Tag: health

Wednesday’s Theme Music — Spider webs

Ashland, southern Oregon — Wednesday, October 21, 2026.

We’re in the grip of a cool but sunny autumn day. 69 F at this point, they’re telling us our temperatures will climb to 75 today.

Despite cloud layers, I do believe it’s possible. We never got out of the sixties yesterday despite a forecast for a high in the mid 70s.

I had a blizzard of texts and phone calls this morning. Mom was responsible for eight of them. I spoke with her on the phone for 30 minutes. She wanted to vent about her situation at the nursing home, how other residents have family visiting her. Mom also complained about my sister, Gina, and her frustration with getting various supplies. A lot of it was just having an outlet, I think. I talked her down a bit, but it won’t last long. Frustrated, bitter, angry, lonely, she needs to spill it with someone.

I have “Spiderwebs” by No Doubt in my morning mental music stream again today. It started with thoughts about the web of phone calls, texts — and relationships.

Then there was the Vee incident.

This is Vee.

Vee is a friendly little feline visitor. In this photo, she’s sitting on our bathroom sink. She comes every day and often sleeps in our backyard. Despite this, we sincerely believe she has people. I think she lives in the nearby apartment building but has people who work and/or go to school. Vee usually shows about 9 AM and hangs around until about 8 PM. Some days, she shows later. Other days, she doesn’t show at all.

Vee is short for Visitor and is but one of her names. My wife observed that with those eye markings, Vee could also be called Cleo, short for Cleopatra. I also call her Bandit and Mooch. With her sweet nature, she responds to all of it.

The other day, though, Vee was visiting in our home office where my wife was busy on her laptop. My wife witnessed Vee watch a spider dash across the floor. We have a strict no-kill policy, so spiders aren’t unusual.

Well, Vee’s tail dropped and she took off. Later that day, she refused to re-enter the office. That went on for several days. She finally crept in, looking all around for signs of a spider. We figure she must have had some nasty spider episode that shaped her behavior.

Secondly, adding to my spider web thinking, is politically. We’re in a web of hate, corruption, and grift with Trump. Every day we hear Trump spinning more lies. Trump gets completely tangled up in them but lies about what he said, bullying and threatening anyone who reminded him of what he said.

With that stack in my head, “Spiderwebs” was put in the morning mental music stream.

Hope your day goes without any shitstorms and you eat well, sleep well, and live well in peace and joy.

Cheers

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Tuesday’s Theme Music — These Days

Ashland, southern Oregon — Tuesday, October 20, 2026.

Last night felt wintry cold outside. Today sits at 66 F under clouds mixing it up with sunshine. The clouds are a chaotic shapes in blues, gray, whites. We expect a high of 75 for this autumn day in the valley.

Mom launched a new barrage of texts and phone calls at me last night. I’d just returned from my third BCG wash and was feeling this one. My energy level was plundered and I was nauseous. Had some burning urinating, and many sudden urges to pee that ended with weak, short trickles. Nuts. Price to pay to get better, of course, and preferable to the alternative.

But that left me ill-prepared for Mom. Just wasn’t up to it. She was texting and calling again about how much pain she’s in and how mad she is with Gina, going into the details of why she’s mad at the only one of her daughters willing to help and visit. Mom finished with the now classic, “If none of the three daughters who live near me want to take me to the doctors, then I don’t want to go.”

Mom has employed that line so many times over the last year, it sincerely *cringe* reminds me of Donald Trump declaring, “We already won the war. I can end it any time I want.” The repetition dilutes their claims’ impact.

I sent Mom a text and basically excused myself from participating due to how I felt, but sent a text to my sisters as well.

And this is life, isn’t it? Sometimes you want sunny skies and get pouring rain. And I shouldn’t complain. It hasn’t rained much in my life. Many, many others have endured much, much, much worse.

Thinking about my childhood much frequently. I attribute it to a combination of Dad’s death last year, Mom’s declining health, my own health matters, along with my wife’s, but also, to history.

