CHANGING TIMES

My younger brother and his two kids headed back to Virginia yesterday. My brother’s wife just started a new job so she stayed behind. However, the family will be back together for Christmas. We spent most of the afternoon on Wednesday at my mom’s house visiting with them. Later, when our son’s family got in, they first stopped at my mom’s house too to see my brother and his kids before coming over to our house. So, as of Wednesday night, we have the whole family together.

It’s amazing the changes that our fourteen-month-old granddaughter demonstrates each time we see her. Since we spend at least an hour together each week on Skype, we get a good glimpse of her growing up. However, that is nothing like actually being with her and participating in her ever-changing world. It’s amazing how much they learn in such short periods of time. Skype also makes it so there isn’t so much of a reorientation phase that we have to go through each time we see her. She is used to seeing our faces and hearing our voices. If you have family which lives a distance away, you might want to check into Skype. It’s free and it’s a great way to see the person you are talking too via a computer camera. The features are easy to learn too. I know people of all ages who use Skype or similar video conferencing software.

Well, this will be my last blog post of this calendar year. I will post again on January 2, 2012. If I find myself with extra free time, I might blog here and there. So I should say that this is the last scheduled blog post of the year. I hope you have a wonderful Christmas and Christmas season. I also hope that the new year is a blessed one. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year; thank you for reading the blog!!

WASTEFUL

I hope you saw the report by Sen. Tom Coburn about the money wasted by the government this year. It seems to me that our representatives don’t have the same values and considerations that we have. As you read this partial list, I’m sure you’ll agree that our representatives spend our money in ways that we wouldn’t even consider. Far too many votes are cast in Washington in order to procure blocks of votes and political contributions. It seems that common sense and judicial spending is a low priority. It further seems that it is presumptuous of them to be called “representatives.” I’m not sure who they are representing when they spend like this.

• $75,000 to promote awareness about the role Michigan plays in producing Christmas trees & poinsettias.

• $15.3 million for one of the infamous Bridges to Nowhere in Alaska.

• $113,227 for video game preservation center in New York.

• $550,000 for a documentary about how rock music contributed to the collapse of the Soviet Union.

• $48,700 for 2nd annual Hawaii Chocolate Festival, to promote Hawaii's chocolate industry.

• $350,000 to support an International Art Exhibition in Venice, Italy.

• $10 million for a remake of "Sesame Street" for Pakistan.

• $35 million allocated for political party conventions in 2012.

• $765,828 to subsidize "pancakes for yuppies" in the nation's capital.

• $764,825 to study how college students use mobile devices for social networking.

VISITING

Well, I didn’t end up hauling the canoe yesterday after all. Our kids took the van and handled things themselves. Instead, I went to my mom’s house to visit my younger brother who is visiting from Virginia. It was good to see him but I imagine I’ll spend most of my time with my own visitors: my kids. Especially with our oldest daughter going to Afghanistan next year for seven months, and being in pre-deployment training for six weeks before that, Eileen and I look to spend as much time with her as possible before she heads back. Each day visiting with her brings a richer visit but it also marches us a day closer to when she will be heading back. Furthermore, our son’s family arrives tonight and the entire family will be together. These are precious moment times for us.

The weather warmed up yesterday and I not only went for a walk but I went for two separate walks. With our oldest daughter here, there are plenty of opportunities to run, exercise, and walk. I generally don’t run unless something very big and dangerous is chasing me!! Even then I would have to hope to find refuge before the run was very extensive.

Eileen is taking a test (Tuesday) and I’m going to “run” a few errands with our oldest daughter. Our youngest daughter has a birthday party that she is attending. We’ll all meet back at the house later. Depending on the time and how tired I am after the errands, we might swing over and see my brother. Christmas will be here in a matter of days. I hope you will have some family around you and I hope this holy day season will be filled with many blessings.

READING

Well, I’m feeling quite a bit better thus far today. I woke up early, even before the alarm clock sounded, after sleeping pretty well. The computer says that it is 48 degrees out this morning so I don’t think I’ll venture out yet today. However, I do have plans for later today.

The three of our kids that are at home are going canoeing today and I’m going to haul the canoe down to the water and back in the van. I’m not actually going to go in the canoe. I’ll find a warm place, maybe have some coffee, and read my Kindle. Right now I’m reading “The Tehran Initiative” by Joel Rosenburg. I just finished “Locked On” by Tom Clancy. My next book to read is “The Craft We Chose: My Life in the CIA” by Richard Holm. This last book is written by the uncle of one of my brother-in-laws.

Speaking of reading books… how is your reading a chapter a day in the Bible going? In 2009, the year I was diagnosed with cancer, I wrote several blog posts dealing with “The Five Pillars of Spiritual Strength.” Pillar Two is read one chapter per day in the Bible, no matter what. If a day is missed then it is to be immediately made up the next day. Anyway, although I’ve read the Bible through many times, I decided to start on the one chapter a day with some of you. After starting on July 3, 2009, we are now in the book of Hebrews with just five books to go. Indeed, it has taken a while to get through it but at least you can just about say that you’ve read it through. If you didn’t start with us, I encourage you to start on your own. Many people read a few verses at a time for a while and then quit. Reading one chapter a day won’t overwhelm you and you can be one of the few who have read the Bible all the way through. It doesn’t matter how long it takes.

WASHINGTON

It’s late Sunday afternoon when I’m writing this. It’s not been an eventful day thus far. I spent most of the day, all but minutes in bed until mid afternoon. I just couldn’t wake up. I think the combination of the cold front, extra anti-nausea medication, and extra pain medication doped me up and out. That was a poor way to spend the first full day with our oldest daughter here. However, the women kept busy and probably didn’t even miss me!! Well, I’m awake now and the night is young!!

I really don’t have much for today but I wanted to make a comment about the new report of President Obama’s vacation. It is reported that his 17 day vacation will cost four million dollars. Couple that with the insider trading done by members of Congress; is it any wonder that there is a great disconnect between the ruling class of operatives in this country and the common folk? These Washington elites seem to live by a whole separate set of laws and rules. It’s amazing that they make laws and rules which govern us and hamper us but they also make sure they can operate their financial schemes without much impedance. Washington will soon be on vacation; that’s probably a good thing for us all.

CHRISTMAS BEGINS

The Christmas gifts are all purchased; all but a few are wrapped; there are gifts under the tree; and the outside Christmas lights are on each night. Yet, the Christmas season really starts tonight when our oldest daughter arrives. [Some might say to me that Advent is the beginning of the Christmas season, but that’s not what I’m talking about.] In a few days our oldest son’s family will be back here again, bringing us all together until after Christmas. We are blessed.

I’m not sure for how many years we’ll all be able to gather on Christmas. Jobs and families become more of a factor each year. As a matter of fact, we haven’t been back to Illinois to spend Christmas day with Eileen’s family since we left almost twenty years ago. Although Eileen’s family Christmas “get together” is on a day other than Christmas, we’ve only made one of those. The winter is not a good time for me to be up north.

There are many other families who will not be together this year for Christmas. I’m especially thinking of those who serve our nation and God in distant lands or faraway places. While we are all enjoying our Christmas time together, many Americans will be on duty someplace around this country and globe. My mind and heart is never far from them regardless of the time of year.

Well, in an hour or so (Saturday evening) our oldest daughter will arrive and thus will begin my Christmas season. A lot will happen in her life in the coming year before we hopefully come together again next Christmas. I hope that whatever starts your Christmas season has already occurred or is close at hand.

MOTHER-IN-LAW

So many people have trouble with their mother-in-laws. The sagas are heartbreaking and frustrating for those involved. I’m so happy that I do not have that problem. One of the most gracious and humble people on planet earth happens to be my mother-in-law. She (Eunice) has never tried to improperly interject herself into our marriage or family but she has ample wisdom for those with an ear to carefully listen.

