Catching Up

Mr. Fixit had a health problem a few weeks ago. He had to go to the emergency room. He thought he was having a heart problem. The doctors told him, after several tests, that he has the heart of a teenager. We were never given a reason for his symptoms. The emergency room doctor told us his job was to detect heart problems, not to diagnose what caused the problem. Just another case of the medical establishment "Who cares" answers. Mr. Fixit hasn't had the problem again so that's good. He had a scan last week to check on the cancers in his lungs. He hasn't been on the oral chemo for six months. He has an appointment this afternoon for the results. We're nervous.

We have been attending baseball games. Mr. Fixit goes to more games than I do. I just can't go to four games a day in the heat anymore. It takes me days to recuperate. Two games a day, one day per weekend is my limit. Levi, our youngest player, has finished his spring season. Noah and Owen are playing on showcase teams, and they still have a few games before the season ends. Noah has games that require overnight travel so we aren't making those trips. Owen's team plays in the surrounding area; that's a good thing!

I have gained weight in the last month or so, and my blood glucose levels are higher than they should be. I haven't been able to walk for the last two weeks because of a painful knee. I really miss the walking. I didn't realize how much I need it. I just don't feel as well, and my energy level is down. I don't know why my weight and glucose levels are up. I have been trying to stay away from the carbs. I guess not walking is the problem.

Once I posted about a person who underlined swear words, or "socially unacceptable" language in library books. I haven't noticed it for a long time. Perhaps this person finally realized that if he/she is offended by the language that he/she should not read the books that contain such language. That was my thought anyway. I found something this morning that tops the underlining.

(Click on photo to enlarge)

The book is "The Steel Kiss" by Jeffery Deaver. (I know that book titles should be underlined, but I can never figure out to do it.) Someone affixed a sticky note under the phrase, "He church-keyed them, sat down. . ." The comment reads (in case you can't read it) "Why? They're twist tops. Deaver just want to use another made up verb: 'church-keyed'." Okay, it's the note guy's opinion. Good for him. I might be persnickety sometimes about grammar, spelling, and punctuation, but I don't think I would take the time to put my complaint on a sticky note in a library book. In fact, I could point out that the note writer made a little mistake, too. "Deaver just want to use. . ." and, I'm not sure but I think "made up" should be "made-up" when it used a a modifier. But's that debatable I suppose, but I'm not going to put another sticky note in the library book. So there!!!

And concerning my problem with the book--I have been reading Deaver's work for a long time and have enjoyed his work; however, this may be last one I read. Reading his books has become a chore, not a pleasure. He gets so bogged down in the details of forensic examination and analysis that it is deadly dull to me. I stopped reading Robin Cook medical thrillers and Michael Crichton novels for the same reason. But that just my opinion. Wait! Let me find a sticky note.

Words seem to go in and out of fashion just like hemlines. Of course, we all know about texting, sexting, messaging, booting up, etc. There are words that come into fashion simply by virtue of technology. Even though I don't like to use those words, I find that sometimes they are necessary. A new word (well, it's not really a new word, but the usage seems new to me) has come to the trucking industry. It's seldom you see "Smith & Son's Trucking" on the side of a long haul tractor-trailer. "Trucking" then changed to "Transportation"--"Smith & Son Transporation." Now the fashionable name for trucking companies is "Logistics"--"Smith and Son Logistics." See the nutty things I observe and find interesting?