My Friends,
Things are getting exponentially more nuts in this country, as we all know. I also have personal issues dragging me away from coverage of these stories, at least for a short while. and I wanted to touch base with you, in case you think I’m falling down on the job. Here’s the scoop: I am moving to Las Vegas on Tuesday. The days are packed like never before. For example, I found out yesterday that I had to have an iron infusion, so I went to do that today, and with a bandaged hand and half asleep from the Benadryl they gave me, I banged out a couple of blogs.
I just want you to know that if I had my druthers, I’d druther be on line 14 hours or more a day, keeping up on all this madness. And I will be doing just that once I get to my new digs. In the meantime, if things seem to slow down a trifle here, please bear with me, because I can only do so much. Murf is right here and Black Max will keep chiming in, so we’ll get through the next few days, albeit not at the high standard I would hold otherwise, if I didn’t have to split my time between writing and moving.
Also, I wanted to share with the community the passing of our fellow Zoomer Jan Burch, (her handle at Daily Kos was Jan4Insight) in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Jan passed in February, possibly from COVID-19. I found out about this in late July, and wanted to post a piece then, but held off, because her ashes had not been disposed of yet. Here’s the story of how Jan died, as told by my friend, Zoomer and fellow banned kossack bfitzinAR.
Yes, Jan died on 2/27 – or at least that’s when the Medical Examiner thinks she stopped breathing. She died of abdominal internal hemorrhage and heaven only knows how long she’d been unconscious before she died. One of our twitter friends called in a wellness check on the 17th since she hadn’t posted even on Twitter since the 11th (in the middle of a fundraiser to pay her mortgage). I called every single day after that – and was told until the last time that an officer had been “dispatched” and found no evidence of “foul play”. No matter how many times I told them I wasn’t worried about foul play, I was worried because she’d been very sick for over a month, that’s the b.s. routine I got. Then on the 28th – the day after she died mind you – the em effing APD guy told me he’d talked to her, she was fine, just didn’t feel like talking to friends. So you know that was to get me to stop calling. I understand they found Jan’s body several hours after my last phone call. (The officer I’d talked to on the 26th said she’d slipped paper in the door and chalked the car’s tires and promised me that she’d check on her way in on the 28th – she’s 2nd shift – and would “force entry” if they were still there. So I’m pretty sure she was the officer who found Jan.) Since I’m not family they didn’t let me know. The only reason we even found out was the Medical Examiner was looking for next of kin to pay for the cremation and posted a request on her FB site via the FB messenger. Pat doesn’t go FB much so didn’t see it until June. Ashirs nani is very good at these kinds of searches and found them the son of her father’s cousin (who never responded to contacts) and 2 ex husbands. She also created an online memorial site that I’ve linked below. Jan was 72 when she died.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/211767173/janet-elizabeth-burch
Jan had been very sick in January. She felt it coming on in December even. From what we know now, I think she was an early case of COVID19 and it damaged her liver. My last email from her on 2/8, in response to one from me worried about her (when her Tuesday email didn’t arrive for the 2nd week, well, you know me – I get worried), she said she’d been very sick – like can’t leave the house sick, have to have groceries delivered sick – and that she was better but it seemed to have “settled” in her liver. No cure but electrolytes help so she was doing that. She sounded upbeat but I don’t know how much of that was for “show”. She was able to get the next round of fundraising started a few days later. And that was it. My momma died of the same thing so I know how debilitating that condition is. At some point she fell and was too weak to get up. So she lay there in pain until she lost consciousness and then bled out. Which takes days. The healthier you are when you got it, the more days it takes. (& yes, I’m angry about that. She might have died anyway even if they’d gone in on the 17th – but she’d have been in the hospital and getting pain meds to see her out.)
UPDATE FROM BFITZINAR 12:20 P.M. PDT:
Folks who want to leave a note/message/flower at the memorial site but don’t want to become members can send it to ashirs nani – either Kosmail or DM on twitter (she’s AshirsNani there – with the @ in front, of course). Since she set it up, she’s the site administrator and can add posts for other people so it shows up as if they’d done it themselves.
Now this story hit me particularly hard, because I have no biological family and that’s a story for another day. So my online family and my few friends are more dear to me than might otherwise be the case if I had family.
