Old Woman Blues

SING IT WITH ME NOW! JOIN ME ON THE GEETAR! (key of C. 4/4 time, of course!)

I’m an old woman and I got the blues, fo sho
Well, I ain't braggin', it's understood
Everything I do, well I sure do it good
I need eggplants in the summer, brussels sprouts in the fall
Oh, I’m an old woman and I got needs

I’m leaving for the Mass Eye and Ear ER in a few. Warum? Well, my wonk-ass left eye has been persistently red lately. Sometimes flaming, sometimes just a tint of the bloody hue. I’d just go see my new cornea minder, not hit the ER BUT I’ve just discovered that she works VERY part time. I didn’t know that when I made the switch…gottverdammt

The very nice folks in the cornea department told Jen that I should go in this morning and tell the folks at the front desk that I’m the “special cornea patient.” I’ll see the cornea “fellow” on duty.

After that’ I'm to head out to Needham to BostonSight where they’ll check out my lens (the prosthetic cornea) to make sure it’s not somehow fucked up.

How I see myself

Big fun!

Here’s what I wanna know – why, in fairy tales, are old women always the villains?

"What do we have? Nags, witches, evil stepmothers, cannibals, ogres. It's quite dreadful," says Maria Tatar, who teaches a course on folklore and mythology at Harvard. Still, Tatar is quick to point out that old women are also powerful — they're often the ones who can work magic.” (source)


Oh but wait!
“… they're not all bitter and malicious hags. Old Mother Hubbard might not be the brightest bulb, but she does try very hard to please her dog. Elderly women in folk tales often use their knowledge and experience of the world to guide the troubled protagonist.”

Fascinating column. Well worth the read.

‘scuse me now, I gotta go see a young feller about an eye.