THE BASEBALL TRIP

My friend Nick Ammar and I decided back in the winter that we needed to do a baseball adventure. There must be a way to take in a number of baseball games over a 5 or 6 day time frame knowing that the most important game would be the LA Dodgers visiting the Cincinnati Reds. 

I did some Googling of schedules and came up with St Louis, Cincy, Pittsburgh, Detroit, and Chicago. Ending in Chicago was perfect as we could have our wonderful wives come there and we could all spend a few days touring around. 

It all worked out pretty well and we had a great time. What follows are the daily postings on Facebook. 

Day 1 of The Baseball Trip (TBT). The plane from Richmond to Atlanta was an hour late and I barely made the connection to St. Louis. However my bag also made the connection which was a good thing. We toured around in downtown St. Louis in the afternoon and saw the arch as well as other sites in the city. The baseball game was a lot of fun. Thanks to Dan Kiley and his son for helping us with the tickets and joining us at the game.

Day 2 of TBT (The baseball trip). Nick and I left St. Louis with a flat tire and had to return to exchange rental cars. Not a great start to the day. After a long drive through basically empty countryside we got to Cincinnati. The ball game from the standpoint of the Dodgers was a great game. They won 3 to 1. The Reds looked good however as it was a close game. We had a great dinner before the game and are headed to Pittsburgh in the morning. The fireworks after the game were spectacular.

Day 3 of TBT. It was an easy drive from Cincinnati to Pittsburgh. We arrived early enough to our motel to get a workout in and then get downtown before all the traffic for the game. Had a really good dinner at City Works and then walked around downtown before crossing the bridge over the Allegheny River to PNC stadium. The Pirates ended up winning the game over the Cubs. It was an 8.15 game so we got back to the motel late. Another really good day!

Day 4 of the TBT. We left the Pittsburgh area early this morning in order to get to Detroit for a 1.10 game time. It was an easy drive but we did run into traffic coming into the city. And then walking from our parking spot to the stadium it started raining. The rain stopped and the game started about a half an hour late so everything worked out perfectly. The seats we had were behind home plate and had a great view. Thanks to my friend Len MacEachern for giving us his tickets while he played golf with his son on Fathers Day. For each of the four games so far we've had a different view point in the stadiums which has made it fairly interesting. Our ranking of the stadiums so far would put St. Louis and Cincinnati at the top and Pittsburgh and Detroit at the bottom. We had dinner with Nick's daughter Lauren and her husband Troy. Looking forward to Chicago tomorrow! Happy Father's Day to the all the dads !

Day 5 of TBT. An eventful trip from Detroit to Chicago to drop off the car. We totaled about 1300 miles and 8 states from start to finish. We ran into a lot of traffic around Chicago and then getting into Chicago our exit was closed and we had to take a detour. Talk about the blind leading the blind. We finally got to the hotel to drop our bags and then head to find the Avis drop off point in downtown Chicago in traffic. Not an easy thing to do but we made it. Candy and Pam made it to the hotel later in the afternoon. PAM's plane from Roanoke was almost canceled. We had a nice leisurely walk to the Navy pier. Italian dinner at Volare Ristorante. An evening walk to The John Hancock building. Big John, as they call it, was magnificent. The views from the top were spectacular.

Day 6 of TBT. We started with the architectural boat tour of the Chicago River. This was a great trip up and down both branches of the Chicago River with the narrator telling us about the architectural characteristics of all the different buildings. Followed that with hanging out in Grants Park and millennium Park. We had lunch at Wildberry Café. 50% of the people in the café were eating breakfast. Humongous pancakes and French toast. Saw the Cubs beat the Padres that night!

Day 7 of TBT.
Another great breakfast at the Corner Bakery Cafe. We rode the hop on hop off bus for the day and went to the Field Museum and the Shedd Aquarium. We could've spent a lot more time at each one of them. A full day at least for each. The bus was narrated and well worth it. We had a great dinner at Catch 35 followed by the play Aladdin. Great day!

Day 8 of TBT.
We had a "Mr. Toads Wild Ride" from the hotel to the airport to come back to Midlothian. This was a wonderful trip with great friends and we have some great memories and additional hats as souvenirs!

So, as they say, in conclusion, the consensus of Nick and I is: 

• Avis did the right thing in replacing our car but did the wrong thing by allowing an obvious problem to perpetuate itself. 
• we rank the ball parks as Cincy and St Louis at the top, followed by Pittsburgh, Detroit, and Chicago. Reasons are the amenities surrounding the first two and the roominess of the parks, quality of concessions, and viewing areas to see the game. 
• yes, we know the nostalgia factor with Wrigley Field but the seats, the view, the crampiness, etc are a problem. Chicago needs a new ball park!
• Marriott brands and Hilton brands are worth the extra money due to the consistency of quality. In Chicago, we stayed in the Intercontinental Hotel which is an IHG hotel and we were also very pleased with it. 
• We found a good breakfast place in Chicago right across the street from the hotel so we paid a normal price for breakfast instead of $25.00 per person!
• Both Delta and American are now providing "free" drinks and snacks and with one exception, ran on time. 

