Thinking out loud: It's the day of and the day after... this

Sunday night I awoke around 3am with the left side of my face wet and one eye closed up.  This is how it looked Monday morning, after cleaning up.  

One side of my head feels like it's in a vise, a pretty hard return to my earlier days of long covid.  I can't help but wonder if this will ever end.  I was pretty bummed, it was a beautiful day and I was hoping to go into downtown Pittsburgh, to claim my long-awaited Senior Card for Pat Transit.  

People 65 and over get to ride public transportation--buses, the subway, the Incline all for free.  But you have to apply for your special ID card in person at the Port Authority downtown.

I'm so frustrated, so damn angry at how long this condition has gone on, I keep reminding myself things could be worse but when you're in daily discomfort it can be hard to do.

Over my birthday, an old friend reached out to me just to say hello.  It was wonderful hearing from Brenda again, the last we spoke was 10 years ago and before that, nearly 30 years.  In the 1980s, we were part of a group of twentysomethings that hung out together on a regular basis. 

In March 2024, shortly after I got long covid, Brenda's husband Mike, also part of our 80s group, died from cancer.  They were together 40 years.  Anyway, Brenda is seeing someone new now--actually, her first high school boyfriend--who's wife contracted covid the same time I did, but didn't make it.  I'm happy for Brenda, but what a damn curse this covid has been for so many.  At least I'm still here.  Still...

Can I share something silly?  It's dorky but honest-to-God true.  Yesterday afternoon I was in my kitchen making dinner, and had Youtube on the TV in my living room.  Some guy named Philip Mershon (who has a retro channel) was talking about terrariums, and when I heard him say "Here's some other 70's decor people used to cozy up their homes"  I hurried in to see what he was talking about, and saw this.

Look familiar?  I did not get the idea to buy my macrame owl from Philip--I got my owl last week, 4 days before he posted this video.  I just thought this was a weird coincidence.

I'm probably going to start seeing owls everywhere now.  As a matter of fact my blogger friend Margaret just posted a photo of one.  (Her neighbor set out a clay owl to ward off crows in his backyard. )

Well, I should wrap this up and get my day started.  My head isn't any better, but my eye is, at least.  Maybe it wasn’t even LC related.  I'm sorry for the dull read, I just felt the need to share.  I'm already working on my next post, which I hope is more interesting, so please don't give up on me just yet.  

And speaking of not giving up...

                                              Come on Blue Wave

Goodbye Pennie, Hello Neighbor & Lesson Learned

Can I get something off my chest?  When I applied for Medicare Advantage a couple weeks ago, I was told when the card arrives to call Pennie (Pa Health Insurance Marketplace) and disenroll from my current Insurance plan, but ensure it lasts until Sept 30.  Medicare doesn't begin until October 1.

I got my updated Advantage card yesterday, so I called Pennie.  I spent the next 11 minutes identifying myself by answering 'Yes', 'No' or punching various numbers on my phone.  It was trying my patience, but I get it--they REALLY want to ensure someone isn't posing as me.  I finally get a computer voice saying "The next agent will respond to your call.  There is a current wait time of 7 minutes."

Cue the godawful wait music.  TWENTY TWO MINUTES LATER, Abu from 'The Simpsons' says (in the heaviest Hindi accent possible) "Hlu entarrour fooro dodos if yor su-chill shoity."  

I said "I'm sorry, can you repeat that?  I can't understand you."  He repeated it.  I repeat myself.  I get the same nonsensical response.  I said "This isn't working, can I speak to someone else?"  I hear more gobbledygook.  I said "I'm sorry I don't mean to be rude but I CANNOT UNDERSTAND YOU."   He begins speaking in tongues again.  I sadly hang up.

I realize we all need to eat, we all need to live, most of us need to work.  But for a customer service line for Pennsylvanians who pretty much speak English only, why must they outsource it to people with the heaviest accents this side of Bangladesh?  I worked with several people from India in my career, have had several doctors too.  They all had accents, but spoke well and were easy to talk to.   

I called Pennie back a couple hours later, went thru the same 10 minutes of AI prompts, was told there was a 1 hour wait time, would I like to be called back, I said yes.  AI said "Great, you will be called back within one hour."   No one called back.  I eventually figured out what to do on the Pennie website.  SO GLAD I AM DONE WITH PENNIE.

A couple mornings ago, I was sitting here watching tv when I began hearing chainsaws outside.  I looked out my living room window and saw one of those white trucks with a giant arm on the back, stretched up to the sky.  Someone was cutting the top branches off the tree across the street.

I've lived in my apartment 8 1/2 years and have never seen the second house across the street from me.  It had giant hedges that separated the houses, and a tremendous tree in front that hid the house and went way above the rooftop.

It took 9 hours to chop everything down.  (They returned the next day and got rid of that remaining trunk and pile of wood.)  

I realize this isn't a good picture, it's reflecting my vertical blind.  I should've taken one of the sidewalk below while it was going on.  It was lined with people in my neighborhood, all holding their phones out, taking pictures.

Last night when I was taking my trash downstairs, I ran into the transgender person who lives in the first floor apartment across from that house.  He was standing outside smoking and asked me if I noticed the trees were gone.  Er... yes.  

He wasn't happy.  He pointed behind us and said "That's my window.  I hope they enjoy the view."  😐

Finally, I recently saw a story where a man was found dead, face down on his kitchen floor.  When they rolled him over, they discovered a kitchen knife and a box of (thawed) frozen hamburger patties.  

