I recently finished reading “Better” by surgeon Atul Gawande. It’s a book about how medicine/doctors can be better, have become better, or need to be better. He finished the book with five pieces of advice to other doctors, but I think they could apply to people in general.

•Ask unscripted questions. Establish rapport. Not just “How are you?” but maybe “Why did you become a ---?”

•Don’t complain. It only makes you feel worse and doesn’t solve anything.

•Count something. If you count something interesting, you will learn something interesting.

•Write something. A paragraph, a blog, a book, a letter. Make yourself a part of a larger world.

•Change. Look for possibilities to change. Recognize your own shortcomings and find a solution.

I really got a kick out of the second – count something. I once had an MRI and discovered that I was seriously claustrophobic. The only way I endured the procedure without screaming, “Let me out,” was to count all the bumps, bangs, knocks, etc. the machine made. I don’t know that I found something interesting (other than a dislike of small places), but it did help me a lot.

Back to the farm here. Crawfishing is over. I see a few of the stands are still open, but the landing is pretty deserted most of the time. The water is still a bit high. My husband and I used our boat backwash to push away the water lilies in front of our house and then strung a rope across to prevent more from piling in. I know I told you that the lilies were sprayed along both sides of Belle River right here in town, but as far as I can tell, the spray just killed the tops of the plants. Or turned them brown. They haven’t died.

The temperature has moderated a little bit or else I’m just getting used to the heat. I work outside until the sweat makes my eyes and skin sting, then come in and sit in front of a fan.

Morgan City, as I’m sure you’ve all heard, had a massive power failure a little while back and the whole town was without power for two days. Two nurse friends said it was miserably hot in their wards. A/C was on for vital things, but not for ordinary and there weren’t enough fans to go around.

Across the river but still in Belle River some community service workers broke a fire hydrant, and the gushing water caused a power pole to fall over resulting in electrical damage to a nearby business and putting Belle River out of power for a few hours.

Mr. Laville and I share notes on purple martins but now I have a hummingbird issue and need help. How can I keep wasps from drinking from my hummingbird feeder and chasing the hummingbirds away? The martins, by the way, are gone. In a while, when it’s cooler, I will lower my two houses, clean them out and lay them on the dock for the winter.

I had several pre-skin cancers removed from my face and arms the other day and look like I’ve been in a war. That nitrogen (I think that’s what it is) they use to freeze/kill the little keratoses really stung and created blisters which are slowly healing.

I am suffering the effects of a lifetime of outdoor activities, mostly when nobody said to use sunscreen and the genetics of Irish and German ancestry with blond hair and very light skin.

I’ve been watching the gymnasts and swimmers trying out for the Olympics. I especially enjoy watching the gymnasts, maybe because it’s so far out of my range of activity. I can imagine swimming, albeit not very fast, but jumping about on that bar or swinging from the rings. Now that is beyond even my imagination.

Teche News’ Lower St. Martin correspondent, Linda Cooke, can be e-mailed at lcooke9417@bellsouth.net.