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Tuesday Kaffeeklatsch - 4/1/25 - we are NOT April Fools!
How cool! It reminds me of the "kick me" signs people put on the backs of their friends in high school. I wasn't aware of celebrations around the world, so I looked it up. One of the coolest I found is in Germany, where April Fool's Day is known as "Aprilscherz." The tradition dates back to the 16th century. One theory connects it to the calendar reform when the new year was moved from late March to January 1st - those who continued celebrating the old date were mocked as "April fools."
Germans traditionally exclaim "April, April!" This phrase signals to the victim that they've been fooled.
Apparently, German media outlets participate enthusiastically. Newspapers, radio stations, and TV channels create elaborate hoaxes. For example, in 1993, German radio announced that the city council of Bremen had banned jogging in public parks because the heavy breathing disturbed the wildlife.
In Germany, pranks are traditionally only played until noon. Those who play jokes after midday are themselves considered the fool ("Aprilnarr").
ETA - I found this info on the internet, so I can't vouch as to whether or not it is accurate.
@Joy - I would suspect it is fairly accurate, in tone and also some of the detail, as it is similar to what I found for France.I will however ask my brother and SIL as they both lived in Germany for extended periods at different times. In fact, my SIL raised 2 kids into their teens there, though since her first husband was in the US military, their life revolved around the American base. But kids do tend to pay attention to April Fools Day.
Ok, I just could not get past the pastry with the fish on it and take a bite out of it. 🤣
I worked the Wisconsin election yesterday ... from 06:30a to 10:00p.The only "fool" was us workers ... who were kept busy ALL DAY LONG. It was a steady stream of voters. 39% of our eligible voters had already submitted an absentee (or early) ballot. Several times during the day (first opening, then about an hour later when the school bus had picked up the kids, and again at the end of the work day) we had lines out the door. But it basically moved along swiftly and without incident, except .... our ballot counting machine kept getting jammed. At one point we had to completely empty out the bin because it was so full that newly inserted ballots couldn't completely clear the mechanism, thus jamming every 3rd or 4th ballot. Once we did that, though (ballots went into a separate securely locked bin), the process moved smoothly. A long and exhausting day. But so worthwhile!
Book Concierge wrote: "I worked the Wisconsin election yesterday ... from 06:30a to 10:00p.The only "fool" was us workers ... who were kept busy ALL DAY LONG. It was a steady stream of voters. 39% of our eligible voter..."
I was thinking about you and the election yesterday.
I'm glad it was so rewarding for you & thank you for your hard work.
@Tessa - I was so pleased when I saw the news last night and just knew you were celebrating, even if exhausted.Personally I find it particularly delicious that a woman succeeded against all those efforts by you know who.
Book Concierge wrote: "I worked the Wisconsin election yesterday ... from 06:30a to 10:00p.The only "fool" was us workers ... who were kept busy ALL DAY LONG. It was a steady stream of voters. 39% of our eligible voter..."
Yikes, I only do half a day, either morning or afternoon. I was there from 1-9 pm, not bad, as it often takes about an hour after the polls close at 8 to get everything completed and packed up. It was steady for the first part of the afternoon. We have about 1100 voters in our ward and there were 926 votes!
BC, I thought of you when your friend Janet was standing right next to Susan Crawford in her victory speech.
In so many ways, this was a David and Goliath story.
I'm not a fan of April Fool's jokes/pranks so nixed it here long ago. My husband always says something (we are not each others' bosses) but his are always harmless and obvious, so I don't mind.
Flo and I met today for brunch and shopping for chocolates and books!
We actually live near each other in Manhattan. We are already looking to another brunch in warmer weather when we can sit outside and her dog Pav can join us.
Looks like fun Theresa and Flo. Joi and I should do that ourselves one of these days :)
Hello to you both! It's so nice that you met! What a great picture.
I love this photo and your really fun day!
That's great--it looks like you had a fun time together :)
So today I was told I have malignant breast cancer. I found a lump a week and a half ago, saw the doctor 2 days later and got a referral....she said it wasn't urgent because it didn't have the characteristics of cancer, so the system said I had to wait until june 18th for a mammogram. I kicked up a stink because we are meant to get a free screening mammogram at 50 and I never got mine and was never even offered it. They agreed to squeeze (literally....that squeeze made my eyes leak) me in on Monday 14th. I got there and asked the process, and they said results would be with my doctor in 7 to 10 days and my appointment was postponed 2.5 hours. The technician told me I have immature breasts so it was going to hurt then decided to do some extra squishing of the lump to make it hurt more. She then said I was going straight to ultrasound and my results would be with the doctor by the end of the week. Ultrasound I had to look and it was a textbook picture of malignant ductal carcinoma so I commented that it did not look good and the technician said results would be 72 hours at 4.30pm. Results were with my doctor by 9am the next day but she didn't bother to call me until I was in class today, so I rang back between classes and was told it's >95% certainty of malignant carcinoma. I told her I know, and she was grumpy when I said I looked at the ultrasound because of the technicians' reactions. Who wouldn't?
