| Author | Message | ||
     Buellish |
I have Crohn's Disease and asthma, the Crohn's gives me a compromised immune system. I've been pretty concerned about getting Covid, did get both shots and was wearing a mask quite a bit last year. I get dehydrated and it has sent me to the hospital three times. I got badly dehydrated twice in the last three days. All the hospitals anywhere near where I live are covered up with patient's, I don't want to go to the hospital for anything, much less covid. | ||
| Aesquire |
My friends and family know when I want to go to a hospital, I am seriously ill. That's not a healthy place to go. I'll let you argue with my cardiologist about statins. The food pyramid they taught me as a young kid & the revised version from the 70s? Basically a prescription for diabetes and obesity. You got that right. https://9gag.com/gag/a9Eo8BL I'm still waiting for the superpower from the experimental vaccine. Or the zombie apocalypse. Which might be the "unexpected side effects" from the interaction with CCP 2021 "pangolin" virus now spreading, but not admitted to.  | ||
| 86129squids |
All I know is... Hey. Glad you're home John. Maybe a bit more Crunchy, maybe a bit Smooshy. But you'll be OK before too long, my good friend. The Crusticle Abides. | ||
| Fresnobuell |
It would be an all too common mistake to trust your cardiologist (or any doctor for that matter) too much--much of what they learned in medical school is being proven incorrect. You can say that doubly about nutrition. The amount of money wasted and human misery caused by a lifetime of eating the wrong foods is beyond words. I am sure most of us have a parent or know someone who has been ravaged by metabolic disease(s). My Dad is going thru it right now... The primary function of a statin is to reduce low density lipoproteins. LDL is not cholesterol contrary to popular belief. LDL is a component of a blood transport system that carries cholesterol, triglycerides, fat-soluble vitamins and other non-water soluble substances around your body. LDL in general is not bad, rather it's essential to life since your blood is water based and as we all know fat floats in water. It is essential for healthy cell membranes, certain hormones (incl. testosterone/estrogen), immune system response and others. Small dense LDL IS bad. That is the stuff getting into your arterial walls. Small dense LDL is caused by......drumroll.....a diet high in sugar and processed carbs. It is NOT caused by eating saturated fat. My suggestion to anyone reading this would be to ask your cardiologist or internist for a "lipid subfraction" test. This is much more useful that a standard lipid panel because it will show you exactly what kind of lipoproteins you have floating around in your blood. If you have Type 3,4 or 5 LDL (small dense stuff) then you should be concerned and perhaps the statin is appropriate as it will help reduce the overall LDL levels and by extension the small, dense LDL. I would also argue if your LDL falls only in the Type 1 and 2 categories (big, fluffy LDLs) that you do not need a statin no matter how high your overall LDL score comes in. If your doctor is unaware of the "lipid subfraction" test or unwilling to order it--find another doctor. A MUCH better approach would be to modify your diet to combat the small dense LDL, but that is up to the individual obviously. (Message edited by Fresnobuell on September 15, 2021) | ||
| 86129squids |
Hmmm. I'd not thought about HDL and LDL quite that way, and not at all with that much authority. Thanks, Fresno. Had me a pulled brisket scramble this morning, with shredded cheddar and gorgonzola, and sliced onion. Strawberry pancakes also, some stevia syrup and cinnamon. A little OJ, and water. Black coffee. I hadn't even thought about the implications, but... it was pretty dang tasty. That said- I do appreciate your advice. | ||
| Fresnobuell |
Nice, concise video from one of the best internet docs regarding LDL..enjoy. https://youtu.be/GC9V1TWYLo4 | ||
| Crusty |
