memories

Just A Mere Mortal

As the days and years go by, I have come to the conclusion that I am just a mere mortal. Am I going to do anything or write anything that leaves a lasting impression on this world? I kind of doubt it.

I have had a good life experience. I was raised by loving parents and did not have to suffer any hardships and tragedies in my growing up years. I was able to work and provide for the two sons I fathered. I served my country with time in the army. Marriage and family life have entered my life twice. I am still experiencing my second marital journey. Over eighteen years of retirement life and I sense more years of this journey on this earth.

Over a year ago I survived a medical near-death experience. During the recuperation period I thought that there must have been a reason for surviving. It has been over a year now and I am still searching for the reason. I am beginning to think the only reason I survived was to experience and learn from that near death encounter.

With that said, I am just a mere mortal and will do what mere mortals do and that is to attempt to live a good life.

Daily writing prompt
If humans had taglines, what would yours be?
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I Have Been So Blessed

As I reflect on my life, I have concluded that I have been so blessed. Compared to millions of others my life has been easy.

I was born into a loving family. My parents loved me and protected, fed, and taught me in my young years. I fell on a broken bottle and seriously cut my arm from the wrist to the elbow. It was a blessing that the main artery was not severed. If it was I more than likely would have bled out at that young age.

I elected to not to continue on to college after high school when many said without a college degree you will not experience the American dream. I have been blessed with a comfortable financially stable life. I do not have millions, but I have more than enough to sustain the American dream.

I was drafted into the army during the Vietnam era. I was blessed to spend my enlistment in Germany whereas the seven I was drafted with went to Vietnam. I did not have to suffer the pain and violence of armed conflict.

I became married and the blessing of two great children was generated from this relationship. Unfortunately, one must experience hurt and pain in parts of their lives. This relationship came to an end after eleven years. However, we are now able to talk to each other. The hurt and anger has been shelved and that is another blessing.

I was blessed with another loving relationship, and this brought me four stepchildren which I truly love their mother and her children. We are still together and enjoying and spending our final days together. Trust and allowing each other to be themselves is a gift and a blessing to experience.

A little over a year ago I experienced a life-threatening medical issue. There was a point where thought I was taking my last breath. I thought, “Here I am Lord!” I believe, for a short period of time I had a preview of time after death. I experienced such peace during that time, it was unexplainable. This was a time I will never forget. I am ready to experience this peace again.

In conclusion, as you can see that I have experienced more blessings than hurt and pain. I thank the Lord many times for the blessings I have received. I am just a mere mortal, but I firmly believe that time after death is going to surprise everyone.

Friends are Gifts in Life

As I recall the friends I had when growing up until my senior years I try to think of what they had in common? Most friends come from encounters at school, neighbors, work, church and so on. Friendships develop from conversations and encounters. Many do not develop into anything, and others grow in a friendship that becomes a gift of life.

The quality that I value the most is, a friend allows me to be myself and I allow them to be themselves. Once you are allowed to be yourselves the union will become stronger and memorable to be remembered throughout the remaining time in your life.

Daily writing prompt
What quality do you value most in a friend?
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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?
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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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My Eyes are Killing Me.

It is that time of the year again. Spring allergies have attacked me full force. A couple of days ago my nose started to run and I looked around and sure enough, the trees were starting to leaf up and the fruit trees were all filled with blossoms. I thought, oh no, it is the time of year for itchy, scratchy, red eyes.

Before I turned fifty, I didn’t have allergies, but as I got older, they started to attack me and the older I age the worse they get. I read that this is a characteristic of the aging process in some people. I guess I am stuck with the problem. Fortunately, it only lasts a couple of weeks and once the trees are finished doing their thing, I am ok.

Over the counter medication such as Alavert and Claritin work for the runny nose discomfort and the runny nose can be tolerated. The itchy, burning, running eyes are another issue. I don’t know how many eyes drops and ointments I have tried and to no relief. The best that has worked for me at the moment is Thera Tears and Pataday. Unfortunately, my itchy eyes bother me for about two weeks. I have learned to not rub my eyes no matter what. That only makes it worse. It sure has been difficult to refrain from an automatic response.

I have talked to eye doctors, and they just told me allergies are caused by your immune system and it thinks the pollen is a threat to your eyes and attempts to protect your body from infection. Apparently, they do not have any suggestions for the discomfort. one consolation is that it only lasts a couple of weeks, and it will all be over.

Time to go back being uncomfortable and grouchy.

Back To Writing

The decision was made last summer. I have had WordPress site since 2009 and I let it go dormant until last summer. I also opened up a Sub Stack account at the same time since I forgot that I had this account. Now I am posting on both accounts.

Over a year ago I had a life-threatening event and I thought I was going to breath my last breath. Miraculously I survived this serious event. My blood clot During the three days in ICU, I had plenty of time to search for the purpose of my survival. I still feel there is a reason I was given a second chance. After six months of recuperating and still searching for the reason I survived, and I had the thought maybe I should share my thoughts, ideas and stories in a blog type format. I heard about Sub Stack on a news article and started blogging and then I remembered about my WordPress account and revitalized it. I now have over 200 posts on WordPress and over 50 on Sub Stack. Some posts are the same on both sites.

I also Have a Blurb account. blurb.com/user/tomtreloar that I have also had for a long time with a selection of books I have published. I then discovered that they now have a magazine publishing section, and this would fit perfectly for me. Rambling Magazine

Recently Writers Digest started following me on X (formerly twitter) and this news excited me. People must be noticing this mere spec in this gigantic universe. Now I have seen about freelance copywriting. I am retired and it appears that my finances will last longer than me, so I do not need the money. However, I will consider the opportunity if it happens to come my way.

In conclusion, deciding to resurrect writing and posting has been a good decision for me. It gives me something else to do and I am learning more about the internet and software used. Where this all goes, who knows?

Daily writing prompt
Describe a decision you made in the past that helped you learn or grow.
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Hormones in High School

Here I am 14 1/2 years old. I continued from junior high school (now known as middle school) and started high school in the fall. The junior high school was walking distance from home. The high school was far enough away that I had to take the public bus to get there. I have used public transportation before so that wasn’t scary. The size of the high school and the number of students were scary though.

