I saw my new nephrologist for the first time yesterday. My kidneys are in very bad shape, but he can’t determine best treatment without more tests, one of them that will be extremely unpleasant so prayers would be welcome. Next appointment is Jan 27th to review results and plan next move.
Most likely thing is my kidneys are permanently damaged, probably by scarring from long-term analgesic use and auto-immune disease. The point they’re at now is so far gone that they will probably deteriorate to dialysis/transplant arena. Again, prayers!
I’m trying to keep firmly in mind that God healed my unborn baby from an untreatable, incurable disease and that NOTHING is impossible for Him. Plus, you know, joining suffering with Jesus on the cross for the salvation of sinners. Praying hard for humility and all that good stuff.
It is at this time of year that people of faith feel most keenly about the blessings that have been bestowed upon them by the Creator of All Things. Most people feel thankful for family and friends, but we are most grateful for the Son of God who sacrificed Himself that we may have eternal life. No matter what challenges you face, you know in your heart if God brought you to it He’ll bring you through it.
Pity the liberal socialist who has replaced Almighty God with an false idol of a government monolith, providing them meager substance at the cost of their souls. Gratitude is hard to come by when you think everything is gotten without any personal sacrifice. The love of God has been replaced with arrogance and anger in their empty souls. That is why they can never be satisfied, no matter what they have. Without Grace you have basically nothing.
I am most thankful this year for the amazing doctors and staff at Rockford Memorial Hospital. I went in for an angioplasty Tuesday and everything went well. I had a 4-way bypass in 2004 and one of the bypasses had collapsed, restricting the blood flow. That was the origin of the extreme pain I would feel sometimes. The cardiologist put in a stent and everything should be fine now. They kept me overnight for observation and I came home yesterday. The third shift CNA is an older black lady and we became friends. I even talked her into getting me some coffee from the nurses station at 4AM, since they didn’t start serving breakfast until 6:30. We talked for some time about kids, grandkids, and a lot of things in general. I told her that God puts people in your life for a reason. We’ll probably never meet again, but I was thankful to get to know her for the time we had. I’ll always remember that cup of coffee. It’s funny how life works that way sometimes.
My daughter works in the billing department at the hospital and she brought the grandkids to see me after she finished work Tuesday. They weren’t used to seeing somebody like that, and I think they may have been a little grossed out when I described the procedure I had. We all hugged and are looking forward to seeing each other soon.
Not the least of what I’m thankful for is having a new president. It remains to be seen what kind of leader he turns out to be, but it’s a safe bet he’s worlds better than the alternative. I love all of you here so much it would have been most difficult to say goodbye rather than have to document any more years of a democrat reign of terror.
It’s hard to imagine how much has changed in the 50 years since I finished high school in 1968. My daughter graduated in 1991, and she was surprised how much had changed in that time. She knew nothing about the dress code; girls had to wear a skirt or a dress, no shorts or slacks. Boys could not wear t-shirts and if their hair touched their ears they were sent home until they got it cut. We had no open campus and we had pretty strict rules that had to be obeyed. Even pocket calculators were fairly new, quite expensive and could not be used for algebra or geometry. Social media was passing notes back and forth.
Fast forward to 2016. We had pizza with daughter, RJ, and Big Sis two weeks ago. We hadn’t seen them in awhile and we wanted to catch up on the latest news. Mom had no doubt regaled her offspring with tales of the horrors she endured when she went to school. I’m sure it was met with the same lack of interest that she had. Kids cannot possibly function without those stupid phones they all obsess over. I’m wondering if the teachers can make them put them away when they’re taking tests. Otherwise, they could text their older sister who had already taken it for the answers. We had to write cheat sheets on our hands, clandestinely hidden in a pocket or hidden elsewhere on our person. It’s for sure we didn’t have daycare for student mothers back then. That’s a big part of the failure of our educational system today.
On a more personal note, apparently Big Sis’s Mandingo warrior kicked her to the curb. She was pretty sullen. RJ, however, has a young lady friend. He showed me her picture on his phone. It faded, so I started shaking it like an etch-a-sketch. He was astonished that I didn’t know how to use one of these. His mom and I agreed it will be a whirlwind romance at best, since when the practice starts for track or wrestling she’ll be an afterthought. Ah, young love.
SOME SCHOOL-RELATED NEWS
Michelle Rhee — Supporter of ‘Heavily Regulated’ School Choice — as Education Secretary?