Ah; The Internet! Two weeks ago, I slowly made my way into the Emergency Room at Mercy Health West Hospital. It took a large amount of concentration and focus to go the 20 feet or so to the desk and tell the nurse there that I thought I might have Corona 19. From that point, I was brought into the ER, plumbed for a Pic line and my veins were filled with several substances. Antibiotics, antivirals, steroids, and God knows what else. During my 10 days in the hospital, I saw names like Remdesivir, Ivermectin, the “Z Pack, and I had to sign a release allowing the hospital to try an experimental new treatment, Bamlanivimab. I was given blue, orange, pink, white, grey and who knows what other color pills to take. I didn’t question anything. I accepted the experts opinion and took their advice. And I got better. I’m at home. I don’t need to summon a nurse so that I can get help to walk 10 feet to go pee. This morning, I took the last two tablets of Prednisone (SP?) that were for the virus. (Boy are they bitter!) Now; I just have to cautiously let my body heal. It’s going to take a few weeks, but I’m skipping down the yellow brick road. Skipping slowly; with frequent long rest breaks; but I’m recovering. And now; here come all the Internet Experts. They know how to cure the disease. The Doctors who went to school for years don’t know squat. The undegreed, pundits don’t want me to believe that a decade of schooling might make their opinions more qualified than somebody who spent a decade learning how to cure sick people. Doctor Feelgood (without even a BS in biology) flat knows what I should do to get healthy quicker. And the proof is readily available just by looking on FarceTwat, Twaddle, BirdBrain or one of the other Social Networks. I did what the experts advised and I’m feeling a bit better each day. When they advised me to go ahead and get the vaccine six weeks after the hospital released me, I took that advice to heart. 5 1/2 weeks from now, I’ll go get my first shot. I’ve had the virus. It sucked. Maybe the shots won’t do anything good for me and I’ll pick up another case of the WuFlu. But I honestly don’t think getting the shot will do me harm. And I’d rather gamble on that than be back in room 4271 pushing the button so that Nurse Blimpella can walk me the long 10 feet to the toilet so I can pee. | ||
| Aesquire |
Glad you're feeling better. Yeah, internet experts! I only claim amateur status. First responder stuff only let's me splint you, put on a bandaid, and at worst lean on your chest repeatedly while waiting for the ambulance or someone to fetch an AED. Preferably one with big cartoon instructions. ( fracking life savers! Awesome technology, heat thing in medicine since antibiotics. ) If the buzz box works, and I don't need to lean on your chest anymore, you still need the ambulance. You're going to need sodium bicarbonate and lidocaine, neither things I can give you, or carry in my kit. You'll also probably need a doctor to wrap your ribs since I lean pretty darn hard. But that's after xrays and the other treatments I'm not doing. I'm not going to argue with Fresnobuell about LDL... I pretty much agree diet and habits are the best way to dial your personal biochemistry to be healthier. My doc tells me he just follows the Actual Science. The numbers are better for me not being dead if I take drug X. I took drug Q for 6 years, because that improved my odds for 5 years and he took me off it because it didn't seem to matter after that. Oh, I read the PDR & the paperwork that comes in the box, but I don't read the studies he does. ( fair enough, he doesn't read the NACA reports on flying wing stability I do, he doesn't make those, and I do ) I'll just point out that one drug I take every day, by doctor's orders, would never pass FDA testing today. It causes stomach bleeding! But it's a proven life saver. Aspirin. Crusty, odds are you are now immune to Pooh's Breath. You won't catch it from the vaccine if it's one of the mRNA ones. There could be bad side effects. But that's true for nearly everything in the world. I'd say "it couldn't hurt" but I don't know that. I do know that if your docs gave you effective treatment I'd keep listening to your professionals, and keep getting better. It continues to amaze me how people just don't understand that Pooh's Breath is both a killer and that you are being bull$%&#ed by folk like my Disgraced Homicidal Governor and idiots who insist there's nothing to fear. Yep. Stupidly false information is wrong no matter your politics. | ||
| 86129squids |
Great Snippet! And well said. Don't let the Interwebz turd-burglars get you down, nor any beeatches. So saith I. The Crunched One abides. | ||
| 86129squids |
You know- one or a few Governors recanted their previous position, and apologised to the populace of their state. Sadly, not Guvnah Lee, who's got more presidential ambition than a brain cell for governance. Tennessee is #50, not winning. Not only monumentally dumb and dumber, many of our political body, but I'd wager borderline criminally negligent. The children. And, the health care workers. THEY are suffering and dying. Because, politics. | ||
| 86129squids |
