Good Health and Happy Living

Yesterday was my annual physical.
Although I remain pretty healthy for a fat, old guy (personal assessment, not a professional one), there are still many areas of life that could use vast improvement.

My blood pressure was unusually high yesterday morning and even on normal days needs medication to achieve safe numbers. Much of that could be managed by losing weight.
Losing weight could be managed by eating less, eating better, and moving more.

I got my annual encouragement to give up my cigars. 
I haven't been smoking as often this year (typically 3 or 4 per week), but still enjoy the vice in spite of the simple fact that there isn't any healthy benefit from it.
A pour of bourbon or tequila and a cigar are not a daily habit, but it happens frequently enough because it just feels like a right way to observe the completion of another day as I contemplate my blessings and privilege.

Honestly, there are a lot of things about aging that I really don't like.
On the other hand, old age is a privilege realized by far too few people and is usually missed due to our own poor lifestyle choices.
Healthy for a fat, old guy isn't the great assessment I'd like for it to be. It is more of an indictment of the poor choices I've made. 

Eat, drink, and be merry is great for the moment, but the bill always needs to be settled at some point.
I am certain that plenty of damage has been done. I am equally certain that making good choices today will begin to pay off in the future. 

Here's to good health and happy living!

John

Passing thoughts, passing time.

It isn't often that this much time passes between posts of any kind. Although I have been out of my normal routine for a couple of weeks, I certainly had the opportunity to write and share some things.

Part of the time was spent on a guys' weekend with our son and daughter's bf in Louisville KY. We toured a distillery, did a tasting at a different distillery, sampled some local craft beer, took in a AAA baseball game, and enjoyed time talking around a fire pit. We also ate some pretty good food.
It was a good weekend and I hope that we will do other weekend trips in the future.

Summer has puffed up and is hitting the Ozarks of SWMO with record high temperatures for September. I don't know if it is an indicator of what we can look forward to in the way of warmer temps for fall and winter, or if it is just an irregular heat dome over our part of the Midwest.
I am sad that the pool will be coming down soon. It was nice while it lasted and I will be looking forward to enjoying it next spring.

I have been thinking about undertaking a writing project, but I am aware that it is most likely more than I really want to commit to pursuing. Maybe the urge will pass and I can continue my easy retired life without such a project.
I occasionally run across thoughts that need to be fleshed out a bit, but would make a worthwhile post for the blog. Many have been about deconstruction or religion in general. Some are (generally) about personal relationships, and others are just about moving from one phase of life to another. 

As I look back on my days as a Southern Baptist evangelist, I truly hope that I never sounded like a carnival barker trying to convince people to enter the tent --

Step right up, folks! Come and see the crucified Savior. All you gotta do is say some magic words and you too can have eternal life! 
Come and hear how he walked on water, how he healed the sick, yes and even raised the dead!
Step right up! 

There is a lot about my previous faith that I no longer carry and nothing that I feel like forcing on someone else. I am happy to discuss my faith, or your faith, or spirituality, or just what makes you happy and at peace with life.

It's after 9 PM and it is still in the mid 80s out here on the deck.
No worries. I'm going to listen to the night sounds and enjoy a cigar and a sip of bourbon.
Maybe I'll write something more substantial in the morning.

John


   

Laboring on Labor Day

As a career air traffic controller I spent many Labor Days at work. With the current ATC staffing shortages there are many that are working their sixth day or adding a couple of extra hours to their normal work day today. I am happy that I got out when I did.

But -- there are no days off from being retired! 
So I guess I'll work on a few things around the house today.
You can be sure that I will find time to rest, relax and reflect on my labor at varying points during the day, but like most celebration or observation holidays -- it's really just another day.

I think I may have a clogged vent on our clothes dryer that needs to be checked out and I need to get all of the air filters in our HVAC system changed. I also need to rearrange our garage to better accommodate using the motorcycle vs storing it. That's more than enough labor for a retired guy's day.
Sure, there is more to do, but it will have to wait for tomorrow. I also need to fit in cigar time and pool time!

However you spend your Labor Day remember that there were lots of people that fought and struggled to bring about the working person's rights that we still have to fight to protect -- perhaps more so now than ever.

John

Happy Anniversary!

September 5th, 1981 seems to have been a good day to get married! 
Aside from our (mine and Chris's) wedding on this date 45 years ago, retired air traffic controllers Jerry (and wife Bea) and Elaine (wife Theresa) were also married and are celebrating 45 years today!

My sister Mary (also married to a Chris) and cousin Linda (husband Sunil) also have September 5th anniversaries, but have a ways to go before reaching 45 years.