$1070 so far in imaging plus $255 for the doctor. Another $800 tomorrow for the specialist to do another ultrasound and biopsy.
Just as I found a new job where I don't get yelled at and my anxiety is back under control, I'm a waste of space again and letting the 1 place who gave me a chance down. Depending on what treatment plan they come up with I'm not sure I can even afford it without selling the house and can I even be bothered to fight?
YOU FIGHT, Jen!!!!This is a terrible shock, I am sure. Know that everyone here is behind you. This a safe place where you will get only kindness and understanding.
I know the shock of getting rushed to an Ultrasound to have a closer look at a lump. Fortunately, mine is only fatty tissue. However, I now have to get a mammogram every six months so they can continue watching it.
I have no advice for you on treatment. Someone here might. The only solid advice I do have is YOU FIGHT! My daughter always tells me, "Mom, you are the strongest woman I know". I want you to join that club with me.
I agree, Be Loud, be demanding, Be as rude as you need to be. Don't allow doctors to condescend to you. And you need an advocate. It's hard to remain analytical when it's your body that's being talked about. I hope you have someone to go to appointments with you so you have a backup. Feel free to bitch, moan and unload it all here.
Jen wrote: "So today I was told I have malignant breast cancer. I found a lump a week and a half ago, saw the doctor 2 days later and got a referral....she said it wasn't urgent because it didn't have the char..."Good for you for fighting to get seen ASAP! Continue to be the squeaky wheel as you fight this. Yes, get someone to come with you to appointments if at all possible who knows what it is you want, and ideally someone who will take notes.
Oh Jen, what a shock for you. I agree 100% with what everyone else has said. You have this entire community supporting you and wishing you the best. We will fight this fight with you.
What a wallop, Jen, coming out of left field. And, as you say, just when you got your work situation settled. It seems so unfair. I'm sure you will get your bearings (and go through a lot of different feelings). It's important to find the best medical care you can.
Good for you for speaking up! I agree about having someone go with you. Also feel free to write down questions ahead of time.As far as costs go, when my daughter had chemo and other treatments, the hospital had a program that knocked off most of the cost based on her income. We were prepared to help her out and never had to. There might be options available to you.
Oh, Jen, that is tough. The biopsy will definitely have the answer. I've had a number of them and they have always come out clear.
I echo everything said here. YOU FIGHT!
This is a safe place to vent, share, ask.
Take someone with you to advocate and take notes. Ideally it should be the pushiest takes no prisoners person you know.
Demand, yell, cry , - whatever you need to do.
Do not make assumptions about how anyone, especially employers, will react. Give yourself time to process some of this and get answers, second opinions, before going to them with a plan.
Most of all, know you are valued. I am so sorry you are facing this.
Jen, first I'm so sorry you are going through this. I agree you fight! You are not a waste of space and you are not letting anyone down. Cancer sucks but it's not your fault! If your work has even a minimum of decency they will support you as you go through this. If you are in too much shock to do the fighting yourself right now please bring someone with you to your next appointment who will fight for you. I hope the specialist is better than your primary care doctor. Your primary care doctor doesn't sound great and when you are up to it you might want to consider switching doctor's if that's possible. Know that we are all here for you Jen and we'll do everything we can to help you with this. Sending you a big hug.
Fight, FIGHT, F*I*G*H*T, Jen.We are all behind you, cheering you on and lending our support, though from afar.
This is a safe place to vent, cry, ask for help.
I'm so sorry this is happening to you, but you are stronger than you realize (as evidence already by the way you handled the original "plan to wait"). Definitely take someone with you, though. As Theresa said, the pushiest, take-no-prisoners friend you have. Someone who will take notes and ask questions when you are reeling from the emotion of this news and not quite thinking straight.
You are NOT a waste of space, Jen. You are a valuable, strong, intelligent, caring woman and you will FIGHT.
Thanks guys.I don't have anyone to take with me since discovering my relationship was never a relationship and I was just the backup option and bill payer for all those years.
I drove to the biopsy last night after work and the specialist did a repeat ultrasound to make sure he saw the needle placement. He said he thinks it has probably metastasized and is in the chest wall so I'm having an MRI on Wednesday to check and if he's right that's the end of fighting. Survival rate is way too low to be worth maiming and torturing myself, while I still feel well enough to go and do some things I will, and I'll use up my long service leave. Rather go out as me able to look after myself, not a drain on society.
