Category Archives: Personal experience

A Geezer’s guide to supplements – Part II

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Like I said, I don’t want a Schwarzenegger body.  At 67, I just want to stick around a while… 

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We left Part I at the point where I chose not to take the supplement Creatine.  That’s  Number 5 on the Menshealth Top 10 List of Supplements for Men.  (“I put the kibosh on this one.”) 

The better part of valour is discretionIt was “too body-builderish,” and I’m no longer interested in “high-intensity anaerobic repetitive work.”  And because – in light of a recent shoulder injury – “Discretion is the better part of valor.”  So, moving to Number 6 on the Menshealth list:

6.  FOLIC ACID TO CUT ALZHEIMER’S RISK

Menshealth said Folic Acid helps prevent clogged arteries and improves blood flow to the brain.  It also helps keep down Homocysteine, an amino acid that increases your risk of blood clots.  Then too, “Researchers in Sweden found that Alzheimer’s patients are more likely to have folic acid deficiencies.”  So how much?  The site recommends 500 mcg a day, “which could help lower homocysteine levels by 18 percent or more.”  At GNC, I got 100 tablets (400 mcg) for $3.99.  That works out to 4 cents a day for a three month supply.

7.  GLUCOSAMINE TO “GREASE YOUR JOINTS”

As noted, I started taking Glucosamine Chondroitin “soft chews” some time ago.  Anecdotally, it made a difference – to me – when I stopped taking them for awhile.  (Like on the Camino trip.)  The manufacturer said to take three a day, but I’ve been taking two.  The cost?  $11.48 for 50, a 25 week supply, about 45 cents a week.  Here’s what Menshealth said:

You don’t have the same amount of cartilage in your joints that you had at 19.  To reverse the damage and actually rebuild cartilage, take glucosamine, made from the shells of crabs and lobsters.  How much?  1,500 mg a day.  Brands that combine glucosamine with chondroitin are fine.  [As noted, I take two instead of three, and so get 1,000 mg a day.]

8.  OMEGA-3s TO PROTECT YOUR HEART

As noted, this one got covered by the Triple Strength Fish Oil Plus CoQ-10.  44 cents a day for a three month supply of both CoQ-10 and Omega-3s, which has already been calculated in.

Omega-3 fatty acids keep blood pressure and triglyceride levels low and the heart beating regularly.  They make blood slicker, reducing the risk of clots and blocked arteries.  Studies show that men with the highest omega-3 levels have the lowest risk of dying of heart disease.  How much?  For healthy guys, 1,000 mg a day.  Those with heart problems may need 2,000 to 4,000 mg.  But too much can increase your risk of catching a cold.

Another tip from Menshealth:  “Take Omega-3s with meals so you don’t burp up a fish scent.”

9.  SELENIUM TO FIGHT OFF CANCER

Menshealth said “No other single nutrient appears to prevent cancer more effectively than Selenium…  It basically forces cancer cells to self-destruct.”  Studies link increased selenium intake with a “decreased risk of cancers of the prostate, colon, and lungs.”

How much?  The site said 200 mcg a day, and “more when you’re sick.”  And here’s the good news:  “Nature’s selenium supplement is the Brazil Nut, which measures 100 mcg per nut.”  So you get your daily dose by eating two Brazil nuts.  I bought a 9.5 ounce container at the local Fresh Market for $12.95 on July 15.  I’ll update this post when they’re gone – at the rate of two or three a day – but based on what I’ve used so far, it’ll be awhile.  [It worked out to 19 cents a day, as detailed in the footnotes.*]

 10.  VITAMIN E  TO SLOW THE EFFECTS OF AGING

Last but not least, Menshealth said Vitamin E is a potent antioxidant and “may help reduce the risk of certain eye diseases, heart disease, cancer, even Alzheimer’s disease.”  And some studies show that Vitamin E “also reduces muscle damage after exercise.”  The Beyond the Hype link said most tests on the health benefits of antioxidants have been inconclusive.  However:

At the same time, abundant evidence suggests that eating whole fruits, vegetables, and whole grains – all rich in networks of antioxidants and their helper molecules – provides protection against many of these scourges of aging.

And by the way, I’ve also been eating a lot more whole fruits and vegetables.  (“Whole grains,” not so much.  Though I do eat my fair share of corn, wheat germ, and flaxseed.)

How much?  Menshealth said up to 400 international units (IU) a day, “since most people get just a fraction of that from their diets.  You can also increase your intake by eating more nuts and oils.”  I got a bottle of 100 for $5.99 at GNC.  That’s 6 cents a day for a three month supply.

