A PLEASANT NOVEMBER DAY

      November 24 here, was a very pleasant day

      I looked out the the window about 7:20 AM and the sunrise looked like it would be a great one. The colors stayed while I got my camera. Some of my friends also took photos and they were earlier and got more color.

 It was a fine windy day with  high of plus 9 C (48 F). Obviously were were having  chinook. 

     I thought I would get a photo of the chinook arch but I didn't get my camera focused so missed the chinook arch. So it was a nice start to the day with a beautiful sunrise and a nice finish with a chinook arch. 

     So this photo is from a post I made a few days ago.

TODAY WAS THE DAY...

       Today was the day I had my annual health check up.

       I've had annual check ups almost every year since my mid 40's.

       Things have gradually changed over the years. At one time cholesterol was a major concern in the check up. Cholesterol was carefully checked and monitored. We were given all kinds of advice for our diet and how it could control our cholesterol. Now , Cholesterol is hardly mentioned. 

      Tests have been added, changed  and deleted. One test I disliked intensely was the occult blood test which was taken from stool samples. That test is gone. How it's measured now, I have no idea. The measurement units in some tests have been changed. 

      Over this time I've had two family doctors. As the years passed they learned new things and the examination changes.

     I have an excellent family Doc now and he is very thorough in his examination. You sense that what he feels with his hands goes to his brain. He feels glands, spleen, liver and kidneys. Maybe more. I don't know. 

      Here you have a pre visit where all kinds of lab tests are given. When you go for the check up, he goes over all these tests with you and explains what the results mean. If further testing is needed it is arranged for at that time.  

      So today for almost all issues his comment was "That's good". The only problem I have is a saturated iron level so I'm to go off my iron. So I will be tested to see if there's any damage done. 

     With that he continues a couple of things that he monitors.

     Then I was free to go with a good bill of health for a rather elderly male. 

     It was a good day. 

Elderly Errors

    This isn't my story but I thought it well worth sharing. I am elderly and sometimes very simple things can get out of control. .

    My neighbor was telling me about his parents who are both 89. They live in their own house but have four children here who can look after them. 

    His mother fell in the den and couldn't get up. She called her husband. Husband was not wearing his hearing aides and watching television. He had the volume turned up so that he could hear the TV. Mother called but she didn't get an answer. She called many times and husband couldn't hear her.

    So Mother decided to press the call button on her lifeline. The life line people called and of course the husband answered the phone. He doesn't know his wife is in trouble so he says everything is fine and goes back to watching TV.

    It's a good thing there was somebody on life line who was pretty sharp and thought something was wrong.

    The life line people came about five minutes after the phone call and got things sorted out.

    So with us elderly people things can get out of control in a hurry. 

   I imagine Dad got told to always wear his hearing aids. 

WATER SKIING

       I know that it's the wrong season of the year to talk about water skiing, but I have an excuse. 

      Last night I was out to an appreciation dinner. I got talking to one of the guys who had worked in the Arctic and we got telling stories. Northerners are best buds forever!

     He was working on a crew unloading a ship in the high Arctic. They had to get the stuff to the beach over the ice. One day a guy fell through  a crack in the ice and was submerged. The guy survived but when pulled from the water was absolutely stiff.

     This reminded me of one of my cold water experiences. The first time I water skied was above the Arctic circle in Airport Lake. Some of the young police in Inuvik had a boat and water skis. The built a floating dock and they were ready to water ski. Of course, I had to try it. We used the floating dock to get started and then made a few turns around the lake.

     Sooner or later you have to stop. When you stop you are going to sink into some very cold water. The top foot of the water is an acceptable temperature but any deeper and it's icy cold. 

    The photo shows me just landing and although it is a very poor scan job on this photo you can see that I am cold. 

    So not a very appropriate topic on a cold November day, but I just had to tell you!

     This was July if 1965. 

TRUTH AND ACCURACY

    I have ranted about this topic before. Truth and accuracy are important so that our society runs smoothly and that all people are treated fairly.

    What got me on this topic again is an interview that I heard yesterday. They were interviewing someone who had been a reporter for forty years and was now instructing in some kind of journalism school. She maintained that journalists are reporting accurately. I have some doubts about this. 

    News has become jumbled in with all day interviewing where the interviewer wants to have things said that will raise ratings for their show and station. . Now I'm sure those interviewers would disagree with me. 

      I follow the War in the Ukraine very closely. You read one article and it's for sure the Ukraine will win. You read another article and it's a sure thing that the Russians will win. 

     I follow current affairs here . Politicians can bend the truth a long way to the slant that  they wish publicized. Politicians present their information as truth and  what the other guy says is incorrect. The truth is out there. Public figures don't seem willing to give it to us. 

    Accuracy gets mixed in with information that should be informative. Are reporters taking enough time to dig into an issue? Are reporters making sure that what they report is accurate?

    I have also found myself to be part of the problem. I have been guilty of thinking that my side or what I think is the truth. I have looked for information that agrees with my opinion. In the Ukraine war I obviously see the Ukrainians as the good guys. A commentator I recently heard, said that the Ukraine was winning in the way the story was being told. the Ukraine was successful in showing us that the Russians were the bad guys.

    I think we're all searching for the truth. We don't like to be lied to. We want things to be accurate. 

   One line in the song "Storms never last do they baby"  is "I know your search was for the truth."

    My search is for the truth. 

    Am I naive?

MORE OPEN FALL

        Yesterday , I was very surprised that no one had heard of the term "open fall" . That made me think about it's origin.

        Now I should have gone to Mr Google before I wrote the post. Well, guess what? Mr. Google hasn't heard of "open fall" either. 

       So now I wish Dad was here so that I could ask him if he knew the origin of the saying. He would probably say, "I have no idea where it comes from".

      So I remember another term Dad used. If someone was feeling out of sorts...grumpy he would use the term "crakin around". Usually it was Mother who got described with this term. 

      Okay, I said, "I'll be smarter this time and check with Mr Google." I was sure Mr google would have this term. 

      Well, you guessed it. Mr Google has never heard of this term either. 

      I'm wondering if these were terms that Dad made up himself. ? Dad had a good vocabulary and was an avid reader. 

      Has any body heard the term "crakin around"?

MEMORIES

       Today is a day for us to remember those who fought in the second world war and other wars and remember  the many who died.

      I was born in 1939, a few days after the war started. I have a few memories. We were close to an air training facility. As little kids we saw many airplanes fly over every day. It's surprising how many airmen lost their lives while training at that base. 

      My brother and I would listen to the news which was all about the Germans. We would turn to each other and say, "German, German, German". That was the height of our understanding of the war. 

     We helped Mom wrap parcels to send to our uncles. 

     At the end of the war we listened as ships were loaded with soldiers who were coming home and wondered if our uncles where on the ship. 

    So on this day of remembrance I share a few thoughts from a small child.

    I had four uncles in the war. One was killed in a freak accident. 

     They were all brave in volunteering to fight for freedom. 

     An old vet friend I had would start talking about his experience in the war in September. He flew bombers . He didn't cover anything up. He told about picking up bodies. He was one of the few who told of his experiences. When he came back he was not in very good condition. His father suggested that he take up wood carving. His health improved and he made many wonderful carvings.  He also helped to make memories for me.