Let the Summer Doldrums Begin!

It has been a long time since my last posting. I don't want anyone to get bored or give up checking but I just didn't feel like posting. Sorry about the long delay. A lot has gone on lately. Last week was the ARRL Field Day. A national event that promotes the hobby of Amateur Radio. Our club went to East Flats which is interestingly enough just east of Barton Flats. It's a primitive camping areawhere there are no fees to camp. You pull up select a spot and set up. No fires, no toilet facilities and no people either. It was a fantastic weekend camping out Friday- Sunday. Great food, good friends and lots of radio fun. We made over 400 contacts operating portable.
Tammy's dad still continues to concern us in that he has had some congestive heart failure issues recently. Somehow he's got his mind set that he's going to die. We're hoping that he will just decide to fight it.
The kids are all great, Melissa is beginning to look BIG. Alicia is growing too. Our grand daughter is growing like a weed. We have a lot of fun skyping with her. That eases the distance somewhat.
Today is July 4th, a good time to reflect on independence and the responsibility that comes along with it. Seems like for some it is just another excuse to drink lots of beer. Oh well... idgets are boorn every day. We went up to see my dad today. He was in a sort of melancholy mood but, he's surviving.
We had to tear out our floor this week. The freezer drain had clogged and slowly ruined the floor under the refridgerater. We decided to go ahead and do a major remodel on the kitchen. New cabinets etc... God help us, it's going to be a lot of work. That's it for now,

Until next time I am humbly yours.

Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr me hearties!!!


OLD GUYS RULE!!!!

Is It Really May?

I don't know if I have anything interesting to say this week but, here goes. This year is going by really fast. I guess I'm over the hill now cause I'm picking up speed. What's up with the heat? It's been really hot in So. CA the last few days. It's too early for these hot yucky days. We've already had to run the AC in the afternoon. Usually I wait until mid June or so. I guess I could just suffer in the heat... naaaaaaaaaaaaaah. I hope we can afford to run it this year. I expect SCE to jack the rates up into the stratosphere along with everything and everyone else.

I hear the commander-in-joke made a donkey out of himself yet again. Sigh... I guess they never learn, what did Forest Gump say? Stupid is as stupid does? Or in this case, stupid is as stupid says. I don't know about you but he gives me the creeps. He's Clinton-esque in that same arrogant silver tongued sort of way. Almost too slimy even for a politician. HellOOOoooo, ever hear of Chicago? Gangland's corrupt political system USA? The home of Al Capone?

I had a comment on the last post, first time in... forever I think. Of all things the Pinky and the Brain sound clips gave a few chuckles. Well, I'm glad it did, Laughter is soothing and like chicken soup for the soul. I always did like Pinky and the Brain. "Brain, do you know if I change the P in my name to an O, it's Oinky?" LOL, Ya gotta love it.

We had some frightening news this weekend, Tammy's Dad had a heart attack. He had been complaining of heart burn since the week before. So when Paula haulled him to the Dr, they discovered he had a heart attack. Apparently, the damage is severe enough, they can't risk clearing the blockage yet. That makes him a candidate for a severe attack. I believe they are going to put a defibrulator in to keep his beat normal. Now if he'll just quit smoking. This year has not started well...

Sara is at home and working hard to make a few bucks before she heads off to Washington in August. Alicia finally went back to work. She still has morning sickness but she's learning to cope with it I think. Melissa has a cold, Tammy is doing ok this week. My Dad's life is filled with the drama of dating women again. I think he realizes finally or at least is beginning to realize how different it is nowadays. I don't envy him at all. I'll keep what I've got thank you.

Until next time, I am humbly yours.
Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr me hearties!

OLD GUYS RULE!!!

Birdie birdie birdieeeeee

An intelligent well thought out exchange.

Imagine Pinky of "Pinky and the Brain" fame saying Birdie birdie birdeeeee... Then you'll get the general idea.

Another highly intelligent well thought out exchange. :)

Please let me know if you enjoy these. Otherwise, it's not worth the trouble to keep this up. "Old Guy" stuff is beginning to get well... old.

Until next time,
ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR Me Hearties!!!



OLD GUYS RULE!!!

Something Old Something New

• Something New

I just looked at the pictures of my Grand daughter, Sarah Rose Ott on her blog. Yes, can you believe it? She's got her own blog. It's administered by her very capable mother, my daughter Melissa. I had to laugh at a couple of the pictures, they were funny in that cute kid like way. One of them though was a crack up. There she was, in full Easter Sunday regalia, hunting for Easter Eggs. That part wasn't funny but it sure is cute. The funny part was where she was sitting in her beautiful Easter dress complete with the white ruffle-butted stockings and white church shoes on. Squarely plopped down in the dirt. She must be related to me. Tammy and I both got a good laugh out of that. I guess she really enjoyed the hunt although I think she enjoyed the goodies that were in the plastic eggs.

• Something Old and New

Most of you are aware of my affinity to photography. Lately I have been active in a digital photography forum. Digital Photography School or DPS, an on line community of photo buffs from around the globe. I have recently made friends in Myanmar, Malaysia, the UK and all over the USA. It's pretty cool stuff. I post my photos to the share your shots forum and get comments from all over the world. It's pretty amazing what people like and/or don't like. Take a look at my most recent thread and have a gander at some of the comments. DPS also sports all kinds of instructive and how-to articles on all phases and aspects of photography geared to all levels of photogs from the novice to the professional. There's something there for all.

