life

A Life of Work

This was not a job but is what I did to earn some extra money. During the summer when I was in middle school, I caught and sold nightcrawlers for the local sporting goods store. The owner told me he would take all I could catch. He paid me a buck a hundred and then sold it for two bucks. I would drop off the nightcrawlers on Thursday and the anglers would buy them for the weekend. I would average about a thousand a week and that was ten bucks a week. The only expense I had was flashlight batteries. If I remember correctly, I would earn about two to three hundred dollars for the summer. That was a lot of money in the fifties.

My next job was parttime at the public library while going to high school. I was a library page, which is code for a do whatever was necessary. The most interesting job was running the elevator on Saturdays. The elevator was automatic, but the crowds were large, and they overwhelmed the automatic system. Another job was they had a basement and sub-basement where books were stored. They would receive an order and they had pages in the basement where they would retrieve the books and put them on a lift that carried them up to the upper floors.

After graduating I started working for a government contractor that was building the Titan I ICBM for the government. I was a teletype operator in the purchasing department. Unfortunately, the job was on the swing shift. So much for my night life.

Three and a half years later I received the letter stating, “your friends and neighbors have selected you to become a member of the United States military.” For the next two years I was in the army. I was fortunate enough to go to Germany instead of Viet Nam. I then had two years of active reserve and then two years of inactive reserve. Then my military obligation was over.

After my two years of active duty, I returned to the aerospace contractor because there was a law that they had to hire me back since returning from military service. A year later I was laid off. They just hired me back to fulfill their legal obligation to have a job for me after military service.

I then started working for a large electronics manufacturer in the consumer electronics industry. First, I was an assistant buyer, then a buyer and then became a department manager. This career lasted for over twenty years and was the highest paying position in my working period. After a purchase of the company a year later the company buyer decided to close thirteen distribution warehouses across the nation and here, I was forty-six years of age and without a job. During that time the unemployment rate was eight percent. Try to tell me there is not age discrimination happening.

Working in part time and temporary positions for four years I finally get a full-time job in a high-tech position where lasers were used to cut close tolerance components used in the solid-state electronics field. This was a field that was totally new to me. I started as a temp, and it worked into a full-time position. Tell me a positive attitude and hard work is not the way to go. This continued for thirteen years and then I decided it was time to retire and have been retired now over fifteen years. Now, “Every Day is Saturday!“

After retiring I decided to give writing a try and this is where I am now. I have posted over two hundred articles on WordPress and having fun doing it. Most of my articles are about experiences in my life. I am not doing this for money, I am just doing it because I enjoy reminiscing and sharing events in my life.

https://tomt2.com/ Stop by and make me feel good. I like to see a lot of viewing numbers, likes, and comments.

Daily writing prompt
What jobs have you had?
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Memorial Day May 27, 2024

Today, the one day in the year that we remember the ones who have fallen for the freedoms and life we enjoy every day of the year. They are the ones that stepped up and fought for this country and made the final sacrifice. So, in your busy schedule of enjoying the freedoms and comfort, take a moment to remember the ones who gave you this gift of freedom and security.

Peace

Throughout life you start to accumulate stuff. You get material things. You learn, you have encounters with other beings. You collect all this stuff in this short span of your life. Society promotes that material possessions are the most important in life. Many have a worth more than I cannot comprehend. Do they have it all? That is up for debate.

Little over a year I had a near death experience. I was on the operating table, and I heard an aide say, “doctor his blood pressure is dropping”! I was feeling really bad. I could not inhale or exhale. I thought, this is it! My life is over! After that I felt something, I never felt before in my life. I felt peace, no fear, no anger, nothing, just peace. This peace is very hard to explain. But it is a peace I want to feel again. No, I did not see a light at the end of the tunnel, no angels, no music, just peace, Total peace.

After a period of time, I started to hear operating room noises, I am still alive! What a shock, I thought I died. For a period of time, they did things to me and then the doctor started talking to me. He said, “Tom we got most of the clot removed and things look promising.” I said that I heard my blood pressure dropping and I asked him how low did it go? There was a pause, and he said, “you don’t want to know, and I am not going to tell you.” To this day I don’t know how low the blood pressure was. Continuing the conversation he said, “Tom I think we made the right decision to keep you awake during the procedure instead of anesthesia. I am afraid that if you would have gone under anesthesia, we would have lost you. I feel I had a preview of time after death. Total peace!

My conclusion is that “having it all” is obtainable, but it will happen during the time after death.

I recently discovered a website Near Death Research Foundation. It is an interesting site. I am going to enter my experience on this site sometime.

Daily writing prompt
What does “having it all” mean to you? Is it attainable?
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They are Just Material Possessions

Everyone has stuff. Many have lots of stuff. Others have more stuff than they need. You get attached to a new car or new home. Small mementos from someone you are attached to may mean a lot, but they are just stuff. This world is full of stuff, and many are necessities for a comfortable life. Money just buys stuff but that does not guarantee happiness. I have no material possession that I want to put in my coffin when I pass on.

What I do value is my memories played out in my living days. I value the family and friends in my life and all the wonderful memories that they were a part of. Memories of grandma, my parents, my sons, my spouses, my stepchildren, and everyone who has entered into my life is what I cherish. Maybe they could put a thumb drive in my coffin with all of these cherished memories.

Daily writing prompt
What personal belongings do you hold most dear?
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Yes, I Have Collections

I have all kinds of collections. Do they have any monetary value? Not much. My collections are items I have collected over my life. I always think, “can I use this at some later point?” With that in mind I started collecting.

