A Moment Of Clarity

On January 29, 2011, in Relationships, by ralph

100 Years

Yesterday started out as a very ordinary day. I got up and had breakfast with my wife. I then wandered around debating whether or not to go out for a run. I didn’t really feel like it but I finally acquiesced, put on my running clothes and took off. I normally run to a hospital about one mile from the house and run through their campus because the roads are well plowed in the Winter and it makes the run less dangerous and more enjoyable. As I was finishing the run and heading off the hospital grounds, a car pulled up beside me and a pretty young woman gave me a big smile. It was my daughter. What a pleasant surprise that was. She’s in her final year of medical school and is doing a surgical rotation with a plastic surgeon at the hospital. She had just gotten done with surgery and was heading back home. I had completely forgotten that she was there. That made my day. I have to admit that I had a little flashback to the days when she was just a little girl and when I’d come home from work she’d give me that big smile of hers. What a joy and blessing my little girl has turned out to be. My wife and I are so very proud of her.

Later that evening, I was watching a repeat of the series finale of the TV series JAG. I had seen it before, but this time I noticed the background song playing during the final few minutes of the episode. The song is called, “100 Years” and is sung by the group, Five For Fighting. What an amazing song. The piano melody is beautiful but the lyrics are what truly set it apart. I’ve included the lyrics below. It’s a song that explores a man’s life as he passes through the various stages of his life. When he’s 15, he’s longing to become an adult. At 22, he’s found his true love and things are great. At 33, he’s still a man but now he’s married and has a child on the way. At 45, he’s having a midlife crisis and looking back at his youth. Then he’s halfway through his life; suddenly he’s in his sixties and wise but life is quickly passing by. Finally, he’s 99 and dying for just another moment and longing for his youth. The chorus line throughout the song is telling you that 15 is the perfect age to be because you have your whole life ahead of you – time to buy, time to lose, time to choose. “There’s never a wish better than this, when you’ve only got 100 years to live.”

Seeing my daughter that morning and hearing the words to that song in the evening provided a needed moment of clarity in my life. Life is quickly starting to pass by. I need to enjoy the moments of the present. I can’t do anything about the past and I can’t worry too much about what the future may bring.

Click this link 100 Years to watch the video. It’s a beautiful song. Highly recommended.

Lyrics for 100 Years by Five For Fighting

I’m 15 for a moment
Caught in between 10 and 20
And I’m just dreaming
Counting the ways to where you are

I’m 22 for a moment
And she feels better than ever
And we’re on fire
Making our way back from Mars

15 there’s still time for you
Time to buy and time to lose
15, there’s never a wish better than this
When you only got a hundred years to live

I’m 33 for a moment
Still the man, but you see
I’m a They
Kid on the way, babe
A family on my mind…

I’m 45 for a moment
The sea is high
And I’m heading into a crisis
Chasing the years of my life

15 there’s still time for you
Time to buy, Time to lose yourself
Within a morning star

15 I’m all right with you
15, there’s never a wish better than this
When you only got a hundred years to live

Half the time goes by
Suddenly you’re wise
Another blink of an eye
67 is gone
The sun is getting high
We’re moving on…

I’m 99 for a moment
Time for just another moment
And I’m just dreaming
Counting the ways to where you are

15 there’s still time for you
22 I feel her too
33 you’re on your way
Every day’s a new day…

15 there’s still time for you
Time to buy and time to choose
Hey 15, there’s never a wish better than this
When you only got a hundred years to live

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Little Known “Facts”

