My retirement organization has a first class quarterly magazine. It keeps us up to date on what's new for us. It also contains interesting articles on senior topics:travel, health, arts, writing, hobbies and many more topics. It's one of those magazines that grew because it had an excellent editor.
The last issue had an article about "the Change Gene" One of our retirees wrote an article about how she helped her 91 year old mother with her computer. Her Mom was ok with email but not much more. Daughter was trying to get Mom familiar with other areas of her computer.
Then daughter stopped and started to think about changes people go through. Particularly the comparison of changes that mother and daughter had gone through and why each had a different experience with computers.
In our lives we go through many changes as we age .Well maybe that's not right. Many changes come along that we experience. What we do with these changes is a result of our experience and how we have taken advantage of previous changes.
It was hard for daughter to teach mother about computers as mother had very little experience with computers. Daughter started to wonder how she would adapt to changes coming up.
When I started flying all we needed was a piece of paper (ticket) in our hand and we got on the airplane. Now I need help to check myself in on the computer.
The first car I ever owned was a 1929 model A Ford. Today I own a Honda CRV. With the old model A we just bounced down the road. I call the CRV an glorified sensor. That's just the change in cars. I wasn't really ready for the CRV.
So the writer of the article started to wonder if we had a change gene or needed a change gene. We need something to help us get by all the changes we meet in life.
Saturday, April 13, 2019
Thursday, April 11, 2019
TOO MANY EYE TESTS IN ONE DAY!
Yesterday I had five eye tests in 6 hours! I started at 8:30 AM with a pressure test and peripheral vision test. At 10:30 AM I had another pressure test. At 12:30 PM I had another pressure teat and and at 2:30 I had a final pressure test. The two hours between tests meant that if I was going back home it was for only a few minutes and to sit for two hours waiting for the next test was terribly boring.
I stayed from 8:30 to 10:30 and went home in between the others.
All my pressure result were 17 to 23 . For my peripheral vision I only missed one dot.
So what was this all about? My optometrist found pressures in the 27- 28 range. He also found a spot in the peripheral vision test that I was missing. He didn't know why I had these results and worried about this so sent me to an opthamologist.
The opthamologist found thicker than usual corneas and that will cause a higher pressure reading. So the real pressure is much lower. The thickness of the cornea and pressure relationship was only discovered a short time ago. So the high pressure was explained. They used a different pressure test apparatus for me.
As for the peripheral vision results? I think maybe the optometrist's machine may be a problem.
Anyway a long day gave me some good results. By the end of the tests my eyes were a little sore as they put a little numbing stuff before they do the test. I don't have to worry about glaucoma.
I stayed from 8:30 to 10:30 and went home in between the others.
All my pressure result were 17 to 23 . For my peripheral vision I only missed one dot.
So what was this all about? My optometrist found pressures in the 27- 28 range. He also found a spot in the peripheral vision test that I was missing. He didn't know why I had these results and worried about this so sent me to an opthamologist.
The opthamologist found thicker than usual corneas and that will cause a higher pressure reading. So the real pressure is much lower. The thickness of the cornea and pressure relationship was only discovered a short time ago. So the high pressure was explained. They used a different pressure test apparatus for me.
As for the peripheral vision results? I think maybe the optometrist's machine may be a problem.
Anyway a long day gave me some good results. By the end of the tests my eyes were a little sore as they put a little numbing stuff before they do the test. I don't have to worry about glaucoma.
Monday, April 8, 2019
A DISGUSTING COMMENT
One of the best parts of blogging are the comments. I like receiving comments where I learn something, have to rethink my post or change my position. I also like making comments. It's a conversation in blogging.
However, last week I received a comment from Mr or Mrs Anonymous and it was much out of line. I've seen these comments before. I know what kind of deluded people make them.
All of you have seen the comment about Baby Boomers and how awful they are that they are using everything up in a very selfish way and leaving nothing for the coming generations except debt. Baby boomers should just get out of the way (die) and quit using up resources and leaving huge debts. This person cannot see clearly because of their own selfishness. It was somewhat alarming to see a comment with such utter lack of reality.