These past years have been very difficult for her. First, her husband developed Alzheimer ’s disease and it was not gentle. For years it took its toll on the man she loved. Almost two years ago, he died. In a matter of months after his death, Eunice fell and broke her hip. She battled through a hard rehabilitation to only learn that the hip did not heal and that the surgery had to be redone. Last month she had the repeat hip surgery.

Since that time, she has been doing remarkably well. She returned to the surgeon earlier this week to learn that the hip is healing well and all of her restrictions have been lifted. She is free to walk without a walker or cane. She is very happy about that. For an 85 year old lady, her physical and mental capacities are inspiring. Another inspiring aspect to all of this is the way that her kids’ families have helped her through all of this. It is a testament to the type of people that Eileen’s parents raised.

So, it’s good to know that Eunice is back on her feet and ready to live many more full years. She’s a wonderful mother-in-law and a wonderful person. Oh, I know another wonderful mother-in-law…it’s Eileen!! - - - Isn’t that right daughter-in-law?!!

VISION

The Bible teaches us, “Without vision the people perish.” [Prov. 29:18] In this case, vision refers to Divine guidance or prophecy. Certainly without Divine guidance we would wander and be aimless like a ship without a rudder. Vision helps us see where we are and where we are headed.

Most of the aspects of our lives need vision too, not just our spiritual lives. We especially see its need in raising children. Too often parents coexist with their children while making corrections as they go. However, they’ve never really formed a vision of how they want their kids to turn out. It takes courage to be a parent and to make parental corrections of the children. With a well defined vision as a backdrop, the task becomes easier because the parents are working with a map of how they want their children to turn out, rather than just administering to the kids on a moment by moment or crisis bu crisis basis.

An artist has a vision of how he wants his painting to turn out before he makes the first stroke of his brush. Especially in parenting, a vision is necessary to really parent. Otherwise, we are merely co-existing with our children or babysitting them until they leave the nest. The world has a vision of how it wants to turn our children; we need a vision for our children so as to navigate this world safely and righteously.

TIMES HAVE CHANGED

Oh my, how times have changed, and how they continue to change. There is the controversy of Pittman, NJ where the Knight of Columbus put up a sign in town that reads, “Keep Christ in Christmas.” Besides those words almost becoming a slogan these days, it seems odd that anyone would object to keeping Christ in Christmas. After all, Christ is the essence of the very word “Christmas” and without the celebration of Christ there would be no Christmas…or would there be?

Christmas continues its radical transformation into a time for Santa, holiday trees, and gifts. Ever increasingly, Christ is just thrown in there somehow for some. Of course the big offense in Pittman, NJ is that the sign hangs on city property. Thus it is being viewed as government sponsored promotion of religion. The sign will have to be removed.

To emphasize the point, the opponents of the sign have their own sign to put up on private property. The sign reads, “At this season of the Winter Solstice, may reason prevail. There are no gods, no devils, no angels, no heaven or hell. There is only our natural world. Religion is but myth and superstition that hardens hearts and enslaves minds.”

Oh my, how times have changed!!

GOOD SAMARITANS

Did you see the news video of the “Good Samaritans” who lifted a vehicle off of a child in China? It was a great act by a group of bystanders but I’m not sure it was an act of “Good Samaritans.”

The Good Samaritan in the Bible was not just merely a bystander. He acted when others would not. Specifically, he acted when not even a priest and a Levite would act. Although Jews and Samaritans had nothing to do with one another, the Good Samaritan stopped and tended to the presumed Jewish man who had been robbed and beaten. Furthermore, he paid for his extended care. The Lord urges us to do likewise: To tend to those that others won’t tend to. That is a much bigger message than helping some unknown child or person.

It’s good to remember the full context of the Good Samaritan and to not be so quick to label commendable people as Good Samaritans. We would all help lift a car off a child or help one of our own race or religion. However, Christ’s message is to also help those we would not normally associate with or be inconvenienced to help. By the way, this is the same thing that Christ did for us. He is the ultimate Good Samaritan who comes and heals us no matter how unworthy we may be, heals our wounds, and then cares for us paying the debt for everything.

The bystanders in China did a very wonderful and highly commendable act. However, I’m not sure they rise to the standard of Good Samaritans.

HAIRCUT

I generally go to “Cuts-by-Us” to get my hair cut. I don’t know if it is a national chain or regional one. I take my chances with who cuts my hair as I don’t make an appointment. I just walk in and get the next barber/stylist in rotation. I suppose if I ever got a really good cut or a really bad one that I’d change my ways. One advantage of having a different one each time is that the person cutting my hair doesn’t really get to know me. It seems that when one used to get to know me he/she keeps cutting as long as she has something to say. I’d rather they just cut my hair. I’m just that way. If my hair is getting cut or my teeth etc. are getting worked on, I’d rather they concentrate on the job at hand rather than let their mind be divided onto some other subject. Anyway, I was sitting there getting my hair cut, my mind was a thousand miles away. I then looked into the mirror and saw a bunch of white hair on the shoulders of my cape. I was surprised. I don’t really see my hair as being white. But sure as I watched, white hair continued to gather on the cape. I looked at my head and still saw more of an auburn color that I’ve had since my hair turned from red decades ago. When I got back in the car and then when I got home I looked closely at my hair. Sure enough it is much whiter than I had noticed.

I suppose there are many things in life like that. Age and attitude come to mind. They seem to slowly develop and take their place with our bodies without our permission and often without us noticing. While there are some things like age that we can’t do anything about, we can certainly do something about the attitude we carry. One of the greatest gifts we can give our children, grandchildren, and society is to age with grace. Some people inwardly resent growing older and the changes that age deals us. Nevertheless, we can choose our perspectives and attitudes regardless of what happens to us. We may not be able to control everything that happens to us but we need to remember that those events don’t come with an attitude. Attitude is something we actively or passively choose to attach to the events… and we should choose our attitudes wisely.

WEEKEND WRAP

Well, the after-effects of the night out to the parade have been better than I would have predicted. It had already been a bit of a tough several days and I thought I’d pay for the night air adventure although I felt warm most of the time. I’ve learned that even if I am warm enough that the cold atmosphere still has a kick of its own. So, today (Sunday), not only do I not feel the adverse affects from last night but I feel better than I have in the last several days. I’m not sure why but I’m thankful.

Lindsay and her parents went home today and will be back soon for the rest of the month. Our oldest daughter will get here at the end of this week. This is also the last week of school before Christmas break. Eileen will especially enjoy the break as she has had an extremely busy school year thus far.

Not only is she busy with teaching school, being the head of the math department, and committee work but she had an extra heavy load in her master’s classes. Eileen’s finals were last week and Eileen says this is the most relaxed she has been in a while. She has one more semester for her master’s degree. She doesn’t think these final classes will be as burdensome for her and I hope she is right.

This week begins several weeks of being very busy and full of family. It will be great and we are looking forward to it. I hope your holidays are filled with family and good cheer too!!

CHRISTMAS PARADE

It’s more than enough sometimes to fight the effects of Gleevec. Fighting the effects of cold weather makes the battle even less fun. It’s just a fact that cold weather and I do not get along too well. It seems to me that this time of year ought to have a little chill in the air but I’m not too happy when it does. It seems that days which are cold all day long for a few days are better than the days that are cold in evening and night and then warm up in the daytime. I like the warmth but it’s the temperature drop which gets me. I resolved to get out in it a little more than I did last year in which I was a bit of a cold weather hermit. Anything below 60 degrees is rather cold weather to my arm. I’ve been getting out in it but the hermit is calling to me. It’s been a tough couple of days. To make matters worse is that Lindsay and her parents are here.

I usually pass Lindsay around to share the love of our thirteen-month-old granddaughter. However, this weekend I’ve passed her around quickly to give my arm a break. I also haven’t been picking her up as much. I don’t like that but it’s a matter of self preservation at this point. I was in bed quite a bit today (Saturday) through the day. Again, that is not desirable especially when Lindsay is here.

