More Bionic Man Stuff

As I already told you---(please try to remember some of these things so I don't constantly have to repeat!!)---I have more surgery coming up. This one will be to remove Gortex mesh from my abdomen and cover the open area with cadaver skin (Thanks, whoever you are).
This will add to my internal collection (it is NOT true that out of sight is out of mind---I think of them more than some (LSW) think is healthy). After this Gortex operation then knee re-do (number 34), I will be the proud owner of metal and plastic left knee relacement, cadaver bone 4 vertebrae implant, cadaver skin, wire sutures and a loose screw or two (OK!! OK!! enough with the snide remarks!! At least I still have all my original marbles.
The reason for the Gortex in the first place was to cover a large open area after two prior bowel operations. It worked OK until the outer layers spread and there seemsto be a bit of infection. Now, we all know that orthopedic surgeons are infection fanatics --has something to do with practically untreatable infection inside the bones. They are on a par with the Docs trained as Infection Control Specialists. Anyhoo, to have the knees done, I have to get the ol' abdomen covered and guaranteed sterile.
A bit of advice to anyone who is reading this, and be SURE to tell all your friends--"Don't have surgery unless it is absolutely necessary, and if it is, check out your Docs VERY thoroughly as I did. It's bad enough having your prostate checked by someone you don't like or trust, and someone you feel "iffy" about should not be coming at you with a sharp knife, saws, and drills. 'nuff said.

Sweet girl

Our dau, Anne, who can soon stop labeling her Blog "Puffy" came over this aft. She had her bariatric surgery only about a week ago and she is feeling, "FINE", she says. Has lost nearly 20 lbs and seems quite pleased. Me too. She is a wonderful sweet girl.
All her life and in the lives of all three of my kids and seven "Grands" I have asked frequently, "Did you get an A?" Some of them might even be just the littlest bit tired of hearing it.
At first this question just meant a grade in school, but has come to means SO MUCH MORE TO ME, and I feel they somehow understand this also. What I mean is ALL the good things. There are thousands of A words in dictionerys, but the sort of "A" words I refer to are those like Accomplish, Achieve, Able, Advance--words that show Ability. One doesn't really always have to "get an A", but continuing to strive for something just a bit better shows a desire to do the best job possible in school and in all aspects of life.
One of the A's I most enjoyed was hearing the first word each of my children and Grandchildren read aloud. It is absolutely true that READING IS FUNDAMENTAL. A strong ability to read is a foundation that will lead to a tall tower of Ability later in life and make it much easier to get an A. It's great to hear of another Accomplishment. Maybe one of the reasons I keep hearing of them is that I care enough to keep asking.

Surgery-Schmergery!! A cut above.

I just saw my surgeon. You know it's not a good thing to have your own surgeon, but I do. He's a nice guy and very accomplished, but I'd much rather have my own private jet pilot than a surgeon. I want flights of fancy and not to be having so much fun (being kept in stitches).
Anyhoo, I need to get the prior surgical incision closed and non-infected so I can get a re-do of my ten year old left knee and probably get a total knee replacement done on the right one. Bionic man? Hardly, but I can see the handwriting on the wall.
I won't regale you with any more of this--just wanted to get it off my chest. Surgery is so much easier than it used to be and anesthesia is much, much safer. I don't look forward to any of this, but I sure hope to be able to look back sometime and say, "Well, that wasn't too bad."

Grandson Ned's Birthday

Got invited for the youngest G'son's b'day at oldest son's home in St. Paul. Thank God for Apostrophes!!
My wife had talked with Katie and found out that Ned (short for Edward-often called Nedward by Sessa) loves trucks and dinosaurs. Doesn't every little boy? Anyhoo, at Target they have the world's greatest selection of dinos--- bought about a baker's dozen of nice-sized very colorful, and anatomically correct (as far as THAT goes).
LSW (long suffering wife) had the great idea to pack them in an empty Menard's store butter-flavored pretzel container. Sessa had the job of removing the label, then Grandma wrapped the INSIDE of the container with colorful paper, snapped the lid on and added a mess of curly ribbon on top. Looked great and Ned seemed overjoyed by the dinos. He tried to hold all of them at once as much to show his pleasure as to try to keep them away from his four year old brother, Thomas, who loves cars AND dinosaurs. Very mature 6 year old sister, Lucy, ignored the dinos but did say they smelled funny, and seemed quite interested in smoothing out the wrapping papers. Go figure.

