Staying the Course -- 07-03-2017

[Superbob]

Ohmygosh, today IS Monday! Almost got away from me. Kinda hard to keep track of days with a major holiday coming up just two days after a weekend....anyway, that's my excuse.

Well, it's more than just another week to stay -- it is the anniversary of our nation's Declaration of Independence. So Happy Fourth of July all! It is appropriately July 4 hot here -- humidity staying in the oppressive level. 100F heat index/ Occasional cloudbursts most welcome. Even during dawgwalks.

We will be doing things low-key here, mainly just a cookout and then watching fireworks displays on TV -- and maybe some local ones from a distance. My dear old Sadie dog, who passed away August 2015, was terribly frightened of fireworks, and we did what we could with music or whatnot to muffle the sound. Elliedawg, on the other hand, appears to be afraid of absolutely nothing. So we'll see.

I will probably check in again; just wanted to get the thread started. Hope for safe and enjoyable Fourth for all.

Cheers,

Superbob

 

[Paleowoman]

Happy 4th July to everyone from over the other side of the pond ! Have a great day !

 

[Agian]

Well, it's more than just another week to stay -- it is the anniversary of our nation's Declaration of Independence. So Happy Fourth of July all!

To the American members of our extended family, wishing a Happy 4th of July to... y'all. Love your work Superbob!

 

[jwinter]

Good Morning all and what a beauty it is here! It is going to be a hot humid one though. I can take 100 degrees better than the cold.

Upcoming cardio appointments are in the back of my head but are on my mind. Really need to drop a few more of those excess lbs......starting tomorrow(famous words)

Not doing much for the holiday as we are in a burn ban status so no fireworks allowed anywhere near here. My oldest son had a big family bbq this last Saturday and got to catch up with my sister. Don't know if I mentioned here but she has finished treatment for lymphoma cancer and been cancer free for last 3 scans. Thanks be to the big Guy upstairs. I love her so and with my two open hearts and her cancer we have become very aware of our mortality. We CHOOSE to live life the fullest we can and wish that others would be more thankful and feel this way. Families that stand beside us, healthy children and grandchildren that keep us a part of their lives, and getting together to laugh and also to cry.

I read the posts here and some people clearly need an attitude adjustment! As for me .........I intend to do whatever it takes to sustain the best health I can. Sometimes I wish those days back when I smoked with friends and ate and drank all to excess (probably part of my problems now) but I am going to keep on keepin" on.

Life is good! Stay that course!

 

[Agian]

I read the posts here and some people clearly need an attitude adjustment!

I'm stumped. There's three posts here. What's that about?

 

[Agian]

The eagle! Got it.

Ma'am, if you think I was having a go at Superbob, you are very, very mistaken. I have nothing but admiration for him.
Reading between the lines, he is a patriotic, conservative family man with a heart of gold. He's my type of people and I think he's wonderful.
Please don't make odd assumptions and make me look like a bad guy. I think Americans are great, especially southerners. Good, decent people.
Your post really upset me, because I think it was directed towards me. Now I feel like by defending myself I've spoiled the thread.

 

[jwinter]

Oh dear Agian, I must apologize if you thought I meant anything about you. I meant on the whole forum in general and it just pisses me off that people everywhere do not know how good they have it. I could tell you all the very tragic horrible things that have happened in my life and how angry I am about the doctor's screw ups on my first surgery...........BUT......what good does that do? I could sue them, be angry at everyone, and let the whole world know that I got the short end of the stick in a good share of my life.

I always say the nasty and angry people in this world have not had it bad enough to know how to appreciate the good. As for me? I love life and am very thankful for the new life I was given a few short months ago. Oh and thankful for this group also.

I can just imagine Superbob doing those planks in funny t-shirts, see HB line dancing to the music, the other people working, exercising, eating well and doing all they can.........to stay the course.

I am truly sorry.

 

[Agian]

Ironically, I was the one that made the 'odd assumptions'. No need to apologise. I messed up big. Excuse me whilst I hang my head in shame.

 

[Superbob]

Hey, guys, all is well! Peace. It is very easy to get sideways when communicating on social media. See it occurring often. Without inflections of voice or context or knowing each other for a long time, misunderstandings happen. You folks have clarified quickly -- no need to feel badly. Please keep up your posts; we all enjoy the stories that we share along our courses.

