Three Headlines and My Opinion

Good morning! 

Not sure how it is in your world, but in mine, it is day two of rain. The humidity of course is high but the temps aren't as fallish as I would like. It is still a bit warmer than us pumpkin spice-drinking, pumpkin patch loving, leggings, and sweater-wearing connoisseurs would like. In fact, it is still a bit steamy out there. All-in-all though, it is a pretty good day to sip hot tea and spill the T in a blog. 

I wasn't sure what I wanted to write about today until I opened up my news app and started looking at the headlines. Then I remembered someone telling me not too long ago that there were a select few who liked to hear my views on world happenings. I really thought they were joking, but apparently, the hilarity I found in the statement, they found  to be a bit insulting as they were actually being serious. Who knew?

Okay, so be it. Today's blog will cover a few headlines (both locally to me and nationally....maybe even worldwide...who knows?)and bonus, you will get my views on such. Yeah, be careful what you ask for. 

My first headline is a local one. https://www.kake.com/story/49882600/newton-man-sentenced-to-more-than-4-years-for-mistreatment-of-a-dependent-adult    This story is short, but definitely not sweet. The place they speak of Heartland Supports, is in a little town North of Wichita. It apparently is a day program for dependent disabled adults. This less than human beast, apparently beat and battered a disabled client and now will be doing a whole 4 years for his crimes. Grrrrrr....I have BIG opinions on this. First of all, from the time David (my special needs, dependent son) was about 8 years old, up until now, I have always had people pushing me to put David into either a home for dependent indviduals or a day program after he graduated high school. My reply was always "thank you....no thank you," but not always in those nice of words. 

After years of hearing stories about people in nursing homes and assisted homes of all kinds, being beaten, abused and even killed, by staff who were not properly trained and who flat out didn't give a damn about the people they were hired to care for, I made up my mind early on, David would never be put in that position. David is especially vulnerable as he is non-verbal and when he is not being understood or listened to (yes, he can communicate if his caregiver, para, etc are willing to take the time and listen), then he can become frustrated, resulting in an arm grab, a small pinch, or even mild combativeness. This seldom happens anymore though, as he has gotten good at letting us know his needs, or maybe we have just gotten better at listening. He has however, even in a school setting been verbally chastised, and according to some who chose to remain nameless, even physically reprimanded. Imagine that in a setting such as Heartland Supports, where I couldn't oversee the situations like I could at school. David could be a statistic just because someone found him challenging and didn't want to deal with him, and David would never even be able to let anyone know. 

Yes, David will always remain in our home setting where he is loved, understood and his "voice" is always heard. As for this cowardly beast who hurt someone who had no ability to fight back, in my humble opinion, 4 years is not nearly enough. There should be extenuating punishments for those that hurt the elderly and disabled, and I am sure there is a special place in hell for them. 

I also feel that the Heartland Supports should shoulder some of the responsibility and all facilities caring for the disabled whether it is a living facility or a day facility, should conduct in-depth background checks on anyone they hire as well as extensive training on both the physical and mental care of those in their charge. Unfortunately, that would have to come with a big budget and much higher pay scale, that most of these places will not provide. Most of these workers, not unlike the paras (support staff for special education in schools) get paid barely minimum wage with little to no training but a lot of high expectations in service provisions. In other words, often the most vulnerable of our society aren't deemed worthy enough to have caretakers in facilities make quality care a priority. Grrrrrr

In lighter news https://www.today.com/popculture/taylor-swift-travis-kelce-kiss-cheek-rcna121758  Oh Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift. SWELCE! Yes, I had to bring it up. 

I will admit when this whole Kelce/Swift thing started, I was a bit amused. The first I heard of it was when he was apparently crushing on her and he had someone tell her (I think, my brain is humidly challenged this morning) and she didn't seem any too impressed. It was kind of the Hollywood adult version of passing a note and asking her if she liked him. This was even before pre-season I believe. Then suddenly, without football fan warning or consultation, we hear that the two are a couple. Hmmmmmm. Who doesn't remember the Jessica Simpson/Tony Romo debacle and the grief it caused both him and the Cowboys? I bet Romo does!!!! No one (or at least me) wanted to see Kelce and the Chiefs go down that same road. 

