Good Morning!
What shall we talk about today?
Quote of the Day
“I have had more trouble with myself than with any other man.”
Dwight L. Moody
Oh I hear you there Mr. Moody. In some instances we can all be our own worst adversary. We talk ourselves into bad choices, and away from good ones. There are some things we just don’t want to do. Like go to the doctor. Don’t like it at all. So I often delay, and make up reasons not to go. So that brings me to my QoD.
Are you type to delay doctor visits when you feel it’s something that can wait, or do you “take your medicine” in a timely manner?
Wandering Views 
From USA Today, via e-mail from Vernon F..
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Essie Mae Washington-Williams, the bi-racial child the late South Carolina Sen. Strom Thurmond refused to publicly acknowledge his entire adult life, has died. She was 87
In those days it would have ruined his career. Strom Thurmond presented me with my .Star Scout badge.
A few days ago, one of you guys said, “There’s no such thing as “’turkey bacon” I tend to agree. But that’s what they call it. It isn’t quite as good, but it has fewer calories. Which is a bit incongruent when it’s with waffles smothered with Aunt Jemimah syrup.
Did you know that Jemimah is a Biblical word. Noha’s oldest daughter.
My SS teacher was looking for a Biblical name for his son. He settled on Uel. (Ezra 10:34).
LikeLike
I seldom visit a doctory. I don’t go for a checkup until I have some reason.
Elvera goes every year and gets theose cancer tests. I’ve never had one and don’t intend to.
I know. Someday, I’m going to die from something.
LikeLike
Should have been quotes around the first paragraph. The article didn’t mention my star scout badge.
😆
LikeLike
Chas is just talking to himself at 7:33 in the a.m. He’s going to stop and drink his coffee and read the paper. That will only take about five minutes. 😦
LikeLike
Good morning all. It is a nasty, rainy day in the Sunny South. It looks like a jeans and boots kind of day to me. Poor little baby dog Amos didn’t want to get his paws wet this morning. I didn’t want to get my carpet wet this morning so out he went.
In answer to AJ’s question, I used to go to the doctor for all manner of ailments. Itchy skin, bad cough, sinus infection, yearly check ups, ulcer, whatever.
I went through a period of time when I had no insurance so if I went I paid cash. Itchy skin? I have had it for a couple of decades now. It isn’t going away. Sinus infection? Snort a little salt water or inhale the fumes from boiling vodka. It does about as good. Ulcer? Watch what I eat and swig mylanta.
AJ, you go to the doctor long enough and he will KILL you! Watch out!
LikeLike
Mornin’ Chas.
We had some snow again last night. Just finished cleaning off and warming the cars. I have to go to the Dr. this morning to get my knee looked at, and yes, I’ve delayed it. 😦
LikeLike
On another note. Don’t you just LOVE IT when people speak with absolute authority about something of which they really know nothing? I have discovered in life that there are very few absolute black and whites. There are many, many shades of grey. Nothing and no one is all bad nor all good. I have known some of the most despicable people and found that someone else loved them and thought they were wonderful. I no longer support March of Dimes because of their position on abortion but I acknowledge that for a lot of years they did a lot of good. Even Planned Parenthood has done a few good things. Unfortunately churches are the same way. Churches are run by people and people are flawed, therefore the churches, even the best of them, are not all good all the time.
LikeLike
Boiling vodka?
Is that a southern thing? It sounds strange, and I’d never heard of that particular “home remedy” before. I hope you at least use the cheap stuff. And the only time I’ve ever snorted salt water was when a wave hit me unexpectedly at the beach. My wife uses that stuff, but not me.
LikeLike
QoD, I am pretty sure the cause of my death will be procrastination.
LikeLike
🙂
LikeLike
“Churches are run by people and people are flawed, therefore the churches, even the best of them, are not all good all the time.”
I agree but ever known one of those folks who demand absolute acceptance and forgiveness from the church no matter what they do but pick at every little fault of those doing most of the work in it.
LikeLike
Everyone thinks their child or grandchild is a genius. Karen and I KNOW that ours are.