Apparently he'd been trying to pry one free, only to force his knife too hard and pushed the blade into his chest.  I'm sorry, I know this was a grisly thing to share but it was a real wake up call.  I'm a big fan of these frozen hamburgers, and often do the same thing.  I've learned my lesson.

I suppose my reading room is now my writing room

One nice thing about writing a personal blog is the ability to go back and find things I've shared, when my own memory is fuzzy.  For instance, on May 24 I posted a blog titled "A Big Setback" where my daily discomfort level from long covid had really escalated, and I was letting everyone know I may not be around for awhile.

Looking back, I was wrestling with a lot of oral inflammation and only eating very bland things when my gallbladder ruptured 2 weeks later on June 7.  That week in the hospital, after the two surgeries and on a liquid diet, I had to keep asking for low sodium broths because my covid-related BMS (burning mouth syndrome) was making me hypersensitive to any spices or salt.  

A week or so after I returned home on June 20, the symptoms began to let up.  And when my friend Kim went with me to Mercy Hospital for a post surgery follow-up on June 25, my covid symptoms had greatly reduced.  I confided to Kim I was feeling pretty optimistic.  I posted a photo of us on my blog, and my sister told me I looked like my old self.

Of course, the long covid symptoms returned that weekend.  They lasted a week, winked out a couple days (allowing me to meet up with some friends from the senior center for lunch, my first outing in 8 months) then returned again on July 17.  

These last couple weeks have been tough.  Lots of inflammation in the eyes, burning in the left side of head and mouth, and that heavy, strange smell of diesel fuel and decayed flowers. 

For the past year, I've been avoiding all videos and articles pertaining to long covid.  But these past couple weeks left me wondering if there's any kind of answers yet.  Nope.  Medical experts claim the US has 10 million documented cases, the UK has 2 million.  They said the real numbers are probably double that.  They also claim LC comes with 300 different symptoms and remissions are common, giving many sufferers false hope.  

Most sufferers remain in isolation, and say they've lost their jobs, family, friends.  At least I can't lose my social security.  Still, I read my blogger friends weekly adventures and wonder when I'll be back out there again.  

My senior center has a restaurant outing on August 12; I asked to be included, fingers crossed...

When I was first hit with this in early 2024, I had a busy calendar and hated the thought of canceling anything, especially a Titanic exhibit.  I never dreamed I'd still be missing out on things 2 1/2 years later.  

For now at least, I'm blessed to still have people in my life I enjoy spending time with on the phone.  My friend Diana in West Virginia, my sister Shawn, my friend Pen who I've known since grade school, my dear friend Kim (who I refer to as Kimba, she's a two-time cancer survivor and white lion).  They've all spent hours with me on the phone, and I would be lost without them.

To the readers out there who read my posts and leave comments, thank you.  You really matter too.  I feel bad, I came in here to do some reading on my tablet and the next thing you know... I need to wrap this up, my bottom is numb.  Until next time. 😌

Doug I don't believe it... well friend, you better believe it

Do you know what this is?  It's my last incandescent light bulb, a 60 watt GE Reveal.  Way back in the summer of 2011, the news reported the US was going to stop manufacturing these types of light bulbs effective January 2012.  The next day at work, a couple people were talking about it and my friend Candace said "You better stock up, they'll be gone sooner than you think."

And then one night I got off the bus after work and saw a sign in CVS window, a 'Final Sale' on GE light bulbs.  For years I'd been buying the Reveal bulbs, they were the perfect tone of white/not too bright.  I went in, grabbed a cart and put around 30 4-pk boxes of light bulbs in it.  Every 60 watt Reveal they had in stock.

I almost did a blog about this 15 years ago, but when I saw the top of my linen closet filled with light bulbs, I thought it looked a little crazy.  Still, as everyone flocked to the newer bulbs I rubbed my hands together and went "Heh heh!"  and continued using my old school energy-inefficient bulbs.

Around 4 years ago, I stopped using them in my bedroom to make my inventory last longer for my living room.  And now, I'm down to my final bulb.  So until this one burns out, I will get to hold onto that old timey incandescent glow just a little while longer.

Speaking of the bedroom (and my lamp in there), do you see the denim floor pillow on the right?  I bought that pillow way back around 1990-91, when I lived in my first apartment in the city.  My sister Shawn often drove up for the weekend, and we'd go to Waterworks Mall, do some shopping, see a movie, sometimes have dinner there too.  

There was a Pier 1 Imports we always visited and where I got that pillow--they had some cool stuff.

I don't use the pillow regularly--only when I get a backache.  I'll take a book and sit on the floor and prop myself up against Old Blue.  It's very dense but squishy soft.

Over the years I've wiped it down with a damp washcloth, what else can I do?  It's not like I can throw it in a washer.  And then 2 days ago I was wiping it off and my washcloth snagged on something--a pull tab for a zipper.  I've owned this pillow 35 years and didn't know I could remove the cover.

It was difficult, but I managed to unzip and remove the denim cover and soaked it in some Tide and cold water.  The water turned yellow in a couple minutes.  The pillow insert inside was surprisingly white and the manufacturer tag read Pier1 Imports 1990, 100% goose down.  

Anyway, I guess Ol' Blue is good another 35 years!

I saved the best for last.  This one's a biggie.  Back in 2012, DC Comics announced Paul Levitz had written a GINORMOUS BOOK COVERING THE DIFFERENT AGES OF DC COMICS.

For you non-comic experts out there, older comic books are broken down into 3 ages:

The Golden Age, from 1935-1956

The Silver Age, from 1956-1969

The Bronze Age, from 1970-1984

I began reading DC comics in the late sixties, and stopped collecting them in 1984.  I still read reprints on occasion, no interest in the current stuff.

