Friday the 27th

Again, for folks watching for news from us. In our Pensacola visit, when she came into the examining room Thursday afternoon, Dr. T the neurosurgeon said she was going to give Malinda a surgery date (the procedure will be vascular from groin into brain instead of through the skull), but upon finding out that, due to a stroke or other event in the right eye, vision there is significantly occluded by blood clot across the retina that seems to be slowly improving, the doctor decided not to give a surgery date now, but to see Malinda again in a month to check status of that eye clearing up before stirring activity on the left side. She said the aneurysm on the left side is wide, broad, but seems not in imminent danger of bursting. M's eye is under care of a local ophthalmologist. We left with an early September date for returning to Pensacola.

Several things in mind this morning. Easily the most significant is that Dr. D, who does aneurysm surgery every single day and has done for years, told us that, surprisingly, she is doing more and more of those on young people in their twenties, and that because they smoke. "Do you smoke?" or "Does he/she smoke?" is the first thing that comes up between a neurosurgeon and a patient diagnosed with brain aneurysm, smoking a major factor in aneurysms developing, in difficulty and dangerousness of surgery, and in survival probability of death/life during surgery. If you smoke, you're not cool, you're risking life, a geedamn fool. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ...

https://labblog.uofmhealth.org/rounds/smoking-raises-risk-of-aneurysm-recurrence-after-endovascular-treatment

Friday and what comes to mind. Something for some reason about favorite places I've lived. Panama City right on StAndrewsBay first and only. And second, Newport, Rhode Island for everything but the winter weather, loved living there twice during Navy years. SanDiego always, I hated beyond words my ship's WestPac deployment 1969-70, which ignited my decision to retire from USN at twenty years, but I remember that day in 1971 driving out of California as the saddest of all our PCS moving years - - love it or list it, you don't move from California to Ohio and love it. Norfolk, Virginia: actually Linda disliked living there, but I loved my first sea duty so much that Norfolk is integral with it; and I was close friends with all the wardroom officers, and also, there was a Peugeot dealer there. Mayport, Florida, but it had to be sixty years ago, because anymore I can't stand driving into the Jacksonville area the traffic is that aggravating, rather drive in Atlanta than in Jacksonville. My list. 

Political. Kim naively trusting. Vlad infinitely more intelligent, crafty. USdotGov lacking any semblence of respectability, honor, integrity. Deadline has passed: every government official involved in separating children from parents should be cited for contempt of court, arrested, jailed without bond and hosed down with a fire-hose every hour until no immigrant child is concentrated. 

Friday 0636 Seaboard Valparaiso 524x91 underway. 

Wildfires: I'll take a hurricane zone any day.

Late note. For several days I opened my cell phone to receive all calls but the flood of crank calls is so great that I've put it back in "contacts only" mode. If you phone me and I don't answer, that's the reason. Leave a message and I'll call you back. But remember, with faulty hearing, phone calls are difficult for me, email or text is better.

T