Cabbage Patch Guys & Dolls

If you can get past the lame wordplay and puns in the title I hope you will stay long enough to read this post. I am writing this from my living room after returning home from the hospital. What I had thought would at most be an overnight stay turned into a ten day 
"rite of passage". 

While at the first hospital I had an Angiogram . The findings were severe enough that my Cardiologist brought in a Heart Surgeon. My x-rays showed one coronary artery with 100% blockage, one with 90% blockage and the other with 80% blockage. I had only  survived this long because the condition took many years to get this bad and I had been very, very lucky.

So instead of heading home after an overnight stay I was transferred to a hospital that
does this type of surgery, Chandler Regional Medical Center. Commonly called a triple by-pass by us civilians, it is referred to as a "CABG" (Cabbage) for Coronary Artery Bypass Graft. Ergo the pun in the title.

I feel very fortunate to be here to write this blog post.

My sincere thanks and appreciation goes out to all the outstanding and dedicated people who saw me through the process. Starting with my Cardiologists Dr. Villegas, my heart surgeon Dr Kralik and his team of Larry (the Murse) and Andrew (the kisser) to the last RN Pat,  on my release day,  I was cared for in the most professional, kind and gentle manner.

I woke up in CVICU to the careful minestrations and hovering of Karen and Darryl; many thanks for seeing me through the return to life.

After two days they moved me up to Cardio Recovery and a wonderful team of nurses looked after me and showed me  how to get better. Thanks to all three Jessicas, Amanda, Ashley, Rebbecca, Frankie, Belle, Missy, and all the other folks on the third floor for your hard work and dedication..

I wish I had the words to say how much I appreciate all that each of you did for me during my time in your unit, but I think I'll just end it with this.... Thanks, Thanks, Thanks.

RT











 

Christmas Eve

Well, here we are. Christmas truly has snuck up on us this year. Below is what passes for our Christmas Tree. We are in the process of remodeling a house that we are scheduled to move into on Jan 11th. The move in date was originally December 28th, but the bank and our drywall contractor decided otherwise.

Here's my Christmas Ditty for 2012. I hope you have a very Merry Christmas and a very happy New Year.

Oh, and if you have any talent at drywall, electrical, plumbing, carpentry, tile work, gardening, roofing or interior decorating; then please feel free to drop by and give a helping hand. You see the schedule is tight and I'm not the remodeler I used to be. 







Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house
Projects were awaiting both me and my spouse

The master bath walls need texture
and the master potty needs replaced
 the new vanities need installation 
since the old couldn't be refaced

The closet lacks shelving and wants new doors too
I've prepped them for paint now the painting is Vicki's to do

The ceiling fans have been hung though not balanced completely
The front bedroom fan swings left and then right quite neatly

The tile floors in some places require tile and grout
If you've got some spare thinset give me a shout

Some walls have different colors, shades all askew
So we'll get brush and roller and paint them too

If we're lucky We might meet our schedule
We might  get this right  So...

Merry Christmas to all and
to all a good night

RT

 

Thankful

In no particular order with the exception of the last entry, here are the things I'm thankful for this Thanksgiving. 

I'm thankful for these beautiful days we're having this fall. We're taking walks in the afternoon at work and I'm particularly thankful for still being mobile and at least minimally active at 63.

I'm thankful for music, laughter, good books, good cigars, good whiskey and pretty women.


I'm thankful that after struggling with the recession, my wife's cancer, under and unemployment that we're buying a house this year.


I'm thankful for Love, for being loved and loving. 

I'm thankful that we'll be spending this Thanksgiving with some of our children and grandchildren.

I'm thankful that Vicki and I are still happy being together after 31 years.

So most of all I'm thankful that I've had 31 years with Vicki and I'm looking forward to as many more as God gives us.

I hope you have a great Thanksgiving Day.

RT 


 

The Illusion of "Choice"

Thank God the election is only 3 days away. I am sick of all the political commercials. It is extremely galling when you understand that regardless of the outcome must of us will still be well and truly screwed. 

That's due to the small differences between the parties and the candidates when it comes to meaningful change. Both parties are run by the wealthy and powerful, for the wealthy and powerful. If you don't believe that just look at how much money, reported money that is, we don't know for sure the amount of so called "dark money" that's being spent on this election. The total is over 2 Billion Dollars. Even the Koch brothers call that real money.