Anyway, I wanted this book--at the same time, I didn't want it.  Where the heck would I put it?  Fortunately, DC came to their senses and re-issued the book in a smaller format, broken up by the ages.  But they were still LARGE volumes and weigh 10 pounds each.

So look what I bought 15 years ago... love those foil covers.

I paid $59.95 each for them back in 2011-2012, and they've been in my closet all these years.  They've also become collector's items, the Silver Age book with the Flash on it?  It retails for $455.00 now. 

Believe it or not, mine are in mint condition.  They're still in their plastic shrink wrap.  (That wasn't my intention, I just never got around to opening them.)

And finally, here was a nice little surprise.  When I was removing these from their paper sacks for this blog post, I was surprised to see each book had an alternate cover on the reverse.  Nice.  😎

Are my blogging days over? I'm about to find out

This morning I got out of bed, shivered at the surprise cold in the air, came out to the living room and checked my phone--it was 31F outside.  Wow, it's almost May!  

Well, that's southwestern Pa for you.  The weather will trip you up everytime.

But it's also Monday, and my scheduled laundry day, so I knew I had to get my shower early and get my stuff down to the laundry room at 8am.  These past couple weeks, I didn't get down there until 9:30 am and both times got a knock on my door from Janice up the hall at 9:  "Hey Doug, are you done with your laundry time?"  

Janice--that room is mine from 8am to noon so back off!  Geez!

Anyway, I thought that before I got crackin' I'd send an email to my friend Pen (who lives near me), just to say good morning and how about this weather.  I open my email, put "Chilly Monday" in the subject line and that infernal Copilot pops up and says "Would you like us to compose a draft for you?"

That damn Copilot, I keep going into settings and deactivating it and it keeps returning.  Normally I say something like "Drop dead" or "Get lost" but I am in kind of a hurry, so I say "Sure."

It comes up with this:

It says "I hope your morning is off to a good start despite the chilly air!  There's certainly a crispness outside today that makes a warm cup of coffee or tea even more inviting.  Wishing you a cozy and productive start to your week--stay warm out there!   Best, Doug

Now I was all prepared to roll my eyes and snort when this popped up, but I've known Pen since grade school (we grew up on neighboring farms) and she's a sweet person but kind of a square too.  So I have a feeling she's really going to like this message.  I went ahead and hit 'Send'.

But here's the thing:  Pen may be a sweet square, but she's a smart cookie too.  She graduated our class at the top of our class.  She was elected Most Intelligent by her fellow students.  So she may see thru this cyber-fluff, write back and say "Don't send me an AI generated message again."

If she does, I'll consider my foray into AI assisted writing as a failure and resume my neurotic, half mental blogs.

If she falls for this AI message and responds with something pleasant like "Good morning Doug!  So nice to get a normal good morning from you"  then I'll begin using AI to compose my future blogs.

Stay tuned!  I'll post her reply if & when I get one. 😏

9:52 am - A response from Pen

I hope you have a great day as well. Yes, chilly today and perhaps a good day to make some chili. Ever hear of adding a bit of coffee to chili? I didn't until yesterday. It sounds strange, but I might try doing it if I decide to make some. Probably the last time I make any chili until fall/winter - just not my go to when we get warm weather. Take care.

Okay, it would appear that Pen did not see thru my AI ruse--she's not a suspicious person like myself and just assumes you're normal until told otherwise.  But I've decided that I can't hand over the blogging reins to that infernal AI, so it looks like you're stuck with me!   Have a great day everybody. 😉

Meanwhile, at the Tiffany: Some of the people in here are pretty out there

Recently, a woman who lives down the hall from me knocked on my door.  I’ve seen her a few times on our floor, rode the elevator with her a couple times, but we’ve never spoken to one another.

So I said hi, can I help you?  She asked me if I ever smelled marijuana in my apartment.  I said no, never.  She said “I smell it in mine sometimes, could it be coming from upstairs?” 

I said that was certainly possible.  Whenever the woman who lives above me cooks something with garlic, I can smell it down here—it must come down through the heating vent.

She said “I haven’t smoked pot since I was 19 and that was over 50 years ago, but it’s not a smell you forget. Have you ever smoked it?”

I was pretty surprised she asked, but said no, I never did.

She said “If I got some pot would you like to smoke it with me?”   

What the--!!  I said no thank you, and she should be careful.  Steiner has a strict policy regarding marijuana.  Not even for medical purposes unless you ingest it, like those cannabis gummies.  She said she hoped she didn't upset me.  I said of course not, and asked if she was an undercover cop or something.  She laughed and said no.

Later that night I told my (very Christian) friend Diana what happened.  Diana said "She probably thinks you're a real square." 

There is another woman on my floor (a little younger, name unknown) who keeps to herself, talks to no one—but she recently hung a sign in our laundry room that read:

Below her loud words she taped 3 tiny pieces of fuzz on the bottom of the paper.  Even without my glasses I could see it was just dryer lint—is she crazy?  Steiner does not like crazy.  They do not like reports of bedbugs either.  In the 7 years I’ve lived here, 4-5 tenants on various floors have reported bedbugs—and all 4-5 tenants were gone in a couple months time.

I don’t know what happened to them.  I don’t know if it was their choice to leave or Steiners.

Lastly, I recently had a couple run-ins with my 70 year old neighbor Dee.  The first was a couple weeks ago, when I was exiting the building as she was coming in, and she asked if the recent ‘door slams’ from her apartment bothered me.

