Bearding the Weather

 I grew a pandemic beard--in part because I just didn't see the point of shaving constantly when a mask was covering the lower half of my face. But now, with warm humid weather having hit the Philly area, I am seriously considering going clean-shaven again.

I trimmed the beard this morning and immediately noticed a difference. Of course, if I go without the beard, it will complicate my daily routine. I won't have to shave every day--my beard is almost entirely white and not particularly dense, but I will have to keep an eye on not looking overly scruffy.

Something to think about.

One Month After

 Tomorrow will be exactly one month since the surgery to remove my prostate. Here's an update:

No problems with movement of any kind. No pain, no discomfort in bending, twisting, lifting (though I am still following the recommendation of limiting weight to 20 lbs.), walking (including stairs).

I think I am gaining some natural control of my bladder, even before the biofeedback session later this week. I have noticed that I am feeling occasional urges to relieve myself (especially at night), pretty much like the ones I had normally pre-surgery. I have also noticed that, again after a night's sleep, my incontinence pads are drier than they were a couple of weeks ago.

Overall, even if I have to continue the routine of wearing pads, I think I've come through this pretty well.

Infrastucture Alert

 You would think that two major disasters with construction collapses in a week would be enough to spur politicians to action on infrastructure...especially when one of them occurs just a few miles from the Capitol.

A pedestrian bridge over I-295, which runs through Washington, DC parsllel to the Anacostia River and Capitol Street, fell onto that highway on Wednesday (https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2021/06/23/bridge-collapse-washington-dc-interstate-295/5327504001/). And yesterday, at 1:30 AM, half of a condominium high rise in Surfside, FL--a suburb of Miami Beach--pancaked into its own basement. At least 99 people are still missing, and four are known to be dead (https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2021/06/25/miami-florida-residential-building-collapse-what-we-know/5338496001/).

But they are still haggling over the infrastructure bill in Congress--how big should it be, what constitutes "infrastructure", how to pay for it. Odd how those questions seldom arise in discussions of defense spending, isn't it? Both of Florida's senators are Republicans; 16 of its 26 representatives are Republicans...and yet in the face of these two tragedies, all of them remain opposed to the bipartisan bill negotiated by their colleagues and even more opposed to the larger one proposed by the Democrats alone.

Will it take learning that one of their own relatives was killed or injured in such an event to change their minds?

Trivia Time

 My elder son and I both participate in an on-line trivia contest called Learned League. It's a competition held in "seasons" of 25 "matches," six questions a day on each weekday during that time. You compete directly against one other person in the league and you gain points by how difficult your opponent thinks the question will be for you, based on your past record on similar subjects.

The most recent season ended on Monday and my son and I competed in the same group of players for the first time. I wound up in fifth place within that group, and my son was 23d. In discussing that difference, I suggested that it was, in part, a question of age--that there are things I know because of events I have lived through which he has not.

For instance, a recent question asked us to identify the Aswan Dam in Egypt from a brief description: "Name the southern Egyptian city, and capital of its namesake Governorate, near which an embankment dam (at the time, the world's largest) was built in the 1960s?" I knew immediately what they were talking about, because the dam was controversial at the time, not least because it threatened to destroy an ancient temple complex which was relocated to the shores of Lake Nasser (created by the new dam) with international cooperation and donations.

My son had no idea, because the story of the dam and the temples was no longer news worthy and, unless you were studying ancient Egypt in school, not covered by the usual curriculum. 

This led to a discussion of whether the age of your opponent should be included in the available information about him or her. I believe it should be. What do you think?

More Abortion Hypocrisy

 Here's the text of a letter I sent to my local paper, the Delaware County Times, this morning:

Once more, in her column on Sunday, Christine Flowers takes on abortion and again reveals her rank hypocrisy--and for that matter the rank hypocrisy of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops.

In that column, Flowers writes in support of the bishops' call to deny communion to any Roman Catholic politician--and most notably President Joe Biden--who supports the legal right of a woman to have an abortion. Please note their objection is not to those politicians having actually participated in an abortion, but in their support for the repeatedly affirmed right for any woman to have an abortion, within certain limits.

