Armistice Day

One century ago, November 11th, 1918, 11 a.m., the guns of "The Great War" fell silent in Europe, ending those four years of war in which some 14 million died.

The 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month has been celebrated since as Armistice Day, a cross-national celebration of peace.

The US recognized and observed Armistice Day until 1954, when it was changed to Veterans Day.  British Commonwealth nations now call the day Remembrance Day.

I was 5 years old in 1954, and not really into world or national news or events, but I do remember when it was called Armistice Day, and that name lingered in general use for several years after that as well.

It was probably appropriate after WWII to broaden the occasion from just WWI, and perhaps to recognize that the Armistice originally celebrated did not last:  A resigned, Cold War recognition that "The War to end all wars," had failed to accomplish that.

The change from Armistice Day to Veterans Day was a subtle change, perhaps, but it changed the emphasis from a celebration of peace, to a remembrance of war.  It also tended to isolate the US from the essentially international nature of peace: That peace depends on many nations, not just one.

Since Pearl Harbor, the US has been essentially in a perpetual state of war.

• Cold War, NATO, European and Asian bases
• Berlin airlift 1948-49
• Korean War 1950-53
• Cuba Bay of Pigs invasion, 1961
• Vietnam War 1961-73
• Dominican Republic, Haiti, Grenada, Panama
• Lebanon 1982
• Gulf War 1991
• Somalia 1993 ("Blackhawk Down")
• Balkans: Bosnia 1994-5 & Kosovo 1999
• Afghanistan 2001 - ?
• Iraq 2003 -?
• Syria missiles

Of course, the world has seen many other wars in that period, in which the US did not directly participate.  Some of them, the US was involved indirectly, with arms or support of various kinds.  Others, perhaps with no US involvement.

War seems to be a natural state of human affairs, with peace being the rare exception.

Peace seems indeed something to celebrate.

An act of Congress approved May 13, 1938, made November 11 in each year a legal holiday: "a day to be dedicated to the cause of world peace and to be thereafter celebrated and known as 'Armistice Day'."
Knowing the conditions in 1938, that was so optimistic, it seems almost sarcastic. 
Perhaps the change to Veterans Day in 1954 was an abandonment of peace as a credible goal.

We have many US holidays that remember war:

• Memorial Day
• Veterans Day
• Armed Forces Day
• Independence Day

I certainly do not in any way begrudge veterans the recognition they so deserve for their service.  I respect their dedication, courage, and sacrifice. I hope nothing I muse about here will be taken as in any way critical of those observances. But I do pray for the day when the sacrifice of young men on the battlefield will no longer be necessary; For the day to come soon when "they will study war no more."

Some claim that peace must be fought for;  That it is best achieved by military might;  That we should thank soldiers for giving us peace.

Others claim that violence cannot be overcome violence;  That love and non-violence are the way to peace.

Some say human nature is simply incapable of peace, and peace can only come with divine intervention.

I have not just one, but many opinions and beliefs on peace.  No doubt, you do too.

I could not help being moved by French President Macron's speech yesterday

A cozy and peaceful group?

in which he said:

 "Patriotism is the exact opposite of nationalism, Nationalism is a betrayal of patriotism. In saying ‘Our interests first, whatever happens to the others,’ you erase the most precious thing a nation can have, that which makes it live, that which causes it to be great and that which is most important: Its moral values. I know there are old demons which are coming back to the surface, They are ready to wreak chaos and death. History sometimes threatens to take its sinister course once again."

You may disagree.  You may think that strong nations further the course of peace, and that "good fences make good neighbors." You may view with suspicion or even hostility such globalist one-world views.  I can sympathize.  There are many dangers in this world.

Whatever your view, most people seem to think peace would be nice.

Perhaps, one day a year, to think about peace, would be a good idea?

Just one day each year - to think about, plan for, wish for, hope for, fantasize about, even pray for, Peace.  Is that too much to ask?

The Beatles sang: "Give peace a chance."  Idealistic, unrealistic, simplistic, sure.  Just a song.  Liberal, humanist, BS.  Don't expect great truths from Rock N Roll.  Get real.

But still, just one single day, to just think about Peace.

Lots of holidays now involve fantasizing. We just had Halloween, all fantasy. There's the Easter Bunny. Leprechauns on Saint Patrick's Day.

Valentines Day is devoted to fantasizing about idealized, unrealistic,  romanticized love (and sex).  Can't they do the same for peace?  Hallmark could make a killing, er, fortune.

Next up, Santa Claus.

Speaking of Santa Claus:

We are about to enter the Christmas season, celebrating the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, who Christians call "The Prince of Peace," and whose birth was heralded by angels proclaiming "Peace on Earth. Good will to men," a goal, 2000 years on, still awaiting fulfillment.   Perhaps Christmas could be that day to think about peace? 

But, don't just think about peace.   Just Do It!

Jesus didn't just promise peace in a future Paradise.  He offers peace today. He calls us to peace now.  Just accept his peace, and practice it, now.