On December 6, 2010, in Humor, by ralph
  • Biblical scholars recently unearthed a previously unknown gospel written by a disciple named “Rusty”.
  • If you place a fresh Viagra tablet in a houseplant’s soil every six months, the plant will not wilt.
  • The number of words in the Bible divided by the number of verses equals exactly 666.
  • Winnie the Pooh was originally named “Winnie the Pee”.
  • After extensive study of the Shroud of Turin, it has now been theorized that Jesus had muttonchops.
  • Citizens in Ohio unsuccessfully tried to start a charitable organization called “The Salvation Coast Guard”.
  • By law, all globes in Australia are displayed upside down.
  • If you notify the flight attendant that it’s your birthday, most airlines will let you exit the plane on the inflatable slide.
  • Bonnie and Clyde had another partner named Harold who was unfortunately killed in their first holdup.
  • The last words of 47% of American men are “Hey, watch this!”.
  • Beethoven wasn’t really deaf, but only pretended to be deaf when his mother-in-law was around.
  • One-third of explorers who’ve visited both the North and South Poles developed bipolar disorder.
  • The Q-Tip was developed after serious design flaws were found in both the O-Tip and the P-Tip.
  • Mr. Rogers was a sniper in the Vietnam War.
  • Alan Shepard was the only astronaut to leave his wallet on the moon.
  • 22% of airline pilots have a child named “Roger”.
  • BMW is developing a side-view mirror in which objects may be farther away than they appear.
  • No death-row inmate has ever asked for tofu as his last meal.
  • In the Blackfoot Indian language, there is no translation for the name “Clarence”.
  • Orville Wright was the first member of the mile-high club.
  • The earliest rocking chairs only rocked forward.
  • If you make a cow laugh hard enough, milk will come out of its nose.
  • By 2012, Pizza Hut hopes to focus less on pizza sales and more on its hut business.
  • According to a recently found artifact, it appears that Mary and Joseph’s second choice for a name was Larry.
  • To create a nurturing, non-judgmental atmosphere, many math teachers now tell children that no numbers are truly negative.
  • A strict vegan will not indicate nonsense by using the word “baloney”.
  • A Wisconsin man was beaten by an angry mob because he asked for “no cheese” on his Whopper.
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Obama: The Peter Principle President

On November 1, 2010, in Politics, by ralph

Obama

In 1969, Dr. Laurence Peter wrote a book called “The Peter Principle.” He formulated the principle that “in a hierarchy every employee tends to rise to his level of incompetence.” Well folks, if there’s any president in history that epitomizes this principle to a tee, it’s Obama. He’s finally seeing firsthand that when you’ve never led a day in your life, it’s a bit of a challenge to be a U.S President. He did a great job campaigning for President, but as everyone can clearly see now, it’s a whole lot easier promising all these great “Changes” than it is actually delivering on them by governing.

He’s become so petulant and thin-skinned over the past several months and his rhetoric is so completely over the line that it’s hard to believe that he’s actually a President. He seems so childish in how he handles any form of criticism. Calling Republicans “public enemies” and telling them they can “go to the back of the bus” is so beneath the office, it’s ridiculous. He certainly doesn’t dignify himself by taking so many cheap shots. It’s one thing to make valid rebuttals to your adversaries. However, name-calling and petty rejoinders are demeaning and have no place in Presidential discourse. This summer, just a few miles from where I live, Obama was at a groundbreaking ceremony for a new battery plant. Sitting in the front row was our U.S. House Representative, Peter Hoekstra (R). During his speech, the President said; “Some made the political calculation that it’s better to obstruct than lend a hand. They said no to the tax cuts, they said no to small business loans, they said no to clean energy projects. It doesn’t stop them from coming to ribbon cuttings — but that’s OK.” Talk about cheap shots – this was completely over the line of decency in politics. To make that statement in someone’s home district while he is in attendance is beneath contempt. I can’t think of any President in recent memory that’s stooped so low. And this comes from the same President who just a few months before said the following at the University of Michigan commencement ceremony on the other side of the state: “We can’t expect to solve our problems if all we do is tear each other down. You can disagree with a certain policy without demonizing the person who espouses it.” A little hypocritical now, isn’t it Mr. Obama?