I said they made me jump a couple times, but it was no big deal.  She said “That’s Rosa, honey!  She’s my housekeeper.  She’s here one day a week, I’m not going to say anything.  Good housekeepers are hard to find.”

So are good neighbors Dee, and you are taking yours for granted but whatever.

The second time was a couple nights ago when her tv was louder than usual.  When I knocked on her door, she shouted “YEAH?” without opening it.  I said it was me and asked if she could turn it down a little.  She shouted “I CAN’T HEAR A WORD YOU’RE SAYIN’ HONEY!”

I shouted back “NEVERMIND I’LL CALL STEINER AND LET THEM HANDLE IT.”   Jeez Louise!

She opened her door then, just wide enough to peek out and asked if her tv was too loud.  I said yes.  She said she had hearing aids but often forgot to put them in.  She added “I don't know how far my tv is from my couch, probably 20 feet."  I said “I have a pretty good idea.  The same as mine, 7-8 feet.”  

She said “No honey, Steiner told me when I moved in all the apartments are different.”

Oh Dee… they meant there are 3 layouts: studios, 1 bedroom units, 2 bedrooms.  We both have 1 bedrooms, yours is a mirror of my own.  I was friends with the tenant who lived there before you, plus I caught a glimpse of your stuff the day you moved in.

I wish I could show Dee this layout I came up with showing my apartment and hers, but she might not appreciate my view on things.  Especially when my view includes her things.  The End!     

Microblogging, Teepee style: The Good, the Sad and the Ugly

It's been awhile since I did a "Micro-blog" (written on a variety of subjects under one title) but I've got several things on my mind.  So if you'll indulge me...

1. Missing any teeth?  I am, 3 molars in my lower left quadrant.  And Japan may save the day.

Back in September (when I assumed I was recovered from long covid and underwent a lengthy dental procedure which somehow triggered a relapse)  I was all set to begin preparations for an "implant bridge" for 3 missing molars.

I may not have to go that route.  Japan is completing testing of a drug that will REGROW TEETH IN PEOPLE WITH MISSING TEETH.

Apparently people are born not with 2 sets of teeth, but 3.  A protein in our system called USAG-1 prevents the third set from coming in.  Japan has created an intravenous drug called TRG-035 that inhibits the protein and causes missing teeth to grow in, with no adverse affects.  

This has been tested successfully on mice, ferrets and 30 people with missing teeth aged to 64.  The ADA said it should be on the market in 3 years and will have a profound effect on dentures and dental implants.  Let's hope so.

2. Do you have any strange habits you can't really explain?  Here's one of mine

Every morning when I make my bed, I rub a lemon fresh Clorox bleach wipe over my fitted sheet.  I put on the top sheet, and do the same thing again.

Why am I doing this?  I wear an extra large t-shirt to bed (and nothing else).  I change my sheets every dozen days or so.  But there's something about getting into bed every night with that faint smell of disinfecting lemon that really turns me on.  Am I a weirdo?

3.  Remember Susan Richardson from 'Eight is Enough'?  You should see her now

This show ran on ABC from 1977-1981.  Susan Richardson played Susan, the "jock" of the family.  Born on March 11, 1952 she turned 74 a few days ago.  This was her then, and how she looks now.

You should play this 20 second video of her.  She hasn't had an easy life,  I'm just shocked and saddened how poorly she's aged.  It seems like every day I'm reminded I'm getting old myself.  

And finally, speaking of aging... last week one of the people who read my blog (Carole) sent me a link to a long-covid drug study being done in Massachusetts.  Thank you Carole.

I contacted them, and was told the study was closed to new enrollees but even if it wasn't, I was over the 50 years age limit.  They expressed their regrets but asked if I'd still answer some questions and I said yes.

They said people in the study had been dealing with this for 2 years or longer.  I said mine began in January 2024, about two weeks after recovering from covid.  I said it was 16 months of hell, and then in the spring of 2025 I began having "well days" every 2-3 days.  I told her I belonged to a senior club at the time, and used those 'well days' to visit the center and go on a couple restaurant outings.  Finally, near the end of July 2025 it was mostly gone for good.

(It returned Sept 12, 2025 after that disastrous dental procedure and yadda yadda, you know the rest.)  It's pretty much been bad ever since, with no "well days" like l experienced a year ago.  In fact, every blog-post I've written this year I've been tempted to say I'm taking a break.

The woman I was talking to (Stacey) asked if I was maintaining a healthy mindset, I said yes and no.  I said I was dealing with depression and guilt, she said that was not uncommon.  I said I had three friends I talk to on the phone--Mary from the Senior Center, Diana & Pen who I went to high school with a hundred years ago.  I added that I write a blog and follow others blogs, which helps me feel less alone.  

Stacey asked me to contact her again when I feel I'm making a recovery, I said I'd do that.  That's it.  Thanks for letting me share, everybody.

Silly but True Stories, Vol. 3: All I need now is a shawl and a Tweety-Bird

Recently I told my friend Diana that it was time to start living vicariously, and when she asked what I meant by that, I said that after years of eating only Corn Chex I was going to try every flavor of Chex cereal available at the market.

Wheat Chex, Chocolate Chex, Honey Nut Chex, Peanut Butter Chex, Cinnamon Chex, Blueberry Chex.  (There's also a Strawberry Vanilla Chex, but it's not at my store.)

I have to say I enjoyed both the Chocolate Chex and Peanut Butter Chex cereals very much.  

It was only after I finished both boxes that it occurred to me, why didn't I have a bowl of both cereals mixed together?  "Hey, you got your chocolate in my peanut butter!"  "Well, you got your peanut butter on my chocolate!"