Tonight (Saturday) marks the last event our daughter will be doing with her band. It is the Pensacola Christmas Parade. However, our daughter will still be at work when the parade begins. Eileen and I will pick our daughter up from her work at Kohl’s and drive her as close to the parade starting point as possible. Her band is at the end of the parade so we hope to get there in time for her to do her drum major thing. Then Eileen and I will park wherever we can find parking and hope to see her march in the parade. It will be on the cold side tonight, in the low fifties. This will not only be our daughter’s last band event but it will be my last excursion into the cold for a while.

…we just got back from the parade. Our daughter got there before her band began its trek in the parade. We caught up with our son, daughter-in-law, and Lindsay. We were at a great spot where we were blocked from the wind and among the people. I felt like I was overdressed for a while. The people in the parade threw massive amounts of candy, beads, and stuffed animals. Plenty of stuff came our way. In fact, during the parade our sons were tossing items to little kids in the back of the crowd. We did save back a stuffed animal for our daughter who was in the parade and some items for Lindsay. We had a great time. This is a big parade as you can imagine since our daughter’s band didn’t even begin until the parade was in progress for over an hour. We’ll be back again next year!!

CHRISTMAS SHOPPING

I had a few errands to run Friday afternoon. I wasn’t the only one out and about. The Christmas shoppers were everywhere. Although I didn’t like all the traffic and I sure don’t like being among large crowds, Christmas was definitely in the air. I went into a few stores and the shoppers were busy perusing all sorts of things. It was easy for me to just watch since we have our shopping finished. When I was in Best Buy, people were lined up to get new cell phones. The store even had chairs for the waiting shoppers to sit in.

As I drove back home, I thought about how Christmas shopping has become so involved and expensive. I also recalled the Christmas stories in the Laura Ingalls Wilder books. Times have sure changed since parents made their kids’ gifts in their spare time and after the kids went to bed throughout the year. I wonder what kids (and us) would do today if gifts were so simple. I think it would be a shock to many of us. It would sure be a shock to our stores too and it would undoubtedly hurt our consumer based economy. It’s basically two weeks before Christmas; I hope you have time to find the true meaning of Christmas in all the hustle and bustle of Christmas shopping.

DUST

There are some things that I just don’t get. Some of the environmental policies of this nation rank among them. Thursday, the House approved legislation that prevents the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issuing new rules regulating farm dust. It may seem that the House has far more pressing issues to deal with but the EPA is notorious for issuing rules which devastate business and industry. Everyone wants a clean environment but a proper balance needs to be struck.

So who would oppose legislation that keeps the EPA from regulating farm dust? I mean, after all, the farmer plants in dirt!! Well, the bill was passed on a 268-150 vote. What?! 150 members of the House voted against the measure? They’re in favor of the EPA regulating farm dust? That seems weird to me but here is something even stranger: The Senate will likely not take up the measure as the Obama administration has already said it would veto the bill. So farmers, be prepared; the EPA may strike you again.

NEUROLOGIST APPOINTMENT

As the weather turns colder and the holidays rapidly approach, I’m quite uncertain how I’m going to take my pain medications. I could take them like I used to, minus the Lortab, but that leaves me too groggy much of the day. As you may recall, I already fight fatigue from Gleevec, my anti-nausea medications, and from anemia. Grogginess and fatigue make it hard to live the way that I think that I still can. Especially with all the kids home for Christmas, I want to be as energized as possible.

In what seems like a bold move to me, I canceled my neurologist appointment today. It was scheduled for December 27^th. I say it’s bold because he is another outlet for very strong pain killers. Yet, that’s the very reason I cancelled. He prescribes drugs that are a lot stronger than I’m willing to take at this point. Well, it’s not that they are too strong; it’s that the side effects the neurologist is willing for me to endure are a lot more than I’m willing to endure. If it gets to the point that I’m willing to endure more, I can get the goods from my family doctor. One more thing…when I canceled the appointment, I had to leave a message on a machine. Although the neurologist is a nice guy and seems to know what he is doing, he too has poor office management. I’m tired of going to such impersonal places. I don’t expect them to sing “Happy Birthday” to me like the dentist’s office did, but they never seem to answer the phone; I always have to leave a message.

A COUPLE OF BIRTHDAY THOUGHTS

When I found out that I had cancer there were several things that instantly flooded my mind. Besides the prognosis, family considerations, and treatment options, I thought, “I didn’t even last as long as my father did.” He died of lung cancer at age 53. I uttered words similar to that after I got hurt in practice. After learning that my injury was career-ending, I felt as if I had let my deceased father down. He started the practice and he and my mom put everything into it to make it work. After more than two decades, health issues led him to sell the practice to Eileen and me. I didn’t even last six years at the helm before sustaining the career-ending injury. Anyway, similarly, I was initially afraid that I wasn’t going to live as long as my father did either. I was fifty years old at the time of my diagnosis. I turned fifty-three yesterday and it looks like I will surpass the age of my father. Not only do I think of him at various times including his birthday, I think of him on my birthday too.

Speaking of my birthday, I had a dentist appointment yesterday. Our youngest daughter commented to me on me having a dentist appointment on my birthday. I told her that is just the way it worked out. She wondered what the dentist’s office would say. I assured her that they wouldn’t even notice. I got to the dentist’s office and the receptionist greeted me with “happy birthday” instead of hello. Everyone else in the office told me happy birthday too. After my teeth were cleaned, the hygienist told me she would go get the dentist and be right back. Then she came back and said she needs to sit me up first. Then the dentist and all her staff came into the treatment room and sang “Happy Birthday” to me. They also gave me a cute birthday card with a Starbucks gift certificate in it. I suppose they’d be a little suspicious if I scheduled another appointment on my birthday next year!!

GONE TOO FAR

We all know that sexual harassment is not a good thing. In the workplace, true sexual harassment can be an anguished nightmare. Nevertheless, did you hear about the two school kids who are facing sexual harassment charges?

The first child is nine years old. What was his offense? Well, “a substitute teacher overheard him tell another student a teacher was cute.” Therefore he was suspended for sexual harassment.

The second child is seven years old. He was being choked by a bully and so the kid kicked the bully in the groin. Now sexual harassment charges are being leveled at him.

Good causes are often hurt by taking that cause too far. Life thrives in balance and so do the measures we take to protect society. It seems that we have lost our balance and good sense in too many situations. The cause against true sexual harassment is hurt by frivolous cases like these. Once again, society’s guardians have gone too far.

SANTA CLAUS

Did you hear about the second grade teacher in New York who told her students that there was no Santa Claus? Not only that, she told them that the presents under the tree are put there by their parents. The parents and grandparents of the children are quite upset and are trying to reestablish Santa in their child’s mind. One grandmother said, "I think this is awful. If it happened to my granddaughter, I'd tell her [that] her teacher made a mistake, and there is a Santa."

Although we never told our kids there was a Santa, nor did we pretend there was, I still don’t think it is the teacher’s place to break the news. I’m not sure why we think it’s good to start a young child’s life out with a blatant lie perpetuated by parents, but most people go along with the Santa gig. Of course with religious symbols being increasingly banned and even Christmas trees now being called Holiday trees, I suppose it all fits to support the Santa Claus theme.

The article didn’t say what would happen to the teacher. The superintendent said it was being handled internally. I suppose that is the world we live in. It’s okay to teach homosexuality and such to second graders but don’t tell them that Santa isn’t real. In my view, neither subject is the job of a second grade teacher.

MEAT PROCESSING

The deer meat processing went real well. My brother has the right gear to expedite the process and keep the labor light. We brought a couple of chuck roasts to his house that have overstayed their time in our freezer. Eileen and my brother cut the venison and the two roasts into chunked strips which were then put through the meat grinder on the coarse setting. Then all the meat was mixed together and run through again on a finer setting. My brother then put an attachment on the grinder that enabled us to fill packaging bags, a little over a pound per bag. In no time we were finished and on our way back home to put the meat in the freezer. We had spaghetti with the meat today; it was very good.

