I have Frankenstein's stomach, other weirdness and for 19 things there is a first time

Wednesday morning I got a call from someone named Colleen, my "case manager" at UPMC.  I almost didn't take the call but I'm glad I did, she was knowledgeable and honest.

She had a pretty good understanding of my week in the hospital, and asked what my stomach was looking like.  I said it looked like Frankenstein's stomach, with red slashes and covered in green, blue and brown bruises.  

I said it was also tender to the touch and EXTREMELY swollen. I've eaten so much less since this whole thing began yet my stomach feels and looks like I was 9 months pregnant.

I'm not making this up--I came very close to sharing a photo of my monster belly here but was too embarrassed.

She told me the average patient gains between 10-15 pounds following surgery and a stay in the hospital (from being sedentary and receiving IV bags of various nutrients 24 hours a day).  As for all the swelling and soreness, I have a lot of enflamed organs right now. 

I told Colleen that I was just concerned why I'm not feeling lots better.  A few people have sent me articles or videos on what to expect following gall bladder surgery, people often go home the same day or the next morning, not a week later.  She said "Yours was emergency surgery, not elective.  Plus you underwent two surgeries two days in a row.  And then you got those infections and the pneumonia, so your outcome was different."

I asked her how soon I can begin doing some light exercising again (I always liked to do arm & leg stuff while watching tv) and she said "Nope, none of that.  You can start taking some light walks in 2-3 weeks."   Oh well, I'm still being forced to sleep upright because of breathing problems.

Colleen said I also run the risk of getting a hernia right now, and to avoid picking up anything heavier than a gallon of milk for another 3 weeks.  Easier said than done.

The surgeon wants to do a follow-up with me on June 25.  I hope I'm well enough to go, my dear friend Kim has graciously agreed to go with me.  

As long as I'm doing a health update here, I'm still wrestling with these long covid symptoms.  The left eye and temple inflammation have been subdued for over a week now, but still lots of soreness and weirdness inside my mouth, tongue & gums.  Things like chocolate, salt, tomato sauce are like eating red pepper.  It sucks, but could be worse.

And finally, something I never thought I'd do--I bought groceries online today from Walmart.com.  There was an extra $15.00 added to my bill for delivery & driver's tip, but all the items I requested showed up at my doorstep.  (And no broken eggs.)  A nice convenience but I like my walks to Kuhns.

Happy Mother's Day to my favorite working mom

This is a Mother's Day card my dad made for Mom sometime in the mid-1970s.  (Her name was Linda, but he always called her "Line".)   On the card, she's wearing her red Fisher's Big Wheel smock.  It had a large white button pinned on the front that displayed her name and the caption "We're Big on People".

When Fisher's Big Wheel came to our hometown in 1972, we were all excited.  It was our first big department store.  We had a GC Murphy's and McCrory's, but those five and dime stores were small-fry compared to this.

It was right around my 11th birthday that Fisher's opened for business, and on Opening Day my mom took a couple of us kids to check it out.  We walked out of there with Mom holding a job application. 

That night at dinner, Mom told Dad about the store and how she was hoping to get a job there.  Dad (in a half-kidding manner) said "Now Liney, no wife of mine is going to get a job..."  and Mom said "Then go find one paying double so I don't have to!"   

   The inside of Mom's card

I swear to God I remember this--after the dishes were cleared, Mom was sitting at our kitchen table filling out her application, and where it said 'Age' (yep, back then they could ask for it) she drew an arrow pointing to the side and wrote "I believe women are like fine wines, we improve with age."  

She showed it to Dad and asked what he thought and he said "Oh sure Line, they'll like that" and winked at me!  I didn't say anything but thought "You blew it, Mom."

Apparently, Fishers liked it just fine--they offered her a job and she worked there for 23 years.  Happy Mothers Day Mom, and to all the other awesome moms out there.   

These might be relics now, but I am still the Trek Master

Recently, my friend Margaret from the blog 'Stargazer' posted a photo of a little dog with snarling teeth and a horn on his head, and a black cat wearing a gold Star Trek tunic.  She wrote "It's Trivia Time, does anyone know what Star Trek episode this dog is from?"