I would like to be able to tell this person that if that's the way they feel don't drive on roads or bridges that baby boomers have built. Don't drink the water or dispose of your sewage using baby boomer facilities. Just don't use any of the public infrastructure that baby boomers have built . The infrastructure may not be completely paid for but there's nothing wrong with future generations paying for a share for their usage. What do they think that everything should be built and that they can use it for nothing?
Finally, I'm not a baby boomer. I'm a prewar baby. I know that people had to pay for a war so that we might be free. It took many years to pay for the war.
I wonder what other bizarre ideas Mr or Mrs Anonymous could come up with?
However, last week I received a comment from Mr or Mrs Anonymous and it was much out of line. I've seen these comments before. I know what kind of deluded people make them.
All of you have seen the comment about Baby Boomers and how awful they are that they are using everything up in a very selfish way and leaving nothing for the coming generations except debt. Baby boomers should just get out of the way (die) and quit using up resources and leaving huge debts. This person cannot see clearly because of their own selfishness. It was somewhat alarming to see a comment with such utter lack of reality.
I would like to be able to tell this person that if that's the way they feel don't drive on roads or bridges that baby boomers have built. Don't drink the water or dispose of your sewage using baby boomer facilities. Just don't use any of the public infrastructure that baby boomers have built . The infrastructure may not be completely paid for but there's nothing wrong with future generations paying for a share for their usage. What do they think that everything should be built and that they can use it for nothing?
Finally, I'm not a baby boomer. I'm a prewar baby. I know that people had to pay for a war so that we might be free. It took many years to pay for the war.
I wonder what other bizarre ideas Mr or Mrs Anonymous could come up with?
Saturday, April 6, 2019
A VERY DIFFERENT CELEBRATION OF LIFE
I usually attend 4 or 5 memorials a year. Most of them are for elderly people. The format is much the same. One sad part now is that many people request no formal service be held.
This week I attended a very different celebration of life. The deceased had been murdered...shot by his wife. The victim was 36 years old.
As with many of domestic homicides things get fairly complicated in a hurry.
I knew the victim when he was younger. He lived across the street from me. His parents still live there.
The guy was an extremely aggressive business man who didn't take no for an answer. If you couldn't do what he wanted he would do it himself. He didn't have much time for rules. Rules weren't for him.
Now I was rather surprised that a memorial for him was being held in a church. He had issues with drugs so maybe he was influenced and helped by the church.
Now the victim's parents strongly support his wife who shot him. Apparently He had a list of people he was going to kill. One of the people he intended to kill was his Dad. So the couple had a dispute and the husband was killed. Apparently drugs were an issue and he had been on something for three days.
The victim's parents told me that they strongly supported their daughter in law.
The wife was let out of detention to attend the memorial. A letter was read from her to say how much she thought of her husband.
Eulogies painted a great picture of the victim. The last time I talked to him he admitted that there were many people who didn't like him.
So with tragic incidents there are usually many questions and few answers. There are many comments and suppositions. It's a jumble in many people's minds.
So many times when I attend a memorial I come home and have some satisfaction and closure of the loss. This service was meant to bring closure and I hope it did for many people. I'm sure some people are like me and have many questions that will take a long time to be answered.
This week I attended a very different celebration of life. The deceased had been murdered...shot by his wife. The victim was 36 years old.
As with many of domestic homicides things get fairly complicated in a hurry.
I knew the victim when he was younger. He lived across the street from me. His parents still live there.
The guy was an extremely aggressive business man who didn't take no for an answer. If you couldn't do what he wanted he would do it himself. He didn't have much time for rules. Rules weren't for him.
Now I was rather surprised that a memorial for him was being held in a church. He had issues with drugs so maybe he was influenced and helped by the church.