In junior high there were boys and girls. No big deal. The girls ran around with the girls and the boys ran around with the boys. You did start to notice a little that the girls shape started to change a little bit. Maybe they should just stop eating so much.

After summer break you and start high school and see the girls from your junior high and think “WOW!” they have really become attractive and interesting. Also, during that time, you look down and see all this hair grown between your legs. When did that happen? It wasn’t there yesterday. You wake up in the morning and your male plumbing is acting and feeling very strange.

In high school, there is Junior and Seniors and you are exposed to street sex talk. There is a difference between boys and girls. One form of entertainment was to go the local drugstore and look at the Playboy magazines from the top of the display shelfs. WOW! The female body is really exciting and desirable. You want to join in on this excitement.

My mother sees the change and knows it is time for the traditional home sex education session. She goes through the biological difference of man and woman. She also takes the opportunity to bring up the religion aspect and reminds me that sex outside of marriage is very sinful and should be avoided. She reminds me that women can get pregnant very easily. This was the time before medical birth control and the condom was known to be not very reliable. Finally, she tells me that many women try to get pregnant so they can get their Mrs. degree. She also told me. “Tom do not let your hormones lead your life and change it that you may regret sometime later.” This really alarmed me and for a long time I thought, will I ever know if she married for love or married me just to get a Mrs. degree?

This is what I learned during high school, not in high school.

Daily writing prompt
Describe something you learned in high school.
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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. 

Easter Thoughts

Here it is the Saturday before Easter. Dee and her granddaughter Danielle are busy in the kitchen making Easter pie. It is an Italian tradition to have Easter pie for the Easter meal. It is basically sausage, eggs, flour and a crust. We bought twenty dollars of ricotta cheese yesterday and Danielle is bringing the sausage and eggs. How many pies will they make? Too early to tell. I would guess four or more.

Reflecting on my past Easters. I was born and raised a Catholic. I remember the forty days of Lent. No eating meat on Fridays. During Lent having to fast, the last two meals could not be more than breakfast. You were supposed to give up something for lent. Just like making a New Years resolution. I gave up on both and no longer even think about them. Stations of the cross every Friday during lent. You were reminded many times you were a sinner, and it was a job to get to heaven. Dressing up for Easter service and a family meal after. The churches Easter guidelines have eased up quite a lot.

The Easter Bunny was around with the Easter egg hunt. You had to hard boil the eggs and then color them. Does anyone do that anymore? All I have seen is the plastic-colored eggs. Surely some of the eggs were hidden so well they weren’t found until the middle of summer.

Easter has become commercialized so much these days and the real meaning of Easter is becoming an afterthought. I just saw that the president just banned religious-themed designs from White House Easter egg art contest. So many American traditions are on someone’s agenda to change or remove them.

ANYWAY!

Inserted after our Easter Dinner. I am so blessed.

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! 

I Survived the March 14 Record Snowstorm

For three days the news media has concentrated on the gigantic storm coming to Denver metro area. It finally started to rain last afternoon and turned to snow sometime during the night. Woke up with five inches of snow this morning. Some foothill locations got forty inches. During the day the lights flickered occasionally but never went out. However, there were reports that around 50,000 were without power due to broken trees taking out power lines.

We live in a community of forty-four homes and the HOA handles snow removal and received an email that snow removal will be done after the snow stops. Well, it has been snowing all day and I hope there is not a medical emergency in the circle. There have been very few auto tracks on the street, and I don’t know if a fire truck or ambulance could navigate the amount of snow on the streets. plus, none of the driveways or walks are cleaned. Wonder if someone has a medical emergency and emergency treatment cannot get in, can the HOA be sued for neglect of duty? Since this post was started Thursday night I will finish it Friday.

Here it is Friday morning, no power outages, no fallen trees or branches. We still are snowed in though. The HOA crew has not done a thing on the snow removal. I have thirteen inches of snow on the front porch. The city did plow down the middle of the street. However, that leaves a twenty-four-inch pile of snow in front of the driveway. No way could I drive over or through that pile. I am over eighty and no way can I remove that pile of heavy wet snow. I guess I am snowbound for a while.

I Am Addicted to Computers and Internet

Since 1994 I have been addicted to Computers. I bought my first desktop computer from a co-worker who built computers. I think I spent around Seven hundred dollars for it. Those were the days of floppy disk drives, 32k modems, Windows 3.1 and cathode ray monitors. Those were the days where dependability was not a strong feature. Remember, “The Blue Screen of Death”? Storage capacity was below a gigabyte.

Technology has really changed in the last thirty years. Now they have storage in terabytes, thumb drives larger than older desktop hard drives. Access to the internet by many means instead of the phone line. Solid state hard drives. Ever drop a laptop and the mechanical hard drive was killed? Desktop and laptop sales are decreasing because smartphones are becoming so versatile. They say this technology is just the beginning. What will we see in next ten years?

I cannot imagine what my life would be like without computers and internet. My handwriting looks like chicken scratching. My typing accuracy was never very good. It was quite a feat to type a page without a typo. With the help of the computer and Microsoft Office of Word, PowerPoint, and Excel I can look like a professional, which I am not. I am able to share my thoughts and memories thanks to the computer and the internet. Although, I spend way too much time on the internet. I never did get into gaming. The most I play on the computer are solitaire.

Daily writing prompt
What activities do you lose yourself in?
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My Favorite Movies

I have two favorite movies and have watched them many times. I have the DVD for both them and pop them in when I need an uplifting moment. Also, if I happen to be watching or streaming tv and I stumble onto them I start watching.

The first is, How the West was won. This is a 1962 movie originally filmed in Cinerama. This was a process of projecting on three screens, and it was supposed to give you a panoramic view. I was nice, but you could see the splits of the three screens. When they remastered the movie for the DVD the split screens are not so obvious. The storyline was about a family that migrated from the east and migrated to the western frontier. It had stories about the Civil War. How the train expansion helped speed up the expansion into the frontier and stories taking place in San Franscisco and California. The music in this movie was great! It was an important part to the success of the movie.

