I'm feeling the earth move....sort of.

     Maybe my weight has a direct correlation to my inability to write.  I keep putting off exercise, and I keep putting off writing.
     So, what has been happening?  A lot, and a little.
     We finally had some dry weather last week and the landscapers came in and moved dirt.  A lot of dirt.  190 cubic yards of dirt.  Dirt trucks kept pulling up and dollar signs kept flashing in my head.  they worked hard Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday....and then it rained.  You can't really do much in the mud.  But it was dry Saturday and Sunday, at least until midnight when it poured.  You can't do much in the mud.  The forecast for this week calls for rain on Tuesday, and Wednesday, and Thursday.... You can't do much in the mud.
     The only end I can see to the rain is for the dirt to get cultivated, smoothed, and seeded...then the rain will stop.  I will have to run sprinklers every waking hour, but the rain will stop.
     Jackie is finally well after battling a norovirus for the last two months.
     Emily is away and I am dog sitting.  Now Cooper is a wonderful guy, but you have to watch him like a hawk.  He has a tendency to seek attention by attacking stuff.  By the way, Emily, if you are reading this... you need a new pillow for your bed.
    My first column was in the Rochelle paper.....and one person emailed me a comment on it!  I am glad someone read it.  My next column tackles the highly controversial subject of sidewalks.
In the past year I have lost 20 pounds.  I lose four, then gain five.  Then I lose three and gain two.  All total, I should way about 182 but in reality I am at 198.  I can't seem to get in the exercise habit.  I am in the eat anything that gets in my sight habit, but not exercise.
      Went out for my birthday dinner last week with friends MaryKay and Steve.  Went to a nice Italian restaurant in Dixon.  Now I love spaghetti carbonara.  It is a pasta dish, with chunks of salty ham or thickly sliced bacon served in a rich white sauce, often times with a soft boiled egg on top.  It is really delicious.  So I ordered a pasta calamari dish.  I have had calamari and always thought they were a little
rubbery.  Calamari, carbonara.....both start with c.  I can be such a dunce.  It was good, but it wasn't carbonara.
     The gasoline smell is almost gone from my Honda.  Spilling two gallons in the trunk is not a smart thing to do.  Not having a cap on my mowing  gas can is a mistake I will not be repeating.
     My basement project is at a standstill.  All I have to do is wrap some pipes and finish insulating.  I was at that point three weeks ago.  Maybe this week.
     And so it goes.  Some days I feel on top of the world, other days I feel the doormat of the world.
     But with all the mud around the house, another doormat might not be a bad thing.

The first of many

Back yard before mowing.

With dirt

Dirt helps!

canyons have gone...still steep

a level front

after mowing

New chapter to an old book

     I think I am just bored.
     I am always looking for something to do, but I don't want to do anything.....which if that makes sense to you, we'll pop a bottle of Indiana red and you can 'splain it to me, Lucy, cause I am clueless.
     Example:  Bought a hook for dearest to hang her purse on...... two weeks and counting and she still puts in on the floor because I haven't done my two minute job.
     But I have played solitaire.
     Have lines to learn for a little play this summer....have not worked on those for two weeks.  But I have taken some naps.
     I am doing a column for the Rochelle News Leader.  It is once a month and will begin after my park board sentence, I mean term, ends on Monday.  It's a column on local issues.....not funny, not serious, not too negative..... I am sure it will be so popular I will be swarmed by autograph seekers and publishers with book deals.
     I finally mowed at Emily's this weekend.  She had done it a couple of times but was gone and I needed something to get me outside.  Mowing when you don't have a yard is like an unexpected Christmas gift from a crazy aunt.  You want to open it, but somehow fear the anticipation is the highlight.
     I should keep track of my volunteer hours.  Maybe I'll create a weekly listing of hours given and distances travelled......and then not fill out the list or actually lose it like I have done the Tuscany list (three times!).
     I should learn to focus  more.... and if you replace the o with an i you get a plant!  Hmm.....
     I was thinking the other day about how I compare with people who are young.  We have our strengths.
     For example, people under the age of 40 know how to download tunes ... I know how to put that spindle in a 45 rpm record so you can play it on the stereo.
     Under 40s know how to text.  I can still dial  a rotary phone.
     Media nuts have multiple controls.  I know how to get up and push the channel up or down button on the front of the tv.
     Garman and Siri tell younger motorists where to go.  I still rely on the voice next to me in the front seat.
     The list could go on and on but I think I'll go put up a hangar.  And practice lines.  And nap.
     But first.....a little solitaire.

