Elvis Sightings

Seems I left you kind of the middle of our Family Vacation trip, after we left Arkansas we headed for Tennessee stopping at the first exit in Memphis which is on the eastern side of the Mississippi River, if you are ever in the area it is worth a stop if for nothing else but the view, The Welcome Center has the normal stacks of area attraction brochures to go along with the view, there is also a large statue of Elvis Presley with a sign that reads “Do Not Touch” Randy and Timmy are looking at it and you can see by the look on their faces what they are thinking, Randy says “How are they going to know if I touch it” I reply if you touch it an alarm will probably go off, he laughs and lays his hand on Elvis foot, I kid you not just as he touches it a SWAT team comes into every door everyone is surrounded, the building is sealed off, the restrooms are searched and everyone is questioned, I thought Randy was going to die on me right there, seems there was a shooting in the area earlier in the day and a tip had come in that the suspect was hiding by the river, what a coincidence that Randy picked the right time to touch the last statue he will ever touch.

After the Swat team cleared us and our van was searched we hit the road and headed for Graceland, heck we had seen the statue we might as well go see where he lived, Graceland is pretty impressive although not as large as you would think, it is a nice Southern home with a lot of stuff inside if you are an Elvis fan it is well worth the trip and if you are not you will like it anyway, after the tour of the house and grave we went back across the street to go through the shops, first thing Cindy ran into was an Elvis impersonator who just knew he was Elvis, every time we turned around there he was trying to sing for Cindy, the kids and I thought it was funny but Cindy was not impressed, we went down the street a bit for another shop and guess who was there, a “Fat Elvis” impersonator who was equally talented as the previous one, we were having fun but time to hit the road was upon us.

Music Row was our next stop in Nashville, there is a lot of history there and you just have to see it for yourself, yes Elvis made an appearance for Cindy while we were there and it was getting late in the day so we went to find a motel to which we had better luck than the last one, we found a very nice place with all you could ask for, there was a pool and weight room for the kids, a restaurant and a large room we could all be comfortable in, after supper we could hear music coming from the bar downstairs, we went down to find a group of people who we were told are trying to make it in Nashville, we were allowed to bring the kids inside as long as we were not drinking, I had no problem with this and we all really enjoyed listening to a talented group of people sing for us, after this group there was a karaoke type performance in which there were a few good ones, then out of the blue there he was “Elvis was in the building” he started singing and Cindy started laughing, she was having such a good time at seeing Elvis again she just couldn’t stop laughing after seeing him so much this day, Elvis noticed her and here he comes through the dark crowded room with a spotlight following him to pull up a chair and sit right down in front of her, she is still laughing and he is leaning in close singing “Love Me Tender” I was laughing too hard to help her, he finished the song and said “Thankyouverymuch” (yes that is one word) then Elvis left the building.

We really like visiting Tennessee and it is the longest state to drive through on I-40 heck it even shares two time zones, Knoxville is beautiful on the eastern edge nearing North Carolina and our last major town before leaving the state, the Great Smoky Mountains just take your breath and we didn’t see Elvis anywhere here.

to be continued:

Getting The Hang Of It

I haven’t gotten much writing done last couple days due to this, that, and the other, Our Horse Hunting Mission is still going full steam and I will hopefully have a good post on this after Monday (hint hint Cindy has a horse soon as I get her picked up),

I looked at my blog a couple days ago and decided I can clean this up a little and after what seemed like days which was only one I got the code figured out, Cindy accuses me of being a perfectionist so needless to say I was not happy with any of the templates unless I changed some stuff in the code, I added the header which is a picture I took of the mountains behind us, and after I made this change and that change the banner didn’t work anymore so here I go changing that too, now the favicon matched the old banner so today after creating about a dozen I am happy now, just wanted to let you know where I was and why my blog was jumping around a bit. If you see anything I have missed I am always open for suggestions.