The Dems will attempt to slow down (or appear to slow down) the decimation of the middle class, but the end will be the same as the more blatant Republicans. The goal of business and government seems to be the privatization of everything. We citizens are just a natural resource to be exploited and believe me we have been and will continue to be exploited no matter who takes the white house. The only real questions are how much and how soon will it take place.

It's not that these politicians and power brokers hate us (though some comments from the Romney camp sound that way) or that they take us for granted (though some practices of the Obama Administration look that way), it's just what the country, the culture and the people have become accustomed to. 

I work with people in their 30s and 40s who wouldn't know a good job if it bit them in the ass. Who think the economy, the political environment and the culture of our country is just fine. Most of that is because they never knew anything better. It saddens me deeply. I feel bad for their low expectations and diminished lifestyles. 

Yet they and I will still go to the polls on Tuesday and cast our vote. In my case I'm doing it as an act of citizenship in spite of my belief in its ultimate futility. Because I've come to feel that it doesn't matter. No politician has the balls to stand up to the folks that really run things anymore. There was a time that guys like Ike spoke about the detrimental influence of money and big business in forming government policy. Now it's not only taken for granted by both parties, but actually celebrated by the Republicans. They want us to believe that if we just let them run wild it will all work out. 

On the other side the Dems quietly pass bills, vote for more and more useless military expenses and grab all the money they can get, while telling us how they are looking out for the little guy. 

I do not buy either of their lines. It's just plain BS.

This is why I think our choice in this election is an illusion. I hate to admit it, but it looks like ole  Ralph Nader was right. We will never get what we need from the two major parties.  Until we have a viable third party or independent movement in this country we are destined to vote based on what we consider the lesser of 2 evils. 

OK, I'm done bitching. Go out and vote on Tuesday. At least you'll have the feeling of speaking your mind to power; even if the power isn't listening.

RT

 

Labels

Well, in spite of my better judgement I have listened to some of our politicians ramble on about why we should re-elect or elect them for the first time. 

Mostly they speak in cliches, spin and great use is made of labels.

It seems to me that you have to be careful about labels. Cause in this country the labels used for political parties and ideologies are just plain crazy.

Example: You're considered a conservative if you believe we should be spending billions on Defense. (You know wars in far off places that have failed miserably to advance our interests since the 60s. Yea, Defense..)

If on the other hand you want to spend that money at home on infrastructure, education and helping out the less fortunate in our society you're considered a Liberal. Really? What's so liberal about common sense. Doesn't it make more sense to fix what's wrong in your own backyard before attempting to instruct the world about how to fix their problems.

Example # 2: The current crop of alleged conservative believe it's perfectly proper to regulate the most intimate part of a woman's body i.e. her womb. But refuse to regulate industries and companies that have wrought havoc on our country and culture.

If you think there should be controls on how much power corporations and wealthy individuals have on our policies then you're thought to be liberal. 

Not only are the labels used by both parties disingenuous; they're outright lies.

Example # 3: Our current president has prosecuted the "War on Terror" with more ferocity and efficiency than any Republican Conservative president. Obama has gone so far as to authorize drone strikes on Terrorists wherever they are found, something Bush & Cheney balked at doing. Yet Obama is called a Socialist, Commie, and of course a Liberal. Right! He's so Liberal that the real Liberals are calling him a War Criminal for whacking a few bad guys. But just ask a Republican about little Georgie Bush and all you hear is how great the guy was, how he backed the troops and Blah, Blah, Blah. Incredible!

Don't misunderstand: I am not a believer in President Obama's hope and change agenda either. He totally missed his opportunity to make any real change in his first two years in office. Instead he foolishly tried to compromise with people who were only  interested in the failure of his policies and his personal failure as well. The Affordable Care Act; disrespectfully labeled "Obama Care",  may turn out to be a great achievement, but only if the Dems can take back the Congress and stop the repeal crap coming from the obstructionists. And even if that happens we have stopped short of a true fix.

Think about this. How much talent and ingenuity is wasted in this country because people are forced to take or stay in jobs with poor pay and little chance for advancement, just to have health insurance? The one payer system would solve it, but is considered too Socialist for this country in spite of the many successful examples of a system not tied to employers used by many other countries.

