The Medical Plan

Around 10 p.m., Monday, February 28, 2022: Here's the plan, which could change.

I am staying overnight at Boca Raton Regional Hospital because I require yet another lung test that is only conducted here on Tuesdays and Fridays. I am expecting to be discharged from the hospital tomorrow, go home, and then return to the hospital either Thursday or Friday (March 3 or 4) to have coronary artery bypass surgery (4 or 5 bypasses). I require lung testing as a precaution in anticipation of serious complications during my open-heart surgery.

I arrived at the hospital emergency room this morning with shortness of breath, chest soreness, and overall weakness, as per my cardiothoracic surgeon and his assistant. They told me during our recent consultation to go to the emergency room today to be tested. So, today, I had various heart and lung tests throughout the day: an EKG, a chest X-ray, and (as of this post) three blood extractions. One of the tests was quite painful, requiring blood extraction from my right wrist to evaluate my blood-oxygen level.

My cardiothoracic surgeon and my cardiologist both visited me today at the hospital.

Various factors may complicate my heart surgery: asthma, diabetes, kidney failure (last year, with 6 weeks of dialysis), congestive heart failure (last year), and a recent heart attack. Throughout last year, I was hospitalized seven times, including a thoracentesis of my right lung, three of four surgeries on my left foot (osteomyelitis and tumor removal), a covid infection, pneumonia twice, dangerously low hemoglobin levels, dangerously low white-blood-cell count, and intensive testing for a possible TIA (mini-stroke), which I didn't have. I started my series of hospital visits in December 2020 with dangerously low potassium levels and dehydration.

In the future, I may need to have a pacemaker or a defibrillator installed.

Yes, I am bragging about my recent medical exploits. I really am fortunate and blessed to be still alive, and I am not feeling half bad. I used to find it strange when someone would call themself "a survivor" in regard to medical difficulties. That is until I caught myself calling myself "a survivor." Oops.

Previous Facebook Post

February 28, 2022: I have been admitted to Boca Raton Regional Hospital and am settled in my room. Results of preliminary testing of my heart and lungs (EKG, blood extraction, X-ray) are good. I am also hooked up to a heart monitor.

I just had a rather painful lung test: blood extraction from my right wrist to check my oxygenation level. I am expecting to have another lung test either today or tomorrow. As for my upcoming coronary artery bypass surgery (4 or 5 bypasses), I will either be sent home after testing and return on March 3 (I think, or March 4) for surgery, or I will stay here and have the surgery date moved up.

Zia Marietta's 99th Birthday

Happy Birthday to my Great-Aunt Marietta (my maternal grandfather's sister) !!! She turned 99 years old today (February 28, 2022). Here she is with one of her daughters. "Zia Marietta" ("Aunt Marietta") and her family came to live in the United States from Italy on October 9, 1968.

Hospital Emergency Room

I'm at the Boca Raton Regional Hospital emergency room with shortness of breath, chest soreness, and overall weakness. My cardiothoracic surgeon recommended that I go to the hospital this morning to get my lungs tested as a precaution in preparation for my coronary artery bypass surgery later this week. I am expecting to have 4 or 5 bypasses.

UPDATE: I am being admitted into the hospital today.

Rare Disease

In 1977, when I was 16 years old, I was hospitalized with a rare, potentially fatal disease: Rock Mountain Spotted Fever.

A Week Of "Fun" And More

Here's the plan for this upcoming week of "fun" and beyond. Tomorrow morning (Monday, February 28, 2022), I am going to the hospital emergency room due to shortness of breath, chest soreness, and overall weakness, as per my cardiothoracic surgeon. Why? I actually have that, and because my surgeon and his assistant agreed that I need to have my lungs tested before I have coronary artery bypass surgery (4 or 5 bypasses) on either Thursday or Friday (March 3 or 4, 2022). I am expecting to be admitted into the hospital tomorrow. This test will apparently determine the cause of my shortness of breath, outlining the percentage of the cause between my heart and my lungs. Scans late last year determined my heart ejection fraction (the strength at which my heart pushes blood through my arteries) to be dangerously low: 32 percent and 41 percent, respectively. Lower than 40 percent is flirting with death. An echocardiogram earlier this month has it at 45 percent. The normal range is 80 to 85 percent. It is better for the cause to be more heart-related than lung-related. If it is more lung-related - I have asthma/COPD - it may cause problems with getting me off of the ventilator after surgery, which could mean a tracheotomy and/or remaining sedated for up to two weeks. Either way, I would need to be fed through a tube inserted in my side and into my stomach. During the surgery, which is expected to take five hours, they will stop my heart from beating and stop me from breathing. They don't seem to be concerned with restarting my heart. A day before the bypass surgery, I am expecting to have a balloon surgically inserted to strengthen my heart. Also, the bypass surgery will begin with the removal of a two-foot section of a main vein in probably my left leg but possibly my right leg to be used for all of the bypasses. Because I had kidney failure (and six weeks of dialysis) early last year, I also run the risk of kidney failure. Diabetes, a recent heart attack, and congestive heart failure last year could further complicate the surgery. (I also had a thoracentesis of my right lung last year and three of four surgeries on my left foot, all last year.) This all seems to be subject to change, but at least we are moving forward. In the future, I may need to have a pacemaker or a defibrillator installed.