The latest case in point that shows how his general lack of character and unseemly speeches have diminished the office he holds was how he was spoken to on his interview with Jon Stewart a few days ago. Here’s a comedian calling the President of the United States, “dude.” Never in my life could I imagine someone calling the President a dude, right to his face. Unbelievable! It shows a total lack of respect for the man and the office he holds. He, and he alone, is responsible for lowering the stature of the office. It’s as simple as that. After his term is over, I see him following in the footsteps of Jimmy Carter. He’ll be going on every talk show he can and making the same lame and pathetic excuses for his failed Presidency. Just like Carter, he’ll blame someone else for his shortcomings. These two men demonstrate with perfect clarity what you get when you lack leadership skills and a sense of honor.

I, for one, will no longer call the man, Mr. President. He doesn’t deserve the title and he will never get my respect.

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10/10/10

On October 13, 2010, in Miscellaneous, by ralph

I did something sort of unique last Saturday without even realizing it. It was a beautiful and sunny Fall morning and I decided to go out for a run. I was planning on doing a medium length run of 10-15 miles. I haven’t been doing much running or biking since the Boston Marathon. Prior to the marathon, I would usually get a half-marathon run in every week or so. Without any marathon to train for, I’ve been slacking off. I decided to try for a little longer run. I ended up running 10 miles. I didn’t really think anything of the distance until I plugged my GPS watch into the computer to upload the data. There it was. I had run 10 miles on 10/10/10. I started the run at 9:49AM. Therefore, I also happened to be running at 10:10:10AM on 10/10/10. The picture below is a screen capture from the Garmin program that shows the data from that run. Pretty cool, eh?

Run data

That little bit of trivia is pretty small potatoes compared to what happened to a local couple from the Grand Rapids, MI area on that day. They had a baby born on 10/10/10. Of course, you’re probably thinking that a lot of other couples had babies born on that day, too. However, the Soper family’s story is even more unique. They also had a baby born on 8/8/8 and one on 9/9/9. Can you believe that? I don’t know for sure, but I would imagine that they’re probably the only ones that can claim that. It sure makes it easy for them to remember their kid’s birthdays!

3 babies

Here’s a link to the story that was carried by the local news station.

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Hand Surgery (Part 2)

On October 9, 2010, in Miscellaneous, by ralph

Hand SurgeryHand SurgeryAs you know from an earlier post on this blog, I had hand surgery done on my left hand back in July. The graphics on the left are the before and after pictures. As you can see, the recovery is pretty much complete. There’s still a bit of a scar showing, but with time it should be less noticeable. The day after I had the stitches pulled, I was in my backyard raking the beach. I probably should have waited a few more days before doing anything because I slightly reopened the top portion of the incision. As you can see from the photo, the top portion isn’t quite as cleanly healed as the rest of it.

The surgery itself was pretty interesting. I didn’t have them put me under. I avoid general anesthesia whenever possible. Instead, I had them perform what is called an arm block. They basically just deaden the arm muscle. You essentially have no real feeling in your arm and it seems like a dead weight if you try to move it. I was fully awake in the operating room and talking to the doctors and nurses. I could feel the surgeon as he cut into my hand and started to cut out the extra tissue. The surgeon let me look at my hand while he had it cut open. The inside of your hand is a very amazing piece of work. The blood flow to my hand was cut off so you could clearly see the blood vessels, muscles, tendons and bones. He had me move my finger, and as I did, you could see the tendon sliding back and forth on the back side of the finger. It was really cool. It’s times like these that I wish I had gone to medical school and become a surgeon. I think it would have been a great and rewarding career.

All-in-all, I’m pretty happy with the final results. My hand is back to normal and I’m pretty much doing everything I was before the surgery.

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Old Folks Humor

On September 14, 2010, in Humor, by ralph

I found some of the following one-liners on a website the other day and I thought I’d share them with you. I think it won’t be too long before some of them start applying to me!

