Guard Your Health

Guard your health. 

It's the most prescious possession God has given you.

Once it's gone, you are doomed.

Back Home

Finally back home after ten days lying on my back
in the Hospice medical facility with a catheter in my
bladder so they could irrigate it -- sort of like flushing
out the radiator of a car.

Then last Wednesday when they were going to send me
home there were more clots in my urine so they sent me
to the emergency room at Del Webb Hospital in Sun City
on Thursday for a possible bladder bypass.

When you called me I was in the emergency room.

The folks at Del Webb took an ultrasound of my kidneys
to see if urine was backing up into my kidneys and found
out that my kidneys were ok and they wouldn't have to do
the bladder bypass after all.

But the results of a blood test showed that I had a urinary
tract infection. The doc gave me an IV of antibiodics for
that and the doc sent me home with a prescription for more.

The "golden years" definitely suck . . .

I'll Have Another Eyes Triple Crown

I'll Have Another ran down Bodemeister again, this time at the Preakness on Saturday May 19th and won by a neck to win the second leg of the Triple Crown . 

Will this great little thoroughbred have what it takes to win at Belmont in three weeks?

Why I've Been Away

Last year was not a good year for me, medically speaking.  Early in 2011  I was diagnosed with chronic leukemia, then a few months later bladder cancer.  They couldn't remove the bladder because I had vascular problems (blocked carotid artery) and a history of heart problems that caused people at the VA Medical Center to conclude there was a good chance I wouldn't survive the bladder surgery.

So I was sent to 21st Century Oncology at Boswell Hospital in Sun City for radiation treatment on the bladder, but before they started the treatment, the doc ordered a PET scan to see if there was cancer anywhere else in my body.  When the scan results came back a couple of weeks later they called me and told me they had cancelled the radiation treatment because the cancer had spread to outside the bladder, and that I also had cancer in both lungs.

They referred me back to Dr Salvatore, Oncologist at the VA Medical Center in Phoenix. When I got to see him a few days later, he told me that he had seen the report from the PET scan and that he believed I had "zero chance" of making it for another year.  That was back in December 2011.  He then asked me if I'd like to be referred to Hospice Nursing Care.

I've been getting weekly visits from RN Celia Lomas, a Hospice of The Valley nurse  and also visits from a social worker and a Hospice Chaplain for the past two months. While this has been going on, I moved from an apartment in Youngtown to a condo in Sun City, where I have a wonderful patio out back with a little garden area in which I'm growing a few vegetables and trying to make the best of my situation.  I've gotten somewhat weaker of late and take a lot of naps, but I really don't feel all that bad, considering my dire situation.

I'll continue to post articles on this blog for as long as I'm able.

When talent was talent -- a classic

http://videos2view.net/Hope-Cagney.htm

Bob Hope, age 52, and James Kagney, age 56, entertain at a Friars Club dinner.

Politics -- Ed's Rental.com says it all

Supreme Court rules no Nativity Scene in Washington DC

The Supreme Court has ruled that there cannot be

a Nativity Scene

in the United States’ Capital this Christmas season.

This isn't for any religious reason.

They simply have not been able to locate Three Wise Men in the Nation's Capital.

There was no problem, however, finding enough asses to fill the stable.

A search for a Virgin continues.

Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski wins number 903

Congratulations, "Coach K" !

Mike Krzyzewski became Division I's all-time winningest basketball coach when Duke beat Michigan State 74-69 on November 15th in the State Farm Champions Classic.

With about 30 of his former players in attendance at the game in Madison Square Garden in New York City, Krzyzewski credited them for his accomplishment.

Gabrielle Giffords memoir released November 15th

Written with "The Last Lecture" co-author Jeffrey Zaslow.

Eight foods that lower blood pressure

Celery, cold water fish, broccoli, berries and oats are among the foods that will help keep your blood pressure down and prevent hypertension.

Here's the article:

http://health.yahoo.net/articles/nutrition/photos/8-foods-lower-blood-pressure#0

Dark days at Penn State University

What you read here is not fiction.  It actually happened at one of the most prestegious institutions of higher learning in America:

Penn State sex abuse case timeline

Updated Nov 7, 2011 7:18 PM ET  -  Associated Press

A chronological look at the case against former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky, based on a grand jury report in Pennsylvania state court. Some key dates in Penn State football history are included. Sandusky has been charged with 40 criminal counts, accusing him of serial sex abuse of minors.

Jerry Sandusky

1969: Jerry Sandusky starts his coaching career at Penn State University as a defensive line coach.