OK, enuf of that, I say to my damn self. SO glad you're doing well, John. Not great, but well. Talked to Graham today, forgot to mention your travails... I'll be sure to tie him in here. I talked waaay too much about my troubles which are man-i-fold, but... "mischief managed." Again, very good. Keep at it John. One of these days, I must visit your Abode. I will be the bearer of glad tidings... maybeeee, 'Q.  Actually made brisket burgers this morning whilst going over bills. Yep. | ||
| Crusty |
Slow Progress I’m getting better. I can see, and more importantly, feel progress in my recovery. I have one more day of quarantine; tomorrow, I’ll be able to get out and about. I’m really looking forward to that. I’ve got plans for things I want to do over the next few days. I washed the bike yesterday. It took me a couple of hours and I took a couple of breaks during that time, but the Gentleman’s Express looks pretty nice. Today, I’ll polish it with Shine Master and hit it with Nano Wax. I really don’t have anything better to do that I can do. There are things I need to do around the yard, but I don’t have enough energy to accomplish them right now. However, I can feel daily progress, so I will get to them as I get stronger. A couple of the things I plan to accomplish are to ride over to Phantom Fireworks and buy some rockets for my birthday. My quarantine is over tomorrow, so I have a pretty fair idea of where I’ll be at one point during the day. Another item on my list is to hit Velvet Smoke and get a Burnt Ends Dinner. I’ve been wanting one since before I was hospitalized. I’m about 99-44/100s % certain that I’ll be able to ride there and bring an order home for dinner. I’m also looking forward to being able to get to a Meeting. That will be on Monday. I’ve had several members of my group call me and it will be nice to be able to see them in person again. This week is going to start a flurry of activity in my life. I get my Social Security deposit on Monday. That means that my bills will be paid and I’ll be hitting the supermarkets and buying food for the month. I plan to make Pulled Chicken, Pulled Pork, Beef Stew and Spaghetti Sauce with Meatballs; along with pork chops. If Wright’s Bacon should go on sale, I’ll get some. If not; I have enough portioned out to last me a bit and hopefully, it’ll go on sale before I run out. My Birthday Plans are still in effect. I mentioned the Missile Batteries. I’m going to get a 12 oz. Rib Eye from Wassler meats and cook it over charcoal. I’m also going to make a sort of Poutine to go with it Seasoned Sliced Potatoes with melted White Sharp Cheddar Cheese and smothered with beef gravy. I’m still on the fence about whether I’ll have Green Giant Antioxident Blend of Veggies, or if I’ll have Asparagus as a side. I like both and I keep vacillating between them. Either will be quite tasty, though. I plan to head over to an 1890s Ice Cream Parlor (Aglamesis Bros.) after the meeting on Wednesday to get my Birthday Sundae. Banana slices, Strawberry Ice Cream, Hot Fudge and Marshmallow. It’s my favorite treat and I’ve come to think of it as my Birthday Sundae. I can’t come up with a good cake to have Wednesday evening as my Birthday Cake. If I was back in New England, I’d get a Raspberry Torte from Market Basket (They’re made by the Alden Merrill Cheesecake Co.). However, I’ll probably just go by Servatii’s and get a small cake. After the Sundae and the dinner, I really won’t need to go really fancy. This all seems pretty involved; but it’ll be spread over the majority of a week, so it should keep me moderately busy without over taxing my strength and reserves. And it should help my lungs to move more air. I have several other things I plan to accomplish over the next couple of weeks, but I’ll write about them as I get closer to accomplishing them. It sure is good to be alive! | ||
| 86129squids |
OHHH YEAHHH. Here's Darrell Scott... I led him and Danny Thompson on a slowwww ride around Mur-vil TN, me on my CityX, lovin' it, but bored to tears to ride that slowwww... . They had played at The Shed the day before. Wanted a ride around the countryside here, locally. So, I was called into action. One of the BEST days of my professional MC salesman/rental agent LIFE. Mr. Scott rode a nice Softail, I think Mr. Thompson took a Dyna, an old classic one. Look up his brother, and check his songs out...!!! You'll be GLADD you DID. Glad you're feeling almost well, Crusty!!    | ||
| Sprink |
Great news John. Paul filled me in a while ago and I've followed your story here. I was glad to see you posting in that 'leave one take one' thread while in hospital. Figured that was a good sign. See you down the road. | ||
| Crusty |
Whoa! Thank You. Who ever you are! I’ll write more tomorrow. | ||
| Crusty |