We are already planning next years trip, which might include Washington Nationals, Baltimore, and Philadelphia. 

I have decided to resurrect my blog and am committed to putting my current thoughts in wirting every week or so. I tried "tweeting" but it turns out my thoughts run longer than the allowed words. So, here we go. 

TURNING 70!

Thanks to all those wished me Happy Birthday on my 70^th! It was a very good day spent down here in sunny southwest Florida. The only thing missing was a birthday cake, which was well substituted  by a piece of Florida key lime pie!

The turning 70 thing got me thinking about what it really means, if anything. When I was in my teens the concept of turning 70 was not on the radar. Long term then meant “what am I going to do this weekend”.  That plus cars and sports were about the only things on my mind. Not even the project due the next morning was in the picture. As an aside, it is funny how history repeats itself; vivid in the memory banks is the time our high school age son came downstairs one Sunday evening about 9.00 and asked “if we had any poster board”. His project was due Monday morning.

In the 20’s and 30’s, the only person I knew that was 70 was my Dad. He was 50 when I was born. He worked long hours every day so my guess then was that everyone did that. The only thought I had of me getting to that age was that I didn’t want to be working as hard as he did.

Finally, when I got to the 40’s and 50’s, I began to think that we really should be thinking about life in the 60’s and 70’s and beyond. So, some financial planning was in order. 

The thing that is different now about turning 70 compared to turning 70 many years ago is this: now we are much more mobile and can travel; we can play sports such as golf and tennis that old people “back then” didn’t or couldn’t do; we can operate a computer ( our phone ) that has much more power and capability than the old card fed mainframe computers; we have medical procedures that can sustain life and improve mobility, etc, etc, . We have Facebook and social media (not sure if this is good or bad).  I also think maybe our minds are more active. I know that the more we use them later in life, the “sharper” we are.

The point of all this is that turning 70 is both a big deal and not a big deal. I have had many friends that are now gone, God bless their soul, thus it is a big deal. Many of us are still ticking and doing well however and thus it is not a big deal. Being old is a state of mind and I truly do not feel “old” but I know that 70 is pretty old in that many do not make it this far or if they do, are having problems.

Being old and thinking you are old are two different things. As for me, even though I am “old”, I am going to keep on thinking that I am not “old”.

Anyone for turning 80?  

GOVERNMENT SPENDING HAS TO SLOW DOWN!

Here are a couple things that you really need to know and pay attention to. Spread the word if you agree. Now is the time to let your Congressmen Congresswomen know what you think.

First of all, you are aware of the Sequester cuts in spending that are supposed to start in March if nothing else is done. I am saying that even though they might be tough to swallow for some areas, overall this is the best thing that can happen. That is of course, unless Congress figures out a way to work together and readjust the cuts. Good luck on that!

We have to quit spending so much money that we have to borrow. The increases in debt  need to stop and the only way to do this right now is to stop spending by the Government. We have raised tax rates at the end of last year so now it is time to cut spending. Right?

That was the deal, raise taxes and cut spending. Well what do you think Obama and the Democrats want to do? Cut spending? But no, they have not put forth a plan (other than the Sequester) to cut spending at all! They want to raise taxes some more! Something has to happen and that is why we should just go ahead with letting the Sequester happen. Maybe it will jar some sense into the “spend at all costs” Democrats.   

Here are three  examples of government spending gone totally out of control; and not just spending by the Democrats but all parties:

·         Take three minutes to watch this video; it will scare you and make you angry; we have to stop the spreading of government programs that employ more and more people and create more and more regulations that strangle the American economy;  http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=xOAgT8L_BqQ&feature=player_embedded

·         Per the Wall Street Journal on February 19^th, 2013 the government cell phone program has spent $2.2 BILLION in 2012; this us up from $819 Million in 2008. That is an almost tripling of the size of this program in only four years.

·         Look at the salaries in the federal government in terms of average size compared to the private sector:   https://iqconnect.lmhostediq.com/iqextranet/view_newsletter.aspx?id=102293&c=VA07EC Now while I am not a fan of Eric Cantor he does lay out for all of us what is going on in Washington right now. The current administration has given an across the board pay raise to all employees when the average government employee already makes more than the average private sector employee. First of all, across the board pay raises eliminates the initiative to perform better and get MERIT pay raises, which is what the private sector uses. Second of all, right now when most private sector employees are not getting any raises, why should the government hand out a raise to everyone across the board?    

Thanks for listening and reading. If you got this far you are concerned. Lets do something about this. Let your representatives know how you feel. When it comes time for the next election, pay attention to what the candidates are saying, then vote for someone who wants to reduce the scope, size and spending of our government. 

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS!

So here it is, one night and I am pondering some profound questions and wondering about the answers.

Question: why do they say that golf is a mostly mental sport and not all physical?

Answer: because unlike most sports, the action is not coming at you nor is it constant motion such as soccer, football, lacrosse, etc. In most sports you don't have time to think much, you must react quickly and or think quickly about what is happening and what you are going to do. Golf, on the other hand, has this little ball that is sitting still and needs to be hit. You have way too much time to think about how, where, and with what club to hit that little ball. As the warden said in Cool Hand Luke, "you need to get your mind right Luke"! Without a confident mindset in golf, you are not going to play your best.