Emmy will turn two on Saturday. Last night we were at Home Depot. She and I walked past the snow blowers and she said, “Poppy clean, all gone” (Poppy had, indeed, used the snow blower to clear the driveway on Sunday morning). Then she said, “Church” (after the driveway was cleared, they all went to church). Then she said “Toys” (she goes into the nursery during the service). I asked, “You were with Ms. Robin?” to which she made a face and scrunched up her shoulders (she does not like staying in the nursery with Ms. Robin), Then she said, “Daddy come” (she cried so much that Ms. Robin sent for her Daddy). So at two years of age, she told me all about her Sunday morning. Is that genus or what?
LikeLike
I’m not sure my child is a genius but I’m pretty sure he is destined for greatest. There just HAS to be a divine reason he has been this difficult to raise. 🙂
LikeLike
KBells, I’m with ya girlfriend. ” BG ain’t been no walk in the park” She would argue with a mile marker. I am thinking attorney–Supreme Court, there has to be a reason.
( I am somewhat suspicious that because we wanted them so much God has decided to give us the full spectrum of what other parents go through with multiple children)
LikeLike
That nagging wife of mine is bugging me about getting a hearing aid.
She didn’t worry about that sort of thing 55 years ago.
I told her that hearing aids were for old folks.
Someday maybe, but not now.
LikeLike
Kim, I’m thinking the Kid would do well as a Judge. Anything where he gets to have the last word.
LikeLike
KIm & KBells, My parents used to say that about me. “He’ll argue with a signpost”.
They thought I never would amount to anything. They were right, but not because of the reasons they thought.
LikeLike
Chas, I would be very happy for the Kid to turn out like you.
LikeLike
There is a rime in every teenager’s life when he realizes that his parents are from another generation. They just don’t understand how it is.
It’s a serious conflict, even in his own mind, but he’s glad the restraints are there.
The worst thing a parent can do is release him on his own.
The entire business of raising a child is determining how much to release the constraints.
A baby, you don’t let out of your sight.
A child, has to stay in the yard.
Somebody picks him up at school and he has a home to come to.
You have to know who he’s going to be with tonight.
You let him have the keys, but he has to be home by 11:00.
He joins the army or goes to college, and you pray that he has absorbed some of the things you taught him.
In a nutshell, that’s it.
LikeLike
Good morning everyone.
QOD: I do put off going to the doctor, mainly because it is so stinking expensive and I figure most physicians have tunnel vision and become fixated on one disease, they miss what their patients are telling them and then they often misdiagnose the illness.
LikeLike
Chas, if you can hear the pleas to get a hearing aid, maybe you don’t need one.
AJ, prayers that the knee can be easily fixed.
I used to be better about annual checkups than I am now. I tend to put off doctor visits but I did get caught up last year on my mammogram & blood work after skipping it for a few years. I’m supposed to go back for a re-check, but my diet was so horrible all through the holidays (and somewhat still continuing) that I figured I’d wait until I was back on track for a couple months this spring first.
I’ve been blessed to be (as far as I know) generally healthy. So far. But the older you get, there is that sense that your odds began to go up for some serious and scary stuff to go wrong.
Yesterday was so stressful for me, I’m hoping today will be easier. It began with the large boxer dog getting hit by a car right in front of my house just as I was walking out the door for work. 😦
And then there was some major drama going down at work (but we don’t know exactly what; all we know is that the guys from the top brass — people we’ve only read about — were in town for closed-door, hours-long meetings in our newsroom yesterday).
Meanwhile, I have 3 days to finish up the project I’ve been working on. I’ll get it done, but I feel exhausted and the week has only just begun. 😦
LikeLike
Mornin’ everyone! Have a great day!
LikeLike
Chas: Your hearing aid comment reminds me of a good joke.
Husband: I just got a new hearing aid.
Wife: What kind is it?
Husband: It’s 2:30. 🙂
LikeLike
Chas- I hate to correct such a wise and knowledgeable person as you are, but Jemimah was Job’s daughter, not Noah’s (Job 42.14).