My first collection is my nut a bolt collection. Since I have been a homeowner since the early seventies I have done many projects around the home. You always don’t have the correct nail, bolt, screw, so you trot off to Home Depot and get what you need. You always end up with leftovers. So, I started collecting them. I also had projects that I recycled. I removed every nut, bolt, screw, washer, nail, that I could save. My collection has expanded to five- or six-gallon containers. Bolts in one container, nuts in another and so forth. This collection has saved me many times when I needed a couple of bolts and nuts to repair or finish a project.

The next collection is coins and paper money throughout my life. I have silver dollars, Indian head pennies, buffalo nickels, old quarters, silver certificates of paper money. I also have a stack about an inch high of two-dollar bills. Are they valuable? I don’t have a clue. I have just been collecting them through my life. I also have some World War II savings bonds my parents took out for me. Sure, they could be cashed in, but the paper bond and the age of them is worth more to me than the monetary cash in value.

Third collection is photos. I have photos my parents have accumulated over the years and the photos I have also collected over the years. Many black and white photos and color with my dad’s collection of slides. The last time I looked at the slides they are starting to discolor and fade. I don’t know how long they will last. Digital photography came into existence, and I don’t have a clue how many thousands of photos I have. I have the problem of finding a photo. I never bothered to catalog them. Therefore, I must use the hunt and search method.

Another collection is my rambling writings about my life and experiences. This collection is the most valuable to me. Whether it is valuable to anybody else is up for debate. WordPress contains a large portion of these ramblings. https://tomt2.com/ I have a collection of all the articles that were printed in the Rocky Mountain News insert of YourHub.com. During that time, they published over seventy-five of my posts. This was the motivation to start writing stories and tales down.

My newest project is Ramblings Magazine https://tomt2.com/magazine I have had comments that I should write a book. I thought about it, but a book may take years to do so I thought a magazine would be better since I am in my senior years and my warranty ran out many years. ago.

Daily writing prompt
Do you have any collections?
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My Legacy

I never thought much about a legacy until after my near-death experience in February of 2023. My Bloodclot (Podcast). After the event I started to reconcile my life and thought, “why was I given a second chance?” I must have some unfinished business to do before my journey is over. I am just a mere mortal. I do not jump over tall buildings or stop speeding bullets. All I have is over eighty years of life on this earth. Searching for the purpose of a second chance I have decided to write about events and experiences in my life. Last August I remembered I had a site on WordPress and became active in the site. Since then, I have posted many events. Is this the purpose for the second chance? Who knows for sure.

The legacy I want to leave behind is, He was a good man. He tried to do the right thing. He was fair and didn’t take advantage of his fellow man. His faith of God and life after death was strong.

I hope my two sons remember me as a good father who did what he thought was right and necessary so they can live a good and productive life.

I hope my spouses do not regret that the years they spent with me was good years together and do not regret the years together.

I hope my stepchildren do not regret that I came into their lives and can call me stepdad with pride.

I hope all the other people I have come in contact with can say, “he was a good man!”

Daily writing prompt
What is the legacy you want to leave behind?
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Cold Weather

I was born and raised in cold weather. The day I was born the weather was in the middle twenties. Denver metro has cold weather from October to March every year. In January there is usually a couple of episodes of below zero weather. That is when it is really cold.

When in grade school I remember walking to school, which was about ten blocks away, in cold snowy, blowing snowstorms. They didn’t have school bus service for public grade schools in those days. The cold and snow were just something you had to deal with. The coldest and most miserable was when I was in the army stationed in Nurenburg Germany in the winter of 1965. That was cold! Plus, you had to be out in the cold making sure the equipment was still operating.

I didn’t pay much attention to the weather until I started to become older. The older I get the more I think about cold weather. It has been over fifteen years since I have retired and now I do not like cold weather. No wonder older citizens move to a warmer climate when they get older.

BRRRRR!!!!!!

Daily writing prompt
How do you feel about cold weather?
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A Leader and a Follower

I have been a leader and a follower. In my growing years I was a follower. You learn to lead by following. Throughout my growing years I was never a head boy or the leader of a school club. It was easier to follow in army period than lead.

After army life I decided it is time for me to move forward in a private industry. I became a team lead and worked my way up to swing shift supervisor. Two or three years later I became a department manager for a large electronic manufacturer. I held that position for over twenty years. I think that could be classified as a leader.

During that time, I hired and fired for a department of over fifteen employees. We had office workers, warehouse personnel, delivery drivers, and outside salespeople. There was also a building. I had to get the contractors to maintain the building, lease delivery vans and have a solution for any unforeseen problem. The only requirement from corporate office was to show five percent net profit every year.

It was an experience and sometimes very stressful. Unfortunately, when I was only forty-six the corporation closed 13 warehouses across the nation, and I became unemployed. I survived the transition from a high paying executive to a person that had a difficult time finding a second career.

Now it has been over eighteen years since I retired, and all things worked out well.

Daily writing prompt
Are you a leader or a follower?
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A world of fruit

Without a doubt my favorite fruit is bananas. A half of banana with my boring breakfast cereal. My doctor recommended that I eat a half of banana because of the high sugar content, and I am prediabetic. You peal them instead of wash them, how convenient.

Next is the grape. I prefer green grapes over red. But they do say red grapes a better for you because of the additional antioxidants. Oh well, life is not perfect.

The third pick is oranges. We have become attached to the small Cuties. Some call them clementines. Standard size oranges are just too large for me and the sometimes can be a job to peal.

One must not forget apples. An apple a day keeps the doctor away.

Finally, are olives. I enjoy green olives. Sometimes I eat 6-7 or a dozen at a time. These are the small olives, not the martini size large olives. The olive haters ask me, “how can you stand them, they are too bitter?” I reply, “In a previous life I was a Roman soldier and during a march to a new battle we would stop by the olive orchard and eat them right off the tree.” If you believe this tale, I have a bridge in Arizona you can buy.