Surprise! I had plans for yesterday. I was going to hit the bike with Shine Master and take off the mustache bar so that I can bring it to be powder coated this week. For some reason, however, I had almost no ambition to do anything. I was bored, but I had no energy to do even the simplest things. I finally just did the old, Do something; even if it’s wrong! I went down to the garage and started applying the polish to the Express. I had to stop and take a break a few times, but the bike got spit shined. Then, I started removing the mustache bar. I put all the little parts in a plastic bag, and this week, I’ll ride up to Powdercoating Specialty. With the polishing, removal and disassembly, I considered the day a success. It was also getting close to late afternoon, so I started thinking about dinner. I had decided that yesterday was going to be Taco Friday. I had a 4 oz. container of frozen seasoned taco beef in the freezer. So I heated a flour Tortilla in a pan and nuked the meat. I started chopping onion, tomato and lettuce and slicing Monterey Jack cheese. I also had a bottle of Taco Hell HOT (Ha!) sauce. So I assembled one really large soft taco. It actually looked more like a fat burrito than a taco. It took two toothpicks to keep the thing from falling apart and it was quite tasty as well as very filling. I really need to learn how to make more realistically sized Tacos. Maybe make two large tacos using the same amounts of everything; instead of one monster. Anyway; I was sitting at my laptop after stuffing myself when somebody came up on the porch and left something near the front door. I’ve been expecting several small packages to come rolling in over the next few days, so I figured that was what had been dropped off. I figured wrong. When I brought the bag into the house, I discovered it was a HUGE order of Burnt Ends, Brisket, two sides of BBQ Beans, two cornbreads and Texas Toast. And two tubs of sauce; all from Velvet Smoke. There was enough there that even Froggy would have trouble trying to eat it all in one sitting. And I had just finished eating a very oversized Taco. There was no way I wasn’t going to sample the food; stuffed or not. It was up to the standards Velvet Smoke usually exhibits. I ate way too much meat and half the double order of beans. I ate enough that I was feeling “a bit of discomfort”. It took all my will to put everything in the refrigerator and even though I was in pain for a while, it kept calling me to come have a little more. There’s enough meat, etc. for two more very large meals. I know what I’ll be eating for the next couple of days. Now, I have to try to figure out who sent it. I can think of several people who are prime suspects, but there’s nothing that definitely points to any one of them. There’s only one minor detail. The sauce that was with the meal was the mild sauce. I almost always prefer the Competition (Medium) sauce. I’m not complaining; the mild sauce tastes pretty damned good, but the sauce choice may have been a mistake on the part of Velvet Smoke. Or maybe whoever sent me the food got it wrong, or maybe it was an intentional diversion. I don’t know. So; whoever you are; Thank You. You spent way too much money, but you really made my day. It really is wonderful to have friends. I feel Blessed. | ||
| Zac4mac |
The only thing better than free food is free good food. | ||
| 86129squids |
Yep!!! A week ago this past Thursday I got lucky and scored a few # of KILLER brisket, plus some pork BBQ sliders from Fullservice BBQ. LOVE IT when things like that happen... even better when might get a ginormous lucky gift like THAT... wow! John, you can now leave that hospital food to a dim, old memory. Yay!!!  | ||
| Crusty |
A Sunday Snippet Yesterday, I took the bike out. It was the first ride I’ve taken in almost three weeks. I almost didn’t go. I had showered and dressed, but I wasn’t feeling really good. I had decided that I would just keep a low profile for the day. Then Sportster Paul called me and we shot the bull for a few minutes. Paul just had knee replacement surgery, and he’s also feeling the lack of time on his bike. It’s worse for him, because his bike is at his son’s house and that’s something like 45 minutes away. Anyway; after I talked with Paul for a while, I was feeling a bit better. (Maybe it was the Burnt Ends I had for lunch!). I thought about it and decided that I could, indeed, ride the bike over to Kentucky to get fireworks. So; I gave it a bit more thought and decided that I really didn’t want to take the Interstate. I would take the Anderson Ferry and back roads to Phantom Fireworks. I also decided that I would stop at Cincy