This is the first time since then that I feel well enough to post anything, or to DO anything besides just lying around. I had a milder reaction to the initial shots. This time, my arm, shoulder, and back muscles really, really ached. Felt tired, sluggish, and blah. Did nothing but sleep and watch movies since a few hours after the shot. No fever, but achiness, fatigue, and sore throat did me in.

I had a Moderna arm rash about a week after the second shot so I'll be watching for it this time, too.

Maybe it exists on DU and I'm just not finding it. There is this forum on fiction and a non fiction forum for American history, but what about current (not historical) non fiction?

I was thinking this morning of the power of pictures to capture not just events, but our feelings about those events. Today that could include videos or photos by amateurs in the right place and time, and not just professional photographers.

The ones that come to mind from the past for me are the Vietnamese girl running naked through the streets, the firefighter holding a toddler's lifeless body from the Oklahoma City bombing, Jackie Kennedy in her blood-stained suit standing next to LBJ as he was sworn in, John Jr. saluting his father's casket.

They can be happy photos and memories, too, like Barack and Michelle on stage after the election results in 2008. I was at our city's Dem election headquarters that night, along with other local campaign volunteers. That photo, or videos of that moment, remind me of the teen volunteers with us who ran into the streets to tell passing cars that Obama had won. They were singing "We Are the Champions." A 15 year old standing next to me said, with great relief, "We saved ourselves." Weary of the Bush terms, I said, "I have waited 8 years for this moment." An elderly Black woman said to me, "I have waited a lifetime."

What photos or video moments are imprinted in your mind forever?

I've been thinking about Halloween memories. What was your funniest Halloween experience? What was your scariest one?

My funniest memory:

I grew up with 2 older brothers and a younger sister. The oldest brother was responsible for taking us on our trick or treating rounds. Our religious denomination had no objections to traditional Halloween celebrations, but the pastor of our specific church did. He preached against it in his sermon the Sunday before Halloween when I was around 8 years old.

He lived 5 blocks away from us. So after taking my younger sister home, my brothers said I could go with them for one last stop IF I promised never to talk about it.

We went to the pastor's house and rang the bell. No answer. The drapes were closed and the lights were off but we could hear the TV inside. So my brother mumbled, "OK, you asked for it." He waxed the word "boo" on the porch windows. Meantime, the other brother strung toilet paper on the porch railing, the posts, and the shrubs in front of the house. Then one brother and I hid behind a tree in the park across the street while the other one pushed a thumbtack into the doorbell to make it ring continuously. He ran to join us behind the tree. When the pastor came out to remove the tack, we giggled so much that I was afraid he would hear us.

We kept straight faces the following Sunday in church and no one besides us ever knew.

I had a dermatology appointment this morning. My father had melanoma, the deadly form of skin cancer, and it is hereditary. About 3 years ago, I had a precancerous lesion removed from my right arm. It would have developed into squamous cell carcinoma, not melanoma.

So I went for a head to toe skin checkup today, a yearly exam due to my and my father's medical histories. I am fully vaccinated but due to age and health issues, I always wear a mask around other people. A sign at the medical office said that masks were required at all times unless requested by staff to remove it.

So I declined to remove my mask during the exam, even though the PA said that all staff were vaccinated. There were no worrisome moles on my face. The rough skin patch on my wrist is worthy of observation but not suspicious - yet. Clean bill of skin health. Good.

Just before I was ready to get dressed to leave, the PA reminded me that frequent itching of a spot is a symptom and I remembered scratching the side of my nose lately. So, I thought, why not let her take a peak? We're both vaccinated. I pulled down the mask. Sure enough. The itchy spot is the same kind of precancerous lesion that I had a few years ago on my arm.

Damn good thing I removed the mask. She sprayed it with liquid nitrogen and I go back in 8 weeks to make sure that it worked and the skin is healing.

Almost overdid the mask thing.

For example, in my teens, I often ate onion sandwiches, with freshly sliced, uncooked onions. Nothing else on the bread except ketchup. (But never before going on a date.) I still enjoy a ketchup and onion sandwich occasionally.

I like oatmeal without a sweetener. Maybe with raisins and cinnamon sometimes, but oatmeal seems naturally sweet enough to me without needing sugar. Same with Cheerios.

Pickles and mayo on melted cheese sandwiches. Mmm.

medical board revoke the license of a Dallas doctor? Is there a Dallas, Oregon?

from 1 to ?

Hope not. Death is a high price to pay, especially for people who are innocent victims of other people's selfishness.

But it is premature to conclude that there is only one death victim from the increase in infections.

After vaccines came out, our infection rate dropped until it reached days at a time with 0 new cases, 0 deaths, and 0 hospitalizations by mid June. Occasionally there were 2 or 3 new cases.

Then, 3 weeks ago, cases started rising, from 0 to 3, then 5 at a time a few days in a row. Then 15.

Last Friday, there were 40 active cases, with 4 hospitalizations. I just checked our county health department website. There were 53 new cases over the weekend, 4 hospitalizations, and 1 death.

It will get much worse. The full vaccination rate for the county is 43%. The partial rate (1 shot) is 46%.

There are two small cities in the county. I live in one of them. The rest of the county is small villages, and farms. There are quite a few anti vaxxers and anti maskers in this area. People are still acting like the pandemic is over, but in reality, the next wave has just begun and nobody seems to be noticing it.