So the total verifiable cost of these add-on supplements is $1.30 a day.  That doesn’t count the Glucosamine Chondroitin I was already taking, so if you add that extra 45 cents, the cost goes to $1.56 a day. So why bother with all these supplements?  Simply put, I want to live long enough – and if only metaphorically – to “dance on my enemy’s grave.” As to which enemy:

“Let the reader understand!”

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Nymphets “dancing on an enemy’s grave,” if only metaphorically…

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The upper image is courtesy of Bodybuilding – Wikipedia.  Caption, “Arnold Schwarzenegger, one of the most notable figures in bodybuilding, in 1974.”  See also Arnold Schwarzenegger – Wikipedia.

The “valor” image is courtesy of Discretion … Better Part Valor – Image Results.  The cited blog credits the idiom to “KHIV part 1 act 5, sc. 4,” and more accurately: “The better part of valour is discretion; in the which better part I have saved my life.”  The blogger said the saying was a “masterpiece of what today would be called ‘political correctness.”  See also Better part of valor is discretion – eNotes.

Re:  Sources of whole grains.  See e.g. The 11 Healthiest Whole Grains You Should Be Eating, and/or What are sources of whole grains? | Health Value Of Foods.

Re:  “Let the reader understand.”  The allusion is to Mark 13:14:  “When you see ‘the abomination that causes desolation’ standing where it does not belong – let the reader understand – then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.”  See also Matthew 24:15.

Re:  The daily cost of two Brazil nuts a day.  For the record, I had my last two Brazil nuts from the $12.95 batch on September 7, 2018.  I took the supplement from July 15 to August 17, for a total of 63 days, but didn’t take it while on the Rideau Canal, from the 18th to August 30, when I left for home.  I then took it from August 31 to September 7, eight more days, or 71 total.  Thus the cost of this “Brazil nut” supplement rounds up to about 19 cents a day.     

The lower image is courtesy of Dancing Enemy Grave – Image Results. I originally used a photo showing “General Patton micturating at the Rhine River.” But after review I decided that was “untoward,” so I substituted the “dancing enemy grave image.” For those interested in this less-than-subtle metaphor, see George Patton at the Rhine River: Yes, Hillary, Peeing On The Enemy IS An American Tradition. (Or you could Google the phrase “american pissing on enemy.”)

Next adventure: Paddling the Rideau “Canal”

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A 1906 photograph of the Poonamalie Lock Station (32) on the Rideau Canal in Canada… 

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Taking a break from Politics:  My next big adventure is coming up in August.

November 10, 2014 photo IMG_4329_zps7f7b5ddb.jpgMy Utah-brother and I will be paddling – some six to 10 days – up the Rideau Canal, from Kingston to Ottawa, Ontario.  (This is the same brother with whom I canoed 12 miles off the coast of Mississippi in 2014, as seen at right  And 440 miles on the Yukon River.  And hiked the Chilkoot Trail – “the meanest 33 miles in history” – and most recently hiked and biked 450 miles on the Camino de Santiago.)  

But don’t let the “canal” name fool you.  (Or the photo at the top of the page.)

This Rideau “Canal” is a water route of “mostly natural waters, made up of lakes and rivers.”  Of the 125 miles on this “canal,” only 12 – about 10% – are “manmade locks and canal cuts.”  The rest of the route consists of “natural waters,” as noted.  That includes Big Rideau Lake, some 20 miles long and over three miles wide.  (For comparison, Lake Laberge on the Yukon River – which we paddled in 2016 – is 31 miles long and up to three miles wide.)

The direct route from Kingston to Ottawa is 125 miles, but that includes over 677 miles of shoreline.  (Most choose that route because the prevailing winds are from the southwest.)  

Also, from Lake Ontario at Kingston the route rises 166 feet.  It rises to the “summit of Upper Rideau Lake,” from where it then descends 275 feet to the Ottawa River at Ottawa.

The canal system was built between 1826 and 1832, to help defend Canada by allowing boats to travel safely along the southern border.  I.e., Canadians could travel along their southern border – the border with the U.S. – “without having to travel along the St. Lawrence River, in gunshot range of the Americans.”  (And Donald Trump wasn’t even president…)  

The construction of the Rideau Canal was a preventive military measure undertaken after a report that during the War of 1812 the United States had intended to invade the British colony of Upper Canada via the St. Lawrence River, which would have severed the lifeline between Montreal and Kingston.

Then there’s this added note:  “It is the oldest continuously operated canal in North America.  Most of the locks are still operated by hand, using the same mechanisms that were used to operate the locks in 1832.”  (Speaking of “delightfully retro.”)

