Paul's Falls

 The other night on NBC Nightly News, Brian Williams made the observation that following the Republican convention, the time we will have to choose our next President is "incredibly short".  Well, perhaps you might look at it that way, but in my opinion the selection process has taken an incredibly long time.

For more than two years already, the process has been going on. Do you remember the endless debates week after week with a string of candidates on a stage all saying the same thing?  Do you remember how each state became the most important ever in selecting the winner as their election dates approached?

 We have known each parties apparent winers for months now.  I don't believe that there are more than a few people who have not made up their minds as to how they are going to vote.

 My wife has an idea that  adds an interesting twist.  She thinks that the process could be shortened and improved if each candidate would announce his or her running mate on the same day that the hat is tossed into the ring.  It would indeed separate the wheat from the chaff expeditiously.

Waiting for candidates to announce their choices is like waiting for Bret Favre to make up his mind. 

 It is nearly two years since my doctor notified me that something irregular showed up during my yearly tune-up. Indeed, it was indeed irregular and was something that I was worried about for the past twenty years or so.  The dreaded diabetes has shown up once again in my family.

My grandmother, her children, and now I have been stricken.  In grandma's case it was fatal. In the 1930's very little was known about the disease and the most appropriate treatment was bed rest. How horribly wrong!  My grandmother died suffering from all the known progressions of this malady.  My family members tried their best to help, but eventually there was nothing but bedsores and a steady decline.

My father was a bit luckier.  Insulin was available.  His doctor had earlier told him that he was pre-diabetic.  Doc was probably trying to soften the news, but he should have been more forthright.  Dad had a full-blown case but didn't believe it.  So, he blithely chose to eat anything he wished believing that he was on the right side of the line.  Eventually dad developed neuropathy and vision problems common with the disease.

I am unbelievably fortunate.  Not only is diabetes more fully understood, but there are inexpensive drugs available for control.  Testing technology allows me to check my blood sugar levels at will so that I can be in total control.  I follow my doctor's orders, test regularly and eat a healthy diet.  So far so good.

Today I strayed.  Our family got together last evening and the dessert of choice was s'mores. I had two.  Knowing that this was a possibility I cut down on carb consumption at lunch.  If my testing results are a bit off kilter tomorrow, I'll adjust food intake even further until I'm on track again.  I'm really lucky to be living in this marvelous age.  And, if I keep my wits about me, the ravages of diabetes will never strike me the way it did  to my ancestors.

Diabetes be damned!

For information about diabetes prevention check out www.diabetes.org 

 I'm sure it is an ego booster to see the numbers mount up  and count the people who are check in to one's blog.
Until this week I have not counted up the hits on my several blog articles.

So, to The Vanguard, I offer this target:  100,000 plus: 
I'm not bragging, but you seem to need to know.

And, I'm sure that Karen T, had many more than that while she was sharing her thoughts.  I wish that she would come back.
 

 Somewhat over a year ago I told my employees that I would be retiring on my birthday in 2009.  I owed them that heads-up because I feel that each one of them is part of my extended family.  I did not want to dump a goodbye on them only weeks before my exit.

I have been looking forward to abandoning the daily grind for quite some time now.  My father stuck it out in the family business well into his eighties and never gave up.  He died with his boots on, as the saying goes.  I am made of different stuff.  I always felt that "when it is time to go, it is time to go". 

So a planned transition is going on in full swing right now in my business.  I have given my notice - the day is set. All will go as planned.

But...

As the time draws ever closer I'm having second thoughts. This is really hard to do - give up my life's work and pretend that I'm not interested anymore. Nevertheless I'm committed to following through with my plan. I have plenty of hobbies that are not getting proper attention and stacks of magazines and books that are collecting dust.

And so, my brain is pulling me in two different directions. It is very difficult to stick with my announced plans and not look back. Probably I and a few others who are at this juncture in life are the only ones who fully understand the craziness that Bret Favre has leashed on the community.   I wish him happy retirement in New York.

 For the best part of a decade we (my family) dutifully placed our red recycling totes on the curb - filled with stuff that we didn't want that might possibly be used again. Before that, we dutifully loaded that same stuff into our cars and brought it to the rear of Village Hall.  There, monthly, there was a set up of several large dumpsters to sort and collect the same recyclables.  It was something we felt that was needed to be done.  We happily obliged in the spirit of conservation. Our family collected, loaded, drove, emptied, thanked the recycling volunteers, and then then went on our merry way.

Times have changed.  Not only do we now get curbside pickup, but in the future, it will take a device that my wife claims is almost the size of our car.  I'm guessing that the old red bins held about 15 gallon volume.  Our new wheeled totes hold nearly 100 gallons.

I'm happy that the Village has our community recycling costs in mind and chose to switch to an every-other-week collection.  But, my gosh, do the new containers have to be 6 or 7 times bigger than before?  Mrs. W has noticed that these new containers are verrry heavy.  They do not fit into the previous space occupied by the red bins,  In fact, they do not fit into the garage at all. 

So, from August first I am going to keep a log to find out how long it will take to fill my 96 gallon tote with recyclables.  Remind me to give you the date if either of us can  remember that far back.