Improv: Coronary Bypasses

I just uploaded a new video onto my YouTube channel. Here is the title, the description, and the link:

Improv: Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery (Feb. 27, 2022)

I am expecting to have coronary artery bypass surgery (4 or 5 bypasses) this week. In this video, I mention it to you briefly, while I improvise on my digital piano.

I like to sit at my digital piano and play whatever is in my head at that time. I make it up as I go along.

https://youtu.be/7d-lYmkpSBk

Alles Gute zum Gerburtstag

Happy Birthday to my all-time favorite pop singer Rainhard Fendrich, who was born in Vienna, Austria, on February 27, 1955. He also plays guitar and piano.

"Der Mensch ist wie er ist" is one of my favorite songs.

https://youtu.be/4mHF_q0VohU

I became a fan of Fendrich in 1983 while visiting many of my Austrian cousins in the western Austrian province of Vorarlberg. (Fendrich released his first album in 1980, so I have been a fan since close to the start of his career.) He is still releasing albums and performing concerts.

I have 47 (yes, forty-seven) of his CDs (46 music CDs and one interview CD). This includes duplicates of two of those CDs.

Fendrich sings all of his songs in the German language, with his earliest albums from the early to mid-1980s sung in the Viennese dialect of German. As he became popular, he wrote his songs using "high" German, which is the "textbook" version of the language.

I also have record (LP) albums from the 1980s, which I purchased on multiple trips to Austria; several of his DVDs and videotapes; and two of his autographs, even though I have never met him. I also have a hardcover biography written in German.

I attended a Fendrich concert at the Stadthalle (arena) in Vienna, Austria, on October 30, 1997, with one of my many Austrian cousins, her husband, and more than 16,000 other fans. Also, at one time, I was the only non-European member of his official fan club. I lost that title when a man from Japan joined the club.

Poem Submission

February 27, 2022 - I just submitted my recently self-penned poem "Quizzical Sojourns" for inclusion in Eber & Wein Publishing's upcoming anthology titled "Best Poets of 2021." The anthology will be published later this year (2022).

Below is a PDF (photo) that I just made to show you my submission. Let me know what you think of it. Normally, I would share my poem after it is published, but because I am expected to have coronary bypass surgery this week, I thought it best to share it with you now.

My poem will also compete in a contest, with a top prize of $2,000 and with more than $6,000 in other prizes. I have had two poems published with this company; hence, I am considered to be one of their "best poets."

My poem titled "That's Not What I Meant" appears in their 2021 anthology titled "Best Poets of 2020: Quarantine Edition, Volume 3." My poem titled "Startled Glances" appears in their 2010 anthology titled "Sunflowers and Seashells: Nature's Miles." I won one of the third-place awards for this poem.

I have had many of my poems published in anthologies, mostly in the 1990s. My poem "Somnolence" won one of the second-place awards in a poetry contest in 1997 with The National Library of Poetry and was published in their anthology that year.

As a (lifetime) performing member of The Port Jervis Poetry Society in upstate New York, I performed two of my original, self-penned poems on stage as part of one of our poetry, music, and art shows in February 1990; the show was later broadcast on public-access cable television.

By the way, I am in the preliminary stages of self-publishing a book of seventy-five of my poems. I have written more than 300 poems since 1986, so I need to pick my best and my favorite poems.

The tentative title of my book of poetry is "Quizzical Sojourns: Observations and Practices of a Self-Proclaimed Bohemian," which is currently the title of my personal blog. I wrote my poem not only for inclusion in the anthology but also for inclusion in my book.

I am also in the midst of writing an autobiographical novel set in the 1990s, specifically from 1992 to 1996, when I was a reporter/writer, editor, and researcher in New York City for an international weekly magazine on the chemical industry.

My Birthday Dinner

My wife and I celebrated my 61st birthday at "Coriander Indian + Euro Kitchen" in Boynton Beach, Florida, this early evening (February 26, 2022). The following are photos of my wife, myself, and my dinner. I enjoyed a mango lassi, a samosa with imli chutney and hari chutney, palak paneer, basmati rice, roti, a little taste of raita, and kulfi. It was quite delicious.