Back in my youth, we lived under the threat of nuclear war with China (PRC) and the USSR (Soviet Union, Warsaw Pact). Then the Berlin wall fell. We were supposed to enjoy a peace dividend. That never really came. Much of our foreign policy approaches didn’t change much. Russia replaced the USSR as a major threat and the PRC was still out there.

Now we find Donald Trump aiding Russia. Trump is shaping foreign policy based on his polling woes and fears that he’ll lose the upcoming elections.

Meanwhile, in our schools, children are shot and killed. Few do much about it except dissect what happened and put a spotlight on the killer, victims, and heroes. Then we move on to the next crisis du jour.

With Donald Trump orchestrating matters, there’s always a crisis. His solutions are often short-sighted. They frequently focus on symptoms. They rarely correlate to facts, truth, and history.

These are the days in which we now live.

With all that churning my thinking, The Neurons responded with a Queen song. “These Are the Days of Our Lives” was released in 1991, one of the last songs Freddie Mercury sang with the group before his death.

Searching for a suitable video today, I came up with one featuring Queen with George Michael and Lisa Stansfield.

Sample Lyrics

Sometimes I get to feeling
I was back in the old days long ago
When we were kids, when we were young
Things seemed so perfect, you know?

The days were endless, we were crazy, we were young
The sun was always shining, we just lived for fun

Sometimes it seems like lately
I just don’t know
The rest of my life’s been just a show

I hope the weather accommodates your mood, and your spirit carries you to happy times.

Cheers

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Tuesday’s Theme Music — Where the Hell

Ashland, southern Oregon – Tuesday, October 13, 2026.

Gorgeous, full-throttled autumn day out there. All of nature is actively participating to give us the full fall experience of changing leaves, blue sky, and crisp morning air. We’re going to heat up to 70 today and expect a warming trend for the coming weekend.

Mom is still doing poorly. Mom complained that she was out of pads and feeling a lot of pain urinating, and several other issues. We discovered that she doesn’t tell the assisted living staff any of that, due to her sense of privacy. There are people who can help her with her issues, but she doesn’t tell them she’s having issues, so they don’t offer help.

My sister went over today with new pads and to check on Mom. Found her in the rec room with others. Gina reported that Mom is very lethargic. Mom’s room smelled like urine. Gina has been going back and forth with the assisted living director, Mom, and Mom’s doctors. Gina has also delved more deeply into Mom’s medical records on Mychart.

It’s a busy morning for us. Workmen were expected to arrive and fix the flashing around the bathroom skylight and a few other minor issues on the roof. They were expected between 9 and 10 but didn’t show.

Meanwhile, I’d scheduled the same time for a contractor to come by to inspect the fence and give us assessment about what needs done, if he’ll take the job, and all the details that go with it. He showed on time and that went well. The fence is in pretty good shape overall, with just three posts requiring replacement. He will do those repairs, power wash the fence, and then paint it.

After that, I called the roofers to see what was going on. The other job they were on took longer than planned. They just arrived at 12:30 to begin the work.

My doctor’s office called and told me the Cologuard results were in. My tests were positive, so they’re going to schedule me for some tests and surgery to see if I have colon or other kinds of cancer down there.

My wife is in a cranky mood. She has a nervous disposition and high anxiety and couldn’t sleep last night because of today’s appointments. So it’s one of those if it’s not one thing, it’s another kind of days so far. All in all, it’s still a better life than many others experience. I complain because that’s who I am.

Probably won’t be able to get out and write today, though, which is a bummer. That’s my escape from the insanity, my coping mechanism. I will write at home but it’s not quite the same. For one, I enjoy the coffee shop’s helter skelter energy. Two, when I write at home, my wife often interrupts. She will actually ask, “Can I interrupt you?” Yeah, I’m a curmudgeon of sorts. *smile*

Today’s music is “Where Is My Husband!” This is a 2025 song by Raye. It played on the radio yesterday morning as my wife and I did our food deliveries. I ‘adapted’ it to “Where Is My Congress?” The Neurons like that twist and kept it in the morning mental music stream.

