Are you racist?

    It’s sad, that so many people are caught up in the words racism and racist. These are words that describe a specific situation or quality in a society or a person. They do not describe the whole of society or the person, just a specific aspect. For the most part, these words are used as a view from the outside, so in many ways they feel derogatory when used. Rarely would you hear someone declare themselves a racist; although in some circles it may be appropriate. What makes these words sad, are that they are often a starting point for positive talk about the nature of society or ourselves. And because they are considered derogatory, the talk stops at that point and one or the other side shuts down.

    I am a white straight man living in the USA. As such, I have advantages over other people including people of color, women, the disabled, LGBTQ and those of other races. These advantages include the justice system, education, health care, financial and nearly every aspect of society. Even with those advantages, that does not mean my life was or is easy. We all carry scars and burdens from our lives. Some of those scars and burdens were of our own doing and some just happened. I am not financially wealthy nor will I be “retiring from work” before the age of 70. My retirement will probably not be easy and I will very likely work till the day I die. So just because I am white, it does not mean my life is easy nor is it any easier than any other person. However, my life definitely was much easier because of my white skin than is the life of nearly anyone of color, women, disabled, LGBTQ or of another race. I realize that sounds at odds with itself, but it is the truth. That is what systemic racism is all about.

    Some folks will say that I am racist just because my skin is white. That is not completely true. What makes me racist is that I am a white, straight male and I live in a society where systemic racism favors white, straight males. I cannot help it. It matters not that I believe in equality for all people. It matters not that I believe that the ERA should have been ratified decades ago. It matters not that I believe the government should not have it’s hands in the private lives of LGBTQ folks and be able to make determinations on who can marry whom. It matters not how socially progressive I am or even if I stand up regularly for the disadvantaged. In this society, at this time, I am racist.

    I hate it. I hate that I have felt that the USA was moving in a positive direction since the 1960s only to find that I was completely wrong about us. I hate that I have to admit that the USA is full of racist beliefs and that my ignorance to the depth of it has probably fueled those beliefs. I hate that my love for all people has been overshadowed by systemic racism. I hate it. However, I do not have time for that hate. I need to find a way to move toward unity and love. And I hope that some folks in the USA feel similarly and want to move toward TRUE EQUALITY.

If we are to move forward, we must all understand the systemic racism that is deeply embedded in our society. We must take responsibility for it and shed it like dead skin. We must choose leaders who fight for equality, love and unity. We must choose to make positive changes in our justice system, education system, and health system. We must choose to honor the light within each and every person no matter the color of their skin, gender, gender preference, ability, religion or race.

     If you believe similarly, then you must go and vote this November and choose the leaders who will show compassion for all people, leaders who will raise us all up and fight to honor the words our forefathers wrote over 200 years ago, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Please do not be caught up in the words racism or racist; instead focus on the words equality, love, compassion and unity. Everyday is a new chance to move forward. Let’s do it, together.

When is a cord of wood not a cord?

In our little area of the US, a cord of wood is rarely an actual cord. It may be that the supplier does not have a reliable measuring system (more on this later), it may be that the supplier does not have a properly sized delivery method, or it may be that the supplier just wants to short change the purchaser. Whatever the reason, I have rarely (if ever) received an actual cord of wood.

Lets start at the beginning, what is a cord of wood? A cord is a measurement of a volume of wood with the dimensions being 4 feet by 4 feet by 8 feet. Multiplied out, that gives you 128 cubic feet of wood. However, we have to be practical here. There is practically no way you are going to get a solid block of wood that measures 128 cubic feet unless your supplier is a logger taking down giant oak trees and cutting them into solid 4x4x8 foot blocks. And even then, after it dries out (seasoned, it would have shrunk considerably. So the 128 cubic feet of wood measurement is for wood that is "stacked tightly".  Of course, there is no measurement for "stacked tightly" wood, but wood that is randomly thrown into a pile that measures 4x4x8 feet is definitely not "stacked tightly" as there is an awful lot of empty air space in that pile. In fact, after having a "cord" of wood delivered, usually dumped into a large pile in your yard or driveway, that pile will look quite large. And it should! I recently had a delivery of a cord of wood dumped into my driveway and the pile was about 5 foot tall pyramid with an oval spread between 10 to 12 feet. It looks like a lot of wood when you are realizing that it is your turn to stack it! However, after stacking and measuring the dimensions of the stacked wood, the pile came out to under 116 square feet, and that was with generous measurements and rounding. So if your delivered cord looks a little small when it is delivered, it is likely very small. One problem is that many suppliers will measure the cord by filling their trucks using a front loader with a front bucket. They will tell you that their bucket holds 1 cubic yard (27 cubic feet) and that they fill that bucket 5 and a half times to get that cord. If true, then their cord should equal about 148 cubic feet. However, remember that wood loosely thrown into the bucket (how it would be pickup up mechanically) would be nowhere near a cubic yard and in turn will not be nearly a full cord. In fact, when I was recently brought 5.5 buckets of firewood, it turned out to be closer to 90 cubic feet stacked or a little over 2/3 cord. Beware of non-standard cord sizes like a "face cord" or "truck load" as these truly mean nothing in the way of actual volume of wood. A "face cord" of wood is measured as 4 feet high by 8 feet long but can be nearly any depth. So you could end up with something like a 5th of a cord if the pieces are "cut short for wood burning stoves". A truck load is a meaningless term even if you know that the truck has an 8 foot long bed that is 5 feet wide with 1.5 foot high sides. Is the wood loosely thrown in the truck? Does the truck bed have tire wells taking up space?