Although we don’t really like the taste of straight venison, we do like it if it is mixed with pork or beef. We only get a deer every couple of years. On the other hand, every year or so, we get part of a cow from one of Eileen’s brother’s and his wife. After it is processed, we bring it home in a very large cooler. That generally keeps us supplied in beef for a year or more.

Tomorrow afternoon I’m off to the Snowball Derby at Five Flags Speedway with a couple of friends. This is a nationally known race and features drivers from all over the country. It’s the last race of the season. The race will be in weather that is sunny with temperatures in the 70’s. I think I learned my lesson about the cold weather, regardless of how well I’m bundled. Although I’m feeling better now, I’ve not felt well since that night. Live and learn!!

RACE REPORT

By the time we left the racetrack, the temperature had dipped into the upper thirties. No worries. I was “bundled” and ready. I would do my arm a little differently if I was going to do something like that again. I had too many clothes under my heavy neoprene arm sleeve. It made the sleeve too tight. With my arm already hurting before we even went out, all that pressure didn’t help any. When we got back to the car, I got out of it right away. As for the rest of the “bundle” effort, it worked great along with a thermos of hot drink. I think I enjoyed being outside in the elements and prevailing as much as I did the races. Although the races were filled with wrecks and went late into the night, I had a great time. We left the last race early. I let my other two companions know I was ready to leave when they were, and they were.

I didn’t feel so good Friday morning and spent most of the day in bed…but I’m sure it had nothing to do with being out in the cold last night!! In an hour (Friday evening), I’m going over to my brother’s house to process some deer meat. A friend gave me deer meat that he had recently packaged and frozen. I thawed it on Thursday and Eileen did all the preliminary work on it. Tonight we run it through the grinder and such.

BUNDLED UP

This blog post will leave some of you shaking your head. You won’t be alone. Many in my household are shaking their heads including me! With this kind of weather, cold nights, I am one of the last people you will find outside for any reason. However, tonight (Thursday) will be different. I’m going to Five Flags Speedway to watch the races. Although it will be warmer than it has been the past few nights, it is still too cold for me.

I will be going with a couple of guys who are also hunters. They have given advice on how to stay warm and have even loaned me gear. Yesterday I bought a pair of fleece lined thermal underwear. I didn’t know they made such a thing. I will be well bundled with some mighty fine gear, wearing some contraptions I had never seen before. Most importantly, I have a plan for my arm.

First, I’ll have heat packs wrapped with elastic bandages next to my skin. Next will come my “nuclear” shirt. This is a very expensive but very warm shirt that I got several years ago. I will then put a neoprene sleeve on my right arm that Eileen made several years ago out of a heavyweight diving suit. Then will be my thermal shirt and then another heavy shirt. I will then wear a hooded light jacket and a heavy down coat. For my right hand I will have more heat packs and ski-grade gloves. Of course it’s important to keep the core of my body warm so it doesn’t deplete blood from my extremities to keep it warm. I’ll also be using hunting gear to keep my neck and face warm.

This may seem like overkill to some for temperatures that will be in the forties. However, it is not for me. Will all of this keep me from hurting by the time I get home? No, not at all. When the sun goes down this time of year, there is an atmospheric change or something that hits my arm hard. I’ll get a little more used to it as the season moves along but I know I’ll still feel its full effect tonight. So, I’ll be very much bundled up and see how it goes. I hope I’m not left with my head shaking wondering what I did that for!! Oh yes, there is one more cold weather precaution I’m taking tonight. I’m driving. If I get too cold, I’m heading to my vehicle and turning the heater on!!

BUYING

Black Friday and Cyber Monday have passed for another year. It appears that sales were strong and signs point to a good Christmas retail season despite a very tough economy. Although I’m not one to venture out to stores on Black Friday, I did partake in a couple of Cyber Monday deals from the comfort of my chair. Even though I like to support local businesses, there is a point in which the price and convenience of shopping from home take precedence. I’m sure many of you feel the same way.

Regardless of where we shop for Christmas gifts, I hope we stop and think about what we’re doing. Obviously, there is the “reason for the season” which really goes without saying. Additionally, we should examine what we are trying to do with our buying? Are we trying to buy happiness, curry favor, or advance love with the person we are giving to? Are we so desperate for certain unfulfilled emotions that we will empty the bank in an attempt to secure it? Well, I hope our gift-giving is a whole lot simpler than that and I hope that we remember that “stuff” is not what creates true happiness. There’s a saying which bears keeping in mind: "You can never get enough of what you don't need to make you happy."

TARIN KOWT

As I mentioned last week, our oldest daughter is a Healthcare Administrator. In short, Healthcare Administrators are the ones who operate hospitals and large clinics. That is what our daughter does in the Navy. She thoroughly enjoys her job and the professionals she works with. She enjoys her work so much that she has repeatedly said that joining the Navy is one of the best decisions she’s ever made. There is one thing though that she has wished would happen: she wants to take a turn at being deployed to serve in the theatre of global operations.

Some may wonder, why. Well, it seems that it is only natural that if someone is patriotic enough to join the military that she is patriotic enough to want to serve where there is the greatest need. It’s in the character of our daughter to want to take her turn at serving the greatest need. There’s another aspect at play too. If you remember, our daughter’s first master’s degree is in history. I suspect she has a desire to experience and interact with some of the different world cultures. It’s a great combination that she can interact with the cultures while serving their healthcare needs and those of our military personnel. Therefore, she has consistently checked with her career detailer to see if any deployments had opened up. Deployments aren’t as easy to get as one might think in certain fields. Especially with the budget cutbacks, deployments have been fewer and longer.

Well, an opening occurred in Kandahar, Afghanistan. Our daughter jumped at the opportunity. However, although she has had some of the specialized administrative training needed, she didn’t have the year of experience needed for the assignment. She was disappointed but not deterred. She recently got word that there was a different opening in Tarin Kowt (Tarinkot), Afghanistan. Her name was submitted and she got the assignment.

She will leave at the end of January to go to Ft. Dix in New Jersey for Afghan training. She’ll be there for about five weeks before heading to Afghanistan in March. She’ll be assigned to the hospital in Tarin Kowt doing much the same as what she does in South Carolina. She’ll be in Afghanistan for about seven months. As a hospital administrator in Tarin Kowt, she will be out of harm’s way. However, Afghanistan is still an untamed frontier. We are very proud of her and keep her in our prayers. I know she’ll do a great job.

TRUTH

A friend told me that he woke up resolved to be more truthful. So, he has gone on a crusade to always be truthful. In fact, he said, he had already ticked a few people off with his truthfulness. So, in good humor he warned me not to ask him anything unless I wanted to hear the truth.

First, I congratulated him on his new crusade but I also suggested a little truth of my own. I told him that just because we know a truth doesn’t mean we have to unload it on someone. He thought about that for a moment and said he liked it. He could see how that could allow him to avoid unnecessary conflicts while still being a truthful person. In other words, just because someone got a bad haircut he doesn’t have to volunteer the information.

Of all the words we say, the words of truth are often the most powerful. Truth seems to cut through all the various defense mechanisms that we as humans put forward. Even if we outwardly reject truth, truth still seems to pierce the shell of our resistance. Yet, even though we know the truth about something, the truth is we need to be careful how we dispense it. There is a right way, wrong way, right time, wrong time, right reason and wrong reason to download truth. Truth is very powerful and we should be careful how we use it.

BACK HOME

We had a great visit in Illinois but we’re glad to be home, especially after a little situation that I’ll mention in a moment. First though, Eileen’s mother (Eunice) is doing remarkably well. She has very little post-surgical pain; she is on a pain killer. An interesting note is that her post-surgical pain killer is the same thing I take: Tramadol. I know Tramadol is supposed to be a great pain killer but I’ve only noticed marginal results from it…but it’s far better than nothing!! Anyway, Eunice is able to walk with a walker quite well and is able to do all her hip/leg exercises. She’s gotten stronger daily.