Why do I call this hypocrisy? Because the Catholic Church's opposition to abortion is part of what it calls its "seamless" defense of the right-to-life, including an opposition to capital punishment. But the bishops--and Flowers--have never suggested that a Roman Catholic politician who supports capital punishment (also repeatedly affirmed as Constitutional) should be denied communion.

How many such politicians are there? It's tough to find an exact number, but here's a rough idea. The Republican Party platform has, since at least 2000, consistently supported capital punishment and opposed all efforts to have it curtailed or abandoned. There are 66 Roman Catholic Republicans in the House and Senate and it must be supposed that all of them support their party's platform in full.

So why have not the bishops--and Flowers--called for them to be denied communion?

Hot Town in the Summertime

 Looks like we're in for a blistering season, not just in the West where temps have been hitting record highs for months, but across the whole nation. The long-term map on last night's news indicated temps in the 90s for all of the contiguous US, as far north as Montana and Maine. Here in the Philly area, we've been spared so far (save for a few days last week), but predictions are for late June and July to be scorching...and humid.

Of course, the nay-sayers will tell you this has nothing to do with climate change (which is a myth, anyway, according to them), although the Far West hasn't experienced anything like this in 125 years...and not for such a prolonged period, ever. I swear we could having weather like the scenes in The Day the Earth Caught Fire, and some on the right would swear it was all just seasonal temperature changes.

And, if things go on as they are, we could well be in that situation.

A Holiday or a Sales Pitch?

 So we have a new federal holiday--Juneteenth, celebrating the emancipation of slaves in Texas and, by extension, that of all black men and women. I have only one concern--that this holiday, like Columbus Day and Presidents Day, will simply become a reason for retailers to hold sales.

I think Juneteenth will, like those other two, be ignored by most businesses in terms of giving time off to employees. Government workers will get the holiday (in most cases, their contracts require they get time off for any official federal holiday), but private employers usually decide that only the "big" holidays--New Years, Easter, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, and Christmas--are reasons to close up business (and retailers don't all do even those). Some give employees an option: "You can have Martin Luther King Day in January if you give up Veterans Day in November," for instance.

MLK Day has, at least, become known as a day for community service. With any luck, Juneteenth will achieve the same status.

Summer in the Sixties

 The school year around here is just about done...which leads me to the question: How did you keep busy as a kid during the summer?

Growing up on Staten Island in the 1960s, we didn't have a lot of "organized" activities. Not being sports-oriented, things like Little League were of no interest to me. But there was a "day camp" run by the local public school, where we played softball and kickball, and indoor games like knock-hockey and ping pong and pool. There were even some classes in art.

The camp ended at 4 PM on weekdays and didn't meet at all on the weekend. During those times, we'd meet up with neighbors for pick-up games (sometimes in the school yard, sometimes in the big empty lot behind my house), or just play at imaginary stuff in the backyard--cowboys and Indians (not PC these days), or dig in the dirt and play at construction. I had a seemingly indestructible Tonka pick-up truck that lasted for at least seven or eight years, including being left out in the rain quite often.

We'd ride bikes, of course--although I didn't really master a two-wheeler until I was about 12 years old. And sidewalk games--hop scotch and box ball most frequently.

What were your summers like when you were in grade school?

Snacking

 What's your go-to snack food? What's your first choice for a treat between meals or just before bedtime?

I have two: The first is Drake's Yodels, preferably after being refrigerated (especially in the summer, as otherwise the chocolate icing melts). Don't give me the Hostess version (Ho Hos) either--Hostess's chocolate cake (in all their products) is too wet and moist.

The second is popcorn, virtually any kind, as long as it's fresh (can't stand pre-popped stuff sold in a bag). I like it with a light coating of salt and butter, and I've recently learned to enjoy the slightly sweeter taste of kettle corn.

I'll settle for chocolate chip cookies, if I can't have the other two.

Recovery Continues

 For the first time in two weeks, I am wearing something other than light sweat pants....but they are still elastic waist. I ordered two pair of elastic waist jeans, because they are less irritating to the still-healing wounds from my incisions. I guess that makes me officially an old man.