Happy Anniversary to all of us and may we enjoy the holiday weekend!

Chris and I went out for seafood last night to celebrate a day early. Chris will be leaving for NYC early tomorrow morning to go to see Harry Styles at Madison Square Gardens next week. Forty-five years of experience tells us that she will enjoy the concert more with a friend than with me. I will journey to Louisville next week to meet with our son Aaron and daughter's boyfriend Jason for a couple of distillery tours and a AAA baseball game -- something Chris would not enjoy as much.
I'm sure that a good time will be had by all!
Some things you do together. Others you do apart. Just one of the many things we've learned in 45 years.

It is such a wonderful life that I have that it's hard to believe it's just another day in the life of...

John

Still Assessing; Still Learning

While I would like to tell anyone asking that my deconstruction from evangelical Christianity is complete, I would also have to admit that I am still working out both who I am and where I am spiritually.
If I were to sum up my thoughts on evangelical Christianity in particular or religion in general I would have to say that religious people tend to worship religion -- not God. Throughout the Christian religions, Christians tend to worship Jesus, the Christ, rather than worshiping God, the Creator.

Even more so, they tend to worship this religion built around Jesus that has very little to do with the Creator at its center. 
It seems that other religions have similar structures where they worship practices and doctrines more than an actual deity of some type.

Admittedly, there is a part of me that misses the euphoria of a worship experience. But I don't believe that I will ever go back to that. 
I believe in, and recognize God as divine and as the Creator of all things, but I don't believe that this God wants, needs, nor expects my worship.
I can't really tell you what I think of an afterlife because I no longer consider an afterlife as something to influence my decisions of how I behave towards others, towards the planet, or even towards God. Just making good choices for today seems to be enough.

I haven't really thought of myself as a victim of church abuse or that I have experienced any kind of real trauma from churches, but that is beginning to change as I learn more about religious trauma in general and church trauma in particular. I'd say that my distrust of religions and churches (the people part of  religion) is pretty equal, but in the end I believe that it's bizarre how far people are willing to go to make other people believe the same things that they believe -- yeah, think Crusades, concentration camps, burning at the stake, and even crucifixions. 

It's pretty sad to go through life believing that people suck, but damn -- people suck!
Guard yourselves accordingly.

That can serve as my quotable(?) Wednesday Wisdom contribution for this week -- 
People suck. Guard yourselves accordingly.

John

Heat wave!

It looks like September is beginning with the hottest temperatures of the summer here in SWMO. We topped the 100 degree mark yesterday and will be at our close to that for the rest of the week. Summer is hanging on!

I am okay with that.
Football season is starting, baseball will soon be coming to an end (sooner for us Cardinal fans), pumpkin spice lattes, beer, and other treats are back -- BUT IT IS STILL SUMMER!
While many people are ready to break out the flannel shirts, I will be wearing my shorts well into November and likely in December.

Admittedly, I broke out the long pants this past weekend as I am back to riding my motorcycle. The pants I use for riding are a lightweight, supposedly tear resistant, black fabric. They offer no impact padding, but might save some skin if I ever take a spill. I also have a Kevlar sweater for summer riding and a vented textile motorcycle jacket for when the weather gets cooler.

I haven't decided if I'll be riding or driving to meet Chris for lunch today. Riding when it is hot can be brutal -- especially in town where you have to stop often. 
90+ degrees, long pants, long sleeves, helmet, stopped at a traffic light on hot pavement, surrounded by car exhaust, and sitting on top of a running engine -- like I said, it can be brutal. 
At that point, even riding doesn't cool you down.

Okay. I just decided.
Besides, if I take the truck I can dump some of our recycling while I'm out.

What do you do when it's hot out?
Does it matter?
I have gotten soft about being out when it's hot.
I don't know if it's because I don't like being sweaty and feeling kind of gross, or if it's just too oppressive sometimes. I'm okay staying in where it's cooler.
Honestly, being out more would probably be less of an issue if I'd shed some of the insulation I'm packing. Fat guys and sweat are never a good thing.

Enjoy your day and stay cool.
I'm going to appreciate the sun and summer for as long as I can. 

John

Low Tech vs Slow Tech

It turns out that I'm both!
I have to admit that even though I see the great advantages of today's technology and can't begin to imagine what is in our future I am still far behind the curve when it comes to adapting my life to the available technologies. I am aware that some of my hesitancy is due to intimidation and ignorance. 
Not knowing is one thing. Not knowing what I don't know can be crippling. 