While Eileen was bringing Eunice home from the hospital, Eileen’s nine siblings held a meeting to schedule themselves to stay with their mom and bring in meals. They’ve been doing quite a bit of this since Eunice first broke her hip earlier this year. Their service of love and devotion is a great tribute to their mother and a great testimony of themselves.

Our time in Illinois was very busy but also very enjoyable, minus the times I was sick. I abstained from my pain pills the couple of days before heading up there so that I wouldn’t be too tired to drive and interact. Well, that didn’t work so well. Already nauseated from the oral chemo Gleevec, the arm pain was intense enough to make the nausea come to full bore. However, I did feel better for a while after each vomiting session. I went back onto the pain killers.

As we were getting gas on the way home, I noticed that our front left tire was low. I filled it up. About two hours later a light came on the dashboard that I had never seen before. Eileen looked it up in the car manual and saw that it was a low tire pressure indicator. I pulled off the next exit and put air in the tire again. About forty minutes later it went off again. This time we tried putting some Fix-a-flat in the low tire. Evidently there was still more pressure in the tire than the Fix-a-flat can had; it just made a mess everywhere. After several more times of airing up the tire and the indicator light going off, I was in the middle of nowhere when the light went off again. By the time I got pulled off at an exit the tire was nearly flat. I really didn’t want to unload the car in the rain and change the tire, especially not remembering if the spare tire was a “donut” or not. We decided to try Fix-a-flat one more time. Eileen went into the gas station to get another can while I situated the car next to the air pump and bled more air from the tire. When Eileen returned, she had some fella in tow shaking the can and smoking a cigarette. The guy went right to work on the tire while I held the umbrella over him. The smoke was a little strong but it was the best smoke I smelled in a long time…since it was attached to help!! After struggling a little with the process, he aired it up and wished us well. We tried to pay him but he refused saying, “I’m glad to help; it could be me next time.” The Fix-a-flat helped a lot and we only had to air the tire up one more time between Montgomery and home. Nursing the tire, after getting caught in a traffic jam from an accident, turned our travel time into a 14 hour return trip. We got up there in 10 ½ hours.

So, we had a great visit; Eunice is doing well; and we’re glad to have made it home without too much trouble.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

Everyone is so busy these days but it’s good to stop and give thanks for our blessings on a regular basis, not just at Thanksgiving. Nevertheless, this is a day that has become the traditional day that we have set aside to especially remember our blessings. I hope that your blessings are many and at the tip of your tongue.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

TRAVELING

There’s a chance that Eileen’s mom will get out of the hospital a day early (Wednesday) and Eileen won’t be going to the hospital to stay with her. If Eileen’s mom doesn’t come home early, then it’s still anticipated that she’ll come home on Thanksgiving. If Eileen stays at the hospital, she will take the computer with her. Her master’s degree work continues on. So, without the computer, I’ll make a Thanksgiving greeting that I’ll schedule to post Thursday. Otherwise, as I mentioned the other day, I’m not sure if the daily blog posts will continue over the Thanksgiving holidays. If not, I should have a post ready for Monday.

I’m writing this post on Tuesday morning. I took Eileen to school this morning so that we can pick her up after school and be on the road to Illinois. On the way to school, Eileen called to check on her mom. Her mom has a few things that need tended to but she is doing well. After dropping Eileen off, I met a friend for coffee before topping off the fuel tank and heading home. I then packed the car except for a few last minute items like the computer and then ordered some flowers for Eileen’s mother. I need to remember to tell Eileen that I ordered the flowers so that she knows what her mom is talking about when she thanks her!!

The weather is calling for rain most of the trip to Illinois. By the time you read this we will hopefully have made it safely and without incident. We will have packed sandwiches for supper and will make ultra short stops on our push to get up there without unnecessary delays. We should be going through most of the larger cities at good times of the night, so that traffic shouldn’t be too bad. Hopefully there will be plenty of police out to help keep the crazies off the road. We hope to make good time not by speeding but by hurrying when we stop only for gas. Hopefully, the restroom stops will only be necessary when we get gas. We don’t usually like to travel at such a hurried pace but when we consider that we will arrive between 2am and 3am, every fifteen minutes here and there quickly pushes the arrival time later and later. We have a busy next few days and we don’t want to get it started by arriving any later than we have to. If you are traveling for Thanksgiving, we hope that God blesses your way.

HIP SURGERY

Eileen’s eighty-five-year-old mother traveled two hours yesterday morning to St. Mary’s Medical Center in Evansville, Indiana to repair a hip that didn’t heal after being fractured earlier this year. There she will undergo a hip replacement surgery to a hip that already has a rod in it.

It’s unfortunate that she has had to have the additional surgery; it’s also unfortunate that she has to go so far from home to get it done. I suppose one of the disadvantages of living in rural America is the paucity of nearby doctors that the family is comfortable with doing the surgery. Circumstances are stacked against Eileen’s mom but she is a strong woman. She would welcome any and all prayers.

The surgery went well for Eileen’s mom and Eileen will stay in close contact with her. Eileen talks to her mother almost daily and she will be visiting her in the hospital Wednesday morning. If all goes according to schedule, Eileen will spend the day and night with her before bringing her home on Thanksgiving.

As we head up to Illinois late Tuesday afternoon, we will go right through Evansville. However, it will be about one o’clock in the morning. We’ll continue to Eileen’s mom’s house where we’ll spend the rest of the night. Eileen will get up in the morning and take her mother’s car back to the hospital. Our oldest son’s family will arrive at Eileen’s mom’s house Tuesday night, several hours before we arrive. I’ll spend the next day with them before heading to St. Louis in the late afternoon to pick up our oldest daughter from the airport. There will be a lot of moving parts to this visit but one of the most important is that Eileen’s mother recovers well.

SHOOTING COMPETITION

Our oldest daughter is a Healthcare Administrator. In short, Healthcare Administrators are the ones who operate hospitals and large clinics. That is what our daughter does in the Navy. Currently she is the Healthcare Administrator at the Marine Corps “Branch Clinic” at Parris Island, SC. She also serves the Navy hospital at Beaufort. She really enjoys her work and she also takes advantage of the ancillary opportunities available to her.

For this past week, she has been participating in the Parris Island Marine Corps Rifle & Pistol Intramural Competition. Instead of going to work each day, she has been spending at least 12 hours a day briefing and shooting the M-4 rifle and M-9 Beretta pistol. Despite the long hours, there were several days that she still went into the office afterwards. Anyway, yesterday (Sunday) was the shooting finals for qualifications and team selections. Although our daughter shot well all week and in the preliminaries, she shot her best at the finals. On the M-4 rifle she shot a score of 220 which is rated as “Expert” and she shot a score of 324 on the pistol for a rating of “Sharpshooter.” She missed being one of the top four qualifiers on her rifle team so she won’t be shooting in the rifle team competition held today. However, she was the top qualifier on her team for the pistol. Even so, since their team pistol scores were comparatively low, they were withdrawn from the competition. So, in today’s competition she’ll serve as the “captain” of the rifle team which is the team organizer.

Our daughter really enjoyed the week of learning and the competition. She said her team had a great coach who prepared them well. I’ll have more news about her career in a week or so. For now, she is enjoying her job and the other opportunities the Navy provides for her, while being stationed on a Marine Corps base.

KOHL’S

On Friday, our youngest daughter got a call from her new employer, Kohl’s. She’ll start working part-time the first of December. The job is for the Christmas season. If she wants to continue working, she has to reapply after the season. Although our daughter is still a senior in high school, now that band is over, she wanted to get started on earning money to pay for her part of her college education. She has the Bright Futures Scholarship award and we will help. The rest will be left to her.

Our daughter has found out that even for seasonal work the job market is tough. She put in many applications but Kohl’s is the only place to call back. Part of the problem is that there are so many people who need jobs who have experience. Lack of work experience seemed to overshadow my daughter’s application. However, there is one thing that helps offset lack of experience: A good recommendation.