It took me 0.02 milliseconds to recognize the dog from the Star Trek episode "The Enemy Within", where a malfunctioning transporter begins beaming things up--twice.  It was a brilliant episode, and a frightening one as well when a duplicate Captain Kirk goes on a violent rampage.

After I responded with my answer, she said "Right!  The black cat is from the episode with Gary Seven, do you remember that one?"

I almost spit up my Romulan ale; did she seriously just ask if I remembered the 1968 episode "Assignment: Earth"??  That would be like asking if I knew the name of the spaceship that Captain Kirk & Mr. Spock flew on!

All joking aside, I am very grateful to have good friends like Margaret from Washington, Jase from Colorado, Roger from Georgia, and Chuck & Robin from Canada who enjoy Star Trek too.

I thought I'd use this as an excuse to show off my Star Trek TV dvd collection.  I told my Trekkie friend Roger recently that given the awfulness of the new show Starfleet Academy, I was streaming Star Trek: Deep Space Nine on Paramount Plus instead.

He said "You should consider buying Deep Space Nine on physical media, DVDs are making a comeback."

I do not believe dvds are making a comeback, but I still almost choked on my Tarkalean tea.  I DO own Deep Space Nine on dvd!  I own all the Trek shows, movies, everything!  I am the Trek Master!

But in a way, Roger is right.  I don't own the "official" episodes of DS9.  When they were first released in 2004, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine was $599.99 for the boxed set.  I couldn't bring myself to pay that much, so I began looking in some pretty shady corners of the internet.  

I found a Chinese company that sold bootlegs of Trek TV shows, and I got all seven seasons of DS9 for $79.00 total. 

The set arrived in these wonderful silkscreen boxes.  I loved their packaging so much, I didn't feel guilty for buying bootlegs.  The discs were high quality, affordable--and even had an option to hear the episodes in Mandarin!

Finally, a couple years before I retired (and was still in my old apartment) I found a graphics website RixGrafix where you could download his artwork and make your own DVD boxes.

I wanted a more uniform option to display my Star Trek dvds, so I downloaded the art for all the Trek series, and printed them at an office supply store on hi-grade paper on my lunch hours.

I bought 50 dvd cases from a DVD container warehouse, and they turned out really nice.  The first picture below is my Star Trek: The Next Generation dvds in their fan art boxes.  

The second photo shows Star Trek: Enterprise, Original Series, Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager.

When you line them up on your shelf, the spines form a spacey Trek collage.  😏

I no longer display them.  When I moved to my new apartment in 2017, I sold or gave away my bookcases, and all of my Trek dvds went into storage.  As long as I can stream them on Paramount, that's where I'll watch them.

Oh and for the record, I went on Amazon last night to see if ST:DS9 was available to purchase, it is.  But unlike that $599 price tag in 2004, they're only $66.00 now.  I'm not buying, but good to know. 

Religion for Sale: A fond farewell to the Coal Lick Methodist Church

This was taken in June 1973, our first day of Bible School that my siblings & I attended every summer at the Coal Lick Methodist Church in Waynesburg, Pa.

That's me and my sister Shawn in the back, my brother Steve and sister Donda-Lin in front

I sure am wearing a lot of plaids here!  Why, Doug... why.

I have very, very fond memories of this small country church.  Our great grandparents were married here, as were our grandparents, and our mom & dad.  So were our Morris aunts, uncles... our oldest brother Duke married his first wife Cheryl here in 1981.

August 7, 1958.  My parents wedding.

The church was built in 1840, and in 1970 had 68 adult members.  

It had a beautiful dark wood ceiling (as you're about to see) and gorgeous stained glass windows on both sides of the church that sadly, are no more.

I told my friend Diana the other night that I always felt a tremendous sense of peace here.  The basement had half windows that filled it with soft light, and a 1940s kitchen where various church or family events were attended with plenty of food.  In the summers during Bible School, we worked on crafts down there.