THIS SEEMS LIKE A BAD CHOICE. SHE’S A LIFELONG DEMOCRAT, MARRIED TO FORMER NBA STAR KEVIN JOHNSON, AND LOCKED HORNS WITH THE TEACHERS’ UNION AS THE CHANCELLOR OF THE D.C. SCHOOL SYSTEM WITH HER VOUCHER PROGRAM. DISTURBINGLY, SHE’S ALSO A PROPONENT OF COMMON CORE AND FEDERAL CONTROL OF SCHOOL CURRICULA.
In a 2012 interview with Education Week, Rhee, a Democrat who heads political education lobbying group StudentsFirst, said she supports targeted school voucher programs that provide taxpayer funds to low-income students in poor schools. Her view of school choice, however, is one that would bring greater regulation to private and charter schools.
School vouchers – which are a transfer of taxpayer funds to private and charter schools – have been shown to bring about the highest level of regulation in private and charter schools that agree to accept them.
“It has to be a heavily regulated industry,” she said. “I believe in accountability across the board.”
SEE WHAT FEDERAL CONTROL OF EDUCATION HATH WROUGHT
Two Texas High School Students In Trouble After Performing Mock Assassination Of President-Elect Trump
Two Northside ISD students are facing disciplinary action after they performed a mock assassination of President-elect Donald Trump.
The district said that last Friday, two Marshall High School students surprised their teacher by adding an unexpected twist to their presentation.
The district said both students’ parents were notified and disciplinary action is being handled by Marshall High
I’M SURE THEY’LL GET A FIRM TALKING-TO
Mom Left Heartbroken After Teacher Snatched Mic From Autistic Son During School Play
The parents of a 6-year-old boy with autism whose microphone was snatched away during a school play remain heartbroken over the incident.
The boy, Caleb, was dressed as a turkey for the Thanksgiving play at his school in West Virginia, but when he went up to the mic, a teacher pulled it away, leaving him in tears.
She said her boy was excited to be on stage at his elementary school but when the mic was taken away, his mom recalled, “he was up there crying, saying ‘oh no!’ and my heart broke to watch that.”
But the school’s superintendent said the play was over and Caleb wasn’t supposed to speak.
“The program was over and the teacher had taken the microphone without malice. If we had to do it again, probably we all agree, we would have done it a little differently,” the superintendent said.
OH, REALLY? YA THINK??? http://www.msn.com/en-us/lifestyle/parenting/mom-left-heartbroken-after-teacher-snatched-mic-from-autistic-son-during-school-play/ar-AAktfxy?li=BBnbfcL&ocid=UE12DHP Social Justice Warrior Lunacy: Yale Student Dresses As Shackled Slave – Because Trump
A freshman at Yale dressed as a slave shackled in chains because once Trump is president, he’s going to bring back slavery.
I GOT TEN BUCKS THAT SAYS THIS MORON GOT TO YALE AS PART OF THEIR AFFIRMATIVE ACTION QUOTA. NO WAY HE’S ON AN ACADEMIC SCHOLARSHIP.
Does these idiots even know Republicans abolished slavery? Why We Desperately Need To Bring Back Vocational Training In Schools BACK IN MY DAY WE HAD SHOP CLASSES… FOR THOSE WHO DIDN’T GO TO COLLEGE.
WE HAD METALS CLASS, DRAFTING, WOOD SHOP, AND WHAT WAS CALLED POWER LAB, WHERE FUTURE GEARHEADS LEARNED TO WORK ON CARS.
WE ALSO HAD DRIVER EDUCATION, WHICH THEY DON’T OFFER ANYMORE.
But in the 1950s, a different philosophy emerged: the theory that students should follow separate educational tracks according to ability. The idea was that the college-bound would take traditional academic courses (Latin, creative writing, science, math) and received no vocational training. Those students not headed for college would take basic academic courses, along with vocational training, or “shop.”
Professors Call Founding Fathers ‘Terrorists,’ Founding Ideals A ‘Fabrication’ THERE’S NOT A DOUBT IN MY MIND THESE TWO WERE PROBABLY SPAWNED BY VIETNAM PROTESTERS.
The “Resistance and Revolution” class is co-taught by history lecturer Jared Benson and sociology instructor Nicholas Lee, who also suggest that it was Mikhail Gorbachev – not Ronald Reagan — who brought down the collapse of the Soviet Union, and that wealthy CEOs deserve to be in a “moral prison,” among many other assertions.
I’m not feeling too hot. On Thursday, I decided to walk and push through the Big Shop instead of using an electric cart. I’m happy I got through it without pain, but I think I maybe overdid my energy a bit. I’m better today than yesterday, which I spent on the couch, so there’s that.