Cookie Puss

My wife, my mother, my mother's boyfriend, and I are celebrating my 61st birthday this afternoon (February 26, 2022) with a Carvel Cookie Puss ice cream cake at my mother's home. Yes, I chose this cake. Don't judge me. LOL (My mom had the candles and the "Happy Birthday" sign at home.)

Flowers For My Mom

My mother is a bit "under the weather" (not feeling well), so my wife and I brought her these flowers.

Birthday Donations

I would like to take this opportunity on my 61st birthday (February 26, 2022) to request that you "Save The Males" with a donation to the Movember Foundation, but only if you want. "Movember" is an annual, month-long event when men around the world grow moustaches throughout the month of November to raise awareness of and to raise funds to combat cancers that only afflict men (prostate; testicular); men's suicide prevention; and men's overall physical and mental health. Many heartfelt thanks go to my dear friends Keith Krebs and Toby Thompson for their previous donations.

Kulfi At Dinner

I plan to eat kulfi at the end of my birthday dinner at an Indian-European restaurant today.

Good Example? Who? Me?

I don't consider myself to be a good example. I am a warning with many cautionary tales.

My Birthday Dinner

After a short search, I discovered a fascinating restaurant where my wife and I will celebrate my 61st birthday tomorrow (February 26, 2022). Believe it (or not), the restaurant called Coriander serves not only Indian food but also Italian food. Technically, it is described as an "Indian + Euro Kitchen." The link to the menu is below. I will definitely eat Indian food. My wife may possibly eat Indian food, possibly Italian food or possibly something else.

https://www.corianderflorida.com/menu

Bryan: Happy Birthday !!!

Happy 62nd birthday (February 25, 2022) to my dear friend Bryan, who has always been a year and a day older than me. It is difficult to believe that we have known each other for 61 years.

Here, I am sitting between Bryan and his sister Suzanne behind my house in Babylon, Long Island, New York, in June 1962, when I was 16 months old. Bryan was 28 months old. I just say that we were ages 1 and 2, respectively.

Although we lived on different streets, only a hedge separated our backyards. I lived in that house in Babylon with my parents from the time of my birth on February 26, 1961, until we moved to a house several miles away in West Islip during the summer of 1972.

Norton Sucks !!!

OMG !!! I just am absolutely stunned. I tried to get that Norton virus program installed on my computer. Forget it. I tried three times with two buffoons on an online chat. Nothing but incompetence. When I tried to cancel, having paid for it yesterday and never using it, the guy sent me a six-digit code via email to verify. I had to repeat the code to him at least 10 times because he told me at least 10 times that I was only telling him five digits. I respectfully asked him how they counted in India. I was a third serious, a third joking, and a third angry. He then blamed me for leaving out one digit. WTF !!! Believe me. I was less than polite. Well, he told me that he would refund my money. We'll see.

I Fixed Our Computer

YEAH !!! I fixed our computer !!! It was so difficult to do. LOL ... Actually, it wasn't difficult at all. I just reset it.

Corn Chips & Pudding

One of my favorite snacks is Doritos Nacho Corn Chips dipped in chocolate pudding. When I was in sixth grade (1972-73; age 11 or 12), I first ate it during our lunch break in the cafeteria of Bayview Elementary School (West Islip, Long Island, New York) in an attempt to make the girls disgusted. They didn't care all that much, and I discovered that I really like it. I have eaten it many times over the years.

Heart Surgery Postponed

This morning, my coronary-bypass surgery was scheduled for the morning of February 28, 2022. This afternoon, it was postponed (again) until (probably) sometime during the first week in March due to further testing, specifically testing of my lungs due to chronic shortness of breath.

Heart Surgery Scheduled

URGENT !!!

(update at bottom)

This morning, I had a consultation with my cardiothoracic surgeon and a physician's assistant. I am scheduled to have coronary-bypass surgery (open-heart surgery; four or five bypasses) during the morning of Monday, February 28, 2022. My chance of survival is 95 percent.

The operation is expected to take five hours to complete, which includes the removal of a two-foot-long vein, probably from my left leg, but possibly from my right leg, to be used for the bypasses. I also may have a balloon installed before the bypass operation to strengthen my heart.

During the bypass surgery, my heart and lungs will be induced to stop functioning. I will be kept alive by a machine that will oxygenate and circulate my blood. I will also be put on a ventilator with a tube down my throat.

Due to my medical history (recent kidney failure, a recent heart attack, recent thoracentesis, recent congestive heart failure, long-term diabetes, and chronic asthma/COPD), serious complications may arise. These include the need for a tracheotomy and possibly being sedated (asleep) for up to two weeks, if they are immediately unable to get my lungs to function independently of the ventilator. Either way, I won't be able to eat, so I would be fed through a tube in my side into my stomach and would use a catheter to urinate. I could also have a recurrence of kidney failure.