To give some perspective on how long such a canoe-trip can take, early voyageurs could cover the distance  in three days.  (But those were “very long days with lots of paddling.”)  And that would include portaging around the areas that have since been made locks and canal cuts.

Today the recommended pace is anywhere from six to 10 days, as noted.

And there are 26 lockstations to pass through.  Those you can either portage around – like the early voyageurs – or pay a fee.  They all have washrooms and potable water, and most offer camping.  (So it won’t be like canoeing 12 miles offshore, featuring eight days of primitive camping, on places like Half-moon Island, Ship Island, and “from time to time an occasional salt marsh.”) 

Other notes:  The name Rideau is French for “curtain,” and comes from the “curtain-like appearance of the Rideau River‘s twin waterfalls where they join the Ottawa River.”  And:

The canal also served a commercial purpose.  The Rideau Canal was easier to navigate than the St. Lawrence River because of the series of rapids between Montreal and Kingston.  As a result, the Rideau Canal became a busy commercial artery from Montreal to the Great Lakes.  However, by 1849, the rapids of the St. Lawrence had been tamed by a series of locks, and commercial shippers were quick to switch to this more direct route.

Thus it “remains in use today primarily for pleasure boating, with most of its original structures intact, operated by Parks Canada.”  But it’s not all fun and games, necessarily.

One Canal-guide noted three possible issues:  Wind, waves and big boats.  As for the first, while the prevailing wind is from the southwest, “be prepared for anything,” including a change in wind from the northeast.  Also, waves can be an issue on big lakes, “with large sections of open water unprotected by islands.”  And such large waves “can be an issue for a canoeist.”

The same is true of “big power boats (cruisers)” which also share the waterway.

One idea (the guide said):  Paddle close to shore.  It’s more interesting – with more wildlife and such – and keeps you further from the waves produced by big boats.  But if you encounter one – here I’m writing under the “memo to self” idea – the general rule is to turn into such waves, meeting them head on.  This “can actually be fun in a kayak (not as much fun in a canoe).”

I’ll be writing more on this adventure, if only in the form of a postmortem.  (But not in the literal sense.)  Meanwhile, here’s hoping we don’t have to use this little maneuver this August…

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Image titled Canoe Step 14

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The upper image is courtesy of Rideau Canal – Wikipedia.  Caption:  “Poonahmalee, on the Rideau River, near Smith Falls, Ontario – October 1906.”

Portions of the text were gleaned from “Watson’s paddling guide to the Rideau Canal” (PDF), by Ken W. Watson, First Printing 2012, Current Revision May 2018, at pages 9-10, 17-18.  The “wind, wave and big boat issues” are discussed on pages 13 and 14. 

Re:  “12 miles offshore.”  See Canoeing 12 miles off the coast of Mississippi, from 2016.  (It was a both a review of the 2014 canoe trip and a preview of last fall’s Camino de Santiago adventure.

 The “retro” image is courtesy of Delightfully Retro – Image Results.

The lower image is courtesy of How to Canoe (with Pictures) – wikiHow.

My first time in a “tail dragger…”

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I just flew in a Piper Cub “J-3” – like the one shown above – that helped win World War II…

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Last Sunday evening – June 10 – I rode in my first-ever “taildragger.”  (You know, the airplane kind.)  The place I contacted was Peachtree City Biplanes, at Falcon Field in Peachtree City.  But rather than the biplane – at left – I chose to fly in the company’s other plane.  That other plane was a classic 1946 Piper J-3 Cub.

I did that for a couple reasons.  First, the Cub flight was cheaper.  For another, I remember the 1965 movie Battle of the Bulge.  (About the Ardennes Counteroffensive, in WW II.)  The film started with Henry Fonda – “Lt. Col. Dan Kiley” – in the back seat of a Piper Cub.  He and the pilot were “flying a reconnaissance mission over the Ardennes forest.”  Later still, the pair flew another daring mission:

Facing the dangers of a foggy night, Col. Kiley conducts an aerial reconnaissance in an attempt to locate the main German spearhead.  He orders the pilot to shut off the engine and glide in an attempt to listen for enemy tanks.  Suddenly, through a gap in the fog, he spots [a German] tank column heading toward American lines.  Kiley radios in the coordinates, but his plane is hit by German fire and crashes near an American fuel depot.

I’ve wanted to fly a Piper Cub ever since.  (BTW: Fonda survived and helped save the day.)

And another aside:  In researching for this post I learned that – to some Army Air Corps veterans anyway – The Piper Cub helped beat the Germans in World War II:

The Piper Cub, used as an artillery spotter plane, did more to defeat the German Army in World War II then any other American airplane, according to Capt. John Johnson.