Daily writing prompt
List your top 5 favorite fruits.
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I should have done more.

Since I am in my seasoned years, I think it is too late to think about an improvement I could make.

However, I can think about what I could have done differently. Throughout my life there was a telephone. In my younger years the phone was a four-party system, and each party had a special ring, so the parties knew whether to answer or not. It is amazing how this technology has progressed.

Throughout my years I always waited for the phone to ring and very seldom started a call. It is one of the many questions that I don’t know why. I still do not like to make phone calls. Therefore, I should have made more phone calls instead of just waiting for the phone to ring.

Daily writing prompt
What’s one small improvement you can make in your life?
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Mother’s Day May 12,2024

Today is Mother’s Day and a couple of days ago I realized that it has been over forty years since mom passed away. I was in her body for nine months. She nourished me, kept me warm and protected me while I was just growing inside her. I am sure I created her a lot of pain since she commented to me that I was a large baby.

From birth until my twenties, she fed me, protected me, taught me many things about living and life. As I look back at my life, I was a handful during my young years. One time while standing in the grocery store behind this lady. The lady turned around and said to me, “you little snot!”. My mother asked her what the problem was, and the lady replied. “Your son just pinched me on the butt!” I then received the lesson that you don’t pinch ladies’ butts.

The teenage years were very difficult for me which today I still do not know why. I was angry at the world and didn’t like myself. I took everything for granted and gave my mother many trying times in those years. I got involved with the wrong crowd of teenagers and was very fortunate I didn’t get arrested or paid long term for any deeds we did. My mother continued to love me and never left my side.

When I was drafted into the army, she faithfully wrote me a letter every week If it wasn’t for the letters from mom, I would have received very few letters from home during military times. I had very few friends at that time. I am the type of person that does not attempt to continue a friendship.  

Coming home from the military my parents welcomed me back into their home and allowed me to live there until marriage came into my life. I did have to pay room and board while I lived there though. It was good for me because I needed to realize in this world nothing is free. Mom loved me just a much as she did when I was young.

Through marriage, a divorce, living alone mom was always beside me. Her love never faulted. I now regret that I took this love for granted and I wish I would have done more and showed more appreciation for this everlasting love. I am sure mom is looking down at me now and saying, “Tom, I still love you”.

Mom, I love you. I am sorry it took me so long to realize how much I love you.  

Vicks VapoRub and Toenail Fungus

Some years back a nurse friend of mine were talking and I mentioned that I had some pain and discomfort on the top of my big toes. She said I could have fungus underneath my toenails and that more than likely is the reason for my discomfort. She suggested using Vicks VapoRub to help alleviate the discomfort. I thought “what are you smoking?”

Anyway, I gave it a try. After showering I put lotion on my calloused heals and started applying VapoRub on the top of my big toes and around the cuticles. After a week or so I started to feel the difference and in a couple of months I had no discomfort at all.

At my next wellness exam with my PCP when she was checking my feet, I mentioned about the VapoRub procedure and she said, “oh that is an old wife’s tale that has been around a long time.” She didn’t recommend it or discourage it.

When writing this story, I thought about going to the internet and found this.

Vicks VapoRub is a topical ointment that may help treat toenail fungus1. Its active ingredients, camphor and eucalyptus oil, have been found to have a “positive clinical effect” in treating toenail fungus1. To use Vicks VapoRub for toenail fungus treatment, you should2:

  • Thoroughly file the nail.
  • Rub the Vicks VapoRub on the toenail, the affected part, and the edges of your toes.
  • Wear socks to prevent the ointment from soiling your sheet.
  • Do this continuously for at least nine months to completely get rid of the toenail fungus

I am not suggesting or recommending this procedure. I am just sharing this story.

Past experiences

What gives me direction in my life? Everything that I have learned or experienced in my life.

From birth until now everything that I have learned or experienced in life gave me direction. I learned the necessities in life like going to the bathroom in the toilet instead of my diaper. My mother raised me as a Catholic and that gave me direction in my young years. Going to kindergarten and twelve more years of schooling added on to this direction of life.

Army service gave me a vast source of knowledge of how to deal with many different personalities and cultures. You meet hundreds of people from different parts of the country, and this was a great help in my later years dealing with people. This learning experience was very helpful in my journey of life and do not regret it one bit.

Employment in private industry, marriage, raising children, divorce and the heartaches and hurt involved in all of the above made me realize that the perfect life I have dreamed of may not come true. These events made me realize that my dreams may not be the purpose for my time on this planet.

After a period of time, I found a new direction with a new loving wife and her loving family. This told me there is light at the end of dark tunnels. Following this I retired and discovered that “Every day is Saturday.” and the stress of full-time employment is over. We also moved into the home of my dream. These events also gave me a direction in life.

A little over a year ago I was standing in front of deaths door and Dr. Death was holding the door open. I survived and as my wife says, “your room was not ready yet.” Again, another life experience has changed my direction in life. Life is not over and according to statistics the survival rate of my illness was three to five percent.

In conclusion, many events in my life and learning experiences has changed my life. I believe the purpose in life is to learn, and one should learn as much as then can in this short visit on planet of earth.

Daily writing prompt
What gives you direction in life?
View all responses

Camping Tales

When I was Young the exciting thing to do during the summer school vacation was to sleep outside between the houses or in the back yard. Two or three of the neighborhood kids would have a campout. It was spooky and scary staying outside with no parents nearby. Of course, this was before your parents had to be concerned about rampant crime and many things could be done without that fear.