I have had websites, forums and such in the past and just recently started my Just My Opinion blog, I want to thank a few folks who have befriended me so to say and have made me feel welcome in our little Blog-o-sphere, Nan is a friend from way back who has read my stuff in the past and still honors me with a visit now and then, I look forward to sitting down for dinner with her and Mr. Bill soon, Dr.Susie over at Life According to Dr. Susie Q is a dear friend who I met while dealing with diabetes, she was the inspiration to get me going here, Ron at Vent..A Series Of Takes was the first to take a look at my blog and has stuck by me so far, his comments and humor keep me smiling, SuziCate at The Water Witches Daughter is like Ron she keeps an eye on me and shares her wisdom if for nothing else to let me know she was there, and Karal at The Orange Chair gave me a Best Blog Award and a very moving write up on her blog, now I have to get this best blog stuff figured out. You folks have made me feel like what I am doing is worthwhile and I appreciate you all, you all deserve a best blog award in my opinion and I hope you accept this appreciation award from Just My Opinion.

Thank You

Family Vacations

You have to Love Family vacations and we have had several that we will remember from now on, several years back when all the kids were still living at home we left New Mexico way too early in the morning because I just knew I could drive all the way to Jackson, Tennessee the first day, well needless to say by the time we got to Brinkley, Arkansas Cindy and the Kids had tolerated just about enough of riding, not that Far from the Tennessee border I was going to at least make it there since it was still daylight, the kids spotted a carnival set up just down the road and Cindy spotted a motel that had a pool so I was out voted and we stopped.

We got checked into a room that had three beds which worked out well for us, the boys Randy and Tim got one, Melissa got one and there was one for us without having to get a roll away for anyone like we had in the past, Melissa was in the bathroom changing into her bathing suit soon after I got the door opened, Tim went next and then it was Randy’s turn, Cindy is getting the kids lined out and I am still unloading the station wagon, just as I reach the door with the last suitcase I hear “Seriously Mom there is a snake” I was nearly trampled with everyone running out of the room, I gather my family back up to get all the facts together, seems there is a snake in the bathroom Randy saw it while he was changing clothes Cindy tells me, OK I know Randy is a prankster (not sure where he got that from) so I have to go see if it is so and sure enough coiled up under the sink is a small snake just giving me the eye, I tell Cindy to call the desk and I’m going to keep an eye on the snake so we don’t lose him. Cindy is not happy when she gets off the phone, she tells me the answer she got when she told them about the snake was “at least you wont have mosquitoes in your room” Lucky for him the manager comes to the door about that time and she didn’t have to go after him.

I was still keeping an eye on the snake and here comes this man with a golf club and a small trash can, I can see this is going to work so I grab the camcorder to document what is going to be good, he goes into the bathroom and I hear clunking sounds followed by a scream, out comes the manager followed by the snake who makes a turn and disappears behind the dresser, Cindy is now carrying our suitcases out the door, the dresser was removed drawers pulled out and the snake was never found, we gladly moved to a room with the risk of mosquitoes and finally got to take the kids for a swim.

The carnival was set up down the road and we thought after all the excitement of the snake and the long ride we would take the kids to have some fun, can’t be that far so we decided to walk since we had been in the car all day. Carnivals are not near as close as they look when you are walking down the road from the motel, we finally got there and the kids were ready for some fun, Randy wanted to play games, Melissa and Timmy wanted to ride the rides, Cindy and I were trying to keep up with them, we get Tim and Melissa in line for the Zipper and walk Randy through the games, after a while we go to check on them and they are finally next to get on, the ride stops everyone unloads and Melissa steps forward to get on, instead she got a hand in her face from the Carney halting her to allow a group of people cut in front of her, this group fills the ride and our kids are told they needed to find something else to do because he was taking a break after this, we found out later this group was supposedly a local gang.