I enjoy the song on its own, though. Here’s the sample lyrics for you.

Sample Lyrics

Baby (whoo-hoo), where the hell is my husband? (Whoo-hoo)
What is taking him so long (whoo-hoo) to find me?
Oh, baby, where the hell is my lover?
Getting down with another? (Whoo-hoo, yeah)
Tell him if you see him, baby, if you see him
Tell him, tell him he should holler

Why is this beautiful man waiting for me to get old?
Why he already testing my patience?
I only fear he’s taking time with other women that ain’t me
While I’ve been reviewing applications

Wait ’til I get my hands on him, I’ma tell him off too
For how long he kept mе waiting, anticipating
Praying to the Lord to give him to my loving arms
And despite my frustrations

He must need me (he must need me) completely (completely)
How my heart yearns for him
Is he far away (is he far away?), is he okay? (Is he okay?)
This man is testing me, uh-huh, uh-huh
Uh, help me, help me, help me, Lord

Of course, yesterday morning, I was singing, “Where the hell is my Congress!” Then I created other lyrics.

May this day find you healthy, peaceful, and ready to vote blue and take the nation back.

Thanks for visiting. Cheers

6

Survival Mode Dream

I was part of a military unit. A light colonel – a commander from my real life – led us. Something disastrous had happened, and we’d shifted into holding on, bracing for attacks and problems. Food, water, and fuel were all issues.

Second in command, we had a dozen people. All were much younger than the commander and me. The weather seemed consistently dark and cloudy. Rain was often falling.

I started out required to make suggestions to the commander. He then agreed or not, and gave orders. My suggestions were about needing shifts,  requiring everyone to collect and bring food, man the place and keep watch.

We arrived back in the morning as scheduled. Still a dark, rainy day. Part of our structure was gone. I suggested to the commander, maybe we should move our people inside the rest of the structure, to get us out of the rain.

“No,” he said. “Put them on the covered porch.”

I ordered that, but saw at that point that my commander had recognized that I was thinking about things. Touching my shoulder, he told me, “Supervise them. Get them set up and ready.”

I agreed. We had an engine. It ran a generator which gave us electricity. I’d seen the commander add oil to it the previous day. I went to the engine to do the same. The way he’d done it before didn’t make sense with what I saw. This was a Chevy V8, and it was running. I knew it was important to keep the engine running. The engine steamed as rain drops hit.

I checked fluid levels. Gas, oil, etc., were all topped off. I worried that I was overlooking something and decided, I didn’t know enough about how the engine worked. I needed to learn more.

People reported in to work, bringing food and water with them, including doughnuts. Thanking the people for them, I ordered the doughnuts to be shared, encouraging everyone to eat.

Reports came in – I’m not sure of the mechanism – that enemy forces weren’t far off. I directed people to take positions as lookouts. Someone asked if we should launch a drone.

I knew we had a drone but we also had a plane. I directed that both be launched.

They were launched but we weren’t getting images from other. I went outside to see where they were in the sky, which had turned apricot but was marbled with gray and black. Craning my head back, holding my hat on, I couldn’t see the plane or drone.

My commander asked me what I was doing. I told him, and he replied, “Good idea.” Others came out to also look. None of us could see either aircraft.

“I think the enemy destroyed them,” I said with worry.

The situation is getting grim, I thought.

Dream end.

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Thursday’s Theme Music – Seeing Through It

Ashland, southern Oregon. Thursday, September 17, 2026.

Sunny today, but cloudy. 66 F for the moment. 100% chance of thunderstorms, the weather seers tell me, with a high of 78 F.

Mom is back home in the assisted living facility. Suffering laryngitis and diarrhea. Resting in bed, she said, because she feels very tired. Mom has three appointments coming up. She has three medical appointments coming up in September.

I have a new appointment next week. Changing PCPs because my current PCP is leaving to go into private practice, focusing on peptide therapy. I meet my new PCP next week. Hope she turns out to be as good as my last one. Will lightning strike twice?

