Can we have a forum for "older" people with bc?

Heavens opened up here last evening, in the predawn hours, and will probably do so again in about an hour. Had to ditch my training session, due to digestive issues, sore back, need to pack for Boston trip, and get ready for the dinner meeting tonight with our broker. Dreading that more than I dreaded a workout, as it means driving to Oak Brook during rush hour in what is likely to be a massive rainstorm. Last time I had to do that, I was en route to Iowa City last Oct. Took me 2 hrs to get to Oak Brook, and both my bowels & bladder were screaming. Found the first restroom I could, did my biz, and went on my merry way. Took me only 2 hrs. from there to Iowa City. I can normally make Oak Brook in under an hour from here. And “getting ready” includes my semi-weekly shampoo (don’t judge) and hair care session (a labor-intensive PITA—blow dry, flatiron or ion-brushing, made only a tad less so by those keratin treatments). I do shower daily and use dry shampoo in between hair-washings-and-conditionings. Trying to hold on to the hair I’ve got, thank my lucky stars I didn’t need chemo and keep letrozole from doing any more dirty work than it’s already doing. But I like having long hair, because it balances out the rest of my ample physique. And Bob does not accept change easily. (And heaven forbid I get a recurrence, chemo would be in my future, so I might as well enjoy the way I look now while I still can—if it falls out, when it grows back it’ll be frizzy & darkish gray).

Good morning everyone. It will be another hot day today. 105 again. After Sat. though it will cool a bit and be hopefully more tolerable. When you factor in humidity sometimes it can be hard to tell that it is better --- but low 90's should be a lot better than 105. Whew !! Hasn't been nice around here but tolerable. Good that we have VERY little concrete around here and lots of trees for shade. If a breeze comes up it makes it pretty fair.

As a kid some parents ( we didn't have one as we had a well for water ) would bring out the hose with one of those oscillating sprinkler attachments -- but it had to be pretty hot. We usually ended up making a bit of a mess of the ground on each side of where the water most landed. Good clean fun. I don't know so much about todays' kids having some of the fun we did. We did a lot of things that I doubt take place now. My sister and I had such a small room we had bunk beds. Since we were kids as well --- those mattresses didn't have to be very thick to be comfy. Consequently -- in times when the heat mainly stayed through the night we could take our mattresses out to the living room and sleep in front of the open door.

Another item about how nice this was. Our door was never locked. I'm not sure there was even a key. We didn't get to do it much -- but if we went away for any length of time --- the inside door was pulled shut only to keep rain out if we had a storm. I very much doubt anyone actually locked their doors. No one had much worth taking and in a town of about 200 people -- if someone was there who didn't belong -- EVERYONE knew it pretty quick. Easy to see why people, especially those who have attained some age become "wistful" about the good old days. I guess the thing is --- at some point because things always seem to change --- everyone will have some good old days --- but you'll have to pardon me for thinking mine may be better than so many others. Still, they are just as entitled as I am -- so no matter what your age " here's to the good old days " --- mine and yours.

Sandy, Men can be soooo stubborn. I'm married to one too. Hang in there!

He's napping now, after a light and healthy snack (tuna poke and oysters) plus drinks at our hotel bar. Walgreen's is about a half mile walk down Milk St. And MGH is a mile away, but his injuries, while icky, aren't ER-level. We're going out to La Voile in a bit over an hour--have to wake him up so he can change to a nicer shirt & pants.

The windows are fogged up this morning. I turn the a/c down to 68 when I go to bed. It's rumbling a bit outside and walking out the door will be like entering a greenhouse. DH tells me it has been hot up in MN, too. He has been running the a/c.

Yesterday I had a pedicure at a little salon nearby staffed by Vietnamese employees, like all the cheapie salons. I had a pedicure and a manicure for $39. A pedicure costs more than that in a more upscale salon. I was tempted to select a blue or green polish but stuck with my usual coral color for the toenails and natural for the fingernails.

This morning I'm watching the British Open golf and drinking coffee. I offered to bring my mother an oyster poboy for lunch.

Bingo this afternoon!

Happy Saturday.

