Posts in the “personal” category

“There isn't time, so brief is life, for bickerings, apologies, heartburnings, callings to account. There is only time for loving, and but an instant, so to speak, for that.”

~ Mark Twain

I’d been thinking about buying a large cellphone (phablet) recently, and every time I mentioned it to a woman, they immediately asked, “Do you know how small the pockets are in women’s pants?” That makes me think there’s a market for women’s pants with larger pockets.

“To produce a mighty book, you must choose a mighty theme.”

~ Herman Melville

This is a nice, smart, compassionate response from the owner of the Miami Dolphins, to the president of the United States, who continues to embarrass himself and everyone that lives here.

Every once in a while someone asks what writing a book is like. For me, it usually looks like this. I hate to waste paper (and I recycle almost everything), but I think much better on paper.

“The best thing you can do is find a person who loves you for exactly what you are ... good mood, bad mood, ugly, pretty, handsome, what have you, the right person is still going to think the Sun shines out your ass. That’s the kind of person that’s worth sticking with.”

~ from the movie Juno

“You process things a little better when you put pen to paper.”

~ Trevor Siemian, Denver Broncos QB on something he learned from Peyton Manning (and something a professor told me in college many years ago)

I watched The Time Traveler’s Wife for the first time tonight (I think). It was very good, but I wish he could sing.

Just found a checkbook from the college years. Balance peaked at $271, almost half of the “balances” were below zero.

This is an image from a calendar I found in Boulder, Colorado a few years ago. Each month had a different “peace” or “love” image like this one.

A “Luke/Vader” light switch. Clever. Geeky.

Shortly after a dream in which people were trying to kill me with guns that shot carrots (to which I replied, “I get the metaphor, can we move on?”), I had another dream in which a woman picked up a stone, turned it over, and showed it to me. A burning image of Jesus on the cross was on this other side.

Skipping over some stuff, it eventually reminded me of this quote: “Jesus said, ‘The Kingdom of God is inside you, and all around you, not in mansions of wood and stone. Split a piece of wood, and I am there. Lift a stone, and you will find me.’”

(notes from a dream on september 3, 2016)

I don’t know how my father was raised, but at times he could be domineering, mean, and negative. That has created a “cause and effect” karmic ripple that continues to influence people generations later, and long after his death.

(To be clear, he wasn’t all bad.)

westword.com has this great interview with Alfred Williams. He’s a former football player who played at the University of Colorado, and then played for the Broncos at the end of his career, helping them win two Super Bowls. These days he’s on the radio, and he’s great to listen to in the afternoon. He seems like a really nice guy, and I’ve wondered how he gets along with his radio partner, who occasionally doesn’t seem like a nice guy, and the article touches on that.

A corn farm in Spring Grove, Illinois created this nice tribute to the Chicago Cubs World Series win. From the article, “the maze is a full 28 acres of land with about 10 miles of trails.”

Eddie: How’s it going, man?

Tito: I’m okay.

Eddie: Yeah? Sure? ‘Cause you look like you got a little hitch in your giddyup.

From the movie, The Heartbreak Kid

(A friend said a similar thing to me recently.)

August 31st is a new anniversary for me: One year ago today I hit rock-bottom health-wise. On that day, despite feeling very sick, I needed groceries and went to the store. By the time I got to the milk section I was shaking quite a bit, and when I tried to pick up a half-gallon of milk, I didn’t have the hand strength to hold onto it, and it fell to the floor. It exploded open and soaked my lower legs and feet.

After a few moments of humiliation, I thought I better find a store employee so they could clean it up. As I walked around trying to find someone, tears were welling up in my eyes because I was so upset about my health; I couldn’t even grip a half-gallon of milk. I finally found someone, a young, healthy man — healthy, like I used to be — and when we got back to the milk section he nicely said, “No worries, don’t cry over spilled milk.” That made me want to cry even more.

When I was laying in bed later that afternoon (because that was all I could do by that time), I started doing research on my phone, and made a decision to stop taking a medication a kidney specialist started me on in February. Stopping that medicine made me even sicker in some ways, but that turned out to be a good thing: It became the final clue that I have Mast Cell Activation Syndrome. These days, other than significant dietary restrictions, I live a relatively normal life.

I’m just catching up on my email backlog, and want to thank everyone for the well wishes. I’m now ~95% recovered from Surgery #6 (which was also Invasive Procedure #11), and back to full-time work.

“It’s okay, I know you’re scared. Okay, just don’t be scared. Just don’t fight it, okay?”

From the excellent movie, Thunderheart

Solar eclipse today, surgery tomorrow. Let’s get this party started!