From husband Bill, Sept. 30, 2026
I don't chew gum anymore, maybe once in a great while. My favorite chewing gum is Teaberry. I also like Doublemint, Juicy Fruit, and Fruit Stripe. When I was a teenager in the late 1970s, I liked Gatorgum, a chewing gum flavored like lemon-lime Gatorade. It was discontinued in 1989.
From husband Bill, Sept. 30, 2026
I like hot mulled cider, but I am surprised that the celebratory day is not later in the year.
From husband Bill, Sept. 30, 2026
... watching the Boston Red Sox vs. the New York Yankees (on TV). ... Go Yanks !!!
Sept. 29, 2026
From husband Bill, Sept. 29, 2026
PHOTO: March 10, 2022, the day after my quadruple coronary artery bypass surgery
Today (September 29, 2026) is World Heart Day, so I would like to (once again) tell you about my triple-surgical ordeal in 2022, regarding my heart. I am quite happy that I survived.
1st Surgery (March 9, 2022): I had quadruple coronary artery bypass surgery. As usual, a section of a vein in my left inner thigh was removed to be used in my open-heart surgery, which involved slicing my chest open vertically and breaking my sternum (breastbone) to gain access to my heart. I had two drains installed in my belly. When I arrived home from the hospital, I engaged in physical therapy and occupational therapy (at home), followed by cardiac rehabilitation at a nearby outpatient facility.
2nd Surgery (May 19, 2022): A second surgeon removed the sternal plates from my first surgery that were holding my broken sternum pieces together from within my chest. The screws became loose. He also cleaned out much of a staph infection also from within my chest. A wound vacuum was then attached to my chest, sucking out the remaining infection and discharge, running 24 hours per day. My chest remained open for about a week with the wound vacuum constantly sucking.
3rd Surgery (May 25, 2022): A third surgeon closed my chest by attaching seven sutures, leaving me with eight holes in my body from my lower neck to my upper belly. The wound vacuum was reattached and continued to suck on my chest 24 hours per day for many more weeks with only 20-minute-long dressing changes every two or three days. The vacuum's strong suction also served to pull my wounds together to increase the speed of my healing process.
Regarding my 2nd and 3rd surgeries, I entered the emergency room of the hospital on May 13, 2022, with severe chest pain, and I would not return home until July 21, 2022. I spent a total of seventy (70) days in the hospital and at a physical rehabilitation facility, the latter of which I entered on June 3, 2022. I requested to leave rehab because my pain was still rather intense which mostly prevented me from gaining any strength through my daily exercises there.
Between March 2022 and May 2026, I endured nine surgeries: 1 heart, 2 chest, 2 spine, 1 right ankle, 1 both legs, 1 left foot, and 1 left leg.
From husband Bill, Sept. 29, 2026
I love an espresso, but my coffee of choice is a ristretto, which is a "short shot" of a more highly concentrated espresso. It is often enjoyed in Italy as a quick pick-me-up in the middle of a busy day. I am partial to espresso, perhaps due to my half-Italian heritage. I am also of Austrian heritage. I have visited Austria seven times and have enjoyed Vienna's coffee culture (in Vienna) several times.
From husband Bill, Sept. 29, 2026
VFW = Veterans of Foreign Wars
From husband Bill, Sept. 29, 2026
*
PHOTO: March 10, 2022, the day after my quadruple coronary artery bypass surgery
Today (September 29, 2026) is World Heart Day, so I would like to (once again) tell you about my triple-surgical ordeal in 2022, regarding my heart. I am quite happy that I survived.
1st Surgery (March 9, 2022): I had quadruple coronary artery bypass surgery. As usual, a section of a vein in my left inner thigh was removed to be used in my open-heart surgery, which involved slicing my chest open vertically and breaking my sternum (breastbone) to gain access to my heart. I had two drains installed in my belly. When I arrived home from the hospital, I engaged in physical therapy and occupational therapy (at home), followed by cardiac rehabilitation at a nearby outpatient facility.
2nd Surgery (May 19, 2022): A second surgeon removed the sternal plates from my first surgery that were holding my broken sternum pieces together from within my chest. The screws became loose. He also cleaned out much of a staph infection also from within my chest. A wound vacuum was then attached to my chest, sucking out the remaining infection and discharge, running 24 hours per day. My chest remained open for about a week with the wound vacuum constantly sucking.