Hi all,

Talking about husbands stubbornness, my husband was applying for a part time job at an airline. The first part of the hiring process was to memorize about 25-30 airline abbreviations. And it was worldwide airports. We worked on it for weeks and weeks, and he finally flew to Texas to take that test. He Was supposed to be gone 4or 5 nights for the whole process. He called me night #3, which I thought was just a normal call. His first words were "I can't see anything" WHAT? Seriously? He said he had to get someone to dial the phone for him. I asked if he had gone to an ER. Nope- costs too much. It happened during the test of the airport abbreviations, so he couldn't finish the test, and the job was no longer in his future. I asked if he was coming home early and he said no, he would have to pay for the new flight, while the airline was paying for the original flight. So he sat in the hotel room for 2 days, listening to the TV. I had offered to fly out to get him, but again- cost too much. One of my son's came to the airport to pick him up, because I didn't know if he could see enough to walk.

He managed to walk, but really couldn't see much- had some peripheral vision but not much. We tried to talk him into going to the ER because it was a Fri night, and he couldn't see his regular Opthomologist till Mon at the earliest. Nope- still wasn't spending the money ( we had good insurance, so it may have cost us $50-75). When we finally got to the eye Dr, he said there was nothing he could do at that point- he had had a bleed of some kind in Texas, and because he waited so long to see a Dr, the blood had damaged his eye. It did get better with time, but never completely cleared up- he was pretty much blind in his left eye already- he had laser surgery one time and we went to a friend's house later that evening and Tom was working out (exercising) in the garage, and Bob decided to join him, lifting weights and other stuff he hadn't ever done, nor had he exercised in any way for years at this point. He blamed the Dr for not telling him not to exercise that day. Sorry to say, he didn't look like someone who worked out, so the probability of him doing so that night had probablynever occurred to the Dr.

On the positive side, my son finally cleaned out my shed. He kept putting it off, and I understood- it was a big job. But I reminded him that today was our last chance to do it this year. He leaves for the sleepaway camp tomorrow, he'll be home Wed night, but it is too much to begin after supervising 50 kids for 4 days and nights, and I leave for Ga on Fri. He goes back to SC the day before we return from Ga. I also asked him to go to dinner tonight- he's been so busy and so tired, I feel like I haven't had any time to just visit with him.

Just for giggles, I found a stand for my grandson's dorm room for his fridge and microwave on Walmart for $54, but it wouldn't arrive till Aug 4th with free shipping. So while checking out, I looked at the other shipping options- to get it quicker it costs $354, to get it quickest was over $900. He'll just have to wait till Aug 4th.

Hope everyone has a great weekend

Anne

Kicks- he had two cataract surgeries, but his main issue was diabetic retinopathy. And then I think maybe macular degeneration. He had so many health issues, I can't remember the specific medical terms for all of them. They all stemmed from his diabetes. The good news, if there was any for him, was that he was never a reader, and could be content with "listening" to the TV. He could see some, enough to get around, everything was just blurry. One Thanksgiving, our daughter invited a friend to dinner and we got to talking about Kindles, which had just come out. The next day he told me that was what he wanted to get me for Christmas. Afraid he would forget, or change his mind, I said let's go now. While trying to get familiar with how it worked, I found that I could get a Bible, in just about any translation, and that you could change the text size very easily. He was, at the time using this huge lighted magnifying glass to read his Bible every day.

When I showed these options to him, I lost my kindle. After reading the Bible like that for a few days, he asked if I could find him a book he might enjoy. I almost lost my teeth! In over 40 years together, I had never, not once, seen him read for pleasure. He would read things when he had too, but that was it. Since he loved science fiction, I found a few of those for him. Weeks later, but still before Christmas, friends started asking how I liked "my" kindle. I said I didn't know, all I got to do was find books for Bob on it. So we ende up buying me another one. I think I'm on my fifth or sixth version because I read constantly, and I have bought all my daughter's and grandchildren their own kindles. Anything to encourage reading.

Anne

Sorry for the very late quote. We had a big whopping storm last night. Don't know when it started but it woke me up about three times with thunder and lightning. Heard things bouncing off the roof too. Well, the clock had been off as it was blinking when I finally got up right around 7 a.m. We definitely had power, but no cable. Had some coffee, got dressed and started picking up sticks out of the yard. Stopped for breakfast and then back here to work more. I did a lot of cleaning out with the rake. Areas that someone I won't name MISSED. Sigh !!! It looks good now. It was about 85 or so during the time we were cleaning up out of doors. Not the best, but not the worst either.

Late afternoon -- just as I had decided to get the tuna fish out our power went off. So, we went into town to Burger King. They had grilled hot dogs on sale. I knew where the power outage was ( not far from us ) and think in taking a branch off an electric line they released too quick and snapped the line. So, we are and then went to visit for a short while my BIL who has been home for about a week now from rehab. He seems quite well. Hope he stays that way.