Remember those old Reese's Peanut Butter Cup commercials from the '70s?

Anyway, the Blueberry Chex was last on my list.  After having a bowl, I called Diana and told her I felt sort of funny.  She asked what I meant.  I said I had an overwhelming urge to wrap a shawl around my shoulders, buy a tweety bird and take up knitting.  The cereal made me feel like Granny from those old Warner Bros cartoons.

Diana asked what the ingredients of the cereal were.  I said "The others are hearty corn or wheat.  This one is rice lace, dusted with Blueberry Powder and Rosemary Extract.  If that doesn't sound like little old lady ingredients, then I don't know what does."

While Diana rolled her eyes, I shivered and told her I had to go.  I wanted to make a hot cup of tea and watch my story, then look at old photos and organize my pill bottles.

Not wanting to be a Grannydug again anytime soon, I went back to my regular Corn Chex (and Grape Nut Flakes, that's been my favorite since I was 12).  But a couple days ago, I was at the store in the cereal aisle, and saw the Blueberry Chex, and told myself "Just buy the darn cereal Doug, it's not made for grannies only."  

I headed up front and got in Jessie's aisle (the 21 year old checker who likes to tease and call me 'Boomer', I wrote about her before here).

Jessie smiled at me, and asked how my day was going.  She's a nice young woman.  When she got to the Blueberry Chex, she said "Oh, you'll really like this."  I said "Do you like it?"   She said "No I've never tried it.  But it's the only cereal my grandmother eats, she loves it!"  

"We'll start here first, these Americans appear more than ready for a takeover..."

I admit it, I've been avoiding "World News Tonight" as much as humanly possible for awhile now.  I've got enough on my mind with this long covid condition, and to be very honest Donald Trump and his minions nearly gave me a nervous breakdown during his first reign of terror in 2017.

But something compelled me to watch the news tonight, so of course I saw Trump's gestapo I mean ICE agents shoot and kill that woman for getting in their way in Minneapolis, while the city's mayor Jacob Frey is telling them to get the fuck out of his city (good for him, for all the good it will do).  And then there's that whole crazy-ass notion of Trump wanting to own Greenland.  I think he saw that movie with the same name starring Gerard Butler (everyone flees to Greenland when Earth is attacked by comets).  And Mike Johnson, the Speaker of the House is assuring Americans not to worry, we're not moving in on Denmark's territory.  Yes, Putin said that about Ukraine once too.  

Wait, what's this?  The United States of America has just taken two Venezuelan oil tankers.  Full of oil, of course.  China, are you watching?  

So we should remember what goes around comes around, and if we're visited by any beings from Neptune's moon Triton who have been studying us and like what they see...  I'm not crazy about the idea of having alien overlords but I'll take them over orange and MAGA ones any day of the week.  

The sooner the better.

Coffee & pills, it does a body good (well, mine at least)

I hope everyone is enjoying the holiday.  Someone in my building saw my box of Keurig k-cups in the lobby this week and asked if I drank a lot of coffee.  5 cups a day, so yes I guess I do.

Why don't you just get a regular coffeemaker?  It would probably save you some money.

I don't have many luxuries in this life, but I love a fresh cup of coffee.  And I enjoy different brands of the brew throughout the day.

And for the record, I take the pills mentioned below with a full glass of water; I'm just reminded to take them when it's almost time for coffee!

What I'm downing:  Folgers Medium Roast & a golden D3 vitamin gel-cap
When I'm doing it:   8:00 - 10:00 AM (2 cups, typically)
What I'm thinking:  Lord, thank you for letting me be here another day.  Now, do I want an egg & toast for breakfast, or cereal or what?

What I'm downing:  Caribou Blend Medium Roast & a Magnesium Glycinate horse pill (these suckers are big!)
When I'm doing it:   1-2:00 PM
What I'm thinking:  Boy, this Caribou is roasty; I'll sip a little now and the rest after I get home from the store, I need more Coffeemate.

What I'm downing:  Tim Horton's Original Blend & Physicians Choice 60 Billion Probiotics capsule
When I'm doing it:   7:00 - 9:00 PM
What I'm thinking:  Nothing like a cup of Tim Hortons after dinner!  I should make Tim's my all-day coffee, it's my favorite.

What I'm downing:  McCafe Decaf Medium Roast & 10 mg Amlodipine for my BP
When I'm doing it:   11:00 PM  (I know, I know--it's late.  But this is decaf)
What I'm thinking:  Okay Doug, one episode of Star Trek and then off to bed!  

I didn't drink quite so much before long covid, but I've found hot coffee throughout my day really soothes things.  Do you have any favorite brands?

Three Wise Men, Two Bottled Teas & An Apache in a Teepee

Can I share something that borders on mental?   The weekend after Thanksgiving 2023, my sister Shawn was giving me a ride back to Pittsburgh.  I'd been a guest at her home over the holiday.  Before exiting Waynesburg, she said "Do you want to stop at Giant Eagle and get some of your Lipton tea?"

At the time, I was hooked on Lipton's Peach Tea.  But because it's such a sweet drink, I limited myself to only drinking it over the weekends.  So I said yes, thanks.  We ran in and I picked up a six-pack of the drink.

I put it in my fridge, and during the month of December 2023 enjoyed 4 of the 6 bottles.

Then right before Christmas I developed covid, which by January 2024 became long covid.  I was so frightened, flustered, angry, worried, you name it--I made a weird promise to myself.  I wouldn't enjoy the remainder of that Lipton Peach Tea until I made a full recovery.   And there it still sits on the center shelf, behind the milk and V8 juice, those 2 bottles of Lipton Peach Tea.