Question: in the upcoming elections, who is going to vote for Obama?

Answer: the 47% of people in this country who do not pay any taxes! We are being lead down the road towards full blown socialism faster than a speeding bullet!

Question: is this scary for our future?

Answer: you bet it is! Look at what is happening in Europe right now. They have massive problems and now France has just elected a Socialist to bring back the "public dole". Greece, France, Spain, Italy, etc all have economic problems due to a lack of work ethic brought on by generous public benefits, early retirement ages and lavish government pensions.

Question: What can we do about this?

Answer: Vote out Obama, Pelosi, Reid and the other Democratic incumbents and also some of the obstructionist Republicans. We need a cooperative Congress who will drastically cut costs and refine Social Security and Medicare as well as make our tax code more simple and more fair. Yes that might mean raising taxes for some but also should mean lowering the percentage of people who pay NO taxes: that is outrageous.

Question: are you going to hear this from me again prior to the elections?

Answer: YES

THE DEBT CEILING AND CONGRESS

Ok, what we know is that Congress needs to vote to raise the debt ceiling of the United States of America by August 2. Our debt will be $14.29 Trillion at that time and we still need to have room to take on more debt!

Why do you think we need to have room to add more debt? Well, the answer is simple. 18% percent of every dollar the government spends goes to interest. Yes, that is right; it goes to pay interest on the existing debt. So what is happening is that the debt never gets reduced; it only goes up because we don’t have a surplus of revenues over expenses.

To put this in simpler terms; it is just like the mortgage loans that were made to help create our current economic crisis. They just paid interest and in many cases did not even pay enough to cover the interest so the balance of principle went up. That is where our country is right now. To put it in even more simpler terms; no economic unit can continuously spend more than it takes in. That is the road to bankruptcy!

Now the parties are arguing about how to fix the current mess that they and their predecessors created. The Democrats want to cut some spending and raise taxes by eliminating the Bush tax cuts among other things. The Republicans want to cut a lot of spending and leave taxes alone. All this is in return for raising the debt ceiling, which is a conceptual problem all by itself. So they have been at a standoff.

Before I go any further, do you know that all the income taxes paid in this country are paid by only 50% of the people? What, how can this be? Well, with all the entitlement programs and all the tax breaks for low earners and low tax brackets themselves that is how it all works out. Now, I will grant that much of this is needed. But, taken as a whole, 50% don’t pay any taxes? The burden of running our massive government (a problem in itself) falls on only one half of the tax paying public!

Now back to the question of how to get everyone off dead center and make something happen by August 2 because if nothing happens by then do you have any idea of the economic turmoil that will be created? The bond market goes crazy and interest rates sky rocket because no one has confidence in US government bonds. The stock market probably craters due to the anticipated effect on our economy. We will see a recession like we have never seen before both in terms of degree and length!

We currently have grown adult Congress people acting like children; not just the Democrats but the Republicans as well. In fact, our very own (I live in Virginia) Eric Cantor is leading the way in childishness.

What is the right solution? Seems kind of easy doesn’t it. Only agree to raise the debt level if substantial expenses are cut (3 to 4 Trillion) and ok, yes, let’s close a few tax loopholes (there are many to choose from). While we are at it; let’s pass a balanced budget amendment. Also, let’s take the payroll ceiling off Social Security Earnings and make the cost of living formula more realistic. Make some changes in Medicare to reduce costs. Most important, if we close some tax loopholes, some of those must be to increase the percentage of people actually paying taxes.

Lastly, we need to make some changes in how Congress works. For example, they don’t have the same health care plans as we do, they don’t have to abide by insider trading rules (nor does their staff), they get a full pension after working in Congress for only 4 years, they vote themselves raises when they want to, they take advantage of overseas travel for themselves, their spouses and their staff, etc. All this needs to change!

What can you do? Several things. First of all you can write or email your Congress people and tell them to quit playing games and get something done. Second of all, if they don’t, vote them out. In fact, until they quit acting like children on all issues, we should keep voting them out until we get some people in there who want to do good things for the country instead of trying to get reelected 24/7!

Nuff said!

HARRY REID STILL DOESN’T GET IT

Did you see “Meet the Press” on NBC this past Sunday? Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid was one of the guests. He was interviewed by David Gregory, the host of the show.

One of the questions had to do with the Tea Party. No, they were not talking about the little play party that the Obama girls had the other day. And no, they were not talking about the Colonists throwing barrels of tea in Boston Harbor several hundred years ago.

So, unless you have been living in Outer Mongolia for a couple years, you know that the Tea Party Movement had a profound political effect on the makeup of our Congress in our recent elections. It had a big part in making the Republicans the majority in the House of Representatives and getting closer to majority in the Senate.

Old Harry was shaking in his boots as he was in a very close election and barely won, as was the case with many incumbents. But many other incumbents went down to defeat. Many of these defeated Congress people were Democrats but some were Republican as well.

