My friend Alex? His family suffered one of the most famous historical defenestrations.

Was it in Coney Island?

Mmm. Duck.

I need to start looking at cars. I'm currently driving a '98 Monte Carlo. I want to find something with decent gas mileage and comparable cargo space. I'll most likely be looking at used cars. What kind of car should I be looking at?

I need to get this out of my system. Judgments be damned.

I haven't seen the twins in weeks. I haven't seen my friends in weeks. And my neighbor has a lyme disease flare-up that I think requires hospitalization.

I was asked if it was possible to take next Thursday off to babysit her (she wanders off, forgets who she is, and where she is, and why she is outside).

I said no. As far as I know, I'm the only neighbor who said no.

I drew a line in the sand. I have a short list of people I'll take a day off to help without any sort of reservation. She's just not on it.

Her sister (who is also who roommate) took her to a Lyme specialist yesterday, and it's going to take a coupel of weeks for the antibiotics to return her to normal.

But seriously. THE GIRL NEEDS TO BE IN A HOSPITAL. She's completely mad (the Lyme wreaks havoc neurologically), she smoked 21 cigarettes in a little over an hour, she weighs nothing, she twitches, and called me yeasterday, terrified, because her mind wasnt in her body anymore and she couldn't find it. Then she sobbed uncontrollably.

There's more. A lot more. I'm writing this book about neighbors, neighbors helping each other...and damn. I'm just not willing to do more than make her some chicken broth and try to convince her sister that the girl needs to be hospitalized until the antibiotics restore her.

There's no medical insurance. That seems to be the sticking point. But seriously, doesn't social security or medicaid cover severe disability?

I just don't love this person the way I love other people.

And dude? I dont get the lack of mom. My mom would have been on a plane without so much as a change of underwear if this shit was happening to me. Fuck.

Nora wins at lunch.

Not Coney Island, but one of the semi-regular Defenestrations of Prague.

Good band name: The Defenestration of Prague.

But only as a side project for Colin Meloy.

Hell, my mother came running, and I'm doing way better than your neighbour. But families are weird.

You are not infinite, paperdol, and don't let them make you feel guilty about.

Nora wins at lunch.

Seriously!!! even though my salad was very delicious. Not the same.

geez, paperdol. A line in the sand is often a Very Good Idea. It sounds like she needs more than you can provide right now and that there are other people (like her sister) who are able to take care of her. But, yeah, it really sounds like she needs to be in the hospital.

I'm just not willing to do more than make her some chicken broth and try to convince her sister that the girl needs to be hospitalized until the antibiotics restore her.

I think this is doing plenty. And there's no point thinking of what you'd do differently if she was someone you were closer to.

You are not infinite, paperdol, and don't let them make you feel guilty about.

Yeah, that.

It's much more impressive that he is part of the Masaryk family-- to Czechs at least.

Relatedly, does anyone really use defenestration without being conscious of what a silly word it is? It always reads so unnaturally. It's like antidisestablishmentarianism.