  • Your sweetie says, “Let’s go upstairs and make whoopee” and you answer “Pick one, I can’t do both!”
  • You are getting a little action today – but that means the fiber is working.
  • You think an “all-nighter” is not having to get up to pee.
  • Your friends compliment you on your alligator shoes, but you’re barefoot.
  • You stop lying about your age and you start bragging about it.
  • You can live without sex but not without your glasses.
  • You think “getting lucky” means you find your car in the parking lot.
  • You point out what buildings used to be where.
  • A sexy woman walks by and your pacemaker opens the garage door.
  • You’re not grouchy; you just don’t like traffic, waiting, crowds, and politicians.
  • You’re wrinkled, saggy, lumpy, and that’s just your left leg.
  • Everything either dries up or leaks.
  • You realize that aging is not for wimps.
  • You write thank you notes without being told.
  • You answer a question with, “Because I said so!”
  • You wear black socks with sandals.
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Road Trip: Washington D.C. (Part 2)

On September 5, 2010, in Miscellaneous, Travel, by ralph

PussersAs I noted in a previous post, we spent some vacation time in Washington, D.C. If you’re willing to drive a short distance from D.C., there are many other places to explore. One side trip we took was to Annapolis, Md. It’s only about 30 miles or so from Bethesda. We met some old friends of ours from Monterey, CA who live in the Annapolis area. We spent a little time with them and walked around the shops and sites in the downtown area. We had a nice lunch at Pusser’s Restaurant (photo on left). It had a great view of the Annapolis waterfront. Of course you can’t go to Annapolis without also visiting the United States Naval Academy. Fred and Cindy gave us a nice tour and we spent a little time in the Academy gift shop. I spent a few weeks myself at the Naval Academy back in the early 80s, but it was so long ago that I didn’t remember too much of it.

Georgetown CupcakeOne final place we visited on our last day in Bethesda was the Georgetown Cupcake shop (photo on left). This is the store that is featured in the television series, DC Cupcake. I didn’t know that at the time, but my wife and daughter sure did. Normally, there is a long line of people waiting just to get in the door. Fortunately, this was a Monday afternoon and we were able to walk right in. As small as they are, those little suckers are expensive! $2.75 apiece or $29/dozen. We bought a few and took them back to our hotel room and indulged ourselves. We definitely had a great time seeing our daughter and visiting the sites. The time just flew by. The next day we were headed home and made it back in about 10 hours.

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Road Trip: Washington D.C.

On August 31, 2010, in Miscellaneous, Travel, by ralph

Bethesda Naval HospitalMy wife and I recently got back from a little vacation to the D.C. area. I haven’t been there in about 20 years and it was interesting to see all the changes. Our main reason for going there was to visit our daughter. She’s in her last year of medical school and is presently doing some medical rotations at the Bethesda Naval Hospital (photo on left) in Bethesda, MD. In addition to being the hospital for U.S. Presidents and other Washington VIPs, it provides medical services for many of our military troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. It’s quite an impressive facility and is directly across the street from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) complex. If you were going to be sick, this would be a good place to get some medical attention.

In addition to seeing our daughter, we were able to make a couple trips to the downtown D.C. area. On one trip, we took the Metro Rail. It’s actually a pretty stress-free way to get around. You can get an all-day rail pass and pretty much get to all the sites and attractions. We were able to see the Lincoln Memorial, Washington Memorial, World War II, Vietnam and Korean War Memorials, Smithsonian Institution, etc. On another day, we drove into town and went to the White House, Pentagon and Arlington Cemetery. You can easily spend a week or more trying to get to all the sites. Two days is definitely not enough.

I would definitely recommend using the Metro Rail to get around. You can pretty much get to any site you could possibly want and avoiding the massive traffic congestion is a major plus. The only bad thing about going at this time of year is the weather. It can get a bit warm, especially if you’re out on the National Mall for any period of time. I’m really glad we went, though. Besides getting to see our daughter, I think it’s well worth it to visit our National Capital.