If everything goes well, I will remain in the hospital for three to five days, possibly seven days, and then return home. Recovery takes about three months, including physical rehabilitation.

After my recover, I may need simple surgery to install a pacemaker or a defibrillator because my heart's blood-pumping ability is insufficient. Maybe the bypass surgery will correct that and also abate my shortness of breath.

Your well-wishes and prayers are certainly welcome. I will post a "goodbye" message on Facebook during the evening before my surgery. After all, my chance of dying is five percent. With any luck and with God's grace, I will live to brag about my continuing ability to survive.

UPDATE: I received a phone call from the physician's assistant. He and the surgeon want me to have my lungs tested (shortness of breath) to see what percentage is linked to heart disease and what percentage is linked to lung disease. So, my heart surgery has once again been postponed.

Always Behind Me

This is definitely the story of my almost-61-year-old life. Whenever a woman smiles in my direction, there is always a good-looking guy standing behind me. It has been less noticeable since I met my wife (in person) on November 10, 2000, when I was 39 years old, perhaps because of my attentiveness to her and my not caring about other women. (I wed for the first and only time on February 4, 2006, which was 22 days before my 45th birthday.)

R.I.P. Gary Brooker

R.I.P. Gary Brooker (29 May 1945 – 19 February 2022)

The Sugars

This morning (02/21/2022), my blood-glucose level was 122 mg/dl.

Apple Fritter Instead

This morning, I enjoyed the closest I had to that: an apple fritter (with coffee).

Stuffed Peppers With Sugo

For dinner, my wonderful wife made these green bell peppers stuffed with ground beef (sirloin), sweet onions, and Israeli couscous; then topped with (jarred) sugo (Italian tomato sauce) and shaved Parmesan cheese; and then baked. My wife and I will soon make our own homemade sugo again.

Sausages, Onions, Peppers

For lunch, my wonderful wife made roasted mild Italian sausages, onions, and green bell peppers with olive oil. I enjoyed all three on a crusty piece of baguette.

Cherry Pie & Muffins

I enjoy a hefty piece of cherry pie, especially with a large scoop of chocolate ice cream. That is also how I enjoy apple pie.

I don't particularly like muffins because they are too dry for me, even with butter. I don't really like cake, so maybe that's another reason. I sometimes eat blueberry muffins or chocolate chip muffins.

Frittata

My wonderful wife made this homemade frittata for breakfast. I ate a piece of it with a salad for lunch.

Throwback Thursday: Sugar

Throwback Thursday (a musical memory from those subjectively foggy 1990s): I find it slightly humorous that I have diabetes, and one of my favorite rock bands is Sugar. Do NOT confuse Sugar with The Sugar Cubes, whose lead singer was Björk.

Bob Mould was the lead singer/guitarist of Sugar; he also headed the band Hüsker Dü, named after the board game, and has multiple solo albums. I was first introduced to Sugar in 1992 by a co-worker upon the release of the group's first album (CD) "Copper Blue." I immediately fell in love with the sound of this alternative rock band, especially the song "Fortune Teller" (link below).

Later in the 1990s, after a day of writing about chemicals for a magazine, I attended a solo performance by Bob Mould and his band at Roseland, the old former dance hall in New York City. There were no seats, so everybody just stood there and rocked (moshed?) or just sat on the floor. He played old and new songs, including "Fortune Teller." I was in my mid-30s, surrounded by teenagers and other fans in their early 20s. It was a great concert, an absolute blast, but those in attendance made me feel ancient. I just leaned myself against a wall in the back of the room, wearing my suit and tie with the top button of my shirt unbuttoned, watching the "kids" having fun, and letting the music permeate my soul.

