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"When a stubborn pain in Nick van Terheyden’s bones would not subside, his doctor had a hunch what was wrong. Without enough vitamin D in the blood, the body will pull that vital nutrient from the bones. Left untreated, a vitamin D deficiency can lead to osteoporosis. A blood test in the fall of 2021 confirmed the doctor’s diagnosis, and van Terheyden expected his company’s insurance plan, managed by Cigna, to cover the cost of the bloodwork. Instead, Cigna sent van Terheyden a letter explaining that it would not pay for the $350 test because it was not “medically necessary.”. ... Read more at ProPublica

I reflect on love,
what does it mean?
Can we love others,
more than one?

Is that being fickle?
I don't know,
but loving all,
my feelings will show.

Is it wrong to say,
I love you.
Is it wrong to care,
for another, who,

brings forth,
much joy to you?
What harm are words,
saying you love me too.

I hear the words,
filling the air,
asking for her mother,
in a voice of despair.

She loves our oldest son,
while say he's me.
She doesn't know,
it's I she can see.

Dementia is so cruel,
there is no comfort to see,
knowing of others,
who are the same as me.

May the wrath of God,
start falling on me,
not on my wife.
Is this my blasphemy?

I don't care if it is,
I've wasted time and breath.
I will await my visit,
with the Old Dr. Death.

Revenge can be sweet,
a dish best served cold.
It takes your courage,
being quite bold.

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

Yes, but can your green flash do this? A green flash at sunset is a rare event that many Sun watchers pride themselves on having seen.  Once thought to be a myth, a green flash is now understood to occur when the Earth's atmosphere acts like both a prism and a lens. Different atmospheric layers create altitude-variable refraction that takes light from the top of the Sun and disperses its colors, creates two images, and magnifies it in just the right way to make a thin sliver appear green just before it disappears. Pictured, though, is an even more unusual sunset. From the high-altitude Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile one day last April, the Sun was captured setting beyond an atmosphere with multiple distinct thermal layers, creating several  mock images of the Sun.  This time and from this location, many of those layers produced a green flash simultaneously. Just seconds after this multiple-green-flash event was caught by two well-surprised astrophotographers, the Sun set below the clouds.

Photo by T. SlovinskýP. HorálekIoP OpavaCTIONOIRLabNSFAURA

No matter
where is grows.
No matter the scene,
a Rose is a Rose.

Growing in the garden,
or in morning light,
it retains its beauty,
all day and all night.

 "Friendship is the sunshine of life — the quiet radiance that makes our lives not only livable but worth living. (This is why we must use the utmost care in how we wield the word friend".... Read more at the Marginalian

The Dream Catcher, awaits,
he's searching for thee.
He wants your past dreams
and dreams yet to be.

You may run, quickly,
trying hard to get away,
but your trapped in the past.
There is no more to say.

Admonish me not,
for feeling this way,
if you don't love me,
I'll just go away.

Write of your feeling,
racing through your head.
Choose your words wisely,
for someday they'll be read.

Don't be shy,
of what was said.
Write down the words,
your mind selects, instead.

The Sun came out,
chasing the clouds away.
This is the life,
on a sunny Spring Day.

When the Sun in your eyes,
is from a reflective glare,
sparks the smile within you,
and golden threads in your hair.

I await breakfast,
after sleeping tight.
Hearing your greeting,
makes my life right.

Little things,
brighten the day.
Good morning too,
is what I say.

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

Reports of powerful solar flares started a seven-hour quest north to capture modern monuments against an aurora-filled sky. The peaks of iconic Arctic Henge in Raufarhöfn in northern Iceland were already aligned with the stars: some are lined up toward the exact north from one side and toward exact south from the other. The featured image, taken after sunset late last month, looks directly south, but since the composite image covers so much of the sky, the north star Polaris is actually visible at the very top of the frame. Also visible are familiar constellations including the Great Bear (Ursa Major) on the left, and the Hunter (Orion) on the lower right. The quest was successful. The sky lit up dramatically with bright and memorable auroras that shimmered with amazing colors including red, pink, yellow, and green -- sometimes several at once.

Photo by Cari Letelier