The article added that what made the Cub “perfect for artillery spotting was its versatility.”  They could fly “low and slow with ease,” and could also land and take off in very little space.  “Given the wind conditions, I could land and take off in 19 inches,” Johnson said.

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Meanwhile, back to my flight, last Sunday evening.

I hadn’t flown since 2002 or thereabouts.  (When I got my Private Pilot’s license, but then found out flying was an expensive hobby.)  Owner-operator Jay Herrin wrote later that we had a great flight over Lake McIntosh, Pinewood Studios – where they shoot “The Walking Dead,” etc. – and also Starr’s Mill and the surrounding area.  He added that I “did most of the flying and did a great job!”  But that was a bit of hyperbole.

I did take take over the controls for a bit, which was kind of strange.

I trained in a Cessna 172, with a steering wheel and foot-rudders that were pretty wide.  But the Cub a had a classic “stick” to steer with, and the rudders were small metal bars.  Also, the Cessna had a tricycle landing gear, while the Cub – as noted – was a taildragger:

The tricycle arrangement has a single nose wheel in the front, and two or more main wheels slightly aft of the center of gravity.  T ricycle gear aircraft are the easiest to take-off, land and taxi, and consequently the configuration is the most widely used on aircraft.

On the other hand, while a taildragger is generally less expensive to manufacture and maintain, it has some disadvantages:  1) It has a “nose-high attitude on the ground,”  2) It’s “susceptible to ground looping,” and 3) it’s “more subject to ‘nose-over’ accidents due to injudicious application of brakes by the pilot.”  (Like the one seen at left.)

But after a while I got the hang of the stick and rudders, and was able to stay pretty much on course.  And did I mention that you have to pretty acrobatic just to get in the dang thing?

On the plus side the view was great, from such a “low and slow” altitude.  And I was able to take some pretty good pictures, from the always-open right window, with camera and cell phone.

Like the picture below, of Starr’s Mill, a “tiny village a few miles south of Peachtree City.”  It’s next to Starr’s Mill Pond, and near the junction of Highways 74 and 85.  “The area is extremely picturesque and makes for a nice drive.”  (But it’s even better seen from about 800 feet up…)

All of which just goes to show that while other people my age are being Grumpy Old Geezers – whining and complaining – I plan to have some fun in the time I have left.

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Image may contain: sky and outdoor

Starr’s Mill, southeast of Peachtree City, seen from about 800 feet up…

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The upper image is courtesy of Battle Of The Bulge Movie Piper Cub – Image Results.  The “nose over” image is courtesy of Nose Over Accidents Airplane – Image Results.

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Re:  The Israelite.  Harry Golden grew up in the Jewish ghetto of New York City, but eventually moved to Charlotte, North Carolina.  Thus the “Carolina Israelite.”  I on the other hand am a “classic 67-year-old “WASP” – White Anglo-Saxon Protestant – and live in north Georgia.  Thus the “Georgia Wasp.”    

Anyway, in North Carolina Harry wrote and published the “israelite” from the 1940s through the 1960s.  He was a “cigar-smoking, bourbon-loving raconteur.”  (He told good stories.) That also means if he was around today, the “Israelite would be done as a blog.”  But what made Harry special was his positive outlook on life.  As he got older but didn’t turn sour, like many do today.  He still got a kick out of life.  For more on the blog-name connection, see “Wasp” and/or The blog.

On “Pirate’s Island,” Alabama…

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PIRATES ISLAND, Logan Martin Lake (AL), without the “Jolly Roger” that got my attention…

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Hewitt-Trussville High SchoolI just got back from a graduation at Hewitt-Trussville High School in Trussville, Alabama.  (Great-nephew.)  The ceremony was on Tuesday night, May 22.

Earlier in the day I started off trying to find a place to kayak.  “Lake Purdy” was closest to my hotel, via long and winding back roads.  However, when I got there they’d posted all kind of signs saying, “No private boats, no canoes, no kayaks.”  (Jerks.  They might as well have added, “No having fun, no enjoying nature, this means you idiot!”  Stuff like that.)

So I ended up at an RV camp “slash” boat ramp, at Lakeside Landing, on Logan Martin Lake.  (A “reservoir located in east central Alabama on the Coosa River.”  I.e., it was formed by a kazillion dams on the Coosa River in the middle of Alabama.)  So fortunately I was able to get in two hours of full-speed kayak-paddling, though I did have to baby my right shoulder a bit, and take several breaks.  (I’d messed up my right shoulder about a month before, but no “rotator cuff problems…”)

So anyway, I normally paddle out an hour, then take an hour to get back to whatever boat ramp I left from.  (Depending on wind, tide and/or current, if I’m kayaking on a river.)  This day I was getting near the one-hour turning-around point when I saw another lakeside RV camp, with what I took to be an American flag waving in the wind.

