July 7th-in about 2 weeks-a Tuesday

July 7th

What is the day? It's when my caretaker in Seattle arrives here in NYC. I'll have summer school at 9 am. and the next day= w July 8th= I have teletherapy at 11:50 am. so I hope she arrives on 707, we all move on to Long Island on 7/17 and the next day is my 56th birthday.  So it seems on 718, I'll celebrate my birthday in my car around Roosevelt Field Mall. Because of this terrible virus,  I'll probably eat in my car and not dining outside or inside. On 706, I have summer school - m,t,th,f-- and w-- which is the kids' field day so no class  + teletherapy. A new class, a new person w/ teletherapy starting 629=m, meeting on m and w, a new environment=LI. All these changes but I remain me, disabled, middle aged me. Everyone is navigating the new normal. I must remember this wherever I go to eat.  The summer school goes till 814, which is a f.  Then we'll see what the fall brings. Now she arrives on next tues. then we move.

      That day is 7/14. We my go  to a Costco nearby, and eat luch from Panera Bread + Agora rest. which has seafood/ a no-no/Greek food on Wed. or Thurs. Or try--Bangcok Cuisine nearby.

Inanimate or animate things

     What is an inanimate object? Something that you push a button and it goes, like an elevator or a garage opener or a tv remote control. It takes a human being to make them go. A car is also an inanimate object.  A person must decide when it goes or stops or waits.
    An animate object is a human being that moves, slowly like me, but anyway it moves. Plus it has a heart and soul. It will go to Heaven or Hell when the body dies.
    Keys on a keyboard are inanimate, they won't type unless you type. It's different on your cellphone.  But now I am using a computer. Put away your loudspeakers.
    Vacuum cleaners are inanimate objects, not that I know alot about them. We have one, like a blue stick. It gets noisy at times. Now it's off, which is another part of inanimate objects. Either on and off, all controlled by a switch. A kind of button. But controlled by people. Not themselves moving. Like an inanimate object, a blender.
    Carpets, socks, shoes, pants,shirts are also inanimate objects. Like stairs, especially Emergency Stairs, are inaminate objects. Ceilings and walls and doors--cover up those doorknobs if outside or which a lot of people use. Similarly, don't touch often used buttons or if you do, use your elbow. Then, consider the natural world.
     Clouds and wind and rain are inanimate objects. That leads to ice and snow---they just happen in certain places when it's cold enough. The whole earth, the sun, the moon, the stars and planets, in fact the solar system are inanimate objects. We move over them, up and down or paint them, they don't move.
      My main thought is that you shouldn't get angry at inaminate objects. If you make a mistake, like stepping too strongly or typing wrong, you can stop or go back and correct yourself.  Don't take it out on inanimate objects or human beings, unless you can't fully articulate yourself. Rest when you can.  God bless you. Matt

A Clothes Horse or a Foodie?

Maybe I should have put this under Foodies but I put it here because it mentions clothes. I have been a closet Foodie for a long time.  I remember in the 1980s (almost 40 years ago!) thinking Chinese food was Shrimp Chipss and Pork Fried Rice.  Going to Taipei in 1994, I ate things like chicken
claws. I thought it was an old man's hand. I'm no expert in Chinese food so
🐔爪 or feng zhua or Chicken claws still is not my favorite. I like all kinds of food now! I'm learning daily. Don't judge me.
     I was never a Clothes horse, especially now as a disabled, middle aged man. I don't comb my hair and am dressed by others.  I also have a men's problem. I won't say what. So I never was a Clothes horse or Dragon, which I am. Not a clothing guy. Forgive my lack of GQ knowledge but I am learning about world foods. Sometimes my top and pants match but it doesn't matter. I am a Foodie. I live on. God bless you,  Matt McCabe

2 sides of the same coin

My Seattle caretaker knows about Western Zodiac characters and my wife
Alice knows Chinese Zodiac characters.  So I think of birth dates and birth years. The 1st thing I look at is the year a person was born, e.g. 1964. Which means they are a Dragon. But if I were Joan, my Seattle caretaker, I'd look at the month and day that a person was born, like July 18th, which means they are a Cancer or Crab. That's my sign. I'm also a (Wood) Dragon.
     Because I lived some 25 years ago as an ESL teacher, I always look at a person's year when they were born. I've memorized the Chinese Zodiac signs or CZS from 1950-1971. I know right away if a person is a Rooster or a Monkey or such.

    I am cared for by Alice at night and weekends and Joan during the day. Mostly, it's made me think more about Western and Chinese Zodiac signs. I must learn more about who is a Leo, like Mick Jagger and Matthew McCanaughey. "Blow away, Dandelion." as Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones would sing. The French in that song means "Depart, Tail of a lion" so it represents Leo. My father was a Leo. There are many people who are Leos. You might be a Gemini or Taurus or anything else.  I dunno. All I know is I need to learn more about both signs. More later.  God bless you,  Matt McCabe 

 P.S. To find out your birthday or today's sign, go to--horoscope.com
To find out your Chinese Zodiac, go to: www. astrologizeme.com

Being American Chinese

I don't look Chinese so why am I American Chinese? A banana is yellow outside and white inside but I don't think there's a fruit that is white outside and yellow within.
    The main thing is my sensibilities are becoming more Chinese each day. I speak Mandarin Chinese and English so that makes me listen in a Chinese culture and in an American one. Plus I've been married to a Taiwanese for nearly 25 years. It helps to understand both cultures which I will talk about in the future. God bless you, Matt McCabe

