Sam's Bagels: 9/28/08

Saturday, October 4, 2008

Not too hip

Dear People,

One day to go till my hip resurfacing. I know, shocking at my tender young age. Sure will miss cycling up to Sam's in two weeks and schmoozing with the gang.

The story starts back in the 70s when I started jogging because it was the closest I could get to flying. Seriously, hanging an extra split second in the air with each big loping stride, and with the proper pre-medication, it really did feel like flying.

Now, for you budding radiologists out there, my right hip joint, way back at the start of this illustrious jogging career, was smooth as glass (Image #1).

By last month when I first saw an orthopedist, the joint had become all gnarly (Image #2; note joint space obliterated by fuzzy white scarring).

No choice but surgery. Ouch.

In a conventional hip replacement, the head (the ball on top) and the neck of the femur are removed and replaced by metal. The top part of the piece of metal is cemented into the hip socket, and the bottom part is inserted into the hollow part of the shaft of the femur (right half of Image #3).

In hip "resurfacing", the head is also removed and replaced by metal. The difference is, that piece of metal is screwed into the neck, which I get to keep (left half of Image #3) .

That's it in a nutshell (which I get to keep too). See y'all in November.

Mike

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

News From Glenn!

hi sue. a quick update. these last two weeks have been a living hell. i finished my chemo and radiation last week. getting healthy is the next step. i'll spare the gory details, other than to say i may be back to human in about a month. i have had zero concentration and zero patience the last few weeks. in three months i go back for pet scan to see if the cancer is gone (no stress here, ha). thanks to everyone for the great card, it inspired me to try to get on the computer and check e-mail's. actually, my fingertips have no feeling and are split/bleeding/sore, so doing the best i can. i miss you all, again, the card was EXTREMELY HEARTWARMING, and cannot wait to see you all again.
Love, Glenn

A refresher course in civics Whether you agree or not, whether you are a Democrat or a Republican, this is a very interesting article and should give everyone in this country something to think about , mull over, discuss.

545 PEOPLE
By Charlie Reese

Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them.

Have you ever wondered why, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, WHY do we have deficits?

Have you ever wondered why, if all the politicians are against inflation and high taxes, WHY do we have inflation and high taxes?

You and I don't propose a federal budget. The President does.

You and I don't have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations. The House of Representatives does.

You and I don't write the tax code, Congress does.

You and I don't set fiscal policy, Congress does.

You and I don 't control monetary policy, the Federal Reserve Bank does.

One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one president, and nine Supreme Court justices 545 human beings out of the 300 million are directly, legally, morally, and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country.

I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve Board because that problem was created by the Congress. In 1913, Congress delegated its Constitutional duty to provide a sound currency to a federally chartered, but private, central bank.

I excluded all the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason. They have no legal authority. They have no ability to coerce a senator, a congressman, or a president to do one cotton-picking thing. I don't care if they offer a politician $1 million dollars in cash; The politician has the power to accept or reject it. No matter what the lobbyist promises, it is the legislator's responsibility to determine how he votes.

Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that what they did is not their fault. They cooperate in this common con regardless of party.
What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive amount of gall. For instance, no 'normal human being' would have the gall of any Speaker of The House to stand up and criticize a current President for creating deficits. The President can only propose a budget. He cannot force the Congress to accept it.

The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole responsibility to the House of Representatives for originating and approving appropriations and taxes. Who is the Speaker of the House? The leader of the majority party. He/She and fellow House Members, not the President, can approve any budget they want. If the President vetoes it, they can pass it over his veto if they agree to do so.

It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 300 million can not replace 545 people who stand convicted -- by present facts -- of incompetence and irresponsibility. I can't think of a single domestic problem that is not traceable directly to those 545 people. When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise the power of the federal government, then it must follow that what exists is what they want to exist.

If the tax code is unfair, it's because they made it unfair.
If the budget is in the red, it's because they put it in the red.
If the Army & Marines are in IRAQ , it's because they put them in IRAQ .

