Cider & Mud

September 30, 2023, The Isles Nursing & Rehab Center, Boynton Beach, Florida: I do like hot mulled cider, but I am surprised that the celebratory day is so early in the year.

Physical Rehab Continues

September 29, 2023, The Isles Nursing & Rehab Center, Boynton Beach, Florida: It's time for yet another bag of intravenous antibiotic. I receive two bags per day: early morning and early evening. Each bag takes about two hours to complete. I have a PICC line, with the port at my left shoulder, running 18 inches through my veins within my chest, ending near my heart. I am amidst a six-week-long regimen of twice daily intravenous antibiotic for a blood infection, which I think is cured; and possible osteomyelitis (bone infection) within a fracture in my right Tibia. I also have a fracture in my right Fibula. I broke both bones in my right ankle during falls in April 2023. The intravenous antibiotic is also addressing my spine. On September 2, 2023, I had surgery to remove an infection (an abscess) in a disk in my low-to-middle spine. Osteomyelitis was also found in the surrounding bone. I am in this physical rehabilitation facility because my lower back is still causing me extreme pain. Luckily, the incision in my back is healing well and doesn't hurt as much as it did. As for my lower back, my pain is still substantial, even with a Fentanyl patch (an opioid); doses of Percocet (an opioid pill); doses of Lyrica, a pill for nerve pain, which is more for my diabetic neuropathy (numbness and pain) in both of my feet; and aspirin, which is actually for my heart due to last year's quadruple coronary artery bypass surgery, plus two subsequent chest surgeries. I engage in occupational therapy and physical therapy almost every day. I suppose I will be able to go home when I can prove to my therapists that I am well enough. At this time, I still feel pain just sitting at the edge of my bed, even with all of the pain medication. However, today, I was able to walk with a walker for 80 feet, then about 60 feet, which is a personal triumph.

Coffee & VFW

September 29, 2023, The Isles Nursing & Rehab Center, Boynton Beach, Florida: I am partial to espresso, perhaps due to my partially Italian heritage. Actually, I think I have somewhat lost my taste for coffee. One can hope it's a temporary affectation.

September 29, 2023, The Isles Nursing & Rehab Center, Boynton Beach, Florida: VFW = Veterans of Foreign Wars

Today Is ...

September 28, 2023, The Isles Nursing & Rehab Center, Boynton Beach, Florida

While I do not have a son, I am one. National Sons Day is celebrated on September 28 AND March 4. Many people celebrated yesterday, which is OK. I just don't understand why.

(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.)

September 28, 2023, The Isles Nursing & Rehab Center, Boynton Beach, Florida

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.

September 28, 2023, The Isles Nursing & Rehab Center, Boynton Beach, Florida

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.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohrenbrauerei

September 28, 2023, The Isles Nursing & Rehab Center, Boynton Beach, Florida: This is definitely not for me. I really dislike strawberries. I also don't particularly like whipped cream.

Today Is ...

September 27, 2023, The Isles Nursing & Rehab Center, Boynton Beach, Florida: I do like chocolate milk, specifically made with Ovaltine or Bosco, because it tastes like my childhood.

September 27, 2023, The Isles Nursing & Rehab Center, Boynton Beach, Florida: I love corned beef hash and fried eggs for breakfast. My dad did, too.

Me

September 26, 2023, The Isles Nursing & Rehab Center, Boynton Beach, Florida: Me, this early evening (photo by my wife)

"Abbey Road" Released

September 26, 2023, The Isles Nursing & Rehab Center, Boynton Beach, Florida: 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."

Happy Birthday Mr. Ferry

September 26, 2023, The Isles Nursing & Rehab Center, Boynton Beach, Florida: Happy 78th Birthday to one of my favorite singer/musicians ever: Bryan Ferry. He was the lead singer, keyboardist, and song writer 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 favorite all-time 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.

NOTE: That is NOT Ferry in the photo below.

https://youtu.be/T7UB_0AiLNU?si=a4xz_5C8YxujKSTf

Today Is ...

September 26, 2023, The Isles Nursing & Rehab Center, Boynton Beach, Florida: I do like those Chinese dumplings, fried, not steamed.

September 26, 2023, The Isles Nursing & Rehab Center, Boynton Beach, Florida: I like pancakes, particularly chocolate chip pancakes, with real butter and real maple syrup.

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September 25, 2023, The Isles Nursing & Rehab Center, Boynton Beach, Florida: Today is National Comic Book Day.

My favorite comic book character is Jughead Jones (full name: Forsythe Pendleton Jones III) from the Archie comics.

