Impromptu Fun

The days of childhood, while seeming endless from a child's point of view, simply do not last long enough. Maybe, that's why God gave children so much energy in order for them to race from one activity to another.

My folks were not "into" lawn care, though my mother did like to have a flowering plant or two somewhere around the house. These were usually roses and hydrangeas or the jonquils of spring. But, watering the grass to keep it green was not something we did in our family.

As an adult, I've occasionally watered my lawn, though I've questioned my wisdom for doing so on more than one occasion. Still, there's something inviting about a water sprinkler. For children and the young at heart, a sprinkler in summer is an invitation to impromptu fun.

My present home has a lawn irrigation system that doesn't get a lot of use, but with my front lawn looking parched on the last Saturday of August, I turned on the sprinklers.

My two youngest grandchildren, Merilese and Katherine, came outside about the time I fired up zone 2 of the system and were captivated by the spider-action sprinklers. The gentle rotation of the streams of water proved too much for them and soon they were running with abandon through the spray.

It brought to mind the simpler days of my youth when I enjoyed spraying others and being sprayed by a water hose. However, as tempting as the sprinklers looked, this young at heart "old man" let the notion pass. I like my showers hot and soapy.

Tickled Pink

On January 02, 2007, I underwent a surgical procedure to have my esophagus stretched to relieve problems associated with swallowing food. For at least a decade, possibly two, I had experienced, on an occasional basis, food lodging in my esophagus during mealtime. I was not in danger of choking and was able to dislodge the food by forcing myself to vomit. I considered my situation more a nuisance than a health issue.

At the urging of my cardiologist, I saw another specialist who did the esophageal procedure and also prescribed a medication to prevent acid reflux, which I continue to take on a daily basis.

While I was happy to be able to swallow foods more comfortably than before the procedure, there was an undesirable side effect. I gained nine pounds during the next three months, presumably due to eating more food, a result of being able to swallow more rapidly than before which must have confused my brain into thinking I was less full than I really was.

I wanted to drop the extra pounds but found little willpower to do so until late last year, when I committed to a health coaching program sponsored by my health insurance provider. My goal was to start a walking regime for both cardiovascular and weight control reasons. The additional exercise had just begun to pay off with a pound lost here and there, when I developed a soreness issue with my feet that virtually shut down my walking program.

Disheartened, I decided to try eating less until I could get the foot problem resolved. I rocked along a month or two thinking I had a shoe problem, because the onset of foot pain seemed to be related to the purchase of new shoes. However, I discovered it didn’t matter which pair I wore, of the half-dozen pairs I routinely wear, they all hurt my feet.

Finally, after seeing a doctor a week ago, I learned the problem was not shoes. I had an inflammation called metatarsalgia, which was localized in the balls of my feet. A shot of cortisone in my arm removed the soreness in my feet within a few hours. And, my doctor sent me to the shoe store to buy a pair of New Balance running/ jogging shoes that purportedly will allow me to get back into a walking routine without the pain. While there, Cecil Fauver, owner of Progressive Shoe Store, sold me another pair of casual work shoes, Clarks’ Unstructured, which like the exercise shoes are extremely comfortable. But, then that may still be the effects of the cortisone dosage.

For most of this year, I’ve weighed at work approximately every two weeks. Slowly, the pounds have rolled off, and when I weighed today, I was pleasantly surprised to discover I had lost two pound, bringing my net loss to 9.5 pounds since last November. I’ve certainly not set any records for quick losses, but I’m tickled pink in having achieved my original goal and can’t wait to report the results to my health coach in a few weeks.



Now, that I’ve proved to myself I can intentionally lose weight, I intend to keep doing what I’ve been doing, supplemented with regular walking and hopefully get below 200 by this time next year. Wish me luck!

Uh - Obama's Poker Tell

The following appeared in the Patriot Post dated July 27th. I am sharing it to illustrate how the current administration and the MSM seek to rewrite history by use of filters when quoting President Obama. Mark Alexander tells us what he really said and it's certainly "telling."

=====Patriot Post========

Steve Killian, president of the Cambridge Police Patrol Officers Association called for Obama to "make an apology to all law-enforcement personnel."

Not to be upstaged by the police unions, Obama made an unplanned appearance at a White House conference an hour after the Cambridge conference, to remake his case.

