It's Called a Lifetime, Stupid

Dr. Mehmeh Oz

"The reason so many otherwise rational people don’t screen themselves for disease is not that they don’t understand the risks—they do. And it’s not even that they believe they’re somehow immune from disease or death. We all grasp that in a primal way from the time we’re very small. But even as we age, death still seems somehow remote—something that will happen at some vaguely later time and that we’ll deal with it in some hard-to-fathom way. It’s that distance that helps us cope with the idea of our mortality."

When I found this gem of philosophy I latched on to it and felt that here was a real explanation of how I had felt for a long time. Actually I have been feeling rather stupid because of my lack of realizing that there would one day be an end to our lives as we knew it. Oh, I cared for my mom when I was 23 when she suffered so and died of cancer . My dad died when I was in my 30's and my sister died when I was 56 but somehow in my mind I guess I thought Bill and I would go on forever.

He had Alzheimer's maybe (they never knew for sure) but his folks had all lived into their 90's and Bill was in good health until near the end. And we who had been one for so long were ripped apart with great pain and a lot of you know how that feels. So I just thought I would share this quotation with you because some of you might have the same problem I had. I have come to the realization that everyone has a lifetime--even stupid me. I know this sounds crazy and perhaps I haven't explained it well. But I tried. I guess you could call it an acceptance I can tolerate.

On a happier note I have included some beautiful pictures I have taken. The first two is of a garden in Shawano, Wisconsin. I have visited that garden many times in the past. Mrs. Riley says they have been there building this huge garden with every kind of flower for over 50 years. Her hands were encrusted almost with soil. No gardening gloves for her!!















These are the two mannequins Mrs. Riley has added to the garden. They are up on the porch that overlooks the garden. The mannequins really add to the ambiance of the garden.













This is my backyard flower garden with my dog Dodger blending in so well with the green grass. My son, Jim, has put out 4 bird feeders in the back yard and the other day he came home and I told him to look out and all feeders were full of cardinals a
and those redheaded redbibbed sparrows or
whatever they are called and underneath were 4
squirrels, two bunnies, and two two mourning doves. Jim said he felt like Francis of Assisi.

This is the front of my house. Jim has planted and planted, though I did the pots.

Here's Dodger on his 2nd birthday. He is a fine dog.












I leave you with the sunset over the bay. Green Bay that is.

MY KINGDOM FOR A NAIL

I am sure you all have been bombarded with return address stickers, notepads, cards, even talking wristwatches from zillions of worthy organizations and causes. If you open them and read them, some of them will break your heart and others not so much. Which makes it difficult to choose which causes you want to support.

Which exacerbates the problem more often is trying to decide which one is the legitimate representative of that particular disease or cause. There are many for my most obvious choices--cancer and Alzheimer's and the ones that help children like Boys Town, the children born with cleft palates (yup, they got me on this one too) and the blind children (talking wristwatch).

I understand that their expenses are ongoing and if you do donate to their cause, they are right back at you for more. I finally realized the Paralyzed Veterans were sending me something almost weekly and the included "gifts" were increasing. But I guess it is up to us to figure out things like that and act accordingly.

My favorite charity though is Habitat for Humanity. Here in my town, a few years ago, only women could work on the house they built. I was enraptured at this and wished to pound a few nails myself but they were working mainly on this steep roof and the things I could do had been done. But they did have a problem. The guy next door would not let them use his hose for water. Talk about a selfish old bastard. After watching and kibitzing for a while, I left after putting my name in for the next house women built and went to the drug store (my second home) and they had this tremendous sale on bottled water! Like almost giving it away. I bought up all they had left about 16 crates and brought them back to the building site. That was a fun fun thing. I know, just a blip in the radar, if that. Since then I have kept up with the organization.

Where they have helped all over the world is amazing. In addition to building new homes, they have a Microbuild Fund which they offer to those who have started a home, but lacked funds to finish it. In places that have been hit by disasters such as Japan, Sri Lanka, India, Ethiopia, Haiti, Bosnia, and here in America, they offer help with clean-up and rebuilding. The figures are astonishing. Since their beginning, they have served more than 2 million people! This is a world wide effort by many nations helping other nations.

You can sign up for more info here habitat.org.gov or Habitat.org.getinv if you are interested. As I said starting out, you all probably have your own favorite charities. Tell us what they are!