One of our oldest daughter’s best friends has worked at the local Kohl’s store for quite a few years. I happened to be in the store the day after the online application process kicked our younger daughter’s application out; I suppose for lack of experience. I saw the friend and asked her about it. She said it does that sometimes and gave me a paper application to give our daughter. She then said for my daughter to return the application to her personally and she will see that it gets to the right people. Our daughter did her part and I suppose the friend did her part. From the vast sea of applications, at least Kohl’s got someone that has a personal reference from a current Kohl’s employee.

Of course, Kohl’s will downsize again after the holidays but this will be a great opportunity for our daughter to get some work experience and it will give Kohl’s an opportunity to see if they like our daughter. Who knows, this may be a foot in the door for her.

SPREADING THE LOVE

It’s pretty certain that I had a bug since Eileen is now having some symptoms from it and our daughter might be too. It seems like I always bring something home from the doctor’s office. Maybe I need to do like some suggest and wear a mask. I’m still doing better but I had a long and busy day (Friday). Now as it turns 9pm I’m tired and weary. I’m sure it’s just the aftereffects of the bug and that I’m still on the mend.

I only took two Gabapentin today and I hope to be off of it by the end of the weekend. We’ll have a busy weekend in the household as we prepare for our trip next week to Illinois. Our younger son has decided that he needs to stay home because of his engineering classes. The coursework is heavy and the professors aren’t too concerned about those who want to take days off to travel.

Speaking of Illinois, I don’t know how much I will blog while up there. With Eileen’s mom having surgery and a couple of round trips to St. Louis thrown around Thanksgiving, my opportunities might be much less than optimal. I’ll just have to see how things go. I’ll keep you posted. Meanwhile, we’ll just hope to have everyone healthy from this bug I’ve given them.

FEELING BETTER

I slept well last night and felt pretty good when I awoke. My throat was a little sore from entertaining all the gastric juices on their way up and out of me yesterday. After assessing my status, I decided to give a friend a call who I had planned on helping put up a deer stand the day before but had to cancel because of my sickness. I told him I may not be much help but that I’d like to get out as I was confident that I wasn’t contagious. So, he picked me up and out to the woods we headed. As we rode, I started getting hot again and the nausea intensified. I was about to have him pull over when I could see the destination. We arrives and he loaded the deer stands in the back of his truck while I helped very little. It was then a short drive into the woods. The truck ride again was not too good but we arrived in short order. Once I started walking around and helping him I started feeling better. In fact, I got to feeling a lot better. We finished up and started back.

I tolerated the ride fairly well but was starting to get sick again. We pulled into a Whataburger restaurant. I ate half a sandwich and some fries. He then took me home. I continued to feel better as the afternoon progressed.

As I wean myself off of Gabapentin, I took only one capsule this morning and plan on only taking only one this evening. Is that the right way to come off it? Who knows!! I’m also not sure what aspect of Gabapentin bothers me more…taking it or the withdrawal. I’m seeking to find a good balance as I come off it. I’ll be glad to get rid of it. I haven’t called the neurologist’s office yet to cancel my appointment. I want to make sure my system stabilizes first and my arm is back to some degree of its usual status before canceling.

TRIAL AND ERROR

In discussing my doctor’s visit, Eileen had one main question: “What does he mean by, “Slowly come off of it?” referring to my doctor’s recommendation to slowly come off Gabapentin. Well, I know one thing; it means don’t go cold turkey like I did with those last medications!! So, instead of taking six pills yesterday I took three. Eileen contends the doctor should have instructed me how many pills to take per day in coming off the medication. She is right. Gabapentin is supposed to be hard to come off.

I had a lot of trouble yesterday evening and into the night. I didn’t sleep at all, not even for a minute. Chiefly, I had strong arm pain and intense nausea… despite being on two anti-nausea medications. The arm pain wasn’t severe but it had a hard edge which kept at me. I took my doses of Tramadol (narcotic-like pain killer) yesterday but it has to build back up in my blood stream; so it didn’t do much good. To say the least, it was a long night; I’m just glad my arm was fairly well behaved compared to how it can be. Oh, did I mention leg cramps too?!

Anyway, being mindful of Eileen’s question, I don’t know if I’m coming off the Gabapentin at the right pace or not. I searched the internet; it didn’t yield much help. So, I took my morning dose of Gabapentin today but now I have progressed to heavy sweats and frequent vomiting. I don’t know whether it’s from Gabapentin withdrawal, arm pain sickness, or whether I picked up a bug at the doctor’s office. My arm pain will often reach the intensity of increasing my nausea and causing me to vomit. However, while last night’s arm pain wasn’t pleasant, I’m certain it didn’t rise to that level. So, I’m not sure what’s making me so sick. Frankly, I have my moments in which I feel like I’m a lab rat to which these guys experimentally make their trial and error recommendations. They seemingly go home at the end of the day and come back to their offices the next without a thought to the repercussions of their recommendations. Meanwhile, I’m strung-out and sick. In reality, I’m sure the doctors are doing their best and are concerned, but this all gets very frustrating. Ever get to the point in which you start praying while vomiting? I’m there!! I’m starting to lean towards thinking I contracted a bug at the doctor’s office...my first significant bug since starting Gleevec for my leukemia.

With all my sickness this morning and afternoon, along with some naps, it’s taken me several hours to write this blog. It’s mid afternoon and I’m happy that the nausea is starting to ease a little.

Even if this is a bug I have, what do you suppose the chances are that I’ll cancel my appointment with the neurologist? I’d say the chances are pretty high!! Besides, Eileen made a good point. She said that the neurologist ostensibly gave me his best recommendation: Gabapentin. From there it’s probably going to be trial and error like I’ve anguished through for years already, perhaps even with the same drugs. I don’t see myself going through that again. I’ve about concluded that I’d rather deal with my arm pain the way I have been than to be a lab rat at the hands of trial and error.

FAMILY DOCTOR

Especially over the past few days, the side effects of Gabapentin have really kicked in. I’ve been taking two capsules three times a day for two weeks. It has provided no help with my arm pain. In fact, my arm is now less tolerant and more susceptible to being provoked than before. Moreover, the side effects of Gabapentin make me almost dysfunctional with ravaging weakness, lightheadedness, and feeling totally wiped out by late evening and it’s getting to where I have to monitor how I’m feeling during the day before I drive. That’s not a good drug side-effect at anytime, especially when it’s not providing any arm relief. Besides that, we’re driving to Illinois next week and I’m making a round trip to St. Louis from Illinois (2 ½ hour trip each way) on Saturday. I have to be able to drive next week.

It just so happened that I had an appointment with my family doctor today (Tuesday). I had a 7:30am appointment and I got there about 7:10. The first thing I noticed was that there wasn’t anyone in the waiting room. Just last week (same day of the week) it was packed with people getting their blood tests. I waited 50 minutes last week. If things were scheduled a week later I wouldn’t have been sitting there so long. Anyway, after checking in and paying my co-pay, I sat in a chair being sure not to touch the arms of the chair or anything else. Soon after sitting down the nurse called me in.

In the past, my blood pressure has been borderline normal, sometimes a bit high and other times okay. It’s been this way for many years, and with my family history, the doctor has hinted several times at putting me on blood pressure medicine. He is well aware of my disdain for medication and my poor compliance at times. So far he hasn’t made the recommendation. Nevertheless, I always feel a little pressure before getting it checked at his office. I try to totally relax and think “happy thoughts” while the nurse prepares the blood pressure machine. Thankfully, my blood pressure this time was much better than normal. The first phase of my visit went well.

The next phase was the scales. Patients on Gabapentin typically gain weight through fluid retention, metabolic changes, and increased appetite. Without changing a thing in my diet, I gained seven pounds in a week. Although vanity is not my chief concern in life, the weight gain did not make me happy. I stepped on the scales and had never seen it register so much!! I was sure the doctor would have a comment or two about my weight gain.