My other favorite is Patton. This is a 1970 movie about the experience of General Patton during World War Two. This is my favorite movie about World War Two. There is Saving Private Ryan, Battle of the Bulge and many more. However, Patton is my favorite. For some reason I have a large interest in this war. I don’t know why. Maybe it was because I was born at the beginning and my parents talked a lot about the war when I was growing up. I have watched every episode on the History Channel about the battles, and Hitler with the Third Reich. Maybe I am trying to understand how people became so dark to do what atrocities they did then. In my life there has been World War Two, Korean War, Viet Nam War, The Gulf war in 1990, and the Iraq War in 2003. I know I left some out. My life has been full of wars. However, my most interest has been WWII.

Daily writing prompt
What movies or TV series have you watched more than 5 times?
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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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100 Years Ago

Dear Tom, it’s hard to believe that a hundred years ago you came into this world. It was shortly after the beginning of World War Two. You were only three years old when the war was over, so I am sure you do not remember much about this war. However, remember standing in front of the home and watching the military vehicles driving down the busy street a block and a half away going to Denver Federal Center maybe five miles west of home. It seemed like hours watching all those trucks going by. I am sure your parents talked about the war a lot when you were very young. I am sure their conversations left a lasting impression on you.

Remember your mother walking you to school when you started grade school. There was a busy street between home and school, and she wanted you to be safe. Miss Kusckan, Mrs. Keebler and Miss Lee are teachers one never forgets. All the boys had a crush on Miss Lee. She was young, blond and so sweet. Everyone’s dream was shattered when Mr. Groutt, the math teacher married her.

Life continues with junior high and high school. Those years were tough years. Our hormones were acting up and strange. Unfortunately, those were years of anger and hatred. We were mad at ourselves and everyone else in our life. Smoking and drinking became an important part of life.

Then came full time employment and the army. Remember when you took the military oath after being drafted and the night long train trip to Ft Leonard Missouri. The military sure changed your life and outlook about other people. Looking back at this time you learned so much about people by meeting people from all parts of the country, New York City, Florida New Orleans, California, Chicago, just to name a few. If Viet Nam wasn’t staring you in the face, you may have made the army your career.

Back from your military duty you were looking for love and someone to have a family and begin the life every young red-blooded American wanted. Your desires come true, and you meet a young lady from Nebraska. Then marriage, a home, two sons and good job. Life could not be better. Unfortunately, this dream came to an end after about eleven years.

Divorced, unemployed because your job was eliminated. These were challenging times for you. But you did not give up. During those times you met your future. You met her in a divorce support group. Ten years later marriage happened. you have now been together for over forty years. Yes, there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

Remember a year ago you were at deaths door and Doctor Death was holding the door open. You defied the odds that only three to five percent survive this kind of procedure and forty to fifty percent die within six months after the procedure due to some other illness. It was just not your time. Your journey is not finished.

After eighteen more additional years I am wishing you a Happy 100th Birthday! You have had quite the journey. You have met and interacted with thousands of individuals through this life and learned a lot. I must remind you that the purpose in life is to learn. Learn as much as you can in your life!

Sincerely, Your Subconscious.

Daily writing prompt
Write a letter to your 100-year-old self.
View all responses

A Three Letter Middle Name

My middle name is Lee. A simple name just like me. Does it have any special meaning, I don’t think so. The story I got from my parents is that they did not know what to name me. They did not want to name me after any relative or friend. My older brother was named after my father, and they said that they found out after a period of time the same name in the family can be confusing. My brother is five years older than me and there was only the two of us.

I was born after the beginning of World War Two and my parents told me they could not think of a good name. so, for a name search they went to the listing of the men being drafted into the military. Apparently during that period, the draftees’ names were printed in the newspapers. They came across the name of Thomas Lee, they like it and here I am. I do not have a clue what his last name was or anything else. All I know he was from the Denver metro area.

Daily writing prompt
What is your middle name? Does it carry any special meaning/significance?
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About Tom T2.0

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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Patriotism

A patriot is a person who loves their country. It is generally seen as a positive. Many have ancestry from a foreign country. They have seen or heard how their life has improved in this country compared to where their ancestors came from. They have realized they can believe a religion they may have been restricted from. The world is full of controlling countries and that may be the reason they immigrated. Whatever the reason, a love for a country is starting to materialize when they come to this country and feel the opportunities. Have you ever heard of anyone immigrating to Russia, North Korea for the opportunities?

Defending a country against its enemies, and a desire to see it succeed is very important. There are national cemeteries across the nation that are full of patriots that stepped up and fought and defended the country. Millions are in these cemeteries that made the supreme sacrifice in battle defending this love of country.

Most countries aim to instill patriotism in their youths from a young age, often through education and exposure to patriotic symbols and events. I remember in grade school they would raise the flag when the students were entering. When they were raising the flag, you would stop and wait until the flag was raised. We were taught about the many symbols and history of this country. Unfortunately, I have heard that this has diminished in the last years. If this is true, I am afraid that this will affect this country in the future.

Patriots believe it’s their duty to vote in elections. This is based on their sincere desire for their country to succeed. Patriots pay attention to the events that are happening in the country and vote accordingly. Way too many do not vote and do not have a clue what is going on in the country. I am concerned that this lack of interest could affect the future of this country.

Yes, I consider myself to be a patriot. I vote consistently and follow local and national news and events. I served in the military and was willing to give my life for this country. I respect the flag and symbols of the country. I love this country and have no desire to go to any other country. This country has been very good to me, and I have lived the American Dream.

Daily writing prompt
Are you patriotic? What does being patriotic mean to you?
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February 7, 2023

Not much to remember on February 7th. In 1940 the movie Pinocchio premiered. General MacArthur returned to Manila in 1945. President Kennedy blockaded Cuba in 1962. Not much has happened throughout history on February 7th. However, February 7, 2023, is a day I will never forget.

This is the day I dodged death. I was standing in front of deaths door and Doctor Death was holding the door open for me to enter. Here I was laying on the operating table with a massive blood clot between my lungs. The doctors said they had better results if the patient stayed awake, so I went with that option. About 30 minutes after the start, I was really feeling horrible. I was having trouble getting a breath and there was the time I thought, “this is it, life is over”. I must have passed out, but a while later I woke up and slowly started to feel better. I survived and spent the next three days in ICU.