The one positive in all this is work has been wonderfully supportive, and I am so grateful I am there and not in my old job, but I do feel bad for them because they have been so good to me, and I give nothing back.
Jen, I don’t know what to say except that I am so sorry you’re going through this. I hope the news is better than expected after the scan. Whatever happens though, and whatever choices you make about treatment or not, please know that we are right there backing you up. And never ever think that you are not contributing - look at the countless students you have supported in the past, and look at your current crop of young hopefuls and give yourself a major hug.
Jen, you are understandably in a low place right now and feeling like it's hopeless. I don't want to presume in any way that I know what's right for you, because I don't.However, before making any decisions, please consider what the medical options are and how successful they might be. Your emotions might be clouding your judgement. If this happened to one of your students, what would you be advising?
Also, are there any support organizations near your home? Here in my city, we have The Gathering Place, which offers free support services to cancer patients. Here is their link. https://touchedbycancer.org/
Jen wrote: "Thanks guys.I don't have anyone to take with me since discovering my relationship was never a relationship and I was just the backup option and bill payer for all those years.
I drove to the biop..."
Jen, I'm sorry to hear this and am hoping it hasn't already spread so it can be treated!
I
Dear Jen ....My heart is heavy on hearing this latest news. I wish I could be with you (and I am, in spirit, at least).
I just finished reading a wonderful memoir / road trip ... Driving Miss Norma: One Family's Journey Saying "Yes" to Living When she was diagnosed with uterine cancer she opted OUT of medical treatment and instead chose to LIVE ... traveling on the road with her son and daughter-in-law in their RV. Did she die? Yes. But, more importantly, she LIVED that last year on her own terms.
Do what is right for you. None of us can tell you the answer, but you will know, and we will support your decision whatever it is.
FIGHT for the right to make your own decisions. You can DO this!
Mt heart and thoughts are with you Jen. I agree with Book Concierge: follow your heart. But please believe us all when we tell you that your contribution to teaching contributed to a hundred lives, and many students would back me.
Jen, I also would never presume to say I understand what you're going through but please stay strong. As everyone has said you are a valued individual dealing with a horrible situation. My husband has stage 4 colon cancer and we went through a horrible situation at Weill Cornell and then switched to Catholic Health where they are kind and compassionate. There are medical advances every day so don't give up no matter what.!! PM me if you have any questions or I can help in any way.
Before leaving for the day, I wanted to wish everyone who celebrates Happy Easter! And everyone else, have a beautiful day!
Yesterday there was an event at the Barnes & Noble here with local authors. There were about 9 of them, nobody famous (yet). It sounds like they do it regularly but I only found out because one of the people is an acquaintance who wrote a memoir/self-help book. Most of the books are self-published though at least one was with a major publisher. I ended up buying 3 of them, 2 historical fiction and 1 alternate reality, which are genres I enjoy. I don't have high expectations for them, so we'll see.
Jen, I wish that I could give you a BIG HUG. I'm so sorry that you're going through this. I'm sorry that your ex is an a$$hole. But you shouldn't go through this alone. There are support groups in many locations for those fighting cancer. Google it and hopefully there are some in your area. Cancer is something that people don't talk much about, but many are affected by. Start talking to your family and friends about it. Some may be able to help out by going with you to some appointments and for moral support, etc.
So far, it sounds like you are doing this right. Don't be afraid to ask plenty of questions and get 2nd and 3rd opinions. As Sallys mentioned above, different doctors can have different treatment plans and totally different ways of treating their patients. I saw three different doctors when I was diagnosed a decade ago and was amazed at the difference. And cancer treatments have come a long way since then.
Excellent thoughts / advice Lynn (Doughgirl).Jen ... a very good friend of mine was diagnosed with endometrial cancer some years back. She likened the path before her (surgery, possible radiation and/or chemo, etc) to climbing Everest. And, to quote her, "you can't climb Everest without sherpas." So she sent out an email blast to all her friends and acquaintances. She outlined what she might need (rides to appointments, help vacuuming or cooking or gardening) and asked for "the sherpas" to volunteer wherever they felt they could contribute. Almost everyone did. Last year when she had hip replacement surgery (she is now a widow), she alerted "my sherpa nation" and we all took shifts driving her to/from appointments, doing laundry, bringing meals, etc.
Don't shy away from spreading the word that you need some help.
Holly R W wrote: "Jen, you are understandably in a low place right now and feeling like it's hopeless. I don't want to presume in any way that I know what's right for you, because I don't.However, before making an..."
