April 27

The storm arrived about 6 AM. The sky was lightened up and flickering. lady Chica is afraid of the lightning. She snuggled up in bed and I explained to her about counting between lightning and thunder. The lightning was far away. Later we got heavy thunder and Blitzen growls and barks at it.

2 PM. I didn't even feel my tooth going out. The dentist started poking around with needles and then the tooth was gone. Decided to indulge myself with ice cream, being told that I needed a soft diet.
Pat: Made a thrift store run. Nothing called out to me.

Took a nap and then to the dog park. The Big Dog side was a series of lakes. The First Dog would have had fun. An open invitation has been extended to the First Dog to visit Fort Woof. Few dogs there today. The wind was not blowing, which is unusual at the dog park.

I dont know if I can deal with The Trail of Tears, tonight's program on KERA. I do have a different perspective on one aspect of our treatment of native Americans. I was looking up the difference between pandemic and epidemic. The story in Wikipedia traced various epidemics during history. Every epidemic experienced by the native Americans had been experienced centuries earlier by Europeans, one as early as 500 AD. Similarly,Caucasians have some immunity to HIV, the thinking being that the Black Plague granted immunity to the survivors. Those of us here now descended from survivors.

The depiction of the actual trail of tears lasted only five minutes. I learned about that bc we lived near where the Cherokees had crossed southern Illinois. They crossed the Ohio and then were stuck by the Mississippi.


Lady Chica's Tale
I get so scared when the sky is all light. I snuggled in bed with Mom. She kept murmuring and I felt so snug and safe.
Not much happened at the dog park. Only one pesky little puppy named Pepper.

Blitzen's Tale
Those flying saucers were back again today. And they took Marilyn away with them. We may never see her again.
[Marilyn's daughter took her away in a wheel chair. I think it was bc it was raining and marilyn needs a walker.]
Nobody much at the dog park today. A pesky little puppy named Pepper who kept following me around.

BOOK REVIEW
Janet Langhart Cohen, *From Rage to Reason*
My Life in Two Americas. Janet is a black woman who was a model and a tv personality. She is currently married to Bill Cohen, SecDef under Clinton. She discusses racism and mixed marriage. I read about her in the Acknowledgments of Richard North Patterson in *Race*.


Hugs, Dr. Liz