I've been mentioning my exercise class a good deal lately (maybe too much) because it is something that gives me a break from routine, relief from occasional woes and worries. It is also a challenge to do some of the moves, especially the planks, at my three-quarters of a century, and I need to remind myself to back off when I need to. No one is forcing me to exceed any limits. Probably need to talk to my doc and then cardio in coming weeks to reconfirm all this is okay. A lot going on along my course -- wife has a lot of health problems, son's divorce is nearly final, have to keep doing extra work to make ends meet (but it is a blessing to be able to do so)...And of course, there is dogwalking, which I have always cherished, but it too is a challenge when we have 100F heat indexes (maybe up to 105 today)....but we press on, staying the course. My heart replacement device is going on 13 years now, so I do wonder will I outlive it -- and need a replacement -- or will it outlive me?

Here on this side of pond, we had a memorable Independence Day. A little cookout, kinda hectic 'cause son was keeping the 3 grandkiddies, ages 3 to 12, while also working, but in the end it was good. Lots of fireworks around. Late night, I happened to turn to an oldies Tv station and found "1776" which somehow I had never seen before. It depicted Adams, Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and whole Continental Congress in their struggle to reach consensus on the Declaration of Independence that Jefferson wrote. I'm sure there was plenty of Hollywood in it, but it humanized the whole momentous process. Jefferson had a statement in it calling for the end of slavery (a call Adams and Franklin supported also; of course Jefferson was himself a slaveowner but swore he had resolved to free them) -- anyway, it was deleted from the Declaration at the last minute because of demands of representatives from the Deep South. (I guess I knew that but hadn't seen the human element dramatized so vividly before; I need to read up on it more.) And so it was left for another day in order first to achieve Independence -- and eventually we paid the price with a terrible Civil War. Anyway we have stayed the course, and so are the United States of America (though of course, well-known divisions within that unity right up to present).

Jwinter, I certainly hope the scans continue to bring good news for your sister. And I hope your own course gets better and better.

Cheers to all!

 

[Agian]

SB, your country's founding fathers were deists, who believed one could comprehend the divine through reason. They wanted their country-men to forge their own destiny and emphasised what the French called laicite. Eventually, those initial values were eroded because of vested interests, which has led to a lot of the problems you have today. The civil war was more about the right of the States to assert their autonomy, and the drive to abolish slavery was more to do with economics than ideology; and this, because even northerners had a racial hierarchy in their heads. The Bible was actually used to justify slavery. Slavery existed in the ancient world, but it was not racially based. People were people and any superiority complex was purely to do with who had a better culture. Morgan Freeman stated that the best way to deal with racism is to stop talking about it. Seriously, it would go away if we just didn't care about the amount of melanin someone had in their skin, which is purely driven by climate. It irks me when people start talking about race when they run out of logical arguments, out of nowhere. Funnily enough, these same people often don't give a damn about others' suffering.

In relation to US politics, I think it's like this: 'Congratulations Mr President, now let us explain how we do things around here.'

The increasing influence of the media has led to the dumbing down of a population that can be easily led, like sheep. When you have a whole country preoccupied with some half-wit's backside, you have serious problems. The enemies of reason and decency thrive in such an environment and wait for an opportunity to make their move.

 

[Superbob]

Appreciate your observations as always, Agian. As for me, I am reverting to lighter topics now. It's already well over 90F (and heading to 105F heat index in a few hours). Have deferred my dawgwalk to dusk when at least the temp has quit rising. It is a challenge to keep up the dawgwalking during a South Carolina summer but we are determined to stay the course!

As for losing a few pounds (always a battle for me), I amazingly ate just one (1!) hot dog at our cookout. (There was a day when I could eat 6 easily -- but not the 70 the Chestnut guy downed in the annual Coney Island contest yesterday). But I DID eat two slabs of apple pie -- folks wanted dessert, and what is more American than apple pie? -- but no one ate much of it, so there it is talking to me. Trying to use more restraint today. Leftover potato chips are also a menace. !!! Stay the course!