I am delighted with how much muscle tone I’ve gained in my legs and hips from walking the dogs and doing more around the house. I gained 7 lbs in the one month between doctor visits, but my measurements are all the same except my hips, where I LOST an inch, so it apparently was all muscle!
My bum knee is definitely liking the lighter weight and better muscle support. It was cold and wet on shopping day, ideal weather for a Bad Knee Day, but I didn’t have a twinge, even with all that walking. I just got very, very tired. I saw a 3 lb. barbell at the store, so got it to work on my upper body while I’m waiting for web sites to load. It’s purple! 🙂
We also had exciting news yesterday! Warrior Princess had an ultrasound that showed she is carrying a healthy little boy. That gives us 4 boy grands and 2 girl grands, which coincidentally is the same distribution both Dearest and I had in our birth families! :O)
If I’m up to it, I’ll come back later in the day and do something else for all y’all. In the meantime, this video came from a friend to my email. It’s well worth the time.
Artist Joe Everson (his website is http://www.JoeEverson.com) sings the National Anthem while painting a picture at a Toledo Walleye hockey game. The result is AMAZING!
Electronic television was invented in the 1920’s, but didn’t become commercially available until about 1948. This electronic marvel would alter the course of history forever. Never before had people been able to witness history as it happened. The coronation of Queen Elizabeth and the assassination of JFK. Man landing on the moon in 1969 and a three hour slow speed chase of a white Bronco. Television is the most powerful and influential media that ever existed.
Careers and fortunes were made. Actors became household names and some were made famous by one role. You know them. Raymond Burr as Perry Mason. Alan Alda as Hawkeye Pierce. Henry Winkler as The Fonz. The list goes on. Some television actors went on to star on the big screen and some movie actors found their place on TV. The first sets were big boxes with a grainy picture that you had to use rabbit ear antennae to focus and you had horizontal and vertical hold controls. One of the kids was the remote and you only had three channels.
Of all the people who became stars, only one could be the first. His name was William Boyd. He started acting in silent movies in the 1920’s (I actually came across one on Turner Classic Movies once). His destiny was sealed when he auditioned and won the lead role in a series of movies based on the character created by Clarence Mulford… Hopalong Cassidy. Between 1949 and 1952 he was the biggest star in the media universe.
From Wikipedia:
Born June 5, 1895
Belmont County, Ohio. U.S.
Died September 12, 1972 (aged 77)
Beginning in 1990, the town of Cambridge, Ohio began having a Hopalong Cassidy Festival to celebrate their favorite son. I was an exhibitor at the toy gun and western memorabilia show they have there every year from 2001 to 2007. Some of the biggest dealers from across the country, people I had only talked to on the phone or through toy ads, with were there. They came from Birmingham, Plymouth Mass., Pasadena Texas, and a man named Quinn, who runs the biggest cap gun show in the country from California. He has tens of thousands of dollars worth of guns to buy and sell. His fifth wife, Grace Bradley Boyd, attended the festivals until the year she died, 2010, on her 97th birthday.
Boyd resumed production[3] in 1946, on lower budgets, and continued through 1948, when “B” westerns were being phased out. Boyd thought Hopalong Cassidy might have a future in television, spent $350,000 to obtain the rights to his old films,[3] and approached the fledgling NBC network. The initial broadcasts were so successful that NBC could not wait for a television series to be produced and edited the feature films to broadcast length.[4] On June 24, 1949, Hopalong Cassidy became the first network Western television series.
The success of the television series made Boyd a star.[3] The Mutual Broadcasting System began broadcasting a radio version, with Andy Clyde (later George MacMichael on Walter Brennan’s ABC sitcom The Real McCoys) as the sidekick, in January 1950; at the end of September, the show moved to CBS Radio, where it ran until 1952.[5]
Mrs. Boyd told us Hoppy sold their car,took out a second mortgage on their house and begged or borrowed every nickle he could from friends in Hollywood.Actors didn’t make much back in those days.
The festival featured all kinds of activities, but meeting Mrs. Hoppy was one of the thrills of my life. She was the epitome of style and class. She would come around and speak to the dealers and I actually talked to her for almost ten minutes. I never accomplished much in my life, but that’s something no one can take away from me.
