A PUBLIC LYNCHING

 I just posted the following article on Facebook today, January 13, 2021. It's one week after the U.S. Capitol was stormed by a bunch of organized, trained thugs, extremists and domestic terrorists supposedly incited by the outgoing President Donald Trump. NOT! These people acted on their own volition and need to be held accountable for their actions. Trump did not lead them. He did not tell them to storm the Capitol. He did not instruct or command them to break in, cause damage, steal anything or intimidate or attack any people. He simply indicated they should march down to the Capitol where the vice-president was counting and confirming the electoral college ballots with the House of Representatives and the Senate for the next president of the United States.

I was working on something else and the TV was on in the other room and I was listening to the proceedings going on in the House of Representatives to impeach President Trump for the second time when he only has seven days left in office. I got very sick listening to these people as you'll read below. I couldn't hold back. I had to shut the puke coming out of these people's mouths out of my mind. So, I turned off the TV and sat down and wrote this article for Facebook. Perhaps you've already read it there. I have no plans to follow up on it, but I'm expecting to be brutally attacked by a large number of people. And, I fully expect that these cretins in Washington, DC are going to succeed in destroying many lifelong friendships. I don't plan to end any friendships. However, if others decide to end our friendships, that will be by their choice, not mine. And, obviously, I guess politics is more important than friendship in those cases. So, here's what I said on Facebook.

                                                                                     ***********

This is a one-time post from me on this subject! I'll probably be banned from Facebook - and so be it! And, it will be just one more knife in the back of freedom of speech in this country!

I NEVER thought I'd be witness to a public lynching. I just had to turn off the live news feed of the biggest lynch mob I've ever heard of. It's called the United States Congress. I now know that in order to become a "so-called" elected representative of the people of this country you have to have an IQ that exceeds 12 but does not surpass 50. I had to turn it off because I was literally about to vomit my guts out listening to these imbeciles.

People are suffering and dying of Covid-19. Our military men and women are spread all over the world, millions have died over the years (and I'm a veteran myself) - supposedly defending our freedom and Constitution - and meanwhile - the people in the (supposedly) People's House are defiling that Constitution and tearing it apart. And, there are dozens, if not hundreds of real-world, important issues for the US citizens that should be the real business of the Congress. They have ignored most of them for the past four years because they were too busy trying to lynch the president - and have continuously failed.

Your Attitude Determines Your Altitude – Welcome 2021

 The year 2020 will surely go down in our personal history books as the year that wasn't. Wasn't what? Wasn't a good year for most of the world. Sure, the rich got richer and the poor got poorer for the most part. But, that seems to be the trend and has been for the last several years. But, don't worry. This is not going to be a political statement. It's simply a commentary on how I view it.

Today is, in fact, another anniversary for me. One year ago today I spent the entire day on an operating table at the Winchester (VA) Medical Center having half of my stomach and three-quarters of my esophagus removed. The surgery was the third and final course of treatment for the cancer fireball that struck me down on August 18, 2019.

I found out some time after the first two courses of treatment, chemotherapy and radiation, that my survival prospects were quite a bit less than optimal. As a matter of fact, just a couple weeks before I had the surgery I asked my surgeon point-blank, what my survival chances were if I opted out of having the surgery. He replied, just as point-blank. NONE!

So, here I am, one year later, a very different person physically, psychologically and emotionally. The dream team of cancer specialists who worked on me destroyed the cancer and removed all the damage it had done to my body. I am, as of the latest round of CT scans one month ago, cancer-free.

Those of you who have followed my progress since I was stricken, know I've been through quite a course of treatment. And, I'm still recovering from the ordeal. But, believe me, despite how bad the overall year of 2020 was for me, with respect to my medical crisis, I am one happy camper (no pun intended) to be writing this article today.

The Future Is Upon Us!

Let no day end before you have spoken words of love, friendship and thanks. A quote from that prolific philosopher – Anonymous

This quotation is on my perpetual calendar for today's date. The calendar was a gift from my long-time, dear friend, Barbara Glanz. Barbara is known for “Spreading Contagious Enthusiasm” - which, coincidentally, is the title of her calendar.