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A Great Plan

On August 9, 2010, in Miscellaneous, by ralph

Sometimes, I don’t really feel like being politically correct. This is one of those times. I got the following “plan” in an e-mail from a friend. The e-mail attributed the plan to Robin Williams. However, I was able to discover from snopes.com that only the 11th item can be attributed to him. The rest appear to have come from an old listing on a Harley forum in 2003. Anyhow, although it may not fully describe my sentiments with 100% accuracy, it’s close enough. I have a feeling that a lot of other Americans agree with it, too.

The Great Plan

I see a lot of people yelling for peace but I have not heard of one plan for peace. “Books, not Bombs” won’t work. The head mullahs won’t let anyone read them. If they do, they poke their eyes out.

Here’s the plan:

1. The US will apologize to the world for our “interference” in their affairs, past & present. You know, Hitler, Mussolini and the rest of them ‘good old boys’. We will never “interfere” again.

2. We will withdraw our troops from all over the world, starting with Germany, South Korea and the Philippines. They don’t want us there. We would station troops at our borders. No more sneaking through holes in the fence.

3. All illegal aliens have 90 days to get their affairs together and leave. We’ll give them a free trip home. After 90 days the remainder will be gathered up and deported immediately, regardless of who or where they are. France would welcome them.

4. All future visitors will be thoroughly checked and limited to 90 days unless given a special permit. No one from a terrorist nation would be allowed in. If you don’t like it there, change it yourself, don’t hide here. Asylum would never be available to anyone. We don’t need any more cab drivers.

5. No “students” over age 21. The older ones are the bombers. If they don’t attend classes, they get a “D” and it’s back home baby.

6. The US will make a strong effort to become self-sufficient, energy wise. This will include developing non-polluting sources of energy but will require a temporary drilling of oil in the Alaskan wilderness. The caribou will have to cope for a while.

7. Offer Saudi Arabia and other oil producing countries $10 a barrel for their oil. If they don’t like it, we go someplace else.

8. If there is a famine or other natural catastrophe in the world, we will not “interfere”. They can pray to Allah or whomever, for seeds, rain, cement or whatever they need. Besides, most of what we give them is stolen or given to the army. The people who need it most get very little, if any, anyway.

9. Ship the UN Headquarters to an island some place. We don’t need the spies and fair weather friends here. Besides, it would make a good homeless shelter or lockup for illegal aliens.

10. All Americans must go to charm and beauty school. That way, no one can call us “Ugly Americans” any longer.

11. And lastly, “The Statue of Liberty is no longer saying ‘Give me your poor, your tired, your huddled masses.’ She’s got a baseball bat and she’s yelling, ‘You want a piece of me?'”

Now, ain’t that a winner of a plan??

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Hand Surgery

On July 31, 2010, in Miscellaneous, by ralph

Hand SurgeryHave you ever been in the situation of only being able to do things with one hand? I recently had some surgery done on my left hand to deal with a problem called Dupuytren’s Contracture. It’s a condition that primarily affects people with a Scandinavian heritage. My grandfather on my mother’s side was Norwegian. Certain sections of the palmar fascia, which is the tissue just below the skin in your palm, begins to grow, thicken and contract. This pulls on your fingers, primarily the ring finger, and causes it to start curling inward. It can get to the point where you can no longer straighten out your finger. I had this surgery done on my right hand in California about 12 years ago. I waited until the finger was curling in about halfway before I had the surgery done. The picture above was taken soon after the California surgery. This time, I didn’t wait as long. I had the surgery done just as the finger was starting to curl. The incision was a lot shorter and the recovery should be quicker.

It’s amazing how difficult it is to do the simple, everyday things with only one hand. If you’ve never been in this situation, try putting your underwear on, zipping up your pants and closing your belt buckle with a single hand. It’s a challenge. Washing, brushing your teeth and other hygiene activities really test your patience. Being left-handed made the situation even more challenging. I just had the surgery done on Wednesday afternoon. Hopefully, the recovery will go smoothly and I’ll be back to being two-handed in no time.

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