Opinions Are Not Facts

I've been noticing an interesting thing lately. I don't think it is because this particular thing is occurring more frequently. It is much more likely that I have just begun seeing it. People don't seem to be aware of their own opinions. These people think that if they think it is so.... it IS so! And that isn't so.

I understand that sometimes it can be really difficult to distinguish the difference. Sometimes the opinion is of such popular opinion that it can seem like a fact. Closer inspection reveals that this particular "fact" is indeed still only an opinion no matter how widely held.

Some are pretty easy to spot.

Shooting people is bad. Well, obviously self defense and sniping a hostage taker to save an innocent negates that statement for those circumstances.

Mosquitos are bad. Well, many fish species depend on the larvae for food. Like fish much?

Nose piercings are ugly. Really? Lots of folks think so. In some other parts of the world the majority of the population finds them beautiful in contrast to the minority in our country that thinks the same. Can't you see that the proper statement would be "I don't care for nose piercings" ?

Declaring one thing to be better than another is also a mistake. Most of the times one thing is only better than another thing under certain circumstances.  Is a Mercedes better than a Honda? Depends on what criteria is being measured as well as the purpose. Which one is a better luxury car? Which one is better if you are trying for lower insurance payments? Which one is better if you want to blend in? That last one is a double tricky question.... blend in where? huh?

There are very few things in this world that really truly "suck". Most of the time a person declares that something sucks they are really just trying to say that they don't care for something. All said and done, I guess I am just wondering why people can't recognize their own opinion.

What started all this? A random person, a complete stranger who felt the need to approach me as I worked on my shawl to declare that KNITTING IS A TERRIBLE WASTE OF YOUR TIME. Compared to what and who the Hell are you anyway? Why did you feel the need to go out of your way to pass close enough to share that OPINION, which you declare as if it were fact.

Trip to the ER

Spent 7 hours at the hospital today. Abdominal pain that was so bad I was SURE it was a kidney stone. I had one about 2 years ago that woke me from a sound sleep. The pain was so bad I couldn't walk, was reduced to crawling to my phone to call 911. That was an interesting day involving an ambulance and a bunch of morphine. Ended with me sitting in a waiting room in my underwear, holding a phone, morphined out of my mind and unable to recall anyone's phone number to call for help getting home.

Today wasn't quite that exciting. I got to do the blood work thing and the pee in a cup thing, the IV thing, the Xray and MRI thing. Couldn't find anything. Wow, I was so sure it was a kidney stone! It has that same deep kinda pain that fluctuates in intensity.

The hospital staff were all really great. They got me warm blankets and really took good care of me.  They put something in the IV that took the edge off for quite a while. Then when that wasn't working so good anymore they gave me something better. Took it from stabby pain to dull ache. . . something way more do-able. Couldn't drive though, so I had to reach Jenny and ask her to come give me a ride home.

That is how I found myself knitting on the shetland shawl handicapped by an IV in my left arm. Had to hold it kind of further out so as not to bend my elbow. Then I held the left needle really still, twisting and turning the right needle, making it do all the work. I did about 8 rows of the lace before the drugs make me afraid to continue on it. I switched to frogging the ribbing off the sheltland hat. I could handle pulling a string even messed up.