And the photo for November in my 2020 Nelson Marlborough (New Zealand) calendar from another of my long-time, dear friends, Brian Morris, is a photo of a beautiful marina in Picton Harbour, Queen Charlotte Sound, in Picton, New Zealand. Picton is where my “brother from another mother,” (as I describe him) Brian lives. If things were different and better than the current world conditions and my medical condition, I'd be preparing to depart for a long-anticipated trip to New Zealand in about two weeks. Sadly, that trip has had to be moved to the back-burner until some unknown date in the future.

So, it's Sunday, November 29, 2020. It's three and a half months since my last post on the blog. Actually, the last post was on the one-year anniversary of me being stricken by the near-fatal case of gastric-esophageal cancer. Last year, around this time, I had been very prolific actually posting what could be considered a diary of my experiences during my diagnosis, chemotherapy and radiation treatments and then some of the recovery period leading up to my surgery on January 3, 2020. Since that time I've only posted a few times and each time I indicated that I was going to begin writing regular articles for the blog, again. Obviously, I haven't kept that promise to myself or you.

So, before I go any further, let me say thank you for your readership and interest, I appreciate your friendship (even though I have never met most of the readers of my writings) and I love you for who you are and for indulging me through my writing. So, that fulfills the commendation of today's quotation.

The Future Is Upon Us!

The last 16 months of my life, without any hesitation, has been, for want of a better description, flat out horrible. I have experienced:

Happy Anniversary . . . to ME!

Anniversaries are like birthdays: occasions to celebrate and to think ahead, usually among friends with whom one shares not only the past but also the future. Zbigniew Brzezinski

Today is the one year anniversary of the beginning of a new life for me. On August 18, 2019, a Sunday morning, without any warning, a fireball of cancer came out of the universe and struck me down. There were no serious symptoms or anything that would have given me an inkling of what was to befall me and how my life would be forever changed.

I was having a normal morning. I was a bit fatigued, but that was about all. I took care of my normal, very regular routine “business.” Everything was fine. I then went for a morning walk, another part of my daily routine. I believe I got about a mile and a half in. But, when I returned to my friend's, Carolyn's, house, I felt pretty wiped out. That wasn't normal. But, I still had no idea there was anything seriously wrong.

Well, within an hour or so, I was unconscious, on the floor. The first time I had any recollection of what had happened was when I started to regain consciousness and I was on my bed. I have no idea of any details of my collapse or the actual amount of time. It might have been seconds or minutes. I'd never experienced anything like this before in my 74+ years of life. Carolyn and her grandson were hovering over me trying to help me regain consciousness and comprehend what was happening.

Chris, Carolyn's grandson, a professional EMT who just happened to be visiting his grandmother that weekend, had either seen me collapse or found me in a pile on the floor. He managed to get me back on my bed that I had fallen next to or at the foot of. Carolyn was checking my blood pressure and heart rate – which, according to clinical standards put me in the category of being dead, which is what I probably would have been if Chris hadn't found me and called for Carolyn. Carolyn started putting glucose under my tongue to get my blood sugar up.

Chris called the local EMT's who arrived within minutes along with a medic shortly thereafter. Once they assessed the situation and got me stabilized, they moved me to a gurney, out the door and into the waiting ambulance. A short, but rapid trip (maybe five minutes) with the lights flashing and siren wailing and I was being rolled into the Emergency Room of the local, small, West Virginia University-affiliated hospital. (Continue reading the rest of the article on the blog.)

When Is Enough . . . Enough?

DISCLAIMER: DO NOT READ THE FOLLOWING IF YOU WANT TO OBJECT TO MY POLITICALLY INCORRECT VIEWS AND OPINIONS AND MAKES COMMENTS. I DON'T WANT YOU TO COMMENT EVEN IF YOU AGREE WITH MY VIEWS AND OPINIONS, EITHER. THIS IS MY FORUM. I WILL DELETE ANY AND ALL COMMENTS AT MY DISCRETION. IF YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY, POST IT ON YOUR OWN SOCIAL MEDIA PAGE, BLOG OR SEND IT TO ME IN AN EMAIL. I'LL READ IT THERE. BE SURE TO NOTIFY ME. I AM EXPRESSING MY FEELINGS, VIEWS AND OPINIONS BASED ON MY FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHTS – UNTIL I AM TAKEN AWAY IN HANDCUFFS AND LEG IRONS AND THROWN INTO SOME GULAG FOR NOT BOWING TO THE RADICAL EVENTS GOING ON IN OUR COUNTRY CURRENTLY!!!