My next camping experience was after I started work full time and some co-workers were campers and they would invite me to go with them to camp up in the mountains. Fishing and camping over the weekend. What an experience. I never did like sitting around the campfire though. It seemed like the smoke from the fire always followed me and my eyes would burn, and my clothes would retain that smell of smoke for a long period.

My next camping experience was during basic training. You received a shelter half and you had to find a buddy so the shelter half could be combined to make a pup tent. The army didn’t call it camping though, they had their own name, it was called bivouac. Then In Germany they had maneuvers and had these large tents that held eight or ten troops. I can’t remember what kind of tent they called them.

My final tale was after I was married and had two sons. We had friends that had a van, and I became enthused about a camping van. I bought a delivery van from the company I worked for and converted it to a camping van. The kids would sleep outside in a tent and the adults slept in the van. It was a fun time of my life. Unfortunately, I became divorced, and the budget could not afford a van and camping.

After my life became more stabilized, we occasionally went camping. I would rent a RV for the weekend or the week. It was fun, but I did not enjoy driving the wide RV and the length of the RV. I learned to take a tranquilizer before I started the trip. It was fun and enjoyable though and it gave me many good memories.

My camping days are over now.

Daily writing prompt
Have you ever been camping?
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Reminiscing is My Interest

I think of the past more than the future. I am in my senior years and have over seventy-five years of memories, experiences, and good times. I am sure this is obvious in my articles I post. If it wasn’t for my past, I would have nothing to write about.

I am just a mere mortal. I don’t jump over tall buildings or stop speeding bullets. I have not done or accomplished anything spectacular in my life. I love my country and I am experiencing the American dream. I am praying that the American dream continues for many generations to come. I have been retired for over fifteen years and my American dream is close to being over. If you have read previous postings, you see that most are about memories or past experiences.

Friends and relatives have said I should print out my articles so they would not be lost. I said, “that is the purpose of TomT2.0 on WordPress.” However, that did make me think and that is when I came up with this Ramblings Magazine idea. Where this ends up only time will tell. I started with the WordPress postings and the next resource will be articles from a writing group I was a member in and then articles from Yourhub.com published in the Rocky Mountain Newspaper that was closed around 2012. I estimate that I have enough articles for over fifteen issues. What happens after that who knows?

Therefore, if the people who said that they would be interested in having a printed copy they have the facilities to order a copy of the magazine and it will be mailed to them. Talk is cheap and will see how many put down money for a printed copy.

https://www.blurb.com/b/11951453-ramblings-of-tom-treloar

ttps://www.blurb.com/b/11964112-ramblings-magazine-issue-2

https://www.blurb.com/b/11976660-ramblings-magazine-issue-3

Daily writing prompt
What topics do you like to discuss?
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My Regrets

As I reconcile my life, I have come to the conclusion that my biggest regret is that I could have been friendlier than what I was and kept in touch with friends throughout my life.

In my young years I was scared. Life scared me. I was afraid to try things and go places. The first day of kindergarten was traumatic. All those strange kids and a new environment really scared me. For safety reasons my mother walked me to school and would be waiting for me when school was out. Telling me to “don’t talk to strangers” didn’t help me either. I survived and went to junior high and high school next. During that time, I made many friends and did what was normal for the period. Unfortunately, high school was a difficult time in my life. I guess it was the hormonal change and just the period of growing up. But, during that time I was angry and mad. I was mad at myself, my parents and everyone around me. I do not know why. I graduated from high school, and I never attended one high school reunion. I never kept track of any high school friends.

On to full time employment and a period of army time and making friends. On to married life and raising children, making more friends. Life continues and retirement happens and a move to a new home. More friends.

I have had many friends throughout my life. However, my biggest regret is I never kept in touch with the friends. Once a period of life is over, I would lose contact with the friends. My wife Dee has kept contact with friends throughout her life. If fact she is having lunch with three from her grade school tomorrow.

Therefore, my biggest regret is that I never kept in contact with friends out of my past and I could have been friendlier than what I was.

Daily writing prompt
Write about a time when you didn’t take action but wish you had. What would you do differently?
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Retirement Years

 

The big day came in September of 2006. That big day was retirement. I had good thought and bad thoughts. For example, the absence of the stress of a responsible job will be good. I won’t have to get up or be at work at a specified time. I can plan and do things that I never took time to do when I was working. I could go on and on about the benefits of reaching and being able to enjoy retirement. 

On the other hand, I had reservations about retirement. Will my financial planning be adequate? Will I fall into the rut of being bored and not have enough interest in my idle times? I also thought about that I am now on the downside of my life and the inevitable will happen sooner than later. Also, will my health remain to be good? 

In reality, I am enjoying retirement very well. over seventeen years since I retired and people ask me, “what do you do?’ I respond, “I am recuperating from the last forty-five years. Sure, I still have stress in my life and things don’t go as expected. I have had two medical issues in retirement. The first happened in 2018. I had an eleven-millimeter kidney stone in my right kidney and had to be removed by going up from the basement. I peed chocolate milk for twelve hours after the procedure. The next issue was a large pulmonary saddle embolism (blood clot) between my lungs. I thought I was going to breath my last breath during the removal. But I survived and it has been over a year now since that event with no long-term effects. (LINK TO MY BLOOD CLOT)

However, every day is Saturday and what I don’t get done today I can do tomorrow. My outlook remains to be good, and I pray that I retain this outlook as retirement and the later years of my life evolve. 