The question put to him was: do you think the Tea Party will be a lasting part of our politics in this country? Reid’s answer was that the Tea Party emerged because of the country’s economic problems. He went on to say that the Tea Party will no longer exist when the economy improves and that it is getting better every day.

Harry, you are not listening to the people. You are not paying attention to what just happened. Are you so senile that you can’t see what is going on?

This is the point. The Tea Party is neither Republican nor Democrat. It is American! This is the point that Harry Reid is missing. The people are tired of their Congress people not listening to them. They are angry that their Congress people do not have the same rules as they do. For example, they don’t have the same health care plans, they don’t have to abide by insider trading rules (nor does their staff), they get a full pension after working in Congress for only 4 years, they vote themselves raises when they want to, they take advantage of overseas travel for themselves, their spouses and their staff, etc.

This is why so many incumbents went down to defeat and why it will happen again in the next election. If the incumbents don’t get the message, then someone new will take their place. The people want to be heard and they want to be really represented by their Congress people.

It is not just an economic issue. The Tea Party will be here as long as our Congress people do not listen to their constituents!

This is the point Harry, do you now get it?

THE AUTO TRAIN

You know what they say; don’t knock it until you have tried it. This applies to many things: to food, to athletics, to events, to places, etc.

In our case it applies to the Auto Train. In case you don’t know, the Auto Train is an Amtrak train that runs north and south between Lorton VA(near Washington DC) and Sanford FL (near Orlando, FL) almost every day of the year. As you would guess they call it the Auto Train because you put not only yourself but your auto on the train.

Thus, you avoid the distinct pleasure of driving south and north on Interstate 95. I95 is a concrete and asphalt slice of Americana: in this case and at this time of year, it is a slow moving parking lot most of the time. Every RV and every slow moving elderly driver is in their car going south.

Wait, that is not exactly true. There are almost 500 old drivers on the Auto Train. My wife and I, while not spring chickens, are on the young side of the Auto Train population. Believe me, if you are driving South at this time on I95, you better be thankful that these almost 500 people are not on the highway with you. I am telling you that they can hardly move about on the train, much less navigate a car. But, when they arrive in Sanford, watch out because these people saddle up and drive their car out on the highways with you and me!

Will we do this again? Since it is now 1:20 in the morning and I am typing this posting after trying to sleep, you can answer that question most likely. The daytime atmosphere was ok. We could see out the windows and then after dark, dinner was pretty good. After that, all Hell broke loose. Most people went to sleep or at least tried to. The snoring is pretty bad. The track noise is pretty bad. The on again off again lights from outside are pretty bad. Do you need a little extended bathroom time? Forget it as the rest rooms are few and the knocks on the door are many, not to mention that some of these people apparently have trouble hitting the commode. The floor was wet and messy. Are you getting the picture?

Well, we had to know what it was like. Yes, I am glad we did it, or are doing it since we have another 6 long hours to go. But, will I do it again? Probably not. I am going to be a zombie today; or will it be tomorrow, or this morning, or whatever the rest of the trip will be. I have lost track.

Give me the heavy traffic and slowdowns any day; at least we will stop somewhere and spend the night in a hotel with a real bed and real food and wake up rested.

Update: it is now the evening of the second day and we are at our destination. Both of our eyes are heavy. We had to take showers just as soon as we arrived, not to mention shaving and brushing teeth. Am now looking forward to getting a good night sleep tonight!

PLATELET RICH PLASMA THERAPY: FIVE WEEKS

Week five and time to visit the ankle Doctor for a checkup. He questioned me closely about how long I was non weight bearing on the ankle and how long I wore the ankle brace after going off crutches.

Then he yanked and twisted and poked my ankle to see if and where it hurt. The bottom line is that it still hurts some but not as much as it did before the procedure. I told him that I have not yet done any exercise on it such as swimming or exercise bike. He said I could start that stuff but not to do any running or elliptical etc. Still no golf until February 1.

We talked about what is next from a treatment perspective. He still thinks it will get better to some degree. The main problem is getting my foot in a position with orthotics so that it does not put strain on the tendon. Well, no luck there. He asked if I had done the orthotic at his office and I had. But, I said that I gave up on the adjustments after two tries.

He didn’t want me to give up and even said that further adjustments were on him. Did I have the orthotic with me, he asked. I got them out of the car. He looked at them and said that he agreed with me; they were not right and he would get the adjustments made. I am waiting on a call in a couple weeks.

So, I am going to make my own adjustments to existing pairs of orthotics and off the shelf inserts. I think I have enough knowledge to cut and paste pads etc to make something that works. That is my project for this weekend. No, I am not a podiatrist but did sleep in a Holiday Inn last night!

Bottom line is that the ankle is better and will keep getting better the more I can get the foot in the position that does not strain the tendon. The sooner the better on that. I can actually tell if a shoe or orthotic or insert irritates or makes it feel good.

Another appointment in February.

PLATELET RICH PLASMA THERAPY; FOUR WEEKS

Yes, it has been four long weeks of being on crutches (three weeks) and wearing the ankle brace and or walking boot (one week). I have missed some good golf weather and golfing experiences with my golf buddies. In addition, I have missed swimming and working out.

