Living with Scleroderma

Reflections on the Messy Complexity of Chronicity

mindfulness

Gullible

· · 2 Comments

I am usually pretty savvy when it comes to internet scams. Fool me once, and all that. But I got taken in on Monday. I feel like an idiot, because the warning signs were all there. So, I share this as a cautionary tale, in case you get phished.

This started as an email from my sister-in-law, asking if I had an AOL account. “She” was writing to me at my gmail account. It seemed odd, so I wrote her back separately from the original, using my AOL address, to see if it was actually her. The answer was yes. I thought, okay, and asked what was up. And here came the pitch:

Supposedly, a friend was diagnosed with stage-4 mesothelioma and needed transportation to her appointments. It was the friend’s birthday, and the writer claimed she had a problem with her credit card. Could I please order an Uber e-card via Amazon for her, and she’d pay me back? Of course, this had nothing to do with AOL. Duh.

Now, being that it’s the holidays, and I had a friend who died from mesothelioma, I wanted to help. I thought this was legit. I should have known when I got the follow-up email, with a link to click for Amazon and a request for four $100 Uber e-gift cards to send to an email address. It seemed like a lot of money.

But, like I said, I was in a holiday mood and went ahead and got the cards. Then I asked my supposed sister-in-law how she’d pay me back. Did she have Venmo?

I didn’t hear back right away. Within five minutes of completing this good deed, my stomach sank. I realized I’d been scammed. I tried calling my sister-in-law, but her line was busy. Then I sent her a text, which I should have done in the first place. Sure enough, she’d been bombarded by friends calling about the scam.

I called my credit card company and reported the fraud, so I will get my $400 charge canceled and a new credit card. I changed my passwords for my Amazon account and both of my email accounts. I removed my other payment methods from Amazon. I called my credit card company back to see if it was okay to just monitor those other cards, in case they got sucked up in the phishing attack. I’ll do that for a few weeks, but may well replace them, also. Then I left a message with my computer repair service to see if I need to scrub my iMac.

In the midst of all this, I got an email from the scammer saying, yes, I have Venmo. Thank goodness I had figured out what was up by then, or I could have compromised our bank account. And, of course, soon thereafter, I got another email asking for more money for the poor friend, who now needed seven $100 Uber e-cards. I wrote back that I knew it was a scam, then blocked the email and reported it to Google. I also texted my sister-in-law some contact info for how to change her password on her email account.

Good grief. I think I’ve covered all my bases. I got scammed several years ago and fell for it, and I’ve saved Al from several scams, since. I should have known better. Scammers prey on our best intentions. Don’t get fooled. May your holidays be joyful and scam-free!

Evelyn Herwitz blogs weekly about living fully with chronic disease, the inside of baseballs, turtles and frogs, J.S. Bach, the meaning of life and whatever else she happens to be thinking about at livingwithscleroderma.com. Please view Privacy Policy here.

Image: Photo courtesy of Gratisography

Interpolation

· · Leave a Comment

My body is trying to tell me something. My shoulders are in knots. My fingers have developed more ulcers. I’m having trouble concentrating—or, rather, getting myself to the point of concentrating.

This morning, I woke from a dream that I couldn’t find a file in my computer, because the search function was screwed up. What was the file? Some essay I’d written that was titled “Megalomaniacs.” Which, as I write that word, includes an interesting interpolation of letters, which, if you’re following American politics, is pretty obvious.

Before I sat down at my computer to write this post on Monday afternoon, I took my walk around the neighborhood. This is always my immediate remedy for tension. The air was cool but pleasant. Mounds of brown leaves lined the streets, some with squashed pumpkins plopped on top. Most of the maples were bare, though a few pale golden leaves still clung to branches, their tint warmed by the honeyed glow of a sinking sun. An occasional car hummed by. Much of the way, I heard only the shuffle and crunch of leaves beneath my feet. No leaf blowers, thank goodness.

Most of my neighbors’ Halloween decorations had come down, but a few front steps still displayed harvest gourds. Other neighbors had been tidying their yards for winter. One who notably had choked a drive and detached garage with all kinds of stuff that only a hoarder could love had reduced their stash to just one small pile. Another had ripped ugly beige aluminum siding off much of their home to reveal moss green shingles. Even though they’re in need of replacement, the house already has a lot more character.

I passed other women, out for a stroll. We smiled and nodded to one another. Everything seemed normal, which was reassuring.

By the time I got back home, my shoulders had loosened a bit. I was breathing more deeply, always a plus. I’ve been carefully tending my new ulcers, and I was able to walk with my hands out of my pockets for part of my route, without discomfort from the cool air. My head was clearer.