https://youtu.be/37W5OuZaODA

Throwback Thursday: Vegas

Throwback Thursday: On March 23, 2016, while working at GlobalShop 2016, our annual, three-day trade show in Las Vegas, I had the audacity to play a piano in the Four Seasons Hotel. I worked as the Associate Editor for "Shop! Enhancing Retail Environments & Experiences," an international, nonprofit association for companies that manufacture components for retail store displays, including mannequins, lighting, showcases, shelving, framing, plastics, flooring, graphics, signage, etc., plus architectural firms and analytical-research companies. I was an editor, a writer, and an occasional photo editor for the association's two monthly trade magazines and for its news website from February 8, 2016, to February 6, 2017, in an office in Hollywood, Florida. I also worked in conjunction with our staff in Chicago, editing statistical-analysis reports that sold for lots and lots of money. They really were expensive, but I am just being lighthearted about it. I had never worked on anything that sold for more than a thousand dollars each. It certainly was an ego booster, but I guess it's all relative. Seriously, this job was the most complex job I had ever had since becoming a journalist in 1982, so I was feeling a bit overwhelmed. It was like I had hit the big time, so I felt almost intimidated by the intricate functioning of my job and the high caliber of my co-workers. Unfortunately, I had to leave this job in less than a year due to illness. Working at the show was quite a challenge. I had never worked at a trade show until this one. I had just started my job about three weeks earlier, so I didn't know much about the retail industry. I was feeling rather tired and weak because several weeks earlier, I spent about a week in the hospital with cellulitis (severe infection) in one of my legs. I had wounds (diabetic ulcers) in both of my feet (I still do), so during this trip, I would have to rebandage my bloody feet every night before bed. More than 750 companies exhibited in a 715,000-square-foot space, so I had to do a lot of lengthy walking and a lot of fast learning. Still, I consider myself to be blessed to have received such an interesting experience. I absolutely loved it. I felt like Dorothy arriving in Oz.

Here is a link to the four magazine articles that I wrote during my short gig with the association. I conducted the many interviews for my LED lighting article during this trip.

http://williamsantoswritingsamples.blogspot.com/

(Click the link, and then you can click on the pages to enlarge them.)

The best part of this trip was visiting a dear friend whom I hadn't been with in many years. I have known Bryan, who lives in Las Vegas, since my birth in 1961, almost 61 years ago. We basically shared the same backyard in Babylon, Long Island, New York, from 1961 until my parents and I moved to a nearby town during the summer of 1972. At the time of the trade show in 2016, we hadn't been together in about 19 years.

Throwback Thursday: Cambridge

Throwback Thursday: Here I am on a hike that I took with my wife at her Aunt Mary and Uncle Bill's spa hotel (Langdon Hall) in Cambridge, Ontario, Canada, on October 1, 2006.

Medical Update: Heart

Medical Update (heart):

Yesterday (Wednesday, February 16, 2022), I had another echocardiogram done at the office of my cardiologist. Next Wednesday (February 23, 2022), I have a consultation with my cardiothoracic surgeon at his office in regard to my anticipated, possibly upcoming coronary-bypass surgery (open-heart surgery; 4 or 5 bypasses expected). The day before the bypass surgery, I would have a balloon surgically installed to strengthen my heart.

Initially, my cardiologist told me that I am fortunate that I am still alive to be able to have bypass surgery and that I need 2 or 3 bypasses. My cardiothoracic surgeon told me that I would need 4 or 5 bypasses, but he could not schedule the surgery now because it is considered "elective." I assume that the consultation means my surgery will be soon.

There has been talk between these two doctors of a possible meeting between an electrophysiologist and me regarding (possible) surgery to install a defibrillator (or a pacemaker) to increase my heart's efficiency. I had two heart scans done last year: a multigated acquisition (MUGA) scan in October 2021; and a myocardial perfusion scan in November 2021, both of which determined that my heart ejection fraction (the strength at which my heart pushes blood through my arteries) is dangerously low: 32 percent and 41 percent, respectively. Lower than 40 percent is flirting with death. The scans also showed that I have myocardial ischemia (obstruction by a partial or complete blockage of a coronary artery by a buildup of plaques); and scar tissue on my heart due to a recent heart attack. My diabetes prevented me from even knowing that I had a heart attack.

In November 2021, I had a coronary angiogram/cardiac catheterization (surgical procedure) done for the left side of my heart. A camera was inserted in a vein in my left thigh and pushed up to my heart. The procedure performed by my cardiologist showed much damage to my heart, so he decided at that time that the damage was too extensive to do balloon angioplasty and/or install stents.

For a few months, I have been taking a prescription pill (twice per day) to dilate my blood vessels. It makes my already low blood pressure even lower, so I am often lightheaded. Also, I take a prescription statin pill (once per day) to lower my triglycerides. Also, since I was hospitalized for five days with congestive heart failure, including severe edema in both of my legs, in August 2021, I have been taking a prescription diuretic pill (once per day).

Since December 2020 and throughout 2021, I have been admitted to hospitals eight times. My ailments included: dangerously low potassium levels (requiring many intravenous potassium infusions); dehydration; pneumonia (twice); kidney failure (both kidneys) followed by six weeks of outpatient dialysis (due to a severe reaction to an intravenous antibiotic during a six-week-long regimen for lingering osteomyelitis in my left foot); three surgeries on my left foot (two in one week to remove disintegrated, infected bone fragments due to osteomyelitis, and one to remove a benign tumor); white blood cell count at almost zero due to intravenous antibiotic; a thoracentesis procedure (draining 650 milliliters/22 ounces of excess fluid surrounding my right lung using a catheter/needle stuck in my back and into my chest cavity ... I had the same procedure done on my left lung about two years ago); dangerously low hemoglobin levels and severe anemia (requiring many intravenous iron infusions and almost needing a blood transfusion); testing for possible TIA (mini-stroke ... X-rays, MRIs, an MRA, ultrasound of head, brain, carotid arteries in neck ... I didn't have a TIA); congestive heart failure with severe edema in both of my legs; a covid infection; and more. A few years ago, I had another surgery on my left foot (also due to osteomyelitis) for a total of four surgeries on my left foot so far.

