Say What?

I've been mostly sidelined from outdoor riding and even some indoor activity since taking a nasty fall on our icy driveway nearly 3 weeks ago. I fell such that I landed on my left arm which pushed hard into my left ribcage. I have a history of rib injuries from cycling crashes so I knew what I was in for—sort of. I've never experienced a rib injury quite like this one, tho. I still can't take a full deep breath, nor can I cough or sneeze without significant pain. I was trying to push the effort on my indoor trainer last night but the muscles surrounding my injured rib area were tightening/spasming to the point where I had to stop pedaling several times. There's really no point in going to a medical doctor as there's nothing they can do for it. I saw my chiropractor for a routine appointment this morning and she was able to work on freeing up an area along my spine that was very tight. I have a pair of shoes by our front door now sporting Yaktrax . Ten years ago this...

42 years ago today marked the end of my enlistment in the United States Navy. I look back at how astonishingly fast the past 4 decades have gone by and I'm saddened a little because I know what that means for my future. There's no slowing this speeding train down. It only continues to press on even faster with each passing year—something I think about a fair amount as I contemplate the days that lie ahead and what exists beyond this life. Here's an entry  in my journal from the 10th of December, 1979, and the following day's entry written as I was flying back home to Minnesota, uncertain what my next move would be. I've been at this journaling/blogging thing for a while. I watched Brian Williams's final show last night on MSNBC. I liked his program, The 11th Hour with Brian Williams. He had a way of cutting through the nonsense and getting to the point, oftentimes with wit and humor to make it more palatable. His final words into the camera last night had some ...

On Sunday night, I received a text from a friend I've not seen in 44 years. Brian was coming into town the next day on business and wondered if we could get together for dinner. "Definitely!" I replied. Brian and I were stationed on the same ship during our time in the Navy in the mid to late '70s and we had lots of catching up to do. We met at Mall of America and settled into a booth at Cowboy Jacks for a few hours as we recalled stories from our Navy experience. We were so consumed in conversation that it was an hour before we took time to study the menu. I really enjoyed those few hours we shared. Thanks for reaching out, Brian! We're into December now and still enjoying daytime temps well above freezing. We topped out at around 50ºf (10ºc) a couple days ago which means I was riding in shorts on my river bottoms ride . This mild weather is making it nearly impossible for me to stay down in my stained glass studio for an extended period of time. My plan was to k...

Tammy and I have been methodically going through our upstairs bedrooms and moving their contents to the basement in preparation for some remodeling work we're having done to our upper level beginning later this month (new carpet, trim work, and master bathroom remodel). Rather than finding ourselves scrambling to ready the rooms in the last few days before work begins, we're getting it done ahead of time. The first job will be to remove the popcorn ceiling texture and replace it with a knockdown texture as we've already had done with the other two levels of our nearly 30-year-old home. That work will be done later this month. The main work (master bathroom) won't begin until the 3rd week in January and should take about a month.  We've been diligent about purchasing and ordering whatever fixtures and things we'll need to complete the job. With supply line issues still a problem due to the pandemic, we don't want to find the project halted for weeks or months...

Four-star Army General and former Secretary of State Colin Powell died yesterday from complications due (in part) to Covid-19. Fittingly, a post I made 13 years ago today, a post spurred by Colin Powell, came up in my Facebook memories this morning.  I had been struggling with my decision about who to support in the upcoming presidential election between Senator John McCain and Senator Barack Obama. I had just watched Meet the Press hosted by Tom Brokaw where Colin Powell appeared on the program to endorse Barack Obama . That, to me, was a powerful endorsement and one that tilted the table toward Obama. I went out on my bike for a few hours before my afternoon shift after watching the program and spent the ride mulling over who to vote for. By the time I arrived back home I had made my decision.  It was that Sunday in October of 2008 that I left the Republican party and I've never for a moment had second thoughts about my about-face. Colin Powell played a role in getting...

I stopped and chatted with some neighbors last night as Charlie and I were finishing our walk. They were in their driveway working on a craft project for their church. They said  the church  they attend is made up of mostly military families and is led by a former Army chaplain. They talked a little about their current sermon series and what they liked about their church. It was a bit of a sales pitch and while I could appreciate that, I had to tell them that even though I'm a very spiritual person, at this point in my life I simply have so little desire to be involved in a church again. I didn't tell them that my beliefs no longer align well with Christian orthodoxy. I'm leaning now toward a belief in reincarnation. I find that option an interesting one to contemplate. Nobody among us knows for sure what's on the other side but many will say they do, just as I used to think I did.  A snapshot of where I'm at at this point in my life.  I still feel that there's ...

Rachel and Drew were married last Sunday in the backyard of a Vrbo they rented along the shore of Lake Superior north of Lutsen, MN. It was such a nice and memorable wedding with Drew's brother Colton officiating the ceremony. It was mostly limited to immediate family—about 17 of us—as they were unsure what the status of the pandemic would be when they began making plans a year ago or so. With the rise of infections due to the Delta variant, it was a wise move on their part to keep it small. They plan to have a much larger reception at Drew's parent's home near Rochester next summer. Tammy used the  Rover app to find a couple in Apple Valley (a few miles away) to watch the pups for us. We had been to their home a month earlier to meet with them and to give the pups a feel for their temporary home. We left Charlie and Cotton with them the night before we left the cities. All seemed to be okay as we left for Lutsen late the next morning. More on this later.  Tammy arranged f...

