Ontological relates to the branch of metaphysics dealing with the nature of being. As I used it today: “I read [Men Without Women] while I was in the hospital last week, nodding in and out of consciousness. It was a literary balm to soothe my ontological anxiety.”
The conservancy that I’m developing in West Delray Beach, FL, is destined to be (if I have anything to say about it) one of the largest and best-curated palm tree collections in the world. It also features a growing collection of outdoor sculptures, a traditionally styled Japanese tea house, a Zen Garden, and a Yoga/Jiu Jitsu House in the shade of a little bamboo forest. Not to mention a stock of African cycads, dozens of other exotic plants and trees, and one of Florida’s highest “mountains” at nearly 20 feet!
This is one of the cycads: Dioon mejiae
Dioon mejiae is a species of cycad that is native to Honduras and Nicaragua. Its common name is palma teosinte, which means “sacred ear.” This is an ancient plant that can be traced back millions of years.
For more information about Paradise Palms, click here.
“Really appreciated seeing your Friday post. A terrific message that I wish others would embrace. We each need to advocate for ourselves…. Keeping you in our hearts and prayers!” – MB
“Talked to SM today… and he explained what happened. I was shocked… and sad. I explained to him that all of us BJJ copywriters are like your bastard children… some directly, some with a degree of separation…. but you’ve taken such good care of our community… so, for our community – I wanted to say thank you.
“SM then told me about how he mother-henned you – and talked about the taking a break from Jiu jitsu… or stopping altogether. I told him, ‘Absolutely NOT! There are so many ways to train safely… that stopping would be ridiculous.’ I explained that I couldn’t imagine my life without BJJ – that I would feel lost – and I’m going out on a limb that you would too. So, pardon my French, but… FUCK that!” – SM
“I feel in my gut that you will come out of this on top. It is scary and challenging; in both instances, you seem to rise above. However, there is also the unknown and the part that’s out of your hands. Hold your hope and faith. I’m thinking of you.” – BM
“Sending you positive energy for a full and quick recovery.” – EN
“I love your blog, Mark. I’m so happy and relieved you’re back! You look great.” – JG
“Soo happy to hear that you’re on the mend – how scary! Glad you were surrounded by people who pushed you to go get checked out that day. Hope you’re taking it easy & recovering (though… I doubt that’s in your DNA – to ‘take it easy’).” – KS
Ever since the NYT turned anti-England, I’ve been pro-monarchy. My stroke prevented me from keeping up with the funeral, and so I missed this short speech by Charles III, the new king. His language is a bit strong (caveat lector), but I am completely in favor of his plans and his sentiment. Take that, NYT lovers!
Watch it here.
All Fixed Up and Ready to Go!
Friday, September 16: My surgery was scheduled for 12:30 pm. At 9:15 am, K came back from her exercise class to say that there had been a scheduling mix-up. I was supposed to report for my surgery in 15 minutes! The hospital was 30 minutes from our house. As K raced through traffic, I was thinking about another time we rushed to the hospital, 42 years ago, when Number One Son was born.
K got us there at 9:35. I signed in and was rushed to the prep room, where I was hooked up to a heart monitor and an IV. Dr. B came by. So did Dr. Hope. Then the anesthesiologist. I don’t remember getting wheeled into the operating room.
Several hours later, I woke in a recovery room. It was 2:30 pm. Dr Hope was there with another vascular surgeon that had assisted him with my surgery. They were smiling. The operation went “really well,” Dr. Hope said. “And you really, really needed it,” the other one said.
I asked Dr. Hope if they had managed to scrape out all the plaque. “Not all of it, but we got plenty,” he said. “You should be in good shape now.”
I was very happy with that. Given the circumstances as I understood them – three eye strokes and two brain strokes caused by an artery that was 99% occluded – the result was as good as I could have hoped for. Unless something went awry, Dr. Hope said, I would be discharged the very next day.
I nodded off. When I next woke up, K was there. Energized by the outcome of the operation, we spent the next hour or two responding to text messages and phone calls from friends and family and reading emails and texts sent by readers from all over the world.
K left for a while, and I took a nap. When I woke, there was someone, another patient, in the bed next to mine, separated by a curtain. It was a man, an older man. Older, like yours truly. A doctor was with him. They were talking quietly.
Like me, he’d had a stroke. But his had been caused by internal bleeding, not a blockage. He must have lost a good deal of blood because he was being given a transfusion.
From his palaver with the nurses and aides after the doctor left, I learned that his name was Samuel, but he preferred to be called Sam. He was hard of hearing. And his memory wasn’t great. But his demeanor was cheerful, and he was polite. I decided that I liked him and wanted to help him get ready for what he was in for. I would give him the lay of the land.
“Sam!” I whispered.
Nothing.
I raised my voice. “Sam, can you hear me?”
Nothing.
Several times in the following hour, I called out to him. To be sure, he could hear me. I spoke up, but not so loudly as to attract the attention of the nurses. I don’t know why, but I didn’t want them to hear us talking. I felt conspiratorial. In my post-op mind fog, Sam was the faceless prisoner in the cell next to mine.
Eventually, K came back and stayed till visiting hours ended at 8:00. I was happy but exhausted and fell asleep as soon as she left the room. I slept through breakfast and woke when K arrived at 10:00. The charge nurse came in to say I’d be discharged after lunch. This was my last hospital meal:
I’m writing this on Monday morning. I have a six-inch scar on the side of my throat and a little swelling, which will abate soon enough. This is me, yesterday at breakfast:
But I’m feeling good. And lucky. And happy to be alive. I haven’t always felt that way. I’ve written about my bouts of depression and anxiety. I wrote about my down periods because I thought it would be helpful to some readers. And I’ve been told that it was. But it occurs to me now that I haven’t written much about my up periods.