On the plus side, I have gotten some books read and many office and home projects attended to. Everyone has been very nice to me, wife included! In fact, she has gone beyond the call of duty by attending to my needs. I owe her big time.

The ankle is feeling better each day. I am now wearing shoes but no brace or walking boot. It seems like I can walk and move around better as times goes on. I am not trying to push it by doing a lot of motion exercises however. In fact, the Doctor told me not to do any of that.

I go back for my five week appointment next Wednesday and I will do a report at that time. I am hoping to get the go ahead to swim, lift weights and ride the exercise bike. He has already told me not to swing a golf club until February. If the ankle gets well, I can deal with that.

PLATELET RICH PLASMA: DAY FOURTEEN

Well it has been two weeks since the procedure. Two weeks on crutches and one more to go. It seems like the longest two weeks in history and especially the last week.

This of course is due to the dental adventures. The root canal was finally wrapped up this past Tuesday. More Novocain and more drilling. The good news is that I don’t have much pain but the bad news is that the tooth now needs a crown. I have made the dentist’s mortgage payment this month for sure.

Back to the ankle. If I can hang in there on the crutches through Thanksgiving and through next Tuesday, all I will have left to do is wear the walking boot for a week.

I have to admit that some weight has been put on my left foot from time to time. Not anything constant however. Please don’t tell my doctor!

Not much else to report on the ankle. Family is coming in for Thanksgiving and I hope that everything will work out ok with me having to still be on the crutches. I haven't been much help to Candy in getting ready. I am sorry about that but things are in pretty good shape food and housewise.

So, another report next week after I ditch the crutches.

PLATELET RICH PLASMA: DAY EIGHT

This has turned out to be the root canal from hell! What? Isn’t this supposed to be about the PRP ankle procedure? Yes it is but the tooth issue is outweighing the ankle issue right now.

My ankle is about the same; using the crutches and the walking boot. No real pain at this point but of course there has been no “ankle activity”.

The tooth is a different story however. I last reported that the dentist did a root canal on this past Monday. Little did I realize that he only completed part of the process. The tooth was drilled out on Monday; of course after numerous Novocain shots. But the holes or canals were not filled up. Seems like there was an infection problem.

So I went back on Tuesday for what I thought would be the end of the process. Little did I know! More drilling after more Novocain shots! Not only does my ankle look like a pin cushion but now my jaw also is a pin cushion.

Ok, I gut it out and we will be done in this second session. But, when he is finished he said to come back in a week for the finish. What is going on here? The canals are still not filled up with the final filling. We need to wait longer for the infection to go away. I have been on antibiotics and mega pain pills. I am supposed to keep on taking them until both the pain and infection go away.

Man, this is way more than I signed up for! I am sure this is small potatoes compared to the problems others are having in today’s world so I am thankful for that but it does hurt a lot. The pain pills don’t do too much really and especially at 3 in the morning the pain comes’a’pounding in my jaw.

More to come later,

PLATELET RICH PLASMA; DAY FIVE

Today was the first follow-up visit with the Doctor. It was scheduled for 1:10 PM. However, this turned out to be the day from Hell! Do you want the whole story?

Here we go. I woke up this morning around 4 AM with a pounding pain in my left upper jaw. The culprit was the second from the back molar. Very sensitive to touch; even if my tongue touched it. Hurt a lot.

I did have a dental appointment scheduled for Tuesday but seeing how today is Monday, I wasn’t going to make it until then. So in addition to going the foot doctor, I got a root canal today as a bonus. Now the tooth hurts a lot still from all the drilling and Novocain shots. So when people say “that was as much fun as a root canal” they mean that it really was not much fun. No kidding; I am lying in the chair stiff as board waiting on the pain come. That my friends is stress.

Back to the foot doctor. He took the bandages off and guess what? I had thought he did about 4 injections. Well, there are nine little holes with scabs where the injections went in. This is in addition to the three holes where the nerve blocks went in. My lower ankle looks like a pin cushion!

The prognosis is to stay on crutches for another one to three weeks; as long as I can stand it. Further, he gave me a walking cast to wear from now until one week after I give up the crutches. Then, I can start swimming and doing the stationary bike. No elliptical or treadmill machines however. Upper body weights will be ok then as long as I am sitting down.

The bottom line question for me was: when can I swing a golf club? Bottom line answer was February one; my birthday. What a present that will be! So no golf from November 10 to February 1; basically three months. Since it took me about a year and a half to get here, I guess that is ok.

More entries to come later; tune in on the same channel.

PLATELET RICH PLASMA THERAPY; DAY THREE

Dear Diary,

This is the third day after the procedure. I am still on crutches; yes, I know the Doc told me I would be on crutches for two to four weeks. But, it seems like a long time since Wednesday! I am pretty bored actually. The main problem is not being able to be outside and enjoy this beautiful fall weather we are having.

I can get around pretty good but the problem is that I can’t take anything with me. For example, want to take a drink from the kitchen to the den? No can do. Want to take a book from the den to the bedroom to read at night? No can do. I have to have someone help me do little things like that. In my case, it is my lovely and devoted wife. She is being very nice to me and I will owe her big time when this is all over.