Other than size of the load, problems with delivered firewood are many. Some of the more usual problems include suppliers who deliver softwoods with the firewood load. Softwoods are those that would burn quickly or leave large deposits of creosote in your chimney (dangerous). Sometimes suppliers will not fully season a softwood and it will seem like it is a harder wood (heavier because of the water content) and will be difficult to burn (burn slowly) to make it seem like it is a harder, more dense hardwood. And even if the supplier states that they only deliver hardwoods, it is very possible to get a full load of wood like Poplar which is a hardwood, but a fast burning hardwood with low energy value. Good burning hardwoods include Ash, Maple, Beech, Birch, Oak, Hickory and Apple. There are other hardwoods that will burn nicely as well, see here for a list of the best burning woods. Then there is the problem with seasoning the wood. Suppliers should deliver wood that is ready to burn and that has seasoned (dried) long enough that it burns readily and does not just sit there and sizzle at you when you try to light it. How long wood should season has much to do with many factors including when the wood was first cut, when it was split into burnable sizes, how long the wood has sat in a dry and well ventilated area and the type of wood that it is (different woods will dry at different rates). A simple way to test the seasoning of the wood is to take a piece of hardwood and bang it against a hard surface like your driveway or a brick wall. There should be a satisfying clink sound that has a musical note to it, often high pitched. If the wood makes a dull thud, it is either still quite wet or even worse, it could be old, rotten and water logged.

Finally, unscrupulous suppliers will sometimes dance around complaints when they are "found out" and the customer has a complaint. Remember, the wood is often dumped into your driveway or yard BEFORE you get to inspect it for quality and seasoning. And certainly, it is near impossible to tell how much wood is being delivered until you actually stack it and ascertain the volume of the stacked pile of wood. I've heard it all, but my least favorite reply to a complaint about quality or size is, "Hey man, you know how much work it is to cut this much wood?" Really, is that where we are in the world of firewood suppliers? As Harry S. Truman said, "If you can't stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen." Or as I would say, "Don't choose a job that you cannot do honestly."

I have purposely left out costs for cord wood from this post as prices vary widely depending on your location. But I would add that paying extra for "all oak" or "only select hardwoods" can be a problematic situation as firewood should only be hardwoods and anyone willing to sell you "non-select hardwoods?" you should view with some skepticism. As always, the best policy is "buyer beware" when it comes to purchasing firewood. Good luck!

Mass shooting. Is there an answer?

Yet another mass shooting with no end in sight. And after each sad event, the best our politicians can do is throw their arms in the air and do nothing. To make matters worse, the country is deeply divided on how this regular occurrence might be repaired. One side blames the tools of mass destruction, “Get rid of guns!”, they cry. The other side blames human nature, “Guns don't kill, crazy and evil people do!”. So nothing gets done and more innocent people die. Of course, both groups are right and both are wrong as they are looking at two different sides of the same mass shooting coin.
I see this differently. This should not be an argument about whether some folks are crazy and/or filled with hate, or whether guns can kill dozens of people in a matter of seconds. This should be an argument about responsibility.

The second amendment gives each American the right to own a gun. Back when this was written, it was assumed that each American gun owner would be responsible for their actions. They would purchase, handle, take care of and use their gun in a responsible fashion. And I would assume that most current gun owners would consider themselves to be responsible gun owners. However, it is clear that the murderers who commit these mass shootings are not responsible gun owners. They may be responsible for committing murders on a large scale, but they are definitely not handling a gun in a responsible fashion.

