Against the backdrop of war in Ukraine and Russian invasion of that sovereign nation, everything else seems to be unimportant.

I’ve wanted to be here and write some posts. I just haven’t been able to. What can I say that isn’t paled in comparison to the shear hell and devastation experienced by every Ukrainian? People are being murdered by the psychopathic leader of Russia. Whole cities are being blown to bits. Ukrainians are facing shortages of food and water. They have no electricity and no heat and it’s not Miami Beach there. Families are being separated. Beloved cats and dogs, and other pets are being abandoned and killed.

Here in America, we are not being bombed by a madman, or anyone.

I have no car. Big fucking deal.

Gas prices are soaring (not as much as in Europe), and even without a car I pay for fuel because my roommate provides her car, or drives me herself. This is a petty inconvenience, compared to surviving in Ukraine.

I can’t work a full work schedule because I don’t have transportation to get there, and finding at-home work isn’t going so well. Big fucking deal.

My rotator cuff is still messed up from my August auto accident that wasn’t my fault. At least I still have a shoulder and all my limbs; they haven’t been blown off by a bomb.

I need counseling to get me through my depression over the slow transformation of my life. Gee, that’s rough. I don’t need as much counseling as the typical Ukrainian who survives this hell will need after it ends.

I’m having a minor bout of diverticulitis. Well, at least I can find the high fiber produce and cans of soup to help me get through it. If the stores in Ukraine are still standing, chances are high their shelves are empty.

I have plenty of food and water and electricity. No neighborhood pets are suffering or wandering dazed and confused.

Families are not being pulled apart by something so terrifying, devastating, and surreal that they will be forever scarred psychologically, and in some cases, physically.

I’m having minor, out patient surgery in my vascular surgeon’s office tomorrow—a venous ablation to close faulty veins in my right leg. How many Ukrainians cannot receive life saving surgery or treatments because of Russian President Putin?

I’m lucky. On this day before St. Patrick’s Day, everyone who in not in Ukraine is damn lucky.