Smells, aches, and other neat shtuff

This has been a busy week.
Yes, I am retired.  And I do a lot of things I want to do, as my past week shows:
Monday.....night game at Wrigley
Tuesday.... Prayers2Pass at St. Paul's Episcopal Church
Wednesday...United Way allocation committee meeting
Thursday... oil change in Rockford and cable repair guy
Friday.... Cub game
Saturday... 92 birthday party
Sunday... MS Walk

     So I am tired this afternoon.
     Highlights and lowlights:  The MS Walk in St. Charles.  I had a little over $600 donated in my name, and I thank everyone who gave.  Emily, Sheri, Sarah and Noelle also walked with me along the Fox River.  We had a nice time walking, chatting, ogling other walkers and runners (especially young men!), plus we walked to raise money for a cause.
     Had a coupon for $20 off for an oil change and did not use it, and realized too late I paid for a tire rotation.  The rotation was supposed to be free, but I did not remind them.  Hopefully my account will be credited.
     Cubs won Monday, lost Friday although that was a winnable game and they just didn't hit.
     Lunch in French Market....delicious grilled cheese with cheddar, bacon, and Granny Smith apples.....it was yummy!!
     Lunch at Big Al's Italian beef near the ballpark....and I ate it without dripping on my shirt.  One of the best tasting Italian beefs I have had, by the way.
     Meeting students from every spectrum of life who were concerned about finals, their future, their friends and families.....and offering them spiritual and physical refreshment.
     Listening to the explanations given by various agencies doing business in Ogle County and providing services to the elderly, poor, troubled, and disabled.  These groups do a lot for those who  need help.  So if you don't contribute to the United Way, please consider doing so.  If you want information on how to do that, contact me.
     Spilling two gallons of gas in the trunk of my Honda.  That's why I have been driving with windows open and the heat running full blast.  I think it will clear up in five or six months.
    An addiction in the making......I seem to have had coffee every day.  Robyn's Nest in Oregon, Cypress House in Rochelle, Starbucks in Chicago........ and my personal favorite is Cypress House in Rochelle.
    But the next weeks will be a little less busy:  mini courses at Tilton,  BZ day, Exit 99 show (please come) a birthday dinner, sub gig, and hopefully watching a lawn get planted and the land graded.
     Like I said, retirement is a time to sit back, relax, and do nothing.

Name that tune....but not the person

     Here is something true about me you may not know, or even realize.
     Names confuse me.
      I can sing songs from the 50s and 60s, but names of people I know today are often as far away as the moon.
     I find it hard to find differences between similar items.  Or people, similar or not.
     So, when Joni and Cindy come into the Rotary meeting, sometimes Cindy is Cindy, but sometimes she is Joni.
     When I see my twin nieces (who do not look alike to anyone else in the western hemisphere), sometimes Charlotte is Samantha and sometimes she isn't.
     One time we had twins in fifth grade and the girls switched classrooms in the middle of the day.  I did not notice.  The class kept giggling whenever I called on Brittany, because they knew  I had no clue.
     They were not dressed the same, they were not wearing their hair the same....but  I failed to pick up on that.
     Someone who knows better told me:  Just say hello.  Don't use a name.
     Which is advice hard to follow for an impulsive guy like me.
     So when I see Donnie and his son in Headon's today, I say:  Hello Andrew.  You really are tall!
     At home I remembered Andrew is another family.  Robbie is Donnie's.
     (OK, I actually didn't remember but was informed of my mistake by you know who.)
     This is true.  One time we were in Eagle Food Store  (dates me) and I saw the mother of a boy in my class.  I had given him An Important Note.  We had checked out when I saw her, so I told Jack to wait a second.  I went over to the mom and said:  Please look in your son's book bag when you get home.  He has an important note.
    (Now it's an e-mail, tweet or text.  Back then I used paper and pencil.)
     The lady looked at me and said, " Ok, I will do that as soon as I get home."
     You know where this is going.
     Jackie asked me who she was, I told her, and she said the words I hear very often in life:  That was not so and so....in other words, she was a stranger.
     I can see her now, running home to find the note from the good looking, movie star bodied man who hit on her in Eagle.....or to see what pervert was putting notes in her child's book bag.
     I went into Country School recently...twice actually.  Called Kaitlin Ashley.  I realized my mistake....or should I say it did not seem to be correct when I said it.  Also have trouble with Haley and Kelsey...who also work at Country School.  Solved that problem by calling Haley KAYLEY....which isn't even a name of someone I know!  Let me stress...none of these people look like the other!!
      Being a relative does not help.   Ben is Michael, sometimes he is Ben.  Gabe can be Wade and Wade can be Gabe.
     I think it is a problem I have had all my life....which makes me uncomfortable.  Do I really know all the names of people I know?  How many Joes are really Gus?  And is every Mary a Mary?
     So when I see you, and I call you the wrong name, or no name, just tell me who you are.  It will save me a lot of embarrassment.
   And while I don't know a name, I know the person......I can remember their husband's name and all the important parts of their life.
    OK, that is a lie.  I met the husband of a former colleague at a party and said, "Geeze I know you work at that place, you are married to that woman, you live in that house....but I forgot your name."
   It was Terry.   Same as me.  Which means, I can't even remember my own name!!