Here are a few photos from the local paper from one of the festivals:
Note: there are always a number of cowboy impersonators. The only real actor I ever saw was Buck Taylor (Newly from Gunsmoke)
This was taken in the hallway when you first come in the convention center
The series and character were so popular that Hopalong Cassidy was featured on the cover of national magazines such as Look, Life, and Time.[3] Boyd earned millions as Hopalong ($800,000 in 1950 alone),[3] mostly from merchandise licensing and endorsement deals. In 1950, Hopalong Cassidy was featured on the first lunchbox to bear an image, causing sales for Aladdin Industries to jump from 50,000 to 600,000 in one year. In stores, more than 100 companies in 1950 manufactured $70 million of Hopalong Cassidy products,[3] including children’s dinnerware, pillows, roller skates, soap, wristwatches, and jackknives.[6]
Hoppy had his name or likeness on over 2100 different products from cereal pinbacks to dishes and flatware,lamps,bicycles,bread,dairy products and local banks.
I’ll do another post next week to highlight some of the myriad products he endorsed.
He was the kind of role model we lack today. Every kid imagined being Hoppy, riding on his big white horse, Topper.
It was great to be a kid then and have heroes like him to look up to.
Hoppy and Grace
She was in her 90’s when this was taken. Still a class act
Walter was my father-in-law. My wife was very close to him and she’s going through a very difficult time. I will eulogize him here because I couldn’t do it at the service. Besides, you know you all are all the friends I have in the world. That’s why I did this every day.
Walter W. Simpson, 96, of Richland Center died Saturday, October 22, 2016 at Pine Valley Community Village after a short illness. He was born in Richland County on November 4, 1919 the son of George and Nellie (Swenink) Simpson. On June 2, 1948 Walter was united in marriage to Letha Banker Campbell, and the couple moved to Rockford, Illinois where they lived until September of 1989. The couple moved back home to Richland Center after he retired from many years with Peoria-Rockford Bus Company as a driver both city and intra-state. Walter was a 61 year member of the Free Masons.
Walter is survived by his children: Mary Lou Gano of Longview, TX, Judy (Richard) Peterson of Loves Park, IL, Karen Vernon of Albuquerque, NM, Stan (Ann) Simpson of Davenport, IA; son-in-law: Jack Kosgard of Davenport, IA; 12 grandchildren; 16 great-grandchildren; sister Marcella McNelly of Richland Center; brother-in-law: Carol (Margaret) Banker of Richland Center; many nieces, nephews, other relatives, and friends.
Walter met Letha, a widow with two kids, at age 19 in 1947. Her first husband was killed in 1945. They enjoyed 60 years together. He rode a Harley flathead and drove a charter bus cross-country. He’d sit and tell us of his travels for hours on end. During the war he worked with the Army Corps of Engineers at the Oak Ridge Laboratory in Tennessee. That’s where Enrico Fermi discovered how to turn uranium into plutonium to make the first atomic bomb. After the war Walter got a letter of gratitude from President Truman. Imagine how hard he had to work to support two stepdaughters and three of his own children. I guess the highest compliment I could give him was that he was a true badass in the best sense of the word.
There is a small cemetery in the township of Rockbridge, outside of Richland Center, Wisconsin. There are three plots together. His beloved Letha, who died in 2008, lies in the middle plot. Her first husband rests on one side of her. Walter will occupy the other side. I told DW that her mom will spend eternity between the only two men she ever shared a bed with.
My wife had gone to see him last Friday and said he wasn’t doing well. When I git up from my nap Saturday she was sitting on the couch crying. All she said was he’d given up on living. While she was at her BFFs that afternoon I got the call from her brother Stan. When people reach the age Walter did, you know the inevitable is coming. That doesn’t make it any easier when it happens. I think my beloved realizes how very fortunate she is to have had both her parents for as long as she did.
REST IN PEACE, WALTER. YOU’VE SURE AS HELL EARNED IT.
First time in ages! And it’s the second time in two days that I’ve felt well enough to sit at my desk and work online. Yowza!
On Monday, at my checkup, my doctor suggested I try soaking my whole body in an Epsom salt bath before bed. I have now done it twice … Monday night and Tuesday night. I got much better sleep than usual and have been clear minded enough to post both mornings.
I need to keep it up and see if the benefit lasts, but for now, I’m just so thrilled to be here twice in a row cuz … dayum, poor Pete! This is too big a job for one person. He’s been such a trooper during my long, long illness. {{{{{Pete}}}}}
Here’s my ferment post, if you’re interested. I’ve added a photo of my 90-gallon freshwater show tank at the bottom because pictures are fun. Plus, it’s one of my rehab projects and I’m really proud of how well it’s turned out. I love to lie on the couch and just go all zen with my fishes. 🙂
I started fermenting around Thanksgiving of 2014. I was so excited about the totally novel idea that I could heal my allergies by healing my gut.
I’ve been totally home bound for many years by all my food and environmental sensitivities. Back in the early 1980s, when I was tested extensively, my doctors found me to be a universal reactor.
