Smacked by 44

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The realization that your not young anymore sometimes smacks you in the face when you least expect it.  For me, Tuesday was one of those times.  I had been not feeling well for close to a month.  Nothing serious but it was enough of a pain that I was finally convinced to see the doctor.  I hate going to the doctor.  They never think I’m as sick as I do.  And since I hate going I only go when I feel horrible.  This time it was less about how bad I felt and more about how it was impacting my running.  I was toying with the idea of running a marathon and was tring to buld a good base.  Unfortunately the congestion in my chest was limiting my runs to a max of 4 miles.  A couple of days over the Christmas break I couldn’t even run two. 

This is where 44 comes into play.  I caled the doctor on Tuesday morning and gave the nurse my symptoms:  sinus congestion, chest congestion, tightness in my chest and shortness of breath when I was trying to run.  She told me she would talk to the doctor and see if he could see me.  Within a few minutes ahe called back to say the doctor wanted to see me immediately!  What? Immediately? Yep.

Apperently when you are 44 you should never say tightness in chest and shortness of breath to the doctor.  Within minutes of my arrival I was electroded up for an EKG, a chest xray and blood work were ordered and the doctor came in to say no more running until you go for a stress test. What the hell?  Twenty years ago they would have given me a shot or some pills and sent me on my way.  But no, old guys get the assumed heart attack drill!

Since then, the results of the chest xray revealed bronchitis so it looks like I probably won’t die.  I will be heading for the stress test on Tuesday though, just as a precaution. 

Happy New Year!

Happy Holidays

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A person that I have a fair amount of respect for recently was expounding on how Christians in America are hegemonized during the holiday season.  Of note to her was the fact that we are not allowed to say Merry Christmas and are instead forced to say Happy Holidays.  Because of my respect for her I will post my thoughts here.

One of my favorite pet peeves is when people assume that they or people like them are the whole of America.  Christians, and I am one, tend to be extremely ethnocentric. “We are the majority of Americans so we should have it our way.” I would liken this argument to one of my favorite debates and that is that the United States is not a Democracy but a Constitutional Republic.  In other words, the majority does not have the power to overturn what is constitutionally afforded.  So, in this case, just because most people are Christians in America that does not mean that we have the right to impose religion on others.

The other part of this rant is that I wonder what the religious leaders in this country are feeding their flocks.  I have never had a problem saying Merry Christmas to anyone.  I am in a leadership position and have never told the people who work for me to refrain from saying Merry Christmas.  Of course if FoxNews gets a hold of a story that WalMart is telling their employees to say Happy Holidays, it is immediately construed as an attack on Christianity.  In all likelihood it is a move to have a more inclusive society.  Now I know that there are wingnuts out there who are so overly politically correct that they would suppress any expression of Christian centrism but I would think that they are few and far between.

My final thought is that if you feel that Christians are being marginalized in this society, can you imagine being Jewish, Muslim, or even atheist.  Every religion and every society has a celebration that falls somewhere around the winter solstice.  So, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, enjoy Eid and Diwali!  Have a joyful Kwanzaa and, if you must, a festive Festivus! And just to be inclusive, Happy Holidays!

As Old as I Feel

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You’re only as old as you feel.  Really? Because all of a sudden I feel damn old. It seems that certain ages are like cliffs.  One day you are still young and the next you’re dragging your rear out of bed.  One day there’s a hop in your step and the next day it’s a little limp.

One of the issues is that I have let myself get out of shape.  I don’t know if that’s a symptom of old age or something else.  I really am not motivated to exercise or eat right.  Part of that I think is my busy life and part of it is the stress of the job.  The funny thing is that both of those things require more exercise to be kept in check.  Not less.

Anyway, I decided the motivation I need is to sign up for a marathon.  Pittsburgh 2012.  I’ll keep you informed on my progress.

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Life Is Like A Box of Chocolates

My wife, daughter and I happened upon these four girls splitting a four pound “Whitman’s Sampler” at the mall.  They were sitting in the food court with the box open, splitting the chocolates.  We asked to take their picture and what the story was.  They simply said, “You can buy one at Sear’s for 20 bucks.  We pooled our money.”  These girls were living.  Of course my wife thought they were having boy troubles or celebrating something but no, they were just living.  How many of us would spend 20 busks to share a 4 pound box of chocolates “just because?”  This was making memories and living it up!  “Do you remember that time we were splitting that monster box of chocolates and that guy asked us to take our picture?

Glorious

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In 1985 and beyond, I was a huge Vision Quest fan.  I guess in a way 40phor is like my vision quest.  Anyway, yesterday my 15 year old daughter had one of the most exhilarating sports accomplishments.  Scoring the “golden goal” in overtime to advance to the championship.  It reminded me of the scene from Vision Quest when the cook, Elmo, is talking about Pele.

Elmo:  I was in the room here one day… watchin’ the Mexican channel on TV. I don’t know nothin’ about Pele. I’m watchin’ what this guy can do with a ball and his feet. Next thing I know, he jumps in the air and flips into a somersault and kicks the ball in – upside down and backwards… Everybody’s screaming in Spanish. I’m here, sitting alone in my room, and I start crying.  That’s right, I start crying. Because another human being, a species that I happen to belong to, could kick a ball, and lift himself, and the rest of us sad-assed human beings, up to a better place to be, if only for a minute… let me tell ya, kid – it was pretty goddamned glorious.

Lifted up indeed!  It lifted up this sad-assed human being. Lifted up by a 15 year old that I had the opportunity to create and the good fortune to help mold.  Tears to my eyes might be an understatement.

 

QWERTY – Android Photography

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I have been on Google+ for about a week now.  Not much action until I joined an Android Phone Photography group.  I got like 300 new friends in three days!  There are a ton of photographers on G+.  I never used my phone much for “photography.”  Picture taking; yes.  Photography; not so much.  I have the cheapest Android phone you can buy and the camera isn’t exactly professional equipment.  It does have its advantages, though.  Macro photography seems to be one.  The detail isn’t great bu this is my first shot at Android Photography.  I processed it using PSE.  (I think I need to clean my keyboard.)

QWERTY