Came home and not only power back on but cable was back too -- yippee. Was fighting withdrawals so glad to see it all back. Since most of the earlier part of the day was spent in yard cleaning ( there is still a lot to do outside ) I didn't mind not being inside. If you have power but no t.v. or computer, only reading is left so in some ways it helped me stay outside and work. Finally though with a bright red face, and sweat pouring every where I felt it was time to give it up. Get inside and get a couple or three glasses of water in me. Some cool cloths on my face and wrists, then grabbed all clean clothes and into the shower. Sure nice to get cleaned up. I'll likely have several mornings ( which should be cool around here for a few days ) where I can take care of what is left in the yard.

Guess it's a guy thing, Anne. Bob finally allowed as how maybe he should have his feet looked at yesterday so after calling an urgent care clinic and being told they'd probably turf him to Mass. Gen. anyway, we cab bed it over to MGH's walk-in clinic. Everyone there seemed to be having foot or ankle issues. They had to debride the dead skin, and there was much more raw stuff beneath. They dressed his wounds with iodine tape and wrapped them in gauze and more tape, and sent us home with an Rx for Keflex. Filled it at a giant Walgreen's, had lobster (salad for him, roll for me) and walked a little of the Freedom Trail, to King's Chapel cemetery before he admitted his feet were starting to hurt, so we cabbed it back to the hotel. Dinner was oysters, clams and a pan-roasted lobster at Summer Shack. Today he got up early to wrestle with the hotel's cranky wi-fi and read echoes. I overslept. We had wine & leftovers for breakfast, and walked the Freedom Trail to Copp's Hill before turning back into the North End for dinner at Mamma Maria's. Bob's feet held up well--only reason we took a taxi the last mile back was because he wanted toavoid missing "Game of Thrones." I got over 9400 steps on my Apple Watch (the old Fitbit would've over-counted them), despite my upper back killing me. I strained my L oblique last Mon. (last month it was my R Lat) by agreeing to too large an increase in weight resistance. I'm fine if I don't move, but the air turns pretty blue when I try to get into a taxi, slide onto a restaurant banquette, or get into bed. My vocabulary gets quite vivid. I'm sort of ok now, with a lidocaine patch on.

Beauty of a day outside but there is humidity. So, things as far as yard cleaning will be very slow going. The week-end will be cooler, but for a couple of days beforehand we do have rain possibilities. Pretty typical so I can't complain too much I guess. Just would like less humidity. Our summers can be full of that so thank goodness for a/c. I'm sure I mentioned before that growing up NO one had air conditioning. Just some window and floor fans only. You sort of wonder how the older folks survived. I don't recall sweating as a kid and I pretty much doubt that I did.

A/C already working well this a.m. I did get another love note though from our power company. We are on the budget billing and we were almost cut in half for payments after having put in the new furnace at the start of last winter. As of next month, our monthly paymt. will go down $15.00 more. That's incredible. Then again why would anyone ( unless they absolutely knew ) change out a furnace upon first buying a house. Especially when paper work indicated that the furnace wasn't very old. So we continue to be VERY happy despite paying more than we wanted to, that we chose a unit that actually fits inside and we chose a representative contractor who taught furnace and a/c at one of our local colleges.

Hope all of you have a marvelous Monday. I'm glad to be able to get to some phone calls that can't be done on the week-ends. Stay cool !!

I read quite a few of the Jennifer Rubin pieces.

Next Conservatism

Sunday Jul 23, 2017 · 7:55 PM CDT

2017/07/23 · 19:55

CBS Nightly News anchor Walter Cronkite concluded a special broadcast on the recent Tet Offensive with a rare, brief, and potent editorial suggesting that America cease fighting the Vietnam War:
To say that we are closer to victory today is to believe, in the face of the evidence, the optimists who have been wrong in the past. To suggest we are on the edge of defeat is to yield to unreasonable pessimism. To say that we are mired in stalemate seems the only realistic, yet unsatisfactory, conclusion. On the off chance that military and political analysts are right, in the next few months we must test the enemy's intentions, in case this is indeed his last big gasp before negotiations. But it is increasingly clear to this reporter that the only rational way out then will be to negotiate, not as victors, but as an onorable people who lived up to their pledge to defend democracy, and did the best they could.
President Lyndon Johnson, watching live in the White House, reportedly then turned to aides and said, "If I've lost Cronkite, I've lost Middle America."

