The Ghosts In Our Machine Poster

This is an amazing production asking the question “Are animals property to be owned and used, or are they sentient beings deserving of rights?”

Please visit the web site The Ghosts In Our Machine.com and view this interactive video production. It is amazing. Be prepared to be touched beyond anything you know, especially if you have a heart and care about the creatures we have been blessed with in this world http://www.theghostsinourmachine.com/interactive/

With the exception of our companion animals and a few wild and stray species within our urban environments, we experience animals daily only as the food, clothing, animal tested goods and entertainment we make of them. This moral dilemma is often hidden from our view. Quote from the World Animal Awareness Society

Mucho amor de su papí.

(Do not be angry with me Yoel. Your dad made me do this. Happy Birthday!)

You can also watch this video and last years video on the page Christmas Cards To You on the www.colonialzone-dr.com web site.

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World Penis Size

Make sure to scroll down to the bottom of the page and check out the Figures 4 and 5. These give two different reports. Note the difference between the self reports and the official reports. Incredible. Now I wonder whos tax dollars – pesos – yen – euros (or whatever other monies names are out there) paid for this study???

There were a lot of events happening in the Colonial Zone area. I decided to go to the little get together that the neighbors were having in the little parking lot near my office. This way I didn’t have to stay out late.

I went home to rest up for a while. I had to force myself to go out. Once I’m home all comfy and cozy I hate to leave. But about 11PM made myself go to the party.

As I was walking out the door of the building where I live this giant rat ran out from the gutter. He (or maybe it was a she, I didn’t bother to check the gender) was a monster, at least 20 pounds with giant snarling teeth and a tail that was a 1/2 mile long. Really, he was a normal sized rat as rats go but when you see one it always looks bigger than it really is. I did a little jump and an ooohhh! when he startled me. He jumped too. He ran into the wall and then turned around and ran right over my foot. I was jumping, not high mind you as my body won’t do that these days but I was jumping quite exuberantly for this ole gal. Doing the old eewwhhh hand gestures as I was walking up the street and giggling to myself. To myself as no one saw it and there was no one to share the yuck with. What a yucky feeling it was too. Then I started to wonder if there was a tradition somewhere that a rat running across the feet on New Years Eve was good luck. I searched the Internet and couldn’t find anything about this so I decided to pretend that it was a good sign even thought I was pretty disgusted with the rat on my foot thought.

So, I got to the Colmado near the parking lot. Everyone was there starting out the night. I had a beer and sat with the neighbors. Midnight came and everyone hugged and kissed and turned our heads up to watch the fireworks. Then we moved on to the parking lot where they set up a stereo and had good music going.

We were all talking and dancing and having a good time. But my cold got the best of me. At about 1:30AM I had to go home and get into my own beddie-bye. I had a good time. I didn’t run into many crowds and got to hang out with my friends. I’m getting too old to go where there are tons of people partying and getting rowdy, at least in my mind I’m too old for that stuff. I got home before everyone got crazy and too drunk, which is just what I like.

When I got near to the park there was 2 large police buses and police everywhere. There were guys in really nice suits with walki talkies (they are the official president protectors). There were more of those scary looking dressed in black police. Lots of National Police (Policia Nacional), Tourist Police, and others I don’t know who they were. I smiled and said hi to the group in front of the Colmado, went inside, got my beer and went back outside to see what was happening like any normal Dominican would do.

I asked the group of men what was happening. Some of them had very nice suits on, others had the normal uniform, some had their florescent vests on and others were in normal street clothes. They said President Leonel Fernández was in the church attending a wedding.

What amazed me is how many police and undercover people were there to watch over the President. There had to be at least 60 different people there. They were everywhere. The suit guy was trying to fix me up with all the police standing around talking. He was telling me to pick the one I wanted. I just laughed at him. We were all talking and all of a sudden they said they had to go. They all went to the area of the church.

I didn’t see the president leave but within minutes people were getting on their motorcycles and boarding the police buses. The suit guys got in black SUV’s, which they call Jepetas here in Dominican Republic. Within minutes they were all gone, leaving behind the normal police watch. I was just amazed at how many police were there to guard the President.

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The nurse came in with all our medical records. She took our blood pressure one by one. She said a prayer for all of us. Then different doctors came in, got their patients files, and had a talk with their patient. My doctor was a very young woman. I think she said she was from Venezuela. She spoke English, thank goodness. She wrote some code letters and numbers on a piece of paper and taped it to my gown. Everyone had a paper taped to them; they did not use those plastic hospital wristbands that I was used to.