I also need help taking a bath. The doc said no showers since I am not to stand on the ankle and have a wrapping on it. But, something has to give. I mean the body odor can become pretty bad to me even if it is my own smell! So, we put a trash bag on my lower leg and put a bungee cord around it to keep the water out. Then I sit on the side of the tub and swing my legs around and lower myself with both arms. After that, we just soap and rinse like you would when normally taking a bath.

We went out for lunch yesterday and a friend took me out to lunch the day before so I am getting out a bit. Thank goodness the weather is beautiful and not rainy or anything like that. I am getting to read some books and catch up on the magazines. At church we are “reading the bible in 90 days” so I have caught up on that as well.

So, it is not all bad and I hope that the procedure actually works and the ankle gets healed up! Further, that my wife still loves me when it is all over.

I go back to the Doctor on Monday so another entry in the journal will come out then with an updated prognosis.

PLATELET RICH PLASMA THERAPY

This past Wednesday I had the injection. What is it? PRP is a relatively new therapy for repairing connective tissue in the body. The blood is drawn from the patient; put in a centrifuge and all but the platelets and plasma are separated out. This is what is injected into the wound. It is supposed to promote quicker healing of the damaged area.

In my case, I have had an inflamed tendon for about one and half years. It resulted originally from playing tennis. I knew that something happened when it happened. But I kept on playing. The next morning my ankle hurt like a sprain or maybe it felt like I jammed it.

So, I quit playing tennis but kept on playing golf. If you are a golfer, you know that golf puts a lot strain on the left side; in particular the knee and the ankle. I am such a dummy. If I had just taken a month off from every activity, maybe all this would have been unnecessary. We will never know however.

A year and a half later, I still am not playing tennis and cannot walk the golf course anymore; I have to ride. Even then, after playing my ankle hurts.

I have been reading about the PRP therapy and it seems to get good results. However, it only seems to be done in CA and FL for the most part. It was hard to find a Dr. in this area who does it. The orthopod that I was seeing for my ankle said it was too experimental and they don’t do it. I think maybe they just aren’t on the leading edge of medicine.

I did hear about a Podiatric group here in Richmond that is doing it. Made the appointment and yes, I was a candidate. The tendon was inflamed in several places and PRP might help. There are no guarantees. And guess what, my insurance company will cover the process! How about that! I guess my orthopod needs to catch up if even the insurance companies are covering the process! I will be on crutches for “two to four weeks”. Holy Cow Batman; that is going to be hard to do. But, sometimes the pain is worth the gain so let’s do it is my attitude.

They do this in the outpatient operating room. I had mine at Johnston Willis Hospital. Everyone there was professional and personable. Just a great experience.

If you want the gory details here they are. First I was given three or four numbing shots in my lower leg above the ankle. That hurt quite a bit. Simultaneously blood was taken from my arm. Then about 20 minutes later I was wheeled into the operating room. The Doc came in with the platelet rich plasma and started giving me the shots. Normally, it is one injection. However they had done ultrasound in the office the day before and had determined that I had about a 6 to 8 inch area of inflamed tendon. This time he gave me about 4 injections of the PRP. Each time he stuck me, he would wiggle the needle and moving it about to get the stuff all over. On about the second or third shot, it hurt and hurt a lot. Then he gave me more numbing stuff. So the last couple shots didn’t hurt but I was expecting it to. Thus my body was a stiff as a board waiting on the pain to come from each shot.

Finally it was over. Really only took about 20 minutes although it seemed longer.

Now it is Friday and I go back for followup visit Monday. I hope to get the wrapping off and get instructions as to physical therapy, activity etc. I don’t expect to be playing golf again until January; tennis a little later. Walking I would hope would come sooner rather than later.

I will put out a report after the visit Monday.

ELECTION DAY: IT IS TIME TO VOTE!

Ok, what planet are you living on? Have you not been paying attention to what is going on? Have you seen the shift to socialism in our country? Have you been observing what Congress has been doing or not doing?

Just in case you don’t know, let me fill you in on a couple things.

The Bush tax cuts expire at the end of this year. Congress has been trying to address this issue but decided it was just too tough to deal with and adjourned for their “fall break”. They might get to it, along with a lot of other issues, when they come back. This is an example of them not really wanting to address what needs to be done.

Another example: did you know that Congress and their many many overpaid aides are not required to comply with all the insider trading rules that the rest of us in this country have to comply with. This should be an outrage. The Wall Street Journal, in the October 11, 2010 issue, has documented a number of occurrences that would normally be insider trading violation issues except for the fact that the potential perps were Congress people and/or their aides. How much more aloof and out of touch can they be? How could a law like this get passed in the first place? This should tell us that things need to change.

Not to mention that Congress has their own elitist health care plan and retirement plan.

Do you realize that there are 536 people in our country that decide everything that happens? We the people don’t decide anything except the election of our 100 Senators and 435 Representatives and 1 President. We have a unique opportunity in this upcoming election and ones after that. We can change out all of them over time.