As I sit here writing this, all these memories come flooding back.  Every year (besides my siblings and first cousins) we'd see other families like the Bland kids.  The oldest Rodney was my age, they all had orangey red hair and loads of freckles.  Their mother loved to sing and had a loud, booming voice.  There were the Zollars girls (the older one was an awful bully who grew up even worse), the Hendersons (BJ, Eddie & Pam, good kids) and our second cousins from our Grandpap's brother Kenneth's family, also named Morris.  

Farm boys, quiet and good looking, with dark hair and tan faces and clear eyes.

On April 19, 1981 the Morrisville Methodist (top) & Coal Lick Methodist church (bottom) had their final day of services.  They joined together to form a new church, the Oak View Methodist

Anyway, this past week my sister sent me a Zillow listing for the Coal Lick which is up for sale.

They're asking $200,000 for the structure and 1/8 acre.  Gosh that sounds steep.

After the church closed up shop in the early Eighties, it sat empty for a number of years before being bought by a family for use as a home.

Over the years they removed the stained glass windows, added a wooden deck on the left side... what happened to the doors on the vestibule in front?

And here's the side opposite the deck--those beautiful stained glass windows replaced with ordinary ones.

Here's a couple pics of the cluttered interior.   Aside from the ceiling (which looks beautiful as ever) it's difficult to picture the church as it once was.  I can still see it clearly in my mind's eye though.   

The current owners have got a lot of bric-a-brac going on here!

One more...

I began having spiritual doubts when I was around 17 or so, and pretty much lost any remaining beliefs in college.  A Sociology professor of mine would talk at length about the need for religion to placate the masses, and I began seeing things in a different light.  I'm not an atheist, but not into organized religion either.  

Finally, I wanted to share this:  I was telling my friend Diana that behind the pulpit of the original church was this very large portrait of Jesus by Heinrich Hofmann.  It was absolutely huge, it must've stood fifty feet tall.  

She said "Well, I'm sure it looked that way to a child's eyes."  Maybe so.  But it never intimidated me, seeing the Savior praying always brought me peace inside, and comfort.  This was the artwork below.  

I will never forget you, Coal Lick Church.  

When there's so much to choose from, it makes it hard to decide

See that blank wall on the left?  For the last 5-6 years, I've made a New Years resolution to find a piece of art (or picture) for this accent wall in my dining room before next Christmas rolls around.  And every Christmas, I let myself down--how'd I let another year pass?  What's my excuse this time?   

When you're younger and get your first place but have little money for decorating, pretty much any kind of wall hanging will do.  When I moved to Pittsburgh in the 1980s, my friend Theresa's parents owned a video store and supplied me with plenty of movie posters.

But when you finally have the time and money (and lots of options, thanks to the internet) it becomes much more difficult.  It does for me, at least.

I have it narrowed down to 113,079 choices—it just has to be these 3 things:

1. An unframed canvas
2. 30” square—no bigger or smaller
3. Something with an Asian, modern or industrial influence

I recently bought (what I thought) was a black & white canvas of the Great Wall of China online, but it wasn’t black & white.  It was a glum mix of gray, lavender & brown and just too dreary.  Couldn't bring myself to keep it.

Here’s some other pieces I’m drawn to, the first is fishing boats on an African river, the second is a very bold artwork, titled “Shanghai Scribble”.   I love big colors, I love modern, I love red.  I just worry it’s TOO red.

Here's two more I like, a rocky coastline and "A Busy Morning"...

The coastal one has a nice zen about it, and I don’t mind it being black & white; I’ve got plenty of colors in here already.   I really like that red piece though... I think I'll do some more browsing.

Finally, I wanted to share another piece I got recently and the power of the internet.  A month or so ago, I was watching a YouTube video showcasing “Heinz Lofts” in the former industrial part of the city.  Several years ago, the old Heinz ketchup factory was converted to upscale condos.

In one of the units, there was a “minimalist circle map” of Pittsburgh on the wall.  I really liked it, and began searching different art sites for it.  Couldn’t find it anywhere.

I paused the video and did a screen print, cut and pasted it in MS Paint, did a Tin Eye image search.  I found it on an Etsy site called Mapologist.  I wrote the owner, asked if he still sold it and if so, could I get a smaller sized print. 