I was called first which made me really happy. I didn’t have to sit there and think about that needle stuck in my hand and the operation very long. They took me back to the dressing room place and cleaned my eye. Then they gave me a painful shot on my eyelid and below the eye. The girl jammed that needle in and wiggled it around. I was cringing in pain; I really hate needles and having her wiggle that around really gave me the heebie jeebies. I could feel my face getting numb. Then she put something on my head and eye and tied it down. It was really uncomfortable. Big pressure.

I was then led to the operating room area to sit on a chair and wait. Doctors and nurses were walking around washing up and talking. They were even taking pictures of each other. Another patient came in and sat next to me. This is when I found out what was putting all the pressure on my eye.

He had a cap on his head. Connected to this cap was a strap of gauze threaded through a rainbow colored rubber bouncy ball. This ball was pressed on his eye socket. I had the same thing on my face. It looked like your normal kids rubber-bouncing ball with a hole through the center strapped to my face, pressing on my sore eyeball. No idea what purpose that had but we both got a little chuckle seeing each others faces while we waited to have our eyes cut into.

I was called into the operating room. I walked in and had to get on to the operating table and get situated. They put the sheet on me and tucked me all in tight. No straps or anything to keep me from moving. The doctor came in and they prepped my eye with the paper around it and clamped my eye open. That damn clamp hurt. I felt like I was in the movie Clockwork Orange. She was telling me to look straight up but it hurt. I felt her touching my eyeball. It hurt! I tried to think about something else. I started humming “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”(I learned that when I had TMJ and they were teaching me relaxation techniques, I’d sing that song and the song Clarence sang on Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer “There’s Always Tomorrow”). Well, that technique did not work. My toes were wiggling because I was trying to be still but I couldn’t. It hurt! I told them I needed more medicine for the pain. They stuck that damn needle in my eye again. It still hurt. Finally they called the anesthesiologist in to stick something in the IV thingy. Now I ask, why didn’t they do that first? Maybe Dominicans have a high pain threshold. I don’t know. I can handle pain, my back hurts all the time, but common. This is an operation (did I mention that it hurt). They can at least make it a bit comfy.

Anyhow I got through the rest of the operation pain free or at least I don’t remember the pain. In fact, I really don’t remember much after they gave me the juice in my IV.

They put a patch on my eye and I was led out of the operating room and back into the dressing room area. I can’t remember how much time passed but it didn’t seem to be that long. It’s a bit fuzzy. They took out the IV then I got dressed. Cesar was waiting to usher me out to the car. He had all the instructions and some Motrin for me to take for the pain and we headed home. Again I must mention that my eye hurt.

I slept most of the day and night. Wondering what my eye looked like under the big patch on my face.

The next day I had to return to the hospital to have the patch removed and be checked out at 7AM. All of the same people were there. All had patches on their boo-boo eyeball. One by one a guy removed our patches and washed the eye. Some people’s eyes looked normal and others were red and bruised. I had no idea what horror awaited me when I got to see my own face.

The doctor that operated on me came in and I had to look at the eye chart with all the E’s facing different directions. The day before I could not see the largest E and now I could see the bottom row! The operation was a success! I could see! The doctor was so happy I thought she was going to dance around the room. It was like it was her first operation she was so happy. She said that she was going back to her home country in the morning and this was her last operation here. She did good.

She gave me my instructions. I had my eye shield and glasses from the last operation in USA, thank goodness, as they didn’t give me either. I got some more Motrin and some eye drops and was outta there.

In the car I looked at my eye finally. It was a bit swollen but there was no bruising. It looked great to me for just having been operated on. It still hurt but I could see. I could never imagine getting an operation the way it all happened. But it all worked out great and most important is that I can see!!

If you want to help a great organization I highly recommend this one. They give operations for free to the poor and at a discount price for those who can afford to pay. Doctors, nurses and people that just want to help come from all over the world to offer their services for free, coming at their own expense to help. They also take donations if you would like more information about Medical Ministry International check out their web site. They are doing a great service.

I have to mention a woman that was getting operated on the same time as me. She stood out in the group. It was hard to judge her age, maybe late 50’s. She was very small and petite. Her oval face had a cupie doll look to it. She had a medium dark complexion. She looked like she worked hard all her life yet she had such a look of innocence. She never spoke or smiled; I saw no emotions on her face at all. She just sat there with her hands folded in her lap and looked straight ahead. She had such a look of peace on her face it was calming for me just to look at her. I hope someday to meet her. Her face is etched in my memory.

There was also a, not sure the correct wording to use, mentally impaired, man that was operated on. He was maybe 40ish. I think he got his eye straightened. The people with him kept asking him “how do I look now”? He gave a big smile and shook his head yes. He just kept looking around at everyone with a serious look then a big smile would come across his face. Probably the first time in his life that he saw straight. It brought tears to my eyes.