If it is in the chest wall, as the specialist thinks, it is stage 4 and there is no possibility of cure or remission only prolonging life with horrid treatments that make you feel rubbish. I can see how someone with a small child might put themselves through that but that's not me.
Book Concierge wrote: "Dear Jen ....My heart is heavy on hearing this latest news. I wish I could be with you (and I am, in spirit, at least).
I just finished reading a wonderful memoir / road trip ... [book:Driving M..."
added to my tbr. That's exactly where my head is at so thank you for the suggestion.
Doughgirl5562 wrote: "Jen, I wish that I could give you a BIG HUG. I'm so sorry that you're going through this. I'm sorry that your ex is an a$$hole. But you shouldn't go through this alone. There are support groups i..."
Unfortunately there is only one "boob man" (breast cancer specialist) in the state so I'm having all the scans and reports sent to me and giving myself a fast education in how to read them. At least I know a lot of key terms anyway and how most of the scanning devices work.
The waiting sucks because I hate not being proactive or knowing where I stand. The boob looks like abstract art atm....green, yellow, blue and purple splotches with extra lumps after the biopsy. Worst is having to come off the pill and being back to 12 day periods which make me vomit (from the cramps) and dizzy. Even if the pill is a possible cause it was worth it for quality of life and I'm not sure how I will cope if I'm not allowed back on it.
Jen wrote: "Even if the pill is a possible cause it was worth it for quality of life and I'm not sure how I will cope if I'm not allowed back on it...."You are a strong woman, Jen. And you are in control of how you handle this. You DEMAND being put back on the pill exactly for the quality of life issue you outlined. If you are not a candidate for other treatment, best to be proactive about LIVING in the time you have.
Jen wrote: "If it is in the chest wall, as the specialist thinks, it is stage 4 and there is no possibility of cure or remission only prolonging life with horrid treatments that make you feel rubbish. I can see how someone with a small child might put themselves through that but that's not me.."Depending on the type of cancer, he's correct if that's where it is.
Quality of life is also important, and I agree with Tessa--be proactive about living the best life you can with the time you have.
Jen - I haven't checked in for awhile and just read your shocking news. I'm so sorry but I can see how proactive you are being. Demand the treatment you feel is what you need.
Jen, I'm so sorry to hear this. Good luck going forward (and it still shocks me to see the prices you pay for health care!).
And speaking of health care (and being very relieved to be in Canada), those of you on facebook probably have seen this, but I had eye surgery two weeks ago tomorrow for a detached retina. You might remember it was torn in February and they lasered it hoping it wouldn't detach. Well, it did, anyway.
So, for almost two weeks, it's been home with a gas bubble in my eye (to hold things in place while they heal) and having to keep my head face-down; also no reading, tv, or computer.
It's a lot of audio books, podcasts, and listening to CBC (talk) radio and CBC Newsworld (the CBC news tv channel) (with a towel over the tv so I'm not tempted to watch, but I can listen. Pretty much everything has been about our election coming up tomorrow.
Anyway, I still can't see out of that one eye, and today being my first day with my head up and back online, online is very hard on your eyes and I only have one good one right now! I'm trying to do online in low doses. Spent time on facebook earlier today; am here and LibraryThing this evening, in addition to typing out a few book reviews (one ebook I finished just before I was told no reading and two audios).
I'd like to catch up with everything here, but it's too hard on my eyes to read everything I missed, so I'm skimming some and straight up skipping some things.
Hopefully I'll feel up to posting some reviews tomorrow, but I also haven't even looked at email yet! (except to delete a bunch)
Good to hear from you Cindy! Take care of yourself and don't worry about catching up with everything.
Glad you are on the mend Cindy. Do not push too hard, healing takes priority!
This guy isn't too happy about the April Fools joke his human playmates decided to bless him with. Bet he forgave them as soon as they tossed him a ball.
I haven't paid a lot of attention to any news or advertising April Fool's Day jokes, but one of my favorite authors, Cara Black, whose detective series is set in Paris, published her newsletter today honoring the odd way the French celebrate it: with fish (poisson). In Paris it's called Poisson d'Avril. Generally it's secretly pinning a paper fish shape on someone who walk's around all day not knowing he/she is wearing it.
Of course, there are other 'expressions' as well. Here's a Poisson d'Avril eclair - and it is not fishy at all!
Then there's this gallette pastry made just to honor the day. It is puff pastry and cream filled. Yum.
Here are a couple of vintage Poisson d'Avril card images.
For a bit of the history and why fish -- check out https://www.travelfranceonline.com/ap.... Hint: it relates to what else is happening at this time of year.
I'm trying to figure out how I completely missed learning about this during my semester in Paris in 1976.
Does anyone know of any other 'different' ways April Fool's Day is celebrated?