1977: Jerry Sandusky founds The Second Mile. It begins as a group foster home dedicated to helping troubled boys and grows into a charity dedicated to helping children with absent or dysfunctional families.

January 1983: Associated Press voters select Penn State as college football's national champion for the 1982 season.

January 1987: Associated Press voters select Penn State as college football's national champion for the 1986 season.

1994: Boy known as Victim 7 in the report meets Sandusky through The Second Mile program at about the age of 10.

1994-95: Boy known as Victim 6 meets Sandusky at a Second Mile picnic at Spring Creek Park when he is 7 or 8 years old.

1995-96: Boy known as Victim 5, meets Sandusky through The Second Mile when he is 7 or 8, in second or third grade.

1996-97: Boy known as Victim 4, at the age of 12 or 13, meets Sandusky while he is in his second year participating in The Second Mile program.

1996-98: Victim 5 is taken to the locker rooms and showers at Penn State by Sandusky when he is 8 to 10 years old.

Jan. 1, 1998: Victim 4 is listed, along with Sandusky's wife, as a member of Sandusky's family party for the 1998 Outback Bowl.

1998: Victim 6 is taken into the locker rooms and showers when he is 11 years old. When Victim 6 is dropped off at home, his hair is wet from showering with Sandusky. His mother reports the incident to the university police, who investigate.

Detective Ronald Schreffler testifies that he and State College Police Department Detective Ralph Ralston, with the consent of the mother of Victim 6, eavesdrop on two conversations the mother of Victim 6 has with Sandusky. Sandusky says he has showered with other boys and Victim 6's mother tries to make Sandusky promise never to shower with a boy again but he will not. At the end of the second conversation, after Sandusky is told he cannot see Victim 6 anymore, Schreffler testifies Sandusky says,

''I understand. I was wrong. I wish I could get forgiveness. I know I won't get it from you. I wish I were dead.''

Jerry Lauro, an investigator with the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare, testifies he and Schreffler interviewed Sandusky, and that Sandusky admits showering naked with Victim 6, admits to hugging Victim 6 while in the shower and admits that it was wrong.

The case is closed after then-Centre County District Attorney Ray Gricar decides there will be no criminal charge.

June 1999: Sandusky retires from Penn State but still holds emeritus status.

Dec. 28, 1999: Victim 4 is listed, along with Sandusky's wife, as a member of Sandusky's family party for the 1999 Alamo Bowl.

Summer 2000: Boy known as Victim 3 meets Sandusky through The Second Mile when he is between seventh and eighth grade.

Fall 2000: A janitor named James Calhoun observes Sandusky in the showers of the Lasch Football Building with a young boy, known as Victim 8, pinned up against the wall, performing oral sex on the boy. He tells other janitorial staff immediately. Fellow Office of Physical Plant employee Ronald Petrosky cleans the showers at Lasch and sees Sandusky and the boy, who he describes as being between the ages of 11 and 13.

Calhoun tells other physical plant employees what he saw, including Jay Witherite, his immediate supervisor. Witherite tells him to whom he should report the incident. Calhoun was a temporary employee and never makes a report. Victim 8's identity is unknown.

March 1, 2002: A Penn State graduate assistant enters the locker room at the Lasch Football Building. In the showers, he sees a naked boy, known as Victim 2, whose age he estimates to be 10 years old, being subjected to anal intercourse by a naked Sandusky. The graduate assistant tells his father immediately.

March 2, 2002: In the morning, the graduate assistant calls Coach Joe Paterno and goes to Paterno's home, where he reports what he has seen.

March 3, 2002: Paterno calls Tim Curley, Penn State Athletic Director to his home the next day and reports a version of what the grad assistant had said.

March 2002: Later in the month the graduate assistant is called to a meeting with Curley and Senior Vice President for Finance and Business Gary Schultz. The grad assistant reports what he has seen and Curley and Schultz say they will look into it.

March 27, 2002 (approximate): The graduate assistant hears from Curley. He is told that Sandusky's locker room keys are taken away and that the incident has been reported to The Second Mile. The graduate assistant is never questioned by university police and no other entity conducts an investigation until the graduate assistant testifies in Grand Jury in December 2010.

2005-2006: Boy known as Victim 1 says that meets Sandusky through The Second Mile at age 11 or 12.

Spring 2007: During the 2007 track season, Sandusky begins spending time with Victim 1 weekly, having him stay overnight at his residence in College Township, Pa.