I urge you to vote in the upcoming elections. This is the greatest country in the world however all great civilizations rise and fall. If we don’t do something, we could be on the downside of greatness. Our debt is too high and getting higher due to rising annual deficits. No country can keep on doing this.Look at what is happening in Europe. France and its long time socialism are having major fiscal problems. They are trying to raise their retirement age from 60 to 62 and the people are going nuts. Can you believe this; they don’t want to work past age 60 and they want the state to take care of them. Where do they think the money comes from?
Same thing is going on in Great Britain. They are having massive cutbacks and the people are raising hell.

That is what happens with socialism; the people think that money comes from the government and is unending. They don’t want to work and have lost all initiative.

This could happen to us if we don’t do something about it.

THE TIME IS NOW. Vote for a change in Congress. We need term limits. We need people in congress who will really represent what the majority of the country wants and not what will benefit them individually. We need Congress to have the same health care and pension plans that the rest of us have. We need to reverse the socialistic trends that we have embarked on. We need to reward entrepreneurship and initiative.

GET OUT AND VOTE!

IMMIGRATION: MY THOUGHTS

What is this: another blog or article on immigration? How many more do we need? Opinions are like toes; everyone has at least one and some have ten. And everyone feels they are qualified to comment on the subject. Same for me; I have opinions on everything including immigration; just ask me!

What makes me the expert anyway? You don’t have to be an expert to have an opinion; just look at our US Congressmen and women. They aren’t experts in anything and really don’t know anything about anything and they are running our country! We need to get them all out but that is the subject of another blog posting (coming soon to a computer near you).

So, here is my non-expert opinion on the subject. I do have some qualifications; just for the record. Both my parents “came over on the boat” from Lebanon and Syria. Growing up in an immigrant family in a decidedly “American” hometown gives one a perspective on this that others might not have.

Both of my parents and their “old country” friends wanted to assimilate in the American culture. They came here legally! They became citizens. They got involved in the community and its organizations. They started businesses. They worked hard and supported the country. They learned English as quick as they could because that was the only way to communicate and it helped them earn a living and helped them in society.

Sure, they didn’t forget about the old ways and customs. They could still speak the native language and would lapse into it once in a while. Especially when they didn’t want us kids to know what they were saying!

But the point is: they became American in every way. In short, they assimilated themselves into society.

Today, it seems like everyone wants to be a (name the country)-American. What is this? Aren’t we all Americans, with a (name the country) heritage? I am not a Lebanese-American; I am an American with a Lebanese heritage.

Furthermore, I will bet you didn’t know that many immigrants are coming here illegally. No kidding! Does that make them aliens? Yes it does, by golly. You can divide the immigrants of today into two groups.

Those that come here legally seem to want to assimilate, become citizens, learn the language, support the government and communities, etc.

Those that come illegally seem to want to stay under the legal radar. Just work and send their money back home or bring their families here and continue to stay under the radar. However, they want to take advantage of our hospitals, school lunch programs, and other social welfare benefits.

We have to find a way to stop this problem of illegal immigration. I have no problem with any one coming here legally. Bring them on. That is how all of our ancestors got here in the first place.

So for me, the Arizona law is the way to go. Is it profiling? Well if the objective is to not have illegal immigrants from Mexico or any other country (yes, even the Middle East), then you need to use that profile to identify them and see if they are legal or not. How else can it be done?

Since the Federal Gov won’t do it, then each state needs to pass its own laws. However, the Federal Gov needs to do this. We need to elect new Congress people who will get this done is the answer.

What do you think?

45TH HIGH SCHOOL REUNION?

Okay, the question is: do you go or not go? My 45th High School reunion was held this past weekend in Huntington WV. It had been in the planning stage for the last five or six months so the date was not a surprise. The only other high school reunion that I have been to was the 20th. Somewhere along the way, during about 8 address changes, I got lost in the system.

As far as attending, I could think of many reasons not to go and many reasons to go.

As far as not going:
· It was a six hour drive one way;
· I needed a hotel room for two nights;
· There were other things going on in my life and that of my wife that needed to be done;
· Will my wife have a good time; really, should she even go?
· Am I going to know or remember anyone?
· Will they remember me?
· Will the normal cliques show up that happen in any group of a graduating class of 550?
· Etc, etc?

On the side of going:
· The first night’s gathering was going to be held at a location in which my deceased father had his business so that would be a good reunion in and of itself;
· What other opportunity would there be to relive old experiences with people I grew up with from kindergarten to high school?
· Having made the effort to be found, how could I now not go?
· Maybe some close friends from that part of my life would be there;

So, it was time to “fish or cut bait’ so to speak. Just send in the money and block off the weekend and go! That was it. Go and have a good time and see what happens.

What I can tell you is that all my positive expectations were exceeded and none of the negative ones materialized!

I had a wonderful time. I have never hugged so many women in two nights in my whole life! I even hugged some of the guys!
We were able to go back into time and relive old experiences and happenings. It was so great to find out what happened to people after high school; learn about their kids, their careers, and their travels in life. Everyone one was so nice to everyone; there didn’t seem to be any exclusionary activity going on. My wife, bless her heart, was a good sport about going; she even found a person that she went to high school with (the wife of one of my buddies). I think she had a good time, given the circumstances. The organizers out-did themselves with the logistics, food, and handout booklet. About the only problem going on was trying to hear what someone was saying given that the music was kind of loud.