Still, one encounter lingered—a brief chat with a neighbor who was sitting on her front lawn with her American flag, trying to figure out how to display it. “It just won’t hang right,” she said.

Indeed.

Evelyn Herwitz blogs weekly about living fully with chronic disease, the inside of baseballs, turtles and frogs, J.S. Bach, the meaning of life and whatever else she happens to be thinking about at livingwithscleroderma.com. Please view Privacy Policy here.

What Comes Next, Comes Next

· · 7 Comments

The election is over. It is not the result I had hoped for. For now, I am just trying to keep my head on straight and focus on what’s in front of me.

And so, I took a walk Sunday afternoon, in the sharp, unflinching November light that reveals each detail of bark and lichen and crumbled leaf. A friend had mentioned a lake not far away that you can circumnavigate via a pontoon bridge that connects to a woodland trail. The weather was pleasant, not too cool, not too hot. And I needed to clear my head.

It took me about 45 minutes to walk the full route. Water gurgled as it lapped the pontoon bridge, a popular attraction for families pushing strollers. A gaggle of teen boys asked me to take their photo against a backdrop of sun-illumined lake. Children ran ahead of their parents, delighting in the novelty of walking across water. Others whined until they were picked up and carried by moms, “just for a little while.”  The woodland walk was less traveled, peaceful, more conducive to sifting and sorting my emotions.

What struck me most, however, along the whole route, was the number of different languages I overheard. That, and the friendly greetings of strangers. Whatever the outcome of this election, we are a big-hearted country made up of people from all over the world who call America home. Many of us, myself included, are children of immigrants and, yes, refugees. Whatever happens, we must remember that. Our diversity, our generosity, our kindness—these are our true strengths.

Here are some photos. Hope you enjoy.

Evelyn Herwitz blogs weekly about living fully with chronic disease, the inside of baseballs, turtles and frogs, J.S. Bach, the meaning of life and whatever else she happens to be thinking about at livingwithscleroderma.com. Please view Privacy Policy here.

Seeking Serenity

· · 2 Comments

We’re enjoying a short spate of glorious weather here in Central Massachusetts—lots of sunshine, azure skies, trees cloaked in flaming colors, comfortable days and crisp nights. A few days ago, I woke early and noticed that the moon had not yet set in the west. It glowed like a golden spotlight in the soft dawn, before the sun had risen. Just beautiful.

I’m trying to stay focused on these daily wonders and not go down the rabbit hole of my iPhone—all too tempting during this fraught run-up to the presidential election on November 5. I find it hard not to read everything I can about the potential outcome, all the twists and turns of the final weeks of campaigning, in a vain hope of divining the result ahead of time. It’s ridiculous, I know. Still, I scroll.

I am deeply, deeply worried about the outcome.

And so, I pray every day to find the calm in the eye of the storm. Maintaining serenity is the only way for me to think clearly. Not easy to do right now. But it’s also the only way to keep myself healthy. Meditation helps. So does taking walks in beautiful weather. And reminding myself of all the many, small miracles of existence that are so easy to take for granted.

So I pass this along to you, Dear Reader, in hopes that it will help you to find your own peace of mind in these complex and chaotic times. Be well.

Evelyn Herwitz blogs weekly about living fully with chronic disease, the inside of baseballs, turtles and frogs, J.S. Bach, the meaning of life and whatever else she happens to be thinking about at livingwithscleroderma.com. Please view Privacy Policy here.

Once in a Blue Moon

· · 2 Comments

If the skies are clear tonight where you live, you’ll have a chance to see an unusual astronomical phenomenon: a full moon for the second time in one calendar month. It’s called a blue moon, although the moon won’t actually look blue. More like a light tan. Still, the rare occurrence—which happens only every two or three years—is a metaphor for anything that happens, well, once in a blue moon.

Not only is this a blue moon, it’s a seasonal blue moon, because there will be four, not the usual three full moons during one season. It’s like getting an extra scoop of ice cream for free.

But wait, there’s more! This blue moon is even more special, because it’s also a supermoon, which appears to be larger than normal, because the moon is closer to the Earth than normal.

Super blue moons are even rarer than seasonal blue moons. According to NASA, the next convergence of a blue moon and a supermoon  won’t happen until January 2037.

The peak convergence was last night, Monday, but the phenomenon will still be visible to the naked eye through early Wednesday morning.

All of which is to say, in addition to record heat, crazy extreme weather, and more than enough to worry about, Nature also brings us some beautiful, unexpected gifts. Savor the magic.

Evelyn Herwitz blogs weekly about living fully with chronic disease, the inside of baseballs, turtles and frogs, J.S. Bach, the meaning of life and whatever else she happens to be thinking about at livingwithscleroderma.com. Please view Privacy Policy here.

Image: Kian Lem