Yesterday's annual visit with my PCP went well enough, lab work all normal, he renewed all my meds, and we discussed my Being. He was concerned about the edema in my legs, but said taking too much furosemide to control it would threaten the kidneys. I asked him about my CHF-related syncope episodes, and he scheduled me for a neck ultrasound for next Monday morning. We'll see the results and recommendations of that, eh? Meantime, I've bought a kippah to wear covering last week's unsightly dermatology sutures on my shaved head. The rumors are coming true about doctors' appointments in one's ancient aging.  ++++++ What can I do competently anymore? Read a bible passage and comment on it stretches my limit, so here's one for the upcoming Sunday: Romans 10:5-15 Moses writes concerning the righteousness that comes from the law, that “the person who does these things will live by them.” But the righteousness that comes from faith says, “Do not say in your heart, ‘W...

Monday, August 3, 2026 and, buttressed by heart pills and FuroForty, I have nothing to do but use the walking machine for a little exercise, and cut up a coleslaw of raw cabbage, shredded and ranch dressing added to make it palatable for my meals today, as I drop another pound or two in final prep for tomorrow morning's weigh-in at the doctor's office. I'll show up wearing light clothes with no extra layers, shoes that slip off; then, laying my wallet, keys, and phone on the side table and expelling heavy air from my lungs, I'll  step on the scale and all should be well.  All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well. In which case, the doctor will  agree that I don't need to come back until August 2027, a year instead of every six months.  No hospital visits, renew my meds and I'm outahere. Maybe another echo before next visit.  I'll give an update after. That's the physical side of a day in the life of a progressively...

It's still early Sunday morning, just ticked over to seven o'clock, nice breakfast of soft-scrambled eggs, ice water, and heart pills, and I guess we're going to 10:30 church? Linda prefers that, I like the Sunday Time factor of going to the early service, eight o'clock, makes no difference to me about the liturgy, whether it's Rite One (traditional English) or Rite Two (contemporary). What Cranmer wrote that may seem so precious now was contemporary English in his Time. Nowadays, though, hearing and saying "thee" and "thou" and "thy" and, once in a while, "vouchsafe," may make us feel that we've entered into the Holy. My theology is that Pantokrator does not care, it isn't an issue with God what tongue we worship in. Well, IDK, Adonai Elohim might prefer the Hebrew that was spoken in The Beginning.  Anyway, here we are, and my mind is on the gospel reading that our lectionary lays out for us this morning. It's Mat...

Lots of email comes to my inbox, dozens of items a day, hundreds a week. I don't open them all, much less read them all, but now and then something catches my eye and, opening and reading it, I find something that has special value for me. SomeTimes Fr Richard's column does it. Sean of the South. Writers for The Atlantic, The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Conversation and others, Big Think, EarthSky News and more. Some of the writing is serious, some less so, some takes less thought than others, some nail me.  One I often enjoy is MINIPhilosophy, which arrives on some frequency, IDK what. Today's edition is especially catching for me, an ancient human in extreme old age who someTimes looks back. Like with Jonny Thomson in today's article, there are boys I remember from Cove School days, some I've googled and found, these days usually an obit. When I found a classmate's obituary I always told Robert, an almost lifelong friend, who some years ago chased down...

Not Friday the 13th, but Friday the 31st. Yesterday arrived by FedEx from the baker in New York, my rhubarb pie. Pure rhubarb, no strawberries. My first: delicious, tart, fruity. Did not need my scoop of vanilla ice cream, which I put on Linda's plate.  I had two more bites at bedTime last evening, and a sliver for breakfast just now, after my large portion of fresh salmon. So far, my pie has been one slice room temperature, then two bites and a sliver slice refrigerator temperature. Before it's gone I'll have a warm slice - - maybe with cheddar cheese? It's interesting, not a staple of your average Northwest Floridian's diet, and I'm an average Northwest Floridian. +++++++ Sam's Club offers several varieties of excellent salmon. This was a huge, full filet of Atlantic pink salmon, skin on. I cut two large, thick portions and oven-baked them at 400°F for ten minutes, then let Linda's portion cook two more minutes. It's so moist and tender. For our ne...

Genesis has always been my favorite OT book. Genesis in the OT, and Mark among the gospels and other NT writings, so that's two favorite Bible books. As is well known, my third prize goes to the excruciatingly violent and outrageously vengeful apocalyptic that is the Revelation of John, which tells us Either and hopefully, nothing about the lovingkindness of Jesus but much about Revelation John's frame of mind; Or, appallingly, devastatingly, and frightfully, that we need to keep looking.  I've always liked Year A, when our lectionary includes reading through Genesis. Don't recall, and I'm not bothering to look back and check, whether I blogged on last week's good old Time Sunday school Bible story or not - - the, again chortle-worthy campfire tale of Jacob getting his comeuppance of waking from his blissful wedding night that he has worked and waited so many years for, only to discover that his father in law has tricked him into marrying the ugly but fruitful o...