Waiting for divine intervention is a cop-out.  Don't wait for God to do it for you. God has already intervened.  Don't wait for someone else to be first.  Jesus was already first.  Now, it's our turn.

He said to treat others as we want to be treated, not as we are treated. Do you want killing to stop? Then stop killing.  Just stop.

You say you are "Pro-Life?"  Great!  Then stop killing people. Set the example of not killing the unborn by not killing the already born.

Jesus is not called the Prince of Peace just because of a promised future, but because of what he already did.  He reconciled us to God, and he calls us to reconcile with each other, even if that requires self-sacrifice.

Soldiers who die in battle are said to give "the ultimate sacrifice."  But Jesus died in peace, an even greater sacrifice.  He set the example that he asks us to follow.  Put down the battlefield crosses, and take up the cross of Jesus.

Cease fire. Declare your own Armistice.

As the song says: "Let there be peace on Earth,

                            and let it begin with me."

Peace

Clinical Trial Progress

Rush Medical Center Professional Building

For those of you who may be in suspense, worrying about how my immunotherapy treatment clinical trial is going (Yeah, unlikely, I know, but just in case)  Here's the news:

(or, if you missed my previous blog about PSP and this experimental treatment, you can catch up there: Previous "Progress" blog)

October 2nd, I had my first ABBVie Arise clinical trial immunotherapy infusion.

Last Wednesday, Halloween, I had my third infusion.  I thought about a zombie costume for the occasion, but thought maybe they'd take it seriously. This was the end of having to go in bi-weekly.  From now on, the rest of the infusions will be at monthly intervals.

So far, pretty uneventful.  No noticeable adverse effects, other than lots and lots of needle sticks.

Nothing like the drama of the spinal tap they did to screen me into the trial before I started getting treatments

I get the treatments in the building above, on the Rush Medical Center campus, on Harrison Blvd, about 2-1/4 miles west of the downtown Chicago "Loop."

Each infusion lasts 3 hours, followed by a 20 minute "flush" infusion, so I sit there for about 3-1/2 hours with an IV needle in my arm.

Unlike chemotherapy for cancer, it doesn't hurt (other than the needle stick). No burning, really no feeling at all.

The tests they do with each infusion vary a bit:

• Last week, they only took one blood sample.  
• The previous time,  they took blood samples THREE TIMES, once before the infusion, one after, and another an hour later. I came out with three bandaids:, two on one arm; and one on the other covering two needle sticks, total 4 sticks including the infusion (shoulda got a photo of my arms).
• This time they did an EKG (no extra charge for the chest hair spot removal)
• The first infusion required a urine sample.
• In December, I get a repeat Brain MRI, to see if my brain is shrinking.
• Every time, they do a neurological exam (eyes, reflexes etc)  and cognitive, psych and memory tests (you know, remembering three words). (* See note below) 

I get the infusions in a 10' X  10' windowless exam room, where we spend most of the day.  People come in and out to do the various tests and exams, and check on us.  The staff are all very nice, friendly and helpful.  And, I see my doctor each time, which is helpful, as I can ask about other issues at the same time.

We have to leave our house about 6:30 in the morning to get to Rush through Chicago rush hour traffic by 8:00, so Lyn packs something for me to eat for breakfast after I get there, to save time getting ready to leave in the morning.  We usually have lunch while I'm getting the infusion.

So far, I haven't noticed any changes, but really I'm not supposed to.  If the treatment is working it will slow the progress of the disease, which, in the month since the first treatment, would not be perceptible anyway.  So, it's impossible for me to tell if it's having any effect.  Over the next year, in comparison to other patients, they'll see. Oddly, I guess, the best, most hoped for, outcome of the treatment would be if there was no change at all.

It was also nice to hear Sunday that my friend Mary from our little church in Kouts, IN, who also by coincidence has PSP, got into the same clinical trial, in Houston, nearer where she recently moved. What are the odds of actually knowing someone else who has the same, very rare, disorder?

Rush also just happens to be 3 miles west of a Trader Joe's, on Roosevelt, where we usually go afterwards on the way home, to get our fix of old familiar Southern California food.

Trader Joe's has not yet made it across the border to Northwest Indiana, so it's otherwise a very long drive.  Ice cream does not last well on the drive home in the summer.  But 3-buck Chuck (it's a tad more expensive than in California) transports legally across the state line.  It's pretty convenient to stop by on the way home, and makes for a scenic drive along Lakeshore Drive afterwards, going home.

Rush to Trader Joe's for Pasadena Salad

You may just be able to see that the CTA Pink Line goes right next to the building at Rush, from the Loop.  In theory, we could take the South Shore Line commuter train from Dune Acres to Millenium Park (you can see Millenium Park, and the RR tracks, at the right in the photo above) in Chicago, wheelchair two blocks to the Wabash CTA station, and take the pink line to Rush, where the station is a block south of my building.  We could, if we wanted to leave the house at 5:30 to catch the 5:53 train, to get to Rush by 8:00.

So far, Lyn has been willing to drive, and that way, she has the car to take to Trader Joe's.  We dropped Matt and Jenni off at Rush two weeks ago at the end of their visit, before their Eagle's concert in Chicago, and they got to experience the commute with us.