If they do not receive social security but are on an elite retirement plan not available to the people, it's because they want it that way (and believe me, they do!).There are no insoluble government problems.

Do not let these 545 people shift the blame to bureaucrats, whom they hire and whose jobs they can abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice they can reject; to regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and from whom they can take this power. Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exists disembodied mystical forces like 'the economy,' 'inflation,' or 'politics' that prevent them from doing what they take an oath to do.
Those 545 people, and they alone, are responsible.
They, and they alone, have the power.

They, and they alone, should be held accountable by the people who are their bosses provided the voters have the gumption to ma nage their own employees.
Why don't we just vote ALL of them out of office and clean up their mess!

What you do with this article now that you have read it is up to you, though you appear to have several choices.
1. You can send this to others, and hope' they' do something about it.
2. You can agree to 'vote against' everyone that is currently in office, knowing that the process will take several years.
3. You can decide to 'run for office' yourself and agree to do the job properly.
4. Lastly, you can sit back and do nothing, or re-elect the current bunch.

YOU DECIDE, BUT AT LEAST SEND IT TO YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY AND SHARE THIS INTERESTING ANALYSIS OF OUR POLITICAL SYSTEM WITH THEM. GOTTA ADMIT..MAKES YOU THINK, DOESN'T IT!

GAMES FOR WHEN WE ARE OLDER

Hi everyone, this was submitted by my dear friend, Mary, whom I have known since first grade!

GAMES FOR WHEN WE ARE OLDER :

Sag, you're It.
Hide and go pee.
20 questions shouted into your good ear.
Kick the bucket
Red Rover, Red Rover, the nurse says Bend Over.
Musical recliners.
Simon says - something incoherent.
Pin the Toupee on the bald guy

SIGNS OF MENOPAUSE :

You sell your home heating system at a yard sale.
You have to write post-it notes with your kids' names on them.
You change your underwear after a sneeze.

OLD IS WHEN:

Going bra-less pulls all the wrinkles out of your face.
You don't care where your spouse goes, just as long as you don't have to go along.
Getting a little action means you don't need fiber today.
Getting lucky means you find your car in the parking lot.
An all-nighter means not getting up to pee!

MORE THOUGHTS:

Wouldn't it be nice if whenever we messed up our life we could simply press 'Ctr- Alt- Delete' and start all over?
If raising children was going to be easy, it never would have started with something called 'labor!'
Brain cells come and brain cells go, but fat cells live forever.
I used to eat a lot of natural foods until I learned that most people die of natural causes.
When weeding, the best way to make sure you are removing a weed and not a valuable plant is to pull on it. If it comes out of the ground easily, it is a valuable plant.
The easiest way to find something lost around the house is to buy a replacement.
Have you noticed since everyone has a camcorder these days no one talks about seeing UFOs like they used to?
In the 60's, people took acid to make the world weird. Now the world is weird and people take Prozac to make it normal.
How is it one careless match can start a forest fire, but it takes a whole box to start a campfire?
Who was the first person to look at a cow and say, 'I think I'll squeeze these dangly things here and drink whatever comes out?'
Who was the first person to say, 'See that chicken there? I'm gonna eat the next thing that comes outta its butt.'
If Jimmy cracks corn and no one cares, why is there a song about him?
Why does your OB-GYN leave the room when you get undressed if he's going to look up there anyway?
Why doesn't glue stick to the inside of the bottle?

BUT MOST OF ALL, REMEMBER:

A Good Friend Is Like A Good Bra: Hard to Find, Supportive, Comfortable, And Always Close To Your Heart!
Never take life TOO seriously. Nobody gets out alive anyway!

Update on Joe McQuaid

Good Evening!