Then I saw that the flag pole was on a little bitty island, about 100 yards offshore.  (In what looked to be a cluster of drowned-out trees.)  Then I saw that it wasn’t an American flag at all.

It was a “Jolly Roger,” a skull-and-crossbones black flag.  (Which I thought was quite odd, coming up on Memorial Day and all.)  So I ended up paddling around the island, which turned out to be like the photo at the top of the page.  Except, there were no people and no boats tied up to shore.  And of course with the Jolly Roger waving in the breeze.

Then I headed back to the boat ramp.

It had been cloudy and overcast all morning, but on the return trip I could see a line of rain falling right near where I needed to go to get back “home.”  I managed to skirt the rain for a while, but eventually got pretty well soaked. Then it stopped, I got back to the ramp, then got stuck under a patio-like overhang thing with a (closed) concession stand, just as I was about to load up the kayak.  I had to wait there a good 20 minutes, then it slacked off a bit and I loaded up and headed back to the hotel, pretty much “soggy bottomed.”

Anyway, when I got home Wednesday afternoon I Googled “pirate’s island logan martin lake.” And got the pictures the top of the page and below left.  Plus a description from a website, Pirate’s Island – Discover St. Clair.  Turns out it’s a “75 ft.X 50 ft. excluding beach & sandbar” island that the wife of some guy named Regan bought for him years ago:

On the 75 x 50-foot island itself, its palm trees leaning out over the water, the Regans’ family and friends gather around a fire pit, relaxing in chairs of all shapes and sizes.

Logan-Martin-Pirate-IslandThere was also this note:

All are welcome on Pirate’s Island.  It’s a tradition that evolved when a boat load of 10 year olds asked if they needed help on the island.  They helped clean it, and their pay came in hotdogs.

I wish I’d known that.  (The “all are welcome” part.)  I could have stopped and stretched my legs…

Note that neither of these pictures show the black flag waving in the wind that first caught my attention.  And on a totally unrelated note:  This morning – the morning after I got back home – I got a little more into my reading of Liberty’s First Crisis:  Adams, Jefferson, and the Misfits Who Saved Free Speech.  It told the story of the first real test of the First Amendment:

Suddenly, the First Amendment, which protected harsh commentary of the weak government, no longer seemed as practical. So that July … the Federalists in control of Congress passed an extreme piece of legislation that made criticism of the government and its leaders a crime punishable by heavy fines and jail time … and the country’s future hung in the balance.

That “extreme piece of legislation” was the Alien and Sedition Act.  Which led John Adams – one of the nation’s Founding Fathers – to write this:  “Mankind will in time discover that unbridled majorities are as tyrannical and cruel as unlimited despots.”

Not that there’s any connection to current events or anything….

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56 figures stand or sit in a room. Five lay papers on a table.

John Adams – at center, “hand on his hip” – and the Declaration of Independence…

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The upper image is courtesy of Pirates Island Logan Martin Lake – Image Results (Pinterest).  A side note:  This island is not to be confused with Pirate Island Sea Isle City, in New Jersey.

Re:  “Lake Purdy.”  See Lake Purdy – Let’s Go Fishing – Official Site:  

No private boats are allowed on Lake Purdy.  (Including NO Kayaks)  2. Participants can use their own trolling motors or outboards up to 10 horsepower.  3. All boats must have regulation running lights which can be purchased at the Lake Purdy store.  4. Boats must fish at least 100 feet away from another boat.

So once again I say, “Jerks!”

Re:  “Soggy bottomed.”  See O Brother, Where Art Thou? – Wikipedia.  “The Soggy Bottom Boys is the musical group that the main characters form to serve as accompaniment for the film.  The name is in homage to the Foggy Mountain Boys, a bluegrass band led by Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs…”

Re:  The quote from The Misfits Who Saved Free Speech is on page 20 of the 2015 Atlantic Monthly Press edition.  A review added this:  “Americans refused to let their freedoms be so easily dismissed: they penned fiery editorials, signed petitions, and raised ‘liberty poles…’”

The lower image is courtesy of John Adams – Wikipedia.  The full caption:  “Trumbull’s ‘Declaration of Independence‘ – committee presents draft to Congress.  Adams stands at center with his hand on his hip.”  Another side note:  “Adams had privately criticized Thomas Paine‘s 1776 pamphlet Common Sense, saying that the author had ‘a better hand at pulling down than building.'”

