It’s not easy getting to surgery. First we go see the surgeon and he tells us we need surgery. We say okay. All set, right? Wrong. We have to get clearance from our G.P. that we’re healthy enough for surgery. We go there and get an E.K.G., a chest X-ray, and a note from our doctor saying we can do this. No problem. Also, it will be more complicated going in through my neck this time. My neck is not a virgin anymore; there may be scar tissue and adhesions. Our surgeon has asked an Ear, Nose, and Throat (ENT) guy to scrub in. So we go see the ENT. He looks in my ears, nose, and throat. We have a nice visit until he decides to stick a Go-pro up my nose until it’s all the way down my throat so he can see my vocal cords. So now he’s seen everything he needs to see, except he wants some lab work. We’re scheduled for a blood test to monitor thyroid function. He wants to be sure we have a baseline because they’ll be working all around the whole thyroid complex while they’re in there and he wants to know what home base is in case something gets screwed up. He also wants an ultrasound of my throat so they know right where everything is. It might be different from how it was originally because they were just in there last January pushing things around. And lastly they want some active imaging while I’m swallowing barium. Now we have something that sounds like fun; a barium swallowing contest. Count me in. Do you think they have ever seen someone gargle barium before swallowing it? Hands down. I win. So once all that is done, we’ll know everything we need to know. I’ll have received all the medical clearances I need. Both doctors are on board. My surgery will be on November 4th. We went back to the spinal surgeon to deliver the good news. Oops. Both doctors neglected to mention our plans to the scheduling nurses. Each doctor has his own scheduling nurse. Nothing happens until the scheduling nurses say it does. Now we’ve put the scheduling nurses in touch with each other. So my surgery will definitely be November 4th. Unless they have to move it to November 5th. Unless that doesn’t work, then the next available date will be November 18th. Stay tuned.
Near Beer
Water is nice, but it can get boring. I like the taste and fizz of a Coke, but I don’t like the sugar rush I get. I like the taste and fizz of a beer, but I don’t always want the alcohol rush. Funny thing, beer and coke have about the same number of calories, but I don’t get a sugar rush from beer. I looked at the labels and coke has 39 grams of sugar. Beer has 0. Same carbohydrates, same calories, but no sugar in beer. So, what to drink during the day? Near beer. There are lots of no-alcohol beers, like O’Doul’s, Beck’s and St. Pauli Girl. No-alcohol beer doesn’t really mean no alcohol though, it means low alcohol. They have about a 0.5% alcohol content, so they probably wouldn’t be a good choice for alcoholics trying to avoid alcohol altogether. It would take ten near beers to get the equivalent alcohol as one regular beer though, so I think I’m okay with that. So that’s it, my preferred lunchtime drink, even when we’re traveling. My challenge though, is not to drink conspicuously, like in the middle of town, or when there is a police car next to us on the highway. Better to not get pulled over at all, than to get caught drinking from a beer bottle while driving, then have to explain that I’m drinking and driving responsibly. Can’t tell a near beer from a real beer at a distance.
Fireflies
We’re really glad to live somewhere there are fireflies. I didn’t grow up with them in Southern California. Judy had them in Missouri when she was young. We spotted them a couple times in Colorado, but that’s not a natural place for them in that altitude and dry air. In South Texas, they’re here all summer. We see them at night when we’re out for a walk. When we sit on the deck in the dark, we see them in the yard. Once in a while they fly up on the porch with us. Yesterday evening, one was even in the house, blinking his way from room to room. We just like them.
Speaking of Spring Break camping trips
Here is how we rocked them; with a VW Bus, pup tent, supplemental tent in the later years, and a glorious desert.
With a look at the Grand Canyon along the way.
With a look at the Grand Canyon along the way. The economics of politics
The presidential political campaigns are on. We are campaigning in earnest. Untold millions will be spent on efforts to get specific people elected. There will be a positive result for only one person. It’s guaranteed that every other one will fail. I wonder if spending all this money helps us elect a better president. Is all this spending productive in any way? We don’t build anything; the money just goes around in circles. People donate to campaigns. Campaigns pay their staff. Staff buy media ads. Media outlets take the money, broadcast some ads, and pay their employees. Employees buy groceries, houses, and cars. Some employees might even make political contributions. What just happened? Where did the money go? Where is the benefit? Maybe in economic terms that’s all that has to happen. Maybe it doesn’t matter what money gets spent on, as long as it gets spent. Whether there is any benefit or not is irrelevant. Is that all that economics is about; money going around in circles? Just for the sake of conversation, what if we spent the same untold millions on say, rebuilding building roads and bridges? When we were all through, at least we could point to the improved roads and bridges as something accomplished. There you have it. I stand before you, my political and economic naiveté totally exposed.