Many times, while lying flat on my back, in ICU I thought many times, “Why was I given a second chance?” It has been a year now and I am still searching for the reason I dodged death on February 7, 2023. Until the reason reveals itself, I will just do what I do best, and this is just be me and enjoy these bonus days and hopefully bonus years.

Vintage computer

A long long time ago, 1994 to be exact. I purchased my first computer. It was purchased from a fellow worker who built computers from scratch. If memory is correct, I spent $700 for this computer. We are so spoiled these days comparing this computer back in 1994. The most time spent was waiting for the computer to compute.

Windows 3.1 was the operating system. The transfer system was a floppy disc. The capacity was under 500 kilobits. This was before CD disc drives. New programs came on a collection of floppy discs, 2, 3, maybe 4 or 5. During those days everyone shared programs. Copyright license laws were useless. “Hey Joe, I got this new program want a copy?” It had 2 megabytes of RAM. Gigabyte memories were not even thought of. The hard drive was way below 1000 megabytes. No such thing as USB or thumb drives. Oh, how spoiled we have become.

You have a computer, so you need a printer to be complete. A printer is added. More memory is used for the printer. the computer becomes slower. Oh, I am getting into the computing thing, a flatbed scanner is needed. More memory is needed. The computer becomes slower. Somewhere in that era combination printers/scanners start showing up.

To be a computer guru you need a modem to get online. 32k modems were the thing and the big event was when the new revolutionary 64k modem came out. Phone line connection only, no Wi Fi at this time. you get online and wait, wait and wait some more. Oh, all this took more memory, and your computer became slower and slower.

If I remember correctly, I kept this computer until after Y2K. Most equipment did not have facilities to handle anything beyond 1999. I forget how this problem was solved. But I do remember it created a lot of panic. Since my first computer I have lost track of how many computers I have purchased in the last 30 years. I am sure it has been over ten. Most have been Dell or HP. A relative had an Acer and all they had was problems. I favor Dell over HP. Never had an Apple so I can’t say much about them. These days you have tablets, iPad, smartphones, smart tv’s and others I can’t think of now. I can speculate that someday the desktop or tower computers will be discontinued because of the declining sales for these items.

On my first computer back in 1994 there was a financial program called Quicken. I became accustomed to using it and still use it today. Naturally it has been updated and revised many times, but I still enjoy and rely on it. I have been through hard drive crashes, virus attacks, incompatible hardware, software and running out of memory. It has been a fun and enjoyable trip through the land of computers.

Daily writing prompt
Write about your first computer.
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Decision

I have been retired over sixteen years and all my time is leisure time. After sixty years of working earning a living, raising and providing for a family I am entitled to leisure time. Since I retired every day is Saturday! I wake up and think what will today bring just like I did when working but just one day of the week then. Now it is every day.

With that I have enjoyed doing many different things at different times. Before I retired, I had passion for model trains and this passion went through its course. Since I have retired and moved into our new home the workshop, I have in my basement. I spent a lot of time. However, that interest has decreased lately. Of course, I am aging like everyone else, and this is affecting what I can do and not do.

Lately I have been spending a lot of time writing and reminiscing about things that happened to me. I have become active in WordPress again. I had this account since 2010 but became active in it since August of last year. I have dabbled in podcasts and videos. Maybe someday I can say they are pretty good.

In conclusion, it will be close to a year since I experienced a life-threatening blood clot. I was standing in front of Death’s door and Doctor Death was holding the door open. I surprised everyone and beat the odds. What I enjoy the most since that event is living!          https://tomt2.com/2023/08/10/my-blood-clot/

Bloganuary writing prompt
What do you enjoy doing most in your leisure time?
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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.
View all responses

I don’t Have a Pet

It has been many years since we had a pet. But we do have many fond memories of Missy. She was a peekapoo and we got her when she was just a puppy. Never weighed over five pounds. The only time she got mad at us was when we took her to get spayed. If looks could kill, we would be dead. But she forgave us and was a loving, friendly, and loyal companion for over thirteen years.

when Missy was a puppy, she jumped off the couch once and broke he front leg. Taking her to the vet and watching her walk around with her little cast created a bond and love that cannot be explained. When we had pork chops, Missy got the bone. She knew and just sat there waiting for her bone. What a fond memory. After many years of love and enjoyment she began to show her age. One morning I let her outside to do her business. I always went out to keep an eye on her since we had an open yard. She finished and was walking around just sniffing stuff and she looked up at me and fell over dead.

Missy will always be remembered. Throughout my life I had many pets, Ginger, Jughead, Boots, and many more. Missy was the best!

Bloganuary writing prompt
If you could make your pet understand one thing, what would it be?
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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. 

FIFTIES MEMORIES VIDEO

Link to video

I totally forgot that I have a You Tube account since 2011. For some reason I thought about it for some reason and guess what! It is still active, and this video is from this site. I don’t have a clue where it is from. I know it is too good to be my handiwork. I know there are others my age and am sharing it.

Also, here is a link to my long lost You Tube account.

MEMORIES OF FAITH

https://tomt2.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/memories-of-faith.mp3 podcast

My first church 

The first church in my life was a Catholic church since my mother was a born and raised Catholic. I guess I can say my father did not have a practicing religion. He was raised a Baptist, but I would say he did not go to church services no more than ten times that I can remember. He never interfered with my mother raising my brother and I into the Catholic religion.  

First a little about the history of this church. The name was St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church. It was established in 1924 in an old Presbyterian church in west or southwest Denver. The original was a small grey stucco building, I would say about the size of a small country school building. I distinctly remember the two tall evergreen trees on both sides of the entrance to the church. 