So imagine my dismay, as the SWELCE "romance" began to blossom and T-Swift became the focal point of the season, and definitely every game that the Chiefs played. I read all the gossip headlines accusing the two of an unholy alliance of self-promotion to enhance both of their careers, or the belief that this was just made up play acting to keep the Chiefs relevant. 

Honestly, it is pro-sports and Hollywood, if we have learned nothing else, we have learned that anything is possible and either/or headline could be possible, however, it didn't seem likely that two people, both at the top of their game in their individual worlds, really needed the promotion, and the Chiefs certainly didn't. So maybe the two were legit, BUT must I see more of  Swift at these games than the actual games? I posted something about this on FB and while some agreed that they were over the two before they even started, others sighed and chastised me for not acknowledging young love in bloom. I remember thinking to myself, until he becomes her next heart break, man done her wrong, top 10 single. Yes, I am extremely jaded. 

There is no question that I am and was pre-SWELCE,  a Kelce fan. I have however, never been that big on Swift....no matter how much my granddaughter plays her songs. Okay, there are a few songs that I find okay, but Swift as a person, I just kind of wonder about. So many boyfriends, so many break up songs, and if you listen to gossip media, our T-Swift might be headed to the dark-side with some of her songs and videos. Did she really sell her soul for pop stardom and now NFL stardom too? 

Then I hear stories about people in this new world of football fans and friends that Swift is starting to cultivate. She is kind to those around her. She picks up her trash and the trash of others. She goes out of her way to meet people, and okay, maybe the most endearing thing I have seen, her sweet kiss on Kelce's cheek, and their innocent hand holding. All these things are things a boy mom would be watching out for if a girl (even Taylor Swift) were hanging out with her son. 

So my consensus.....maybe they are for real. They definitely aren't throwing their PDA in our faces like some of the famous couples tend to do in an effort to show the world their love (think any Kardashian), and they aren't trying to defend their relationship through all the clapback that they get. At the end of the day, I guess it really doesn't matter if they are a "real" couple or not, and by the way, what defines real couple anyway? They seem happy, and the Chiefs Kingdom have settled down and don't seem too unhappy that the more Swift shows up at the games, the better Kelce plays. I guess the only real question left is, can SWELCE get us to another Super Bowl win? If not, then at least we know that T-Swift will have a hell of a next album. 

And finally, https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/tumor-destroying-sound-waves-treatment-coming-to-a-hospital-near-you-for-liver-cancer/ we all need a little uplifting news when it comes to cancer. 

Cancer has been around a very long time and dare I say there are very few of us that can say cancer has not touched our lives in one way or another. It is a disease that can produce over 200 types of cancer, along with genetic mutations that can can take the disease from very treatable to completely out of control. Yes, genetics and our individual cell make up play a huge part in whether we get cancer or not. 

With cancer sometimes the treatments are almost as bad as the disease itself, using poisons and radiation to kill the cancer that can damage other organs, cause other illnesses and make the cancer patient sicker than they ever felt with the disease. Often times the treatments are also invasive, such as surgery to remove the cancer or even the affected organ. 

Of late, new trials keep popping up and some are less damaging than the old tried and true chemo and there is also positive info coming out on cannabis and it's ability to kill cancer cells, but with over 200 kinds of cancer, it makes sense that not every new trial or treatment is going to react to every cancer the same way. That is why something like non-invasive treatments such as sound waves might be an exciting breaktrhough in the field of cancer and it's treatment.  

May we one day find a cure for cancer in all its forms that erradicates it from our world. 

Well, there you have it. You have three interesting(ish) headlines and my opinion on all of them. 

So until next time, stay dry, stay happy and be kind!