The Annual Check Up

     I don't think I am violating any Hippa (Hipa?  Hippo?) laws, but we had a visit with the MS specialist at Rush this week.
     I enjoy the leisurely paced drive into the heart of Illinois.  Drivers are most courteous along the route and always drive the speed limit, by the way.  And the 45 minutes it took us to get from Rush to Mannheim was time well spent in communing with nature.
     Her appointment was at 2:30 and she went in at.....2:30.
     Dr. B., and a doctor to be with one year left in her program, (Dr. young and pretty) sat and chatted with Jackie, asking questions, doing reflex tests, balance checks, and listening.
     We talked about a new drug she has been on for a year, Amprya, a drug developed in part by her first MS specialist at Rush.  Some people have been experimenting with the drug, taking two doses in the morning and one at night which seem to have a noticeable improvement over the generally prescribed one in the morning, one at night.
    He told us that the disease usually, and usually is the operative word here, "burns itself out" somewhere in the mid 60s.  What debilitation you have suffered at that point most likely will not be recovered, but can be improved.
    We talked about her discontinuing her weekly injections.  This is a drug that costs a lot of money and thankfully her insurance covers it.  I honestly don't see how people can take this drug without an insurance plan.  Actually, both drugs are in the $$$ range.
     The majority of MS cases are reported in northern latitudes...it is almost unheard of in southern climates.  The majority of victims are women.
    Some studies have linked a lack of vitamin D in diets to the disease, and there may be a cause and effect relationship but it can't yet be proven.  His advice:  tell our daughters to take vitamin D daily....minimum 2,000 units.  He recommended Jackie up her dose to 5,000 units.  He also said this is a long term situation.  Taking Vitamin D for a week or two isn't the key...but taking it for life is.
     Jackie was also one of the lucky winners of the Who Gets Food Poisoning Contest at the recent retired teachers event....in which a rumored 75 of the 100 plus attendees came down with nausea, diarrhea and the ever lovely projectile vomiting. (Whereas I did not suffer any aftereffects.  Sheri K. thinks it's because my world traveling and eat anything philosophy has created a tougher stomach.)
     Dr. B reminded us that MS slows down the body's reaction to fighting illness.  He said while others took a few days to recover from the luncheon, her body may need 2 weeks.  And indeed, it has taken longer than we hoped but she has been fine for two days .... (that is the sound of me knocking on wood.)
     If you live in Rochelle, chances are you know someone besides Jackie with MS.  We seem to hear of new cases every week....friends of friends, sisters of friends, total strangers who now share a link that really nobody should have to share.
     When she was diagnosed 15 years ago, we were told researchers were very close to finding a cure.  Well, they still are looking.
     In some ways we are lucky.  Yes, she shuffles her left leg... but she is walking.  Yes, she tires easy...but she is walking.  Yes she wobbles like a Weeblo .... but she is walking.
     And so am I.  I am walking May 5 in St. Charles in an MS fundraiser.  My goal is $500 and donations can be made by visiting the MS Chicago website, finding the fundraiser button, looking for the St. Charles walk and then entering my name and your donation.
    This disease can be cured, it will be cured.  Hopefully in our lifetime.
     So take your vitamin D and take a moment to support me and the thousands of MS patients in Illinois with a donation.
     We will all thank you for helping win the battle against MS.

Earth day is when?

     Today, April 22, is officially Earth Day.
     Not sure exactly what that means.
     I look in my garage and realize, Earth Day is more than just today.  I have a can for recycled plastics, one for paper, one for aluminum cans, one for items to go to the zoo.  (BZ has needs of Altoid tins, stackable yogurt cups, plastic newspaper delivery bags and a whole bunch of other odds and end type stuff during the year.)
     I also have a small container for dead batteries.
     And a container for electronics waste
     And a corner for hazardous waste.
     And a box for the resale shop.
     My garage is a mess!
     I once did a presentation in a science class on a scientific concept.  Other people did presentations on matter, energy, biodiversity.  I did mine on the concept of away.
     Which, strangely enough, is not a scientific concept.  But it should be.  What do you do with an unwanted Styrofoam cup?  Throw it away.
     But what is away?  Where is away?  That styro cup or plastic water bottle or plastic bag does not go away.  It lingers in landfills, festers in fields, tangles in trees (in case you have not picked up, I am using alliteration to interest you).  Newspaper decomposes, but those materials just merge into the soil.
     I don't think anything ever goes away.  It just takes a different form.
     So when wifey says, "This doesn't work.  Throw it away." I can't.
I have to check to see if it is recyclable plastic, or an electronic, or an item that can be reused. Only when I have exhausted all areas (and her patience) can I truly put it in the trash and hope the garbage men take it.
     But I know it will never go away.
     So Earth Day is a conflict for me.  I try to be good to  Mother Earth, but let's face it:  We can't save the planet by ourselves.  I think that whenever  I drive to BZ, which is a 160 mile round trip, using about 3.5 gallons of gas.  That is a waste of a natural resource, which is converted to energy and to carbon dioxide which seems to be harmful to the earth and all living creatures.  As the gas guzzlers pass me on the tollway, I realize not only can I do better, but so can a lot of people.
     So on this Earth Day I am going to wash windows.  Instead of using paper towels, I'll use the old dish towels that are too full of holes for drying dishes.  I'll use vinegar and water as a cleaning agent.  Then I'll head off into the garage and try to arrange my mess.
   By the way, my brilliant, innovative and highly entertaining presentation on the concept of away earned a D.  Go figure.