QoD- I wait as long as I can before visiting a doctor. Of course, our doctor is an friend of the family, so I save office visits by talking to him directly. He would rather his friends do that anyway.
LikeLike
As for hearing aid jokes, I worked in a noisy shop once, and one guy would say he couldn’t hear, I would yell, “You need your hearing checked.” His reply, “I don’t have any earrings on!”
LikeLike
Good Morning….
Praying all goes well with your appt AJ….glad you are finally going in!!
I dislike going to the doctor and will try all the home remedies before doing so…I do not get sick often…Paul did insist I go in when I had three large hard bumps on my leg…he didn’t want me to die in the night of a blood clot, leaving him here all alone to finish raising our college girl….I go in once a year for my “annual”…only because of the cancer scare 16 years ago….it’s a bother…..
Chas I most likely could benefit having hearing aids…I’m always saying ” what did you say?”…..putting if off for another day….
Donna, I will be praying for your situation at work…Paul is going through a similar situation…HR lady rushing around….boss with a dismayed countenance upon his face….appears layoffs are coming soon… today perhaps…trusting in our Lord to guide, lead and direct our paths..but, no fun experiencing the changes and stress….
LikeLike
Nancy, prayers for Paul, too.
And yes, we’re also all trying to “read” everyone’s expressions as they come and go to these meetings.
When they return to their private offices & shut the door for a phone call, we’re trying to pick up whatever stray words we can. 🙂 (lots of thin walls where I work.)
One optimist yesterday thought maybe they’re discussing our first-in-several-years cost of living raises. ???
Nah. Probably not.
LikeLike
Good Morning, Y’all!
Having a tough time with intentionally rude students. I tend to avoid involving parents until I am forced to. That’s my thing.
But like Andy Taylor says…”Call the man”.
LikeLike
I want to be called the first time one of my children is even marginally rude. The teacher will be supported.
LikeLike
Peter @10:00
My memory’s failing too.
LikeLike
Leastwise, I knew somebody had a daughter. I know that much.
😆
LikeLike
Speaking of Hearing Disorders, Yours truly suffers from tinnitus. My youngest girl graduates from Old Dominion University in May with her BS in Audiology. She still has to complete her doctorate program before she can set up practice and work in a hospital.
She says that hearing aids are made for tinnitus. I was going to see about getting the VA to buy the hearing aids, since the problem was diagnosed my second enlistment in the Navy. My bunk was directly below the talos missile launcher my 1st enlistment. But seeing how the Obama administration is using the VA to prevent Veterans from owning a firearm 🙄 I think I will pass and foot the bill out of my own pocket.
LikeLike
Joe, I have tinnitus too. Mine was likely caused by being a radio operator in the air force. They told us not to put the headphones over our ears. But you couldn’t hear if you didn’t because of the engine noise. We didn’t have insulation like they do in modern jets. But my tinnitus only developed about 20-25 years ago.
It’s annoying, but I can live with it. It isn’t a ringing, it’s like a million crickets.
LikeLike
I also wanted to be called immediately when my children misbehaved at school. I, too, supported the teacher. Some parents are crazy and say “not my child”. I worked with a teacher (private schools don’t pay much, so she had a second job) who just dreaded having to discipline certain students because she knew the parents would put up a big stink.
LikeLike
I am forced to go to the doctor at least once a year. Prescriptions make that necessary and since I prefer life, at the moment, I go at least that often. Lately, it seems to be more, both because of changing doctors and health issues. I try to go as little as possible. I tend to take most things with a grain of salt, so I check things out for myself. I have seen too many mistakes by doctors.
Chas: Listen to your wife!! I always think she must be such a sweet woman to deliberately give you more time in the morning to spend on the computer while you are waiting for her. 😉
My husband often deliberately answers a question with a complete misunderstanding. I believe he and his fellow workers did this, since they worked in a noisy place. It can make for some very interesting conversations and a lot of good laughs. When it is a real hearing loss, it can make for some great misunderstandings and hard feelings.
I would want to know about rudeness, too. As a teacher, I would not tolerate it, but I would make sure it is deliberate rudeness and not ignorance.