Bell and pick up the modem and also hit the supermarket for a couple of items. I mean; I’m recovering from the ‘Vid and I wouldn’t be doing a lot of exercise. I shouldn’t have any trouble. Or so I thought. Riding felt strange. I wasn’t exactly out of it; but I wasn’t 100% there, either. I’m not sure how to describe how I felt, but it wasn’t my usual level of alertness. I put extra energy into keeping my awareness up. I had no problems but I never got comfortable. I enjoy taking the ferry across the river. Yesterday was no exception. On my way to Kentucky, there was a Tow Boat pushing nine barges full of coal downstream and the ferry had to wait until it went past. On the way back, there was a Tow Boat pushing a full tow of 16 barges upstream and we once again, had to wait. When I looked downstream, I saw another Tow Boat heading towards us. I eventually made it over to Phantom in Florence, KY. The guy there was going on about how he wasn’t able to get the 300 shot Saturn batteries, and all he had was the 91 shot Sea Sparrow items. So I bought six of them. I figure that 546 missiles are close enough to 600. I made my way back to the ferry and continued to the Cincinnati Bell building. I got my modem, then stopped at Kroger and got a couple of things I needed (Rainbow Sherbet and a couple of Lean Cuisine lunches) then made my way home. Once home, I tested my blood O2 and saw that it was down into the mid 80% range. It did make its way back up to the mid 90s, but I was completely whipped. I ate dinner and fell asleep in front of my laptop. In all; I slept about 12 hours; maybe more. I’m not over the Vid. Yesterday proved that to me. I have trouble assimilating O2 and I can feel just how weak I really am. I feel pretty good, right now; but I bet that it’ll take very little to knock me flat on my ass. I probably won’t go out on the bike today. I think a day hanging loose will probably be a Good Thing. | ||
| Aesquire |
You're doing pretty good. Listen to your body. Recovery from this kind of thing takes some time. It's not a crime, or a shame to take it a bit slow until you're back up to speed. Push yourself into exhaustion, and you can get sick again. Sea Sparrow? Oooh! I need to go shopping. | ||
| 86129squids |
 DANG!! The Gentleman's Express got dusted off... ! More good news. Life is good, especially on a Monday to hear this. Yay. | ||
| Damnut |
Glad to see you are feeling better. Stay well my friend. | ||
| Crusty |
71 Another birthday has come and gone. It didn’t go how I planned it; Mother Nature had her own ideas and I made a few changes that I was comfortable with. I decided that I’d wait until the weather was sunny to go get my Birthday Sundae and I also decided to wait until the weather dried out before trying to light off the Sea Sparrow Missiles. David gave me a ride over to Wassler Meats to get my Rib Eye, stew beef and ground Chuck. I called the order in about a half hour before I was going to pick it up. I told the woman on the phone that it was my birthday and please give me a nice steak. Wow; did she ever. Jumping in David’s car, going to get the meat and coming home was very tiring. I keep hoping that I’ll start to show a bit more endurance, but that isn’t happening yet. Things like this keep kicking my ass. I guess I just need to work on Accepting the Things I Cannot Change. I’m trying to change the things I can. A good friend gave me a blood Oximeter. I use it a lot to see where I’m at. The other day I pushed myself until I started getting light headed. When I tested, I was right at 80%, which is way too low. It’s best to keep my O2 around 95%. My lungs are just not able to process O2 like they usually do. That will gradually improve; I just have to practice Patience.(Did you know that if you ask God to give you Patience, He doesn’t just give it to you; He gives you situations that make you develop Patience.) There is a group of three of us who have been friends since High School. Of the three of us, Bill was the one who ate properly; he really watched his diet. He also exercised. He would ride his bicycle to work. He was in the best shape of the three of us. Then he died in his sleep one night, without warning. That comes to mind every time I see a post by an Internet Genius who wants to berate me for being fat, or not living a lifestyle that he approves of. He obviously Knows more than any dumb, greedy clown who went to school for years and interned in a hospital. I mean, just because somebody has M.D. after his name, that doesn’t mean he knows what he’s doing. Good old Rancid, who’s too smart to do such silly things like get degrees or go to school for long periods to