Am I glad to have made the effort to go? Absolutely, no question about it! Will I go to the 50th high school reunion? Absolutely, no question about it!

If you get the opportunity to go to your high school reunion, you should give it a shot. Might be glad you did!

WHO CAN WE BLAME FOR THE OIL SPILL?

Yes, we have a major disaster going on the Gulf of Mexico, other wise known as the Gulf of Oil!
Yes, it is the result of an accident and or negligence or acts of ignorance.
Maybe it is the result of criminal activity in the form of willful ignorance of safety regulations.
Probably not is it the result of someone purposefully trying to cause an oil spill such as this.

However, our U.S. Attorney wants to prosecute someone or some entity for criminal and civil activity. In a press conference, U. S. Attorney Eric Holder said there is “a wide range of possible violations”. He also said authorities aren’t “clear on who should be ultimately be held liable”.

What? So we think that there might have been some criminal activity and we don’t know who did it but think someone might have?

So, the government is on a witch hunt to find the perpetrators! What do I think?

Well, one of the main things you do in business as a good leader is to solve the problem before you start assigning blame! Think about it. If you have a problem, you need to fix the problem and in order to that, you need everyone’s focus to be on fixing the problem not on trying to evade blame.

Sure there probably is some blame to go around. Might even be some non compliance with government regulations and even with BP’s self imposed rules. However, doesn’t it make more sense to get everyone focused on stopping the oil leak before diverting attention to assigning blame?

Yes, we know that the Obama administration is quick to hand out blame and not take responsibility for anything. I did hear Obama, in a speech, take responsibility for this disaster. Wow! Should Attorney Holder go after Obama? I don’t think that is going to happen.

Yes, let’s get this leak stopped. Let’s use all our resources to get this done. Then, we can find out who and what might have caused this disaster. That is what good leadership would do. We haven’t really had a good leader as President since Ronald Reagan, is my opinion.

What do you think?

WHEN IS AN APPOINTMENT AN APPOINTMENT?

Have you ever made an appointment to get your hair cut? Gone to the barber shop (or hairdresser if you are a “girly man”) and had to wait while the barber finished cutting the guys hair who just got in the chair?

Ever gone to the Doctor for an appointment and then been seen an hour later?

Ever gone to the Auto dealership for a service appointment for an oil change and had to wait an hour before they took your car in?

WELL, I HAVE DONE ALL OF THESE AND I WILL BE YOU HAVE TOO!

Kind of makes you mad when this happens. Why did you make an appointment anyway? You wanted to get in and out and rather than wait, you called them and set up a time, probably days or weeks away from now, so that you could get your business taken care of in a timely manner.

I have to tell you that I have “fired” my barber when this happened twice in a row. I also ask the front desk at the doctor’s office if I have to wait longer than 20 or 30 minutes: “is doctor so and so running late today or did you forget about me”. If he isn’t running late, I usually get called in 5 or 10 minutes. Sometimes, the docs really do run late but shouldn’t they tell you about it. I have had one doctor office that actually did that.

I will only go to an auto service department that has given me good service. I fired the last one that kept me waiting too long and then tried to sell me services that they had already done several months ago!

You have to speak up and look out for your self when this happens. That is the only way things can get better. Be sure and let the vendor know that you are dissatisfied. The customer and/or patient do have rights i.e. a “customer or patient bill of rights”!

Let me know how you have addressed these issues.

I WAS JUST WONDERING WHY……………

If the new Health Care proposal is going to cost over a trillion dollars, how is it going to reduce the deficit? I have yet to see an explanation that is understandable that explains how this will happen.

Can someone tell me why Goldman Sachs is being put under the gun for the mortgage meltdown and for trying to make money for their shareholders? Did they make all these people take loans that the people knew they couldn’t pay back? Did they induce the public to sign false statements about their income and job stability? Isn’t this just another example of people and government trying to blame someone else for their problems? Why can’t we just stand up and take responsibility for what each of us do?

Why is the President now establishing a “deficit reduction” committee? Right after he and the Democrats just spend trillions on the new Health Care bill. I can tell them how to reduce the deficit if they would just ask me! Instead I will vote out everyone who is coming up for election.

Why do the Democrats really think that they can tax the ones who make money and give to the poor and that this will solve all our problems? Are you kidding me?
Here is a very appropriate clipping on this, from 1931 no less:

You cannot legislate the poor into prosperity by legislating the wealthy
out of prosperity. What one person receives without working for, another
person must work for without receiving. The government cannot give to
anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody
else. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work
because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other
half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is
going to get what they work for, that my dear friend, is the beginning of
the end of any nation. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it."*

Adrian Rogers, 1931*

Don’t they know that capitalism is what makes our country great? once again, and you have seen this from me before, we need to vote the Democrats out this fall and consider voting out ANY incumbent!