After he said yes, I went on another site and ordered a sandalwood frame.  I’ve been wanting something modern & light to hang on the wall outside my bathroom door, nothing too dark or heavy.

Anyway, here it is and it worked out just right.  Happy New Year, everyone.

SWM, 64 ISO funny, sweet, patient, huggable, slightly mental companion & partner in crime

I’m trying to decide if SWM stands for single white male, sexy white male, senior white male or serious white male.  Don’t I look serious here? 

This sounds a little strange, but here goes.  I was heading up the street earlier, and wanted to wear my lighter green henley.  But I’m color blind and couldn’t tell the difference between this shirt and the dusty purple and dark gray henleys I also own, so I took this selfie. 

I see colors in photos better than in person.  Been that way my entire life.

Anyway, as long as I was posing for the camera… I saw a story on the news this weekend that said online dating was making a comeback, particularly among seniors.  Maybe it’s time I threw my shirt in the ring.  This is my practice selfie.

“Doug, you mean your hat.  You throw your hat in the ring.”   I don’t own any hats!

For the record I like to think I’m chubby in a sexy way and neurotic in a charming way.  I’m an expert at flipping hamburgers, roasting broccoli and making tuna fish salad.  I don’t smoke or drink or use drugs (okay, I did have one wine slushi at the winery) and I may not be religious but I don’t swear either.  Well, I don’t use the Lord’s name in vain. 

I keep a pretty clean house.  I even special-order Spic n’ Span powder in the box!  (If you don’t remember Spic n’ Span in a box, you’re probably too young for this fella.)  That stuff is da bomb!  I know, no one says da bomb anymore.

Anyway, take all that—throw in a few stocks & bonds and in four months I begin collecting social security.  What’s not to love?

 

Look! Up in the sky! It’s a bird—it’s a plane—it’s the Boomer’s Superman

This is a thing of beauty.  I wasn’t going to share it here, but with the new Superman movie out this summer…  this is an 814 page collection of Superman comic books from the late 1950s thru the early 1960s.  It weighs a ton and every page is drenched in color.

A year ago a friend sent me a link to this book, and my eyes almost popped out of my head.  A Superman Silver Age Omnibus!  814 pages!  $100.00!

But I’m not the comic book fan I once was, and couldn’t bring myself to shell out a hundred clams for this fella.  I stuck it in my Amazon Wish List account.  Then last week, Amazon alerted me there was only one copy left and I noticed the price was reduced almost half to $53.70.  SOLD.

Silver Age comics were comic books published from 1958 to 1970.  I began collecting comics in 1968, when they were 12 cents an issue.

(Your average comic book now is 5 bucks.  They’re not marketed to kids like they were in my day.)

I don’t think this OMNIBUS is marketed to kids either—more to “older kids” like myself, Baby Boomers who loved these simpler, more innocent stories from a bygone age.

Silver Age Superman was drawn by Wayne Boring, Curt Swan and Kurt Schaffenberger, who did all the “What If” stories and “Superman’s Girl-Friend, Lois Lane”.  The books were bright and fun, with stories about red kryptonite, bizarro supermen, super cousins, super pets, beauty queens from the 30th century or the lost city of Atlantis, juvenile delinquents from outer space.

One of my favorites were Zigi & Zagi from Alpha Centauri; after arriving on Earth, they stop at a hot dog stand, gobble up some dogs and tell the vendor not to change the recipe.  They fly off in their jet packs while the vendor exclaims they owe him 2 bits each.  “Come back here!!  Superman!!”

In the late 1960s, if I could get a quarter from my dad or mom, I’d stop at GC Murphy’s on the way home from school and buy a comic book and dime candy bar (and still have 3 cents left over for penny candy). 

In the spring of ‘69, I saw this sign above the comic books:

SORRY KIDS!  ALL COMICS NOW PRICED 15 CENTS!

They had the exact same sign above the candy bars, also now 15 cents (except Reeses & Mallow Cups).  My first taste of inflation! 