3rd Surgery (May 25, 2022): A third surgeon closed my chest by attaching seven sutures, leaving me with eight holes in my body from my lower neck to my upper belly. The wound vacuum was reattached and continued to suck on my chest 24 hours per day for many more weeks with only 20-minute-long dressing changes every two or three days. The vacuum's strong suction also served to pull my wounds together to increase the speed of my healing process.
Regarding my 2nd and 3rd surgeries, I entered the emergency room of the hospital on May 13, 2022, with severe chest pain, and I would not return home until July 21, 2022. I spent a total of seventy (70) days in the hospital and at a physical rehabilitation facility, the latter of which I entered on June 3, 2022. I requested to leave rehab because my pain was still rather intense which mostly prevented me from gaining any strength through my daily exercises there.
Between March 2022 and May 2026, I endured nine surgeries: 1 heart, 2 chest, 2 spine, 1 right ankle, 1 both legs, 1 left foot, and 1 left leg.
Sept. 29, 2026
From husband Bill, Sept. 28, 2026
While I do not have a son, I am one. National Sons Day is celebrated on Sept. 28 AND March 4.
(As I have mentioned many times, I have been a Men's Rights Activist since the early 1990s, when I was in my early 30s. So, of course, I promote everything male.)
From husband Bill, Sept. 28, 2026
In July 1981, when I was 20 years old, I was a golf instructor / counselor-in-training at a golf school/camp for adults (one week) and for children (two weeks, ages 10 to 18) in Southern Pines, North Carolina. I attended this camp almost every summer from age 11 in 1972 to age 19 in 1980. (I was permitted to attend at age 19 even though I was technically too old.)
From husband Bill, Sept. 28, 2026
Today is National Drink Beer Day. My favorite beer is Mohrenbräu, which is a famous Austrian beer. I first drank it in my Austrian cousins' living room in Dornbirn, Austria, in the early 1980s, when I was in my early 20s. I have enjoyed it on many subsequent trips to Austria. I have never found it in the United States. Mohrenbräu is brewed in Dornbirn in the westernmost Austrian province of Vorarlberg.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohrenbrauerei
From husband Bill, Sept. 28, 2026
This is definitely NOT for me. I really dislike strawberries. I also don't particularly like whipped cream.
From husband Bill, Sept. 28, 2026
Get along.
From husband Bill, Sept. 28, 2026
From husband Bill, Sept. 27, 2026
I took one of my older piano improvisations, reversed it, sped it up, and visually enhanced it to create a somewhat-psychedelic monstrosity in the vein of The Beatles' "Revolution 9." (length: 47 seconds)
Psychedelic Piano Improvisation (fast/backwards): original: Dec. 22, 2019 (enhanced: Sept. 27, 2026)
From husband Bill, Sept. 27, 2026
September is National Prostate Cancer Awareness Month.
1 in 6 men with have prostate cancer in his lifetime compared to 1 in 8 women who will have breast cancer in her lifetime. Prostate cancer is more deadly than breast cancer. Federal funding for breast cancer research is 1,000 percent HIGHER than federal funding for prostate cancer research. That's TEN TIMES HIGHER !!!
From husband Bill, Sept. 27, 2026
I like chocolate milk, specifically made with Ovaltine or Bosco, because it tastes like my childhood in the 1960s and 1970s.
From husband Bill, Sept. 27, 2026
I love corned beef hash and fried eggs for breakfast. My dad did, too.
From husband Bill, Sept. 27, 2026
Forgiving someone is more for the person doing the forgiving than for the person receiving the forgiveness. Just forgive, and get on with your life.
From husband Bill, Sept. 27, 2026
Today's date seems a bit early to be celebrating scarfs. I guess it depends on where you live.
From husband Bill, Sept. 27, 2026
You can crush a can today, if you want.
From husband Bill, Sept. 27, 2026
From husband Bill, Sept. 26, 2026
I created and uploaded a short video onto my YouTube channel in an attempt to find out what people think of President Donald J. Trump. Please write your civil comment in the comment section. No ad hominem attacks. (length: 1 minute, 43 seconds)
President Trump: Yes?; No? (Sept. 26, 2026)
Today (September 26, 2026) is National Singles Day, the Saturday during Singles Week.
I used to celebrate National Singles Day/Week every year, when I was single. I have been blessed with a wonderful wife, with me being married for the first and only time 22 days before my 45th birthday, since February 4, 2006, after about five years of dating, I fondly and not-so-fondly remember my single decades.