So, that's our "Trial" so far.  Not too grueling.  A bit of an adventure, and hopefully, most of all, progress in the science of treating degenerative brain disorders.

* Note about those cognitive, psych, and memory tests:  So far, I'm probably no more demented than most of you.  Maybe less, in some of your cases.  I just get tested more frequently.

Here are the links to learn more:

About Progressive Supranuclear Palsy:  About PSP

Clinical Trials website:  ABBVie Arise Clinical Trial

ABBVie's website:  ABBVie

If you would like to donate to brain disorder research: Cure PSP

A Nation Shares A Meal

Thanksgiving at the MacDougall's  house - 1989

I like Thanksgiving.

Not to criticize any other holidays, but it seems like the perfect combination of the holy and the secular.

It's not at all a Biblically ordained day, not sponsored by any particular church, not limited to any religion, yet is perhaps one of the more truly Godly of holidays.

It's not overtly patriotic, nor entirely unique to America, yet is perhaps the most truly American of celebrations.

Sure, like any other occasion it gets commercialized to some extent.  Sure, it sometimes gets inverted into a celebration of over-consumption.  But those are quibbles, nit-picks really.

Unlike many other holidays, it doesn't turn out to be just an excuse for a three day weekend - it actually gets observed, celebrated, participated in. Most of us actually do give thanks that day.

We may not decorate graves on Memorial Day or go Trick-or-Treating on Halloween, or light fireworks on the 4th of July, or go into labor on Labor Day (or whatever one is supposed to do on Labor Day), or hunt eggs on Easter.  But on Thanksgiving, most of us do have a family gathering and make an occasion of it.

What seems most amazing, aside from the fact that most of us do actually pay attention to it, is that the entire nation engages in a form of fellowship around a shared meal.  That is, the whole country, all of America, sits down to share a meal.  We don't all quite fit at the same table, or in the same room, but most of us sit down the same afternoon to about the same food, gathering in similar ways in the common tradition.

From Grandmother's House ("over the river, and through the woods"), to urban apartments, to skid row soup kitchens, to military mess tents overseas, to the fanciest estates of the wealthy, to suburbia, Americans, wherever they are, share this meal.

The recipes may differ a little; different kinds of stuffing, perhaps; but the menu is mostly pretty similar.

Oh, sure, there may be various ethnic family dishes served as well, Nana's tamales, or sauerkraut, or kimchee, or gefiltefish, or dim sum, and those family touches are a shared tradition too.

The pies may differ a bit: The ubiquitous (so!) pumpkin and apple of course.  Maybe Southern pecan, Northern Blueberry, Anaheim Boysenberry, English Mincemeat, my mother's lemon meringue, Indiana Hoosier pie, your auntie's specialty.

But for most of us, the basic menu is pretty standard.  You can get it anywhere:  Turkey, stuffing, yams (with or without marshmallows), mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce, roll, a vegetable if you must, and pie, pie, pie.

For those who may remember Van de Kamps in Southern California

No matter what we may believe or not believe, regardless of religion or politics, whoever or whatever we thank, we join together as one people in a shared traditional dinner, counting our blessings, the biggest shared meal in the world, perhaps.  It is a truly grand tradition. We try to find others to gather with, to share the occasion with as many as possible, but regardless how many or few are physically with us, the whole nation shares this meal.

It is an occasion to be thankful for what we share, and to share what we have.  Happy Thanksgiving to you all.

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2020 Added thoughts:

I usually share this blog annually without comment, but this exceptional year, 2020, requires additional thoughts.  I think this year should make us all the more conscious of just how blessed we truly are, and all the more thankful for those blessings.  Despite all the troubles of this year, this remains absolutely the greatest time ever to be alive, and America, despite obvious problems, remains a great place to live.  I do understand that so many families are suffering from the effects of the pandemic, the resultant economic problems, grief at the loss of loved ones, and so many other causes.  We are ever aware of the suffering that abounds in this mortal world, and look forward to a better one in the future.  But this week we set aside a day to be grateful for all that we have been given.  And ALL of us in this nation have been given so much.

It is too easy to think of what we used to have, and to bemoan the loss of things we used to enjoy.  I can certainly do that any time, as well as anyone.  If you still have control of your limbs, you have way more than me.  I certainly don't want to get into a "who has it worst" battle, or make a "smile, things could be worse" argument.  It's far simpler than that.  I could look at that photo above from 1989 and grieve the people that have since died, and miss the people now far away (or the hair I used to have).  Instead, I smile at the memory.  I'm thankful for my family.  

Sure, many of us will sit down at a smaller table this year, with fewer family physically with us.  Though we do miss the family gathering, we can be all the more thankful for the family we miss.  We can be thankful for technology (like this) that brings us together even though separated by miles, or even around the world.  The whole point of my blog is that we share this Thanksgiving meal with the whole nation, wherever we are and whoever we are with.  That should be all the more evident this year of social distancing.

Things we may be missing this year should make us all the more grateful for all that we still do share.