Day One Downrange

So I survived day one without the Favorite Panamanian around to insure I put the toilet seat down. I’m happy to report that all of the toilet seats are now standing firmly at attention. That is the only upside. She finally did get out of Boston yesterday monning and arrived in Panama in Copa’s usual efficient manner. By the time I talked to her in the early evening she had completed the connecting flight to David and her family was in full welcome mode.

Back with her Parents and Sister

There was so much yelling and laughing going on that we had to cut the call short so she could join in the fun. Later in the evening she reported all was well other than the distance between the two of us. I know it sounds maudlin and a little bit goofy but we’re kind of used to having each other around. After so many years together the separations have become increasingly more difficult. I’m happy she’s there for her parents though. I expressly forbid her from complaining about how hot it was.

And Others - I Think She's Happy

She is, of course, intensely interested in my impending medical tests. She’s trying to supervise my behavior from down there which has always been an iffy prospect. I can’t eat anything after 3pm today in preparation for the 7pm test. This will probably make for an accurate test as I’ll undoubtedly have a headache from hunger by the time they do the CT scan.

They're Installing Some Ironwork Around Entry to Protect Aging Parents

I wrote yesterday about gun control and that bastion of liberal (progressive) values, the Cantankerous Friend, took issue with me, claiming the mentally ill don’t self-identify. While I agree some do not, a large percentage do. Starting from their early years most people with serious mental issues (and therefore should be denied access to firearms) are seen by mental health professionals. The link that is missing is having that mental condition accessible by the screening process for gun ownership. I don’t think our society would ever allow the social stigmata of having mental health issues reportable with lifelong consequences, but I honestly believe it would directly address the linkage between gun owners crazy enough to execute mass shootings. We could possibly circumvent health privacy laws by making it a felony, accessory to murder, if someone fails to report gun ownership by someone known to be mentally unstable.

I’m sure certain progressives will leap up and lay out a series of cases which even these draconian measures would not address. Fine, there are no absolute foolproof solutions. We’re dealing with humans and there are mass shootings even in countries with strict gun laws. Obama was on to something when he included mental health as a big part of the problem. It’s not the gun but the crazed individual wielding it that is the problem.

Californian Perfection has reached Eight Weeks Already!