I was escorted to a treatment room where I sat for a few minutes. It was there that I remembered that I had blood test results to go over. This is usually an item of contention. Ever since my blood chemistries have ever been checked, even as a collegian, my cholesterol and triglycerides, etc. have never been very good. In fact, before the days of Gleevec, I was prescribed statin drugs. I didn’t take them in the manner prescribed. Nevertheless, my numbers turned good just in time for me to come off them. Statin drugs and Gleevec don’t play well together. The last several tests have shown my numbers to be to where I know my doctor was itching to put me on something. As I sat there, I wondered what my test results would show.

Soon the doctor came in and greeted me. Showing me my test results, he was glad that they were all normal; even my cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL, and LDL were within normal limits. I’m not sure why; it doesn’t seem that I’ve done anything different. Then the doctor asked me about my arm and Gabapentin. I described my symptoms and he said that it is Gabapentin doing that to me. He advised I slowly get off of it. He said just tell the neurologist that I wasn’t tolerating it. I discussed with him Tramadol. I said although the neurologist said not to take it, it had helped me the most of anything that’s been tried over the years. The doctor asked why the neurologist took me off it. I replied that he said it was because of an interaction with my anti-nausea medication causing sedation. He responded that it was a tolerable side-effect considering the benefit I get. I had been thinking the same thing. So, he recommended that I go back on the Tramadol. I said I would.

That leaves the question of the neurologist which I see in a month. I told my doctor that I don’t want to go back to him because I don’t want to be experimented on with an endless array of drugs. I’m willing to use Tramadol to minimize my residual pain and just deal with the rest of it like I have been for years. The doctor encouraged me to give the neurologist one more chance. I’ve thought about it ever since I left my doctor’s office. I think I’ll cancel the neurologist appointment. There’s no sense going through all of that. I can handle the sedative effects of Gleevec and Tramadol; it’s going to be less than what I was on before. These effects are sure a lot easier to deal with than Gabapentin and perhaps the other exotic drugs the neurologist will try on me. Again, I’m just not in the experimentation mood right now.

So, I left the office with my prescription for Tramadol. I’ll be off the Gabapentin in a few days and I feel more confident about the drive to Illinois. I have a month to decide what to do about the neurologist. Once I discuss it with Eileen, she’s at work right now, I’ll decide. If I cancel the neurologist’s appointment, I want to do it as soon as possible so as to free up my appointment slot.

All in all, I feel good about my appointment with my family doctor. I had good blood pressure, good liver and kidney tests, good cholesterol results, and I’m going off Gabapentin…and he didn’t mention my weight!! I have to see him again in six months. I hope to have my weight down a bit by then…after the holidays that is!!

“Less Friendly”

Sometimes when I blog I wonder how many of my readers feel the same way about a subject. In fact, I sometimes wonder if mainstream America sees what I see. I was reading an article about the new Archbishop of Philadelphia, Rev. Charles Chaput, when his words resonated. He said, “The America emerging in the next several decades is likely to be much less friendly to Christian faith than anything in our country’s past. It’s not a question of when or if it might happen. It’s happening today.”

I don’t think we have to really be all that objective to see the systematic removal of God and Christianity from our daily lives. It’s even gotten to the point where Christmas has to be celebrated as something other than a Christian holiday, as we see in the banning of nativity scenes and other Christian symbols. Soon enough, if not already, Santa Claus will be the sole figure of Christmas. For those who want to tell me that even when we celebrate Santa Claus we are celebrating St. Nicholas…I have my standard response. Christmas isn’t about St. Nicholas either!!

President Obama declared that this is no longer a Christian nation. My friends, we will rue the day that is a true statement. As we enter this Christmas season, it’s time to strengthen our faith and stand for our beliefs. As America becomes “much less friendly to Christian faith,” it becomes much less friendly to God. It’s time to gird ourselves, be strong, and speak out when the opportunity arises; the battle is at hand.

VISITING

Our granddaughter, Lindsay, and her parents left to go home late Sunday afternoon. We had a great visit and it continues to be so fascinating to watch Lindsay’s personality and personality traits develop. She is thirteen months old and is at a stage where her individuality is beginning to really demonstrate itself. As the busy holiday season approaches, we’re glad that seeing her and the rest of the family will be at the center of it all.

We will be making our annual pilgrimage to Illinois at Thanksgiving where all of Eileen’s family will be gathered too. At this point, it looks like all of our kids will travel there too. Thanksgiving will be a little different this year though. Eileen’s mom has to have surgery on the hip she broke earlier in the year. It hasn’t healed correctly and has to be redone. That’s not good news for an 85 year old woman. She will have the surgery on the Monday before Thanksgiving and we will arrive late Tuesday night. Eileen will go to the hospital and stay with her mother until bringing her home on Thanksgiving. I’ll be heading to St. Louis to pick up our daughter who is flying in. Anyway, the Thanksgiving celebration will proceed as usual…with one important participant arriving a little late. Our thoughts and prayers are with her.

We will celebrate Christmas at our house with all of our kids making it home. At this stage of our children’s lives, we consider it a great blessing when all of our children are able to gather. I’m sure there will be years in which that is not possible at Christmas for us, just like there are so many who are unable to make it home because of where they live, their jobs, or because they are serving our nation in distant parts of the nation or world. In fact, we have a nephew who has just arrived in Afghanistan for a deployment that will last many months through and past Christmas. Whether our children and families can gather at Thanksgiving or Christmas, we try to fully appreciate each time we are all able to gather. In that respect, every gathering is as special to us as a holiday one. I hope it is for you too.

A CURE

A friend posted an article on Facebook about a cancer vaccine being developed in Israel. The article sounds promising and predicts a viable cancer vaccine in about six years. Of course there have been all sorts of positive prognostications over the years for many cures, especially cancer. However, thus far a cure or vaccine has been elusive. Nevertheless, there are a lot of dedicated people working to rid humanity of this terrible disease. As many people once hoped and prayed for a cure for polio, people now hope and pray for a cure for cancer.

I’m very thankful that my cancer is in remission for the time being. Yes, I’m quite aware that my particular variety of CML (Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia) is supposed to go active at some point. Nevertheless, I’m happy and thankful for my current status. In fact, other than being labeled with cancer, most of the time I don’t really feel like I have cancer. I don’t really deal with the effects of my cancer per se. I deal with the complications of the chemo drug I take designed to control my cancer. Although I don’t like the chemo side effects, it’s comforting to know that my cancer is in remission.

Remission, however, is not a realistic hope for many with cancer. Remission can only be brought about by a Divine action for some. We all know people who have suffered terribly with their cancer, chemo, and the dying process. Let’s all remember to pray for a cure for this dreadful disease, and the people who suffer from cancer. Let it be in our prayers that the researchers in Israel and throughout the world are successful in their endeavors against cancer.

PARADE

Parades are one of those things that I like to be at but I usually don’t like going to. The Pensacola Christmas Parade is the exception. I like everything about it: The large crowds, the excitement in the air, the floats, bands, the exhilaration of the children, and catching/dodging all the candy and beads thrown to the crowd. The Pensacola Christmas Parade is a very large parade and even if it is sometimes a little cold, there’s special warmth from the event.

Yesterday was another special parade. Our youngest daughter was in the Veteran’s Day parade as a member of her high school band. This parade draws only a few hundred but it’s gratifying to see the representatives of those who have served as well as those in the ROTC programs who are likely to serve. I get a real sense of appreciation as I watch a breed of people willing to sacrifice so much for the freedoms we love and often take for granted.

I almost didn’t make it to yesterday’s parade. The overnight temperature was in the 30’s and it was still cold when I dropped our daughter off for the parade at 8am. After dropping her off, I drove about a mile-and-a-half to the finish area where I parked the car. I was dressed as warmly as possible with scarf and all. I walked away from the parade direction to a nearby Waffle House for a cup of coffee. The sun was shining, the air was brisk but I was fine. After getting my coffee, I walked the entire parade route backwards to the starting area. I have done that year after year as three of our children have been in the band. By the time I got to the staging area, I had my outer jacket off. Soon the parade started. I waited until the combined high school bands came past and I spotted our daughter. I then kept pace with the band until it reached the parade’s conclusion.