Receiving a reception similar to that George W. Bush received with his surprise appearance to have Thanksgiving dinner with our troops in Baghdad a few years ago, Obama's unannounced appearance at the press conference elated his adoring MSM audience.

Hey, it's a cameo appearance. Sit down, sit down," Obama said, like some Hollywood teen idol. In one of the most contorted makeovers of his asinine remarks to date, Obama feigned "making nice" with Crowley and offered to have him and Gates as guests at the White House "for a beer." I am including a few Obama quotes below (with editorial reply), not only because he has dug himself deeper, but also because his comments were not read from a teleprompter.

Consequently, the incidence of his verbal tic, "uh," occurs at a ratio of 1.2 times for every 10 words. This is significant because for Obama, "uh" constitutes a "poker tell," an unconscious cue that he is attempting to be deceptive.

When studying Obama's unscripted comments, the occurrence of this tell at a ratio of 1/20 indicates his remarks are disingenuous. At 1.2/10, he is lying. (While the White House video mutes his verbal tics and struck all of them from the text of his comments, you can read the full -- and accurate -- text of Obama's comments here.)

"Uh, over the last day and a half, uh, obviously there's been all sorts of controversy around, uh, the incident that happened in Cambridge with, uh, Professor Gates and the police department there. ... Uh, and because, uh, this has been ratcheting up -- uh, and I obviously helped to contribute ratcheting it up -- uh, I want to make clear that in my choice of words, uh, I think I unfortunately, uh, gave an impression, uh, that I was maligning the Cambridge Police Department or Sergeant Crowley specifically -- uh, and I could have calibrated those words differently."

(I am certain that saying they "acted stupidly" constitutes "maligning.")

"Uh, I continue to believe, based on what I have heard, that, uh, there was an overreaction in, uh, pulling Professor Gates, uh, out of his home to the station. Uh, my sense is you've got two good people, uh, in a circumstance, uh, in which, uh, neither of them, uh, were able to resolve the incident in the way that it should have been resolved."

(Ah, they did not act stupidly, they just "overreacted.")

"Uh, the fact that it has garnered so much attention I think is a testimony to the fact that these are issues that are still very sensitive here in America."

(No, Obama's comment garnered so much attention because it was, uh, stupid.)

"Uh, what I'd like to do then I [sic] make sure that everybody ... uh, not extrapolate too much from the facts -- uh, but as I said at the press conference, uh, be mindful of the fact that because of our history, because of the difficulties of the past, uh, you know, African Americans are sensitive to these issues. And, uh ... interactions between police officers and, uh, the African American community can sometimes be fraught with misunderstanding."

(What is clear, however, is that Leftist socialized programs ostensibly designed to give blacks a chance to attain the American dream, have spawned a subculture of nightmares, and there is no misunderstanding about the resulting disparity in criminal activity by race, or the burden that places on society, including police officers of all racial backgrounds, who have to deal with that burden.)

"Uh, my hope is, is that as a consequence of this event, uh, this ends up being what's called a 'teachable moment,' where all of us, uh, instead of pumping up the volume spend a little more time listening to each other, uh ... instead of flinging accusations, uh, we can, uh, all be a little more reflective in terms of what we can do, uh, to contribute to, uh, more unity."

(The most teachable moment in this event was when Obama didn't have the facts. As previously suggested, Obama should learn to say, "no comment." The only folks flinging accusations were Gates, Obama, Patrick and Simmons.)

"Uh, but, uh, I just wanted to emphasize that, uh, one, one last point I guess I would make. ... Uh, the fact that this has become such a big issue I think is indicative of the fact that, uh, uh, race is still a troubling aspect of our society. Uh, whether I were black or white, uh, I think that, uh, me commenting on this, uh, and hopefully contributing to constructive -- uh, as opposed to negative -- uh, understandings about the issue, uh, is part of my portfolio."

(Actually, it became a big issue because Obama made a brainless accusation, and for sure, digging himself into a deeper hole is definitely part of his portfolio.)

"So, uh, at the end of the conversation there was a discussion about -- uh, uh, uh, my conversation with Sergeant Crowley, there was discussion about, uh, he and I, uh, and, uh, Professor Gates having a beer here in the White House. Uh, we don't know if that's scheduled yet -- uh, -- but, uh, uh, but we may put that together."