It seems like every blogger I know likes to include the current weather in their posts.  As I write this late Sunday night, I awoke this morning to 4 inches of snow outside and temps in the single digits.  I wish I knew how to make this more interesting, but snow is snow.  I hope it comes back in time for Christmas.

On Friday I had a Tele-conference (on my laptop) with Dr. Yeeuogi, a UPMC neurologist who I haven't seen or spoken to since February.  He and his two white-coated colleagues wanted to review my recent CT scans with me and see how I was doing.  I told them I was able to attend a holiday luncheon earlier in the week, but it's been pretty much inflammation, burning & soreness from the neck up daily.

Dr. Yee said he understood I was making a full recovery over the summer.  I said yes I believed so, was still dealing with chronic fatigue but the inflammation had mostly abated.  But a 3 hour dental visit "reawakened" the long covid on Sept 12.  Dr. Yee said "We've seen studies where half or more post-covid patients suffer a complete relapse, weeks or even months after recovery."

He said "Given your medical history of TMJ-TMD do you think the dental visit caused that instead?"  I said I did at first, but then the familiar covid headaches began in my temples and eyes, followed by lots of stinging in the face, and the weird smell of diesel, baked beans & burnt hair throughout the day.  (That’s one of the more common symptoms, a strong combination of unique phantom smells.)

I said I also went on Reddit and looked for "post covid relapses following dental work" and there were dozens of stories from people who suffered the same thing.  Dr. Yee said "Really!"  

He asked if I wanted to try going back on Nortriptyline or Gabapentin, two antidepressants that can sometimes help people with nerve pain.  I said no thanks, I know both can take weeks to do anything and come with awful side effects (gabapentin zombies your brain and wrecks your sex drive, not that I need mine but it's nice to have around) and neither worked for me before anyway.

He went on to tell me some things I didn't really want to hear (people are living with this longer than previously thought, there are still no definitive answers, etc.) and I thanked him for checking up on me.  I wished him and his two colleagues Happy Holidays, then went and laid down.

The "Best if Used By' date on those bottles of tea is 01-09-2024.   We'll see.

PS. I wanted to thank my friends and visitors for hanging in there with me.  I know this has consumed my writing the last 2 years, but I am not good at hiding discomfort or pain.  Really, thank you.   I came so close this summer to making a full recovery, I'm sure I will again.

PPS. I was just closing this up to go to bed, and saw the awful news about Rob Reiner and his wife.  God rest their souls.

Let the healing begin (well, let some healing begin at least)

Today has been a good day—well, a better day than the last few ones.  Walking VERY carefully, I was able to make it to the bus stop to catch a ride to the Lutheran Senior Center for lunch.  But when I arrived, I discovered I’d forgotten to sign up. 

(You need to sign up at least 2 business days in advance, I could’ve sworn I did last week.)

However, my timing was perfect—Evie had just arrived, discovered she too had forgotten to sign up so off we went to KFC for some much needed fried chicken.  We brought our food back to the center, and afterward she gave me a ride to Kuhn’s Market for some much needed groceries.  

Evie if you’re reading this.. thank you again.  I love you dearly.

When I got home, some welcome relief was in the mail.  The gout (or even fungal infection) I thought I had a couple weeks ago… it’s neither.  My PCP say it’s most likely plantar fasciitis, and based on the symptoms (burning calves & soles, painful to walk in your bare feet) he recommended a couple items which I just got in the mail today, pictured above. 

A pair of nubby foot rollers and some very excellent plantar cream.  It’s hot, but soothing stuff.

This whole ordeal has been too strange, I just wish I had a timeline of when this will end.  A lot of folks at the center (Evie included) have had this, and say that one day you wake up and it’s just gone.  I certainly hope so, my PCP said it could take a few months. 

It’s in both feet, but definitely more in the right one.  And on that note… here’s my 9 1/2 double-wide right foot.  Thanks for reading.

 

Hot legs, and not the good kind… any medical advice?

This is going to be a weird blog.  For the last 10 days or so, I’ve been dealing with foot pain.  The pain isn’t as bad as it was a week ago, but I think it’s because I’ve stopped walking so much.  

But my toes on both feet and my soles always seem to be very hot.

And now, the last three nights, I’ve awoken around 5:30am with burning legs from the knees down.  It usually takes them a couple hours to die down.  My friend Evie at the senior center says it’s neuropathy, welcome to old age.

I was just wondering if I have athlete’s foot and not be aware of it?  I bought anti-fungal cream 3 days ago and been using it twice daily—but now with the burning legs, I don’t know. 

Here’s some unflattering photos of my feet (and legs) taken last night around 10:30pm.

FYI, the last photo is my compression socks.  I had pretty swollen ankles earlier this week, and have been wearing compression socks for 5-6 hours every day. 

Do these feet look fungal to you?  I’m open to suggestions, thanks everyone.

 

 

 

So… if you could do it all over again, would you do it all over again?

Here is yours truly from earlier this summer, and younger me from the summer of 1980, a couple months shy of my 19th birthday.  Doug from 1980 appears to be looking at my big belly and saying “That’s going to be me in 45 years?  No way!”  

Yes way, 1980 Doug!  You’re going to be okay until your forties, then look out.  And you can forget about all that hair on top too!

Seeing these photos together reminds me of a great novel I read way back in 1988. The book bears the distinction of being the first hardcover I bought after finishing school and landing my first IT position in Pittsburgh.  I could only afford paperbacks before.