So again, “Not that there’s any connection to current events or anything…“

“There he goes again” – Revisited

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No, this isn’t a caricature of Donald Trump.  (But this alligator mississippiensis is smiling nicely…)

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May 31, 2017 – It’s been tough getting back to blogging on a regular basis. That’s what I noted in the last post, dated May 12, 2017:  From 11/8/16: “He’ll be impeached within two years:”

…aside from a “pain in the back,” I’ve undergone some other big  life events including but not limited to a[n eye] surgery … to have a lens put back in one eye [as shown a[bove] right]…  But now things have calmed down a bit, even if only in my own life. Which means I can get back to blogging…

Unfortunately, it still hasn’t been easy.  One big reason is my recent life events – “including but not limited to” – included the long, drawn-out process of first Buying a House, then moving out of my old, tiny one-bedroom apartment, and third moving my accumulated junk into a new and relatively-expansive private home.

So now I’m part of the landed gentry…

But as I also discovered, this process continues “even to this day.”  Which means that while I’ve moved all my accumulated belongings into the new house, much of that “stuff” remains in boxes or big piles scattered mostly in the farther-back rooms.  But now I have time…

So anyway, to get back in the swing of things, I came up with the idea of looking back at what I was doing about  this time last year.  That led me to “There he goes again,” from May 30, 2016.

Since then the phrase “there he goes again” has taken on a whole new meaning.

SwampWaterPoster.jpgLast year’s “There he goes again” was about my projected June 2016 kayaking trip deep into the Okefenokee Swamp.  This was to be my second overnight-camping trek into the swamp, which “despite it’s fearsome reputation – as illustrated by the lurid movie poster at right … is quite peaceful.”

It turned out to be quite an exciting second trip into the Okefenokee.  Among other things I saw some fifty alligators during the first hour of paddling.  (Then I stopped counting.)

And I camped at the CANAL RUN shelter, “some nine miles in from the Foster State Park launch site.”   And  (Complete with its own in-house resident gator.)  Third, because it was so early in the season the canoe-only trails were much vegetated-over.  Which meant that many times I had to “butt-scootch” my kayak over a barely-sunken log, and sometimes had to stick my hand out, grab another log and finish pulling the kayak only.  The last time I reached my left hand out I saw a patch of white.

It turned out to be yet another gator – though rather smaller than the one shown at the top of the page – and “smiling” nicely at what he no doubt thought was a tasty new snack.

But now back to that phrase “there he goes again” having taken on a whole new meaning.

On a hunch – in writing up this post – I Googled “trump ‘there he goes again'” and got 4,200,000 results.  Of those 4,200,000 posts, many seem to have been dated before the election.  See for example Donald Trump: There He Goes Again | HuffPost:  From July 19, 2016, Trump was quoted as saying that John McCain “is no war hero … because he was captured.”

(For an alternate view see Torture – John McCain – Pictures – CBS News.  Also, the caption for the photo at left reads:  “McCain’s flight suit and parachute, on display in the North Vietnamese museum at the site of the “Hanoi Hilton” Hoa Lo Prison.”)

More recently, from April 5, 2017, there was There He Goes Again:  On NAFTA Trump Fails To Live Up To What He Says, And American Workers Will Pay For It.  The post – written by “Chuck Jones, President, United Steelworkers Local 1999” – noted a local plant shutdown that had “outraged” Trump on the campaign trail, but not a bit since he’s taken office:

President-Elect Donald Trump tweeted his outrage when the shutdown was announced.  But President Trump hasn’t said a thing since…  I could see it coming back in February when, speaking about what he had been calling the U.S.’s “worst trade deal ever,” and a “disaster,” he said NAFTA just needed “tweaking.”

(Jones was referring to the North American Free Trade Agreement.  See the notes for more.)  

And finally, there was this from May 5, 2017:  There He Goes Again… Trump Praises Single Payer Healthcare.  It seems that shortly after celebrating “the 1/3 passage of the American Healthcare Act” – 1/3 because it only passed the House and not the Senate, nor was it signed into law by the President – Donald Trump “sat with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, and praised their country’s single payer healthcare system.”

The conservative-bent writer went into detail about the problems confronting what he thought would be positive change to our health-care system.  He also said Trump’s “public concession that single payer healthcare is better than our own is going to do more to damage our effort than Obamacare’s failure.”  (And he noted among other things that Trump’s “misspeaks” prompted Senator Bernie Sanders to burst into laughter and promise “to quote the president on the floor of the Senate when they debate their own version of the bill,” with video.)

The article then concluded:

“…we need the president to just stop talking. For the love of God, just smile and wave. Please?”

Which would be a nice change, and brings us back to the photo at the top of the page.