So then, who is responsible for guns being misused for mass shootings? Some might say it is the gun manufacturers as they design guns that can kill large groups of people faster than you can say your name. Some put the blame on the individuals who use these lightning fast guns. Some blame the second amendment for allowing anyone to own an offensive weapon. In fact, all are to blame. The problem is that the guns have been built, the crazy people are out there, and the second amendment is going no where. But there is a simple answer that can turn this around and it lies in the one word that we hear over and over when these mass shooting happen; responsible.
This country needs individuals and institutions to be held responsible for their part when these terrible events happen and this is what I suggest. 

1. All new gun owners would take a simple course in responsible gun ownership and would be required to own a license for their gun. This would be a step in the right direction for new gun owners to learn safe handling of a weapon. It would also allow law enforcement and the government to know who is a responsible gun owner and restrict guns from crazy, hate-filled, terrorist (place your own adjective here) individuals.
2. All guns would be registered with the owner so that the owner would be responsible for the gun, it's use and it's future ownership.
3. Any gun used in any crime would hold the individual responsible for the crime (as it is now).
4. Any gun used in a crime by an unlicensed shooter would also hold the gun seller responsible for the crime (for selling to an unlicensed individual).
5. Any unregistered gun used in a crime would also hold the seller responsible for the crime (for selling an unregistered weapon).

It is clear that there is no way to unring the bell that is the Second Amendment. As such, Americans should be allowed to purchase and own as many guns as they wish. However, we must create a system of responsible gun ownership and sales because it is also clear that there will always be people who will to do harm with a gun. If care is taken in keeping track of guns, gun sales and properly training of the owners, gun violence will ebb. In addition, careful scrutiny of future gun owners by gun sellers and government oversight will also slow the purchase of guns by dangerous individuals. These simple guidelines will not stop gun violence, but will slow the proliferation of weapons to criminals, and the mentally unsound. With over 300 million guns in the US alone, there is no way to unring this bell, but gaining control over how weapons change hands and who should have this right will make mass shootings and gun crimes more difficult.

The cure for overpriced Internet, TV and Phone services

The cure for overpriced Internet, TV and Phone services

(Updated to 2020 prices)

So you have gotten tired of paying $150, $200, $300 or more each month just for internet and TV, and you continue to pay that much again for a land line phone along with your cell phone monthly. Add that up over a year and you would be spending the entire salary of a McDonalds worker.

Let me start by saying, if you like your current service and have no problem with bills like these, stop reading and get back to your Forbes magazine, this information is not for you. Also, I promise nothing, guarantee nothing and since you do not live at my location, I cannot say how well this will work for you. If you do your research and it looks like this is a good option for you, it may be worth giving it a try. On the other hand, if you do the research and it looks like this is not a good option, you may need to stay with your current services. Enough for the disclaimer, let's look and see if this will work for you.

The first thing you want to do is assess whether the TV channels you can get through an HD TV antenna are the channels you regularly use and will satisfy your needs for video media. Got to http://www.tvfool.com/ and click on the section that says “Check your address for Free TV”. Put your address in the report section and make sure to include the approximate height or your intended TV antenna. I put 25 feet as I have my antenna in my attic attached to the inside of the roof, your house height will be different. It does not need to be exact, just a good guess (within about 5 feet either way) should give you a decent idea of what stations you will receive in your area. If you are happy with the TV stations you can expect to get OTA “over the air”, then you want to look at what antennas are available and how you want the antenna mounted.

When talking about antennas for OTA TV, let me start by saying that the little TV key type antennas and/or the small flat plastic panel antennas are pretty lousy at picking up a decent signal. You may get a few channels, but it is unlikely that you will be happy with the limited results. This does not mean you need to spend an arm and a leg for an antenna. I purchased the GE 33692 indoor attic antenna for about $30 ($24 as of this writing) and it works wonderfully. I attached it to the inside of my roof rafters with a couple of screws, pointed it toward Roxborough and I was up and running. Keep in mind that the antenna snaps together (pretty much) so expect to spend a half hour putting it together.