I am Ready for Spring

After months of cold, snow and being shut in more than what I like, I am ready for spring. The days are getting longer, and I am getting excited about the warmer days of spring. I like the spring. I enjoy watching the trees and bushes preparing to green up. Since we have moved, I do not have much space for gardening, but I still get the many seed and flower catalogs for me to thumb through and think of flowers and vegetables. I enjoy watching things grow and many days I just go out to see how things progress. Last year I did not have very good luck growing tomatoes but that did not stop me to attempt growing tomatoes again. The other day Dee and I went to Dollar Tree, and I happened to notice some seed packets. I had to buy some. I am not sure where I am even going to plant them, but I just could not pass up the good deal. 

Spring is just a happier time for me. Winters are hard for me to stay in. I am glad when I am able to get out and enjoy the outside without freezing my tail off. My attitude changes and it is just a better time in my life. That is one thing I really like about the Colorado weather and that is the many days of sunshine this area has. I remember when I was in the army in Nurenburg Germany for about 8 months. In those eight months I do not think the sun was out more than 2 weeks for the entire period I was there. This was from December to July but even the springtime was cloudy and overcast. The Nurenburg weather was not my favorite. I guess I will be a Denverite the rest of my time.  

I am sure there are other things that happen in spring, but I just can’t think of anything at the time. I guess I am stuck on the weather. Dee has asked me if I am writing about my duck. So, I will write about my duck. I won a duck at a bazaar when I was young. This was a recently hatched duckling and I enjoyed watching this duck grow up that summer. I made a cage and the duck stayed in the cage during the day and at night I would pick up the cage and the duck would follow me into the garage. The duck would stand on the paper. The duck waited for me to put the cage over her. This duck knew the drill. Also, I dug a small pond and would fill it with water and watch the duck swim around and have a ball. This duck gave me many fond memories. 

SPRING IS MY FAVORITE TIME OF THE YEAR! 

Superstition Versus Faith

from Wikipedia, “A superstition is any belief or practice considered by non-practitioners to be irrational or supernatural, attributed to fate or magic, perceived supernatural influence, or fear of that which is unknown.”

Faith is confidence or trust in a person, thing, or concept. In the context of religion, faith is “belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion”. According to Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary.

Throughout my life I have been exposed to many superstitions. For example, do no step on the cracks in a sidewalk, brings bad luck. Break a mirror, you experience seven years of bad luck. Four leaf clovers bring good luck. Friday the 13th is a bad day. My oldest son was born on Friday the 13th, I can’t say that was bad luck, but good. I could go on for hours about superstitious encounters in my life.

I am a product of a religious mother and grandmother. They were very religious Catholics. I was raised a Catholic. I suppose you could say baptism is evolved around a superstition. If you are not baptized, you die with original sin and will never see heaven. I was taught if you die with a mortal sin, you do not go to heaven. You should be in the state of grace to receive the sacrament of marriage and so on.

I have had strange spiritual events in my life. My mother had a very painful medical death, and she was terrified of dying. How could this be? She was a very religious person, and all this faith did not prepare her for death and the other side. This really bothered me that she was so unprepared. About a week after her service I had a dream, my mother was there sitting in her favorite chair and said, “Tom everything is good. Do not worry about me, continue your life!? I was put at peace and my confusion resolved.

I had another dream about this girl that I have not seen or heard of for over forty years. She said in my dream, “Tom, you and I were meant to be together. If we would have ended up together our lives would have been totally different.” Yes, that bothered me. After forty or more years why did I have a dream about her? This bothered me for a couple of months, and I finally went to my alumni newsletters and got here married name and made an internet search and found out that she died three days prior to my dream. This is spooky. However, it did convince me that death is not the end.

Another event happened in the last ten to fifteen years. I was going for a walk around the park and this loud voice came and said, “Tom, stop trying to be somebody else! Just be yourself! That is what you are expected to be! Ever since, that I am Just Myself!

So, is this superstition or faith? I guess it all depends on what the definition a person has of superstition and faith. I know one thing for sure. My spiritual events have impacted my life more than all religious teaching and superstitions.

Daily writing prompt
Are you superstitious?
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I Do Not Have a Favorite Shoe

Sorry, I did not have a favorite shoe. To me a shoe is a necessity not a luxury. Life would be tough without shoes. Looking at scenes during Jesus’s era and seeing those open sandals and bare feet. No Thank You!

I remember when going to grade school high top tennis shoes were the type to have. You just didn’t fit in if you did not have high top tennis shoes. My mother would shop at Thom McAnn’s shoe store, and we always got our shoes there. Are they even around anymore? A new pair of shoes always gave you a blister somewhere on your foot. When I started in corporate management Florsheim shoes were the brand to have. I had one pair, and they were the worse shoes in my life. After a short period of time, they were not comfortable and lasted less than six months. That was the last Florsheim I bought.

In the army I received two pairs of combat boots and one pair of class A shoes. Since I have a small foot, size eight, I received combat boots made for WWII They had a date of 1944 in the boot, and this was twenty years after the war. The boots received the most attention in my entire life. They always needed to be shined and one pair had to be spit shined for guard duty. They lasted many years after I got out of the army. Probably the reason they lasted was because I did not wear them that often.

I never did get into all these designer shoes or sport shoes like Nike, New Balance, Adidas or others. After I married, I accepted shoes from Target, K-Mart, or Walmart. Cared less about brand name but how they feel and wear. I am still in that position now.

In conclusion, I never had a favorite pair of shoes and never walked “The Yellow Brick Road” in them.