For the record, I gave up collecting comic books in 1979, after graduating from high school.  Not because I was becoming an adult and had my future to think about… they went up a nickel in price 5-6 times in the 1970s, and now cost 45 cents for my favorite titles.  I just couldn’t bring myself to shell out that kind of bread for 5-6 books every week. 

Look at all the comic books reprinted in this volume; these early covers contain 3-4 Superman stories each.  Until I see the new Superman movie, I am in for some super-duper reading. 

 

This past week, it feels like I’m living in the Twilight Zone

This has been a strange week.  I shared my feelings with my friend Diana over the phone last night, she made some polite sounds and I thought “Doug you need to keep your weird stuff to yourself” and now here I am, ready to share it on here.

I don’t believe I’m in a particularly normal state of mind right now, so if this becomes too weird or tiresome for you, I won’t blame you for moving on.

Today is “Day 35” of this strange bloated thing going on with my belly.  It’s not too painful, just tender and uncomfortable.  I get up in the morning, my stomach is bulging on the right side.  As the day wears on and I have a cup of coffee, an egg, a sandwich, some soup or pasta, a cookie… by 7pm I’m looking 7 months pregnant.

I don’t feel constipated, my belly just gets bigger and bigger as the day goes on.  I’m trying to move around more, I hope things return to normal soon.

This past Tuesday, I went to the Lutheran Center for lunch, asked a couple friends there (Mary, Deb) if they’d been summoned for jury duty recently.  Mary said no but you can opt out of serving in Allegheny County if you’re 70 or over.  She asked why I wanted to know, did I receive a jury summons.  I said no, I was just wondering for some reason.

When I returned home, I got on my computer and was going thru my email, and there was a new message from my friend & old classmate Pen.  She asked how I was doing and said she’d spent the previous day at her local courthouse after being summoned for jury duty.  I immediately wrote back and told her what had just happened at the center and one of us must be psychic.  A couple hours later, I began smelling “burning oatmeal” and got a bad feeling that stayed with me until I went to bed.

I woke up Wednesday morning with my face & head burning with long-covid pain.  A really serious relapse, and I worried I was back in it for the long haul.  I sat here most of the day in shock & depression.

The very next day (Thursday) I woke up—still a distended, sore belly—but no head or face inflammation.  It was completely gone.  Relieved, I cleaned up and headed to the center and had one of the nicest afternoons ever, just hanging out and talking to my friends Evvie & Geri.  A couple people offered me a ride home when the center was closing, I said it was such a beautiful day I was just going to walk.  I passed my friend Dennis on the street and he asked me if I was ready to see his place above the bakery, and I told him not yet.  I was headed to Kuhn’s Market to buy stuff to make soup for an upcoming blog.  Life was feeling pretty good.

When I got up yesterday (Friday) morning, my head and face were flushed and burning with pain again.  And here I am a day later, still the same, I can’t even turn or tilt my head without lots of “crackling”.  It’s that long covid inflammation, back at work.  

After weeks of it being mostly gone, why did it return?  At my last trip to the center 2 days ago, I was showing Evvie & Geri my “sore bulge” (that sounds a bit sketchy, doesn’t it) and Cussin’ Connie walked past and said “YOU’RE A DAMN HYPOCHONDRIAC!”

I love her dearly and that made me laugh.  And I’m not going to argue she’s wrong, I just want my old normal back—whatever that was. If you made it this far, thanks for listening.

And Happy Mother’s Day tomorrow to you moms out there.  

 

First visit to my new doctor’s office: It still feels like this

This past Thursday I met my new PCP, to hopefully get a new prescription for Amlodipine for my high blood pressure and have my gut examined (it’s been bloated, sore and hard on the right side for 27 consecutive days). 

Oh and maybe some Flomax for my nocturnal bathroom visits.  It’s been difficult and not very pretty.  I need to go standing up, and at 3am I tend to dribble.  Too much?  Sorry!

Before I say anything else, I want to give a big thank you to my friend Mary from the senior center, who volunteered to drive me.  My new doctor’s office is nearer than my former one in the city, but still a couple miles away.  I installed Uber on my phone, was preparing to reserve a ride a couple weeks in advance when Mary said “Why don’t you let me take you.”   Thank you Mary!