 

[Paleowoman]

It's just over 80F here near London, UK, and that is both outside as well as inside our house which isn't built to withstand this kind of heat. Very humid too. Dh and I went for a walk very first thing this morning along the river (we live not far from the Thames) but it was still too hot even then !

 

[honeybunny]

Just checking in. Nothing to report, good or bad. Belated Happy 4th!

 

[Superbob]

Just checking in. Nothing to report, good or bad. Belated Happy 4th!

Honeybunny -- good to hear from you! How was the line dancing? That sounds more fun than doing planks. lol

Paleowoman -- DW and I took a trip to London some years ago (around the time of Wimbledon) and remember well the heat and humidity in the city -- though comfort level improved when we visited a friend in the Cotswolds. I love hiking the trails back then, even without a dog to walk with me...

 

[Paleowoman]

Wimbledon is on at the moment SB ! And the Hampton Court Flower Show (near us) is on too. It's no wonder we Brits always complain abiut the weather, it's either too hot or too cold or too wet ! We do often have lovely weather in late September though

PS - that reminds me, I have an appointment with my cardiologist on Friday and I'm going to have to walk to the hospital through Hampton Court deer park as there is far too much traffic on the roads for me to be able to take a bus. But it will give me a three to four mile walk to the hospital so I'm pleased about that.

 

[Agian]

Sorry about the hijack. It started with a misunderstanding and off I went

Anyways, I'll say something relevant so I'm not a complete thread parasite LOL

I lost a lot of weight after my op, but I've slowly found it again. I'm essentially vegan, except for fish oil, so most of my calories come from Carbs, oops. Trying to increase healthy oils and vegetable protein. Riding the stationary bike an hour a day, light workout. Just marking time.

That flower-show sounds wonderful. It's cold here in Adelaide, nice spring London weather. We have some classic heat-waves though, as you would expect.

 

[FredW]

Hi Folks,

Like HonneyBunny, I'm must checking in. Not much to report on 'staying the course'.

I thought I might report the weight I have NOT gained, since I can't seam to loose any.

didn't eat that ice cream my purchased for his kids, so I didn't gain two pounds eating that. I didn't eat the cookies my wife decided to not make, because I'm trying to eat healthier, saving at least a pound. I didn't watch any TV this week instead went outside to play baseball with the grandkids - saving another few pounds. I even tried to fly a kit for them, but the wind didn't cooperate.

So, all in all, I suspect I didn't gain five pounds. Does that count? I do have a sore back going after a fly ball that the 10 year-old hit. And I sweated about two pounds of water out of my system cooking out. But, I made up for that with a few 'adult-type' drinks.

So, I guess I could argue the point that I'm staying the course - in some form.

For Again, this post is intended to be humorous, to make one laugh or smile. Don't beat yourself up too much for misunderstanding, my middle name is misunderstanding. I hope I'm smart enough to know that not eating cookies that my wife didn't make - does not really count. I'm in no way serious. As Jwinter points out, life is way too precious to be too serious all the time.

However, I will end on a serious note. There are some on the forum that have recently come through surgery and are facing recovery and those emotional feelings of a new lease on life. I wish them all well. Some of us still feel like we got a wake up call and do not take life for granted anymore.

I appreciate most all of the posters here and feel some of them are friendly enough to understand how I feel. Thanks for your kindness.

 

[Agian]

Fred, what do you think of the term 'thread parasite'? I made that up myself.

 

[Paleowoman]

That flower-show sounds wonderful. It's cold here in Adelaide, nice spring London weather. We have some classic heat-waves though, as you would expect.

I don't think I could stand the kind of heat I hear you get in Aussieland Aglan ! What I find fascinating is how we are so much more sensitive to heat than to cold, at least it seems that way to me, I mean 23C is quite nice, once you get to 25C it seems to get uncomfortable, 26 worse, 27 awful and so on. But going down we seem to be able to manage till obviously it's extremely cold. Maybe it's just because it's easier to put on more clothes and light a fire when it's cold, but when it's hot what can you do after you've got most of your clothes off ? Other than go into an air conditioned room !

30C in the shade here at the mo - and no air conditioning !

 

[honeybunny]

Well, SB, I would like to be more coordinated with my line dancing but I'm sticking with it. Class tonight~ Thanks for asking