Remembering Lorna

Today (February 16, 2022), we remember and honor my mother-in-law, who passed away on this date in 2011.

This is my favorite photo of her and me. My wife snapped it on July 13, 2008, in a coffee shop in Cambridge, Ontario, Canada, when the three of us were on vacation, visiting my wife's family and friends in and around Toronto. I particularly like that she is small and is holding a big cup, and I am bigger and am holding a smaller cup. She also has that "Kilroy was here" thing going on.

She always encouraged me to become a better person with each passing day while accepting me each day exactly as I was. For that, I thank her again.

Lorna, you are sorely missed. Of course, we also immensely miss my father-in-law Bob.

Yesterday's Podiatrist Visit

Medical Update (feet):

Yesterday's (February 15, 2022) regular podiatrist appointment (every two or three weeks)

My podiatrist told me that the lingering diabetic ulcers in my right foot are 100 percent healed.

However, the ulcer and the wound in my left foot are 80 percent healed. Actually, the wound is from a fourth surgery on my left foot last year. I had a tumor removed within an ulcer in the ball of my foot. That wound is still healing. The other three surgeries on my left (two of three last year and one several years ago) were to remove decayed bone fragments due to osteomyelitis (bone infections).

During yesterday's appointment, as usual, he carved both of my feet with a scalpel. My feet are sore for 2 or 3 days after each appointment. I have neuropathy (as numbness) in both of my feet. That deadens most of the pain.

After his carving, my podiatrist affixed thick padding to both of my feet with holes for my ulcer and my wound in my left foot, and also for the areas of my recently healed ulcers in my right foot. He then placed small, thin, silver-infused foam pads with ointment directly onto all of these areas. He wrapped both of my feet with medical tape and then with gauze and then with more tape. He put my padded medical shoes back on, and I sat back into my transport chair. My wonderful wife then wheeled me to my car and brought me home. I no longer drive due to my neuropathy.

I had a medical "episode" during yesterday's appointment: I got the cold sweats and felt like I was going to pass out, possibly due to gastrointestinal problems, heart problems, and/or diabetes. I did a fair amount of groaning, even though I was only experiencing moderate pain in my feet.

My next podiatrist appointment is on March 8, 2022.

Grouchy

OK, where is my favor? LOL

Singles Awareness Day

Today's (February 15, 2022) is Singles Awareness Day. National Singles Day is in September, but it is listed as celebrated on the 22nd, the 24th, or the 26th.

I was without female companionship from age 20 to age 40 and not by choice, so I have been quite intimate with the (good and bad) aspects of single life. (Please, no pity.)

During my lifetime, I was rejected hundreds and hundreds of times by women. This includes 414 rejections by women in a period of 18 months with a video dating service in the mid-1990s.

I was finally able to get married for the first and only time on February 4, 2006, which was 22 days before my 45th birthday. We recently celebrated our 16th wedding anniversary. Near the end of this year, on November 10, 2022, we will celebrate the 22nd anniversary of our first date.

I must say that it certainly was worth the long, difficult, heartaching, heartbreaking wait. My wife is absolutely terrific, and I am definitely blessed to have had her in my life for so many years. I think that being alone for such a long time has made me appreciate her even more.

Missing My Dad

Today (February 14, 2022), I pay homage to my father, who passed away at the age of 62 on this date in 1997. This is a photo of my dad and me in December 1974 at the house of my Great-Aunt Rose in East Orange, New Jersey. I was 13 years old.

It is difficult to comprehend that he has been gone for 25 years. I still sorely and immensely miss him. He died on his mother's birthday -- she passed away on May 22, 1977 -- and the day after the birthday of his sister, who turned 86 years old yesterday.

My dad was cremated. Half of his ashes were interred at Breslau Cemetery in Lindenhurst, Long Island, New York. (The original name of Lindenhurst was Breslau, named after the city in Germany.)

The other half of his ashes was scattered into the North Atlantic Ocean from a U.S. Navy ship. Dad served 22 years in the Navy and retired at the rank of Commander. He was a few months short of Captain. He served on a ship in the 1950s, transporting DPs (displaced persons or, as he called them, delayed pilgrims) after World War II from Bremerhaven, Germany, to New York City.