Meanwhile, maybe it’s time for me to go back “back in to the swamp,” back to kayaking in the quiet, peaceful Okefenokee, home of Pogo Possum and his gentle friends:

…despite the discomfort that seems to got along with such efforts, it felt good to finally visit the home of Pogo Possum.  To visit – even for such a short while – the “hollow trees amidst lushly rendered backdrops of North American wetlands, bayous, lagoons and backwoods.”

And speaking of Pogo Possum, here’s a bit of homespun wisdom to meditate…

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Pogo - Earth Day 1971 poster.jpg

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The upper image is courtesy of Alligator – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The caption:  “American alligator (A. mississippiensis).”  I used that lead image in the post – from May 30, 2016 – “There he goes again.”  The caption used in the post reads:  “An ‘alligator mississippiensis,’ prevalent in the Okefenokee Swamp – where I’ll soon be kayaking…”

The lower image was also featured in the 5/30/16 post, and featured the following:

The lower “enemy is us” cartoon image is courtesy of Pogo (comic strip) – Wikipedia.  The caption:  “Pogo daily strip from Earth Day, 1971.”  In the alternative:  “A 1971 Earth Day comic strip written and illustrated by Walt Kelly, featuring Pogo and Porkypine [sic].”  Wikipedia described Porky Pine:

A porcupine, a misanthrope and cynic; prickly on the outside but with a heart of gold.  The deadpan Porky never smiles in the strip (except once, allegedly, when the lights were out).  Pogo’s best friend, equally honest, reflective and introverted, and with a keen eye both for goodness and for human foibles.  

I wondered why I liked him so much…

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Re:  Trump on NAFTA.  See Trump Softens NAFTA Stance | ExecutiveBiz, Trump Backs Away From Softer NAFTA Stance – IndustryWeek, Trump renews aggressive stance on NAFTA | 2017-04-19, and – from yesterday, May 29, 2017 – Trump Softens on NAFTA Stance – YouTube.  (Yet again, it seems.)

On my “pain in the back…”

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Back-Pain

“Why – indeed – does my back hurt so much?”  See my answer below…

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Consider this a follow-up to my last post, On that nail in my right eye.  (Which included the image at right, of character actor Jack Elam.)  Taken together these two posts might lead you to consider me as among the walking wounded.  (Which is pretty much how I’ve felt the last several weeks.)  But the “nail in the eye” incident happened six or seven years ago, and in April is scheduled to be corrected by some new-fangled surgery.

The “pain in the back” is of more recent vintage, and in fact came perfectly timed for Lent.

Now about that “pain in the back.”  Unfortunately,  I’m not speaking metaphorically.

I actually did “throw out my back,” last Thursday, March 2.  That was only three days after my last post, Nail in my right eye.  And the reason that was my last post is because – ever since – I’ve been unable to sit at my “laptop” desk at home for more than a few minutes at a time.

As noted in September 2016,* for next September – 2017 – “my brother and I plan to hike the Camino de Santiago, mostly in Spain.”  (As shown at left.)  And as part of my training for that upcoming event, I tried a type of “forced march.”  (Also known as a “loaded march.”)

Briefly, a forced march involves a long period – many miles – of alternating periods of walking and running – or jogging for older folk – but with increased resistance provided by a heavy pack.

In my case, on the Camino itself I hope to maintain a pace of 20 minutes per mile, with about 20 pounds of pack weight.  So for training purposes, I started experimenting with cycles of one minute – 85 steps – of jogging, followed by a number of minutes walking to set that pace.

Product DetailsAnd all the while wearing a 22-pound weight vest.  (Like that at right.)

I started out with one minute of jogging followed by six minutes of walking.  But I also wanted to be time-efficient, so I kept increasing the pace, by decreasing the number of walking minutes.  Finally, on March 2, I tried a four-minute cycle:  One minute of jogging and three minutes of walking.  To make a long story short, I overextended.

The problem – I figured out later – was that the weight vest was a bit too loose, so that my back got a constant pounding.  (Much in the nature of a series of kidney punches, as I also figured out later.)  There were warning signs, including the fact that it hurt to breathe during those minutes I was jogging.  Unfortunately, I succumbed to the temptation to “Walk it off, Nancy!”

Bad move.

Which is another way of saying that I’ve been paying for it ever since.

And which is a big reason why my “pain in the back” came perfectly timed for Lent.

According to Wikipedia, Lent is devoted to prayer and penance – as seen at left – along with “repentance of sins, almsgiving, atonement and self-denial.” And of course one big reason for people to undergo that Season of Lent is to “draw themselves near to God.”  So what better way to draw near to God than to suffer – like Paul – a thorn in the flesh, to “buffet me” and to “keep me from exalting myself?”