When I was very young, I remember the parish priest, Father Grohman. He was a funny man and full of life. He was probably around 60 when I was young, 

In 1949 father Wogan became the parish priest. Strange man, I could never get close to him. It could have been the normal fear of authority at my young age, and he liked to show his authority. Father Wogan expanded the church. The old gray stucco building was torn down and a new church was built across the alley in 1949. I was seven years old at the time. This church was in the basement because in the next six years a school was built around the structure. In 1955 the school was dedicated and is still open. In 1963 a new church was built just east of the original church, and it is still being used even after the church was severely damaged in the flood of 1965.  

I received my first communion there and confirmation. It is hard to compare the religion what I was raised into the religion of today. In fact, I could say there is no comparison. For example, fear was a big factor. There was time when I compared God to the big accountant. He sat there with his big ledger pad and kept track of every time you sinned and acted human. It was tough getting into heaven those days. Today the game has changed and now I feel like I may have a chance. 

I am sure my past exposure has affected my faith and me. Just as my present exposure affects my faith. The faith I have is based on events happening throughout my life. My life has been a learning experience and the older I become the stronger my faith becomes. 

An influence of my faith 

My grandmother or the mother of my mother was an influence in my faith journey. Grandma was born in Germany and migrated to America when she was seven years old. I am not sure when she learned to read and write English. I do know that she had very little formal education because the migration to America was during her young years when she should have been learning the basics and then she had to go to work to help feed the family. Grandma married and had fourteen children. About half of them died in birth or at a very young age. Her husband died at a young age because of Asthma, and she was left with many children to feed and support. She had to take in laundry and scrub floors so the family could survive. They did not have community support programs during that time. As her children became older, they had to quit school and start work at a young age to help support the family. It sounded like it was a very difficult time. 

 Grandma lived with our family. I think she moved in with us when my parents bought their house. I remember her living with us until she passed away when I was sixteen years old. Her life was hard and a struggle.  

With that said, she was an influence in my faith journey because I never heard her complain about her struggles in life. She was a very religious person. I don’t know how many times a day she would pray. She went to church as often as she could and she always would say, “have faith, God will take care of you.” 

I remember on her deathbed when we would come to visit her, she would say, “you don’t have to come see me anymore. These two angels are here waiting to take me away and she would point in the direction of the corner of the room. To this day I believe she actually saw two angels waiting to take her away. 

Song of my faith 

Here I am searching my brain for a song that is instrumental in my faith. It is in there somewhere, but I am having a difficult time finding it. In fact, I am having a difficult time thinking of any song this is significant in my life. One of the first songs that came to thought of was “Ave Maria”. Why that song came to me first I cannot explain. It just came to mind that many Christmas Carols about Christ is instrumental to my faith. I do believe that Christ is the son of God and Christmas Carols do celebrate Christ’s coming into the world. “Silent Night”, “Away in the Manager”, and others give me a strange warm feeling when I hear them. However, that is just a period in the year. After the Christmas season these songs are not played until the beginning of the next Christmas season.  

I am looking for that one song that affects me throughout the entire year.  

There is one song that I truly love. This may sound strange, but that song is the theme song from “How the west was won”. When the words “the Promised Land” are sung it emphasizes or re-enforces my faith that there is a Promised Land beyond life on this earth. I know it is not a traditional religious song. I may not have a traditional song stored in my brain. Many times, I strongly feel that my faith is not from traditional organized religious practices but from subtle events and ideas that I have experienced. 

Icon of my faith 

Here I am trying to think about an icon of my faith. This is a tough subject for me because I see an icon as an inanimate object with no life. Whereas my faith is alive and vibrant. I can look at a cross and it brings the thought of suffering Christ did for mankind. However, there are other icons or stories that bring the same thoughts to mind. The cross is not the only center of point for these thoughts. 

Being from a Catholic raised environment statues were and still are big in the Catholic faith. I feel that the statues were attempts to remember an individual. They were before photography. I have never looked at a statue as an icon. 

What I am trying to say is that my faith is not dependent on some icon. My faith has come from lessons and teachings of the Christian religion throughout my life and events that have happened between me and the unknown.  

Religion of youth versus religion of adulthood 

What I am today is so much different than what I was in earlier periods of my life. For example, in my young years when I was indoctrinated into faith and religion. Everything was black and white. Or you might say it was either good or bad. You had to worry about the bad things or the sinful aspects of life. Much of religion was memorization, many aspects were just bad, don’t question it, just abide by it. 

As I became older in my journey of life, I attempted to abide by all these rules and regulations. It was tough and many times I questioned my worthiness. I was a sinner and walked around with a large case of guilt. Now that I look back at these misdeeds they now are not as bad as they were at the time. 

As life progressed and other events in my life took place my outlook on life and religion began to change. Religion and faith started to be an important part of everyday life. Whereas in younger years it was a hamper to being happy and feeling good about myself. 

So here I am now. I will never be an evangelist. Religion and faith are a difficult subject to discuss because so much of my faith is an internal gift and what I feel may not work for another. If I can’t relay my faith in words, what do I do? I resort to actions and displaying my faith with what I do. How I live and how I show love to others that cross into my journey of life.  

What is worship? 

Thinking about it I am sure everyone has a different concept and idea on this thought. I am sure no one will ever come up with a one definition that fits all. Even my thoughts on this subject tonight may change at a later time.  

I am feeling that worship is a conversation with God. I have heard that worship is just praising God. Sorry, this does not work for me. I have been in many one-sided conversations, and they can be very boring and useless. To have a good conversation both parties need to be involved and share thoughts and feelings. Many will say that God does not talk to you. It may be that you expect to receive the response like you communicate to God. Is God communicating to you in subtle ways that is not in the form of traditional communication? This could be one of the mysteries of worship. Worship can be a seven-day event, not just an event reserved for church service time. It just dawned on me that I might just link worship with prayer. 

Conclusion  

In conclusion, the above subjects were writing prompts in a writing group from 2009. I brushed them off and refreshed them. It has been fourteen years since they were written, and a lot has happened in my faith.  

First, we have become more active in the Lutheran branch of Christianity it amazed me how close or similar the two are. When I was young, I was told than protestants were wrong and going down the wrong path. I came to the realization that they are God loving humans and try to do the best they can to lead a good life. We have attended many denominations during this period have realized that they are all Christians.  

