A random observation on praying
Previous to my accident, I wondered if I would have the presence-of-mind to pray as my final seconds approached.
Obviously not if I was in a coma or struck down by a bolt of lightning, but what if I was shot or pinned beneath a fallen tree or...hit by a car.
In my particular case I think the answer is YES!
My first memories after getting whacked were of looking down at the pavement, some three-inches distant and seeing the stones in it very clearly. then I realized I did not have my glasses on (I am very near-sighted). Then the pool of liquid below my forehead slowly growing.
Then I heard "Hail Mary, full of grace...." in the back of my mind. BAM! Just like that, no conscious thought applied.
For those of you who are not Catholic, the Hail Mary is one of the rote prayers we learn in our youth. The Hail Mary is a slightly embellished version of Luke 1:41,42
I think the reason the Hail Mary kicked in automatically is that I made a habit of praying while in the dentist's chair, not because Dr Stone is a poor dentist (I think he is an extraordinarily good dentist) but because of my anxiety. My thinking was that if I can power-through my anxiety and pray in the dentist's chair then I can pray in other stressful situations.
What I had not anticipated is that neurons that fire-together wire-together. Huge adrenaline dump? 200 BPM pulse rate? Not in control? Conditions met. Subsys-restart. Activate prayer engine.
As noted earlier, I felt calm and protected through the event. The praying-in-the-dentist chair connection is a little quirky but I thought it worth sharing. You just never know...
Baby formula
I was visited by a nephew and his wife and their new baby last night.
Right now the baby is being breast fed but her mother wants to have a back-up. They have tried a few different formulas but the baby appears to have bad reactions to formulas based on cow's milk. Reactions like hives and whistling breath.
The mother commented that the great baby formula scare has greatly limited the availability of specialty formulas as mothers who otherwise would have bought the commodity type formulas are now buying anything on the shelf.
So far the mother has been able to provide an ample amount of "boobie juice" as she calls it and the baby is growing like a weed but she still wants to have a back-up just in case.
Regarding the Industrial Fiction piece
I wrote the first part as a portrait showing the differences between a "Relationship-based" salesman and a "Challenger" salesman.
As a "Challenger" salesmen told me, "The best way to develop a relationship with your client is to solve one of his big, intractable problems. Your client will call you when he has a big problem. Solving big problems is where big paychecks come from."
If you cannot solve problems, then the only way you can afford to develop a "relationship" with your client is based on golf games, trips and gifts. The only way the supplier can afford those amenities is to roll a little extra lard into the quote. Once that model is planted, it tends to grow and become a life-form of its own.
Retired firefighter. Had a heart attack the last hour of my last day on the job while fighting a fire. Didn't know it was my last day at the time. Medics and EMT's all around me jump me, strip me, throw me in the medic rig, and away to the hospital we go. Pain is making me hyperventilate, but I'm calm inside. Like you, I talked to God on the way making sure there was nothing between Him and I. Died on the table for five minutes. Still here and almost no brain dama..amage. (Sorry. Have to make jokes.) I believe time is short and even if not, yours might be. Get right with God...NOW. You may not have the luxury (mercy?) of a last few minutes of consciousness.
ReplyDeleteThe salesman story hit a nerve with me. I was an independent rep then a sales manager for most of my life. When we were purchased by a Fortune 500 company I had the responsibility to train their sales force on our rather technical products. They failed miserably! The VP of Sales was a big relationship sales are our life guy. He hired good looking men and women who handed out catalogs and bought lunches and ball game tickets. They couldn't generate a quote, answer any questions on products or applications, arrange delivery or service or do training. One of our big .gov customers ended up calling the company president and went off telling him his people were not calling four different people to get the runaround when he used to call just call me and get things done. The VP of Sales fixed the issue by firing me, giving me a nice severance and enforcing a non-compete. No square pegs tolerated. It worked out well for me in the end as the original owner bought the company back for pennies on the dollar.
ReplyDeleteI used to tell our reps and salespeople to ask themselves what value did the bring to the transaction. Are you helping solve a problem or just along for the ride?
I don't think praying in the dentist chair is quirky. It is a regular practice of mine. Recently, in the middle of eye surgery while praying, I realized the numbing meds were wearing off and I could feel the needles and scalpel in my eyeball. Not painful, but I could feel them being inserted. I knew the surgeon was closing up and I did not want to screw things up with a complaint. So, I said nothing and in short order it was done. None of that would be possible with my unaided will. My go to prayer is "God have mercy on me". Works great and kicks in automatically now after 46 years of practice.
ReplyDeletebabies with gastrointestinal issues usually do better on goats milk. it has less complex proteins, maybe less butter
ReplyDeletefat (guessing here).
friend had a baby with severe GERD and every formula caused hours of screaming.
immediate relief on switching to goats milk.
Thanks for the information. I passed it along
Deleteyw.
Deletealso found this good info
https://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/childrens-health/formula-homemade-baby-formula/
ERJ
ReplyDeleteRE: Formula for rugrats
BLUF: Freezing expresses milk is a good option if mother can tolerate the pumping routine. Also, Neutramigen formula is quite good for infants sensitive to other brands.
Details. We are blessed with many children. Some have food allergies, others don’t. Including twins that have different food tolerances and adverse reactions. My lovely bride breastfed those who would accept it. She expressed (pumped) milk for our oldest because he refused the breast. We froze the expressed milk in bags made for the purpose and bottle fed him. He’s particular and stubborn to this day. My wife learned to like the pump, tho it took a while.
Our twins, one nursed and one couldn’t because of adverse reaction to some protein in the milk. Fed home neutramigen formula till he switched to solid food. It’s good formula. He’s doing fine now with no known food allergies. The good Lord fixed him up as he grew. Now he eats more than his mother.
The rest of the kids took to the breast like a fish to water. Mom still pumped milk for them because it increased output, helped he regain her lovely figure, and gave me a turn at late night feedings.
If nephew decides to go this route, spend the coin on the best electric pump they can find and get the quality milk freezing bags. Everyone will be happier that way.
Longtime fan of your blog. Former long service soldier. Now a small scale farmer, tinkerer, mechanic, and aspiring orchard keeper. It’s hard to keep the deer off my small fruit trees.
Thanks for what you share with us. Godspeed in your healing.
John
Kaw River Valley
Thank-you for serving.
DeleteThank-you for becoming parents. It sounds like you are good at it.
Thanks for the comment and the information. I passed it along.