Catching up! A Repeat Chicago Trip and a Move

I'm happy to repost my friend Marianna's account of our recent Chicago weekend. We had to repeat last year's trip to Printers Row Lit Fest, minus my face plant on Michigan Avenue, so we'd replace the unpleasant memories of that earlier trip. We had a marvelous time! Back to Chicago: A Second Chance My friend Lois …

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U.S. Health Care: Are you happy with your plan?

Before you answer yes or no, did you know that the foundational moral principle of all developed countries (around 40 out of world’s 200 countries) is to provide health care coverage to all of their citizens, irrespective of age and financial status? All developed countries, that is, except us. In the past few years, I’ve …

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Caring Lessons / Prairie Lights / Iowa City / 2014

Thanks to Jan Weissmiller, poet and co-owner of Prairie Lights, Caring Lessons: A Nursing Professor's Journey of Faith and Self will soon be shelved in this much-loved independent bookstore in Iowa City. When I attend the Iowa Summer Writing Festival, as I did last week, I hang out at Prairie Lights between classes and evenings. You'd …

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Caring Lessons / Printers Row Lit Fest / Chicago 2014

Hey, everybody! Drop by this Saturday between 10 and 2 to see that Caring Lessons and I have finally made it to the Printers Row Lit Fest. Special pricing for the Fest will be $10.00 (normally $13.99). We'll be located at the book tent labeled Y, as in Yes. Ever since Caring Lessons came out almost …

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A Nurses Week Tribute to My Sister Kathleen (Kay) Elizabeth Korthuis, PhD, RN,1934-2012

I remember: You blaming me for your hips being uneven, ha ha, because you had to carry me around when we lived in New Jersey when Dad was a Chaplain in the Army from 1943-1946. You telling me that, after the war, we shared a bed in West Sayville and, thanks to me, another ha …

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Christmas Present for a Nurse or Nursing Student – 2013

For that nurse or nursing student in your life, consider giving them Caring Lessons: A Nursing Professor's Journey of Faith and Self. My career memoir tells my story from nurse's aide to professor emerita and from diploma to PhD. Caring Lessons will inspire the reader that achieving career dreams are possible!  I used to tell my …

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Caring Lessons: First Drafts–Finding a Friend to Go Through School with Me

The one thing I liked about Marianna from the start is that she looked like fun. Unlike drab me. I was wanting to make a friend to go through the RN completion program with me. Spotting Marianna in the center of the room on the first day of a prerequisite Marriage and the Family class, …

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Caring Lessons: First Drafts–Nursing Care of a Baby with Hydrocephalus in the 50s

“Just grab the head and don’t let go,” the nurse barked at me. “And the rest of the body will come along. “ I hesitated, frightened. “Just grab it, will you?” The nurse barked louder. “I can assure you it won’t fall off.” It was the summer of 1959. I was seventeen years old and …

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Tea-inspired Decluttering Party Naturally Leads to “Caring Lessons”

I think it was the tea. For several days last week, I methodically decluttered my closets and drawers in one bedroom, one kitchen, one living room, one dining room, one study, one hallway, and three bathrooms.  My husband even noticed. “Whatever you’re on, let me know, so next time the house needs to be cleaned, …

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Living in a High Rise – Audible Enunciators

People living in houses often ask, “What’s it like living in high rise?” This question came to mind last week when we received a notice from our building manager. The notice addressed our “audible enunciators.”  An inspection is coming up to make sure they are working. In case you’ve never heard of these, I hadn’t …

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