LikeLike
I supported the teacher when the teacher was right. Unfortunately, I have run into my share of poor, bad or abusive teachers. Teachers are often left in the classroom who should not be. They are often transferred within a district or given good references in spite of being bad or abusive teachers. I would NEVER recommend a parent to assume the teacher is always right.
Children do need to learn respect, manners etc. and they will by watching the adults around them, hopefully. They also need to learn that not everyone in authority around them is to be trusted unconditionally. That lesson is learned little by little as the grow up. They will also learn how to properly address such situations from watching their parents or guardians.
LikeLike
You knew it was only a matter of time before I reminded you that it is Mardi Gras. This was recorded in Mobile, AL
LikeLike
I trnd to put off doctor appointments. I view them as a necessary evil. Although, I did go a couple weeks ago because I couldn’t stop coughing ands OTC drugs are useless on coughs. that and my husband made me go. It was affecting his sleep and mine. Turns out I had bronchitis. They gave me a z-pack and I’m better now. 🙂
LikeLike
Oh, we often discuss the errors the teacher teaches, but the child must respect the teacher and the other members of the class by behaving himself in class.
LikeLike
I personally have stirred up a mess at the local high school over something that a substitute who had no knowledge of my child said to her. I have a struggling daughter, I am paying for a therapist, and she has other health issues and this woman made a snide comment about her hopes and dreams and said “Yeah, right, let me know how that works out I would like to see where you are in five years.”
First I explained that I understood sometimes a substitute had to come in heavy to establish classroom discipline but this was uncalled for. I later found out there were several other complaints from different parents. Luckily the regular English/Literature teacher likes BG.
LikeLike
For all us Geeks and Dilbert’s out there, here a really neat new development from Dell.
http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2013/02/05/dude-youre-getting-50-dollar-computer-dell/?intcmp=features
LikeLike
See. This is why I don’t go.
I already know what they’re going to say sometimes. The Doc looked at it, took xrays, and sat down with his cool computer with the xrays. Looks like a bone chip and some other damage causing uneven wear, and arthritis, probably from the accident 4+ years ago. Since I despise needles, of course there were 2. He drained a big fat syringe of bloody liquid, which I dropped off for testing, then injected some medicine, and taped me up. Feel’s pretty good, but that’s probably because it’s still numb.
Now we wait, take an anti-inflammatory, and see what happens. If it continues we do arthroscopic and clean it up. If we need to do that I hope it becomes clear quickly, so we can get too it. Surgery I won’t delay.
Well, at least not delay it anymore than I already have. But I kinda knew this was coming, hence the delay. I know, a vicious cycle. But now that it’s official, let’s get to it.
😦
Oh, and my blood pressure was high. White coat syndrome, and I was wound up because I was anticipating something along these lines. 😦
But it’s much better now. Removing the unkown or confirming what you suspected takes alot of the stress away.
🙂
LikeLike
AJ. This is why Doctors are “in practice” They practice on us. 😆
LikeLike
I don’t need to tell you that more people die in the hands of doctors than in front of a gun.
LikeLike
I dislike going to the doctor, because I always feel as if *I* end up fixing or living with my own issues. They don’t listen well. I get more done by researching on the Internet, then I do by going into them. Unfortunately, though, I can’t prescribe antibiotics or some of the other medicines I occasionally need. 😦
I additionally dislike going to the doctor, because they often make me feel as if I’m being silly. They tell you in all the literature to come in for X symptoms, but — if you do — they act like you’re some sort of hypochondriac. This particularly annoys me, because I have to force myself to go in, and rarely do. If I were actually a hypochondriac, I think I’d go in to the doctor more than (maybe) once a year. 😦
I go in so rarely (only if forced by needing a prescription or because I’m really miserable), that I also really get annoyed with “Let’s watch it for a while and see what happens.” Good heavens! By the time I go into the doctor, I’ve been “watching” whatever it is for months already. I don’t need to watch it for another two weeks or so, and then make ANOTHER appointment. Grrrr.