Our granddaughter Lindsay (and parents) got into town Thursday night and we were up really late with them. Then Eileen and I got up at 6am to get things ready for the day. After the parade and lunch, I decided to take a nap. It’s my first nap since getting off all the sedatives. I slept fairly well except for the leg cramps and the increasing arm pain. If that Gabapentin is helping, I would not like to know what it would be like without it!! My arm was hurting quite a bit before the parade; I did fine at the parade; but it sure has been acting up ever since. Even if the parade did aggravate my arm somewhat, it was worth it; this is my daughter’s last year in band.

SERVICES

I took one of our cars into the dealer to fix a problem that they supposedly fixed last week. In the dealership waiting room, I sat next to a man in a military flight suit. The name tag on his flight jacket indicated that he was a captain in the Air Force; he said that he was serving in Pensacola as a flight instructor. He was a B-52 pilot who spent the first several years of his military life as an enlisted Marine Corps helicopter mechanic.

We talked about many military issues and some current government policies. He was very interesting to chat with as he seemed to have given these issues considerable consideration. After a while, his ride came and he had to leave. I stood up to stretch and then checked my watch. It had been an hour-and-a-half. Looking around the vast service lot, I noticed what appeared to be my car just sitting unattended off to the side parked by a bunch of other cars. I presumed they hadn’t even started on it. That didn’t make me happy because I had an appointment. I decided to talk to my service manager. This is a big dealership and they have many service managers. I saw that my service manager was busy with a customer. As I waited, I considered what I should say. I thought about the cruddy communications and service that I’ve gotten in medical offices lately. I recalled the medical office problems that my mother-in-law is enduring. I called to mind a friend who recently told me that she had a medical procedure done two weeks ago but hasn’t gotten a call regarding the results although she has gotten the bill. She went on to say that she got a stove from Lowe’s; it had a problem and Lowe’s called her three times to keep her informed of its status. It seemed that Lowe’s ran a better operation than her doctor’s office!! Anyway, as I thought about what to say, I thought of a quip made by a friend: “Throw a fit.” I finally decided to say, “I had an appointment; I hope that’s not my car out there.” Well, as my service manager finished up with a customer I approached his station. He approached me and spoke first. “Your car is finished; they’ll drive it up in just a moment. We replaced a vacuum hose. There is no charge.”

I’m glad that he spoke first and I’m glad that I didn’t display a lack of character. However, as I drove away, I still thought of my mother-in-law and my friend’s medical experiences against the backdrop of my own. I know that automated answering machines, convoluted policies, and indirect medical access allow medical clinics to hire less staff. However, medical care should necessitate ample human interaction. There are few things more aggravating when one is sick or elderly than to have to duck and weave through the bureaucracy of a medical clinic or hospital. It just shouldn’t be that way and the defining reason that people get into health care ought to raise a conscious objection to the way their medical facilities operate. Health care administrators should be reminded not to overly compromise the personal aspect of patient care when trying to provide medical care at as low of an overhead cost as possible. I realize that personnel are the most expensive parts of a business, but personal service and interaction are necessary aspects of conscientious patient care. In fact, I’d recommend that healthcare administrators think in terms of providing patient care rather than in terms of delivering medical care. It’s a nuance perhaps, but it’s a profound paradigm shift in the approach to patient care. My daughter is a healthcare administrator; I think she’d agree.

MEDICINES

I seem to be doing better in one great respect. The changing of my medicine has removed three sedatives. Well, they aren’t true sedatives but the drugs’ interaction with each other created three distinct sedative drug outcomes. Now that I’m rid of that, my ability to stay awake and alert has dramatically increased. It’s like a new lease on life. As you can imagine with anyone on three sedatives and being anemic, I was having quite a battle staying awake and engaging life. Looking back, wow, was I out of it!!

I understand that doctors of medicine are experts at medicine. If you have a complaint, they have a medicine. It’s why I’m somewhat hesitant to say too much. As I reflect on how I feel right now compared to how I have felt for the past several years, I really regret being on all that pain medication. I have a high pain tolerance and I was only getting marginal relief from the medications anyway. I can see now just how much of my life and energy the medicines tried to rob me of. Being on three sedatives, I fought through a lot to be active and engaged with my family and friends. I mean sometimes it was a real fight. It’s nice being fully awake and aware. I didn’t realize what that medicine slowly did to me. The real kicker, again, is that is gave me marginal pain relief. I’d rather have a bit more pain and feel alive than have a little less pain and be a zombie!! I’ve almost done more dishes, shopping, and cooking in the past two weeks than in the past two years. Even that is hard on my arm but I’ve enjoyed every minute of it, even if my lemon pie didn’t turn out so well!!

I’ve been on Gabapentin for a week now and can’t tell one bit of difference in help for my arm pain. In fact, I can tell my arm is much more sensitive than it was when I was on the other medicines. I don’t like the increased sensitivity aspect of my arm, especially with winter coming on, but I don’t want to go back to being a zombie. I’d rather fight the pain like I’ve been doing for twenty years than be disengaged from life. I still don’t think I’m over my withdrawal symptoms as I still get cold chills, temporary dense fog feeling, lightheadedness, weakness, and unsteadiness. It all began when I stopped taking those addictive drugs but it’s not as bad or as often as it was. Some of the symptoms may be from Gabapentin because I tend to get more of the symptoms in the evening. Sometimes, I need full concentration to type or perform simple tasks; I get to feeling so washed out but not tired. That’s after having taken the third dose of the day of Gabapentin. Anyway, if I’m still dealing with these symptoms next Tuesday when I have my doctor’s appointment, I doubt that I’m going to say a word; I don’t want another medication added too!!

BLOOD TEST

If you were wondering, the lemon pie didn’t turn out too well. Everyone thought it tasted okay but no-one was willing to say they’d have more of it!! So, I guess I’ll stick to cooking on the grill and leave the finer culinary arts to others.

I was scheduled to get my blood tested at my family doctor today (Tuesday). For the twenty years that I’ve been going there, blood tests were by appointment. Now there are no appointments. I showed up for my fasting blood test a little before eight in the morning. After signing in, I asked how many people were ahead of me. She said several. For fifty minutes I sat there waiting my turn to get my blood tested. It was ridiculous. For all these years I’ve never waited nearly that long under their appointment system. One guy, who came after me, only waited about fifteen minutes before “throwing down” and saying that he was going to leave. They took him right away. When I finally got called back, I informed them that I had been waiting fifty minutes. She apologized. I asked why they don’t do it by appointment anymore. She said that the medical clinic operates under a new computer software program and the program doesn’t allow them to make appointments. I then said, “So the only way to not have to wait nearly an hour is to throw a fit like the one fellow did, since you took him ahead of the rest of us.” She again said that she was sorry.

Well, I didn’t want to push it much farther than that because I don’t like to upset someone who is about to stick me with a needle!! Besides, the new system was not their fault; someone in management needs to become a patient in their own clinic. Having operated a clinic before, it amazes me that these clinics I encounter have so many practices that are so unfriendly and unhelpful to patients. The bureaucracy of these clinics is way too encumbering for quality patient care.

There’s another aspect to this. I have a lowered immunity; my resistance is quite a bit lower than normal. Dr. Tan (my oncologist) reminds me to be careful about my exposure to germs. The last place I want to be sitting for nearly an hour is a doctor’s office full of sick people. I cringed at every cough and sniffle. I was uncomfortable the whole time I was sitting there and I bet my blood pressure was spiking too!! Although I feel fine right now, I commonly contract something from even short visits to doctor’s offices. The whole fifty minutes waiting time is just an unnecessary process and exposure, especially when they had a better system. To think that this all because of the computer program they purchased. Nevertheless, I did notice that people come early for their blood tests since they are fasting. Next time I will go later in the morning, hopefully after the big rush. I don’t mind waiting to eat breakfast but I do mind sitting in a doctor’s office for that long.