Daily writing prompt
Tell us about your favorite pair of shoes, and where they’ve taken you.
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Heights

I hate heights. Always have and probably will for the rest of my life. I don’t know why. It is just some phobia I have. I can climb a ladder and roam around on a single-story roof, but anything higher than that I begin to get nervous and the higher it goes the more nervous I get even to the state of panic. Oh, I can fly in a passenger jet or go in high skyscraper buildings. I have been to the top of the pre-9-11 World Trade Center and the Empire State Building and felt a little uncomfortable but no more. It is just that vision of being on the edge and viewing the ground way down there with no fence or railing to stop me. However, I could not even go up the Space Needle in Seattle. I stayed on the ground.

When I was young, I had dreams of falling off a high spot or being pushed. I always woke up before I ever hit the ground. Someone said to me when I was young that if I ever hit the ground in my dreams I would have died. I don’t know if that is a fact or not. I wonder if that is a reason. Maybe in a previous life I fell off or was pushed. I am afraid of heights even today. The only consolation I have is that many people have the same fear of heights I have.

I would never make a paratrooper. Who would want to jump out of a perfectly good airplane?

Bloganuary writing prompt
What’s the thing you’re most scared to do? What would it take to get you to do it?
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Complaints, Complaints, Complaints

What is happening to this world? Across the world you see unrest with massive demonstrations, violence, armed conflicts with many deaths. Russia and Ukraine are in a war. Gaza and Israel conflict goes on. China is threatening Taiwan. Three US soldiers are killed in Jordan. Farmers in Scandinavia and Paris are having massive demonstrations.

On a local level. The actual number is not actually known, but millions of people have come across the border. This is putting a tremendous burden on the health system and social services. In large cities crime is rising. You see videos of smash and grabs where large swarms of people just go in and grab anything they want. Homeless camps are springing up everywhere. Fentanyl deaths in the past years are scary.

Inflation is alive and well. For example, I recently purchased a large package of toilet paper, and the cost was twenty-two dollars. Six months ago, the cost was eighteen dollars. That is an over twenty percent increase. My property taxes just increased nine-hundred dollars. These increases are pinching my fixed income.

In politics all you see and hear is anger and hate. There is no longer a civil discussion on the issues. All they do is attack their opponent. Truthfulness is dead. Anything is said to fit their agenda. There is no accountability for out and out lies. Many government entities have been weaponized, and they use their authority to push the agenda. Equal justice under the law is currently missing.

So, what is a mere mortal like you and me do? Complain, complain, and complain some more. Another very important thing to do is, learn more about the agenda these politicians are pushing on us. Finally, vote in November.

Bloganuary writing prompt
What do you complain about the most?
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The lottery and me.

First of all, to win the lottery, you have to play the lottery. I don’t play the lottery. I can’t remember the last time I threw away money to buy a lottery ticket. I have many friends and relatives that faithfully purchase lottery tickets every week. Has anyone won? Not that I know of. When the lottery first started, I played the scam. I think the most numbers I ever got was two. This convinced me that the chances are slim next to none.

Therefore, theoretically if I ever won millions I would disappear and change my life totally. First, I would acquire legal advice and a financial advisor. I have heard that these multimillionaires suddenly have relatives come out of the woodwork and friends that you haven’t heard or seen from for years. I want people to be around me for who I am, not what I have. Charities and good causes would get a portion of my good fortune. The largest concern I have will I be any happier or complete than what I am now.

My life has been full and rewarding. I am in my seasoned years and have had more good things and people than bad events. No, I am not rich. I am just a mere mortal that is living comfortable, happy, and that would be hard to replace. It would be a tough job for those millions to replace what I have now. Therefore, I do not intend to start playing the lottery anytime soon.

Bloganuary writing prompt
What would you do if you won the lottery?
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Life is Fun

I have been retired for seventeen years. Since 2006 I haven’t worked any job. Pensions, Social Security and savings have provided my wife and I with everything we need. Most of the things I do is for fun or enjoyment. Life has been good. There have been medical issues but all in all life has been good to us. Here are the first five things that I thought of to have fun.

  1. the most interesting thing at the present time is writing. I enjoy writing and reminiscing about events in my life. That is the purpose of writing on Word Press. I do not expect to ever receive any kind of financial compensation for my writing time. I just enjoy it. I am glad I discovered the daily blog prompt. This is ideal for my random ramblings.
  2. I enjoy eating out at restaurants. it gives us a reason to get out of the house for a while and interact with people. Humans are social creatures and social contact is necessary for healthy living. I had a job where I would have contact with people that spent a lot of time alone. You could tell they were lacking social contact in their life, and they were craving for this necessity. They would try to keep me there as long as possible just to have contact with another human being.
  3. Puzzle books are fun for me. I enjoy crossword puzzles and sudoku. I am not a big fan of word search. However, my wife enjoys word search puzzles though. One must keep their mind active and working.
  4. I have a workshop in my basement. I enjoy repairing items around the house and building small items. For a while I was into bird houses. I found out though that there is just not much demand for bird houses, and I was floating in bird houses.
  5. I like to grow stuff. All my life I have had a garden where I lived except the short time I lived in an apartment. Flowers, vines. and vegetables are on my list of plants. We sure enjoy fresh tomatoes during the summertime. Unfortunately, our home has growing space, but it is too shady, and I haven’t had much success here.

These are the first five things that came to mind. I have many more things I do for fun.  

Bloganuary writing prompt
List five things you do for fun.
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MY BLOOD CLOT PODCAST

It has been over ten months since I survived a life-threatening blood clot. The survival rate for this kind is three to five percent and forty to fifty percent die withing five months after the clot. I consider myself very fortunate to have beaten the odds and I consider this a second chance.