When I’m feeling good, I feel like working. I want to continue to work for Agora, to help it regain its footing and grow. I want to continue to develop FunLimon and Rancho Santana and Paradise Palms. I want to continue with the art collection and build the museum. I may even finish a few of the books I’ve half-written.
I know that I’ll never be done with any of it. And I know that so long as I’m feeling good, I’ll be creating new projects and plans. But I’m not going to stress about any of them. I’m going to be intentional without emotional attachment. I’m going to get healthy. And stay healthy for as long as my body allows. I’m going to carve out more time for family and friends. And for K, if she’ll let me. I’m going to see my grandkids on a regular basis and close my laptop when someone enters the room.
So long as I’m feeling good, I’m going to keep working. But it’s going to be projects I care about, and it’s going to be one project, and one day, at a time.
* This week’s head scratcher: Bank of America is testing a program to help Black and Latino buyers get mortgages. If you qualify (if you have Black or Brown skin), you can get a zero-down, low-interest-rate loan, with no closing costs. Even if you have bad credit. Libby, my neighbor, likes it. She calls it social justice – “reparations for a history of mortgage discrimination.” Limo Lou doesn’t see it that way. “How is this different from what the banks were doing in the 2000s that caused the 2008 Great Recession?” he asks. I don’t know. What do you think?
* Freakonomics was a great book. And the podcast by that name that Stephen Dubner, its coauthor, produced was great, too. In one of the earliest episodes, Dubner focused on how economists raised their young children. Today, 10 years later, the children are old enough to talk. And they have a lot to say. Listen in here.
* Even if you disagree with their political/social views… you will find some of the marital advice given by this panel of super-smart conservatives edifying and/or amusing.
It’s Fun! It’s Challenging. But Is It Making You Smarter?
Everyone I know that’s over 50 plays some sort of brain game to keep their thinking strong and their memory clear. I do the NYT crossword, Spelling Bee, and Sudoku. I also play chess and other word and logic games. And I do like to think this is not merely for amusement.
Well, according to Scott Young, I’m probably kidding myself. Playing Sudoku or doing a crossword every day will almost certainly improve my ability to do crosswords and play Sudoku. But it will do little to improve my memory, mental agility, or overall cognition.
Why is that? It’s all about how the brain works, he says. And it makes sense. Check it out here.
The Art Business Is Still Booming
Both Fine Art and Forgeries!
In this age of digital information, you’d think forgeries would be easier to detect. They should be. (And they will be when NFTs come into common use.)
But when the art market is hot, and particularly when the contemporary art market heats up, forgeries soar for three obvious reasons. (1) They are contemporary and can’t be carbon-dated. (2) They tend to be easier to forge than representational paintings. (3) The prices they are fetching are so great that it’s impossible for forgers and crooked dealers (of which there are plenty) to resist the urge to cash in.
But there’s another reason, too, that Julie Belcove writes about in a recent issue of ARTnews. She says it is “mysterious” and “unique to the art world.” She calls it an “idiosyncratic, unspoken code of conduct.”
Read about it here.
BJ sent me this. I love these sorts of statistical lists… that put life into perspective.
The Earth’s Population in Perspective
The population of the Earth is around 7.8 billion. However, if you condense 7.8 billion into 100 individuals, any statistical analysis you do will be much easier to comprehend.
Out of 100:
* 11 are in Europe.
* 5 are in North America.
* 9 are in South America.
* 15 are in Africa.
* 60 are in Asia.
* 49 live in the countryside.
* 51 live in cities.
* 75 have mobile phones.
* 25 do not.
* 30 have internet access.
* 70 do not have the availability to go online.
* 7 received a university education.
* 93 did not attend college.
* 83 can read.
* 17 are illiterate.
* 33 are Christians.
* 22 are Muslims.
* 14 are Hindus.
* 7 are Buddhists.
* 12 are other religions.
* 12 have no religious beliefs.
* 26 live less than 14 years.
* 66 die between the ages of 15 and 64.
* 8 live more than 65 years.
What this means:
* If you have your own home, eat full meals and drink clean water, have a mobile phone, can surf the internet, and have gone to college, you are in the privileged lot (the less than 7% category).
* If you are over 65, be content and grateful. Cherish life. Grasp the moment.
Natural Born Killers
Starring Woody Harrelson, Juliette Lewis, Robert Downey Jr., and Tommy Lee Jones
Directed by Oliver Stone
Available on various streaming services, including Netflix and Amazon Prime
I remember that I liked it the first time I saw it. I remember loving the cast. But I had forgotten what sort of movie it is. The original screenplay was written by Quentin Tarantino, but this is not Reservoir Dogs. This is the work of the director, Oliver Stone. It’s an ode to American culture, to American violence, and to American naivete.
From what I can see, Natural Born Killers garnered mostly negative reviews. Janet Maslin, for example: “For all its surface passions, Natural Born Killers never digs deep enough to touch the madness of such events, or even to send them up in any surprising way. Mr. Stone’s vision is impassioned, alarming, visually inventive, characteristically overpowering. But it’s no match for the awful truth.”
I disagree. I thought it was brilliant. Watch it. If you’ve seen it before, watch it again. Decide for yourself.