As expected, Trump launched some more Operation Epic LOOK — SQUIRREL! this week.

Your Trump Quote of the Day:

I’m not a lawyer but I’ve watched some TV. You’d think that if evidence came out about this plot that any law-abiding, intelligent individual would ensure the authorities had it so that due process could take place and law and order maintained.

No. Not Trump. Instead of doing that, Trump went on social media to bray about it. Which tells us that it’s more fact news. Just another distraction. More Operation Epic LOOK — SQUIRREL!

No surprise that Trump launched a fresh distraction. War in Iran is going into seven months. That’s completely contrary to how long Trump said it would take, all after promising, “No new wars.” Stories are emerging that the United States suffered more damage than previously revealed.

Prices are creeping up. The Fed increased interest rates, contrary to what Trump wanted.

Trumpapalooza was affected by low attendance and low energy. Trump is at odds with recent CEOs that AI growth needs to slow down and perhaps be regulated.

As icing on Trump’s very bad month, part of Trump’s very bad year, his administration displayed Space Force uniforms which are being heavily mocked for their fascist look.

Finally, Trump claimed Ukraine and Russia said they wouldn’t attack diesel facilities any longer. Both nations denied any deal such as Trump suggested and continued their attacks.

That leads us to ask — again — why did Trump make that public claim? Did US intel get it wrong or did Trump hear someone wrong? Perhaps Russia and Ukraine lied to Trump and said they would, to make him appear weak and out of touch.

Or perhaps, truthfully, Trump just pretended this is what happened in order to make it seem like he’s relevant.

These positions and calamities have led to declining support for Trump and his policies. Of course, something from Operation Epic LOOK — SQUIRREL! was needed.

We’ve seen enough of Trump to see through his deceptions.

I ended up with Bob Dylan singing “Masters of War” in my morning mental music stream. I think the 1963 release accurately reflects how Trump behaves, hiding, making claims, while destroying our world.

Sample Lyrics

You that hide behind walls
You that hide behind desks
I just want you to know
I can see through your masks

You that never done nothin’
But build to destroy
You play with my world
Like it’s your little toy

You put a gun in my hand
And you hide from my eyes
And you turn and run farther
When the fast bullets fly

Like Judas of old
You lie and deceive

A world war can be won
You want me to believe

But I see through your eyes
And I see through your brain
Like I see through the water
That runs down my drain

May your spirit carry you through these times to happier places and a more comfortable and secure life.

Cheers

1

Wednesday’s Theme Music – Moron

Ashland, southern Oregon. Wednesday, September 16, 2026.

Summer’s pullback continues. Thunderstorms are forecast for the area. With a temperature now of 64 and a high of 78 F, we’re leaning toward the cool side.

Sour mood again. Sorry. Apologies.

Mom is being discharged from the hospital. She’s to return to Heritage Grove assisted living. My sister, Gina, is taking her. Gina reports Mom is loopy and confused. They have her on O2. It feels like it’s a setup for another mess, which leaves me and my sisters down. With all of Mom’s issues, we know that only one thing can resolve her problems. The weariness just drags on.

Likewise, Trump news is a drag on the soul. His EPA is repealing pollution limits on fossil fuel power plants. Speaking with Trumplike stupidity, an EPA administrator said, “”The days of Biden and Obama working to destroy natural gas and coal are over.”

Yeah. That’s what Presidents Obama and Biden were doing. Sure. Had nothing to do with climate change. BTW, 2026 is set to go down as the hottest on record. But please, let’s put more pollutants in the air and water so that what we breathe and drink harms our health. People are already struggling with healthcare costs. Let’s load more problems. That’s Trump’s backwards thinking.

Never mind the history books full of stories about smoke from burning coal darkening the skies. Forget rivers on fire and cancer rising as industries dumped their pollutants into water systems.

And please, do ignore all the studies which show that improving the air and water quality led to increases in productivity.

No, Trump and the GOP are just going back in time, dragging us with them.

