Words vs. Action

There are a bunch of emails being circulated around the Internet from people who are concerned with the direction our government is taking us - towards a socialistic state - and they all encourage the recipient to forward them to other friends. Well, it seems to me that sending out such messages should include a request to forward the message to the recipient's Congressional representatives and to our President, who all have email addresses. If we only "talk" among ourselves, our elected officials will never know how we feel about those issues. So next time you receive one of these messages, if you agree with it, send it on to Washington. If you disagree with it, write to Washington anyway and tell how you really feel about it. They may decide their jobs are in jeopardy and start to listen to the people who put them in Washington and who have the power to see that are replaced. Communicate!

Hymns

I’ve always liked hymns and Gospel music. I remember listening with my Mother to Edward McHugh sing hymns on the radio when I was a little boy. My favorite was “In The Garden”, which I think was his theme song. And then I remember that my brother and I sang in the choir of the Episcopal Church, probably when I was nine. We moved from Batavia right after I turned ten, and sometime later we joined the choir of the Emanuel Evangelical and Reformed Church in Rochester. I had a boy’s soprano voice and I especially liked “Angels We Have Heard On High” because of the soaring “Glo-o-o-o-o-oria” chorus. It was thrilling to me.

Teacher?

I just finished reading “Teacher Man” by Frank McCourt, about his years teaching English in New York City High Schools. He encourages his students to write, write, write to help them understand themselves and the world around them. And I started thinking about his teaching methods and his insecurity about his ability to teach and I thought that we’re all teachers. We teach something to everyone we meet. We try to teach them about who we think we are, and they learn about who we really are.

I was a father to seven children at one time in my life, two came as step-children. I tried to teach them, using my parents, aunts, uncles and other adults as role models, but never felt completely comfortable in the role. They learned. They learned some examples of how not to be a father, along with some examples of good parenthood. They grew up under my usually heavy-handed style. They’re parents now, all but two, and they’ve had their turn at teaching their own, and I’m proud of them for the way they’ve handled themselves through all the twists and turns in their lives. And so the teaching continues, generation after generation. And I feel very lucky to have been there during their growth, and thank them for the things they taught me and are still teaching me. I’m sure they don’t think of themselves as teachers to their father, but they are and I’m proud of them for it.

It was nice of North Korea to help us celebrate our holiday by shooting off fireworks.

Glasses

It was in 1948, after I graduated from High School, then turned 17, that I first wore glasses. Plastic rims. Prescription Ray-Ban sunglasses with a case that went on my belt. Over the years, I progressed to bi-focal lenses. Around 1970, the Ophthalmologist detected the first signs of cataracts in both eyes. Then on to tri-focal lenses, and the cataracts were slowly increasing. Last month, the left eye was operated on and a bi-focal lens was inserted, followed by lots and lots of eye drops, one of which I‘m still using. Last week, the right eye went under the knife, or whatever they use, and now the eye drop routine is in full swing. Sometimes, I can see clearly out of both eyes to work on the computer, sometimes only the left eye focuses. The Ophthalmologist said it’s only a matter of a few weeks for my brain to adjust to the new focused images on the retina. I hope so. I’ve read two large print edition books, and I’m looking forward to finishing a Zane Grey novel started before all these surgeries happened.

My Left Eye

Last Wednesday, May 27th, a cataract was removed from my left eye and a bifocal lens was inserted. The total time in the facility was about an hour. No pain. So far, things are a little fuzzy in the morning, but distance vision improves during the day. I haven't had clear focus for reading until this afternoon, when things started to clear up a bit. The Opthomologist said that it could take 2 or 3 weeks for the lens to "settle in", so I'm not discouraged. In the meantime, if there is something I really want to read, I have an old pair of glasses from which I've removed the left lens.
The right eye cataract will be removed on June 24th.

Sunscreens

We have had our patio screened in against bugs and the sun. That should help keep the temperature down.