Miss Cindy says Oh Hell No and proceeds to inform the Carney that our kids would be riding, he says nope he was shutting it down for a break after this ride. Cindy is now looking for a manager, I ask How are you going to find a manager of a Carnival in a town we don’t even know, she turn and points and says “There he is” needless to say she is right, she walks up to him and sticks out her hand asking if he was the manager, he shakes her hand and confirms he is the manager, Cindy begins with introducing herself by Full Name, Where We Live, the full story of what had happened, and what she expected he would be doing about it and ending with “We don’t act like this where I come from”, he offered to give our money back and give the kids a free ride, Cindy says I don’t want your money and he wont be giving my kids a ride but he will apologize to them, Melissa is tugging on Cindy’s shirt whispering “it’s OK Mom” Cindy says It’s not OK you will get an apology, here we are about halfway into a trip a days drive from our home and more than that from our destination in a town we don’t know and my wife is making the manager of a carnival force one of his carnies to apologize to our kids for allowing the local gang members cut in front of them, The Carney was not too happy but did apologize and apologized again when Cindy pointed out that he did not sound sincere, I was happy to see him attempt to sound like he meant it because my wife loves her kids and you know how a Momma Hen is when it comes to her chicks, I could see this man was about to be flogged.

Cindy was happy for a brief moment, then we turned around to see all eyes were on us, remember those old EF Hutton commercials well here we were and all I could hear were the crickets chirping, we are walking away when Cindy asks me “Oh God What did I just do”, I told her it’s not that you were wrong it’s just that your timing was wrong because we are a mile away from our car walking out of a carnival we are not welcome at anymore. It wasn’t a problem that she made a stand for the kids but how many cars were sporting a Yellow New Mexico license plate in that town? The answer is one and it’s on the white Taurus station wagon with the Jimmy and Cindy tag on front sitting at the motel just up the road, we are now walking back in the dark, next morning we went down to breakfast to see the only other customers at the restaurant was the Manager of the carnival and our favorite Carney, we left Arkansas soon after breakfast and our trip home after going to South Carolina kind of put me in mind of lyrics in Charlie Daniels song Uneasy Rider “I wonder if anybody'd think I'd flipped. If I went to LA via Omaha!” Nothing against you fine folks from Arkansas but we just had to take I-20, which misses Arkansas all together.

Early Retirement

Planning for retirement is something everyone needs to consider, I went to work at a water utility company and was so happy to have a good job with a retirement plan and insurance, I signed up for all the options and forgot all about it, my initial plans included early retirement when I turn 55 I just knew retiring early would be really nice, I never knew at the time that I would have a few minor strokes compounded by complications of Type One Diabetes causing extreme muscle weakness and neuropathy, memory loss at the time was really frustrating and as you know we all have the “It will never happen to me” attitude but sometimes it does and I am thankful that I signed up for all the options offered through my retirement plan, I retired officially on April Fools Day in 2003 a couple month before my 43rd birthday, early retirement came too early for me but it’s all good because now I can do just what I want to each day due to the fact I made the proper plans.

Life has a way of changing on you, you start out as a kid that no one listens to, then you grow up and establish a career, find a good person to spend your life with and raise your children to the best of your ability. You are well respected in your community, and a lot of people come to you for answers and/or advice. Your life is going so fast, friends are calling, the kids are growing, and you are struggling to make time for everything and loving the challenge, because everyone listens to you.

Then something happens to change everything, All of a sudden due to things you cannot change or control you find yourself retired from work and sitting at home, the phone is not ringing, the kids are still growing but their lives are going so fast they have no time to ask for your advice. All of a sudden you kind of feel like that kid no one listens to again.

Now you have to train yourself to sit back and enjoy what you have been missing. Slow down and enjoy what you have always had but didn’t have time to enjoy, Do the things you were always going to get around to but didn’t have time for. Your friends are really still there, they are still in the fast lane, but they are still your friends and they really haven’t forgotten you, they will call when they slow down enough to grab the phone. Life is still good so enjoy! Oh yea!! Remember that good person you chose to spend your life with? ----You now have time for them.

My time since retirement in 2003 has been spent with my wife Cindy, we moved to California New Years weekend 2009 to help out Cindy's parents, Our Daughter lives near to us now and Cindy’s Family is here but all of my Family is on the East Coast and Cindy's Boys who I consider mine also are still in NM, my Boys are there also but "due to things you cannot change or control" I have had the door slammed in my face when trying to contact them. A lot of things happen in life both good and bad and sometimes these things you just have to accept no matter how bad you want the outcome to be different. The Good Lord only gives you what you can handle and He has a purpose for us if we are smart enough to follow His lead. Things may not always turn out as you have planned and as I have been told "If you really want to see God laugh---Tell Him What Your Plans Are"

Life is still good and I really do enjoy where I am, so do your best to accept what you have been given because it was given to you for a reason and we are not always given the reasons, the reason you are where you are right now is because Life Happens.