So let's say you are now happy with your free OTA TV reception and want to drop your cable TV bill. Hold on there Babalouie! You really should live with it for a month or so to make sure it will provide all that you want in your TV media. If you spend most of your time watching NetFlix or some other internet TV service, then you may be fine with local TV, PBS TV and the myriad of oddball OTA stations you are now getting. However, if you need your nightly Comedy Central fix and cannot get it over the internet (actually you can, but that is another subject all together), then you may want to keep a very basic TV package with your internet service. As of this posting, I pay $70 per month for basic TV (including Comedy Central) and 100mbps/100mbps internet through FiOS. I've found ways to drop the monthly $10 charge for a FiOS modem/router so that I do not get nickel and dimed by Verizon each month. Again, another subject. If I were to have just the FiOS internet, it would cost $65 each month, so my total savings was only slight compared to adding the basic TV package. The reason I kept the OTA TV antenna is so I did not get charged each month for the additional HD TV boxes for each TV in our home. In other words, we keep the basic FiOS TV service on our main TV and use the OTA signal for the bedroom TVs thereby getting the most service for the least cost. You may decide differently (as I may also drop the FiOS basic TV service sometime soon).

So let's say you are now down to about $70 a month for your high speed internet and basic TV services. You may want to add an internet TV service for about $10 a month (the current cost for NetFlix or Amazon Prime...etc). That will give you much more to watch, when you want to watch it.

But yikes, You do not get a land line phone with this! That is okay. With high speed internet, you can purchase an Obihai Obi200 adapter for your internet and have free land line phone service (within the US and Canada). Outside of the country, your service costs are minimal. Do you have a Gmail email address? Good! All you need to do this is sign up for a Google phone number (you get to choose the number). With a VoIP telephone (voice over internet protocol), you will NOT have access to 911 unless you add that to your free Obihai service. That costs $15 a year. The upside of this (other than it is free) is that you home land line can now be connected to your cell phone if you like. Any phone calls or texts or messages on my home phone I have sent directly to my cell phone so that I never miss a call or an important message. Again, for free!

So let's add it all up so far.

Cut the Cable Yearly cost	FiOS or Comcast Cost (average)
TV antenna $25 (one time cost)	TV
Obihai Obi200 $50 (one time cost)	Internet
911 service $15	Phone
High Speed Internet $480 (for the year)	Monthly average (if you are lucky) $120
TOTALS	TOTALS
Total for one year - $570	Total for one year - $1440
Total for two years - $1065	Total for 2 years - $2880

Keep in mind that as the years go on, you continue to save thousands of dollars while sacrificing nothing.

Finally, if your cell phone is costing you too much each month, know that there are alternatives that are very affordable. For example, if you are comfortable not having access to the internet every possible place you are (the middle of the desert for instance), then you might consider a low cost “pay as you go” plan. I currently pay about $100 a year for cell phone use. $100 buys a years worth of minutes, but I do not have a data plan attached. I just use the wireless internet that is in just about every store, shop or eatery I enter. I have friends who pay each month about what I pay for the year.

This is how I do this. I purchase my “unlocked” cell phone. There are too many to mention here, but Blu has a wide variety of Android cell phones at all different price points. Even their top of the line is quite thrifty compared to the current iPhones and Samsungs. Do your research and you should be able to find a phone that fits your lifestyle well. I then chose a cell phone carrier that has “pay as you go” plans. There are nearly countless carriers that use the ATT and T-Mobile towers, but here again, do your research and find one that matches you needs. I use Lycamobile, but although they are cheap, they are difficult to work with (poor customer service). Fortunately, I have a lot of patience. Many carriers will give you a discount or some credit if you purchase a certain dollar amount. Currently (2020) Lycamobile offers a $19 per month unlimited talk/text with 1gb of data. While other carriers will not charge you for phone calls made to or from phone with the same carrier. Imagine that your spouse and children are all signed up with the same carrier; much of your calling will be free! However, some carriers will delete your minutes if you haven't used them within a certain time period, so be aware! Again, do your research.

Pro-abortion or Anti-choice?

I've had a bee in my bonnet for some time now. It is about the way we choose labels and more specifically, the labels of anti-abortion and pro-choice. I am not going to get into the religious or moral aspects of this debate. I just want to speak about the choice of these labels and how I do not see them as being even slightly accurate.

On one side of this debate, you have the anti-abortion folks. These are folks who by definition, are against abortion of the fetus. However, if you were to poll 100 people and ask if they were for abortion, you would get 100 answers stating that they are not for abortion. I think that you can pretty safely say that most, if not all folks are against the idea of an abortion. So unless you can find someone who is for terminating a pregnancy just because it is fun to do, lets say that everyone is anti-abortion. Otherwise, calling one group of people anti-abortionists assumes that anyone who is not them is pro-abortion, which is not only insulting, but completely untrue.