Finally, I experienced a near death experience last February. I thought I breathed my last breath and was prepared to meet the maker. I must have passed out but somehow the doctors revived me, and I started to feel better. How long I was out I will never know. This tale can be read at “My Blood Clot”. All tests and lab work show that there was no long-term damage and the chances of surviving more years are good. I am now at ease of death, and I am confident there is more after death on this earth. I am convinced that God loves us unconditionally and Christ died for our sins. The hard part to accept is that God loves the bad guys unconditionally and Christ died for their sins too.  

THANKSGIVING MEMORIES

Podcast

The first memory of Thanksgiving is dry turkey. In my younger days we had to go over to my dad’s aunt’s apartment for Thanksgiving dinner. This apartment was an old scary apartment located around 16th and Logan in Denver. The halls were dark and noisy. Echoes would bounce off all the walls and the stairs looked like they came straight out of an inner sanctum movie. Aunt Florence and Aunt Margaret were sisters that lived their older years together, Aunt Florence was a spinster all her life and Aunt Margaret’s husband died at an early age. They had no children. In fact, the only relatives they had in Denver were my dad. 

This does not sound like dry turkey, so let me get back to the topic. The turkey was always large, and we were honored with taking lots of leftovers home. Turkey sandwiches for a long time after Thanksgiving. Not being a cook, I can just speculate what the aunts did to make this turkey so dry. I would speculate that they cooked it too long and never basted or turned over the turkey while baking. In fact, the skin of the turkey was like thin leather. Even the wings and drumsticks were dry, dry, dry. 

The meal came with the normal fixings, stuffing, it was dry also, potatoes, veggies and gravy. Gravy was the savior of the day. If it wasn’t for gravy this dry turkey would stick in your mouth and make a swallow very difficult. The meal would end up with a dessert. I cannot remember much about the desert so I would say it was not very good or bad, just another desert.  

After the dry turkey I remember of going to The Aladdin Theatre for the afternoon matinee. I didn’t make any difference what was playing because my brother and I just wanted to get out of that hot stuffy apartment. Apparently, the weather was mild, and we were allowed to walk home or take the bus. Thinking back now, I am surprised that we were allowed to go home by ourselves because it was quite a distance from East Colfax to where we lived (near Alameda and S. Federal). In those days there wasn’t the fear and dangers that the young generation faces today. I do remember a store walking to the movies that in their front window they had a gigantic ball composed of shoelaces. It must have been close to three feet in diameter. I think the store was a shoe repair place. Every year we could see how the size of this ball would grow. 

Don’t get me wrong, I have good memories of Thanksgiving, but this story is about dry turkey and nothing very good can be said about dry turkey.   

TOUCHED BY GOD

Audio file for listening instead of reading.

When I first started to think about this topic I immediately thought about when I was put in danger and for some reason, I survived these dangerous encounters. For example, when I was young, four or five years old, I cut my left arm by falling on a broken bottle. In those days plastic bottles were few and far between. This could have ended my short life if the broken glass severed the main artery in my arm. Did God touch me?  

When I was a young and reckless teenager, I did many stupid and dangerous things and survived. We used to go through storm sewer pipes with flashlights like they were natural caves. One time we were way in the pipes, and it started to rain, which we did not know until the water started flowing in. It is amazing how fast these pipes fill up with water. Did God touch me?  

I was in two vehicle accidents when I was in the army in Germany. The first accident occurred on the autobahn when it was snowing, and the road was icy. We were driving way too fast. The traffic ahead was at a standstill, and the driver put the vehicle in 2nd gear to slow down. Big mistake, this threw us in a spin out of control. Finally, we straightened out, but we were headed for a thousand-foot cliff and the only thing stopping us was the two-inch cables installed on the edge of the autobahn. If the cables did not do their job, it could have very easily ended my life if we went off that cliff. Did God touch me? 

Then I was riding shotgun in an open jeep on a two-lane highway. The driver had a reputation for smoking pot, and it is known that pot slows the senses. The traffic started slowing down and he didn’t realize it before it was too late. He made a sharp right turn to avoid rear ending the vehicle and that turn catapulted us out of the jeep. In Germany at that time, they used 3 inches by 3-inch posts with reflectors on the sides of the road. Flying through the air, my right knee hit one of these posts before I landed on the ground. As I was laying on the ground, I looked over my right shoulder and saw the jeep airborne and was headed in my direction. I scrambled up the embankment maybe eight to ten feet up. I think I momentarily blanked out but after I woke up, I could see the jeep overturned down on the side of the road. And the reflector post that my knee hit was flat on the ground where the jeep rolled over it. My knee was swollen double the normal size. If that jeep had rolled over me, I am pretty sure my life would have been terminated. Did God touch me?  

Finally, the last event was about eight months ago. Around 3:00 am I woke up with a terrific pain in my left calf. Thinking it was a Charlie Horse, I massaged it to relive the pain. Bad mistake! Thirty minutes later I had difficulty breathing. Paramedics took me to ER, and they discovered a Pulmonary Saddle Embolism which is a large blood clot between my lungs. I was awake during the removal procedure and about halfway through the procedure I thought I was taking my last breath. For some reason I started to feel better and survived. I found out the survival rate for this is three to five percent. My life has been extended for eight months now and hopefully for a long time. Did God touch me?  

I have started to envision other aspects of my simple life. I started to look at things we take for granted. You can look at this world and universe and look at how unique and beautiful this world is. This world provides all the necessities of life. Look at all the beautiful flowers and plants. Look at the sunsets and sunrises. The mountains and weather are an amazing system. I have fathered two sons, and I am very proud of them. I had to go through the pain and hurt of a divorce. However, this painful event resulted in meeting another woman who has a terrific and loving family. We married and now I am enjoying a special kind of love from her and her children and family. Look around you and think did these wonders just happen? Or have this world and you been touched by God?  

Recall events in your life. Think about your childhood, your accomplishments and your family. Did you have an accident in your life, and did you survive? Do you have family and friends that you truly love and cherish? Remember the births of your children. Is that a special event in your life or just the correct combination of cells that created life? Where did this life come from? You meet a special person and the two of you connect in a special way. Did this encounter just happen? I can recall many events in my life that appear to have suspicious results and as I become older and hopefully wiser, I am beginning to believe that these events were put in front of me for a specific reason. Did God touch me? 