From Pillar To Post

I just thought up this maximally wonderfull way to describe what some folks seem to do with weblog posting--they jump from pillar to post. They have a problem (AKA "the Pillar") then they "Instaprint" ("the Post") to tell everyone all about it. Nothing wrong with using Blogs to do this, however it is easier to read the ones that are happy and fulfilling rather than the down in the dumps ones. Now, here I am coming Wright out but not comdemning a whole group of people that are seemingly different from me.
Everyone has a God-given right to an opinion. Just because it may be different (read goofy or just plain wrong) doesn't mean that they can't put it out there. The problem is when others listen and let the purveyor of some such stupidity get away with it. Remember the quote: "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good people do nothing."
It seems poor judgement that one should wait until it becomes ABSOLUTELY necessary for one to do something. Mr. Obama's chickens may be coming home to roost as my Dad used to say.

Like Father, Like Daughter

OK, so I got the phrase in the title wrong!! Give me 40 lashes with a wet noodle as we used to say in the preceeding epoch (or era if you'd rather)----I mean the olden days of yore. Anyhoo, My lovely oldest daughter got to the point in her life where the bad joints she inherited from her father made it impossible for her to exercise and she got all "PUFFY" as she calles it.
Today she finally finished jumping through all the myriad hoops of her doctors, insurance company rules, and self preparedness. A long six month ordeal, but the bariatric surgery with endoscopes went off very well. Mine was five years ago via the old fashioned "OPEN" method. I had a lot of problems which was scary for her, but her surgeon was pleased as was her husband and her Dad and Mom and her two kids we were sitting for the day.
Progress is great! Soon my daughter will have much less pain in her knees which have already had two operations. Pain is OK in its place---which is in somebody else.
If you are interested in her progress, check her blog atthewhitehouse on Google blogs.

The return

Just got back to White Bear Lake after visiting dau, Margie and her husb, Tom and Grandgirls, Elizabeth and Claire in Winona. A harrowing trip due to light winds and fog with fourteen flakes of snow per minute. Pioneers we aren't, but we tolerated it well except for the howling of ravenous wolfs that followed us all the way.
Nope!! Hold on!!!! That was just ol' FADELMO the obese black and white cat in his carrier buckled into the back seat. We have accepted the daunting task of cat sitting while the Winona-ites go visit the nation's capitol (Wash. DC).
We've don'e it before and survived, but are worried because FADELMO (Fat Elmo AKA Polly) is sooooo overweight. it seems he must be eating everything he sees. Is there really such a thing as a werecat? I have been concerned for years about were-Wolverines, and now this. More on next Blog(if I am still alive and not being slowly dissolved by the digestive juices of a cat) (:>( --Note Emoticon of concern.

Thoughts of melting snow and Santa

The turn and tilt of the Earth is once again bringing the Sun more nearly overhead with its coNcomitant heating of the atmosphere and melting of our Winter snow. Yea!! According to Belinda Jenson and Sven Sundgaard our KARE 11 weather folks, it has been an average winter temp-wise and below snow depth-wise, but it seems nearly interminable to me.
The older I get, the faster the days go, but less so in the dead of
Winter when one seems trapped in cold air sealed under the aluminum lid of heavy clouds. I realize why the bird of happiness in the song is blue.
As a poet, I often try to recreate in my mind what might have been going on in the minds of poets of the past as they composed their own poems.
In keeping with the Winter theme, Could Clement C. Moore in
thinking out the words and rhymes for his world famous "'TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS" have pondered thusly>>>Huuummm,
now, if up on the house top reindeer pause---Now there's a thought--Reindeer don't have paws (poets always think in rhyme which leads to puns which may lead to insanity!). Reindeer have hoofs which rhymes nicely with roofs and I already have rooftops, so... should I just drop the last
part of rooftops and use roof to rhyme with hoof--So it would go like this, "Up on the roof Reindeer hoof?" Nope,too awkward. I would need to say reindeer hoofs to show they have more than one, and then I would need to use roofs and that seems too darn plural. I guess I'll just go with "Up on the rooftop, reindeer pause which means they hesitate which seems rather silly. How long is an hesitation? Just long enough for Santa to jump out and head for the chimney? It seems more correct to have them halt and wait for the old guy to come back out and re-enter the sleigh. Such a problem!!
AH! he life of a poet is not all beer and skittles as THEY say. Winter is driving me crazy (which some say is a real short trip).