Or like they say on TV, misery builds character.  So here I sit, not at my “laptop desk,” but rather in my easy chair, using a Jury rigged system to type through the tears and the back-pain.  (Courtesy of a pillow for my laptop – which makes for awkward typing – along with a side TV stand for the mouse, plus a heating pad for my back.)

Which brings up an interesting side note about Lent.  There are actually 46 days between the beginning of Lent – on Ash Wednesday – and Easter Sunday.  That’s because Sundays don’t count in the calculation.  Sundays in Lent are essentially “days off,” when you can still enjoy whatever it is that you’ve given up for Lent.

That fact got overlooked by the writer/producers of 40 Days and 40 Nights, as shown in the image below.  That was the 2002 romantic comedy film which showed the main character “during a period of abstinence from any sexual contact for the duration of Lent.”  (As noted, the main character could have “taken Sundays off.”)

Or in case I’m being too subtle, the writer/producers of 40 Days and 40 Nights didn’t know – or didn’t care – that under the rules of Lent, the Josh Hartnett character could have had sex one day a week during those “40 days and 40 nights.”  (Dang Hollywood liberals!)

But we digress.  The point is that – thanks to my misguided “forced march” back on March 2 – I now have my own thorn in the flesh, as part of my 2017 Lenten spiritual discipline…

Still, I hope to get back on schedule over the next week or so.  (The new president has given us so much to write about, and I’m still trying to figure out which one is the Bizarro Trump…)  

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The text set is in a phallic column extending from Hartnett's crotch.

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The upper image is courtesy of Back-Painemdocs.net.  Although the article concerned pediatric back pain – back pain suffered by “infants, children, and adolescents” – it did note that the “incidence of back pain increases with age.”  Also re:  “Threw out my back.”  See also Throw Out Your Back? 8 Tips to Help You Recover, which includes steps I wished I’d taken three weeks ago. 

“Note” also that an asterisk in the main text indicates a statement supported by a reference detailed further in this “notes” section.  Thus as to “As noted in September 2016,” the reference (*) is to the post “Starting back with a bang,” in my companion blog, dorscribe.com.  It told of the near-six-weeks last summer that my brother and I spent “hiking the Chilkoot Trail – ‘meanest 33 miles in history‘ – and canoeing 440 miles on the ‘mighty Yukon River.’”  I ended that post by noting I would “talk more about that [projected journey] – and pilgrimages in general – in St. James, Steinbeck, and sluts.”

The weight-vest image is courtesy of Amazon.com: weighted vest.

Re:  “Forced march.”  See Loaded march – Wikipedia, which noted that in the U.S. Army, a forced march for training purposes means covering 12 miles in three hours, while carrying 70 pounds including pack.  (Meaning four miles per hour, whereas I was considering an average of three miles per hour on the Camino, carrying no more than 20 pounds, or 10% of my body weight.)  Also, in the French Foreign Legion, a forced march meant covering five miles in 40 minutes, while carrying a 26-pound pack.  After describing other, longer types, Wikipedia noted:

Troublemakers are made to place extra rocks in their backpacks for the duration of the marches.  Further in the training of a “Caporal” there is a 100 km march which must be completed in 24 hours.

Re:  “Nanc[y].”  See also Tough it out – Idioms by The Free Dictionary.  

Re:  “Thorn in the flesh, ‘to buffet me – to keep me from exalting myself.”  See 2d Corinthians 12:7.  In the King James Bible the passage reads:  “And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.”

Re: “Penance [as seen at left].”  The image – of “Saint Peter Repentant” – is actually under contrition in the Wikipedia article on penance.  The painting (1823-25) was by Francisco Goya.

Re:  “The Josh Hartnett character could have had sex one day a week during those ’40 days and 40 nights.”  As noted, that observation concerned only the “rules of Lent.”  That wouldn’t include the standard religious rules and/or guidelines concerning fornication.  See Wikipedia, which included the note that “a minority of theologians have argued in more recent times that premarital sex may not be immoral in some limited circumstances.  An example is John Witte, who argues that the Bible itself is silent on the issue of consensual, premarital sex between an engaged couple.”

Re:  “Hollywood liberals.”  But see Five reasons Hollywood is not a bastion of liberalism.  The Washington Post article noted that “the Hollywood right – led by Louis B. Mayer, George Murphy, Ronald Reagan, and Charlton Heston – has had a greater impact on American political life.  All four men helped lay the groundwork for the conservative revolution of the 1980s…”

The lower image is courtesy of 40 Days and 40 Nights – Wikipedia.  One caption for the image:  “The text set is in a phallic column extending from Hartnett’s crotch.”