My father had a twin brother named Wilbur who died in 1935 at the age of 9 months due to spinal meningitis.

Also, today marks 35 years since the passing of my wife's grandfather.

Ferris Wheel Day

Today (February 14, 2022) is National Ferris Wheel Day.

I have two memories of Ferris wheels:

1. I remember the time when I was a kid attending the St. Rocco's Feast in Glen Cove, Long Island, New York, in the early 1970s, when I was around ten years old. That was the church of many of my maternal family members. I went on the Ferris wheel with my cousin Phil and his wife Jacqueline. I was seated between them. The wheel stopped when we were at the top. Phil started rocking the seat back and forth, and laughing. Jacqueline screamed, "Phil, stop it." I was a little scared, but I was laughing, too. That is a fond memory from my childhood.

2. I remember the time when my wife and I took a ride on the giant Ferris wheel called the Wiener Riesenrad at the Prater amusement park in Vienna, Austria. You could see all of Vienna and beyond from the top. It had compartments that could hold many people, but I think they only allowed about twenty people in each for safety. It's 64.75 meters (212 feet) tall and has half as many compartments as it did when it was constructed in 1897. The removal of half of the compartments was also for safety. It was the world's tallest extant Ferris wheel from 1920 until 1985.

A Present For My Mom

My wonderful wife recently procured this beautiful bracelet for my terrific mother. My mom likes the colors white and blue. We gave it to my mom (to thank her for all of her help and support, and also for Valentine's Day), when she visited with us at our home for a couple of hours this afternoon (February 13, 2022).

Happy Birthday To Aunt Doris

Happy Birthday to my Aunt Doris (my father's sister) who turned 86 years old today (February 13, 2022). Here we are at her house on Long Island, New York, on June 30, 2007.

Me (Psychedelic)

 Who: Me

When: January 30, 2022

Filter: Psychedelic

(I'm) Publishing Another Poem

I recently received a letter in the mail from Eber & Wein Publishing for me to submit one of my poems to be included in their upcoming anthology titled "Best Poets of 2021." (Part of the letter is below.)

The deadline for submission is February 28, 2022, so I need to get busy writing. I would rather write a new poem than submit one of my older poems.

My poem will also compete in a contest, with a top prize of $2,000 and with more than $6,000 in other prizes. I have had two poems published with this company; hence, I am considered to be one of their "best poets."

My poem titled "That's Not What I Meant" appears in their 2021 anthology titled "Best Poets of 2020: Quarantine Edition, Volume 3."

My poem titled "Startled Glances" appears in their 2010 anthology titled "Sunflowers and Seashells: Nature's Miles." I won a third-place award for this poem. I received a bronze plaque about the size of a 50-cent piece encased in clear plastic on a wooden stand and a $25 gift certificate to the company, if I wanted to use it to buy another copy of the anthology or a framed copy of my poem. I never used it. For perspective, there was one first-place winner, 20 second-place winners, and 100 third-place winners. Thousands of poems from around the world were considered in this contest, so I did fairly well.

I have had many of my poems published in anthologies, mostly in the 1990s. A few of them are included in books that were sold in bookstores. Many are housed in the U.S. Library of Congress. While my poem "Somnolence" won one of the second-place prizes in a poetry contest in 1997 with The National Library of Poetry, and was published in their anthology that year, I still haven't won any cash in any of these contests.

As a (lifetime) performing member of The Port Jervis Poetry Society in upstate New York, I performed two of my original, self-penned poems on stage as part of one of our poetry, music, and art shows in February 1990; the show was later broadcast on public-access cable television.

I joined the society in 1989 and soon auditioned to become a performing member. In 1990, I accepted a different (journalism) job in a different part of upstate New York. While I was unable to participate in the weekly meetings and shows due to long distances, I am still considered to be a lifetime performing member of The Port Jervis Poetry Society.

By the way, I am in the preliminary stages of self-publishing a book of seventy-five of my poems. I have written more than 300 poems since 1986, so I need to pick my best and my favorite poems.

The tentative title of my book of poetry is "Quizzical Sojourns: Observations and Practices of a Self-Proclaimed Bohemian," which is currently the title of my personal blog. That means I need to write a brand-new poem with that title for inclusion in my book.

This is the perfect opportunity for me to write this poem for inclusion in Eber & Wein's upcoming anthology. I'm going to do that.

I am also in the midst of writing an autobiographical novel set in the 1990s, specifically from 1992 to 1996, when I was a reporter/writer, editor, and researcher in New York City for an international weekly magazine on the chemical industry.

Mexican Meal: Mole

As a late lunch/early dinner, my wife and I decided to have Mexican food delivered.