Horsing Around

Cindy’s Dad has a good horse a Tennessee Walker named Flash, when we moved to California last year I was told stories how Cindy rode all the time when she was a kid, family outings included riding her horse Shoney, her cousin even told one on how he had come to visit and Cindy suggested “After supper why don’t we go ride Shoney” he had lived out of town at the time and had never seen this horse so he was excited to go for a ride, on the way to the arena Cindy tells him “You can go first” (this should have been his first clue right), he said he noticed barrels set up but didn’t think much of it, he mounted Shoney and next thing he knew the world was a blur, yes he was in the middle of leaning into the first barrel, the turn was made and the next barrel was coming into view, to make a long story short he never fell off and to this day Cindy laughs so hard you can barely understand her when she tells this story, she had left out the small detail that she was a barrel racer.

After we got settled in her Dad was ready for Cindy to begin riding Flash so finally we got out with him to saddle up Flash, got the stirrups adjusted and waited for Cindy to begin her ride on Flash, she looked natural sitting on Flash but her expression changed when Flash wouldn’t move, Dad says go on I know you can ride, Flash begins to hop around and will not leave the fence where Dad is standing, She gives up and dismounts Dad is explaining that she should be able to ride, I pipe up that it shouldn’t be a problem for her and to make a long story short here I am opening my mouth once again and sticking my foot in, I have had diabetes for thirty five years and due to complications I use a cane and or crutches to walk so it is usually quite hard for me to stick my foot in my mouth, well here I am in the saddle to prove how easy this is, good thing for me it turns out that Flash is a “Mans Horse” I actually rode for about half an hour around the pasture, Cindy’s cousin sure got a laugh out of this.

Now we are in the process of looking for a horse for Cindy, Flash needs a partner anyway and I would like to see her have one to call her own, we made an hour drive to look at a few horses today and it really saddens me to see how some people actually take care of their animals, in my mind if you are going to own any animal it becomes family and you need to take the time to make sure they are fed and taken care of, animals have feelings just like we do and it is important to know this before committing to bringing one home with you, this is material for a whole other post though.

We will find a Horse for Cindy and maybe I will even be brave enough to ride Flash when she goes out, I’m looking forward to the look on her cousins face when he hears the words “You can go first” on his next visit.

Freeze Gopher

After moving to the country so to say a year ago I have a serious situation going on here, when we first moved in my efforts were spent on putting in a nice lawn, well after a few months the grass was green and looking good then all of a sudden there are mounds of dirt popping up all over the yard.

Cindy’s Dad just walks around and kicks the dirt mounds level, well under these dirt mounds are holes and around these holes is a bare area where my grass used to be, Dad explains “Gophers! There are miles of gopher tunnels running underground in this valley and there is nothing you can do but put up with them” OK now this sounds like a challenge to me and we begin the task of going over the options I had to control these varmints.

Dad finally got tired of explaining and said “You could always kill them if you want” I suddenly had the sound of Kenny Loggins in my head singing “I’m alright…Nobody worry bout me…Why you got to gimme a fight…can’t you just let it be?” well I couldn’t let it be and Cindy I think is now looking for a Caddy Shack hat for me.

 In the words of Bill Murray’s character Carl Spackler I have a mission a license so to say “License to kill gophers by the government of the United Nations. Man, free to kill gophers at will. To kill, you must know your enemy, and in this case my enemy is a varmint. And a varmint will never quit - ever. They're like the Viet Cong - Varmint Cong. So you have to fall back on superior intelligence and superior firepower. And that's all she wrote.”

Well as you know already this is easier said than done. My trusty dog Dixie a longhair dachshund (she should know all there is to know about gopher catching ---right) and I began our mission.

