"Death Investigated' circa 1945

   In my attempts to put my house in order, I came across a yellowed newspaper clipping, undated, but since I remember being quite young when I heard the contents, I suppose the date would be 1945 or so.  (I suppose we could look it up.)  The paper was likely The Troy Record:

   "VALLEY FALLS MAN'S DEATH INVESTIGATED
    Find Body of Walter Madigan in Troy House
     Authorities early today were investigating the mysterious death of Walter V. Madigan 45, of Valley Falls, found dead in a lodging house at 1535 Fifth Avenue about 9:45 p.m. yesterday.
     The body was lying face downward.  The man's left eye was discolored and bruises were found on both knees and elbows.
      Madigan did not reside there and Charles Gilboy, who operates the lodging house, told police he had never before seen the man.  Gilboy discovered the body on the first floor in the rear room.  He promptly notified police.
                                     Death Due to Shock
   Coroner Charles J. Cote said that Madigan had died of a cerebral hemmorhage., apparently due to severe shock.  Whether the shock resulted from the fall or was induced by a blow, the authorities have not learned.
     Dist. Atty. Earl J. Wiley joined Chief Detective Lynch and Capt. Joseph P. Shields of Central Police Station in the investigation.  Plainsclothesman Michael J. Kane and Patrolmen Frank Dippo and Thomas Maguire of the radio patrol started an immediate backup in an effort to trace Madigan's movements yesterday.
    Madigan was employed by the Allegheny Ludlum Steel Corp.  He had been on vacation and was due to report back to work at 4;00 p.m. yesterday, but did not appear at the plant.  Madigan, police were told, went to the plant Sunday night but was informed he was working another shift.
   Madigan's lunch box and his coat were found in the lodging house.  His hat bore his identification working-badge and papers in his pocket revealed his identity.
                             Autopsy Report
    An autopsy performed at the Fred J. Lowe Funeral Home in Fifth Avenue by Drs. Irving Strosberg and and Stewart H. Jones showed Madigan had not eaten in about 12 hours.  No traces of alcohol were found, the coroner said.  The man's organs had been in perfect condition. He had suffered no fractures.
    A teletype message was sent to Schenectady police requesting them to inform Madigan's sister, Mrs. James Fitzpatrick of 381 Western Avenue, that city, of his death.  Police also learned he has a brother, Charles Madigan, residing at Valley Falls.
     Gilboy told investigators that he does not lock the doors of the lodging house at times.  He also resides there. Madigan had been dead at least four hours when his body was discovered, Cote said."
   
   

Stained Glass

   For some reason, I've never cared for stained glass.  I know it's considered beautiful by many, an art form in itself, and indeed I know adults who have spent considerable time, effort and money learning how to create it.  Probably my first association with stained glass was in church.  Our Lady of Good Counsel had a wealth of stained glass, in the side windows and above the altar.  The windows were for ventilation.  The men who served as ushers would open and close the windows using a long pole with a hook on the end which somehow fit into the selected window panel.   In those years of living with imperfection, several of the glass insets had been broken, and replaced with clear glass.  That disturbed me in some way; I'm not sure why, maybe because it made it seem as if the original installation was not that important.  But more unsettling was the large stained glass panel looking down on us from the center of the church right behind the altar, impossible to ignore.  The detailed composition featured monstrous-looking images, similar in my child's mind to gargoyles.  If I had ever asked what the scene represented, perhaps the answer would have made me feel better about it, but of course I never raised the question.
     Some of the old houses in the village, as well as other places, had stained glass at their entrances, usually in the front door, or set in the wall next to the door.  I remember going with my parents to a judge's house for some reason, and waiting on the porch and looking at the stained glass in the door; it seemed old and carried with it a sense of foreboding.
    I was diagnosed with the flu once in my life, at the end of a full year of rigorous programs of treatment.  On the night before Christmas Eve,  I felt really tired and weak and when I looked into the bathroom mirror, I saw not my reflection,  but a sickening and dizzying array of stained glass, in mostly blue. tones.  While that may sound like a beautiful sight, it was in reality horrific and terrifying, and totally obliterated everything else.
    I'm left with the thought that maybe the word "stained" doesn't belong in a positive description of anything.
 
 

Making A difference

 A few days ago, I made a return trip to The Office, cardiology office that is, to pick up test results.  Last time I was there, in conversation with the representative, I mentioned, in addition to another issue,  the "Stand in Line" sign, and its unfortunate area of obscured visibility. She'd blamed it on the architects and their construction of a very large pillar; she said they were working on the problem of signage.  Lo and Behold!  Progress!  The sign, fairly small and attached to a movable pedestal,  had been moved, from behind the large pillar to a position more to the front and alongside of it.  Who says nobody listens?

NPH

I'm sick and tired of Neil Patrick Harris.

I Dare You!

   I'm ready for it:  if anybody messes with me, the charge will be elder abuse, a crime carrying additional penalties than if committed against a non-elder person.  That is only fair, after all that we've endured these many years.  Hate crime charges rule!

NPH (non speed-related)

As per Dr. Khan, Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus occurs when excess fluid accumulates in the venrtricles of the brain. It is called "normal pressure" because though excess, the cerebrospinal fluid pressure is often normal. But if the fluid causes the brain ventricles to enlarge, the nearby brain tissue can be damaged. NPH can cause certain symptoms, including difficulty walking and decline in thinking skills and later on, loss of bladder control. It affects primarily people in their 60's and 70's. The symptoms may overlap with other age-related conditions. So of course it's difficult to diagnose. A spinal tap may help identify those mostly likely to benefit from a shunt. In most cases, I read, people do not benefit following the removal of the fluid, but the symptom most likely to improve after the insertion of a shunt is difficulty in walking. I think, when dealing with the elderly, there is not much credibility attached to a lot of the treatments due to lack of sufficient time or interest in follow-up research or investigation. Creatures like guinea pigs, who have a much shorter lifespan, are much better indicators of whether a procedure or treatment will be effective. If you are a guinea pig and have health insurance, there is hope for you.

The Voice

  In the mist of memories that flit across the mind from time to time, I recall a man's voice, so compelling that the sound of it instantly caught my attention. I was leaving a medical office in Saratoga, for reasons I can't remember, the office on the corner across from the hospital.  It must have been about a dozen years ago, in the time when age wasn't so all-encompassing. I'd checked out and was in the process of leaving when I heard a  voice, coming from the area behind the check-out station, or so it seemed.  In conversation with the personnel behind the desk, he sounded so friendly and confident I assumed he was a professional,  a representative of some kind, but no, he was also leaving the building, just behind me, and I saw he was in a wheelchair, unaccompanied but mobile.
    I think he might have asked  me to hold the door,or maybe I did it on my own.  I know we had a brief conversation, and as he propelled himself out of the parking lot, and down along the lengthy sidewalk, I remembered that he had said, as he thanked me for my help, "It wasn't that long ago that I was walking around just like everybody else."   The sound of his voice lingered, and as he wheeled  himself away, I'd wished