Social Site For Seniors

According to the morning paper, there is now a social site for "seniors" to use in place of Twitter or Facebook. It's called Genkvetch, and was created by three people in their 60s who live in Florida. The number of people registering is growing by leaps and bounds. I haven't checked it out yet. Have you?

The Olympics

The Olympics were held last week at Westminster Village and yours truly won two medals. I had entered Putting, Horseshoes and Billiards competitions. For Putting, we were given 3 practice putts on an artificial surface with 3 cups ranging in value from 1 to 5. Unfortunately, I scored zero. For Horseshoes, we each played best of three games. I lost the first match, but was told to pitch for the bronze medal, which I won. Then for Billiards, each contestant was given 5 shots, including the break. Winner was the person with the highest number of balls sunk; in case of a tie, the value of the balls was counted. Another resident and I had tied, but I won the play-off, so won the gold medal. All in all, everyone had a great time.

Canadian's Don't Want Us in Cuba

An excerpt from today's Toronto Globe and Mail:

Canadians aren't exactly tossing back celebratory mojitos at the prospect of Americans soon being able to travel freely to Cuba, an island many Canucks covet as their own.

In fact, recently introduced bills in Washington that recommend lifting the 46-year ban on U.S. citizens travelling to Fidel Castro's fief have many Canadians in a sweat that the island's laidback calm will be shattered once the Americans - typecast, fairly or not, as loud, crass vacationers - descend.

"I kind of like it being our own little island," said Randy Pryce, a Toronto-based theatre technician who just returned from an all-inclusive, four-star resort in Playa Costa Verde, north of Santiago. "[Lifting the ban on U.S. tourism to Cuba] will be good for their economy, but not for the people.

"As a tourist, it's really nice to go somewhere where everyone is treated equally. The Americans could change that. As tourists, they do have this built-in reputation as pushy and demanding. Plus, I think they'd be disappointed in what a four-star Cuban hotel is, as opposed to a four-star American hotel," said Mr. Pryce, adding their resort was 70 per cent occupied by Canadians.

Change, For Sure!

There were many campaign speeches with lots of fluff and little substance - much ado about “change” was all. Now the “American People” have voted for a new administration with hopes that the new kids on the block can fulfill the promises made during all the campaign rhetoric. And what “change” have we seen so far? The administration is about this far from nationalizing the automotive industry and almost complete on nationalizing the banks. A new Secretary of the Treasury has been approved by Congress despite admitting to cheating on his taxes. Our new President has told North Korea not to do it again (launch a missile) or else we’ll have to talk about it some more at the United Nations; you can just feel the anxiety in North Korea over that threat. And he has told the world, including our enemies the Taliban, that we’re pulling out of Iraq, which gives them a time-line for preparing to take over the country.
I can hardly wait to see what shape this administration is going to leave for our children and grandchildren to pay for.

Ginger

Today is Ginger's 13th birthday. Her hind legs don't work too well anymore, so we carry her around. She does use her dog door herself during the night, if she needs to go out to potty. She has been on Prednisone and Tramidol because of her arthritis. Her front paws are deformed from the arthritis, but she is able to pull herself along, and she now gives us verbal signals when she wants to go somewhere else in the apartment, and when she's hungry. She lives from meal to meal and snack to snack. We have a mobile carrier when we need to take her to the Veternarian and she rides in it like a queen. She had her annual checkup last week and passed with flying colors, except for the arthritis. Good heart, strong mind. A loving and loyal companion.

Clean as a Whistle

Well, I drank the 17 gallons of Trilyte, went through a case and a half of toilet paper (unscented), ran a life test of the flush mechanism of our toilet and now have as clean and shiny an intestine as a chrome plated grill on a chauffer driven Rolls Royce. All in preparation for a colonoscopy this morning. When the technition gave me the "gown" to put on, I told her about a comedian I had heard describing it as an apron. After the "procedure", the Doctor said all was well - just 2 small polyps and some minor diverticulitis, typical at my age. So I don't need to return for another 3 years. Yipee! It's not that the "procedure" is painful (I'm totally unconscious), but the thought of having to drink all that liquid turns my stomach (and other parts of my anatomy). But don't let me deter you; if you haven't had one by age 50, talk with your Doctor.