LikeLike
Annual physical? That’s a doctor’s idea, not mine. I don’t need to go to a doctor to be told, “You’re healthy.” I know that already. And I don’t want to catch any diseases his sick patients have. When I have a pain, I wait for it to go away, and it usually does. When I’m sick, I wait for it to run its course, and it usually does. When I have a UTI, I flood my body with water and cranberry juice, and usually I don’t need an antibiotic.
But if I get past whatever “waiting period” I am doing and I am still sick, then I go to the doctor.
But it was my turn for the dentist this morning, not the doctor. I last saw this dentist when I was not yet married, but newly engaged. Since I never got myself a dentist in Nashville, I decided I might as well go to my fiance’s dentist rather than find a dentist in Nashville for just one visit. And he was in the middle of getting a root canal, I think it was the “capping” visit, so we both went at the same time and considered it a date. The dentist even put us in the same room, and she told me what a great catch he is and what wonderful parents he has (all of which I already knew).
LikeLike
Tammy, to listen to my mother, you’d think she was constantly dying of something. But she rarely went to the doctor. I tried to figure it out–she wasn’t a hypochondriac, since they’re known for their medical visits and she rarely went, and yet she had the typical list of exaggerated symptoms. I finally figured out that she was a Scottish hypochondriac–too frugal to go to the doctor every week or two, even though she obviously “needed” to. 🙂 My dad would have been shocked to know she would outlive him by 19 years.
LikeLike
That may be, Cheryl. But, seriously, I’m NOT one. So, being treated as one (even on occasion) keeps me from going to the doctor when I should. 😦
I don’t like to feel silly, or to feel that someone doesn’t believe me. So, I just avoid the situation all together when I can. 😦
I have woman friend (this is a known problem for women and doctors) who was treated like that once with a bad, horrible cough she had, and she hasn’t been to the doctor since except for a broken wrist (you do have to go for that!) for over 15 years.
My MIL was treated like that too on more than one occasion. In the worst case, the doctor actually told my FIL to take my MIL to a psychiatrist as there was “nothing wrong with her.” Turns out that the “nothing” was my husband, who was born 5 months later. ;-p
LikeLike
Oh, and a bone spur.
Forgot that. 😦
Tammy,
I hear ya’. I complained about my knees after the accident. They said it’s just bone bruising, and the doctor and insurance said an MRI wasn’t necessary. I insisted there was more going on, but was concentrating on recovering from 2 shoulder surgeries so I didn’t push too hard. Looks like I was right. I could tell he didn’t like admitting that this was probably caused by the accident, but he really couldn’t avoid it.
LikeLike
I always find out when my daughter misbehaves directly from the teacher. Since we homeschool, the teacher greets me at the door when I get home.
I call the parents for really bad behaviors, but I won’t leave a message on the home phone, as most students tell me they erase any such messages before their parents get home from work.
If the behavior is just the usual teen-aged talkativeness I make a deal with the students: They stay quiet, they don’t get extra homework.
LikeLike
Tammy, I know you aren’t a hypochondriac.
As for me, my husband isn’t quite sure. We keep going to the doctor for issues I don’t actually have. Now, granted, the first time I went for such a thing, I’d been dealing with discomfort for a year and a half, and naturally thought it might be a continuation of an issue I’d had before (it wasn’t; it was a bruised rib), and another time I thought I had something I’d had before (I didn’t, but had pulled a muscle), so I’m not just imagining symptoms . . . but it’s still weird to go to the doctor and end up being told that what I “have” isn’t really treatable, but will just go away on its own, when that is really my normal way of doing things. (But again, in one case I’d waited a year and a half! Who knew a bruised rib could take that long to “go away”?!)
But my husband did tease me a little today, the third time in a year that my “self-diagnosis” ended up being wrong.
LikeLike
My book Bridging Two Hearts came out today–though I haven’t seen it. I thought you might enjoy the story of researching the book with the Navy, however. (Though, maybe you guys have already heard it!) http://wp.me/p1ektw-Qm
In other news, my 16 month-old great niece (the baby in her mother’s womb when my niece climbed a tree carrying a pack to escape from a grizzly bear nearly two years ago–I know you’ve heard that story) learned to ski over the weekend.