My immune system was so screwed up that it just sensitized to everything, including my own unborn children.
50 foods tested; none were safe and some were devastating. 300 molds; 299 were positive and the testing tech said, “You’ve just never been exposed to this last one.” Dogs, cats, birds, rodents, dust, pollens of all kinds, fragrances, formaldehyde, chlorine, yada yada yada … even my own hormones!
I ended up forced to live a monastic life in a few climate-conditioned, air filtered rooms. I haven’t been to church in decades and I couldn’t attend my daughters’ graduations or weddings.
BUT …. after almost 2 years of fermenting, I can now go out sometimes! I’ve been able to garden, walk the dogs, go to the grocery store, run the vacuum cleaner … all for only relatively short periods of time and I’m still on the couch a lot, but still … WOW!
I still can’t even think about church … way too much perfume … but I was able to attend my daughter’s baby shower this month where everyone specifically did not wear perfume for my sake and we had my air filter running and a door propped open. I was there for FOUR HOURS before I crashed and had to go back to my home slash allergy oasis!
On the food front, my biggest success is that I can eat now one egg a week. Eggs were one of my worst foods ever. I had a special type of food allergy to eggs known as an addictive allergy. In short, I HAD to have eggs every morning or I wasn’t fit to live with, but a few hours after eating them, I’d suddenly be very angry about nothing.
I remember wondering why my kids were so annoying at 11 am every day LOL … but I didn’t connect it to the eggs until I got to a Clinical Ecologist (M.D.) who could explain the workings of a totally messed up immune system like mine. In fact, at my intake interview the week I turned 30, she asked, “Is there any food you have to eat every day?”
I’d been treated by a traditional Allergist (M.D.) since I was a teen. He told me I had NO food allergies and he certainly had never asked me a question like that!
My fermenting regimen has been simple … Three K’s A Day. Each day, I try to have at least a little bit of kefir, kombucha, and some kind of fermented produce – Bubbie’s pickles or my own kraut or salsa are the most common.
This year, I also started juicing and we made a bigger commitment to organic eating, both of which I think have also helped.
I just had a checkup with mixed results. I had a bone density scan that showed my bones are really, really strong. I think it runs in my family. To my knowledge, no one in my immediate birth family ever broke a bone.
My anemia is slowly abating as my body makes new red blood cells to replace all that I lost in July when my body sprung a leak. I’m glad it’s getting better, but I’ll be thrilled when I hit normal so I can stop taking iron.
My thyroid tests were close to good, so he nudged my thyroxine up just a smidgen to one a day, plus two on Sundays. Next round of blood work is in early January.
The cardio stress test showed all is normal, insofar as the test can show. I asked the cardiologist why, if my heart is so great, it hurts. He said, “I have no idea.” Oh. Yay. I was really hoping the test would show up something easy to treat that would improve my quality of life. Meh.
Worst news is my kidneys lost ground. I had gotten to 28% function (up from 14% when I was admitted to ICU for kidney failure). It dropped to 23.5% and I’m being packed off to see a kidney doctor.
Earlier this month, we had a family reunion to celebrate Warrior Princess’s pregnancy with our sixth grandchild! It was the first time since 2007 that all five of us were in the same place at the same time. Three of the five born grands attended, which was uber fun for Grammy and Nonno Hyphen. We got to meet the youngest air breather, six month old Baby Bootz, for the first time. He is such a sweet, happy baby! Here he is enjoying his first plane ride.
On October 7, 1949, a daughter was born to Walter and Letha Simpson. Some 43 years later it was to her everlasting misfortune that she met a thrice-divorced, brain-damaged, deranged idiot who she found could make her laugh. Having been divorced and raising two kids on her own, she had a pretty good idea what the realities in life were. We’ve stuck together, though times thin and flush, knowing it took a total commitment to see things through. She’s not the youngest, the thinnest, maybe not the prettiest in some peoples’ eyes. But we take care of each other and that’s all that’s important.
There are woefully few things I can point to in my life as a success. My children and my wife. That’s pretty much it. I’m not here to impress anybody. I just want to celebrate as many birthdays together as possible. I cannot imagine ever living without her. Whatever time we have left together will be well-spent.
An organization of parent activists, retired teachers, and other professionals from around the nation has released an open letter to President-elect Donald Trump, urging him to do all within his power to return control of education to parents.
BACK IN MY DAY WE HAD SHOP CLASSES… FOR THOSE WHO DIDN’T GO TO COLLEGE.
THERE’S NOT A DOUBT IN MY MIND THESE TWO WERE PROBABLY SPAWNED BY VIETNAM PROTESTERS.
polination.blog 