A Conversation with Elizabeth
1998
Conversational lag

From:          Elizabeth
To:            Larry.m.mixson@bvs.com
Date:          3/12/98 11:25am
Subject:       Conversational lag
 
I've finished up a massive amount of work and hit a pause.
 
I feel as if I've run into a conversational lag of sorts with nothing much new or interesting to write about. There were some things you said in earlier notes which I wanted to follow up on, but without looking at back at them I can't recall right off hand what they were. One was Old Rag, but I addressed that yesterday.
 
The weather did take a severe turn here towards the 20's. Because of all the recent warm weather there were actually azalea bushes in full bloom, as well as blackberries. Tuesday night knowing it would freeze hard that night I picked a bunch of azalea flowers from the bushes on the state property where I walk. I'm glad I did because Wed. when I walked all the flowers were brown and dead from the freeze. The ones on my table are still pretty this morning. I didn't realize it was as cold as it was when I went out Tues. about 5 o'clock to walk. I didn't wear a cap and I was too lazy to go all the way back to my apt. to get one, so I just took off my windbeaker and put it over my head so I could get my walk in. People probably thought I was bizarre, but that's okay. What do you know, the day after I decide I would like to learn more about cloud formations etc., we started having completely cloudless skys, along with the cold.
 
I am reading an interesting book which I got at AUM. Its called The Wall. The plot basically is that a woman goes to visit some friends at an isolated hunting lodge. Her friends drive into town for a short trip and leave her alone, but they do not return. The next morning she gets up and goes out. She discovers that at some walking distance from the lodge and fields is an invisible "wall" which is impenetrable. For example, birds fly into it and are injured. The few people she can see on the other side of the wall are "frozen" in motion. On her side of the wall so far she has as a companion a dog, and also a cow which she found in misery because it had not been milked since the day before.
Her situation is only slowly dawning on her in terms of "survival." I'm still in the early part of the book, but I think it will be interesting to see how it evolves. The book jacket said it was sort of a modern day Wendyson Crusoe story of sorts. Incidentally, when she turns on a car radio which is available she only gets white noise.
 
I did not realize your father was so close to retirement when he had his heart attack. For some reason I thought he was much younger. I read that racquetball is considered one of the most intensive forms of exercise in terms of burning calories in that it burns about 900 calories an hour. Walking/running, I think burn up to about 200 an hour. Interestingly I feel better already cutting back on eating here and buying a salad to go with my sandwich. It may work out that I can take advantage of the cafeteria to get my fresh vegetables for the day and then not have to be concerned that I'm not getting them at home. I think it is mostly the fruits and salad stuff at home that I end up throwing away. I studied the hospital menu at home last night and reconcluded how really bad the choices are. Only on one day which was a Sat. was there baked chicken. The fish served this week is fried. There were only two hot vegetables that were steamed all week. Let me tell you, the vegetables they serve virtually glisten with oil/fat, but they certainly get eaten.
 
It has been heavenly having light classes this week, but I haven't taken advantage of it to study, just "live."
 
Both my parents smoked initially, but quit when I was born. I thought that was wise on their parts.
 
Some of what you call hobbies are to me activities. I'm not trying to split hairs, but I have lots of activities--Sierra club, walking, prowling used book stores constantly, tutoring--I did Tai Chi, but that is where my knee got aggravated ironically. Maybe I'll have to think more clearly about what I feel I need, that I am calling it a "hobby." Sometimes I find myself wondering (and fact its something I do a lot) how other people spend their lives, their lifetime. Then I will look around and find many, many people up on Sat. morning meticulously waxing and cleaning their cars or going to Walmart or flea markets. Those are not ever first choices of mine.
 
My father, as I wrote you once, died suddenly. My brother had called and not been able to get him. He called very regularly. He sent the sheriff out (my brother is in Houston and my dad was several hours away in another part of Texas). The sheriff found him in the bathroom dead. Autopsies are supposed to be done on any death which occurs in a home (or some rule like that), but being a small town and no evidence of foul play, one was not done. So, I don't know really why he died. My hypotheses were cerebral aneurysm or massive coronary. Scully said on x-files once that going to the bathroom and straining can often blow a weak aneurysm in the brain, but I recall she said you could tell by looking at the eyes or something. Anyway, no one did that. The mystery bothers me because for 85 he was in very good health, although he had drunk too much over the years. Well, I'm meandering and drifting I feel, but I can't find a focus.
 
I'm struck by the CBS reports of secret high potency tobacco being grown illegally in South America and shipped here. What lies those companies have attempted to foster. Very x-filish.
 
There is a medical library information science conference coming up in Washington in April. There will an entire day on cybermedicine and cyber law. I won't be going, but it looked interested. The Nat. Lib. of Medicine is putting it on.
 
Later, a long letter for nothing much to say.

A very long letter and I thought, “How long did it take her to write it?”, then I remembered she did medical transcription and could type 120 words a minute (on a good day I can type 50 words a minute). She could have typed the above in five minutes if she was just typing what came to her mind in the moment which is an interesting question in itself was if her email was a spur of the moment stream of thoughts?

Re: Conversational lag