In other recovery news, I have returned to driving--although the furthest I have been is around the block for some light shopping and dropping off and picking up laundry. On a more delicate note, I am wearing absorbent pads during the days and full-scale absorbent pants at night. No problems with either so far. At the end of the month I have an appointment for a biofeedback session to help me learn to control things.

Free at Last

I am now officially free of the catheter (and the surgical staples)! All that's left now of my recovery from the prostate surgery is regaining some control of my bladder. For that, I will be meeting with a PA at my urologist for biofeedback training. In the meantime, it's incontinence pants and/or pads.

Once again, great thanks to everyone who has offered support and good wishes.

Joe Manchin--Is He Really Bi-Partisan?

 Just had an interesting discussion with Jill: Does Joe Manchin really think he can be bi-partisan?

Jill's position is that he's not stupid and he wouldn't keep holding out for enough GOP senators to join him if he didn't think that was a possibility.

My position is that he's not stupid, and he knows damned well it's not a possibility, but that isn't why he's doing it. He's doing it because he needs to in order to be re-elected. He was elected from one of the most Trumpist GOP dominated states in the nation and he was elected as a Democrat--because he consistently campaigns on the premise that he can create a bi-partisan coalition in the Senate. (The fact that he's never managed to do that in 11 years notwithstanding.) The people who vote for him in West Virginia expect that he will continue to argue for bi-partisanship, even in the face of 50 Republican senators who have no intention of ever voting for anything supported by even one Democrat.

Boiled down, Joe Manchin needs to put a bi-partisan face on everything he does, or he will lose in his next election in 2024.

One Week Home

 As of today, I've been out of the hospital for one week. Were it not for the catheter and the surgical staples still in my incisions, you--not to mention I--would be hard-pressed to recognize I'd been in hospital at all. There is nothing about the way I look or move to say that I am in still in recovery from having an organ removed. 

But of course, I am. Though the amount of what I do increases daily--last night, I grilled outside, for instance--I am still careful not to overdo anything. I am continuing to limit what I carry in terms of weight and I try not to hurry in the course of doing anything. I can honestly say I haven't run (or even "fast-walked") to anything in the past seven days.

If all goes well, the catheter and staples will be gone by mid-day Wednesday, after which I can return to driving.

One Week

 This time last Friday, I was in an operating room having my prostate removed. Today, I am sitting relatively comfortably at my desk, blogging about it. My recovery has been steady and really very easy.

I cannot say I have any real pain; I have irritation around the incision sites but that is all. I have, as far as I can determine, full range of motion at my waist and abdomen. I can bend, I can twist, I can stretch relatively normally without feeling anything I didn't feel in the days and weeks before the surgery (IOW, the normal aches and pains of a 69-year-old man).

I am still, following medical guidance, not driving (that will change next Wednesday when the catheter is removed), and I am restricting what I lift and carry to 10 pounds. (I think I could do more, but I'll follow the guidance at least until I see the doctor next week.)

Once again, thanks to all for the kind words and support.

Getting Healthier

 One week from today, barring complications, I should be rid of the catheter and be returning to a more normal life. I will be able to drive again, for instance.

I am already at a point where I can honestly say I feel no pain from everyday normal movement, including bending at the waist and getting up from bed or a chair. There is still irritation (a persistent itching best describes it) from the incision sites on my stomach. That may decrease when the surgical staples are removed, also a week from today.

Following the catheter removal, I will probably be wearing some form of incontinence control for several weeks, possibly months. It will begin with a full-scale pull-up absorbent pants and may decrease to just an absorbent pad later on. Time will tell.

My thanks again to all those who have expressed support and good wishes.

Surgery Report

 Well, Jill spilled the beans about my health situation on Facebook, so I guess there's no point in keeping it quiet any longer.

I was diagnosed with prostate cancer last summer. At the time, it did not appear to be serious and my doctor said we could simply monitor it and see what happens. In his words, "More men die with prostate cancer than from prostate cancer." Alas, that was not to be my fate. 

All the indications were that it was getting worse. Blood readings called PSA were increasing, the tumor itself was pressing against the wall of the prostate. When conditions crossed a red line back in March, he said we needed to make a decision--either remove the prostate or treat it with radiation. For someone of my age, he recommended the surgery.