I became a big fan of Jughead comic books (digests) in the early 1990s, when I was in my early 30s. (See photo below.) During that time (1992-1996), I was a writer, editor, and researcher for a weekly, international magazine on the financial and technical aspects of the chemical industry based in New York City, and I needed to read something less complex for a change. I chose the Jughead comic books. I still have them.

I like Jughead because I was much like him during that time (mostly carefree; romantically unsuccessful with women; loves eating, especially hamburgers), and I am still mostly similar.

Also, I enjoyed watching "The Archie Show" cartoon TV series when I was a kid. It ran for one season in 1968, when I was seven years old.

September 25, 2023, The Isles Nursing & Rehab Center, Boynton Beach, Florida: I think my favorite one-hit wonder is probably "Ariel" by Dean Friedman. The song was released in 1977, when I was 16 years old.

41st Literary Anniversary

September 24, 2023, The Isles Nursing & Rehab Center, Boynton Beach, Florida: I am "only" 62 years old, but this makes me feel old:

Today, I am celebrating the FORTY-FIRST (41st) anniversary of my FIRST published article in a newspaper. This solidified myself as a journalist and became the launching pad for a fascinating journalistic journey over several decades.

Here is my review of The Who’s 1982 album “It’s Hard,” which appeared in the September 24, 1982, issue of The Villanovan, the weekly newspaper of Villanova University near Philadelphia. Click/Tap on it to enlarge it.

After two-and-a-half years in the pre-med program at Villanova, I changed my major to communications with a minor in the French language, graduating in December 1984. I then graduated with a master's degree in journalism from the University of Missouri in Columbia in May 1988.

I have definitely had a fun, interesting, and challenging series of gigs over the years (1982 to 2017).

My positions over the years include reporter, writer, rewriter, reviewer, proofreader, page designer, photographer, researcher, and many types of editors for newspapers, magazines, newsletters, statistical reports, white papers, news websites, and a wire service. I have also edited three books: a paperback on bankruptcy law; and two paperback biographies on Johnny Cash and on Whitney Houston.

Some of the other vastly varied topics with which I have been involved include (not in order): news; business; sports; real estate; income tax; automotive; religion; advice; immigration; risk management (corporate insurance); the chemical industry, including heavy and agriculture chemicals, organics (aromatics and aliphatics), pharmaceuticals, paints, coatings, plastics, oils, fats, waxes, flavors and fragrances; commodities (futures and options) trading, specifically coffee, sugar, cocoa, cotton, orange juice, and whole milk; the Federal Reserve Bank of New York money supply; home improvement; home building; housewares; health and beauty care; components of retail store displays, specifically mannequins, lighting, showcases, shelving, framing, plastics, flooring, graphics, signage, architecture, and analytical research; a cruise ship; and rock 'n' roll; movies, gossip, crime, and entertainment, specifically as a copy editor and page designer from 2002 to 2011 for Star, Globe, National Examiner, and National Enquirer magazines.

Due to medical issues, I left the journalism profession on March 31, 2017, which was the final day of a three-week-long gig editing and rewriting the Intranet (internal) website of The World, the largest residential cruise ship in the world.

As for me now, I am (still) in the midst of writing an autobiographical novel loosely based on my four years as a reporter, writer, and researcher, covering the technical and financial aspects of the chemical industry for an international weekly magazine based in New York City from 1992 to 1996. I worked at four gigs in The City from 1991 to 1998 before moving to Florida.

In addition, I am (still) in the preliminary stages of self-publishing a book of my self-penned poetry. I have written more than 300 poems since 1986, so I need to choose 75 of my subjectively best poems for inclusion. I have had several of my poems published in national anthologies, mostly in the 1990s, and one in 2010 with Eber & Wein Publishing company. One of my poems was published last year (2022) in Eber & Wein's "Best Poets of 2021" anthology. I also had a poem published two years ago (2021) in this company's anthology titled "Best Poets of 2020."

I also maintain a personal blog, which basically is most of my entries from Facebook; and a YouTube channel that mostly contains videos of myself playing the piano and/or singing.

Today Is ...

September 24, 2023, The Isles Nursing & Rehab Center, Boynton Beach, Florida: I would like to take this opportunity to address one of my punctuation pet peeves and also to tell you a somewhat obscure punctuation rule that many people do not know.

PET PEEVE: Please do NOT place a comma between the subject and the verb in a sentence, even if the subject is lengthy. For example, do NOT place a comma in the following sentence:

"The boy who lives down the street in the two-story house is coming to our apartment for dinner."

If you place a comma between the word "house" and the word "is," it is incorrect and is tantamount to writing this sentence: "I, am."

RULE: When making a word ending in "ss" possessive, the method is based on the first letter of the next word. For example:

the boss's chair
the boss' salary

the princess's castle
the princess' secret

Basically, you can have an "s" three times in a row, but not four times in a row. Did you know this rule?