"The Red Wheelbarrow " by William Carlos Williams

He was not afraid of using Carlos, he could have been W.C. Williams or William Karl Williams, etc but instead he was himself in all his Latinoness. He was a Latino poet, after all.
    Let's look at this poem. Why pick a red wheelbarrow? It represents farming and farmers when he lived, in the 20th century. It carried a lot and helped farmers with their tough work. I can understand. Why was it next to white chickens and glazed with rain? I dunno. If the poet was here, he could tell you. I'll try. Always out in the elements, like rain or cold snow, glazed
with rain represents this. The red wheelbarrow and white chickens is a relief to a red wheelbarrow so you see
the color red and the color white. So much depends on it. We depend on things  like that. We put our hope in red wheelbarrows in all kinds of hot or cold weather to feed us. God bless you,  Matt McCabe mccabematthewr@gmail.com

A sensitive soul in this world of Rock 'n' Roll

My life is divided into pre-accident and post-accident. Pre-accident, I listened to all kinds of music, with words (inspired by the classical work "Songs without words"). They were mostly on the radio and even online. I listened to them mostly on the radio and even online. I memorized them. I went to used CD stores and new stores like Barnes & Noble to seek and buy all I could. But, like food,  I was becoming more picky in what I bought.So I didn't buy much. I kept seeking free online videos and radio stations in the US and world.  Post-accident, I listen mostly to classical music.  On the weekend,  I do hear 80s pop music. If you teach ESL,  then song clozes are wonderful. You can't do that with classical music,  even though I can't tell Mozart from a neighbor. But why do you play classical music? To grow my brain and body. I also remember as a child hearing some of the classical tunes. Like "Pier Gynt" and so forth. There might be more. God bless you,  Matt McCabe mccabematthewr@gmail.com
I memorized all

Compassion+Trust=Love

As I recover and my head cools down, I walk more than a mile in their shoes, like my elder sister/caretaker Joan who is a vegetarian (I am a carnivore so can eat anything.).
    I see that I should trust 3 different women when I need to do #2. Joan is my main caretaker and Alice takes care of her husband of almost 25 years, me, and then there's a friend of Alice's.  I also allowed 2 men "down there." But mainly those 3 women.  2 of them do
most of the work. Thus, my advice to you is to walk a mile in someone else's
shoes. Then you'll know what compassion is. God bless you, Matt McCabe

The new normal

For 54 years, I was right hand dominant and now for 1 year and 5 months,  almost 1 1/2 years, I have been left hand dominant but I'm still Emily Dickinson.   
    It is tough never again to teach a class of ESL students. I only teach 1 on 1. Plus eating with the left hand and not
being able to clothe myself or after #2, clean myself up. I shan't dwell there. You know what I mean. I also don't speak like I did and walk slowly, taller than a gorilla and as slow as a sloth.
     I wear glasses now so it's tough for me.  But I am grateful to God for saving my life. He could have let me die on the Long Island Expressway. He has a plan. Mahatma Gandhi said, "The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others." I can serve others by
praying for them. God  bless you, Matt McCabe

2 George's "Last Christmas" on 1/6

George Greaney was my supervisor at Hostra University and everyone knows George Michael for his pop group Wham and "Wake me up before you go" , etc.  Both are named George but one, George Michael, took his life in 2016. The one at Hofstra died at 71 in 2018.
I've been thinking about his death, did he have a stroke at 51?   
    I dunno. But he didn't commit suicide. The point is why take your life? I think about Robin Williams (1951-2014) and Anthony Bourdain (1956-2018), Kate Spade (1962-2018) and others. Why did they take their lives? They were talented in food and fashion and in voices and music.. Why? I dunno.All I can do is live. Johnny Mandel once sang, "Suicide is painless, it brings on many changes. And I can take or leave it if I please."
God bless you,  Matt McCabe

PT vs. OT

Every Thursday, I go to the Physical Therapist (PT). There, I bike in place for 15 minutes and do squats with my chair aided by some rubber body holder on the wall only sold in Europe.
    I go to the PT, who will remain nameless to protect her, with my temporary caretaker and I walk there and back. The OT (Occupational Therapist) I will meet on 1/15, a Wednesday because I go to Brooklyn on the 2nd Tuesday each month (1/14 this month). So I won't judge him or her until I go to them. We'll see.
    The local PT is good and I'd recommend her. As you see, I do a lot of exercises plus walking there and home, so it's busy but helpful. God bless you,  Matt McCabe

Routines 12/31

My routines involve waiting  for others and parties, every Monday is the acupuncturist and then Occupational Therapist (OT) on Tuesdays and Fridays in the middle of January 2020.
    Every Wednesday,  starting February 2020, is Brooklyn College and Speech Therapy. On Thursday,  I have PT (Physical Therapy) and PT= my right leg. OT= my right hand.
     Then there's daily meals x 3, so it's a lot. For example,  today is Thursday and my caretaker for early month is in Seattle. So I have another caretaker, names omitted to protect the innocent. Later, I walk to/walk home from the PT.
It's a big deal even though it's local.
    I go with the flow, holidays and people leaving and coming. I try not to cry, knowing at month's end, she'll come back and the other day caretaker isn't here.  At 9:30 am, Food Network has shows on, usually The Pioneer Woman and I don't need to play hopscotch with TV ads blasting me. God  bless you,  Matt McCabe