August 31, 2022
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. Yes, prostate cancer is more deadly than breast cancer. Federal funding for breast cancer research is 600 percent HIGHER than federal funding for prostate cancer research. That's SIX TIMES HIGHER !!! (That makes me sad.)
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/september-prostate-cancer-awareness-month-142126409.html
August 31, 2022
September is National Prostate Cancer Awareness Month !!! Today, to my surprise, the White House issued this proclamation honoring prostate cancer awareness. This is quite strange because Democrat presidents are interested in promoting women's health, never men's health.August 30, 2022
Happy Birthday to my father (August 30, 1934 - February 14, 1997). I still sorely and immensely miss him. This is a photo of my dad and myself in December 1974 at the house of my great-aunt Rose in East Orange, New Jersey. I was 13 years old.
My dad died on his mother's birthday -- she passed away on May 22, 1977 -- and the day after the birthday of his sister, with whom I recently spoke on the telephone.
Dad was cremated. Half of his ashes were interred at Breslau Cemetery in Lindenhurst, Long Island, New York. The other half of his ashes were 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 becoming a 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. Wilbur is also buried in Breslau Cemetery next to my grandmother and also my grandfather who passed in 1983.
Breslau, which is the original name of Lindenhurst, is also the name of a town in Germany.
August 30, 2022
I love walking on Robert Moses beach (Field 4 or 5) on the south shore of Long Island, New York, where I grew up in the 1960s and 1970s, in the dead of winter, with all of its coldness and windiness. (Since 1998, I have lived near the east coast of Florida.)
I prefer my toasted marshmallows slightly burnt with a bit of grayish-black to them.
Speaking of grief, today is my father's birthday (1934-1997). I certainly miss him.
August 28, 2022
My wonderful wife made this delicious food for this evening's dinner and beyond: roasted chicken; broccoli; baked potatoes; and broccoli and cauliflower with cheese sauce. For my dinner, I will incorporate part of yesterday's Italian food (delivery) dinner, which was broccoli rabe with garlic; eggplant stuffed with ricotta cheese; garlic bread; and Italian sausages and penne with tomato sauce. So, that means, dinner for me tonight is: eggplant stuffed with ricotta cheese; roasted chicken; and broccoli and cauliflower with cheese sauce. TMI???
UPDATE (August 29, 2022): I forgot to mention the calzone and the lentil soup as part of the Italian dinner.
August 28, 2022
I do have one (pre-knotted) bow tie: dark purple with a somewhat paisley pattern.
August 27, 2022
With all of this politically tangential rhetoric about so-called racism and so-called sexism, especially with the midterm elections fast approaching, I decided to briefly opine:
For me, the best thing about being a straight, white, politically conservative male is that so many people believe that I am oppressing them, and I don't have to do a damned thing for them to believe it. I thank these people for giving me infinitely more perceived power over them than I have actual power, which is none. People of all races, genders, religions, etc. need to stop blaming people of other races, genders, religions, etc. for their failures. Take responsibility, and blame your failures and your successes on that person in the mirror, and I don't mean that person standing behind you trying to get into the medicine cabinet.
August 27, 2022
This early afternoon, I got a haircut (number 2 buzz cut) and had my beard removed at a nearby salon. I was going to have a hot shave, but I wasn't strong enough for that due to weakness caused by three recent surgeries (one "heart" in March; two "chest" in May).
August 27, 2022, early afternoon
Well, I made a valiant attempt at getting myself cleaned up at a nearby salon, but I just wasn't strong enough to complete the entire task. I was able to get a haircut (number 2 buzz cut) and to get my beard trimmed off enough to prepare me for a hot shave. That's when I hit "the wall." I was dizzy, and it felt like I was going to pass out, so I just couldn't endure the hot shave. I received the lather, but no "hot" and no "shave." I was looking forward to it, too.
My wife drove us home while I was having a screaming, possible panic attack in the car. She then wheeled me into our home while I was seated in my transport chair. I got into bed, drank some orange juice, and then proceeded to promptly vomit into a pink basin. I feel better now.
I know I need to push myself to get stronger. This outing was just too much, too soon. My quest for strength continues. While I finished occupational therapy (at home) this past week, I am continuing with physical therapy (at home) at least through next week.
I was in a hospital and a physical-rehabilitation facility (nursing home) for a total of 70 days (May 13 to June 3, then June 3 to July 21, 2022), so I let myself get overly shaggy.
