Mastodon World Series of Blogs Conclusion ~ Pallimed

Thursday, October 30, 2014

World Series of Blogs Conclusion

What started off as a simple idea to play up the friendly rivalries between cities, was not only really fun but also enlightening.

First off, it was nice to talk about something besides just our work. Just like personal self-care, it is nice to take a break from only focusing on pain, suffering, illness, and death, instead having a little bit of fun.

In addition to the fun, it was nice to see some of the HPC world play along.  We both had a few notable defections to the other side and some trash-talking gamesmanship from people across social media.

Lastly, it was an important lesson in tying our work to things that are important to the public-at-large. Maybe in the future we will see some of our larger palliative care and hospice organizations jump on the friendly sports wager bandwagon bringing more public attention to the good work that all of us do each day.

Imagine if the Kansas City Hospice and Palliative Care and the Zen Hospice Project of San Francisco volunteers offered some of their unique projects in a charitable side bet.  Or maybe, the palliative care departments of UCSF and the University of Kansas (*the Royals do play in Kansas City, Missouri FYI) put a grand rounds guest speaker on the line, in addition to local wares and treats. You don't have to have a blog to do this. So when the NFL, NHL, MLS, NBA, MLB championships are on the line, let's get creative and spread our good work to new audiences that doesn't always have to focus on our expertise. If you do make one of these fun wagers, please let us know.  We will be happy to feature it!

Don't forget to look for our three guest posts coming from GeriPal to Pallimed in November and December and four of our writers sharing their work with GeriPal.

Now that the series is complete, here is what the Alex Smith, Eric Widera and the rest of the SF-based Geripal crew will be receiving from Kansas City in the next few weeks:
Here you go Geripal, I believe this is yours!

In closing, here is a quote sent to me by Earl Quijada towards the end of the game last night.  He rightfully pointed out there is plenty in this quote to align with our work in hospice and palliative care.
“[Baseball] breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart. The game begins in the spring, when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall all alone. You count on it, rely on it to buffer the passage of time, to keep the memory of sunshine and high skies alive, and then just when the days are all twilight, when you need it most, it stops.” - Bart Giamatti

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