Post Op

   I had back surgery three weeks ago. My spinal specialist performed a procedure to add another layer to my existing spinal fusion, so now I have 3 vertebrae fused with clamps and rods in my lumbar region. I believe the procedure was a remarkable success, as all of my pre-surgery issues have been removed. No more sciatica from my lower back to my feet in both legs, no more walking like Quasimodo from the Hunchback of Notre Dame, and no more sharp jabs of pain that buckled my knees when I coughed or sneezed. Modern medical science is truly awesome when applied to your ailments.




   When all is said and done the medical expenses will exceed $100,000. Thank God for my retirement insurance and Medicare Advantage coverage. My sweet wife asked me if I realized that I could have had someone remove the stump from our backyard for about $150 and I could have avoided all the pain and discomfort I have suffered over the past 4-5 months. Yes ma'am and I promise never to do it again. Honest.



The $100,000 glory hole.

 

A deluded 72 year old man who had to prove he could dig out the stump.

   The only redeeming aspect of the whole process is that my kids, my family and many good friends have all stayed in close touch and I have felt their love and support throughout the ordeal. It was a real plus two weeks after the surgery when my son Darren and granddaughter Taylor paid me a visit. I was not in top form but it rallied my spirits to share some time with them and my son David's family in Virginia.

 

 

I really loved that man

I'm a duffer, always have been, always will be. I was attracted to golf at an early age and followed many champions until he came along in the late 50's. As a kid in west Texas, I learned to like golf and the current champion Ben Hogan, but it was the youth and energy that the new star brought to the game that captured my imagination. My Dad was not a golfer and I couldn't afford a set of clubs until I worked a second job at Montgomery Wards in my early twenties. While I was learning the game, my hero was winning tournaments across the country and I became a member of "Arnie's Army". Chi Chi, Lee Trevino, Gary Player  and many more rose in the ranks, but Arnie was always my favorite.

 I followed him all of his active playing time until the mid-nineties when he retired. I loved and adored his playing skills, his style of playing, his dressing style (with the soft sweaters covering a different colored polo underneath) his genuine humility and his generosity toward others. I admire the man's character above his playing skills. He was not just a golfer, he flew his own private jet from match to match because family time mattered, he became a successful business man with his own line of clothing and canned drinks, he designed new golf courses, and  he created charities and a couple of new hospitals to share the blessings he had been given. He was a caring, sharing man.

I kept up with his infrequent appearances on the Senior Tour as I now live in North Carolina. My company had an agreement to furnish the marshals at the Vantage Senior Tournament at Tanglewood in Winston-Salem and I volunteered to be a marshal with my friends. I actually met and spoke to many greats like Lee Trevino, Chi Chi Rodriguiz, and Gary Player, but I always wanted that one chance to exchange pleasantries with the "King of Golf", and it finally came.

I was working on the par 5, fourteenth hole as a marshal at mid-point of the fairway where tee shots land. At the 250-300 yard marker the hole has three fairway bunkers covering a dogleg right on the right side to protect from incoming shots. I was stationed at the right side and charged with spotting the ball for the incoming golfers as they launched their tee shots. I inched out into the fairway and squatted to get a view of the next shot. The X on the map below indicates where I waited for Arnie, and finally his turn came up.

I kept waiting and then one of the marshals hand signaled me to move back. When I did, Arnie hit his tee shot into the middle of the fairway. I awaited my opportunity to see my hero as he drove to his ball. No opportunity to speak, I merely watched the great man, Arnold Palmer, play through.

My friend who was working as marshal on the tee box came running up to my position as Arnie played through.
"Why did you wave me back?" I asked.
He was laughing as he said, "You should have heard what he said about you".
Thinking how fortunate I was that the "king" of golf and my longtime idol had actually noticed me, I responded "What do you mean?".
My friend replied, "He said to tell that 'idiot' to get off the fairway so I can hit my tee shot"
Not what I was hoping for Arnie but, now that you have a better view of things, it was me and I still love you man.

Time to say goodbye for another year.

We learned how to attract hummingbirds this summer and they are a joy to watch. They are the only bird that can fly in any direction, i.e. frontwards, backwards, sideways in either direction, upwards and downwards, as well as hovering in place like a helicopter. I have tried to capture these amazing little critters on camera and have been fortunate to get a few good images to share. Their wings beat 4800 times per minute and their heart beats an astonishing 1260 times per minute. This rapid wing movement creates the humming sound that gives them their name. When you are near their feeding source awaiting their arrival, you actually sense their presence through the incredible pace of their little wings, it is a sensation that literally creeps into your being before you see them. And of course they are very difficult to photograph because they move so rapidly in any direction. They are wary of humans, but if you dress appropriately, you can get within 6-10 feet of them while they are eating at a feeder.

