Rumbles

Saw my doctor for the checkup and I convinced her I am fine, so now I don't go back to her for a year. God, I'm getting really old; she wants me to be vaccinated for shingles. It seems a little late as we had new shingles installed on the roof less than three years ago, but I suppose she knows what she is doing. Also went to the RA doc's office for my weekly fix.
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My son Jerry has been off work all week; he went in Monday and his knee became inflamed and began hurting. It is probably arthritis from using the knee-kicker when he installs carpet, but he has no insurance and doctors will not see him without $200 cash up front, and he doesn't have that. I have no idea as to what he can do with so few options.
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Grasshopper? What the hell were you thinking?
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Today is National Donut Day, and some donut chains and establishments are giving away freebies to mark the occasion. Cops in several large cities dashed to local donut shops on their beats to make sure they procured their quota before the regular folk took theirs. If you saw police cars doing weirder than usual things early this morning, you can bet all the excitement was due to the rush for the donut rush.
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Maybe Aerosmith should change the name and lyrics of their song Janie's Got A Gun to Jesus's Got A Gun.
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Medical plight

Meth lab in a box


I visited the RA doctor today for a regular checkup, and after the exam we had a nice BS session. We discussed the medical situation in the US and she brought up something I hadn't thought of. It basically concerned very sick people; the quality of their lives, and how much treatment they receive when their longevity outlook is bleak. Should people with a poor prognosis have a lot of tests and procedures prescribed for them? She used a patient with advanced Alzheimer's disease as an example. The person is in a mostly vegetative state and will not live more than three years at most, so if that person contracts another serious disease, should doctors order a slew of expensive tests and procedures for him? Does the patients quality of life call for that much extra expense to be placed on family members and the medical welfare system? In other than Alzheimer's cases, such as causing the brain dead to "live" by use of breathing machines, etc., should there be a mandated time limit before the plug is pulled?

As more and more people become older, these things will have to be addressed, because if they aren't the expense of treating the terminally ill will break the treasury of even a generous government and nation.
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The above photo was made in a vacant house where Carolyn did some cleaning yesterday. The house owner had to put his renters out after they were there only a couple of months. There were several of these boxes sitting around in various rooms, so I suppose a lot of people had chest problems.
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Presenting The Smoking Gun's Mugshots of the Week!

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New Model Time

Male pine siskin


Today I took Carolyn to see her new doctor for the first time as the one she had been with for many years retired. She seemed to like her, and she is in with several others in the old Nance building. They have their own lab and pharmacy, so it is pretty much one-stop shopping.
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Speaking of the Nance building, when I was little, my dad loved Buicks and Oldsmobiles. The local Olds dealer was Nance Oldsmobile and Cadillac located just out of downtown on East Main Street. It had huge neon signs on the front of the building that read Nance Oldsmobile and under that were letters just a bit smaller that read Home of the Olds 88. Every year in the early 50's, we would pile into whatever jalopy my dad had at the time, and drive to town and see the new 88's and 98's when they went on display in September. Look was all we could do, because new cars were way out of the range of wages paid in this part of Appalachia. In those days, the new car unveiling was a huge event for dealerships. A model would keep the same basic appearance for three straight years with only cosmetic changes, then the outer skins and inside trim would change completely, and each time there was usually more horsepower under the hood. Gasoline was less than twenty-five cents per gallon, so most working people could afford it. Every year, the dealerships would have searchlights, free ballons and refreshments, and later on in the decade, live entertainment which consisted anywhere from a hillbilly music band to a carnival guy with no arms that played a mean guitar with his feet and toes. The Chevrolet dealership was owned by Roy Faircloth and was a few blocks away from Nance. It always had the best entertainment and most refreshments. A couple blocks west of that was Norton Arney's Pontiac, Buick, GMC sales. Arney was pretty much a cheapskate, and didn't offer much at new model time except a hillbilly band, which in turn had a weekly half-hour tv show that was sponsored in big part by Arney Motors. The band was named Bonnie Lou and Buster. Besides Bonnie Lou and her husband Buster, other members of the group from time to time were Lloyd "ding-dong" Bell, and Chuck the Carolina Indian, along with Buster dressed as a fellow named Hump-Hyphen-Hammer with baggy pants, a too-big and too loud sport coat, and Craucho Marx eyeglasses, rubber nose, and a brush mustache. Novelty stores still carry them. Turkey in the Straw and Play me some Mountain Music were imbided upon at nearly every show and appearance. Not far from Arney was the Ford showroom, Tennessee Motors. Like Arney, they weren't big on giving anything away.
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A dose of nostalgia does me good from time to time ...

Today, I was supposed to go to the ophthalmologist for my annual checkup. I got up this morning, showered, clothed, and made the mistake of going onto the back porch. Another beautiful day that can only happen in East Tennessee... a wonderful golden sunrise over Buffalo Mountain accompanied by the songs of many birds. As a friend in Texas says, "perfection". I ended up canceling today's appointment and made one near the end of next month. Too many doctors over the past five weeks!
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My replacement lens came from Amazon early this afternoon, so I wound up getting my RA shot and then riding some back roads near my childhood home. I didn't get any great pics, but it was fun, except when I passed the gas station and saw the price has gone up another twelve cents since yesterday to $3.40 gal.
I believe it is time to stop the insanity, but I am but one person. If enough of us decide to speak up, we may be heard, if not heeded.
Every since 9/11, I've said that Saudi Arabia is the United State's worst enemy. Not only is Bin Laden a Saudi citizen, he still has much influence in his country. The Saudis could put the brakes on the price of oil if they so desired, but there is probably a piece of this country they haven't purchased yet, so more cash is needed to beat out the Chinese.
As I've exclaimed before, Wake Up America!

PT Test

The Old Fine Family Farm House

Today started early and has lasted a long time. Out of bed and ready to go get my first out-of-hospital pt test. Hell no, I ain't pregnant and that ain't what a pt test is. I'll have to stay on the blood thinning rat poison for a few months, so I will need regular blood tests to keep the clotting factor where the doctor wants it.
Drove to the lab and they knew nothing about it. They tried to find out about it. I sat and waited 'til I figured I had waited long enough, so I went home. The doc's office called and said I went to the wrong place; I was supposed to come back to them. Actually, I went where the doc said I should go. Well, the doc is an intern and was a little confused himself.
Went back this afternoon and got things going.
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Except for RA, I've felt better today than in a very long time. Did some walking and didn't get out of breath... well, a little, but not as bad as the past few days. Even managed to make a couple of photos of abandoned farm houses.
The old rusty-roofed barn I enjoyed making photos of and in last spring has finally fallen to the ground. I didn't have the heart to make a picture of its demise.