We started with an air rifle, OK I hear you laughing now just like the neighbors did but we were successful once, OK this worked so we moved up to a pellet gun to gain the upper hand, this worked once too, OK so it took a long time and a lot of patience and I did see more dirt coming up from the gopher holes than I saw gophers going away, heck we even had one that would pop up just to laugh at me afraid to pull the trigger because Dixie was faster than I, I think I even saw him give me the finger once.

Now we are studying the art of Gopher Trapping, and we just knew this was going to be a breeze, and “In the immortal words of Jean Paul Sartre, 'Au revoir, gopher'” Carl Spackler said this too.

I borrowed a few traps from the neighbor who gave me brief instructions with a grin, so here I am in the garage gathering up shovels, rakes, sticks, and all the implements of destruction that my leather gloved hands could carry, I dig the holes and after a few tries I finally find an actual gopher tunnel, I carefully set the trap and cover it up, after setting the stake in the ground with the chain attached----can’t lose the borrowed traps now can I.

Now here I go to dig more holes and bury traps, I think I mentioned I am working on a nice lawn right, I was so excited to go out and gather all the gophers next morning only to find all my traps were set and the tunnels filled with dirt, everyone got a kick out of this because this is what gophers do when you tick them off by messing with their tunnels.

After about six months practice I have learned to dig around the mound so I can set the plug of grass back into the lawn almost unnoticed, I now look for two tunnels and set a trap in each one, my trusty dog Dixie and I have had some success but as Cindy’s Dad said there are miles and miles of tunnels under this valley.

I think all the dirt is being moved up into my face here. “Freeze Gopher” I am now in the process of making some little clay friends for our gopher buddies. Who's the gophers ally His friends the harmless squirrel and the friendly rabbit.Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhh----AAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAA!!!!!!!

No Gophers were harmed during the writing of this article, a lot of harmful gopher thoughts and the pride of the writer maybe, but no actual gophers were harmed while I was writing this----I Promise

A Little Grace

I remember when my baby Sister was pregnant with her youngest child she told me this baby would be named after “Uncle Jimmy” I was impressed and proud that she would name one of her kids after me, well to make a long story short this child came into this world a little girl and Kimberley was officially here, Kimmy as she was called at times although I call her a lot of things just to keep her going.

Kim was never very graceful and was a handful as a child, I get reminded of a story when she came from South Carolina with the rest of the family to see me, she was just a little thing and Uncle Jimmy was proud to take little Kimmy for a ride on his shoulders down the sidewalk, I was strutting right along and she was laughing so I walked a little faster and she laughed a little louder, I never saw that tree limb that knocked her in the head and began a screaming fit that I thought would never end, man I felt bad about that but needless to say I have been blamed for her lack of grace ever since, she reminds me of this at least once every time I talk to her.

Kim has had quite a few experiences that attest to her lack of grace, her Dad stated once while on the way to the emergency room that he was going to invest in a roll of bubble wrap and roll her up in it hoping that it just may help, I could go on and on but this girl even woke up one morning with her foot fractured, now how in Gods name do you break your foot in your sleep? Did I mention she has no grace?

Kim is growing into a young woman we can all be proud of, I remember her Mom being in diapers and I did un intentionally knock Kim in the head with a tree limb when she was a toddler, I have pointed out that she has no grace and I have had a lot of fun at her expense here today, but it is only because I love her.

Today Kim brought into this world a daughter she named Aubrie Grace, and she says that I will not be giving her a ride on my shoulders. I’m proud of Kim and I am also proud to see that she now has a Little Grace, I’m still looking at helping her dad stock up on some bubble wrap just in case.

In The Public Eye

Tiger Woods apology this morning had everyone on the edge of their seats waiting for details of his past aggressions and news on when he will be returning to professional golf. His apology in my opinion was well rehearsed and well written, he made a lot of valid points and gave us some insight into who he is. He made it clear he did not want his wife and children dragged through all of this and I appreciate the fact that he wants them to be protected and kept out of the fishbowl so to say.

Now what if this had happened to a “Normal” man, someone like me that is not known publicly? If it had been me the accident would have been investigated by the local police and I would have probably spent the night in jail, the media would have paid no attention to this and my past would not have been under the microscope, now say I did have a secret harem of women and all of a sudden my wife found out about it would the paparazzi be following her around waiting for her to go in for the kill? I don’t think so because she would have gotten to me way before they did. Seriously why is if fair for people like us to be rightly left alone while going through life and celebrities are fair game to have their every move documented and pictures of them sold for a profit.

