Posts

Twenty-four? Or More?

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We stepped outside the hotel to walk to the white Hyundai rental car which was sitting half-way across the parking lot. The skies were monotone, grey, uninteresting. It was a nothing day. A kind of neutral day, one that had no effect on your mood or attitude. Other things took precedence. It was just simply there. Static, motionless, curtain like. Draped as a nondescript background to the scenery in front of it, and to those moving about. In spite of that, many were excited about the day; children, elementary teachers, and party goers for sure. It was Halloween. Children and party goers, we understand. Elementary teachers, well they were excited for a different reason. They had to manage all the little ones, keeping them on track all day long while attempting to teach, then controlling the energy and excitement all the while joining in with them at party time. Those teachers who had their own children at home, got to repeat the whole party process once more that evening trick-o...

One in the Hand is Worth Three in the Arm

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July 2018 CANCER CHECK-UP .. .Report Four months, or one hundred and twenty days, or two thousand, eight hundred, eighty hours. No matter how you measure this particular length of time, it is the maximum length of time, determined by those with medical expertise, between reassessments of the state of the stage 4 clear cell renal carcinoma that occupies, or has occupied my body. In this capacity, my doctor functions as a sort of parole officer. I have a four month leash. A four month leash functions a bit like a work week. Except most days are like weekends. When Sunday late afternoon rolls around however, and Monday’s challenges flood my mind, I get a bit nervous for the next day’s agenda. In my case,  the day starts with people who poke holes in my body in order to to extract blood for analysis, and other holes through which they inject a dye that lights up when subjected to a specific type of electromagnetic radiation. In case you’re wondering, this radiation has a wavel...

One Step At A Time

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Mayo Clinic Report August 8, 2017 There are many legitimate approaches to life , and there are many legitimate perceptions concerning reality. Two people can observe the same incident and come away with different opinions of what just took place. Consider, just for a moment so we don’t get too distracted from this present topic, the current state of politics in the US. We are all observing the same events, yet we have different opinions about what we see and hear. What is true, and what is not. The news media report the events, but there are many different perspectives. Who’s is the most accurate, the best one? The correct one? We debate this for each observed event. You’ve heard people say,  “Well, I just tell it like it is!”, and they are 100% correct, because ‘telling it like it is’ has a perspective. Their own. This same debate has taken place, since man first sought to understand the nature of life, the nature of the observable and unobservable world aroun...

Sibling Rivalry, Moonshine, and Abundance

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Mayo visit from June 1&2 2016 My brother Steve was with me at Mayo this trip . Deb was all out of “family illness leave” and Steve was ready to help. Steve is always ready to help. Right away. He’s amazing that way, and I would call it a gift. He has the gift of “helps”. This is a powerful gift that many don’t have, certainly to the degree or in the way that he has it. He has a soft spot for the downtrodden, the disadvantaged, the needy, the disabled, the sick, his family, his friends, his students (Steve teaches earth science at Jim Hill), and those who honestly need help. Beyond that, Steve and I have many of the same interests, backpacking, mtn biking, road biking, climbing, and science/geology, so we end up spending a fair amount of time together. I am blessed to have a brother like Steve, but that’s the thing with my family, my brother Bob is amazing as well, and so is my sister Eleanor Erickson. Help is only a phone call away and oftentimes it’s them calling me to chec...