study, Knows the right things to do. And he’s very Happy to tell you how you should live your life. Me; when I went into the hospital, it was all I could do to walk without collapsing. After 10 days, I walked out of the hospital. Those stupid, greedy clowns had managed to give me the right combination of antivirals, antibiotics, steroids, and whatever else to heal me. I think I’d rather pay attention to them. Getting back to my birthday. I was too tired to have my cake, last night. I wound up falling asleep early, then had no desire for cheesecake when I woke up. I did start a full crock pot of beef stew which really smells heavenly this morning. I’m wondering; is Cheesecake considered a healthy food for breakfast? I hope not. I think it just might be a delicious way to start my new year. There’s just something magical about Good Cheesecake and Good Coffee. | ||
| 86129squids |
Crusty... your Snippets have always been dang good. Somehow you're getting even better at them. Waxing poetic about cheesecake and coffee, indeed!! Gitcha a fork, stick it in, have a sip o' Joe. Only thing I like better is a dollop of ice cream on a freshly poured cup of French roast. Thanks for the Snippet, I'm starting my day with that, and my coffee, and a beautiful day here in Mur-vil with my lovely Marcia. | ||
| Ishai |
Hey Crusty- happy belated birthday, wish you a speedy and full recovery, may miles and smiles, a lot of great BBQ and good stuff. I met you in the 2016 WV rally- O was on the 2010 yellow Uly. Ishai | ||
| Crusty |
Like Sand Through An Hourglass… Yesterday was a Good Day by almost any way I look at it. The weather was in the low 70s, the sun was shining and I had a little bit of energy. The only negative was that the Pulled Pork I made turned out to smell and taste like crap. I had plans for the day. First; I wanted to get to the Nooner. I had gotten there on Monday, but felt too weak, or it was pouring the rest of the week. I had a few things I wanted to accomplish. I had a small package to mail, I wanted to swing by the Credit Union and, I was hoping to head over to Meijers and pick up a couple of items. I was a little doubtful about that last; I figured that hitting the Meeting, along with running the few miles to the PO and CU would wear me down. However; I was sitting at the ATM and decided that, “Yeah; I’ve still got steam!” so I pointed the Express toward the Market. I got there and bought everything on my list (plus a little bit) and pointed the bike for home. I was about halfway home when I passed a Kroger. I needed to pick up some more 1/2 & 1/2 and a 32 pack of water. I seriously considered stopping, but the fact that I had frozen foods and meat made me just head for the house. That was a very good decision. When I got home, I managed to get the Frozen items into the Freezer and the refrigerator items in it, I grabbed a bottle of water and hit the recliner. My O2 wasn’t that bad - 92%, but I was totally wrung out. I needed to sleep for a couple of hours. When I woke up, I was still feeling pretty washed out, so I decided that I’d have a Lean Cuisine Bowl for dinner. I mean all I had to do was nuke it for 4 - 1/2 minutes, dump the solid stuff into the sauce and stir it. That was about all the energy I had. It turned out that Lean Cuisine’s version of General Yamamoto’s Pigeon was actually not bad. I ate it and washed it down with a bottle of water and then sat back in the recliner to recharge. I had wanted to light off all the Sea Sparrow missiles, but I really thought I’d put it off another day. I really was feeling limp. But as the food got into my system, I started feeling a bit more motivated. I developed a plan. I decided that the horrible Pulled Pork should get dumped by the curb. Passing critters who like things that smell that bad could get a free meal and I wouldn’t have to smell it in the house. Everybody wins; except dog owners whose dogs ate it, then got the runs from it. Then again, They might not. Maybe the dogs would only get a bad case of gas. That idea had me chuckling whenever I thought of it, all night long. I’m still laughing at the concept of people being driven from their homes by dog farts. I know; I’m not wrapped too tight! I went out to the driveway just before sunset, rolled out the hose and prepped the six Sea Sparrow Missile Batteries. MY neighbor’s kids came out and watched me as I lit them off. They were really Good! They whistled; they screeched; they went up in red, yellow and green streaks and they exploded. Not loud, or huge. but there were 546 of them. My neighbor, Chris asked me how old I was and he was really impressed when I told him 71. Afterwards, I hosed down the remains of the batteries, rolled up the hose and put everything away (The utility knife, lighter and camera). I left the soggy bits on the walk overnight. I’ll collect them up this morning. Now; the only thing left to do is get my Sundae. If the weather cooperates and I have the energy, I’ll ride over to Aglamesis Bros. this afternoon. If not, there’s always tomorrow. I was completely surprised at my energy levels yesterday. I both accomplished the most since I came down with the Vid and I also recharged faster than I have been. To finish the Quote in the title; “So run the Days of Our Lives” Here are the Sea Sparrows, ready to go:  And here they're launching:  | ||