I ordered the "Enchilada de Mole" with yellow rice and refried beans topped with cheese. (See photo below.)

It's actually two corn tortillas filled with shredded, spiced chicken and topped with mole sauce and melted cheese. Mole (pronounced "mo-lay") is a spicy, sweet sauce made with chili peppers and chocolate.

Whenever mole is on the menu of a Mexican restaurant, I will order it. While I once purchased a jar of it at a supermarket, I would like to make a homemade version. I absolutely LOVE it.

Throwback Thursday

Throwback Thursday: Here I am at the Ratha Yatra Festival in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on July 19, 2008. During the summer every year, these festivals in honor of the Hindu god Jagannath, a representation of Lord Krishna (God) who lived in India five thousand years ago, are celebrated in small villages up to large cities all over the world. The first festival was held in the year 1558.

My religion is Gaudiya Vaishnavism (Hare Krishna), a sect of Sanatana Dharma (Hinduism).

Here are two of the many photos that my wife Debbie took of myself at the festival.

In the first photo, you can see me help pull one of three colorful chariots for a few miles through the streets of the city. One of these chariots, which are about 45 feet high and 35 feet in length and width, can be seen in the background. The "tents" on the chariots had to be lowered and then raised again whenever the chariots passed under traffic lights.

In the second photo, I am holding a plastic bag of halva in my right hand that was given to me at the festival. While my shirt has a Hindu prayer printed on it in the Sanskrit language, it does not represent the official garb of the Hare Krishnas. The cloth bag hanging from my neck, which has a Hindu prayer printed on it in Sanskrit and IS carried by the Hare Krishnas, contains mala (prayer beads). My necklace holds a golden, colorful pendant of the Hindu god Jagannath.

About an hour after my wife took these photos, I was taken to the hospital by ambulance with heat exhaustion. After all of these years, I continue to thank my wonderful wife for accompanying me on my spiritual pilgrimage.

National Pizza Day

Today (February 9, 2022) is National Pizza Day.

What is your favorite pizza topping? Mine is pickled capers. I also like a fried egg on top, which I also like on top of a hamburger, but under the top piece of bun.

Another Pizza (For Dinner)

For dinner this evening (February 8, 2022), my wonderful wife made yet another homemade pizza. She used dough that she recently made and sugo (tomato sauce) that we recently made together. Italian cheeses (Mozzarella, Provolone, Parmesan, Asiago, and Romano) with roasted onions and green bell peppers are on her side. Salami, the Italian cheeses, and extra Provolone cheese are on my side.

Boy Scouts Day

In 1947 or 1948, my father became the youngest Eagle Scout in the United States. He was 13 years old when he attained this honor.I was never in the Boy Scouts, but I was in the Cub Scouts for several years during the 1960s. I received the Bobcat pin and then earned the Wolf and Bear badges, but that's as far as I got. Our pack disbanded, and I didn't pursue Boy Scout training. My mom was a terrific Den Mother.

(I have been a Men's Rights Activist since the early 1990s, when I was in my early 30s, so I support and promote anything and everything related to the male species, this being one example.)

Iowa Day

(There is a reference to Iowa in this somewhat long post.)

For about 14 months in and around 1997, I covered commodities trading, specifically the futures and options trading of "Softs" (coffee, sugar, cocoa, cotton, orange juice, and occasionally whole milk) from the New York City bureau of a wire service called "Futures World News," also known as "FWN." We broadcast more than one thousand stories every day via satellite to traders in 93 countries from our bureaus around the world.

I covered those five main markets in real time, writing 13 to 16 stories every day, plus one weekly feature story. I covered two exchanges in New York City and one exchange in London. Our bureau was directly across the street from the World Trade Centers, so I would occasionally visit with the traders on the trading floor (on the second floor) before the day's trading began. I also covered weekly money-supply meetings at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

(I cross-trained for a couple of weeks on "Energies," specifically crude oil, natural gas, etc. Unfortunately, I never got to train on "Forex" ("Foreign Exchange," meaning monetary-currency comparison), or "Metals" (gold, silver, etc.), both of which I preferred to cover because they are the more glamorous markets.)

FWN had various bureaus throughout the world, specifically New York City, Chicago, London, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, and Tokyo. All of the hundreds of stories written throughout each day from all of these bureaus were sent to copy editors in our main office in Waterloo, Iowa, where they were edited and then were broadcast via satellite to traders all over the world.

(We also published the monthly magazine titled "Futures," but I was not involved with that.)

Kite Flying Day

I flew box kites when I was a kid in the 1960s.

Dinner: Baked Rigatoni

For dinner, my wonderful wife made Baked Rigatoni: rigatoni (pasta), ricotta cheese, and our homemade sugo (tomato sauce) with mozzarella cheese on top and then baked.