Notes - Protective gear /

          Mid-afternoon. This morning you ran an errand to Target, then to the hospital to see Paul (Kim was already there). Everything was fine until you arrived at room fourteen. The nurse on duty told you both to put on blue gowns, rubber gloves and surgical masks which were beside the entrance. His blood work had been taken to the Clinic’s main campus to see if he indeed has a rare case of the flu. In any case, it affected his lungs, liver, and kidneys; not a good thing as all are vital organs. The specialists were a bit more jovial today as he is approving and come to find out when he arrived on Sunday he was in more danger than the medical staff was letting on. Paul was surprised to see us in protective gear when we walked into the room. He had also been surprised when the doctors told him earlier in the morning that he was in more a more serious condition than they told him. The worst was that he had not been breathing well with liver and kidney enzymes both in higher off normal numbers.

         When Carol and I originally thought this was scary, we were on the right track. He is much better and hopes to come home tomorrow. Of course yesterday he hoped to come home today.

         We had lunch at a little place called something North Grille next to Pizzazz just east of Fairmount Circle and south of the John Carroll University campus. Presently Carol and Kim are shopping at ‘Toys-R-Us’ off I-271 and Mayfield Road, about a block from the hospital where Kim had Owen and will have his sibling in late February. Beautiful day for voting. We dropped Kim off to vote and it was a busy place (which is usually a good sign). We were going to go to the nearby Regal to see Clooney’s The Ides of March. The credits say the setting is in Michigan but most of it is in Cincinnati and Miami University at Oxford. However, too busy with everyday chores and errands. Late afternoon, and Kim is at work setting up for a presentation tomorrow afternoon, Paul had more tests but breathing has not improved since yesterday, so I doubt he’ll be home tomorrow, but what do I know. We are at Heinen’s Grocery on Green picking up food for tonight. I have no idea what Carol is making but I am not really hungry; chicken divan is for supper. What does ‘divan’ mean? Carol does not know. How can you cook something for forty years and not know what ‘divan’ means? Me too, why have I never thought about it? ‘Divan’, isn’t that what Canadians call a couch? I checked and indeed it is, sometimes people call it a sofa, at least since the 18^th century. Still, I don’t get the connection with baked chicken. Wouldn’t you know, it’s in Wikipedia.

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Chicken Divan is a chicken casserole usually served with broccoli, almonds, and Mornay sauce. It was invented at and named for the by-gone Divan Parisienne Restaurant in the New York Chatham Hotel.

The Divan Parisienne served Chicken Divan as its signature dish in the early twentieth century. The chef or chefs who originally created it are unknown. In France the word divan refers to a meeting place or great hall. This name was chosen to attract the attention of the Divan Parisienne owners by implying a kind of continental elegance.

The dish is now commonly prepared with regular Parmesan cheese and remains one of the most classic American casserole dishes today.

From: Wikipedia

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         This shows beyond a doubt that you are interested in really important stuff, orndorff. Do you feel better now that you know ‘the truth’ about chicken divan? Does this sort of thing reset your moral compass? – Amorella.

         It does show me an example of how the rich (I don’t know about wealthy) in our culture have subtly set the values and norms of the trickled down middle class in America. For reasons unknown this triggers a fun essay I used to give in class. I think I even used it in a semester exam once or twice. The question: “Define and explain the reasonable differences between the meanings and importance of word ‘wisdom’ and the word ‘knowledge’ (no reference sources allowed)”. We had of course discussed this within the framework of the infamous logic lecture and in the selections of Shakespeare’s MacBeth and Hamlet and Milton’s Paradise Lost. What I enjoyed the most was that the response was open-ended by intent and the students had to come up with something. And, I also usually had written on the chalkboard: “It is better to write too much than too little; be specific.” I graded on order and reason as much as anything else – most of the grades were B’s or D’s. Those who had listened carefully and wrote well received A’s. Those who earned D’s or F’s usually were given the option to redo it as a typed extra credit assignment which, if presentable, might raise their dismal grade to a C at most. That’s the way I remember it now. Students who were entangled in the circumstances of those delicious moments may recall the event differently. I do have the tendency to exaggerate from time to time, mostly to enhance the drama and to see student’s eyes enlarge on the spot. (I realize I have written this before. The re-memory gives me a refreshment of joy. An old man's wanderings.)

         You are carried away once again, old man. Why do you still relish those sometimes-imaginary moments so? – Amorella.

         Thoughts arose in moments of desperation, still do. Good stuff! Blood flowing to the brain attempting to solve a word problem. No math needed. Responding to an exam is a small existential moment in the life of a student. I miss the classroom for such reasons. The students gave my life a purpose, a reason for existence, that’s the selfishness in it.

         You and Kim are home from the hospital and it is about time for bed. Post. – Amorella.

          Tonight we did not have to wear our protective gear when seeing Paul. For a second time tests show Paul does not have any form of the flu. The doctors don't know the cause of his presentation but they are still searching.