Friday morning I had a couple of notifications for verification of somebody wanting to access my Amazon account from another device. I did the recommended sign out of all devices and changed the password, but then I couldn't get my Kindle to reconnect properly. It showed connected to my account but wouldn't show my library or bring up the books I am currently reading. I have spent the past two days signing out, signing in, resetting factory defaults and starting over.
And over,
And over.

Honestly, I don't think I did anything differently today than I've been doing, but I am finally properly connected to my account.
Yay!
This makes me happy.

And while I am ranting about technology -- WTF is up with Google and its bullsh!t relabeling of Lake Ontario? 
Google Maps now has Lake America in the north to go with the Gulf of America in the south. 
What a bunch of ball-less cocks! 
All of the information and influence that they have as a tech giant and this is how they want to be known. 
smh

Maybe being low tech, and even being slow at being low isn't so bad.
I think I'll read my book on my recently reconnected Kindle.

John

Coffee time

I decided that a morning ride and a coffee shop stop would be a fine way to begin my Sunday morning. It will be hot again this week, so a little riding before it becomes uncomfortably hot seemed like a good idea.
I didn't go very far, just to the Mudhouse at the north end of Ozark. The single origin Guatemalan drip for a bottomless cup and the blueberry muffin make a good backdrop to typing away on my blog while observing the many others that are stopping in for their morning fix.

If you are in the SWMO area and would like to meet for coffee sometime, drop me a message. Whether by bike or truck, I'd be happy to meet you for a well brewed cup of coffee and a conservation. It crossed my mind that I could make it to church at The Venues this morning, but I decided that a solo ride and a cup of coffee while sitting solo at a coffee shop was much more aligned with my people coping tolerance today. 

A few short rides on the bike have been good. I don't feel the same about riding as I once did. There isn't the same feeling of freedom or stress relieving therapy that there used to be. Maybe I no longer need that kind of get-away-from-it-all experience. 
I have a pretty chill kind of life.

I will say that it is still enjoyable, but I would not say that the compulsion to ride still exists for me. I will likely use the bike for errands when it is appropriate, but don't see myself just going out for a ride like I used to do. On hot afternoons (like today) a more appropriate non-productive activity would be to lounge in the pool for an hour or two. 
I might know a few things about being non-productive!

I hope that you have a week with a balanced amount of non-productive time. 

John

Riding again

I finally did it!
After more than two years of sitting idle, my motorcycle has current tags and is ready to ride. 
I wasn't thinking about yesterday being the last business day of the month when I went to the licensing bureau, but soon realized why the wait was so long. It was hard to be too frustrated. Those procrastinators are my people.
I thought about leaving and waiting until Monday, but figured I was already there and waiting in line would be shorter than waiting until Monday. Besides -- I'm retired. Waiting is really no big deal.

I need to spend a little time getting reacquainted with riding. Yesterday's short ride felt good, but a little refresher riding on turns and overall awareness is definitely needed. I may take a ride today before the hot weather sets in again for a few days.

I don't think that extended trips are something that I'll be doing again. Even if I wanted to ride the 400+ miles to see Mom, she no longer has a car to use while there so I wouldn't be able to take her anywhere or pick up much in the way of groceries or anything. Besides, my hybrid Ford Maverick truck gets about the same mileage as the Kawasaki Vulcan motorcycle!
But riding is enjoyable, so I'm sure I'll be out and about a bit. 
Having such an option is a simple privilege for which I am grateful.

Enjoy your weekend and keep an eye out for old guys on motorcycles.

John

Getting the bug or just getting bugged?

Every now and then I get the bug to renew my old habit of doing magic. 
The problem is that I would have to re-invent myself as a magician since I would no longer be doing church programs and I really have no idea how to go about getting regular stand-up gigs.

Close up magic as always been my favorite genre to watch, but I never really practiced it much because that wasn't the magic I performed and it takes a great deal of practice to make it look -- well, magical.

The process is:
Practice until what is difficult becomes easy
              until what is easy becomes second nature (natural)
              until what is natural becomes magical

Done right, it is so much more than doing tricks. It's performing an art, exhibiting a craft, providing entertainment and escape for an audience. Being a good magician isn't something you do. It is someone you are. And while I love the wonder and enjoyment that magic creates, I'm really not certain that I want to spend the time and energy (and money $$) to work on something that few people would ever get to see or appreciate. 

Work on the old stuff and find new gigs?
Work on new stuff and find new gigs?
Work on stuff for personal enjoyment until the itch is satisfied and move on?
Find another shiny thing to distract me from the pull of an old habit?

Magus, mage (plural magi)  -- Priests of the ancient Persians.

Today we would call them magicians, sorcerers, or wise men. 
Maybe I should skip the magic stuff and just work on the part of being a wise man. 

John