News is news and should be reported on but so much of it is buried beneath the private struggles of people whose celebrity stature makes their private lives fair game, look at the news for example and see where the headline of the man who crashed his plane into the IRS building in Austin compares to the Apology of a man who cheated on his wife.

Southern View

Memories of growing up in the South bring a feeling of comfort to me. While living in other parts of the country, I have come to realize that there are quite a few things about the South that make it unique. Where else can you find the type of hospitality that you receive in the South? People in the South always make you feel at home, they use terms like yes sir, no sir, yes mam, no mam, and use these type of terms in a polite manner, They talk to you, never Down to you, and will always tell you "Y'all come back now ya heah" and mean it, and at the same time if you act too confused you just may hear "You aint from around heah are ya boy"

Cooking a big meal for you is a task made to look easy by most Southerners. Southern Fried Chicken and Gravy, Fried Green Tomatoes, Fried Okra, Pinto Beans and Cornbread, Collard Greens, or even some Poke Salad, and a big ole glass of Sweet Tea is a good start to a wonderful meal you will never forget. And if it happens to be Breakfast you want Grits is a staple you just can't pass up. The way I enjoy Grits is mixed all up in my Eggs, Bacon, Sausage, and you just have to mix in a little Red Eye Gravy or Coffee Gravy and be sure to add the Salt and Pepper. Any Southerner knows that it just ain't right to add sugar into your grits, You don't want to mess up the flavor by mixing in something that just don't belong.

Finding something to do in the South is an easy thing to figure out. Just do what makes you happy, Simple as sitting back under the Magnolia tree, listening to the whippoorwills, the mourning doves, the tree frogs, and watching the Kudzu grow and trying to figure out a way you haven't already tried to stop it. Just what the heck is Kudzu anyway, well if you don’t know just be careful where you take a nap because it’ll creep up on you. Going out for a ride in the mountains for the simple reason that you want to pick some Muscadines because it's been a while since you had some, or setting up a Coon Hunt, not because you really want to bring home a Raccoon but because you just want to get together with a few friends and let the dogs run for a while.

Southerners are proud and honorable people, They will inform you (if you don't already know) that the War for Southern Independence (aka The Civil War) was fought over States Rights and not Slavery, The Confederate Flag is a symbol of Honor and Pride for most Southerners not Hate. Racism is something not tolerated by most but sadly people from all over America who are racist give us all a bad name. Southern Heritage is important and we are proud to discuss it with you, life is too short for hate so I don’t practice it myself.

As I said earlier The South brings me a true feeling of comfort. We believe in God, Family and Friends, Being polite to others whether you know them or not, Working hard to get the things you need or want, and Praying hard that your decisions are the right ones to help your kids grow up and live as they should. Gimme a RC Cola and a Moon Pie, A Shady spot under the Magnolias on a hot humid southern summer day, Give my kids the wisdom to appreciate what The Good Lord has given them, and help them to grow up happy. Give me a chance to teach them the truth about life and their heritage and also help them be proud of themselves and who they are going to become.

Be proud of yourself and where you are from, this country is very diverse and made up of a whole lot of people, I have lived in several areas and each has a lot of proud people and things that make each one unique in it’s own way, I lived in West Texas and learned life in the oilfields, cooking with mesquite gave my grill a taste that I truly loved, my oldest son was born there and in his heart is that strong Texas attitude that is equal to my Southern Pride, Eastern New Mexico I learned a different culture and came to love Mexican food and a few friends who are still there--you know who you are, jalapeno peppers are still a staple in my diet, my youngest son came to me here and also Cindy my wife a California girl I fell in love with, she shared with me a Daughter and two more Sons, she also brought me to Southern California where we are enjoying life within the Southern View of beautiful mountains that take me back home. You have to love the life the Good Lord gives you and appreciate the diversity that makes us all unique.