That is all that I wanted to share. I look forward to being in Las Vegas. Teri and Murfster live there. Murfster keeps crawling under the bed to hide, but Teri keeps dragging him out and telling him it will be okay.
I had planned to move to Vegas in March. The first week of March I wrote Murf and said, “How about I come in a week and a half and we’ll go out for corned beef sammiches and beer for St. Paddy’s Day, my treat?” He said, “Swell.” Then mid-March Murf sent a text, “Don’t come. Sisolak just closed down the state.” And you remember the rest, how Fox News and Trump did a one eighty, and oh yes, coronavirus is real, not a hoax.
So that’s how I come to be moving in the fall, a month before the election, because a monkey wrench got thrown in a lot of peoples’ plans. This is the earliest I’ve been able to move and it’s nuts. And I knew it would be, although I had no idea about so many of the things that have happened recently and certainly the death of Justice Ginsburg has rendered the political landscape positively dystopian.
Everyone say a prayer for our fallen comrade, Jan, and please wish me well on my journey. When I get moved in I will get a pootie, or two pooties and maybe we’ll have our own pootie woozle diaries over here.
Peace, out.
Ursula
I hate moving even locally. Having done interstate moves twice in the space of eleven years (2003 and 2014) I am all too familiar with the extra hassles it involves. So to the community I say cut our fearless leader some slack for the new few weeks. There’s a helluva lot more than just packing, dealing with movers (on both ends) or getting labor to load up a U-Haul & finding a pal willing to drive it to another state for you (and arrange for them to get back home if there’s not an extra person to tag along with their own vehicle) and hiring labor to unload on the other end. And unpacking and making some sort of organization out of the mess. There’s getting a new driver’s license, registering to vote of course, utilities, changing all your information with banks (or getting a new account) and credit card companies…the list seems endless. Oh, and if you have health issues making sure to get set up for medical care in a new state!
So again, let’s all give her some slack and for longer than through next week. If she doesn’t respond to a text or email chill out. Urusula will have all any two people can handle on her plate with the election coming up and keeping this site functioning.
Thanks, Denis. I just wanted to touch base here because there’s so much to write on, but I literally cannot be two places at once, so I’ve got to cut down for a few days.
What did you do about your vote? You can’t establish residency in Nevada that fast?
Maybe I’m confused about what it takes to establish residency. I rented an apartment and I can prove that the negotiations took place two months ago and that I will be living there as of Tuesday. This isn’t good enough?
Happy moving. Good chance to get rid of collected stuff that really isn’t needed. Very Zen thing to do!
There is that. There’s also the joy of going to a new place that is so much better than the place I’m living now. I love the neighborhood I’m in now, but the actual house and living situation has been problematic for some time. Having my own place is going to be great.
Sorry about your friend. Good luck on your change.
Jan was a nice lady and a part of this community. I want to make PolitiZoom a place where people connect and get to know one another.
I hope everything goes smooth and easy.
Thank you! And I will get up to Northern Nevada at some point and we can have lunch. Did you get another pootie after Pants crossed the rainbow bridge?
Sounds good! No Ursula, I probably won’t be getting another cat, after pantsy. I also have two other cats, raven and peanut. Peanut is ailing too. Anyway, good luck, I really hope you will like living in Nevada.
Thanks for updating us. I hope your move goes well.
I have three business days left and the weekend. So I’ve got to get it all done in that time frame — and get another iron infusion.
I certainly hope you are done with an, “upstairs fiasco”, BTW, I’ll contact you on gmail for your new address, got my laser working again, and had wondered about Jan, did some projects for her and, with the laser fixed, had some more ideas for her … it certainly is a sad situation, she was a sweetheart and had been making her way through tough times … she will be missed …
Take real good care of yourself as well, watch out for those steps, not to be taking 3 at a time … 🙂
Another note, be sure to have a charge cord for your laptop, wherever you may be, never know when you might stop into a ma&pa cafe on the way with WiFi …!! A fully charged battery will let you rip a few paragraphs while you attack a hot beef sandwich !!
Not sure what you’re saying about upstairs. I have been living in a fiasco, as well you know, but the upstairs part of it is great. I love being upstairs and looking out on trees as opposed to being on street level. The apartment I’m moving into is an upstairs unit.