Hummers have to eat their weight every day to maintain their ability to have so much energy. That sounds astounding until you realize that they weigh less than an ounce. When they migrate, they have to double their weight from 3 grams to over 6 grams to sustain them on their journey. They are truly an amazing creation of the creator and a thing of beauty to behold. Sadly, we are nearing the end of their summer migration and it is time for them to fly south for the winter. Most of the ruby throated hummingbirds that spend their summers in North Carolina will winter in Mexico  and down as far as Panama in Central America. Amazingly, it is likely that they will return to join us next summer. I saw little "Jeannie" this morning and hope to see her for a few more days before they take flight.

Here are some migration basics from the hummingbirds.net website.

"Each hummingbird species has its own migration strategy, and it's incorrect to think of "hummingbirds" as a single type of animal, all alike. This article will discuss Ruby-throated migration, because it's likely that more people see that species than all the others in North America combined, and its dynamics are similar to other species, although the dates and locations vary. An exception is Anna's Hummingbird, which typically does not migrate but may wander up- and downslope following seasonal food resources.
Banding studies suggest that individual birds may follow a set route year after year, often arriving at the same feeder on the same day. We do not know if any individual bird follows the same route in both directions, and there are some indications that they do not.

Why migrate?

 Some songbird species have adapted completely to our variable North American climates, in part by becoming vegetarians in winter, and don't migrate. But hummingbirds are carnivores (nectar is just the fuel to power their flycatching activity), and depend on insects that are not abundant in subfreezing weather, so most of them must retreat back "home" to Central America in the winter or risk starvation. A few Ruby-throated remain along the Gulf coast each winter instead of continuing to Central America, perhaps because they are too old or sick to make another trans-Gulf flight or too young (from very late nests) to have had time to grow fat and strong enough to migrate; their survival chances depend on the severity of each particular winter, and many perish in unusually cold years. Another small population winters in the Outer Banks of North Carolina.

Northward Migration

Most Ruby-throated Hummingbirds winter between southern Mexico and northern Panama. Since hummingbirds lead solitary lives and neither live nor migrate in flocks, an individual bird may spend the winter anywhere in this range where the habitat is favorable, but probably returns to the same location each winter. Ruby-throats begin moving north as early as January, and by the end of February they are at the northern coast of Yucatan, gorging on insects and spiders to add a thick layer of fat in preparation for flying to the U.S. Some will skirt the Gulf of Mexico and follow the Texas coast north, while most apparently cross the Gulf, typically leaving at dusk for a nonstop flight of up to 500 miles, which takes 18-22 hours depending on the weather. Although hummingbirds may fly over water in company of mixed flocks of other bird species, they do not "hitchhike" on other birds. Some hummingbirds land on offshore oil rigs or fishing boats to rest. Individual birds may make landfall anywhere between southern Texas and central Florida. Before departing, each bird will have nearly doubled its weight, from about 3.25 grams to over 6 grams; when it reaches the U.S. Gulf coast, it may weigh only 2.5 grams. It's also possible that a few Ruby-throats island-hop across the Caribbean and enter the U.S. through the Florida Keys.
Males depart Yucatan first, followed about 10 days later by the first females. But the migration is spread over a three-month period, which prevents a catastrophic weather event from wiping out the entire species. This means that a few birds will arrive at any location very early (the dots on the migration map), but the bulk of the population will follow later, so you may not see your first hummingbird for several more weeks. Each individual has its own internal map and schedule, and "your" birds may arrive early, late, or anywhere within a two-month span.

Once in North America, migration proceeds at an average rate of about 20 miles per day, generally following the earliest blooming of flowers hummingbirds prefer. The northern limit of this species coincides with that of the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker; if the earliest males arrive in Canada before sufficient flowers are blooming, they raid sapsucker wells for sugar, as well as eat insects caught in the sap. The northward migration is complete by late May. Banding studies show that each bird tends to return every year to the same place it hatched, even visiting the same feeders. See the Ruby-throated migration map for the species' range and earliest arrival dates.