| 86129squids |
Ahhh, the joys of Pyromania!!! I love all things fireworky. Thank you for sharing that! Many moons ago I had a great friend with a very high back deck on the highest piece of property in his neighborhood. No telling how many $$$ we blew up out there. I discovered that an old oven mitt has many uses other than just cooking... Oh, and I'd already said it on another thread, but not here... Happy Gettin' Here day, AKA B-day, John. As I said above, your prose is improving each and every day. May there always be Snippets, as they brighten anyone's outlook. Thanks, man. | ||
| Aesquire |
Yea! May the candles on your cake, burn like cities in your wake, Happy Birthday! ( Mongol birthday song ( sung to the tune of The Volga Boatmen ) ) http://www-cs.canisius.edu/~salley/SCA/Bardbook/bi rthday.dirge.html And a belated answer. Yes, cheesecake is appropriate for breakfast! | ||
| Crusty |
40 Years Today’s an Important Day for me. I have been sober and drug free for 40 years. It was on September 26, 1981 that I smoked my last joint and drank my last beer while partying with friends in a swamp in New Hampshire. I had been going to AA since July. I had made a couple of attempts at not drinking and/or drugging, but I was trying to do it my way and my way flat didn’t work. My last run started on my birthday. I had been feeling especially alone and unloved. I had gone out for a ride, and the whole time, I was telling myself that I deserved to get high for my birthday because I was all alone and nobody loved me. My parents had me over to their place for dinner. We had a nice meal, and they gave me gifts and I ate cake. I put on the Face and smiled and thanked everybody (parents and siblings) and told them I was tired and I was going home. I decided that I was going to get high when I got there, because I was all alone and nobody loved me. I got to my place and parked the bike in the garage. When I closed the door, Bill (who lived on the second floor) was on his back porch and said to come up. I went up, and he had some mutual friends over for a semi-surprise party, complete with cake and gifts. Once again, I put on the Face. I smiled and told everybody how touched I was. I stayed long enough to let everybody know I really appreciated them; then I made the excuse that I was really tired and I was just going to bed in my room in the cellar. I thanked everyone and went down to my room. I wanted to get high because I was all alone and nobody loved me and I deserved it. Now; I had been completely straight since early August, so the pot kicked my ass. I only smoked about half the joint before I nodded right out. However; when I woke up the next morning, I smoked the half joint before I even smoked my first cigarette of the day. I didn’t even think about it. Then, since I was high, I hit the liquor store and got a pint of Jack Daniels. I had no control over it. I didn’t even try. I was on a bender and I wasn’t going to quit until circumstances made me. Finally, I had gone by the Shop to get oil. My bike needed an oil change. I found out about the party and got directions to where it was going to be. I rode home and changed my oil and set off north. Amazingly, I found it. We were all up in the woods drinking and smoking and I discovered an amazing thing. While everybody else was having a good time, I felt like I had a glass box surrounding me. I was totally alone in a crowd of friends. I realized that I really felt all alone. That hit me hard. The next day, I was back in Massachusetts and I joined a Group. Once I started taking suggestions in AA, my life got better and it was easier to stay Sober. And the longer I stayed Sober, the better my life continued to get. While staying sober is One Day at a Time; it’s pretty significant to hit 40 years. Today will be a good day to ride over to Aglamesis Bros., enjoy my sundae and reflect on the past four decades of my life. Just thought I’d share that. | ||
| Crusty |
Me; 40 years ago:  |
