by Jayne Bodner
We have been here over a year now, and below are updates on three areas where we are successfully through the settling-in!
First. We are now very comfortable with our newly assembled network of local medical professionals, including specialists and facilities.
After 38 years in east central New Jersey, I was concerned about how well we might do rebuilding ‘our’ medical team on the other side of the state. But, from early on, our new neighbors here share stories about their health experiences and make recommendations, both positive and negative, about practitioners in the area.
I have come to fully appreciate that aspect of being a bit older, catching up on each others maladies and triumphs. Just like jumping rope double-dutch, or trying to understand James Joyce, it never hurts to hear how others manage some new tough thing!
Second. I am also doing quite well at finding my way around by car now. I still take my Burlington County map with me, but more like a talisman, to ward off actually needing it. If someone tells me of a new place I might be interested in, and gives me a couple of main roads in the directions, I can find my way for quite a radius from home!
In addition to doctors’ offices and labs, I’ve made it to specialty food stores, movie theaters, restaurants, and various branches of the Burlington County Library, to 3 or 4 wonderful plant nurseries, to farm stands and market fairs, to an elementary school (for tutoring) and a nursery school (for reading to the children), and to a large number of garage sales (this is a great way to learn your way around an area!).
And, third, I’ve finally gotten the station buttons on my car radio all reset from our old, mostly New York stations, to the local, mostly Philadelphia, stations. I’ve succeeded in finding a couple of ‘60s through 2000s pop music stations, a folk music station, a few classic rock stations, a classical music station, a couple of country music stations, and NPR, so I’m all set now. My husband reset his radio too, more quickly than I and with an even more eclectic selection of stations.
To bring it all together, and provide an update on sea life and name changes, both sensible and not –
Last Friday, I was driving around, running some errands and feeling pretty good (thanks to my doctors down here, and to the day’s lovely sunshine). NPR was on the radio and they were talking about how the sea stars were doing (who knew they had problems?).
The expert guests were saying that the crop of new hatchling sea stars seemed to be large in number but we won’t know how well they will really do until they make it past their adolescence (so like humans!).
They went on to say that the otters will have a good year, since lately, overall, the number of sea stars is down, so the number of sea urchins is up, and the otters and their grocery bags will be fuller. Not so good for the sea urchins, but I’m happy for the otters. (I do admit to a bit of species bias in my affections.)
Then some part of my brain reported in with the fact that sea stars, which I had never heard of, were very likely to be – – – star fish. I was experiencing a form of name evolution.
But, this name evolution just might be in the interests of accuracy – star fish not actually being fish. And, sea star is a prettier name, so ok.
On the other hand, there are name evolutions where someone decides to change a name’s pronunciation, like for Halley’s Comet, the Goethals Bridge, Uranus, and Machiavelli. I think pronunciation changes are usually just a bit too precious. What do you think?
See you next time!
Jayne Bodner
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