I should add that after my appointment, we headed straight to the center.  When we walked in, Mary said “Oh Evvie, look who I spent the night with!”  

Back to my visit—after I got there and checked in, I was ushered into an examination room to wait.  A nurse came in (a very bubbly 50 year old named Jackie, I liked her) and took my blood pressure and weight, and told me to hang tight.

A short time later, Dr. Cool—I mean Dr. Cole entered the room.  Tall, dark and handsome this man looked like he just stepped out of a daytime soap.  His specialty is ‘older people’.

Dr. Michael Cole, who joined UPMC in 2020

He was very friendly, very polite—asked me why I haven’t had an examination since November 2023, and I explained I’d gotten long covid a month after my last exam, and was finally making a real recovery.  But I’d been halving my meds to make them last longer, which caused my BP to spike.  I was on my regular doses again, but only had 7 pills left.

He said “Your BP is 130 over 88—that’s slightly elevated.”  I said “Doctor, 2 weeks ago it was 155 over 111.  I know you’re the medical expert here, but I thought todays was a big improvement.”

He told me he’d send a prescription to my pharmacy right away and then asked if I’d fasted that morning.  No, I had a cup of coffee and a cookie before arriving.  He said too bad, they could’ve drawn blood for bloodwork while I was there. 

I was both angry and bummed—why didn’t someone from his office call and tell me not to eat or drink anything before my appointment?  Now I have to go back in 2 weeks!

He then asked if I had any difficulty peeing, I said during the daytime it was fine but not the 4 times I get up at night to do my business.  He asked me if I’d like to try Flomax for awhile and I said “If you think it will help…”  

Then he began asking about other prescriptions I’d been on, I said like what?  He said like Dilantin and Phenobarbitol.  Um, those were for seizures I had 50 years ago.  He went through my entire medical history and asked if I’d like an appointment with a dermatologist to get my body examined for melanoma.

I said not right now, my priority was managing my blood pressure, and figuring out why my abdomen has been bloated and sore for 27 days straight.  He told me to lift my shirt and let him see, and said “I think you have some gallbladder inflammation, and it’s pushing against your liver.  You have a history of gallstones, it’s probably just a matter of time before you get it removed.”  

Okay, but what do I do now?  From what I’ve been reading, I suspect it’s gas buildup in the intestines.  I’ve been using a hot water bottle at night, it helps.

He asked if I had any hobbies or friends, and seemed delighted when I told him about my blog and the senior center, and our outings to various restaurants and points of interest.  He asked if I was interested in losing any weight, I said I’d like to lose 20 pounds and get down to 215.  He told me to cut back on my carbs and up my activity, then said “I see you’ve lost a little since your last examination.”  

Dr. Cole, seriously?  According to your computer display, I am 35 pounds lighter than my exam in 2023—I’d hardly call that a little, sir.

Well, the important thing is I am getting back on track with my health.  Next I need to find a dental specialist and begin the process of bone grafts for a couple of much needed molar implants.  I just hope there isn’t an emergency gallbladder surgery in my immediate future! 

 

Picture of the Day: The pump’s off, the pump’s off!

It’s been awhile since I blogged a Picture of the Day, so I thought I’d share this drawing of my family.  I’m surprised I didn’t post this a long time ago, I almost forgot it existed until I came across it recently.

My dad (a talented artist) drew this in 1977.  From left to right was my 2 year old sister Courtney, a 15 year old me jumping for joy (because back then, I hand-washed all my shirts), my brother Steve in the plaid, my long haired sister Shawn with her arms outstretched, our oldest brother Duke behind her with his thick glasses and cap flying off his head.

That’s our sister Donda-Lin tiptoeing, and Dad is holding a giant mallet in front of the kitchen sink.  Last but not least, that’s our poor mom crawling on her hands and knees, face turned towards you & me.

As much as we loved the old farmhouse, we relied on a pretty shallow well.  If you ran the faucet for more than a couple minutes, the pump in the basement would snap on.  Whatever you were doing—washing dishes, your hair, tomorrow’s shirt for school—you had to stop until the pump switched off again. 

It was only for several minutes but was constant and frustrating. 