I'm sending you a link to a statement presented in (what I believe to be) a rational, articulate, not emotionally charged, thoughtful manner by someone who genuinely sounds concerned about the country he loves and has served on two levels of public service. Here is the link:

https://www.facebook.com/newsbusters/videos/1191577801203867

I don't usually circulate things of this nature. I sent one to a few people the other day that was emotionally charged because it moved me. I'm sending this one because it not only moved me, but because I've been asking the same questions this man addresses. I tend to identify more as a conservative, but a moderate conservative. I'm far from a radical or extreme conservative.

When is enough... enough? This is no longer a peaceful protest. It has spread to over 650 US cities. Billions of dollars of destruction and looted merchandise, businesses have been lost, personal property destroyed, innocent people seriously injured and already there are deaths of innocent people as well as perpetrators of this “civil war.” Public property and infrastructure owned by ALL the citizens have been destroyed or occupied. Fortresses/strongholds have been created in the city streets of several cities (and if this keeps on, I expect there to be more situations like this across the country). This has been going on for five weeks at the time of this writing. To my knowledge, it's the longest and most widespread, prolonged event of its kind in the history of the United States. This is no longer a peaceful protest to affect change in the justice system. Sadly, I say this has become a civil war backed by people, frankly, who I believe don't give a damn about African-Americans or anyone else other than their own self-serving interests and agendas.

New Lease on Life . . .

First, let me thank everyone who has been concerned about my cancer issue and my recovery. Your notes, positive thoughts and prayers have been so much appreciated and they certainly contributed to me keeping a positive attitude through this “journey” and maintaining my sense of humor. This, in no small part, has contributed to my above-average recovery process.

I received a comment yesterday from one of you loyal blog readers asking where in the world I am and how am I doing. The reader said it's been 5 months since my last post. It's actually 4 1/2 months or 130 days. Add that to the 113 days at my last post and it totals 243 days or exactly 2/3 of a year since the “fireball” struck me on August 18, 2019.

So much has happened since that time. I underwent chemotherapy and radiation. After a short recovery period, I underwent major surgery (only 10 hours in the operating room) on January 3, 2020. That was followed by a total of 12 more days in the hospital and then five weeks in a rehabilitation/skilled nursing facility. I got out of rehab on February 21, 2020, and, within just a couple of weeks the COVID 19 shelter-in-place, stores, gyms, etc. lock-down went into effect. I've been hunkered down at my friend's house in north-central WV in a small rural town. She has been fantastic. I've only been out of this area a few times since then mainly for follow-up doctor appointments.

By the way, the photo of me is very recent. My New Zealand buddy has made me an official “Goodwill Ambassador.” You'll also note I'm now wearing a U.S. Air Force veteran cap to share my pride as a veteran with my comrades. I have a pin to recognize prostate cancer survivors (of which I'm one). I also have my American flag pin and my Vietnam Era Veteran pin on the cap. Soon I'll be adding pins to recognize survivors of stomach and esophageal cancer as well.

GREETINGS OF THE SEASON and Some Other IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Thanks for visiting my blog page and . . . today is Day #113 of my adventure . . . 

Greetings of the Season!

Merry Christmas, if that is how you celebrate this season.

And greetings to you if you celebrate this holiday time of the year in some other meaningful way.

And, I also want to wish you a Happy, Healthy and Abundant 2020. I hope the new year fulfills all your expectations.

Now, I'm going to let you all in on something I've kept pretty much undercover for the past four months. Only a very few folks know about what I'm going to reveal.

As you have probably noticed, I have been pretty quiet during this period. I have not been traveling as I normally would be. I have not been posting on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, PM or email. I did actively post on my blog, but that was about it.

I have not made this information public because, frankly, there are so many other individuals I know who have been experiencing their own challenges, especially medical challenges. However, in less than two weeks I'll be undergoing something that I feel extremely confident I'll pull through without any question in my mind. Unfortunately, it is very serious and, as we all know, there are no guarantees in life.