A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: A time will come when a politician who has wilfully made war and promoted international dissension will be as sure of the dock and much surer of the noose than a private homicide. It is not reasonable that those who gamble with men's lives should not stake their own. -H.G. Wells, writer (21 Sep 1866-1946)  Breakfast: warm meatloaf sandwich with mayo and salt. Potassium actually, not salt. Properly thick slice of meatloaf.  Warm and contenting, a Southern comfort food. Few ounces of water and four pills: an antibiotic, furosemide, potassium, and a prescribed probiotic.  Another sip of water with three volunteer supplements and a heart pill.  Is my leg getting better? It's a sure thing!   And the home health nurse is coming late morning to change the dressing on my weeping edema wounds.  At the same Time, there's a meeting in the HOA room downstairs about changing from WOW! to Secure Vision. As I read it, SV offers a substantial technical...

Even at the extreme old age of 91, a person needs to feel active and contributing, at least sufficient to pay for the air one breathes, nomesane?  Forty years ago, in another Time and place but not far down the coast, in my church was a peripheral parishioner, his parents were in church more often but he himself might be called a Holly & Egg Christian, with his own special way of speaking that involved injecting "nomesane?" at the end of every sentence. Not "nonesane?" every now and then, but to conclude every period single period sentence period with "nomesane?" full stop. Because he glanced at my face to make sure I'd understood him, I quickly  learned that my expected response was to affirm my following-along-ness, by either nodding my head or grunting "uh-huh" or "mm" in response each Time he came to, "nomesane?"  To this day, I can still hear his "nomesane?" as I let my mindset phase from irritation to a...

The conspiracy theorist in me says they're doing it to us again, pollsters predicting a runaway flood of Blue on Election Day, predicting with two intentions: that Blue will relax and not bother going out to vote, and Red will panic and get out to vote in record numbers. It's all good, folks, by the Time the End of Days comes everyone will have forgotten 2026, maybe even by ten years from now. No generation is as vital as they think, certainly not mine, this too shall pass and the sooner the better, eh? +++++++++ Not posting pictures of my right foot, but this morning for the first Time in more years than I remember, my right foot is normal size, same as my left foot: normal ankle, normal foot; five individual toes instead of a solid pen of inseparable fat piggies went to market. It's the meds and all credit to my doctor. My home med prescriptions include one antibiotic pill three Times a day, one double-dose lasix (furosemide) pill once a day, one monster pill of potassi...

Starting with an okay, I'll try to write - - it's call "dash off" - - a quick blogpost before heading to the bathroom for my first shower since last Saturday morning. Imagine: I haven't had a shower since back when I was ninety years old.  Problem this morning is that here in 7H the water pressure is minimal at the moment. Mind, the water pressure here at seventh level does not flow up here gravitationally as our water in the Apalachicola rectory did before a 1985 hurricane destroyed the water tower in Gorrie Square next to us: water is pumped up here electrically, so there's an issue this morning.  My first returning home treat yesterday morning was a magic mug of my Club hot & black. Another mug in this morning's early darkness when I like to get up. This morning a new record was set: my breakfast. Until this morning, my lifeTime all-best-ever breakfasts were the self-service buffet breakfasts on the top deck stern of the Disney Wonder on our two cru...

  This +Time blogpost has been sitting here published but not shared on Facebook because I'm tired of it, tired of my seeming obsession with the topic, tired of stirring up its dust, tired of ... , just plain tired. And being in hospital these days, waiting, wondering, being stuck in arms, hands and stomach, spending a night in Hell (which my first overnight here was), turning 91, watching my hand turn purple from the needles, a bed I can't get comfortable in, a huge pillow that doesn't suit my head, all nights half dozing and half participating in the lasix fluid reduction program, hasn't helped the mental exhaustion.  Too displaced and tired to enjoy being tired and lying down for a nap, which is a joy of life at 7H in my own bed.  At least I have the bed with the window. It looks south onto the hospital's enormous back parking lot, which is jam crowded now that the weekend is over. All night it shines brilliant lights, one blinding white and one dazzling yellow, ...

Today I chalked up living through ninety-one years and start into my ninety-second year. It's a great ride so far and nothing but gratitude - - shehecheyanu - - blessed are you Lord our God, king of the universe, who gives life, and sustains us, and has brought us to this Time. We ordered the extraordinary coconut cake at the velvet bakery in Lynn Haven, picked it up Friday, and,  like my mother used to make for me,  it's way beyond delicious, heavy, dense, moist yellow cake and white coconut icing, OMG!! Friday afternoon we had cake and ice cream with Malinda at Pruitt. The ice cream was weird, but somebody (not me, I'm a vanilla person) wanted cinnamon, so I bought Jeni's cinnamon bun roll ice cream, not to my taste. I'll stick with our basic Southern style Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla as long as it keeps that essense of sweetened condensed milk that marked the ice cream we churned at home when I was a boy. Eagle Brand or Dime Brand. The birthday plan was to have st...

  The Peace of the Lord be always with you. And also with you. ++++++++++++ Jesus, Lamb of God, have mercy on us. Jesus, bearer of our sins, have mercy on us.' Jesus, redeemer, redeemer of the world, Grant us your peace. Grant us your peace. ++++++++++++ His Peace William Alexander Percy, 1924 I love to think of them at dawn Beneath the frail pink sky, Casting their nets in Galilee And fish-hawks circling by. Casting their nets in Galilee Just off the hills of brown, Such happy, simple fisherfolk, Before the Lord walked down. Contented, peaceful fishermen, Before they ever knew The peace of God that filled their hearts Brim-full, and broke them too. Young John who trimmed the flapping sail, Homeless, in Patmos died. Peter, who hauled the teeming net, Head-down, was crucified. The peace of God, it is no peace, But strife closed in the sod. Yet let us pray for but one thing, The marvelous peace of God. ++++++++++++++ The Peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and...

  The Lake Isle of Innisfree BY  WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree, And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made; Nine bean-rows will I have there, a hive for the honey-bee, And live alone in the bee-loud glade. And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow, Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings; There midnight’s all a glimmer, and noon a purple glow, And evening full of the linnet’s wings. I will arise and go now, for always night and day I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore; While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements grey, I hear it in the deep heart’s core.

  2:48 AM, Monday morning, Labor Day 2026, and I'm outside here on 7H porch, sitting at the little round table watching the lightning display as a thunderstorm passes west to east far to the south of me over the Gulf of Mexico. Blinding flashes cover the entire width of the horizon, and wind is building, but little thunder, almost silent, it's that distant.  Dreams, a dream, one of those repeating dreams that won't stop, and when I wake up momentarily and fall back to sleep it resumes and torments me. It's sheer nonsense, an absurdity: no violence, not a nightmare, I'm parked at Culver's with a carload of strangers, and managing my crispy chicken sandwich order carefully, two sandwiches (one free with my coupon) with lettuce, tomato, cheese and mayo, no sides, while they try to load their orders onto mine at my expense. Who the heck are these people, and why is this a dream? Repetitive, it ruined my sleep until I got up, made the walk, then out on the porch to w...