Spring 2008: Termination of contact with Victim 1 occurs when he is a freshman in a Clinton County high school. After the boy's mother calls the school to report sexual assault, Sandusky is barred from the school district attended by Victim 1 from that day forward and the matter is reported to authorities as mandated by law.

Early 2009: An investigation by the Pennsylvania attorney general begins when a Clinton County, Pa. teen boy tells authorities that Sandusky has inappropriately touched him several times over a four-year period.

September 2010: Sandusky retires from day-to-day involvement with The Second Mile, saying he wants to spend more time with family and handle personal matters.

Nov. 5, 2011: Sandusky is arrested and released on $100,000 bail after being arraigned on 40 criminal counts.

Nov. 7, 2011: Pennsylvania Attorney General Linda Kelly says Paterno is not a target of the investigation into how the school handled the accusations. But she refuses to say the same for university President Graham Spanier. Curley and Schultz, who have stepped down from their positions, surrender on charges that they failed to alert police to complaints against Sandusky.

"Smokin' Joe" Frazier dies at 67

The perfect left hook that took Ali down
in the 15th round of the "Fight of The Century"
 in Madison Square Garden March 8th, 1971.

Former heavyweight champion "Smokin' Joe" Frazier loses his battle with liver cancer.
The "man's man" of heavyweight boxing and one of the greatest competitors to ever fight in the heavyweight ranks leaves a legacy of courage and perserverance. 

Lobbying = legalized bribery

Leon Panetta, a former member of Congress, Chief of Staff in the Clinton White

House, and Obama’s newly confirmed CIA director, says that “legalized bribery has

become part of the culture.” Members of Congress “rarely legislate; they basically

follow the money . . . They’re spending more and more time dialing for dollars.”

Susan Boyle's new album - "Someone To Watch Over Me"

Susan Boyle

While Susan Boyle was making her new album, "Someone To Watch Over Me", she

was thinking about her late mother.  She's currently making the rounds in Canada and

the U.S. promoting it.  The story of her success since being discovered is legendary.

Although fame and fortune has come her way, Ms Boyle was asked why she still lives in

her "humble abode" in Scotland.  She replied, "My home is where my roots are.  It's

part of my identity."  When asked what she's buying with all of her money, she said,

"Well, I bought myself a piano and a new car, and I've always wanted to have a horse,

so I think I'll buy a horse."

A perfectly grounded woman if ever there was one.

Listen here to the song she sang the night she was discovered:

http://www.playlist.com/playlist/22685671179

Andy Rooney dies Friday Nov 4th, 2011 at the age of 92

Andy Rooney

Andy Rooney was born in Albany, New York and worked as a copy boy at the

 Knickerbocker News in Albany when he was in high school.

He was quoted as saying,  "The writer's job is to tell the truth".

Andy won all kinds of awards for doing that.

He also loved his vocation so much that he didn't want to ever retire.

Rest in peace, Andy.  You ran a good race.

The truth

 The Truth Has No Agenda 

 The Truth Loves Sunlight

The Truth is a Beautiful Thing

"No Higher Honor" by Condoleezza Rice

Considered the first serious book about the George Bush administration, Ms Rice gives her side of the story in an honest straightforward manner.

Two ways to prevent revolution in America

1. Deport any CEO who moves his company from America to a foreign country.
2. Pass a law that makes LOBBYING  (legalized bribary) a Federal CRIME * and imprison any lobbyist that pays cash to a member of the federal government or any Congressman or Senator who accepts cash from a lobbyist. Outlaw lobbying altogether.

* Would you believe that every single member of the "Super Committee" has taken money from lobbyists SINCE THEY WERE APPOINTED TO THE COMMITTEE?  This is a very sad fact which came out in the news tonight.  Taking money from a lobbyist should be a federal crime!

"Jack Kennedy: Elusive Hero" by Chris Matthews

"Jack Kennedy: Elusive Hero", by Chris Matthews, is due out November 1st.

According to the Christian Science Monitor, this biography, although not a scholarly academic achievement, provides the reader with many insights about this legendary man  from Massachusetts and is a welcome contribution to the John F. Kennedy story.

"Scorpions For Breakfast" -- Arizona Governor Jan Brewer

Arizona Governor Jan Brewer's new book, "Scorpions For Breakfast" is due to hit the bookshelves on November 1st.  Where did she get the title for her book? Some dude who is a supporter of the Governor's was quoted as saying, "Jan Brewer is a tough lady.  She eats scorpions for breakfast!"  When asked about the quote, the governor replied, "I am a tough lady.  And I'll continue to be a tough lady and fight for the citizens of the state of Arizona until we get control of our border!"