I am actually proud to tell you that I was without female companionship (between my only two girlfriends) from age 20 to age 40 (alone from February 1982 to November 2000) and not by choice, so I am quite intimate with the (good and bad) aspects of single life. (Please, no pity.)
I was rejected hundreds and hundreds of times by women, including 414 rejections by women in 18 months with a video-dating service in northern New Jersey in the mid-1990s, when I was in my mid-30s. I still wear my rejections as badges of honor.
Almost all of these women chose the word "unattractive" on the form as the reason for not wanting to meet with me for a date. When more than 400 women described me as "unattractive," I started to believe it.
When I was single, I read many books on women and thought of innovative ways to get myself on the proper side of romance.
I even wore a fake wedding ring for a few months twice in the mid- to late 1990s to get women to be friendly toward me: once while living in New Jersey and working in New York City; and once living and working in Florida. It did make women friendly toward me, but not that friendly. When a man wears a wedding ring, he automatically becomes more attractive to women.
I discovered a fascinating fact that I wish that I had known during my romantically dry decades. 80 percent of men are invisible to women. 80 percent of women compete for the same top 20 percent of men. It's even worse now. It's called hypergamy. So, fellas, women aren't rejecting us. They just don't see us.
Sept. 26, 2026
On this date in 1969, The Beatles released "Abbey Road," their last recorded album. Their album "Let It Be" was recorded before "Abbey Road" but released after "Abbey Road."
Note: "Abbey Road" was released on the Apple label. Today is National Johnny Appleseed Day.
From husband Bill, Sept. 26, 2026
From husband Bill, Sept. 26, 2026
Happy 81st Birthday to one of my favorite singers/musicians ever: Bryan Ferry. He was the lead singer, keyboardist, and songwriter for the (mostly) 1970s glam/pop/rock group Roxy Music. He also has many solo albums. I attended two of his solo concerts in 1988: in Philadelphia and in New York City.
My favorite Roxy Music song is "Take a Chance with Me" which has been my all-time favorite song since its release on 1982's "Avalon," Roxy Music's last studio album. NOTE: This is NOT the ABBA song with a similar title.
My favorite solo Ferry song is "Driving Me Wild" from his 2014 album "Avonmore." (Click the link below to watch the official music video.) Trivia: Ferry's son Tara plays drums on this song/in this video. Also, the short instrumental song that ends Roxy Music's "Avalon" album is titled "Tara."
Many thanks go to my cousin Scott for introducing me to Roxy Music's "Avalon," which I didn't like until my third listen. This was the first Roxy Music album I heard. Shortly after, I purchased every Roxy Music album in a used record store.
Trivia: His then-wife appears on the cover of "Avalon."
"Driving Me Wild" - https://youtu.be/T7UB_0AiLNU?si=lRGzhAcvPGzW1uW9
"Take a Chance with Me" - https://youtu.be/-frMKuom3r8?is=hReLE1dKZAYRn_mt
From husband Bill, Sept. 26, 2026
From husband Bill, Sept. 26, 2026
I like apples in all forms, except for raw. I like apple cider, apple cider vinegar, apple juice, apple sauce, baked apples, apple strudel, apple pie, apple crumb cake, apple crisp, apple butter, apple rugelach, Apple Jacks cereal, even dried apples, but give me a raw apple, and I will see how far I can throw it. It's probably because I hate the texture of a raw apple, and it's definitely because I absolutely HATE that "CRUNCH" sound when eating it. It's like fingernails on a chalkboard. So, if you eat an apple near me, don't be offended when I run away. LOL ... I do like eating raw pears. Go figure.
My favorite apple is the Granny Smith because it is sour, and, more importantly, it adorns millions of Beatles records.
From husband Bill, Sept. 26, 2026
I like pancakes, particularly chocolate chip pancakes, with real butter and real maple syrup. I also like blueberry pancakes.
From husband Bill, Sept. 26, 2026
I like those Chinese dumplings: fried, not steamed. I particularly like Japanese gyoza.
From husband Bill, Sept. 26, 2026
There are no such things as ghosts. Spirits, yes. Ghosts, no. (from an episode of "The Odd Couple" TV series)
From husband Bill, Sept. 26, 2026
From husband Bill, Sept. 30, 2026 I don't chew gum anymore, maybe once in a great while. My favorite chewing gum is Teaberry. I also lik...