I've been meaning to sit down and tap out a blog post for several days but my heart hasn't been in it. The things I want to write about — to make note of here as I try and create some kind of a timeline to my life for personal reasons — are somewhat depressing things to ponder.  There is so much that's been happening in our world and much of it is very concerning to me. Mostly, I worry about the political divide within our country and if there's anything we can do about it because unless we do, I see our democracy slipping from our tenuous grasp while a hard-right fascist movement waits in the wings to replace it. A few short years ago I never could have imagined myself thinking that, much less putting it in writing. But it's where I am. Unless we can maintain a healthy democracy (we currently aren't doing so), other pressing matters can't be dealt with as effectively as they should be — concerns about climate change and income inequality will continue to b...

I met with my doctor last week to discuss the latest results from my lab work. He was very pleased with where I'm at and said he sees no need for me to be on a statin to control cholesterol — something he was considering in my last checkup. He said that should I ever slow down and lead a more sedentary life, then maybe his advice to me will change. I had a spring in my step as I left his office. I've been saying for the past few years that I don't handle the hotter days of summer all that well anymore. I'm happy to say that I was wrong. I don't care for the relentless heat we've been experiencing this summer but I've been riding and golfing in it quite a lot this year and it's really not hindered me much at all. Still, I'm becoming more of a cool/cold weather person the older I get. My sweet spot is 65ºf (18ºc) or cooler. And it looks like we may be leaving the extreme heat behind for the season (ever the optimist I am!) before long. The #1 item on m...

I woke up yesterday morning to the sound of thunder. My Weather Bug app's radar depiction screen lit up with a large area of precipitation working its way through southern Minnesota. I don't think I've ever been happier to see rain. We're so overdue. And maybe the rains will wash the smoke out of the air (at least for a while). The wildfires out west have been feeding a steady stream of smoke across the country, even at the lower levels of the atmosphere. I was mowing the lawn last week and could see smoke hanging in the air just by looking across the street. I can't begin to imagine what it must be like living much closer to the source of the fire.  My primary care doctor is the same doctor who guided me through my last round of blood clots in January 2015. My previous primary care physician had retired a few months earlier so I was in need of someone new and Dr. Foley was happy to fill that role for me. He's very intent on making sure I've got the healt...

I can't recall a more oppressively hot and humid summer in my nearly 64 years than what we've been experiencing this summer. But there's hope in sight! We'll only be in the 80ºs by Thursday when we ditch these 90º+ days we've been contending with. Our air conditioner never feels better than when I come home from being out on a ride. I'm also learning to love cool (bordering on cold) showers!  When I had our home built in 1992, my brother installed a state-of-the-art security system that still serves us well today. I don't actually worry all that much about people breaking into our home but we've added another layer of security in the form of wireless Eufy security cameras that are set up to monitor all of the entrances to our home. With the help of a neighbor who works for a tech company, we were able to get them at a very reasonable price. They're also a source of good fun for our neighbors to prank us while we're away, such as this past weeke...

I was golfing with Steve last Thursday when I got a text from Keith: "Deborah passed away last night". I was shocked. Deborah is our cousin and was only in her early 60s. I knew her health wasn't good and that she had been admitted to the hospital but I had no idea she was gravely ill. I last spoke with her this past winter when I gave her a call to chat. I had no idea it would be our last conversation. Deborah was one of just a few people who were invited to attend Tammy's and my wedding 22 years ago at our home. She sang a beautiful song she'd written for us. She was a talented musician with perfect pitch and an angelic voice. She was also a very giving and forgiving person who looked for the best in others. My heart especially goes out to her husband Mark and her brother Bern. She will be missed.  Forty years ago today, relatives on my mother's side of our family held our largest family reunion in Michigan's Upper Peninsula — an area of the country wher...

Six months ago today, a group of Trump's supporters descended on our nation's Capitol in an attempt to halt the certification of Biden's decisive Electoral College win in our nation's presidential election. It was a disturbing act of loyalty to the most corrupt man to ever occupy the office of the presidency. It's now seven months after the election and Trump has yet to concede defeat to Joe Biden.  It would be one thing if it was merely a one-off collection of misfits who plotted this ill-fated attempt to overthrow our government but it's not. It's so much more than that and I have no doubt that it goes to the very top — to Trump himself. The most disturbing aspect of the entire travesty is that Trump was reported to have been gleeful as he watched the events unfold, refusing to send in reinforcements to stop it. It would be hours before they arrived and not because of any help from Trump. That's criminal but so is pretty much everything else with him....

It's been weeks since I've noticed the strong and oftentimes relentless scent of smoke in my nose that I've mentioned here previously. My lungs appear to be mostly back to normal as well without the spontaneous cough from deep in my chest that I'd been experiencing. I can't say with certainty if my symptoms were Covid related but I suspect they were. Yesterday marks four weeks since crashing my bike and injuring my ribs. I'm feeling mostly healed from that as well. I took one of my golf clubs out of its bag last night and gave a few 80% swings out in our yard. I think I'm ready to at least hit the range for a few sessions before easing my way out onto the links again.  I'm not totally disappointed in being unable to golf this past month because I've used my spare time to ride more than I otherwise would have — and I needed that. My form is beginning to come around but I still have some work to do. Most of my riding lately has been on my road bike; a ...

Twenty years ago this afternoon, I had an encounter with a rambunctious loose pup while riding my bike north of Northfield. It was an encounter that would land me not only in the emergency room of the Northfield hospital but it would also land me on the set of the Judge Judy show a few months later. For those who haven't already seen the video, I'll post it below. Had it not been for my then-10-year-old daughter Rachel, I never would've agreed to stand in front of Judge Judy but there was no way I could say no to Rachel's request. She even offered all of her stuffed animals for me to practice speaking in front of in preparation for the show with a viewership of some 10,000,000 people. How sweet was that!? Like most everyone else, I was familiar with the show having watched it numerous times but never did I ever imagine appearing on it. I sometimes wondered how they found out about our pending small claims court case and have since learned that the program has a staff of...