Regardless of party or label the politicians of our day are sadly lacking in foresight, statesmanship and heart. Not one of the many blabbermouths has had a thing to say about a plan for our nation. None of them have a clue as to how to gain consensus and move from squabbling to action. And I have yet to see an example of "heart" from any of these folks. The closest thing of late was Gabby Giffords and her husband and she's leaving politics.

But I digress, this post is about labels. 

So here's an idea. Since all the Ads during election season are nothing more than  pre-packaged spiels put together by PR firms, lets have them apply digital labels to each political ad. On the label, just like on Medications, will be the ingredients. The first item listed is the most abundant in the drug, so in this case it should look like this....

WARNING THIS PRODUCT MAY BE HARMFUL  
Content:

1) Bullshit
2) Lies
3) Just plain crazy stuff

OK, I've spent as much time as I can stand on Politics.

Have a great weekend, and don't forget to vote. It may not change anything, but at least you'll feel better.

RT

Things I Don't Believe about the Presidential Candidates

We will be finishing the Olympics coverage on TV soon and the incessant, inept, inane and incoherent political ads will grow in frequency and number. I am looking forward to reading more books, walking, riding bikes and doing any number of things that will protect me from the Television in my living room.

That being said, there are a few things I'd like to clear up concerning the presumptive presidential candidates.   

Concerning our President; here are a few things I DON'T believe about him.

I don't believe he's  ..................

1. Muslim
2. a Commie
3. a Kenyan Citizen
4. the Worst president ever
5.  a tax and spend liberal
6. evil
7. in need of Rush Limbaugh's approval
8. aggressive and forceful with congress and lobbyists (not sure there's much of a distinction any more)
9. willing to push his agenda without compromise
10. unable to see both sides of any argument
11. a raving partisan politician
12. not beholding to financial interests like every other hack in our system
13. really there for the middle class
14. deserving of being a one term president

Concerning Mr Romney; here are some things I DON'T believe about him. 

I don't believe  ..................

1. his business experience qualifies him for office
2. he has multiple wives and children scattered throughout Arizona and Utah
3. he has nothing to hide about his finances
4. he isn't a bigger pawn of the financial oligarchy than his opponent
5. he is smart enough to be both leader and spokesman for our country on the international level
6. he cares about the middle class and it's problems
7. he is proud of what he did for healthcare in Massachusetts as the governor
8. he would be less of an embarrassment than George Bush Jr.
9. he has any real plan for helping the economy besides the old cut taxes and regulation line
10. he wouldn't continue to gut any positive programs of reform in the federal government like the last president of his party
11. he would be extremely worse for the country than Obama
12. he is liked by his own party
13. he wouldn't continue to help the rich avoid taxes
14. he has any understanding of environmental issues and the will to take appropriate action as the leader of the free world 

So even though I will be voting this year like I do in every election, I don't have much belief in either candidate.

Who and what do you believe?

RT

Change for Change's Sake

I am posting for the first time in a long time. This is due to being gainfully employed again, in a much better job  than the one I lost by the way. And secondly because google  decided to change all the blogger pages, the setup and the way you post blogs and navigate around their site. 

In my view this is change for change itself. Too much of what the tech industry does seems to me to be just that; change for the sake of change. What it is about nerds that won't let them leave well enough alone?

And there is a third reason as well. I've lost interest, or at least the will to rant against the foolishness of my country's and my world's political class.

With the unending election cycle in full swing now we can look forward to political ad after political ad. I caution you; any time spent watching politicians jawbone is time you will never get back.

I am resigned to the fact that in my world corporations have the rights of actual people.  That 40 million dollars seems a reasonable amount to spend on a gubernatorial recall election in a state famous for cheese. That we can spend billions on wars, trillions on banks, but balk at spending anything for the most helpless in our society. 

People work longer for less money now than they did 20 years ago. What's wrong with that picture? I really feel sadness for my kids and their kids. The world will not be as generous a place to be as it was for me and my generation.

I am thankful for the blessings that my family has received, but wish there was something that one man could do to make things better. One thing that would significantly impact the world in a positive way. There seems to be so many wealthy people and powerful entities intent on making things worse.

What would you do to make the world a better place now and in the future?


RT