Now the victim's parents strongly support his wife who shot him. Apparently He had a list of people he was going to kill. One of the people he intended to kill was his Dad. So the couple had a dispute and the husband was killed. Apparently drugs were an issue and he had been on something for three days.
The victim's parents told me that they strongly supported their daughter in law.
The wife was let out of detention to attend the memorial. A letter was read from her to say how much she thought of her husband.
Eulogies painted a great picture of the victim. The last time I talked to him he admitted that there were many people who didn't like him.
So with tragic incidents there are usually many questions and few answers. There are many comments and suppositions. It's a jumble in many people's minds.
So many times when I attend a memorial I come home and have some satisfaction and closure of the loss. This service was meant to bring closure and I hope it did for many people. I'm sure some people are like me and have many questions that will take a long time to be answered.
Sunday, March 31, 2019
MY SNOW IS ALMOST GONE
I've had a bit of a struggle with the blog lately. I've been very busy. Topics come to my head and by the time I get to pencil and paper the topic is gone.
However , today I have something to write about that was planned for me by somebody else.
I want to tell you that my winter snow is about 90% gone. There are only snow banks on the north side of something or in a very sheltered spot.
So I went out to get some photos of my gone snow.
Well, I found some other things and some things I didn't find quite soon enough.
I noticed that a large tree trunk had fallen and the the bark was stripped off the branches close to the ground. I had to check this out. From a distance I thought it would have been a porcupine. When I got there I discovered that it had been deer that had chewed the bark off and nipped all the end twigs. Most nights deer had gone through my yard so I was not surprised by the evidence.
Now I was so interested in the evidence of the trees being chewed that I missed seeing the larger bulk if the evidence. Since the deer had stayed in this area most of the winter they had left a massive amount of droppings. I didn't see the droppings quite soon enough. They were in a consistency where they mushed and really stuck to my shoes!
So you see the deer gave me my topic today.
However , today I have something to write about that was planned for me by somebody else.
I want to tell you that my winter snow is about 90% gone. There are only snow banks on the north side of something or in a very sheltered spot.
So I went out to get some photos of my gone snow.
Well, I found some other things and some things I didn't find quite soon enough.
I noticed that a large tree trunk had fallen and the the bark was stripped off the branches close to the ground. I had to check this out. From a distance I thought it would have been a porcupine. When I got there I discovered that it had been deer that had chewed the bark off and nipped all the end twigs. Most nights deer had gone through my yard so I was not surprised by the evidence.
Now I was so interested in the evidence of the trees being chewed that I missed seeing the larger bulk if the evidence. Since the deer had stayed in this area most of the winter they had left a massive amount of droppings. I didn't see the droppings quite soon enough. They were in a consistency where they mushed and really stuck to my shoes!
So you see the deer gave me my topic today.
Monday, March 25, 2019
ANCESTRY
A few posts ago I told you that I had started looking into my ancestry. There were some questions that I wanted answers for.
It's taken me some time to learn the system. Slowly I'm learning how to bump into things and find what is there.
I was always curious as to why my Great Grandpa on my Dad's side did not have relatives here except for his own family. He came to this country in 1902 and over the years brought all of his seven adult children here. I did not hear anything about any of Great Grandpa's siblings. Had they come to North America and gone to the states and were lost track of? I think they could all read and write in the German language and probably other languages. They learned to read and write from the church. So lack of written skills should not have been a problem.
Well, the other day I found a family tree that contained my older relatives. It went back the great, great grandpa. However , what it showed is that all my Great Grandpa's siblings died in Poland. He had four sisters and the all died fairly early. One of them lived into here early 30's. The oldest sister may have had children but we don't know who she married.
So as you find one thing, you are immediately looking for something else.
It's interesting.
It's taken me some time to learn the system. Slowly I'm learning how to bump into things and find what is there.
I was always curious as to why my Great Grandpa on my Dad's side did not have relatives here except for his own family. He came to this country in 1902 and over the years brought all of his seven adult children here. I did not hear anything about any of Great Grandpa's siblings. Had they come to North America and gone to the states and were lost track of? I think they could all read and write in the German language and probably other languages. They learned to read and write from the church. So lack of written skills should not have been a problem.
