I read the article twice and I still don't see where he's " bashing her character ". IMO, it's another one of those sensationalist articles that turns out to be nothing like the headline suggests, and exists only to draw attention and stir up dissention. I feel sorry for the young lady, and I'm sure it was a huge disappointment, but why would she want to keep the medal - as a reminder that she lost ? I'm certainly not a follower of Mike Rowe - too rough around the edges and too full of himself to suit me - but I think we need to stop reading things into these articles that aren't really there.

P. G. Wodehouse, one of my favorite book characters was Jeeves. Also one of those books which is somewhere in back of a bookcase, need to look. Mario Puzo can hit home, painfully. Like his quotes. Barry McGuire is an unknown to me. His quotes are biographical, so don't mean much to me. Walter Jon Williams is an old member of my bookshelves. He stays and does not go out with the donate book pile, which only very slowly gets bigger.

A couple of years ago I slipped walking down a hill, and landed with my full weight on my stiff, straight right arm, jarring and wrenching my shoulder and upper back. I was sure I had torn muscles or bruised something. It hurt, but not so much that I wanted to let it affect me. I continued on with life despite the pain, including playing in my twice weekly volleyball league. The pain continued for weeks, and I wasn't even really connecting the ongoing pain with the earlier fall. On a couple of instances the pain became very much worse, but I thought I had merely over done it. Eventually I went to my PCP and was sent for an x-ray. Upon getting home from the x-ray the doctor called saying I had a broken rib in my upper back, and that it looked "funny" and asked me to go back in for more x-rays, immediately if possible. After the x-rays I was sent for a cat scan and later a bone scan. Because the break looked funny, ie. somewhat raggedy on the margins of the break, and because of its location, completely beneath my shoulder blade they were convinced that it was a bone lesion indicating bone cancer and they were looking for more. In the end though the break was most likely caused by the shoulder blade due to the fall, and the raggedy appearance was due to it partially healing and being rebroken at least twice. So the moral of the story is take it easy, and give your rib time to fully heal before too much physical activity -- such a shoveling snow.

Thank you...your kindness overwhelms. you know, I did go to my beloved Jerusalem there, for just a few days, the only thing I truly did for myself only, don't remember whether I mentioned that..went in August, very spontaneously...and I had this very nice very extravert type of a taxi driver to take me there..and very soon he chatted out of me all the story.. So he says, at some point: -ok I understand what do you want for your Mother..and I understand about your brother..and I understand about the husband and kids. That, I get it -what you worry about regarding them all. But how do you see your life? YOURS? And I sat there and I didn't know what to answer him. And I still don't. I still think "me? what me?" then I think "what life?" then I think "let me have this life first". then I'll try to see what I can see.. Maybe I'll edit that later btw. Doesn't make any sense when I try to read it..Except for the first sentence of course.