In conclusion, I am convinced that God has touched all parts of my life from the beginning of my life to now. God was there. Many times, I was the normal selfish human and took his presence for granted. Now that I am getting closer to the end of my journey, I am beginning to realize that God has touched me.  

Has God touched you?  

EVERYDAY IS SATURDAY

Audio file for listening, instead of reading.

The sky is blue, the sunsets are beautiful, and the roses smell terrific. I didn’t notice these luxuries before I retired. When I was working, and going through the challenges of life that are thrown at you. I didn’t take the time for the simple beauty of life. Seventeen years have passed since I retired in September. Do I enjoy retirement? Yes, I do! Retirement has been a blessing for me. This is part of the American dream, work most of your life and then enjoy the fruits of your labor. It feels good to see that Social Security and pension payments appear in your banking account every month. Yes, I am living the American dream! 

Since I have retired many people have asked me the question. “What do you do now that you are retired?” As if you are supposed to do something. My most often response is; “recuperating from the last forty-five years”. I was tired! The first 90 days (about 3 months) I did very little. No, I didn’t lie in bed all day, but I took it easy and started to adjust to a slower and more relaxed lifestyle. Now, what I don’t get done today, I can finish tomorrow.  

I retired in September and during our Thanksgiving gathering someone asked me, “Tom, what do you do all day?’ I responded, “every day is Saturday.” That means I don’t have anything I have to do or any place I must be. That phrase stuck and I still use it today.  

My typical morning starts around 6 to 7:00 a.m. No, I don’t sleep in. I try to keep regular hours. I usually go to bed around the same time and rise around the same time. When I get up at the above time this gives me time to get my cup of coffee and breakfast. When I first retired, I was an active stock market trader. I guess you could say I was a pattern trader. However, since the 2008 downslide the market has been too volatile for me, and I invest in stable and secure investments only.  

Retiring has given me many opportunities to do things I have been putting off either because I just didn’t have the time or just too tired to do them. what you don’t get done today; you can work on tomorrow, or the next day, or next week.  

Last fall I joined a small writer’s group at a church in Lakewood. I have always had an interest in writing; however, I never took the time or had the time to cultivate that desire. Now that I am retired, I have the time to cultivate that interest. This small writing group was the catalyst that prompted me to Yourhub.com. Yourhub.com was a bloggers site sponsored by a local newspaper. Once a week they had an insert with blogs they have selected. During this period, I was fortunate to have them select over seventy of my blogs. This was a perfect medium to get the word out and expose your efforts to an audience. The hard part is to get that audience to read your efforts. This does beat putting your efforts into a file cabinet or hard drive and no one ever reads them. After a period yourhub.com disappeared when the local newspaper went out of business. I didn’t write for a while and then I discovered Substack. I then started writing again. At least you have exposed your works to a live and alert audience. 

My retirement has had its downsides. One of the big downsides was winter’s unusually large snowfalls. It kept me inside more than I wanted to stay inside. I am an outdoors person, and the snowy weather has surely hampered my activities and I was getting a lot of cases of cabin fever.  However, spring comes, and I can get out into the sunshine and fresh air and my attitude turns around one hundred percent.  

The only thing that changed the entire environment of retirement is health. We have been very fortunate with health issues, and I attempt to live a healthy life by periodic health exams, eat in moderation and exercise regularly. Unfortunately, illness is part of the aging process. My wife has had a couple of mini strokes, fluid accumulating around her heart and a bout of unexplained dizziness that lasted over a year. I have had two cataracts removed. I suffered with an eleven-millimeter kidney stone that they had to go up through the basement to zap it with a laser and bust it up. I passed chocolate milk from my kidney for about twelve hours. I recently experienced a large blood clot between my lungs. I went through the removal procedure awake because that is what the doctor recommended. I survived the procedure. After the procedure was completed, the doctor was talking to me, and he said he thinks the right decision was made to stay awake because if I would have gone under anesthesia, he thought he may have lost me. Doctor Death was holding deaths door open, and I survived. I have recuperated and I am now well again.    

I try not to think about ill health. It is a part of life and when it strikes us, we will attempt to deal with it when it happens.  

In conclusion, do I have any recommendations for an active healthy retirement? Sure, I do. Keep your mind active. I enjoy puzzle books. These books keep the cobwebs out of my brain. I am a member of Silver Sneakers and go to Carmondy Recreation Center to walk my mile and bicycle my five miles at least three times a week. I feel better and sleep heavier since I have taken up this exercise program. Carmondy Recreation Center has many types of physical fitness equipment so you can design your own activity program. Keep up with a social life. We are social beings and social activity is very important for the well-being and happiness in your life.  

 Attempt to have a financial plan. If you are broke, retirement will not be fun. There are many other forms of entertainment other than television. Enjoy television as a last resort.  Finally, be positive, be active, and be happy. 

CATARACTS A FACT OF LIFE

Audio file for listening instead of reading.

Here I am over eighty and twenty years ago I had my first cataract removed. Seven years later my second one was removed. As you age a large percentage of people can expect to experience cataracts. It is just a part of the aging process. As you get older your body parts just don’t function like they used to and start to wear out. What causes cataracts? Professionals say that there may be a variety of causes. In my case I speculate that I have lived most of my life in the Denver area and the altitude exposes you to more ultraviolet radiation than lower altitudes. Also, when I was a youngster, eye protection was not that common. All summer we ran around with no sunglasses and no shirt. Now, I am starting to pay for this unawareness of the dangers of sunshine. I have had two cataracts removed and one suspicious spot on my nose has been removed. My back looks like the moon surface and my doctor have told me to keep a close eye on my back and call him if I notice any changes in those craters. What you did in the past starts to catch up with you sooner or later. 

Cataracts are clouding the lens in the eye. When I first started to notice them, my sight started to show a tint of yellow. Driving at night becomes difficult because the oncoming headlights start to sparkle brightly, and a lot of your view is lost. I think they call that, headlight blooming. After a period of time, it becomes intolerable, and you know it is time to get something done.  

