1. Tonight I finished reading Jess Walter's remarkable book, Ruby Ridge: The Tragedy and Truth of the Randy Weaver Family. I haven't written a longer piece here at kelloggbloggin for quite a while. I used to write longer things frequently here. Walter's book, however, took me back to 1980 when I read Norman Mailer's book focused on Gary Gilmore, The Executioner's Song, an astonishing work. Both Mailer's book and Walter's strike me as examinations of elements of American life that, in part, make our country what it is. I might develop some thoughts about this later -- I'll need to get my hands on Mailer's book again, though, before I can do that.
I can write the following now, though. To put it briefly, both books explore the intersection of individual freedom and governmental power. Both books examine violence, the roots of violence, the prevalence of firearms in American life (neither book questions the right to bear arms), and both books feature detailed reporting on the judicial system at work. Because Randy Weaver and Kevin Harris are acquitted of murder charges, Ruby Ridge doesn't explore the complexities of capital punishment -- but the prosecutors in their cases were seeking the death penalty had they been found guilty. The Executioner's Song explores the legal battles over the execution of Gary Gilmore in great detail, in a study made unique by the fact that Gary Gilmore demanded that he be put to death.
These two stories are very different from each other, but as books that invite readers to examine American values, institutions, laws and their enforcement, legal systems, and sources of violence along with the realities of extremism and living on the fringes of American society, I think they make a compelling pairing.
2. It's now been twelve weeks since I received a new kidney. Things have gone very well. I didn't suffer harsh symptoms when I contracted Covid about a month ago. I can feel my lower abdomen is stronger, making me think the surgical site is healing well. My chief concern right now is my level of immunity against disease and infection. My last ImmuKnow test recently indicated that I am very immunosuppressed. I hope that in the next few weeks this improves. I should learn a bit more this coming week. I'll have bloodwork on Thursday morning. Afterward, I'll meet with one of the transplant nephrologists and with Nurse Jenn. I understand that the vitals I measure twice a day at home are stable. I understand that my blood work results have been stable, with the exception of my Tacrolimus levels, but we've addressed that through a reduction of dosage. I'll talk with the team about how cautious I've been, especially since the ImmuKnow test result came in low and whether over the last two weeks my immune system might have improved.
3. Debbie had a great time yakkin' with Cas and others at The Lounge for a couple of hours this afternoon and I enjoyed her report when she got back home. She also brought home a bag of food from Wah Hing and it was fun to dive into that for dinner.
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