Southward Migration

Unlike the Rufous and other hummingbirds of the western mountains, where freezing nights are common even in summer, Ruby-throats aren't well adapted to cold temperatures; they have a tough time below the mid-20s (F), and don't enter torpor as regularly as their western cousins to conserve energy. To avoid the cold, and the scarcity of food when flowers stop blooming and insects stop flying, they go south. Some adult males start migrating south as early as mid-July, but the peak of southward migration for this species is late August and early September. By mid-September, essentially all of the Ruby-throated at feeders are migrating through from farther north, and not the same individuals seen in the summer. This is difficult to see, since they all look alike, but has been proven by banding studies. The number of birds migrating south may be twice that of the northward trip, since it includes all immature birds that hatched during the summer, as well as surviving adults.
For a hummer that just hatched, there's no memory of past migrations, only an urge to put on a lot of weight (see above) and fly in a particular direction for a certain amount of time, then look for a good place to spend the winter. Once it learns such a route, a bird may retrace it every year as long as it lives. The initial urge is triggered by the shortening length of sunlight as autumn approaches, and has nothing to do with temperature or the availability of food; in fact, hummingbirds migrate south at the time of greatest food abundance. When the bird is fat enough, it migrates. It's not necessary to take down feeders to force hummingbirds to leave, and in the fall all the birds at your feeder are already migrating anyway. If you remove your feeder, birds will just feed elsewhere, but may not bother to return to your yard the next year. I recommend continuing to maintain feeders until freezing becomes a problem.
Many people notice that adult males migrate earlier than females, because in the last month or so there may be no birds with red throats at feeders. However, remember that immature Ruby-throats of both sexes look much like their mothers. Young males often have a "5 o'clock shadow" of dark throat feathers in broken streaks, and many develop one or more red gorget feathers by the time they migrate. Immature females may have much lighter streaks in their throats, but no red.
There is evidence that fewer Ruby-throats cross the Gulf in fall than in spring, most instead following the Texas coast back into Mexico. Perhaps the hurricane season is a factor, and the genes of many birds with a tendency to fly over water were lost at sea during storms."

Things That Old Folks Learn from Children - Part II

What a joy to have the privilege of caring for two precious little boys. We learned a wealth of things when we kept Weston and Bennett last winter. We can now add to this list, as we just kept them both for another two weeks, while Mom and Dad went to the Olympics. The little one really reflects the difference that a half year makes since we last cared for them. Running instead of walking (usually away from you), jabbering instead of monosyllabic (endless streams of intelligent sounding conversation, yet unintelligible), actually pronouncing the important words in his world (doughnut, I-Pad, milk, broke, Nana, Mommy, Daddy, Poppy, etc.),  improved proficiency in operating his I-Pad, sitting at the dinner table without a high chair (actually pulling the chair out and seating himself as he requests a doughnut), all of these and more.
   It is summertime and the birds are less visible as we feed them less, but the hummingbirds were frequent visitors to our two feeders. Both of the boys stared in wonder as they watched the charming little birds dart and hover and dash away. As hummingbird appearances are of very short duration, they both excitedly called us when they spotted one through the window. Though only the female appeared during their visit, we are now getting the beautifully colored male red-throated hummingbirds this week. Sorry that Bennett missed him, maybe next time.
   It is amazing that we learned so much since their last visit. But then, there is always something new to learn. As these little guys cruise through our lives we are reminded of their parents and the footprints they have etched in our hearts. In the words of my favorite children's poet, Eugene Fields.

 "On the floor and down the hall,
   Rudely smutched upon the wall,
   There are proofs in every kind,
   Of the havoc they have wrought,
   And upon my heart you'd find
   Just such trade marks, if you sought;
   Oh how glad I am 'tis so"

Things we learned:

- Two I-Pads are essential to the keeping of the peace.(One on the charger and one working is sometimes difficult to manage)

- Curious George is, in fact, the most curious monkey in the world

- The "kingham dog and the calico cat" is still immensely enjoyed by four-year-olds even though it was written 130 years ago during Victorian times. (from 'The Duel' by Eugene Fields)

- Powdered doughnuts have replaced nutrigrain bars as the snack of choice for two year olds.

- It is totally awesome that a grand dad can still sing precious little ones to sleep after saying the Lord's Prayer with them.

- The brightest eyes in the world radiate from the faces of small children.

- Trust is earned by acts of love and transparency.

- Never try to take away an I-Pad from a sleepy child.

- A child's daybed will also accommodate a full grown grand parent beside a child, (for short periods of time)

- Four year olds can count to ten in Spanish. (72 year olds can count to 20 in Spanish)

- An impish smile with two blazing blue eyes is still very difficult to refuse.

-  Puzzles and stickers are a great alternative to continuous, monotonous children's TV programming.

- Two sleepy children are best kept apart (in separate rooms) if you ever hope to get either of them to sleep.

- Concentrating on a grandparents voice of instruction, watching a children's show on TV, and playing an app on the your Ipad simultaneously requires at least one of the inputs to be ignored.
(Guess which)

- Two year olds will take food off the plate of four year old when he is not looking.

- Four year olds will swap I-Pads when two year olds are not looking.

- Pampers can actually fall to your ankles while running away from your granddad

- Never wake a sleeping child, never

- Wrestling with two toddlers at the same time will wear an old guy out.

- Even though I don't know the answer, there really is an explanation to "why?", and little guys have every right to ask.

- Four year olds are refreshingly transparent when expressing their opinion and they expect the same honesty back from you.

- Perhaps the sweetest sound you will ever hear in your life is "Nana" or "Poppy", "I love you"