On the other side of the debate, we have the pro-choice folks. These are folks who by definition believe that anyone in the position of being pregnant should be allowed to make their own decision as to whether they should carry the pregnancy full term. These same folks do not believe such a decision should be left to the government or anyone other than the person carrying the unborn fetus. To them, pro-choice really means the freedom to be able to decide on their own future without outside interference. These folks are not pro-abortion as the current anti-abortion movement would have you believe. As I stated above, no one believes abortion is a choice that folks want to make. However, only the woman who is in that situation should be allowed to decide if they can support this fetus/child at that time.

The current anti-abortion folks do not believe a woman should have this choice, they believe that the government should make laws banning this right (yes, it is a right supported by the Supreme Court). Many of the anti-abortion folks believe there are no extenuating circumstances that should allow for a woman to terminate a pregnancy. You could very accurately call these folks anti-choice since they do not believe that the woman should have any choice or freedom in the matter. In fact, the anti-abortion folks have persuaded state legislatures to create laws that create situations making abortion nearly impossible. In other words, they have caused the government to take away the ability for a woman to choose their future. Calling these folks anti-choice is much more accurate than calling them anti-abortion since everyone is anti-abortion but only these folks are anti-choice.

So, is the label anti-abortion or anti-choice more accurate?

One last thing. I understand that folks who spend their lives for a cause often will choose their personal label to sell to the public in the best way possible. This is only natural. Calling yourself anti-abortionists makes it sound like you are against the "killing of babies", and I am sure they are. However, it also subliminally asserts that every one who is not in your group is for "killing babies", which they are not. This, of course inflames the public to choose to be on the side of being against "killing babies". It is a smart, however very inaccurate move and one that I find has grown tiresome. No one want to "kill babies", no one. However, the current anti-abortion folks do want to remove the ability for pregnant women to choose their reproductive rights.

So I think to be more accurate, we need to stop calling the anti-abortion folks as such and start calling them anti-choice since that is their true calling.

Reasonable Health (Part 12)

It is March 18th 2013 and I may be at final chapter to this blog series. It has been 4 months since I last posted and here is what has happened since I last posted.

I have had another CAT scan in December and it showed that the abscess was still getting smaller (about the size of the first joint in my little finger); this was about 1/100th of the original volume of the abscess. In January, I had a check up/meeting with my regular doctor and he suggested that I see a liver specialist at the University of Pennsylvania.

In February, I went to see the liver specialist (Hepatologist). He checked me over, said I looked great (compared to what?) and he scheduled me for more blood tests and an MRI to look at the abscess and for possible causes. The blood tests showed that I had slightly high iron in my blood   (part of my magnetic personality I guess) and he sent me to get a DNA test for Hemochromatosis. In the process of getting the MRI, I needed to get an orbit (eye) scan to look for metal particles.  Some years back, I had gotten some steel wool in my eye and they needed to confirm that there was nothing left of the steel. I wasn't that concerned until they explained that if I did have even small metal particles in my eye still that my eye would either burst into flames or my eye would be torn from my skull during the MRI. So I got the orbit scan.

Before passing on the results of the various tests, I wanted to share a little about how I have been doing physically since the original infection. I have had some slight soreness/pain in the area of my liver. When I asked the liver specialist about this, he suggested that the scarring from the drain tube probably causes a little soreness from time to time. My energy level seems to be back to near normal if not normal at this point. I'm out working in the yard, re-stacking the firewood, cleaning the house and doing normal daily chores on top of my private music teaching and Westtown school duties. My regular doctor gave me the green light for a drink or two over the Christmas holidays and I conservatively obliged. My weight was down in the high 180s after getting out of the hospital and it has now leveled off at 193. My diet is back to normal (for me) which is to say low carb/clean protein and lots of greens and garlic. I am feeling pretty good these days and am ready and raring for Spring.

So now to the results. The blood work showed normal readings and the test for Hemochromatosis came back negative (yea!). The MRI came back normal with but showed a gall stone (not problematic at this point). Since the nurse called me with the results, I am unsure of the following, but she claims that there is no sign of the abscess anymore!