Sharyn has provided me an e-mail with an updated distribution list, so for those of you who don't know me, I'm Don Williams, the McQuaid's neighbor and good friend. I've been sending out progress reports on Joe, and am happy to report that he's now out of the intensive care unit and back into a regular room. My wife Jan and I visited him this afternoon, and while he's still very weak, he's in good spirits, and could return home as early as tomorrow. Thursday is probably more likely, however. He again has a phone in his room, and can be reached directly at (757) 388-8402. His room number is also 8402, which is on the 4th floor of Sentara Heart. This is a beautiful facility, overlooking part of the Norfolk harbor area, and designed from the ground up as a heart hospital. Hopefully, we will all be able to see him soon.

Have a Nice Evening

Don

Monday, September 29, 2008

Expedition Everest Challenge 2008

I have needed to get into shape for a long time for my health, yet I couldn't find the motivation to stick with an exercise program. I found out about this inaugural event at one of my favorite places, Disneyworld. It involved a 5K run, an obstacle course and a scavenger hunt, plus the chance to celebrate in the Animal Kingdom Park after hours. Turns out that the fear of public humiliation is a powerful motivator for me. I began to exercise in earnest. I am so grateful that my friend Jim agreed to go with me so I couldn't chicken out. Each week our time improved on the 5K walk/run. Last year we didn't get to celebrate his 50th birthday in a big way with all of the health challenges facing him. I hoped that this event would be a milestone for both of us, a chance to celebrate our friendship and our healthier selves.

OK, it's actually here. (What have I gotten us into?) After 6 weeks of training, we arrived at the Disney Sports Complex on Friday morning to pick up our racing packets and shirts. After a small snafu (I was registered on a team with myself instead of with Jim), we opened our goody bags. Surprised to find cookies, energy coffee beans, and a watermelon scented electric air freshener.

Here we are at Base Camp Fury 242 on Friday morning. Our luggage had finally arrived at 3 am. When it seemed that we had been here a week with all of the constant activity, we would remember that our luggage had only been in town for hours!

Spent Friday afternoon at EPCOT celebrating the Annual Wine and Food Festival. We enjoyed the rides Soarin', the surprising ending at Spaceship Earth, and Mission: SPACE.

Had the most refreshing frozen margaritas ever on a hot day!

A packed crowd celebrated the closing of the unique Adventurer's Club on Friday night. All of Pleasure Island will be closing after this weekend to make room for something new. This is one time I feel that Disney is making the wrong decision.

We gave the Adventurer's toast "Kungaloosh!" and cheer "Hoopla!" in the parlor before the shows in the library. Felt like a real adventurer by night's end.

We sang the Adventurer's Motto several times. Seemed appropriate as we were headed into uncharted territory for Saturday night's race.

The cast of the Adventurer's Club provided many laughs.

Imagine my surprise finding Scott here dressed in a scout uniform and carrying a cow!

After a talk about the race course, we spent Saturday afternoon at Animal Kingdom Park, site of the race. You can see Everest in the background. By now, I am getting very nervous. Had a delicious lunch at the Yak and Yeti Restuarant where our new friend, Gracie, was our waitress. We ended up in Wave 11 of the race, meaning we started last at 7:50 pm (the first runners began at 7 pm). They played very loud music interspersed with Yeti growls and helicopter sound effects while we waited. Firewalks shot up as the race began, and then we were off running around the parking lot in the dark!

Yeah Team Bluffingwildly! We finished! Had medals placed around our necks! Celebrated by riding Expedition Everest and the water rapids rides many times in the dark. The darkness made the rides seem much scarier.

We did what we set out to do. We not only completed the 5K Race, the Obstacle Course (thanks to Jim, he did all the work in record time) and the Scavenger Hunt in 1 hour, 20 minutes....we weren't even last to finish! Our medals and sweaty shirts are shown hanging above. I am really, truly proud of us. I can't even express how this small accomplishment was life-affirming.

Picture us standing here in front of Mickey with our medals at the All Star Sports Resort (the guy taking our photo forgot to push the button). Kungaloosh!

Free Carwash With Bagel

Hi everyone,

Found my long lost camera cable today.......in the camera bag where I thought it was all along. Thanks to St. Anthony, I finally recognized the cable and can finally post a month's worth of photos. Hope you enjoy them!

Is Dimitri onto a new marketing tactic?