I had quadruple coronary artery bypass surgery on March 9, 2022, and then two reconstructive surgeries in/on my chest in May 2022. For my surgery on May 19, 2022, my reconstructive surgeon removed loose, metal sternal plates from within my chest due to a staph infection. For my surgery on May 25, 2022, he cleaned out the remaining infection from within my chest, and he partially closed my chest by first clipping off the tips of my ribs. He then reattached my chest muscle flaps to my body.
My surgeon used seven spaced-out sutures to close the eight-inch-long, vertical incision in my chest initiated by my open-heart surgery in March 2022 and made worse by my two subsequent reconstructive chest surgeries in May 2022, leaving me with eight deep holes in my chest to heal.
Marie Angela Santos Aileen Santos
August 26, 2022
Tomorrow afternoon, I am getting myself professionally groomed after a total of 70 days in a hospital (May 13 to June 3, 2022) and in a physical-rehabilitation facility (June 3 to July 21, 2022), which included two reconstructive chest surgeries, which followed quadruple coronary artery bypass surgery in March 2022. I hope that I have enough strength to endure.
August 25, 2022
Throwback Thursday: Here we are, the copydesk editors of Globe magazine and National Examiner magazine, in our office in Boca Raton, Florida, during our holiday lunch on December 23, 2010. Of course, that's me on the far right, looking a bit awkward because I was trying to maintain the proper distance from all of my female co-workers. LOL
The other magazines produced in our office were the National Enquirer, Sun, Weekly World New, and the British version of Globe. At one time, we had 117 people working in that one large room. There were no walls between any of the desks, so the buzz in that room was sometimes overwhelming, especially during our four weekly deadlines: two soft and two hard.
I worked for American Media Inc. (AMI) from 2002 to 2011 as a freelancer for one year before I was hired as a full-time employee. While there, I edited stories and photos, and designed and produced computer-generated pages. When I started, I worked in that capacity for Star magazine. I had the good fortune of helping with the transition from matte paper to glossy, which also involved a change in the magazine's size.
When Star eventually moved to New York City, I was switched to Globe. Soon, the Globe staff was given National Examiner to produce in addition to Globe. It meant more work for me, but I didn't mind, mainly because National Examiner was easier to produce than Globe.
I also worked one day as an editor for National Enquirer when someone was on vacation.
Several years after I left the company, the Boca Raton office closed, and the whole operation was moved to New York City.
Also, while I was with AMI, I edited two of their full-length biographies (Johnny Cash and Whitney Houston) to earn a little extra money. I also "earned" an extra $25 by allowing my face to be used in a Weekly World News story. I was a limbless man who earned lots of money as a conversational table centerpiece at high-class dinner parties.
I'll tell you something: During my first week of working there way back in 2002, I was seated at my desk and saw from across the room a woman dressed in a bridal gown walk by followed by someone dressed in a gorilla costume. I immediately thought: "This is exactly where I need to be." LOL
August 23, 2022
Many thanks go to my wonderful wife for creating this delicious, healthy lunch for me.
August 23, 2022
My dear cousin Scott introduced me to the Cuban sandwich, as well as Cuban coffee (Café con Leche), when I visited him and his brother Burt while on spring break in Miami in February 1982. They were attending the University of Miami. I was attending Villanova University near Philadelphia. Two friends from 'Nova and I drove my car (two-seater Ford EXP, four-speed) 24 hours straight to spend a week in Florida. I dropped them off in Fort Lauderdale, and then I continued to Miami.
(Although I am not Hispanic, I do like Cuban food.)
August 23, 2022
I absolutely dislike sponge cake and pound cake, well, all cake unless there is more frosting than cake.
Monday, August 22, 2022
Morning: Physical Therapy (leg exercises: sitting, standing, and walking with a walker for support)
Afternoon: Occupational Therapy (arm exercises: in bed with a 3-pound dumbbell)
I am getting stronger: slowly, but surely.
August 22, 2022
It looks somewhat good. It's a bit plain for my taste. (I have never eaten it.)
August 21, 2022
My wonderful wife made this delicious dinner: breaded (baked) pork chops, roasted cauliflower, and scalloped potatoes.
August 21, 2022
I do love spumoni, because it tastes good and (probably) because of my Italian upbringing. Spumoni typically has small pieces of cherries and almonds, and usually has flavors of ice cream to match the Italian flag in color: pistachio (green), vanilla (white), and strawberry (red).