Fortunately, cataract surgery is relatively simple now. I remember in the late fifties my uncle came from Meeker Colorado and had cataract surgery. We went to see him in the hospital, and he was laying there with sandbags placed on both sides of his head to immobilize his movement and he was in a lot of pain. He spent a week in the hospital. In those days they didn’t have implants and he had to wear big thick glasses to replace the cloudy lenses. 

Cataract replacement Lense

The surgery now is an outpatient procedure. The whole procedure shouldn’t take more than four hours. This consists of pre-op and post-op time. The surgery probably doesn’t take over twenty minutes. The procedure twenty years ago was very similar to today’s procedure. Infection is the main concern. I started antibiotics in the affected eye the day before and continued them a week after surgery. You are sedated and your eye is numbed up. However, you are awake and aware of what is going on around you. You do have an IV in your arm and can be put under immediately if needed. You also are fitted with oxygen apparatus just in case. They put this fabric type material over your face and cut a hole in it over your eye. This exposes your eye to the surgeon. I speculate that somehow your eyelid is secured so you can’t blink. Your eye is numbed, and you can’t feel anything in the eye area. The surgeon does his thing, and the most annoying thing is the bright light in your eye. Your cataract lens is removed, and a replacement lens is inserted. The incision is so small that no stitches are normally needed. The surgery is over, and you may spend forty-five minutes in post-op. You are ready to go home, and you need someone to drive you home. 

On the first surgery, I experienced clear vision the first time I opened my eye. The second time I was not as fortunate. It took about a week for my vision to clear up. Now it is clear, and I had to be fitted for new prescription glasses. I am just amazed how technology has progressed and how a complicated procedure has become a simple common event. After a period, the time varies with the patient, the clear tissue that covers the implant may become clouded and a laser is used to remove that tissue so that clear vision will return. It has been twenty years since my surgery, and I have not experienced this yet.  

Finally, if you live to be over sixty, you will more than likely experience cataract surgery. I am confident it will become simpler and simpler as time goes by.  

Originally Published 11/11/2007 Yourhub.com, modified to fit this this format.

WHAT IS THE ATTRACTION? 

Ever wonder why you are attracted to someone, more than someone else? I have wondered about that through my years. It must be more than just physical even though that plays a part in some parts of life. In my opinion, interaction between other humans is the most important segment of our lives. Memories are built from these contacts we have throughout our life. Friendships, marriages and unfortunately enemies come from human interactions. As life continues you meet a large quantity of people. A relation is started when two people are attracted to each other. I am not an expert. I am just quoting my experiences and opinions. 

As you begin to grow up your world expands. You meet neighbors, new people from church gatherings and school that expands your life. Why was I attracted to Doris the neighbor from Lola. I do not have a clue. All the boys in first grade had a crush on Miss Lee the first-grade teacher. Our hearts were broken when she married the math teacher. In second or third grade I met Sandra. She was special. I was attracted to her, and she was attracted to me. We were very close friends through elementary and junior high and most of high school. What happened is a story for another publication.  

As you continue your life you may find out that the attraction that someone shows to you may have selfish reasons. For example, I went into the army and was shipped over to Germany for almost two years. In an orientation meeting we were warned that many of the German young women will do anything to get a ticket to America. That included lying to you, sex and getting pregnant. This wasn’t attraction, this was a planned plot to get to America. You may be attracted to her, but she may just be desperate to improve her life. One had to be very careful.  

Image result for magnets

For close to twenty years, I hired and fired hundreds of employees for a large corporation. This included women to work in an office environment. On rare occasions during the interview the prospect would offer services outside of the office to get the job. This wasn’t attraction, this was desperation to get the job. That killed her possibility of becoming hired. Qualifications are important but I also found out attraction is also an important part of the decision process. This also applies to male applications. I don’t mean sexual attraction. All my life I have been a normal healthy male and have not had any sexual attractions to my fellow males. I also consider ease of conversations to be a part of the attraction. Some individuals are so easy to have a conversation and continue the conversation. Others, not so easy. Eye contact is also important. I was surprised how many could not look you in the eye during the interview. It made me think, “what are they hiding from me?” I discovered I had more success in hiring individuals that had this attraction and would stay on the job for a longer period of time.   

There is physical and sexual attraction. Those hormones are powerful chemicals affecting your decisions and your body. Most humans are driven to marriage or having a significant other. Most want to leave the legacy of children. That is just life. Most healthy males enjoy the eye candy offered by the sight of the human female. I would speculate females are attracted to the male eye candy available too. So, you go through life, and maybe get married or find a significant other. But these physical attractions are still knocking at your front door. Do you stay loyal or let temptation take over? That is a decision you must make throughout your hormone driven years. Been there done that. Yes, it is tough to decide at times what avenue do you want to travel down. Feelings and hurt can be devastating. I remember telling my sons when their hormones were starting to flow.  “Son, don’t let your hormones lead your life, there are other important things in life, that must be considered, such as compatibility, comfort, trust and love.” I guess it helped, they both appear to be happy with their lives and relationships.  

I also discovered there can be attractions in the cyber world too. I have been on twitter, now X, since 2010 and have acquired over 5000 followers and I follow around the same amount. Most are silent but there is the small amount that you start conversing quite often and the attraction starts to emerge. In many cases you do not have a clue what they look like because many use avatars instead of actual photos and they are spread all over the country. You can tell the gender by name, but the eye candy luxury feature is not there, and you do not know the age gap. After some conversations you can figure out the age gap though. Now I am fantasying that it would be nice to meet these attractions face-to-face and see if the attraction is real. I am quite sure this will never happen though.  

Have you ever considered that these attractions may happen more than just coincidence? Do you meet these people for some unexplained reason? Are you meant to learn something from these attractions? Many times, I have the feeling that I meet a person for a reason. Of course, the reason for this encounter is the difficult part to figure out.  Life has been an adventure and there must be a reason for this life of many learning experiences.

In conclusion, I more than likely will never know why I am attracted to someone and not another. This is just one of those mysteries of life that will never be answered. It has been interesting writing about it though.