Monday, February 09, 2015

The Oppenheimer Report 2/9/15

Yesterday, I indulged myself in yet another time-sucking session on Facebook to catch up on all the amusing clips that my friends have posted. I know, I’m an idiot, but this to me is what early retirement is all about. I am always looking for amusing stuff to share on my page, and there is no shortage of amazing video footage and audio clips that people put up. The other day I watched a clip of a man with no arms playing blues guitar with his feet, better than I ever could. My favorite clip from the past week was a tongue in cheek YouTube spoof of the popular song “Say Something” by A Great Big World (Alex Preston), sung really well (but with altered lyrics) by a disgruntled Toronto Maple Leafs fan. I think “I’m giving up on you” is the key phrase here, and you can fill in the blanks. The Leafs did finally win a game Saturday night, after breaking their own record for most games lost in a row (10 or 11) … a record not challenged since 1967. Hey, they’re only about 13 points out of a playoff spot, so I still hold on to my tiny morsel of hope. They are not done yet; soon, but not yet.

 
I attended the Kearney Dogsled races on Saturday, primarily to hear my song writing pals Doug McLean and Jeff Stamp perform some of their original songs at the Kearney Community Center. While the races themselves are of little interest to me - I fear that sometimes the animals are not particularly well cared for - I have attended for the past three years. For me, the race marks one of the temporal stepping stones to Spring. First there is the “holiday season”, followed by the Burk’s Falls Winter Carnival, then of course there is Groundhog Abuse Day, and not long after, the Kearney Dogsled Races, followed by the Katrine Winter Carnival, and various and sundry winter-related equipment malfunctions. Before you know it, you’re at the end of April clawing the walls with your family and re-enacting the final hour of The Shining.

Following a Supreme Court ruling, assisted suicide may soon be legal in Canada, and I think that is a remarkable development. Euthanasia pioneer Dr. “Death” Jack Kevorkian is probably smiling in heaven. Let me weigh in on this decision from the perspective of a son and son-in-law who has now experienced the demise of three of his four parents. I was confronted with this issue twice, once directly, when my mom was in the end stages of Lewy Body Disease, and a second time, indirectly, when Shauna’s dad slowly slipped away after a crippling stroke. His stroke was on the right side of his brain, and he was left unable to swallow. His decline was slow and emotionally confusing for the entire family; probably not what he would have wanted. In both cases our decision was not to assist the demise of the patient, if only because there was no clear directive from the sufferer. As I believe the Supreme Court ruling suggests, this should not be a right denied the individual, and in some specific cases, it will clearly be the right thing to do. Of course, some in the medical community will fight this, and I understand their concerns that this “right” will be abused. Clearly this is a contentious issue. I ask: what about the rights and dignity of the terminally ill patient? Just as I don’t think religious leaders or politicians should have any say in whether or not a woman chooses to have a baby, I do not think these leaders should have the right to dictate end of life decisions. Listen carefully to the anecdotal evidence from some of the terminally ill, and perhaps you too will be inclined to offer them some control over their ends. Indeed it is a complicated issue, and it will inevitably lead to legal debates about the legality of certain health care proxies, but I applaud Canada for this brave ruling. Now let’s see if it holds up.  

 
Final notes. My apologies to all of you who are on Facebook, or my email list, and who received multiple requests to listen to my HBR “Live Drive” performance with Juan Barbosa. Shauna and I may have been a little carried away with this. It was my first live on-air performance with a professional musician, and I was so happy that Hunter’s Bay Radio recorded and posted it. I was proud of myself for doing this scary thing, and I wanted to brag a little. So my ego is swelling. I wish I could say the same for my popularity!

Written by Jamie Oppenheimer c2015 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

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