Jennifer Rubin's "Right Turn" column in The Washington Post was reliably partisan beyond reason during the Obama years, so it's been a shock to see her turn sane and lawyer-like in her #nevertrump position. In fact she's given up on Trump and turned naysayer against the GOP. Her prognostications for what comes next as the Mueller investigation unfolds offer a range of possibilities, all bad. Bet on this one:

4. Republicans join Democrats in warning Trump not to fire Mueller. Mueller remains and keeps digging. Mueller subpoenas damaging documents; Trump refuses to comply. A court orders him to comply. He declares this a witch hunt, an attack on his family (or whatever). Then he resigns, claiming he has already made America great. He tells the country that Vice President Pence will carry on in his place. LESSON: Congress must protect Mueller and preserve the possibility that Trump may be forced to resign.

That's the most likely scenario because it's to Trump's advantage in the same way that this entire presidency has been, as a branding effort to promote his business. If he rejects subpoenas and defies the law he's doing what he promised, fighting the evil Washington machine. If he leaves before a market correction he can allege that the spike in the Dow was his work; that he delivered on his promise to drive the Supreme Court rightward; that he gave the downtrodden Conservatives voters from both parties a real alternative; and that he is their martyr, their symbol of Making America Great Again despite all the efforts of the liars and partisans who forced him out. It's a perfect narrative, assuming that his resignation actually offers him some defense against indictment, which is not guaranteed.

It leaves out what comes after, though, and that's never wise with Trump. He lives to hit back. He's already attacking the GOP for its insufficient "defense" of him in this case, demanding openly that they put him above the law. If Rubin's scenario comes true, and Trump does leave, he'll look for vengeance unfettered by whatever remains of his political restraint. A third party of Trumpist candidates hand-picked by Trump is a realistic possibility. They'll run against the enemies Trump made in the deep red districts and force the GOP to accede to a Trumpist agenda or be defeated by it completely.

If Trump is forced out he's a hot torpedo looking for a target. He'll make revenge his life's mission. Donald Jr. and his siblings will take up the mantle because there's money to be made from political warfare. If they're kingmakers instead of kings they can shelter themselves behind Far Right candidates, take huge money from political consultancies and influence peddling, and turn Conservatism into their business. Their properties and investments won't suffer, and they'll rebuild their fortresses of hidden deals and dark money. The GOP will be a sitting duck for them. The Trumps will do with the Republican Party what they do with any distressed property: take it over or tear it down it.

Hope it all turns out well Wren, 29 yrs. for a bypass sounds like a long time. Glad that they are doing precautionary things since it has been such a long spell. Hoping all stays just fine.

I couldn't be in much traffic after living in my small town. I use to do the L.A. freeway without a thought. Now if I see more than ten cars I get edgy. Sigh !! I'm glad we came home, but little did I know that I'd lose things like being on an interstate and reasonably comfortable. Of course here -- we are mainly on truck routes and sometimes you yearn for the time when all you had pretty much were speeding cars. Those trucks make me a little nervous -- they drive way over the speed limit and I try not to go near the interstate if it is raining. You will be engulfed by the trucks passing you. There are old highways around here and they ate sparsely used and I tend to go on them if at all possible.

Velvet, it’ll be good to finally put your mom to rest with her mom. We’re on the fence about what we want to do when we go. Bob wants to be cremated. As for me, even though it’s not forbidden in Judaism (it’s still ashes to ashes, dust to dust however it happens), my ex-boss used to say “why finish what Hitler started?” Before the Holocaust, cremation didn’t have that horrible connotation. Bob & I would prefer to have our remains interred together (side by side, stacked, whatever). But I’m not Catholic so I can’t be buried in consecrated ground. And I had thought that the Jewish section of Rosehill wouldn’t allow a non-Jew in there. But it turns out there are some interfaith plots in the Jewish section. The unknown is where will Gordy be living by then? We assume he’d want to be able to visit us, which is why we won’t avail ourselves of the NY cemeteries. But what if he moves there? Or L.A. (Forest Lawn)?

Jackie, nobody’s buildings in my childhood Brooklyn neighborhood (Brownsville) had wiring that could take air conditioning, so summer was for window fans, fire escapes or going to the mountains. When I turned 13, we moved to East Flatbush, to a newer 2-flat that had a “sleeve” in the wall for mounting an A/C. And none of my schools had A/C, except the two newer buildings on the Brooklyn College campus. I still have memories of my t-shirt sticking to the back of my chair on the fourth floor of Boylan Hall in mid-July during summer session.

Science is organized knowledge. Wisdom is organized life.
--Immanuel Kant