Well, the other day I found a family tree that contained my older relatives. It went back the great, great grandpa. However , what it showed is that all my Great Grandpa's siblings died in Poland. He had four sisters and the all died fairly early. One of them lived into here early 30's. The oldest sister may have had children but we don't know who she married.
So as you find one thing, you are immediately looking for something else.
It's interesting.
Wednesday, March 20, 2019
RELIGION
At the risk of offending a reader or two I would like to make some comments on religion.
The Muslims killed in New Zealand happened to be in the wrong place. They were conveniently observed by mad man and killed on location. They had gone about life and worship and not bothered anybody.
There are many religions but only three or four main religions. People need a religion and the fellowship that goes along with it. They need a belief system. They support one another.
However in each religion there are people who become over zealous. They consider the other guy's religion to be "wrong" in some areas so they attempt to correct the other guy. Many times they are not very tactful about how they want other's to change. Some of the over zealous attempt to recruit from members of another religion. In any one of these situations violence can occur if they become too aggressive in their attempt to win converts.
In the Arctic there were two denominations that competed for the souls of the Inuit. The Inuit had a religion but the two denominations declared that their religion was better. Well the two denominations brought schools and were better able to control the Inuit . The schools became a horror institute from which many have never recovered. The Missionaries went in under the guise that they would help the aboriginals. Instead they all but destroyed them. This scenario has occurred in many areas around the world. There were certainly some who did assist local native groups.
In many places today the religious denominations in the Arctic are a combination of christian and aboriginal. The last memorial I attended they went back and forth smoothly from christian to aboriginal
Today other denominations are at work to gather souls to their churches.
Now wouldn't it be nice if major religions could leave each other alone?
The study of religious wars could keep one busy for a life time.
Now another wondering I have is why there are so many denominations in all of the great religions. I don't know how many denominations are in the christian religion. I can not understand why they have to be separate if they are christian. In small towns here there can be three or four christian denominations and they all have the same goal.Why can't they work together?
So quite some time ago I fell off the religious bus because I could not understand why denominations could not worship together. Now that I'm older yet I wonder why the great religions can't harmonize and work for the common good.
The Muslims killed in New Zealand happened to be in the wrong place. They were conveniently observed by mad man and killed on location. They had gone about life and worship and not bothered anybody.
There are many religions but only three or four main religions. People need a religion and the fellowship that goes along with it. They need a belief system. They support one another.
However in each religion there are people who become over zealous. They consider the other guy's religion to be "wrong" in some areas so they attempt to correct the other guy. Many times they are not very tactful about how they want other's to change. Some of the over zealous attempt to recruit from members of another religion. In any one of these situations violence can occur if they become too aggressive in their attempt to win converts.
In the Arctic there were two denominations that competed for the souls of the Inuit. The Inuit had a religion but the two denominations declared that their religion was better. Well the two denominations brought schools and were better able to control the Inuit . The schools became a horror institute from which many have never recovered. The Missionaries went in under the guise that they would help the aboriginals. Instead they all but destroyed them. This scenario has occurred in many areas around the world. There were certainly some who did assist local native groups.
In many places today the religious denominations in the Arctic are a combination of christian and aboriginal. The last memorial I attended they went back and forth smoothly from christian to aboriginal
Today other denominations are at work to gather souls to their churches.
Now wouldn't it be nice if major religions could leave each other alone?
The study of religious wars could keep one busy for a life time.
Now another wondering I have is why there are so many denominations in all of the great religions. I don't know how many denominations are in the christian religion. I can not understand why they have to be separate if they are christian. In small towns here there can be three or four christian denominations and they all have the same goal.Why can't they work together?
So quite some time ago I fell off the religious bus because I could not understand why denominations could not worship together. Now that I'm older yet I wonder why the great religions can't harmonize and work for the common good.
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