PODCAST

For about 2 months I have been having periodic aches in my left calf. It would come and go and had no specific time or length of ache. I just thought it may be part of aging and didn’t think about it much I

On the night of February 5,2023, I had to go to the bathroom and stood up and a shooting pain went up from the ball of my left heal up through my calf. I could hardly walk to the bathroom. After finishing I came back to bed and laid down. The pain was not bad when no weight was put on the foot. I went back to sleep and woke up the following morning. The pain was not that bad when weight was put on the heal. It felt very similar to the same pain I had when I was diagnosed with a Bakers Cyst back in 2012. I emailed my PCP relaying my symptoms, she responded suggesting I come in and get it checked out. Ironically there was an appointment available the same day at 4:50PM and I took it. After the examination she deduced that I had Plantar Fasciitis and Achilles tendonitis. An ultrasound was not taken. She set me up for PT and showed me how to do some home exercises. I went home satisfied 

On the night of February 6th and morning of February 7th I went to the bathroom twice with no problems. Then about 4am I went again and experienced this shooting pain from the ball of the left foot with serious pain in the calf. Again, I could hardly walk to the toilet. After going back to bed, the pain from the ball of the foot went away, but the pain in the calf was still there. I massaged the calf to try to lower the pain and about 4:30am I began having trouble breathing. I woke my wife and told her to call 911, thought I was having a heart attack. She freaked out but did call 911. The operator told her to open the front door. However, in her panic she turned the key the wrong way on the security door dead bolt and jammed the lock so she could not get the door unlocked. I knew about the problem for about 2 years but learned how to live with it. I will now see that I fix it for good. Because of that the paramedics had to come through the garage.  

The paramedics get here and check me out and determine that I can survive a trip to Swedish Medical instead of taking me to St. Anthony Hospital, which is the closest to our home. I am put in the ambulance through the garage. Put an I V in me and start giving me fluid and oxygen. The siren was used during the trip to Swedish. I would estimate it took 10 to 20 minutes to get to the ER. I went into an ER waiting room immediately. 

First thing they do is have an ultrasound on my left calf area. The ultrasound shows DVT (deep vein thrombosis), in the leg from the knee down to the ankle. Next a CT scan was done in my lung area, and they found a large clot located between my lungs. This is called pulmonary saddle embolism.  With that finding an I V Heparin drip was ordered to start reducing and preventing additional clotting.  

After a period, a doctor came to discuss the situation. He explained that there were three choices that could be made. First choice is to attempt to use medication to clear the clot. He did not recommend this because of the size of the clot. Secondly, go in through the groin, up to the lung area and remove some of the clot and put me under anesthesia. The last option was for me to stay awake during the procedure. He said this option is the one they have had the best success. After discussing with my wife and 2 stepdaughters, I decided to stay awake during the procedure and gave the ok. 

They wheeled me to the operating room. I am in the room before the room is prepared and I am just amazed how much equipment and items are used for a medical procedure. Towels, clothes, pillows, tubing and items I can’t even explain. Finally, they are ready to start the procedure. The doctor told me that they would use a local anesthesia to help endure the pain. The most painful part was when they cut the vein or artery on my right groin. They didn’t bother to tell me that they needed an incision on both sides of the groin. The incision on the left groin was just as painful as the right side. I am glad they used a local anesthesia. I don’t know how intense the pain would have been without it.  

Anyway, the procedure has started and after a period I am starting to feel bad. I shout out, “how much longer?” The doctor says maybe 20 to 30 minutes. I groan. I am continuing to feel bad. I hear from someone in the room, “his blood pressure is dropping doctor”. I am really starting to feel bad, and I get to the point, I don’t know whether I can continue. I was at the point of giving up. I thought I was breathing my last breath. I don’t know what happened or what they did but I started to recover and feel better. The procedure lasted maybe 20 minutes and then I heard the doctor say we are finished Thomas. I was relieved. 

Maybe 5 or 10 minutes later the doctor started talking to me saying the clot they removed was one of the biggest clots that they have dealt with, and I was a good patient compared to some of their previous patients. Apparently, some patients get to the point where they must be restrained because they want to get up before they are finished with the procedure. I asked the doctor, “I heard my blood pressure was dropping”. I asked him “how low did it go?” There was a pause, and he said, “you don’t want to know, and I am not going to tell you.” I never did find out how low it went. As the conversation continued the doctor said, “you know Thomas I think we made the right decision. I am afraid if you had gone under anesthesia, I am afraid we would have lost you.” I didn’t know what to say about that comment. Now I can say I was standing in front of deaths door and Dr. Death was holding the door open. I was given a second chance in life.  As my wife says, “your room wasn’t ready yet. Now my job is to find out why I was given another period of life and find out what is expected of me with this second chance.   

One of the assisting doctors takes over and apparently, they are having a difficult time stopping the bleeding from the right groin incision. I guess they can’t use sutures like normal and being loaded up with blood thinners they must use compression on the wound and wait until it starts to heal. The doctor put pressure on the wound for about 45 minutes before it stopped bleeding. After it stopped bleeding, they wheeled me to an ICU room. During the trip to the ICU room, I attempted to raise my head and the doctor yelled at me “don’t do that, you must remain flat on your back until the incisions heal.” 

It is still Feb. 7th when I go to the ICU room and stay there until the afternoon of Feb. 9th. They wanted to get me to a normal room sooner, but a room was not available until late Thursday afternoon the 9th. I do not remember much about the time in ICU. The worst part was having to lay flat on my back all the time. I could not lay on my side, and I am not accustomed to laying on my back while sleeping. This was pure misery, a time I will never forget. I understand the reason for that is to keep the strain from the incisions and allow them to heal and not break open and start bleeding. Another item I discovered during this stay was a condom catheter, it was like a condom with a tube that went to a bag below the bed and whenever nature called you let it go and the urine went into the bag via the tube at the end of the condom. Since I was receiving blood thinner through the I V, they drew blood every 2 hours to make sure I was not getting too much blood thinner. There is always a concern about internal bleeding.  