I was referring to the pains you suffered with before your operation, the cane I made for you to even get around …
That was mixed in with the rest of the story as well …
But I had not heard that your new situation was fine because of the views … AND the rest of the story was about tougher stuff … sorry …
My family in Colorado are doing the moving thing too. Theirs is likely to go into next year, as the house they’re moving into is still being built. It’s a crazy time to do it but I understand why it’s gotta be now.
Hate like hell that bit about Jan. This pandemic has claimed far too many far too soon. Do what you need to on moving and for the love of the gods, stay safe!
I’m trying to stay safe. I see stupidity all around me. I was at WalMart yesterday and saw two kids with their noses uncovered. Their parent didn’t say a word. The woman at the medical clinic today, where I got my infusion, also had her nose uncovered. I want to scream at these people but I hold my tongue.
I can assure you that is pretty much EVERYBODY but me right now in my small town of TN vis-a-vis your examples of stupidity. They’re all assuming it’s safe outside their home zone, which is hazardous. But we know better, don’t we?
Ursula, good luck with all the plethora of life changes you are going through right now. Being around good buddies in your new town will give you much needed support.
I admire your discretion about the mask situation. I actually slipped the other day and asked a teenage couple where their masks were. Luckily it turned out with no further escalation. Kind of surprised myself. I guess my fear of contracting the virus is growing after hearing about the long term symptoms that are possible.
Be good to yourself and we look forward to your next missive!
I’ll be posting, it just won’t be as much until I get physically from point A to point B.
Good to hear about your life and how things are shaking out. I am hoping your move goes smoothly and you find the perfect pet(s).
I hope the right kitten is being born as we speak and will be all ready to come and rule my household in a few months.
I read a quote that says “there are no ordinary cats”.
Sad news. Peace, you all will be in my thoughts. Safe travels.
The news about Jan is sad. I told bfitzinAR that that could be me. It was a very sobering conversation.
Damn. I bought a couple of her tees that I really liked.
I did too! I wrote one today, with a racoon and the words, “Live fast eat trash.” I told Jan that she should sell oversized, long tees that women could use as nightshirts and that she would sell a lot of them. She was going to get back to me after the first of the year. I forgot about it, and then I found out she died in February.
I have two of Jan’s beautiful infinity scarves. She was such a nice woman.
Hey, take a break Ursula, and do what needs to be done. We’ll appreciate you all the more when you can get back to us. I’m sorry you’re not moving to Oregon, but Vegas will be much more fun. Hope your neighborhood is full of Democrats and that perfect little kitty shows up soon!
There’s only so much of a “break” that can be taken, but thanks for the sentiment. With blogging, you have to stay current on the stories. If you don’t read anything for a few days, you would be amazed at how far behind you fall — especially now. I’ve never seen a news cycle like this. Stories that would be front page end up on page four, because there’s only so much room.
So sorry to hear about Jan. Didn’t know her but you paint a vivid picture. Safe moving.
Thank you. I’ll feel good about it all probably Sunday night, when I’ll have everything packed other than necessities I need for the next day.
I wish you peace and bright blessings on your move. There’s not much I hate more than moving. When I bought my condo in Tacoma eight years ago, I told all my friends they will have to carry me out feet first, I’m never moving again. I’m fortunate to have great neighbors, so if I get sick or fall and break the other hip, I can just yell for help.
Have you considered fostering pooties? I have an amazing Maine Coon who is terminally ill, will take my heart with him when he goes. I will be 70 in a few months and I’m not terribly mobile. I worry about leaving behind a pet. Fostering will put a pootie in my home without the long-term commitment. And I may decide at some point to keep one.
I’m not familiar with fostering pooties. Does that mean you just keep them for a short time or something? All I’ve ever done is get a pootie given to me, or go out and look for one and bring it home forever.
I
Am so sorry to hear that Ursula. I hope the rest of your move goes smoothly. Be safe.
Jan
Thank you, Jan. I think it will be a lot of fun, once I get all the little, bureaucratic stuff done and get the rest of the boxes packed.