As for this major blip in my life's health cycle, I have a few final thoughts. Health services are not broken in this country, but they could use a good sprucing up. Hospitals are crowded with mostly senior citizens. We really need a better system for taking care of these folks where ever they live so that they do not end up in hospitals for problems that could have been taken care of when the problem was simple (better preventative care for senior adults). We need more support for the nursing staff in hospitals. I never saw a nurse that was not rushing from one patient to another. They do an admirable job, but such stress promotes mistakes and missed meds. Nurses need more support! And speaking of hospital staff, where are the folks who come to visit these seniors when they are bedridden for days/weeks at a time. Considering the high cost of daily hospital stays, it seems to me that it would be a good idea for there to be a few folks in the hospital paid to look in and spend time with patients who may not have a family/friend system in place. I found myself occasionally visiting other patients and became painfully aware of the lack of friendly personal attention many patients experience. And when it comes to the insurance issues, the system is very broken. I have Personal Choice, yet I still experienced regular difficulties when trying to get prescribed tests and when trying to see various doctors. I cannot imagine what it must be like for those with an HMO in my situation. Remember when I drank a quart of radioactive liquid in preparation for a CAT scan only to be sent home with out the scan and a little more radioactive than I probably should be. It seems to me that the insurance companies (who routinely post strong profits and extremely high salaries to their administrators) should be able to do a much better job of making the process of getting well doable. I think many of us feel at odds with our health insurance and those of us who have had to use it often feel frustrated with hidden rules about how that insurance can be implemented.

Well, I will step off the soap box once again. This has been a crazy ride and I will be monitored by my doctor(s) over the next few years to make sure this does not happen again. They have not yet figured out why this happened so there is no way to know if it will happen again. But I lived through it and that is a huge battle won.

Those of you who would like to read the entire blog about this, can go here.

Now back to cooking the corned beef for tonight's belated St. Patty's dinner.

Reasonable Health (part 11)

It is Monday, 3pm and I am sitting on the side of my hospital bed.  Just moments ago, the nurse finished my last dose of IV antibiotics and removed the IV line from my left forearm.  This is the first time in 4 weeks that I have not had some sort of artificial "extra hole" in my body for either putting things in or draining stuff out.  It feels good being "whole" for a change.

In about an hour I will be discharged and Sara will be taking me home.  For the first time in 4 weeks, I will no longer be on round the clock IV antibiotics.  I will be taking oral antibiotics for at least the next ten days, but that should be a piece of cake in comparison to the various IV's and PICC line systems I have been dealing with for weeks.  In fact, I will only need to take the oral antibiotic twice a day (on the 9s).  Imagine, actually sleeping through the night for the first time in nearly a month!

I have taken to growing the hair on my face, mostly out of laziness and the inconvenience of trying to shave in the hospital.  The sad part is that at the age of 55, I probably look more like I have a 2 day growth rather than a 6 day growth starting from last Wednesday.  But since the doctors have warned me to take it very easy for a while, I figured I would give it a good college try and see what I can come up with the next week or two.

I am hoping that the serious parts of this extended health blog are at an end at this point.  I believe at this point, my body is going to be the best proponent of my healing process.  This has been a wild and scary ride; I learned a lot about my body and myself.  I also learned a lot about the health care system and some of it's stronger and weaker points.  These things I will discuss in what I hope will be my next/last blog post on this subject.

But for now, I am feeling relief and slightly energized.  I am relieved that I will be leaving the hospital in about 45 minutes.  I am relieved that I will no longer be tethered to various bags, pumps and tubes.  I am relieved that my movement is no longer stymied by those bags, pumps, and tubes. If I could do a cartwheel (something that I tried to learn repeatedly in my youth), I would do one now.  But mostly, I am relieved and energized to be going home to my wife and son.  It is my love for them that defines me and being away has been nearly more than I can bear.

I am probably at about 75-80% at this moment, so your continued thoughts, prayers and wishes are still welcome.  As I mentioned above, I may post one or two more blogs on this experience in the coming days.  It is my wish that it be just one more blog that ties up the lose ends and reports continued growing good health.

I do want to say this.  I was thinking recently about how folks say you should appreciate your good health.  I'm not sure anyone can actually appreciate their good health until it is gone.  How can you appreciate what it means to be able to see until you have lost your sight?  How can you really appreciate what it means to be able to walk until you have lost that ability? 

However, I may have a way that anyone can show their appreciation for their good health.  If you hug a family member, go take a walk, laugh with your friends, wrestle with your dog, kiss your significant other; in these ways you show your appreciation for your good health.  And when you do those things, you might occasionally think 'I can do this because I am healthy', then you are actually appreciating your health.

So here is to your good health!