Blogging--A leaf swept down stream in a flood

It seems that there is a bunch of stuff inside that needs to come out. I have felt this way before-when writing poetry for my Poets Group; short stories or children's stories for Writers Unlimited and ESPECIALLY when I wrote my novel (UNHOLY WAR) which took 4-5 hours a day for nine months and it still needs some more work (minor, I hope).
It was rejected by the only publishers who actually read the first three chapters I sent, in reply to their request after my query letter. According to them, all four of the principals had to agree to publish it. I was informed by a nice letter that three had agreed to its publication, but one had not.
Next time I submit, it will be to a publisher with only three top guys and see what happens. It's a really wonderful, money-making novel and whoever picks it up can make $$$$!!!!

The stars are like Grandpa's teeth-they come out at night.

Fortunately I don't have complete dentures--only a two tooth bridge on the lower left. It is a well constructed chunk of plastic and chrome/cobalt metal that works very well. I have to remove it at night for safety. The metallic gripping arms could come loose from the teeth they snap onto and I could find myself having surgery for "Prosthetic Dental Appliance Removal" which is costly and painful.
I tend to do a much better job of brushing now that I own such a beautiful (very sculptural) and costly device. It might have been a good thing if I had gotten it at age 4 or 5 and therefore done a better job of dental care as a youth and NOW as a Grandpa, I wouldn't be having all the dental problems I do. My wife learned as a child how to take care of her teeth, hair, skin, and everything else so she is in perfect shape and beautiful too.
It can be difficult living with such a Goddess of perfection when one is not perfect. Trying to live up to such high standards can either make one stonger or kill them. I don't seem to be dead yet, so I guess I must be getting stronger (more perfect). One can only hope.

Sweeping??

As a Grandpa (nicknamed Sessa by all of our "Grands" (grandchildren), Grandma and I were "kidsitting". Lord forbid any of the little darlings

would every be "Babysat"!!

Anyhoo the Grand in question was supposed to be asleep, but Grandma and I kept hearing a soft shuffling sound from behind the bedroom door.
"I'll go this time." I graciously volunteered. Softly opening the door in an attempt to catch the little miscreant, I noted a small lump in the new "Big Girl Bed". She loved it, especially as it was not what she had called her crib--"The Pwison."
Not wanting to wake her in case we had heard wrong (which is easy for Grandpeople), and she was truly asleep, I whispered, Honey-girl, are you awake?"
Her tiny-but very indignant voice answered with all the fervor a four year old could muster, "Not so loud, Sessa! Can't you tell I'm sweeping?"
For all the subsequent years whenever Grandma and I heard a noise from a Grand being kidsat, we would just smile and say, "It sounds like someone is just sweeping."

Swept Away

Today my wife and I are doing something that I never imagined---we are going to the World-Famous-Guthrie-Theater for the second Sunday matinee in a row. We have had season tickets for some theater or another for our entire married life, and were attending plays separately before that. We even did ten years of community theater in most aspects of that fun avocation. BUT never did we see two professional plays in succeeding weekends. Due to a health problem mess up with subsequent re-schedulings, we got to see Peer Gynt last Sunday (It was Great!) and soon we'll be watching Jane Eyre.
If you've never been to the New Guthrie on the banks of the Mississippi, get yourself down there!!! This is a beautiful building and one of the world's greatest Regional theaters. We've seen Broadway plays, and are happy to report "OUR" Guthrie is every bit as good. For a sweeping view of the river and one of the world's greatest live theater experiences, it cannot be beat.

More pills?

I just re-ordered some medications over the internet. This is a good deal for several reasons: Cheaper, no going out into the cold, home delivery in three days, and it has worked every single time--I get the pills, they get my money. No sweat. The ONLY thing I don't like about it is that I don't get into the actual drugstore so I can get a box of cheese puffs and a Snickers for me and a Butterfinger for my wife. This is, of course. helpful for those of us on diets, but cheese and sweets are one of God's gifts to mankind arent they?
Buying on the internet is rather impersonal and no-one TOO important gets to know how many and what type of pills a person takes. Is it really wrong to take Cialis and Viagra together?
What would happen if a person took a pill that "MIGHT CAUSE ANAL LEAKAGE" just before getting trapped on the asphalt for ten hours in a plane that would be, as they say, "Departing in just a few more minutes, Folks." Well enough of THAT. I'll just sweep the rest of these thoughts under the rug.

