in the car this evening, i am listening to a bbc world report on the situation in afghanistan. local afghanis are resentful of ngo and foreign aid workers in kabul, who are living the high life at the serena hotel, in local restaurants, and at their own private rented mansions. all this amidst an indigenous population with a life expectancy of 45 years.
there's that number again, 45 years. i hear it in rwanda, and bantered about in bangladesh. how, tell me how, is it possible in this day and age that people are expiring at such an early point in their lives? and it briefly flashes across my mind. i myself had heart issues a number of years ago, resulting in the need for a stent followed by a steady course of medications and a controlled diet with plenty of exercise. jane now completes her active battle against breast cancer, involving mastectomy and chemotherapy, to be followed up with lifelong doctor visits, controlled diet with plenty of exercise.
it is quite possible to imagine, to extrapolate in fact, that we two would reach an untimely demise if we had the great misfortune of contracting our various afflictions in some place other than 'the west'. if we were peasant farmers in bhutan, or possibly factory workers in china, would we survive these maladies intact, or at all?
so these are the inequities that tip the scales of life, which for certain is not fair or just in any manner. part of being human and making it through is recognizing these frailties and celebrating in spite of them.
on a lighter note, this evening we enjoy a lovely time with iris and hadas at danny meyer's jazz club beneath blue smoke (having just eaten at his nearby shake shack on saturday, i can say that the food is tasty but reserved, somehow lacking juice). our friends' friend, gilad the percussionist, is playing a set with his band, and we kick back for some bbq and live music. a great and mesmerizing experience, and so easy. jane shamelessly flirts with the artist when he joins us at our candlelit table after the show - what a hussy - and i take this as a good sign. he flashes his charming smile and she giggles gleefully.
girls just want to have fun!
h
there's that number again, 45 years. i hear it in rwanda, and bantered about in bangladesh. how, tell me how, is it possible in this day and age that people are expiring at such an early point in their lives? and it briefly flashes across my mind. i myself had heart issues a number of years ago, resulting in the need for a stent followed by a steady course of medications and a controlled diet with plenty of exercise. jane now completes her active battle against breast cancer, involving mastectomy and chemotherapy, to be followed up with lifelong doctor visits, controlled diet with plenty of exercise.
it is quite possible to imagine, to extrapolate in fact, that we two would reach an untimely demise if we had the great misfortune of contracting our various afflictions in some place other than 'the west'. if we were peasant farmers in bhutan, or possibly factory workers in china, would we survive these maladies intact, or at all?
so these are the inequities that tip the scales of life, which for certain is not fair or just in any manner. part of being human and making it through is recognizing these frailties and celebrating in spite of them.
on a lighter note, this evening we enjoy a lovely time with iris and hadas at danny meyer's jazz club beneath blue smoke (having just eaten at his nearby shake shack on saturday, i can say that the food is tasty but reserved, somehow lacking juice). our friends' friend, gilad the percussionist, is playing a set with his band, and we kick back for some bbq and live music. a great and mesmerizing experience, and so easy. jane shamelessly flirts with the artist when he joins us at our candlelit table after the show - what a hussy - and i take this as a good sign. he flashes his charming smile and she giggles gleefully.
girls just want to have fun!
h
