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...