Would you care for a little surgery?

In addition to my many other hobbies, some might say I have a scar collection. It is true that I have had a lot more operations (33) than many people, but every one of them was totally justified, unlike some of the plastic surgery going on today. Fortunately I was blessed to be born and remain extremely handsome, tight of skin and "a real vision". I also lie like a rug, but that's another story.
Anyhoo, I seem to have inherited bad joints from my Mother who had terrible knees and achy hips. As she lay dying at age 60 from lung cancer, she said, "Well, at least I won't have to go through the pain of total knee replacements." Quite a tough woman.
I have had bilateral Carpal Tunnel surgery, rotator cuff repairs, fusions of my neck vertebrae, lower back , both after disc removals and cadaver bone insertion. ThankS, to whomever donated. I appreciate it!!
Ten years ago, at age 55, I had a left knee replacement and was the one in a hundred (that's 1% for you mathematicians) who got infected. This entitled me to five more operations to "FIX" the problem. I place no blame for this--it' just the way it is.
Recently, the darn thing has been hurting , slipping and I nearly fall over. My new "GUY-KNEE-COLOGIST" tells me the plastic "bearing plate" is worn out, the metal parts are mis-aligned, and I need the replacement replaced. This could be a WHOLE LOT OF FUN considering the infection and two year battle the first time. The Doc asked me "Would you care for a little surgery?"

My youngest brother, David, whom I felt had absolutely NO interest in art has, for the past year or so, become totally intrigued and immmersed hinmself in a great hunt. He remembered the naked lady statue outside the doors of Charlie's Cafe Exceptional in Minneapolis because the nurses in his class would go down there and "Dress the Statue" in one of their student nurse uniforms. This happenned until the cafe closed and the statue "disappeared".
He decided to find it again. His quest led him to discover that this statue named SCHERZO by Harriett Whitney Frishmuth was placed at the Foshay Tower at it's grand opening in downtown Minneapolis in 1929 and remained there and eventually got to Charlie's Cafe.
The trail grew cold, then warmed up when David discovered the statue had been donated to the Ball State University Art Museum (?). As usual, David went to the "horse's mouth" and talked to the museum . They seemed very pleased to know of the statue's provenance and NOW---David is working to get the statue returned ON LOAN to the Foshay tower for it's GRAND RE-OPENING as a high-class hotel about the time of the Republican National Convention.
Good luck, Dave. Life is so much more fun when one can sweep up a lost treasure!!

More Sweepings

I have been turning this thought over and over in my mind it has seemingly achieved rotational magic of its own. Why not adapt the 'net
to a small microloan charity and help for those in need for a time?
I have been one of several who have been helping by loaning and direct giving to a family from Madagascar to remain in the US while going to school and living hand to mouth. Now they have exhausted all our networks abilities and need only $8,500 more AS A LOAN until they can get moved, into a rental home, and live until a salary starts coming in.
They are the most honest and hardworking people I have ever known and I have absolutely no doubt that any money lent will be repaid as soon as possible. IF YOU CAN HELP REPLY TO bjjohnston@comcast.net. Thanks and God bless you!

WHAT THE HECK ARE "SWEEPINGS"?

Well, ya know how when you used to go down to your Dad's clothing store and "help out" by putting stuff back on hangers and hiding in-between the clothes and getting in the way; and he'd get irritated with you and FINALLY let you do the one job that you really wanted to do--the job that was the most fun for a kid--a job closest to a treasure hunt a small town boy would ever get?
I just loved watching my Dad open the large round cardboard box with the metal lid, reaching in and grabbing that metal scoop and then tossing that blue-colored oily sawdust in sweeping arcs all over the floor. It smelled like the desert sand combined with the floor of a sweltering jungle.
Handing me the huge pushbroom he smiled and said, "Sweep".
Man! Did I ever sweep! Back and forth, then side to side; over and over until I had multiple piles of blue. My Dad had shown me how to use the large dustpan to get them into the trash bin, but I never did that right away, for I knew there were treasures to be found in these piles--wondrous things like a pearl collar button, lots of straight pins from shirts tried on during the day, paperclips that were great for making pirate ship anchor chains and, sometimes even a dropped coin. TREASURE!!
Now I scour my mind sweeping it for tidbits from the past, hoping to chance upon a long forgotten treasure. Thus my blog is called Sessa'a Sweepings.