Thematic Photographic 70: "Hard" v.4.0 - Hard to Handle

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"Nobody Wants to Be Here"
Raleigh, NC - May 2009 (Click to embiggen)

 (Normally) Hosted by Written Inc.

Note: Please take a moment to stop by the Written, Inc. and visit this post. And pay your respects to TP's creator, Carmi, on the sudden loss of his father. Best thoughts for you and your family Carmi.

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Somewhere in all this, are the rooms where my sons were bornand the room where my father died. I myself have spent more than a couple of hours in the emergency Room here at Rex Healthcare. And in the waiting rooms of various suites, awaiting news of someone's surgery or examination. Hospitals are hard to deal with. The institutional decor, the smell of disinfectant, the lousy food, all of which seem designed to make you happy to leave. (As if you needed another reason?)

But as of this moment at least, two people near to the blogging community are dealing with this very odious situation. Carmi and his wife Debbie are awaiting Debbie's mother's return home, and Mimi is waiting for her father to journey on to his eternal home. So keep these two families close in your thoughts. Because soon or late, we all have to take our turn.

Your Turn: Got a "Hard" photo to support this week's theme? Feel free to share a link in the comments. If you're new to Thematic Photographic or just wondering how this works, you can find out all about it here or better yet, here at TP's usual home.

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That's My World Tuesday #33: Rex Hospital

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"Then..."
Raleigh, NC - May 2009 (Click to embiggen)

You really gotta be "Old Raleigh" to remember when this was the emergency room entrance for Rex Hospital. Because Rex moved out of this building back in the early 80's sometime for bigger, better digs out in the burbs. Back in the dying days of the Eisenhower Administration it was in this very building that a 9 lb.-12 oz., 22-inch baby Mojo made his grand entrance to the world. (Not that you should be looking for a star hovering over the roof or anything, it's just an interesting side-note.) In fact, this building isn't even a hospital any longer, though it does still provide emerbency services of a sort. The NC Employment Security Commission calls "The Old Rex" home now, and their job is putting a band-aid on your unemployment pains. I stopped here one evening to snag this photo, but I hope I don't have to visit again anytime soon.

"... and Now"
Raleigh, NC - May 2009 (Click to embiggen)

This is Rex Hospital today (or as they call themselves now, "Rex Healthcare". And obviously I didn't take this today). I wasn't born here but my sons were. And it was here that my dad breathed his last almost nine years ago now. You can barely make out the original "New Rex" in the middle of all this. The hospital has grown amoeba-like since it opened on this campus and now covers several acres. I don't know that I could even find my way around the hospital now, but if I needed help, I could always call on my neighbor Carver, who's much more familiar with the place than I am. (And probably much more familiar with it than she'd like.)

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