What?
Her father was the US telemark ski champion the year they escaped from a grizzly bear; no surprises here!
LikeLike
Congratulations Michelle! 😀
LikeLike
I cannot believe not of you have commented on my link to a horse doing the electric slide
LikeLike
Congrats to Michelle!
🙂
Kim,
Only at Mardi Gras.
Visited New Orleans once during Mardi Gras as a younger man. We came over from Camp Shelby Mississippi on a couple days leave with a bunch of guys. We stayed at one guy’s Mom’s and ate the local fare. For a kid from Jersey, it was certainly different from what I was used to. But GOOOOD! 🙂
It’s also where I learned that Hurricanes are dangerous, even the ones with no wind.
😯
Best to stay away from that local favorite. As I recall, a few didn’t, and the shore patrol from NO brought them back the next day. Late.
LikeLike
Cheryl, a date at the dentist? You romantics, you. 🙂
I do think things like blood work and other screenings can find problems you would never know about, so I don’t totally dismiss the idea of checkups. But I’m not sure the annual routine is needed, either.
I had an uncle who the family was convinced was a hypochondriac — he always had vague symptoms in his head but nothing could ever be found. Then he died one morning of an aneurism as he was getting ready for church, he was only in his 40s.
I remember my mom saying, well, maybe he wasn’t a hypochondriac after all.
LikeLike
Well, Michelle, I got an e-mail today telling me that the book I pre-ordered has been shipped, I think it had Friday for its estimated arrival, and I wondered if you had seen it yet.
When my first book came out, I went straight to the warehouse and sweet-talked them into giving me two of my 25 copies (I was afraid one of the people I was dedicating it to, and from whom I’d kept the dedication a secret, would hear it from someone else if I didn’t get her copy to her right away, and I also wanted one of my own). Before my second book released, I preordered a copy from amazon to make sure I at least had one on the way, and I checked bookstores for it (unsuccessfully) as soon as it was out. I think I did manage to track one down before I got my copy from amazon, or maybe I got my copies from the publisher, I don’t remember. But those last few days of waiting seem endless. But nothing I’ve experienced is quite like holding that newly born book. (I even sent a birth announcement to a few friends with my first book, listing length and weight and of course its birth date. 🙂 )
LikeLike
(Knocks self on forehead) “Rats, I could have had 57!”
LikeLike
No. I do not have a copy and the editor is pretty non-chalant about when I’m getting mine–which is a problem because I have marketing things arranged that require books.:-(
I ordered ten the other day, due on Friday, so I’m glad I didn’t plan my launch party for today. 🙂
You’re all invited. Come dressed as a SEAL or what you would wear if you were going to have a massage.
Food choices are finger sandwiches or MREs! 🙂
LikeLike
Michelle,
So it’s fatigues or a bath robe?
Good thing I still have some old camos and my pistol belt, ‘cuz I don’t own a robe. Never liked ’em, plus I have knobby knees, so I’d look silly. 🙂
Mmmmmm….. MRE’s………..
LikeLike
Shades of gray? (Kim). Is that in the Bible. The Bible is quite black and white, so unless it approves of shades of gray, it won’t fly.
On the other hand, the last thing you guys are holding out on in terms of being decent people is homosexuality. There must be some way to slide that under the closet door. You go, girl!
LikeLike
Going to the doctor. If you live a long time (Chas for instance), it must be the right thing to do. If you don’t live a long time, God needed you.
I am going to get my PSA tests tomorrow. (Maybe.) If black, I’m going to Hell. If I repent and take God into my heart, you will be excited for about three days, and then you will need another I helped Jesus change somebody’s heart, fix.
Truth is very hard to determine, but the odds against most of what you believe being true are greater than any instrument can measure. Amazingly, the world is slowly moving to recognize that. What happens when empiricism passes fantasy after 2,000 laps around the track? Well, you guys are right about one thing. Humans are one FUBAR species, regardless of erroneous beliefs.
LikeLike
I meant to say (in regard to the consensus led by Chas) that not going to the doctor is the right thing to do. Good night.
LikeLike