August 21, 2022
My wonderful wife made these orange juice-chocolate chip biscotti for my mother and me.
August 21, 2022
To show you the extent of my chest incision after three recent surgeries and its subsequent healing, here is a composite photo I made to compare.
While my chest is still sore, swollen, and numb, and will take many more months to heal, my scarring isn't as bad as I thought it would be. I returned home on July 21, 2022, after a total of seventy (70) days in a hospital and at a physical-rehabilitation facility (nursing home). I continue to regain my strength by engaging in physical therapy and occupational therapy, now at home.
I had quadruple coronary artery bypass surgery on March 9, 2022, and then two reconstructive surgeries in/on my chest in May 2022. For my surgery on May 19, 2022, my reconstructive surgeon removed metal sternal plates from within my chest due to a staph infection. For my surgery on May 25, 2022, he cleaned out the remaining infection from within my chest, and he partially closed my chest by first clipping off the tips of my ribs and then by reattaching my chest muscle flaps to my body.
My surgeon used seven spaced-out sutures to close the eight-inch-long, vertical incision in my chest initiated by my open-heart surgery in March 2022 and made worse by my two subsequent surgeries in May 2022, leaving me with eight deep holes in my chest to heal.
Thank you for your prayers, well-wishes, and support.
August 20, 2022
I prefer radio to television. I love to listen to recordings of old radio series (sitcoms, game shows, and variety shows) from the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s, including World War II broadcasts to the troops in the mid-1940s, specifically "The Kraft Music Hall" and "The Bob Hope Show." I am a huge fan of these radio series: "You Bet Your Life," "My Favorite Husband," "The Great Gildersleeve," and "The Stan Freeberg Show."
I also listen to radio broadcasts of current Major League Baseball games, and live broadcasts of music and news online from European countries, specifically Austria, Italy, France, and Germany. I also sometimes listen online to my hometown, popular-music radio station: WBAB in Babylon, Long Island, New York.
August 20, 2022
This is one of the best pies I have eaten; I have only eaten it once; and I don't remember where it was.
August 19, 2022
Post something below that you had to memorize when you were in high school, at university, or for work.
In high school, I had to memorize the Periodic Table of The Elements for a course in chemistry. (See below.)
Also in high school, I had to memorize the following excerpt from "Hamlet" for a course in English literature.
Speak the speech, I pray you, as I pronounced it to
you, trippingly on the tongue: but if you mouth it,
as many of your players do, I had as lief the
town-crier spoke my lines. Nor do not saw the air
too much with your hand, thus, but use all gently;
for in the very torrent, tempest, and, as I may say,
the whirlwind of passion, you must acquire and beget
a temperance that may give it smoothness. O, it
offends me to the soul to hear a robustious
periwig-pated fellow tear a passion to tatters, to
very rags, to split the ears of the groundlings, who
for the most part are capable of nothing but
inexplicable dumbshows and noise: I would have such
a fellow whipped for o'erdoing Termagant; it
out-herods Herod: pray you, avoid it.
August 19, 2022
Happy Krishna Janmashtami !!!
Begins: August 18, 2022
Ends: August 19, 2022
Krishna Janmashtami, literally "Occasion of the birth of Lord Krishna," also known simply as Janmashtami or Gokulashtami, is an annual Hindu festival that celebrates the birth of Krishna, the eighth avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu the Sustainer.
My religion is Gaudiya Vaishnavism, also known as Hare Krishna, which is a sect of Sanatana Dharma, also known as Hinduism. Lord Krishna is the main god that I worship.
August 17, 2022
For dinner, my wonderful wife made this bowl of Shrimp Scampi with Spaghetti.
August 17, 2022
I spent a fair amount of time visiting cousins in Massachusetts when I was a kid in the 1960s and 1970s. My parents and I, sometimes with other cousins, would drive there from Long Island, New York.
Also, I attended a prep school in northern Massachusetts during the 1979-1980 school year, when I was 18 and 19 years old.
***
August 17, 2022
Two of my many journalistic gigs were with non-profit associations:
1. 1991-1992: Copy Editor for "Risk Management," the monthly magazine of "Risk and Insurance Management Society" ("RIMS")
2. 2016-2017: Associate Editor (editor/writer) for the news website of "Shop!" and for its two magazines "Retail Environments" and "Insider," which alternated each month.
August 17, 2022
My Breakfast: (homemade) frittata, bacon, yogurt, coffee
(Many thanks go to my wonderful wife for creating it.)
