Ramblings...

Tonight is a quiet night after a long, somewhat frustrating day. But, no matter, we press on. So you get the “snippets” of thoughts; some relevant and most… not much… Smile, since this makes you look a lot better.

It is 9:31pm (21:31 for you military minds) and after a relatively non- productive day, I sit in front of this little one (rectangular) eyed devil which blankly stares at me and seems to be laughing its RAM/ROM off. I know… just seems that way, though. Too many things are happening and it at times feels they are getting out of control. Started an exercise routine again this morning after some time off, and it was done to “ease” my way back into regular exercising; my legs were screaming at me throughout the one measly hour…

What else happened today…  let’s see… some 15 years ago, on this day of August, a series of sales training trips to Bogotá, Colombia started. I was not really going to head these trips but, in the end, I did and on the third of the series I met my wife... (when it’s in the book to happen… you can ‘t get away from it)Also, on this first trip my little baby (well, she really wasn’t anymore!!) cousin, who lives in Colombia, and I met again for the first time since her father had died some 10 years before. She was always my favorite, because I used to hold her as a baby (I was the oldest of all brothers and cousins… yeah, I know…still am) to quiet her down whenever she started crying. She is still a special person. We had dinner and put away a number of bottles of wine while recounting much that had happened (and was happening) to her in her personal life.

Also, two years ago, on or about this day, I was beginning the therapy/recovery phase of my hip surgery, done after having completed the cancer treatments. Do you believe in faith and in miracles? I most certainly do. The cancer responded beautifully, and the bone density remained just perfect for the surgery. Due to the radioactive treatments, this bone issue was a concern for the Drs… No matter, All was Well!! In fact, coming on to 65, I feel better than I have in several years.

What else has happened during the month of August? Let’s see… Many swimming meets were won and lost during my childhood years. We started training in June and most meets were in August; they were a lot of fun, becoming almost “carnavalesque”(the Word Processor’s correction officer is going crazy with this word but I don’t care, you know what I mean by it…)  in atmosphere, since they were 2-3 days long. Also, in August 1963 I actually won a gold medal at a Pac-Northwest regional meet, swimming freestyle. I worked hard that summer and was very proud.

You can probably tell by now that at this time of night, after along day, is difficult to concentrate and put together a coherent thought stream. And I am listening  in the background to some of my collection of latin/jazz/pop/classic rock music. It really is jumping all over the place. From Leo Kotke to Harry Chapin, to Mana, Jorge Celedon (great Colombian music), romantic trios, to the Moody Blues followed by the Stones. Love “You Can’t Always Get What You Want”, (but if you try, you get what you need)… one of my always favorites.

But, the muse still eludes me and we continue on with these ramblings.

It would be very easy to simply say today was a wasted day… BUT!! There is also the positive side of even a day which has seemingly not produced an outcome. During one of my e-mail checks, a note came up for air and the name was one that had not shown in several years. He also sent me his “Skype” number and we communicated. After catching up on several fronts, we realized that there was an opportunity for the two of us to do something which, when successful, would bring us both a good economic gain. All this conversation, he was in Italy and I here… It never ceases to amaze me how today’s instant communication can impact our lives. I have come across several important (to me) people over the last 16 months; dear people with whom I had lost contact, in some cases, for more than 3 decades.

I realize that children growing up today probably have an inset biological “chip” somewhere in their system, just waiting for the central processor to power up and activate over the years. In many cases they can dismantle an I-Phone or a laptop faster than a soldier can dismantle a rifle. They speak “bit-talk” and text in a language which makes Esperanto seem a baby walk. Most words are compressed into sounding consonants… If their intent is to confuse most adults, there is total success… and while they look at our confused faces they just text to their friend, who is most likely walking alongside them a single “word”: “LMAO”, while wondering how we ever survived into our age…

Every day is actually a wonder; never know what it will bring. Sometimes it is a quiet day like today yet doors which I did not even know were there, opened for our use. Some other days are a lot faster and much more impacting and in the end, much less happens. Every minute is important and event those which we may count as “downtime” are important.

Remember, as good ‘ol Forrest Gump would say… “Life is like a box of Choklits… You never know what you’ll get next”…

Indeed… make every bite count!!

By the way, ask you teen what LMAO means… you’ll smile…

Be Well… Be Back!!

Run... Indeed, run!!