I wanted to build a library which I did wind up doing over the next 30 years, only to donate most of my collection to the local library after I retired and downsized.

Anyway, that first novel I bought was ‘Replay’ by Ken Grimwood.  I won’t tell you the whole story, but it begins with a middle aged man named Jeff Winston—balding, obese, wheezes from years of smoking.  In fact, he’s attempting to catch his breath while taking a shower, while his wife (whom he refers to as “The Shrew”) is outside the bathroom yelling at him, when he suffers a heart attack.

There’s darkness, and when he opens his eyes he’s in bed—in a room he hasn’t seen in decades, his childhood bedroom.  He gets out of bed, amazed how slender he is and filled with vitality, is he dreaming?  Is this Heaven?  This can’t be happening. 

Jeff makes his way downstairs, is shocked to see his dad alive & well after all these years, watching tv.  He picks up the newspaper and looks at the date; it’s the year 1963. And somehow, he’s 18 again.

I don’t want to give away the rest of the story, but after Jeff bets his savings on a couple of big league games (he knew the outcomes) and wins a fortune, he goes to the beach to reflect on his future.  Will the next 25 years be the same as before? 

An attractive young woman approaches, and he realizes it’s his future wife.  In fact, they began dating after meeting on this beach and she asked him for a light for her cigarette.  But this time when she comes up and asks for one, he says “sorry” and high-tails it back to his car! 

Things are going to turn out a lot differently this time ‘round.

Anyway, if you had the chance to do it all over again—wake up in the past and be 18 again—would you?  With all the knowlege you have now?  I’m not sure I’d want to live all those years again, but for a long time I used to play a little scenario in my head; if I could send a letter back thru time to my younger self, would I do it?  What would I write to him?  Could I convince my younger self it really came from the future?

I was a big believer then in ESP, astral projection, UFOs, the whole kit n’ kaboodle.  A letter from my future self, sure why not! 

Well, that will never happen of course.  But speaking of books, there’s a shop on the corner of Lincoln & Balph in my neighborhood that used to sell antiques, and just reopened as a vintage bookstore.  It looks wonderful inside, and the first bookstore I’ve seen around here in years.

Y’know, I’ve always wanted a personal library…

 

This past week, it feels like I’m living in the Twilight Zone

This has been a strange week.  I shared my feelings with my friend Diana over the phone last night, she made some polite sounds and I thought “Doug you need to keep your weird stuff to yourself” and now here I am, ready to share it on here.

I don’t believe I’m in a particularly normal state of mind right now, so if this becomes too weird or tiresome for you, I won’t blame you for moving on.

Today is “Day 35” of this strange bloated thing going on with my belly.  It’s not too painful, just tender and uncomfortable.  I get up in the morning, my stomach is bulging on the right side.  As the day wears on and I have a cup of coffee, an egg, a sandwich, some soup or pasta, a cookie… by 7pm I’m looking 7 months pregnant.

I don’t feel constipated, my belly just gets bigger and bigger as the day goes on.  I’m trying to move around more, I hope things return to normal soon.

This past Tuesday, I went to the Lutheran Center for lunch, asked a couple friends there (Mary, Deb) if they’d been summoned for jury duty recently.  Mary said no but you can opt out of serving in Allegheny County if you’re 70 or over.  She asked why I wanted to know, did I receive a jury summons.  I said no, I was just wondering for some reason.

When I returned home, I got on my computer and was going thru my email, and there was a new message from my friend & old classmate Pen.  She asked how I was doing and said she’d spent the previous day at her local courthouse after being summoned for jury duty.  I immediately wrote back and told her what had just happened at the center and one of us must be psychic.  A couple hours later, I began smelling “burning oatmeal” and got a bad feeling that stayed with me until I went to bed.

I woke up Wednesday morning with my face & head burning with long-covid pain.  A really serious relapse, and I worried I was back in it for the long haul.  I sat here most of the day in shock & depression.

The very next day (Thursday) I woke up—still a distended, sore belly—but no head or face inflammation.  It was completely gone.  Relieved, I cleaned up and headed to the center and had one of the nicest afternoons ever, just hanging out and talking to my friends Evvie & Geri.  A couple people offered me a ride home when the center was closing, I said it was such a beautiful day I was just going to walk.  I passed my friend Dennis on the street and he asked me if I was ready to see his place above the bakery, and I told him not yet.  I was headed to Kuhn’s Market to buy stuff to make soup for an upcoming blog.  Life was feeling pretty good.

When I got up yesterday (Friday) morning, my head and face were flushed and burning with pain again.  And here I am a day later, still the same, I can’t even turn or tilt my head without lots of “crackling”.  It’s that long covid inflammation, back at work.  

After weeks of it being mostly gone, why did it return?  At my last trip to the center 2 days ago, I was showing Evvie & Geri my “sore bulge” (that sounds a bit sketchy, doesn’t it) and Cussin’ Connie walked past and said “YOU’RE A DAMN HYPOCHONDRIAC!”

I love her dearly and that made me laugh.  And I’m not going to argue she’s wrong, I just want my old normal back—whatever that was. If you made it this far, thanks for listening.

And Happy Mother’s Day tomorrow to you moms out there.  

 

My 63 year old look at the universe, and the Queen of Outer Space

Recently on the non-Trump news, scientists reported the discovery of amino acids in yet another comet. 

These same amino acids were found in a comet in 2006, and again in 2016.  What does the discovery of all these acids mean?

It means that the building blocks of life are common in space, and that life may be abundant throughout the universe.