In 1985, after their herd thinned out some, my parents moved into a new mobile home in a very nice park with “city water”, which pleased my mom to no end.  Everytime I came to visit, she’d say “Doug, do you want to take a shower honey?  We’ve got plenty of water, take as long as you want!” 

She would also tell me to bring my dirty laundry home with me when I visited (I never did).

The funny thing is, to this day I feel guilty when I’m in my own shower for more than a couple minutes.  We were all trained growing up to take “navy showers”.

Of course, I’d happily give up my daily 10 minute shower and return to that well water if I could have these two people back in my life again.  Love and miss you, Mom & Dad.

Mom & Dad, 1977

 

People places and food, on a Wednesday afternood

I don’t really have a lot to share at the moment, but I’m tired of seeing that tiki-idol in my last post, so here we go.

Earlier today (it’s a late and sunny Wednesday afternoon as I write this) I shaved & dressed, swallowed a couple pills for my sore tailbone, gritted my teeth and headed to the Lutheran Senior Center for lunch.

It could not have been a nicer time; many of my favorites like Mary and Cussin’ Connie (who were both sporting new ‘dos) were there, and I love those characters like family.

Speaking of characters, the reason you’re seeing Bette Davis on here is because we got to talking about heavy smokers, and I just had to do my impersonation of Bette Davis from her final appearance on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.  Why Doug… why?

Anyway, here’s a few photos I took of the day.  Nothing exciting to look at,  but I’ve been wanting to share a couple of these people for a long time.

My friend & neighbor Lida, who I ran into in the lobby downstairs.  I’ve known Lida for 7 years, she’s a special needs person who is both funny & kind, and remembers every ailment you have. “Doug!!  How’s your back!  And your front!”Here’s the infamous Kuhn’s Market I’m always talking about.  If you were familiar with the area, you’d notice a BIG empty space to the store’s left that was formerly a YMCA and other building.  They’re constructing a new Kuhn’s “Superstore” that will be more than double the size of our 1950’s sized grocery store. 

I’m not crazy about it, but that’s progress!This is Bridget who works at the Lutheran Center, and one of the nicest people you will ever meet.  I adore her.  When I visited the center’s Open House in June 2023, she was the first person I met and was sold.

(She’s also an expert on all the superheroes in the Marvel & DC universe and we’ve had some great discussions.  Well, she does have 3 boys!)Today’s lunch—pulled pork sandwich, Texas-style corn, coleslaw, cantalope, hunk of cake.  Don’t let the simplicity of this meal fool you, the center serves the best pub steakburgers and pulled pork I’ve ever eaten.  Finally, this is for Cathy & Sharon (my neighbors) who wanted to know what a single man has for Easter Dinner.  That’s a Bavarian ham sandwich with butter & horseradish, roasted broccoli with red peppers, au gratin potatoes with onions and a deviled egg.

I know it’s nothing fancy, but it suited this single man just fine.  The End

My 63 year old look at the universe, and the Queen of Outer Space

Recently on the non-Trump news, scientists reported the discovery of amino acids in yet another comet. 

These same amino acids were found in a comet in 2006, and again in 2016.  What does the discovery of all these acids mean?

It means that the building blocks of life are common in space, and that life may be abundant throughout the universe.

I am of the firm belief that life is very, very abundant in the universe. 

Many people of faith believe life exists only here on Earth.  If they’re referring to human life, they’re probably right. But I bet there are 100 million varieties of intelligent life in the cosmos that could teach us a thing or two.

Unfortunately, we’ll never get to know them, or they us. 

Too many sci-fi movies, books & tv shows have compartmentalized outer space, inadvertently brainwashing us into believing we’ve been visited by aliens since the ancient Egyptians—and it’s only a matter of time before we’re landing on new planets ourselves.  It’s never going to happen, folks.

YOU:  We don’t need to travel that far, Doug.  The star closest to us is Proxima Centauri, and that’s only 4.25 light years away!

ME:  Without the ability to travel at the speed of light, it would take us 70,000 years to reach Proxima Centauri. 