I went to a Christian groups clinic because they do operations inexpensively. They are mainly to help people that cannot afford to get medical problems taken care of.

The first thing I noticed about the place is that they do not make appointments. You get there and take a number. First come, first served. So I got there really early, about 7AM so I could be first. Well, the doctor was not there that day so I had to return the next day.

I was about the 10th person in line which was not too bad. After I got my number I had to pay first then wait. Went in and all went smoothly. The people doing the eye checking stuff didn’t speak English but I got by with my bad Spanish. The doctor spoke English and she was very professional and thorough. She wanted me to get a Lazar study on my eye so I had to go to another place to have this done. Then the next day I took the results to the clinic again and they told me I had to go to Hospital Los Americanos in Los Alcarrizos for the operation and all the pre-op stuff.

I found out the location of the hospital and it is far from Colonial Zone.The taxi was expensive but I had to go there by taxi because they said I had to be there at 7AM and I was not going to take a guagua when I had no idea where I was going. So I got the taxi the same guy that took me to the doctors office I used to take me to the hospital, nice guy).

When I got there the hospital was pretty much an open air type place. It was already full of people waiting their turn. I gave my info to the check in lady and waited. The group I was with all went in and I was still sitting there. Finally they called me in and told me they had no file for me and I had to go to another room to get that. I had no idea what they were talking about. I figured it out and got the file and went back.
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Then they told me to go to the “caja” to pay. Caja is box and I did not see any box. I was looking around on the ground for a box to deposit my money. They got a good laugh out of that. They meant the booth where you need to pay. How was I to know that caja meant box and booth. New word for me..jejej

I then had to go get my blood taken.The girl said something that I had no idea. So she took my to the place I needed to go. It was outside, down the sidewalk, around the back, through a playground, into another group of open air buildings. I would have never found my way without her guiding me. But I paid my money and got the blood taken. Then went back to the original area and sat on a bench waiting for the next step, my EKG. Got that, no problem and back to sit on the benches. Waiting to talk to the anesthesiologist.

While sitting there I heard a chicken clucking. To my surprise there was a rooster in the waiting room. A gallo in a pillow case! I could not believe that. In a hospital there was a rooster! Hanging out with his master. In the waiting room. Amazing! So I asked the guy if I could take a picture to show my friends. I told him, and the surrounding people, “I know Dominicans love their roosters.They even make the wives sleep on the patio so they can sleep with their roosters but I never saw a rooster getting a cataract operation”! Some of the people laughed but the man was very serious and said his rooster was not there for an operation. Later I found out that many of the people pay with animals when they have no money for doctors services.
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After the anesthesiologist I had to go talk to the cardiologist and he wanted me to get an ecocardiogram. I had to do this another day in another hospital and pay more money. Money for the exam and for another taxi..I was getting upset all this money I kept spending. I should have brought a pig with me for payment.

So I went home on the guagua to return to the other hospital the next day, only this time I had to be there at 6AM to wait my turn.

A Dominican friend took me the next day and thank goodness he did or I might still be sitting there waiting my turn. Got to the hospital. Had to get in one line. Then another to pay. My friend took over. He got smooth talked and got me in first to get the eco thingy because after that I had to take the results to the first hospital before noon or I had to wait another week.

I got back to the first hospital and got the results to the doc. All was good. Then I had to go to this window to pay. Then to another window to take the receipt. Then to another office to talk there. Then another caja to pay. Then to the pharmacy. Then to the social worker to set the appointment for the operation. Then to the pharmacy again. Then back to the caja to pay something else. Then to get sized for the lens. Then back to the social worker. then to the caja. Then to the pharmacy. I was so lost. People were laughing at me again. I guess I just looked lost. But my friend kept taking my hand and pulling me along to each destiny as needed saying all the time “Common, common” like I was a little lost kid, which is what I felt like.

Finally I got the appointment and found out that I need to be there at 6AM along with all the other people getting operated on that day and wait my turn. The kids go first, then the people with diabetes, then the older people on up to the younger. Now id the time when I wish I was much older than my 50 years as I’ll probably be there all day. No food in my poor tummy, no water to drink, waiting my turn for then to stick the knife in my cloudy eye. I’ll write about the surgery after it happens.

The people in the hospital were great. I was so impressed that a lady stood up and led the people waiting in a hymn, read from the bible then prayed.
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(click image to enlarge)

The group doing this medical service for the poorer people is a great group. If anyone wants more information about Medical Ministry International please check their web site and if you can donate as they are really doing a great work for the people.