Finally, they discharged me from the hospital on Friday afternoon February 10th. Ever notice they want to discharge as many as they can before the weekends. Anyway, in the following months I have follow up appointments, wear a heart monitor, and tested for sleep apnea. The last test was an echocardiogram. They wanted to make sure the blood clot did not leave any long term. Damage. All the tests showed there was no long-term damage.  

In conclusion, it is near the end of July, and I feel pretty good for being over eighty and just dodged death. The only thing I have noticed is that my endurance is shorter now and I tend to get tired sooner. The moral of the story is that if you ever wake up in the middle of the night with a painful cramp in your calf, do not massage the calf to attempt to relieve the pain. The speculation is, when I massaged my cramp a large portion of the clot broke loose and migrated between my lungs and with the constriction and the blood flow slowing down the clot just became larger. The doctors said I was very fortunate to survive a clot of this size. Now I must figure out why I was given another chance of survival. 

COMMENTS ON CHRISTMAS AND THE HOLIDAYS 

Christmas is near. This time of year brings out parties, family gatherings, gifts and memories of Christmas’s past. Since I am in my seasoned years, I have many Christmas and holiday memories.  

In my young years I remembered Santa Claus. Going to the department store to visit Santa. He scared the hell out of me. Why do I have to tell him what I wanted for Christmas. I remember one time I wouldn’t drink my milk and Mom had to call Santa Claus and tell him I was being bad. Yes, I did drink my milk. I did not want to take the chance of not having a present under the tree on Christmas day. We did not have a fireplace, or a chimney and I was at the age where I had hundreds of questions. “Mom how will Santa be able to get in?” She assured me that they would leave the front door unlocked so that he could get in to drop off the gifts. I never got a lump of coal from Santa.  

Christmas music is songs that stick with you all your life. We would go to downtown Denver and the stores would have Christmas displays in their front windows. Christmas music was played out on the front sidewalk. The Denver Dry Goods had the largest display of all. They always had a large display of electric trains and I have had a love of train displays throughout my life because of these displays. It was a very happy and joyous time of the year. 

One can’t forget Midnight Mass. You got to stay up until midnight, but it was tough to stay awake since your biological clock says it is time to sleep around 9:30 or 10:00 o’clock.  But you didn’t have to take the time to go to church Christmas morning. We would always have Christmas dinner. We never had a large crowd because the home we lived in was small.  Or we would go over to my dad’s aunts for Christmas dinner. 

In my young years the Christmas tree was always a real tree. That was before all these artificial trees. We would go to a tree lot and pick one out and come home and start decorating. That was fun and exciting. In those days if a light burned out in the string of lights, they all went out and you had to find which one went out. The tinsel took a long time to put on, one strand at a time. After the holidays the tree was very dry. The needles were falling off and it was a definite fire hazard. You waited till after New Years before the tree was taken down. Then we got an artificial tree. One of those silver aluminum trees. Couldn’t put lights on it. We got a color wheel that shined on the tree. It was pretty.  

One year when I was in junior high, (middle school these days), the home room had a gift exchange. We all drew names, and you got a gift for the name you drew. Whoever drew my name did not bring a gift for me. I was hurt and devastated. I was the only one that did not receive a gift. I will never know who it was, but that really hurt.  

During those days there was Christmas and New Year’s Day holidays I never did understand the reason for New Years Day. I still feel the only reason for that holiday is to have another excuse to drink too much. In our small world there were Christians and no religion families. There were no Jewish, Muslim or black families in our area. Now there is Hanukkah, Ramadan, Kwanza and others I am sure I missed others. This is fine with me. Holidays are not just reserved for Christian denominations.   

I hope everyone has a nice and joyful holiday. 

How do you want to die?

                                

When you are young you don’t think much of dying. You tend to think you are immortal and death as a far away fact. as you become older you start to think more about dying and death.

I am close to sixty-nine and I am thinking more about death than when I was younger. My parents passed away when they were seventy-five and their health problems started to appear in their late sixties. The same age I am in right now. Is the family legacy going to follow me or will I not follow in the paths of my parents.

                            grim reaper

My mother was afflicted with bone cancer and battled this disease for more than five years. after removal of the cancer and many treatments of chemo and radiation the demon went into remission. After four or five years the demon came back very aggressively. It migrated  to others parts of her body and finally took her. Her death was slow and very painful.

My father was visiting California and he was scheduled to start driving home in the morning. He called me the next morning said he had an upset stomach and was going to wait another day before he started to drive home. That evening his niece called and said she went to get some take out for dinner and when she returned my father was found on the floor dead. He was having a heart attack and didn’t even know it. That major mistake cost him his life.

Recently my true friend had multiple heart by-pass surgery. He is in his mid seventies. How long will this surgery extend his life? Only time will tell. Will this life saving surgery expose him to a more painful and slow death? This surgery may save him from heart failure to just have to experience the pain and suffering of Cancer. Cancer and heart disease is the biggest killer in the US.

A couple of years ago another friend of mine was running his snow-blower and fell over dead from an Aortic aneurism. he died before his wife found him laying on the ground in the snow.

My wife’s mother is in her nineties and in the last year she has deteriorated to the point that she cannot walk and has lost all control of her bodily functions. Medical authorities say her heart and lungs sound good. How long will she have to endure in the sorry state? The quality of life has taken a bad turn for her.

These are just a few examples of death and suffering that I have experienced in my life. Death is a part of life. All of us must some day experience the event. Even now that I am closer to the event,  I still can’t answer the question, How do I want to die?