Depression Vent

Ok I addressed a couple of subjects that are close to my heart, my diabetes and a really rough part of my life that I will deal with from now on, Depression is the first thing a lot of people think when I start talking about stuff like this but is getting myself diagnosed and on some good drugs the thing to do or is talking about it the safe and natural way to deal?

This brings me to a commercial that really bothers me, I know you have seen it “Depression is a serious condition that takes so much out of you” then we wind up a little doll and continue with “I have to wind myself up just to get out of bed” then we list the symptoms “I have to keep winding myself up to deal with the sadness, loss of interest, lack of energy--------and so on, and we just keep winding that doll up after it so sadly leans forward. Ok I wont repeat the whole commercial but I am really tired of the drug companies making us feel like they have come up with the answer to all of our problems, how many people actually get themselves depressed watching that poor little doll wind its self down while the teary eyed actress goes over how depressed she actually is. The real depression will set in when you ask your Doctor for some of these meds and see how expensive they are or that you don’t actually need them.

Just remember to tell your doctor if your depression worsens ------ here we go with the list of side effects, now why would I want to take something that just may make me want to kill myself, suicide is a serious answer to a problem and if this is a possible side effect then why are they prescribing it?

In my opinion if you are actually depressed you will not be listing your symptoms like that, most will be keeping to themselves and if a drug is so good that I will sit back and smile while watching a creepy little wind up doll walk across a picnic table then I think the dose just may be too high.

Fifteen Years Later

What can you do? As a teenager we think we know it all we just know our parents and their friends are ancient, so with our vast knowledge we find a partner and get married, then we have a couple of children who we try to the best of our ability to raise in the exact same manner that our ancient parents taught us. This works well for a lot of people and I am proud to see people that are making it look so easy and perfect because most of us know this is not as easy as it looks.

For some of us other folks we end up with a spouse who turns out to be someone other than the one we married, getting married as a teen you grow up fast and make quite a few mistakes along the way because you are learning that life is not always a piece of cake, I wont try to convince you that I was always perfect as I am now but to tell the truth I am still learning, life is kind of like on the job training but with life about the time you get it all figured out then it’s too late, or is it?

Here is the deal why is it that when someone decides that marriage just isn’t fun anymore and wants a change over to the new “friend” they found and wants everything at your home to be the same “just without you in the picture” why is it suitable for them to brainwash the children so to say to make the parent left out of the picture the bad guy and why as the one left out are we so stupid to allow it to happen.

About fifteen years later after trying to sit back and not make anyone upset now here I am, the kids don’t want to talk because “you are the bad parent who left”, evidently I have come to find out that I did a lot of stuff I just don’t remember, kind of like a “Made For TV Movie” and someone is sitting back smiling because she thinks she has won. Sad thing is there is no winner here, your statement “I can go into court and say anything I want and they will believe me” got you where you are today thinking you have won and I hope you are proud of yourself for making our children believe what ever stories you exaggerated to the point that made them hate the bloodline that is pumping through their veins, this actually made them the losers and I actually feel sorry for you.

Fifteen years later I am happily married to a woman I started dating after my divorce was final, we will be married thirteen years in July, I am happy with my life and look forward to living out my life with the woman I Love, there will always be thoughts in my head on how I should have done things different to keep my boys in my life because I do still Love them, but what can you do? All I can do now is to be proud of the time I had with them and to also be proud that The Good Lord gave me someone who Loves me that is not looking for greener pastures at the risk of ruining our children’s well being.

Jimmy, You Have Sugar

I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes at the age of fifteen; this was back in 1975 the so-called “Olden Days” as the kids tell me, I was a normal teenager, very active and worked hard when not in school. I started with the usual diabetes symptoms, excessive thirst, going to the bathroom a lot, and I lost about thirty pounds which is quite noticeable on a 15 year old, not knowing a lot about diabetes just prolonged the diagnosis, I was taken to see the doctor when I got so weak I could hardly do anything much less stay awake, after a couple visits the small town country doctor tells me “Jimmy, You Have Sugar” he went on to tell me that I was his first diabetic patient and he would learn all he could to help me, I was given a prescription for some pills he said might help but that shots were inevitable.