• Something that's just plain old

That would be me and my urinary woes. Thankfully, I have been feeling better and better as the weeks go by. The last 2 weeks I have felt better than I have felt since Christmas. The drainage pipes seem to be slowly getting better at producing the correct amount in the right amount of time. As of the last test, I was infection free. I never in a million years thought something as basic and as simple as being able to pee would bring such joy and pleasure but, it sure does. An Old Guy thing? LOL, you betcha! Beginning 2 weeks ago, in their infinite lack of wisdom my employer saw fit to put me on graveyard shift. So, the 10 or so years i spent on this miserable shift were not enough to acquaint me with how to run things at night. At least in so many words that's what I'm being told. Another Old Guy thing? You betcha! They have younger less experienced people they want to groom for other higher paying positions for the day shift posts. How long? I don't know. It could be anywhere from another 2 weeks to another 4 months. I think it will become longer. With this city it's always longer. One thing that's good about this: none of the idiots that put me here are working at night. Also, when things go awry as they quite often do in a poorly maintained and old facility like this, I get to call them and wake them up! That makes me happy... Jibes from the plant that time forgot.


Until Next Time,

ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR me hearties!!!


OLD GUYS RULE!!!

On and on it goes

I wish sometimes that I could just push the right buttons and everything would be better. Imagine it, push the stop pain button and the pain would just go away. Not just physical pain but emotional pain as well. In the physical realm, I could have saved my mother many years of pain and suffering. In the emotional realm I could saved my father the years of anguish and duress of watching my mother suffer and finally to die. Imagine, no more death no more pain caused by the unthinkable horror of what men do to one another.

I'm afraid I don't have the power to do any of that. As all of you are aware if you know me at all, I have been suffering with my own malady of late. The dreaded urinary problem. I'm nowhere closer to a solution to this than when it put me in the hospital for a week near death from septicemia.

What is a person to do? I have asked myself that question over and over the last few months as I endure this. Have I done something to displease God? I don't think God plays tit-for-tat with anyone. That would mean that I a mere man could somehow make myself more acceptable to God by doing something right. Or make myself less acceptable by doing something wrong. That is simply not the case. I cannot do anything to make myself more or less acceptable to the Almighty. That would mean I have replaced God's providence with my efforts. It's a hopeless state. I believe He's more interested in having a relationship with us. Simply put, Jesus paid it all.

Is my body just old and worn out? No, I'm only 52 for crying out loud. The Apostle Paul had an infirmity he spoke of in II Corinthians 12:

⁷To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. ⁸Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. ⁹But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. ¹⁰That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

It's truly a conundrum. When I am weak, I am strong in Christ. Right now I feel helpless and weak. In Jesus though, I'm strong. I may get discouraged and sometimes absorbed in self-pity but, I know who is ultimately in control. I'm glad it isn't me. I could really mess things up. I can see now that through my life, God has orchestrated things to bring me to one inescapable conclusion. He has given all of us a way to have joy and hope. By having faith in the free gift of salvation through His Son, Jesus Christ.

For now I'll keep on keeping on and hope and pray for a recovery from this problem. My bladder feels full so I guess I'll go try again.


Until next time, ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR me hearties!!!!


OLD GUYS RULE???!!!!!

Relief?

Well, my post last week was kind of gloomy. I saw the urologist Thursday and he left the catheter in. Yesterday, I saw him again. This time he took it out and shoved a scope up where the drain pipe used to be. He said he saw nothing that should cause the type of problem I was having. Sigh of relief? I guess... I have no idea what happened but at least I don't have anything visibly wrong. Now I'm back to drinking lots of liquids, and keeping a journal in my mind of how the "bathroom session" goes. I have to report back via telephone regularly today to keep the urology department at Beaver Medical Group up to speed on my progress or regress as the case may be. So far, it looks good. I just hope it continues that way.

Until next time,

ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR me hearties!!!


OLD GUYS RULE

Eight Days In

Eight days, 192 hours, 11,520 minutes and 691,200 seconds. You may be asking yourself " Eight days where?" I'm sorry if I lead you astray but, I'm talking about this confounded catheter. Last time I had this thing in, they said it was caused by my prostate gland. I guess that's an " old guy thing." What does the prostate do besides cause old guys problems you may ask? The prostate (from Greek προστάτης - prostates, literally "one who stands before", "protector", "guardian") is a compound tubuloalveolar exocrine gland of the male mammalian reproductive system. See the wikipedia version here.This time has been more painful than last. I don't know why but, at least I get to see the urologist tomorrow. I really hope he takes it out. I'm getting really tired of emptying this little plastic bag out. I have a bunch of questions to ask that guy. I even wrote them all down. So please pray for me, this is starting to bother me. I'm bored out of my mind and looking to the Lord for guidance.- Thanks

Glad this is short? Me too LOL.

Until next time, ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR me Hearty!!!

OLD GUYS STILL RULE!!!!