I don’t want to be a wet rag, but nothing besides light can travel at the speed of light.  “Warp speed” like on Star Trek, that’s fiction.  

However, our telescope technology is amazing.  Who knows what we’ll be seeing in 10 years?  25?

Look at these 2 images of deep space using the Hubble Space Telescope in the 1990s, and a more recent image using the James Webb Telescope.

Those aren’t stars or planets—these globs of light are GALAXIES.  The updated photo on the right shows us galaxies we didn’t detect before.

And each of these galaxies contain billions of stars, and those billions of stars usually have solar systems (planets & moons) in their orbits. 

Psst--the galaxy closest to our own, Andromeda—even if we COULD travel at the speed of light, it would still take 2 1/2 million years to get there.  Just saying, we’re never leaving our own galaxy.

Scientists estimate there are 2 trillion galaxies in the universe.  And I have no doubt that on countless worlds, beings are doing their own stargazing and wondering who or what is out there.   I just hope most of them have better leaders than we do.  Or less gullible followers. 

Finally, this is something I’ve had stuck in my head for 50 years, and as long as we’re in outer space…

When I was around 12-13 years old, my parents were headed out one evening and Mom asked me to run in her bedroom and get her good cigarette lighter from the top drawer of her dresser.  I go in there, pull out the drawer, and notice a yellowed newspaper clipping underneath her small wedding Bible in the right corner. 

It was an old advertisement for “The Queen of Outer Space” at our local drive-in.  I took the clipping into the other room (where Mom was applying her make-up) and asked why she had this in her dresser. 

She said “Oh, your dad took me to see that after we were married.” 

I said “But what was so special about this one?  You told us about the great movies you saw when you two were dating like A Place in the Sun, On the Waterfront…. but The Queen of Outer Space?  You don’t even LIKE science fiction.  Or Zsa Zsa Gabor.” 

She said “Honey I don’t know what to tell you—now put it back where you found it and get my damn lighter!” 

I learned it had a sneak preview at the Waynesburg Drive-in on August 16, 1958.  Exactly 9 months to the day after that showing, my older brother Duke was born.  I think the mystery of the Queen of Outer Space clipping is solved.

“It’s for the birds” applies here in more ways than one

On Wednesday a few of us from the Lutheran Center took a little road-trip to visit the National Aviary.  The day started out pretty chilly (around 40F) but 5 seconds after this photo was taken, I was in a rainforest setting and wishing I’d brought my loincloth.

I was kind of bummed that none of my peeps (Evvie, Mary, Debbie, Geraldine, Dennis) elected to go; Dennis yelled “It’s not an eating trip, Doug!  I like eating trips!” 

Well Dennis, I will have you know that I enjoyed the best grilled chicken & bacon wrap of my life at the Aviary’s Kookaburra Cafe—so there!

Weirdly, my phone—my NEW phone stopped taking pictures in color towards the end and my chicken wrap only came out in black & white!  I was really bummed about this, you know how I am about my foodie pics.

Here’s a few boring pictures of my visit there.   I really think the aviary is someplace you have to visit in person to appreciate fully—some of these birds really astonished me with their personalities.

These 2 GIANT tropical birds kept shouting “Hello boy!” & “Hello down there!” 

I honestly believe this peacock believed it was directing human traffic

I liked this one passageway with dozens of paper mache birds hanging from the ceiling

One of two toucans here, a woman kept trying to get this one to say something.  I said “I don’t think toucans can speak” and she said “What about Toucan Sam?”  Um…. that’s the cartoon mascot for Fruit Loops.

Speaking of dodos, I really liked this oversized oil painting of a dodo bird

These 2 bald eagles were beautiful, but I felt uncomfortable seeing them in this cage.  (The staff assured me they’re happy here.)

This pink flamingo is much prettier in person—right around the corner, there was 20 more, standing at attention

I think the penguins were my favorite exhibit—they would wait until all eyes were on them, then go crazy with splashing water at us

And finally, my delicious grilled chicken & bacon wrap with tomatoes & purple onions—my camera suddenly stopped taking color photos and I still don’t know why.  (I fixed it on the ride home by doing a phone restart.)  The End!