The first several years were very hard due to the lack of knowledge on the condition, after finding out the pills just wouldn’t work I began injections with NPH U-100 N and R insulin that was made from beef and pork insulin, my new diet consisted of “No Sugar” so no more cokes, cookies or anything sweet, cokes were substituted for fruit juices which did not help my blood glucose levels. I tested my urine sugars at home although I didn’t know why at the time, my insulin doses were decided by the doctor when I had an appointment to see him and my diet even though it was no sugar was high in starches and fruits that may be healthy but is not good for someone with a high blood sugar level.

Words of wisdom I received and appreciate from that country doctor who diagnosed me with diabetes: his answer to a question from me was “Jimmy you will know far more about diabetes than I ever will because you are Living Diabetes and I am not” I respected this answer better than if he had said I don’t know.

The NPH Insulin worked well for me in spite of the things against me, then all of a sudden this type of insulin was no longer made, I was switched to a synthetic Humilin insulin which works well for some but did not for me, it was almost like I was not using any insulin at all on most days, my blood glucose levels were extremely high for quite a while resulting in very high A1c level, this lack of proper control of my blood sugars was the beginning of my diabetic complications.

After about twenty eight years of no complications I began getting the burning and sharp pains in my hands and feet which are signs of peripheral neuropathy which I was diagnosed with soon after, this and a few TIA strokes resulted in muscle weakness and loss of sensation in all limbs which soon ended my working career, I am now retired disabled. I check my blood sugars several times a day and my wife injects me with insulin before each meal, I also take an injection of Lantus every morning which is a base line insulin that keeps my blood sugars level along with Novolog injections before meals. The injections and medications have become part of my daily routine and although not something I prefer to do, it is something I have to do if I am going to live a somewhat normal life.

The diabetes care was very limited then, knowledge and education was kept under your breath because it almost seemed as if you had to be ashamed of being diabetic, I remember hiding to take my insulin injections and still feel that old fear of someone seeing you when I get my supplies out but that was then, now we have good education and new treatment options suited for whatever type of diabetes you have.

My wife and I fight this condition daily in an attempt to control the glucose levels and prevent more complications, all in all we are winning, but this is a battle we will always have if I want to have a long life. Thirty-five years since my diagnoses has taught me that you can never stop learning because the rules and condition of your body is always changing and if you want a long life then you will always have this fight.

Driving and Drinking?

I read in the paper this morning about a situation where a police chief was stopped about three miles away from where a fire hydrant and a light pole was hit, his car had fender damage and two flat tires, now wonder how this happened? He is on leave from the city and the investigation has been turned over to the state police because it looks funny for police to be investigating their own chief, problem is records have turned up missing, the question of whether he was given a field sobriety test cannot be answered because there is no record of it and now the state police are having to gain witness statements from anyone who was there to make this determination. Guess who was there? If you said “The police officers that stopped their chief three miles from the crash scene” then you are right.

I don’t know if this man was drinking or using any drugs but in my opinion it sure looks funny, and if there is a cover up on initial records from the “arresting officers” I don’t have that answer either but it seems a lot is being left out. If he has a medical condition then the whole driving under the influence question goes out the window and if there is a medical condition then he doesn’t need to be behind the wheel anyway because if someone had been killed then end result would have been the same.

A lot of us have friends or family members who have been in this type of situation, they have a few drinks and get behind the wheel then it’s anyone’s fault but their own that they got stopped, they stomp and kick because the police officer wants to take them in rather than patting them on the head and giving them their keys back and allowing them to drive into a tree or a carload of kids, now those kids shouldn’t have been in that lane and who would have planted a tree next to a cemetery anyways? You have to take responsibility for your own actions and not ask anyone else to do it for you, a simple rule of mine is if you take a beer out of the refrigerator then you have given up your right to drive that night, if you take one drink then put your keys away, if you don’t have a designated driver then you don’t need to go anywhere.

Covering up for anyone who drives under the influence does not help any situation other than keeping the inebriated driver behind the wheel, if someone does not have enough common sense to know when not to drive due to drugs or alcohol then I am sorry in my opinion they shouldn’t have enough common sense to drive sober because this lack of common sense we don’t need on the road.