September 24, 2023, The Isles Nursing & Rehab Center, Boynton Beach, Florida: I have eaten Cherries Jubilee many decades ago. I would prefer it with chocolate ice cream.

Today Is ...

September 23, 2023, The Isles Nursing & Rehab Center, Boynton Beach, Florida:

When I was a kid in the 1960s and 1970s, I enjoyed Swanson chicken pot pies. We didn't have them often. My wonderful wife makes them from scratch.

September 23, 2023, The Isles Nursing & Rehab Center, Boynton Beach, Florida:

I have RLS, but I sometimes experience it in my entire body. It makes me want to scream. I am sometimes awake all night long because of it. Actually, I think part of it is peripheral neuropathy in the form of numbness in both of my feet due to diabetes.

September 23, 2023, The Isles Nursing & Rehab Center, Boynton Beach, Florida:

I recently went through a few months when I loved these. I think that I may have lost my taste for them.

Today Is ...

September 22, 2023, The Isles Nursing & Rehab Center, Boynton Beach, Florida: I prefer dark chocolate.

September 22, 2023, The Isles Nursing & Rehab Center, Boynton Beach, Florida: ... never a cone; always a cup, since I was a kid in the 1960s

September 22, 2023, The Isles Nursing & Rehab Center, Boynton Beach, Florida: I used to write a diary until one day in the mid-1980s I stopped and then started writing poetry. I thought that writing my heartfelt and spiritual thoughts as poems was better than writing about my daily exploits in a diary.

September 22, 2023, The Isles Nursing & Rehab Center, Boynton Beach, Florida

Pain Management

September 21, 2023, The Isles Nursing & Rehab Center, Boynton Beach, Florida:

My Pain Management Regimen (for my lower back pain and for pain at the surgical incision in my lower back; on September 2, 2023, I had surgery to remove/clean out an infection/abscess in a disk in my lower spine.)

1. Percocet: for pain (every four hours)
2. Lyrica: for nerve pain (three times per day)
3. Fentanyl Patch: for pain (The small patch was applied for the first time this early evening and lasts three days with each application.)
4. Aspirin: for pain, but more for loosening blood platelets in regard to my quadruple coronary artery bypass surgery last year (one per day)

1 & 3 are opioids.

Also, you can see in this photo that I am receiving this evening my twice-daily intravenous antibiotic for a blood infection; for a possible bone infection in one of two fractures in my right ankle; and, more recently, for an infected spinal disk in my lower back and an infection in the surrounding bone.

Today Is ...

September 21, 2023, The Isles Nursing & Rehab Center, Boynton Beach, Florida: In regard to New York, I grew up on Long Island, specifically Babylon and West Islip; I lived in upstate New York: Cornwall-on-Hudson, Newburgh, Wallkill, and Wellsville; and I worked in New York City for seven years (1991-1998). I have lived in New York, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Missouri, New Jersey, and Florida.

Pawpaw Day is the third Thursday in September.

Able To Sit, Stand & Walk

September 20, 2023, The Isles Nursing & Rehab Center, Boynton Beach, Florida: GOOD NEWS: This afternoon, I had my daily physical therapy session. I was able to lift myself and sit at the edge of my bed by myself and then sit in a wheelchair. My physical therapist wheeled me to the workout room. There, I was able to stand and then walk, taking several steps twice with a walker without experiencing too much pain. This is the first time I have been able sit, stand, and walk without screaming with pain in months.

I also had my daily occupational therapy session this morning to strengthen my upper body. I required much help from this therapist.

On September 2, 2023, I had surgery to remove an infection (an abscess) in a disk in my lower spine. I also have osteomyelitis (bone infection) in the surrounding spinal bone. I have severe pain at the site of my incision in my lower back, but, of course, that pain will abate as time goes on. I still have severe pain across my lower back, but that seems to have begun dissipating.

I take opioid pain pills and nerve pain pills, but neither of them helps all that much.

My legs are very weak because prior to entering the hospital, I was not able to walk without a walker and without extreme pain for about two months. I basically remained in bed in pain. After my spinal surgery, my left leg was completely numb from my hip to my ankle. Much of the feeling has returned. My right thigh was also partially numb, but much feeling has also returned.

I continue to engage in therapy to strengthen my body: physical therapy for my lower body and occupational therapy for my upper body.

As for my osteomyelitis in my spine, I am already on a six-week-long regimen of daily intravenous antibiotic for a blood infection and possible osteomyelitis within a fracture in my right Tibia. My right Fibula is also fractured. Both right ankle fractures are from two falls in April 2023. I am more than halfway through my regimen. My current antibiotic regimen hasn't changed, but now it is also removing the infection in my spine; my infectious-disease doctor may add an extra two weeks to my regimen. (However, my infectious-disease doctor recently switched me to two bags of intravenous antibiotic daily from one bag based on daily testing of my extracted blood.)