My dear Ursula. I will be your family. I will be your mother, your sister, your cousin, whatever. I always read your articles and sometimes respond. Please take care with your move and I will be glad to see you back here.
My dear Ursula. I will be your family, your mother, aunt, sister, whatever you need. I always read your articles and often comment on them. Please take care with your move and all else. We love you.
You are so kind, Miranda. Thank you. Send me a personal email when you get a chance and we can talk. I’m incredibly busy through next week but I absolutely will write you back.
Just being part of the discussion. I am sorry to hear that lady passed. I remember reading some of her articles. I thought something was up because it seemed your site wasn’t right. And as far as family goes, for years I lived close to my mother. I got a chance to move out of state my mom and I talked and she said I should move that my sister was close by. Well while I lived close my sister knew I would block any funny shit. My mother will be ninety in a few days. Well mom fell and of course my sister swooped in and now has her corralled in her house. Anytime I call or stop by I need to have a chaperone. My mom was an active lady and she walked everyday weather permitting. She even carried wood in for her fireplace. Well now my sister lives in this house that has a driveway that’s almost straight up and down. I’m not sure I could walk on it. Well she’s not allowed near it. She has a little area that she can walk in provided someone is their to watch her. Probably afraid she will call me and arrange for me to pick her up. It’s the same old story. There’s a little money involved and although my sister has money she’s worried mom might give me some. I will never understand how rich people want to worry about nickel and dime stuff. Sorry ? I just needed to vent a little. I will probably have to get a lawyer before this is all over. People have a twisted sense of family. I see that Mary Trump is having problems,too.
Vent anytime you want to, Chris. That’s what we are here for, in part, is to build community and support one another. Families and inheritances are fraught with problems. My father stopped speaking to my uncle over a fracas with my grandfather’s will. I also had a good friend whose husbands sisters ripped them off — she said — and that was the subject of angst for years. It’s human nature. It’s a dark part of our nature, but it is that way.
It has been my observation from stories I’ve heard from friends, and my own personal experiences, that the family members of the person who died and who provide little assistance in the care, whether financial, physical, emotional, etc. of their “loved” one are the first ones at the lawyer’s desk when the end comes.
I send love and hope your move goes smoothly, Ursula, and especially hope that this begins a long time of more happiness and better health for you. Personally, I am sorry to see you leave SoCal because I still hoped that COVID would go away and we could again meet at that nice little Mexican restaurant for lunch. Perhaps one of these days I’ll travel again and see you there.
I also have been sorry to hear about Jan. She had made some jewelry for me and was going to make a matching necklace. We had some pleasant email exchanges and I considered her to be a kindred spirit (as I also do you.)
I hope the great Cat Spirit (or whatever) finds some perfect pooties for you. I have three of them and they definite make my life better. If you are able to travel and pick up a kitten, you might try Kitten Academy in Connecticut. They can be found on line.
I’ll send you an email in a couple of weeks with a couple of other things. For now, take a deep breath and have a successful adventure making your new home.
People travel to the State of Connecticut to get a kitty? Why? I’m sure Las Vegas has plenty of kitties just waiting for a cat worshiper such as myself to show up and show them a great life.
I go to the Gelson’s market right next to that Mexican restaurant you’re talking about. The restaurant is still closed, except for take out, like so many. Oh, well.
Good travels, dear!
It’ll be fun. It’s just a drag now getting everything in boxes.
So sorry for the loss of your friend Jan, Ursula. It sounds like she suffered greatly and that’s just not fair. My best to you in moving. That’s hard work even for the young and healthy. I can’t imagine how difficult it is for you. My parents lived in Las Vegas for 33 years after my father retired from the Air Force. They lived near Desert Inn and Boulder Highway. I was grown and gone before that, but I spent a lot of time in Vegas visiting them. I hope you get settled and back to writing full time soon. Blessings, Meg Corrigan
The good news is that I’m not moving much. I’m taking clothes, lamps, pots, pans, that sort of thing, but I’m buying new furniture. I already bought a new living room set which will be delivered when I get there.
Thank you Ursula. I had known she passed away, but not the details. Poor love. Glad you are moving to be near friends.
Wishing you a smooth, safe, and low stress relocation (my working days are still very much with me) and may everything you need the first night you’re there be in the box on top.