It Wasn't The Pollen

The mini-trampoline and the Aloe Vera juice arrived yesterday, so Grandma and I are on the road to better minds and bodies. We tried out both during our visit to son, Mark, and his fiancee, Karen, last month. We spent a few days with them and their families, seeing the sights around Melbourne and Cape Canaveral, before driving to Tampa to visit our great-grandson, Chase, and his parents. When we arrived in Tampa, we were sneezing and sniffling, which we thought was caused by the pollen being blow around. Subsequently, we found we both had the flu, probably caught from the sneezing and coughing passengers on our flight to Florida. Then we did our share of coughing (but not sneezing!) on the flight back home. We spent the first week back home in our apartment, ordering our main meal by room service. We still haven't regained our full energy, but know it will happen soon. We think that trip will be our last by airplane for quite a few years to come.

A Good Day, Sorta

Today, Grandma and I celebrated our 31st anniversary by having lunch at Macaroni Grill. A glass of Riesling and an Italian feast - what could be better! Then off to the movies to see "Frost/Nixon", a movie by Ron Howard of Opie fame. You do remember Opie and the Andy Griffith Show, don't you? We arrived home to find Ginger at her usual place by the front door. This morning, she had an upset stomach and we weren't sure we would be able to go anywhere, but she recovered quickly. And I had a large envelope from the Green Free Library in Wellsboro, PA with newspaper articles about an Aunt and Uncle who were buried there and about other members of their families. I haven't had a chance to digest it all, but I'm sure it will help fill in some blanks in my family history (www.Ancestry.com, then look for the "Miller/Mann/Goebel/Steinmetz" family tree).

The "Sorta" part of the good day is really sad for me because I finished the last pages of Rick Watson's book "Remembering Big" and won't have another of his to read until he writes it and gets it published. (Hurry, Rick!) It's a great book and it brought back lots of pleasant memories from my past lives. I highly recommend it.

A Man's World - UPDATE

Leona Helmsley went to prison for failing to pay back taxes. Tom Daschle gets a Cabinet post for failing to pay his. Who says it's not a man's world?

UPDATE: Earlier today, Daschle withdrew his name from consideration. What a patriot! But will he volunteer for a room in federal prison? Stay tuned.

Art Workshop Update

Thursday, about 7 people showed up, so I gave a short demonstration. Some were already working on a painting before I finished. That's good; they were familiar with watercolors. The Activities Coordinator tried to talk me into taking responsibility for the group, but I refused. I only want to paint. I did offer to share my knowledge with people, if they ask, but I won't act as their teacher. I was able to finish a painting of some penguins that I've been working on for 4 or 5 weeks. Here it is.

Our New Art Workshop

Thursday was the first session of our new art workshop group. There were about 14 people there, all of whom had painted in years past, most in oils. Because Westminster Village doesn't allow the use of the chemicals needed, oil painting is not allowed, so most of the attendees agreed to try painting with watercolors. Janet, one of the Activities Coordinators, and I tried to give some basic information about the medium, and I was talked into giving a demonstration next week. I've prepared a fairly simple drawing of Poinsettia, one that I used for a Christmas card design in years past. I plan to have one finished painting to display, and then go step by step to demonstrate how easy it is to use watercolors. We'll see how it goes. Wish me luck!

Happy New Year

Grandma and I wish one and all a happy, healthy and prosperous new year.

And congratulations to Rick Watson for downing that anchovy. (See link to Life 101 at the right.)

States Shapes

Why is your state shaped that way?
Did the various English kings have much to do with it?
What about Congress? How much did they get into the detail of your state borders?
Why is there only one spot where four states meet?
Why is there a jog in the border between Massachusetts and Connecticut?
Why is Idaho that shape?
Read all about it in "How the States Got Their Shapes" by Mark Stein.
Verrrrrry interesting!