I am of the firm belief that life is very, very abundant in the universe. 

Many people of faith believe life exists only here on Earth.  If they’re referring to human life, they’re probably right. But I bet there are 100 million varieties of intelligent life in the cosmos that could teach us a thing or two.

Unfortunately, we’ll never get to know them, or they us. 

Too many sci-fi movies, books & tv shows have compartmentalized outer space, inadvertently brainwashing us into believing we’ve been visited by aliens since the ancient Egyptians—and it’s only a matter of time before we’re landing on new planets ourselves.  It’s never going to happen, folks.

YOU:  We don’t need to travel that far, Doug.  The star closest to us is Proxima Centauri, and that’s only 4.25 light years away!

ME:  Without the ability to travel at the speed of light, it would take us 70,000 years to reach Proxima Centauri. 

I don’t want to be a wet rag, but nothing besides light can travel at the speed of light.  “Warp speed” like on Star Trek, that’s fiction.  

However, our telescope technology is amazing.  Who knows what we’ll be seeing in 10 years?  25?

Look at these 2 images of deep space using the Hubble Space Telescope in the 1990s, and a more recent image using the James Webb Telescope.

Those aren’t stars or planets—these globs of light are GALAXIES.  The updated photo on the right shows us galaxies we didn’t detect before.

And each of these galaxies contain billions of stars, and those billions of stars usually have solar systems (planets & moons) in their orbits. 

Psst--the galaxy closest to our own, Andromeda—even if we COULD travel at the speed of light, it would still take 2 1/2 million years to get there.  Just saying, we’re never leaving our own galaxy.

Scientists estimate there are 2 trillion galaxies in the universe.  And I have no doubt that on countless worlds, beings are doing their own stargazing and wondering who or what is out there.   I just hope most of them have better leaders than we do.  Or less gullible followers. 

Finally, this is something I’ve had stuck in my head for 50 years, and as long as we’re in outer space…

When I was around 12-13 years old, my parents were headed out one evening and Mom asked me to run in her bedroom and get her good cigarette lighter from the top drawer of her dresser.  I go in there, pull out the drawer, and notice a yellowed newspaper clipping underneath her small wedding Bible in the right corner. 

It was an old advertisement for “The Queen of Outer Space” at our local drive-in.  I took the clipping into the other room (where Mom was applying her make-up) and asked why she had this in her dresser. 

She said “Oh, your dad took me to see that after we were married.” 

I said “But what was so special about this one?  You told us about the great movies you saw when you two were dating like A Place in the Sun, On the Waterfront…. but The Queen of Outer Space?  You don’t even LIKE science fiction.  Or Zsa Zsa Gabor.” 

She said “Honey I don’t know what to tell you—now put it back where you found it and get my damn lighter!” 

I learned it had a sneak preview at the Waynesburg Drive-in on August 16, 1958.  Exactly 9 months to the day after that showing, my older brother Duke was born.  I think the mystery of the Queen of Outer Space clipping is solved.

If only real life were more like the movies… just venting, don’t mind me

Remember that final scene in the 1956 movie “The Bad Seed” starring this little angel, Patty McCormack?  After her mother realized her darling daughter was a pint-sized psychopath, she tried to snuff out the kid’s life and her own with a handful of sleeping pills.  But she failed, and while she languished in the hospital, little Rhoda was sent home.  And one stormy night after everyone was asleep, she put on her raincoat and snuck out of the house. 

Rhoda was headed back to the lake where she drowned her schoolmate Claude at the start of the picture.  She wanted to retrieve his penmanship medal, presumably in the shallow end of the water.

Well, you know how girls are about jewelry… just kidding!  This kid’s a Bad Seed.

Call it what you will—karma, God, Mother Nature, the 1950s Hollywood Morals Code—but a lightning bolt comes ripping down from the sky and blasts this monster to smithereens.  Good riddance!

That isn’t how things ended in the book, but in 1950s Hollywood, evil was not permitted to win in the end.  Good must prevail.

And now, in 2025… if only real life were just a movie.

In this terrifying sequel, a pathological liar convicted of 34 felonies convinces a slim majority of US voters to put him back into the White House.

Better to have a “technically white” dictator than a black woman president in charge. Didn’t the Dems know what they were dealing with?  Sadly, no.

True to form, 10 days after taking office this walking cancer rescinds the former president’s drug pricing reforms for Medicare & Medicaid patients—and insulin prices go from $6 to $80.00 again.  Wait, he’s just gettng started.

With the help of a car & rocket billionaire with delusions of infinite power, the two begin dismantling democracy as we know it.  His followers, in denial of the fact that their leader is determined to make life more difficult for them, cheer him on!

There’s one hopeful scene where the Democratic governor of Pennsylvania takes this crud administration to court for cutting off $2.1 billion dollars in Federal funding to his state, and WINS IT ALL BACK. 

(That really did happen, you know.  Just a couple days ago in my state.  Thank you Governor Shapiro.)

As this shitshow continues, the Democrats (and much of the world) watch in disbelief as a president of a war-ravaged nation is invited to the White House, only to be beaten down even further.  The glorious leader’s second-in-command even chastises the man for daring to appear before them without the appropriate attire! 

“Wait, did Musk really do that?”  No—it was Trump’s OTHER Nazi saluting evil animatron, the new Vice President.  After 6 weeks in storage, someone finally activated him. 

Well, if this were a movie, karma or God or Mother Nature or Hollywood would be stepping in about now and taking care of things.   

But it’s not, this is real life.  All I can do is feebly protest and dream about big-ass lightning bolts.      

The End