And what’s hilarious is that Trump wants more AI because he thinks the Chinese are pulling ahead. Without knowing how AI can generate profits and without regard to what all those AI centers can do to our health and environment, Trump wants to bull on.

It’s sadly funny but he’s amazing stupid, greedy, and short-sighted. But as said by many, because the truth is clear, Trump only cares about Trump.

Your Trump Quote of the Day:

Gosh, yes, Donald Trump, once you say, beautiful, it changes everything! Why, that’s amazing! You ARE such a genius, you idiot.

Here’s a photo of an American city back before the EPA was created, along with the regulations to protect the air, land, and water. You’re a fool if you can stand in that, look around, breathe in, and call it beautiful. As a 70-year-old, I lived through that air in my childhood and survived, and don’t want to see us go back to those days.

But when it comes to facts, truths, and history, Trump is an utter moron.

Which brings me around to my morning mental music stream. I don’t listen to a lot of Primus but I always liked the premise of “Moron TV”. Released in 2011, it’s a diatribe against how TV is used to shape children’s opinion. While that’s the focus, I think politics share this methodology, especially the Trump and MAGA crowd.

Sample Lyrics

Just when I thought I’d seen it all
They pull a cretin from the shelves
And flash that filth under their nails
To make us feel better about ourselves

Well that one’s fit for a sex tape
Well that one’s fit for a dad
Well that one had more babies
Than anyone’s ever had
That one married a rock star
That made all little girls squeal
And that one want to be president
Cause she’s got more eye appeal

May your day come dressed in peace and grace and you finish with joy and happiness.

Cheers

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Sunday’s Theme Music — Goner

Ashland, southern Oregon. Sunday, September 13, 2026.

Autumn is moving in like it owns the place. Summer looks like a goner. It’s 60 F right now, and feels chillier than that. Rain fell this morning. Sunshine has arrived but today’s high is projected to be an anemic 70 F.

Mom’s story goes on. She and I spoke briefly Friday and Saturday. I called again today but she didn’t answer. She seems like she’s in a good mood. Her voice is soft and weak. Long periods of silence dominate as she catches her breath or pauses to remember what she was saying. She often becomes bitter and angry, complaining about her daughters, her room, and problems that she has.

I’ve been a little harsh and angry with my sisters. Ali commented on a previous post saying that she thought my sisters were being strict.

Ali is right. This is exactly what I told my sisters to act months ago. They are acting in everyone’s best interest, limiting contact with Mom, using just one of us as a front.

I have the best relationship with Mom, so it falls to me to the messenger. I’m a little emotionally fatigued by the role. It’s stacking on top of other things happening in life.

That’s how it goes. Life doesn’t take time outs.

Reading the digital news today, it’s easy at this point to write Trump off as a goner. His popularity is falling but most prices and the overall cost of living is not. Some prescription drug prices fell but not nearly as many as he claims.

Oil prices are not falling as Trump’s Iran War continues.

Some records are falling, such as the Atlantic hurricanes record. This is the longest period on record, 103 days since the season began, without a hurricane in the Atlantic Ocean. El Nino is being blamed.

I’ve always liked the word goner. I heard it mournfully declared of people in many western movies when I was a child. Things like, “Looks like Clem is a goner,” was part of the dialogue.

So I’m practicing saying it about Trump. “Looks like Trump is a goner.” I could be speaking of him politically, metaphorically, or about his popularity. “Looks like Trump is a goner” works in all three areas.

Thinking about Trump being a goner brought the song into my morning mental music stream. “Goner” is a melancholy twenty one pilots song which was released in 2015. The song has simple lyrics and a straightforward structure.

Sample Lyrics

I’m a goner, somebody catch my breath
I’m a goner, somebody catch my breath
I wanna be known by you
I wanna be known by you
I’m a goner, somebody catch my breath
I’m a goner, somebody catch my breath
I wanna be known by you
I wanna be known by you

h/t to Genius.com

May good times and good health fill your hours today and tonight, and on in an unbroken string of days, weeks, and months.

Cheers

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