(Note: I know this seems unrelated to this group, so I should mention that I did have quadruple coronary artery bypass surgery in March 2022, followed by two related surgeries in May 2022. I required a second surgery to remove my sternal plates due to loose screws, plus a staff infection within my chest. My chest remained open for about a week with a wound vacuum attached. My third surgery closed my chest. My surgeon reattached my chest muscle flaps to my body using seven sutures.)

Today Is ...

September 20, 2023, The Isles Nursing & Rehab Center, Boynton Beach, Florida: If I am feeling mainstream, I'll go for a pepperoni pizza. If not, then I'll go for my favorite pizza topping: pickled capers. My other favorite toppings are egg, artichoke hearts, and anchovies.

September 20, 2023, The Isles Nursing & Rehab Center, Boynton Beach, Florida: At university/fraternity parties in the early 1980s, we drank fruit punch mixed with ginger ale or Sprite and with Everclear (95% grain alcohol) in huge punch bowls. ... fun times 😀

September 20, 2023, The Isles Nursing & Rehab Center, Boynton Beach, Florida: I do like string cheese.

September 20, 2023, The Isles Nursing & Rehab Center, Boynton Beach, Florida: I do like fried rice.

Dunkin' & IHOP

September 19, 2023, The Isles Nursing & Rehab Center, Boynton Beach, Florida: Dunkin' & IHOP

Today Is ...

September 19, 2023, The Isles Nursing & Rehab Center, Boynton Beach, Florida: When I was a kid in the 1960s and 1970s, I enjoyed Snack Pack butterscotch pudding, as well as Snack Pack chocolate pudding. My mom would put one in my lunch box, later brown paper bag to take to school with me.

Today Is ...

September 18, 2023, The Isles Nursing & Rehab Center, Boynton Beach, Florida: I prefer Swiss cheese or Provolone on my burgers, but I do eat McDonald's cheeseburgers with American "cheese," which I don't like all that much. I never, EVER put any vegetables on my cheeseburgers, meaning lettuce, tomatoes, onions, etc., although I will sometimes put sliced pickles between the cheese and the top bun.

Prostate Cancer Awareness

September 17, 2023, The Isles Nursing & Rehab Center, Boynton Beach, Florida: September is National Prostate Cancer Awareness Month. 1 in 6 men will 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. However, 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.)

Today Is ...

September 17, 2023, The Isles Nursing & Rehab Center, Boynton Beach, Florida: A Monte Cristo is my favorite cooked sandwich. I have enjoyed them since the late 1960s, when my age was in single digits. It is made as a double or triple decker with ham, turkey, and Swiss cheese. The assembled sandwich is then dipped into an egg batter or custard and pan fried or deep fried until golden. It is then typically dusted with confectioner's (powdered) sugar. I like mine with grape jelly, although red raspberry jam is nice, too.

September 17, 2023, The Isles Nursing & Rehab Center, Boynton Beach, Florida: I have loved my wife since the day I met her in November 2000. I hereby thank her for her love for me and her patience with me, especially during the past few years regarding my horrific medical issues that continue to plague me.

September 17, 2023, The Isles Nursing & Rehab Center, Boynton Beach, Florida: I think that I like apple dumplings. I am not sure if I have ever eaten one. I hate raw apples, but I like apples in any other form, so I am sure that I would like them.

Singapore Grand Prix

Sunday, September 17, 2023: It's 8:11 a.m. here in southeastern Florida, and I am in The Isles Nursing & Rehab Center, Boynton Beach, Florida watching a live broadcast of the Singapore Grand Prix on Sky Sports F1 (on ESPN). This is the 15th race of the 23-race Formula 1 auto racing season for 2023.

Today's circuit (track) is the Marina Bay Street Circuit in Singapore.

The first 14 races were in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Australia, Azerbaijan, Miami, Monaco, Spain, Canada, Austria, Great Britain, Hungary, Beligium,The Netherlands, and Italy.

This season, there are two races in Italy and three races in the United States (Miami, Austin, and an inaugural race in Las Vegas). The Grand Prix in Imola, Italy, earlier this season was postponed due to poor weather conditions: rain and flooding.

Formula 1 racing is the only sport that I actively follow. There are 20 drivers on 10 teams (constructors). Only one driver is from the United States.

Today Is ...

September 16, 2023, The Isles Nursing & Rehab Center, Boynton Beach, Florida: Play-Doh was initially invented as a way to clean wallpaper.