerous goings-on as a result of the COVID-19 virus and how governments worldwide are dealing with this pandemic.  I have it on the most excellent authority that people are, once again, going bonkers from being all couped up in quarantine due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But this time, folks are going nutters in thoroughly difficult and inexplicably peculiar ways. After conferencing in the microwave and toaster oven while sipping a cuppa from the  KEURIG® over Zoom from my Sealy™ Posturepedic® , we all agreed that things are getting really bad out there. It was at this point that we received an urgent request from the KitchenAid® to join the conference, who provided some invaluable intelligence on just how mixed up things have become. Particularly, the toaster oven expressed grave consternation abou...

February is American Heart Month , a federally designated event designed to remind Americans to focus on their hearts and encourage them to get their families, friends. and communities involved. As anyone who has supported or followed US Senator Bernie Sanders knows, the costs associated with healthcare in the United States continue to skyrocket , while the outcomes of that care continue to decline . It's gotten so bad that major corporations are forming their own healthcare networks to help keep costs down. The American Heart Association (AHA) provides the following facts that confirm our nation's declining health and broken healthcare system: Graphic from the Go Red for Women campaign of the American Heart Association showcasing fact that heart disease is the #1 killer of women in the USA Cardiovascular disease, including heart disease and stroke, remains the leading global cause of death with more than 17.9 million deaths each year. This amounts to 2,300 Amer...

Healing the Brain: Stress, Trauma and LGBT/Q Youth My friend David Balog wrote an important book that describes the physical damage homophobia inflicts on our youth. While his book focuses on youth, it's not difficult to see how the same physical damages inflicted on youth can also be inflicted on adults who experience homophobia. David's book,  Healing the Brain: Stress, Trauma and LGBT/Q Youth , has been described as An invaluable resource for those working in the trenches with LGBTQ youth in foster/adoptive care but equally important serves as a primer for those in the community at large who are largely unaware of this subset in our population who are in such desperate need!  A review, in layman's terms, of the effects caused by both physical and emotional trauma to youth, in particular lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth. To mitigate the social, emotional, and physical damage suffered by these youth, we must understand the effects of stress and tra...

The United States should join every other major nation and recognize that health care is a right of citizenship. A Medicare-for-all, single-payer system would provide better care at less cost for more Americans. ~ Bernie Sanders After spending approximately four days inpatient, I was discharged from the hospital today. Last Saturday, I was taken (via ambulance, which probably isn't covered by my medical insurance) to the ER at Hartford Hospital and admitted there in a "code red" situation because I was having difficulty catching my breath due to my heart racing and perhaps some other medical problems I was experiencing. As a (somewhat very new) volunteer for Hartford Capital City Pride , I was at HCCP's PrideFest , which was held outdoors (in the very hot, very humid weather) in Connecticut's Capital City of Hartford's Bushnell Park . It was a very hot, extremely muggy day—just the sort that my asthma-based  COPD has serious issues with. Despite the...