So, Friday morning I had my prostate removed it what seems to have been a successful and uneventful operation. I came home from the hospital yesterday afternoon. I'll be using a catheter for about a week and then begins the work of retraining my bladder and sphincter to control things. I've laid in some incontinence supplies.

As for right now, I am in no serious pain. Bending is a bit stressful, but walking--even climbing stairs--is not impossible. Full recovery may take a few months.

But I'm OK.

Posting Interruptus

 Some personal stuff will keep me from posting regularly here over the next few days. I hope to be back to a normal schedule no later than June 1.

Too Long to Vote?

 The most recent complaint from the GOP in my area is that the paper ballots we now use (after decades of electro-mechanical machines that provided no individual hard copy record of each vote) "take too long" to fill out. The ballots use the "fill in the bubble" system we're all familiar with from standardized tests in school and are then scanned (just as our old test sheets were) to record the vote electronically, while the original ballot is secured for any possible future need (such as a recount).

Of course, this system was mandated by a Republican federal law that requires a hard copy of every vote and then backed up by a Republican vote in the state legislature that approved the specific system being used. Many of the complaints argue that it took up to 10 minutes to fill out the ballot in the recently completed primary election.

I find that hard to believe. I voted by mail and filled out my ballot at home. Although I did not time myself, I know I did not spend anything like 10 minutes filling in bubbles...it might have taken 5 minutes. Perhaps the problem is that there were four questions on the ballot in addition to the candidates...and, if you had not familiarized yourself with the issues being voted on, you might have needed time to read and digest them before casting your vote. But that is not a fault of the system--it's a fault of the individual voter, especially since the text of the questions was posted in every polling place for voters to read before getting their ballots and marking them. 

What's more--I know there were poll workers from both parties outside every polling place, handing out literature that included explanations of those questions and the party's stand on each. 

Oh, and the GOP preferred position on all of those questions--including two very controversial ones that the Democrats opposed--won.

Ch-Ch-Changes

 Has life gotten easier where you are? In some ways, I think it has, here...and in many ways, I think it has not. Some stores have posted notices that masks are no longer required if you fully vaccinated for COVID (but, of course, unless they are going to ask for proof--which they are not--there's no way for them to know), some have removed any notices about masks (so there's no way to know what the official policy is), and others are still requiring masks for everybody. (I should note that even those in the first category are still requiring masks for their employees.)

Traffic around here has picked up as well...still not up to pre-pandemic levels, but there are decidedly more cars on the road, especially during morning rush hour (that may be because most of the schools here have gone back to at least partial in-person classes...and may stop in a few weeks when school ends). Public transportation commuting still seems lower than 18 months ago, though even some of that is busier than six or eight weeks ago. The parking lot at the local commuter train station is three-quarters full most mornings now, whereas it was virtually empty in February. OTOH, the overflow lot a few blocks away, which used to be completely full by 8 AM, is still mostly unused.

Of course, lower traffic than normal may make life easier. It's faster to get most places these days than it was in 2019. It's also made things quieter in our house, since we live on the main drag through our town.

What's changed around you and what do you think will be a permanent change?

Doom and Gloom?

 Yesterday afternoon, on MSNBC's Deadline White House, frequent guest Dr. Peter Hotez expressed the opinion that the CDC had dropped the guidelines for mask wearing by vaccinated people too soon, saying there were still too many places where the number of vaccinated was too low and the case count too high.

It worries me when people of his stature contradict or criticize the CDC. It worries me because it gives the COVID-deniers and anti-vaxxers ammunition for their claims that either the experts don't know anything or that the while thing is overblown. It also, I think, discourages those who might be on the fence from getting vaccinated.

Furthermore, it encourages those who are not vaccinated to go ahead and blatantly ignore the calls to continue to mask up until they do get the shot. And it makes it more difficult for businesses who want to open up to the vaccinated...which is the only way we're going to get out of this.

I have friends--fully vaccinated friends--who are still hunkering down in their homes, getting everything delivered, and wearing masks outside even when only walking to the edge of their own property (to pick up the mail or put out the trash). I worry about their long-term mental health in that kind of seclusion, especially if they take the opinions of experts like Dr. Hotez to heart and are still isolating themselves long after the danger is past.