Thursday, November 22, 2012

Giving Thanks

As the sun drops below the western horizon, and the darkness of night in late November comes for approximately 14 hours, I pause to give thanks that I:

Am alive and in relatively decent health for a man of my age and lack of exercise;

Will be having Thanksgiving dinner with my older brother and his family tomorrow, therefore having some companionship after spending today by myself;

Have no reason to go to any stores of shopping malls tomorrow or tonight. Yes, tonight; the stories just can't wait to start the sales.

Some call tomorrow Black Friday because black = profits. I call it Black Friday because black = tragedy. 

Monday, November 19, 2012

How Things Have Gone Lately

Posting has been very light this year because of two big reasons.

I hit one of those sloughs of despond, to quote John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, or depressive moments of life into which I often slip. During the past, I didn't post when them came onto me. But after they left, I started again.

I've also had some health problems. In late August, the battery of my pacemaker prematurely ran low on power and I only went to the hospital when I felt I was practically on death's door. 

(I don't know if I've written before on why I need a pacemaker. I'll have to check my past posts. If I haven't, I might do so later.)

Then a month later, I had an emergency appendectomy. And a week after that, about half the incision split into an open wound, which is finally healing.

So my health hasn't been the best for the last three months and I've wanted to rest instead of posting here. Please forgive me for that.

Other posts may come; they may not. As I've said before: Watch this space.

But I say this with some pride: I no longer smoke cigarettes, although I've fought off some strong desires to go out and buy a pack and light up. To feel that hit would be great, but I know I can't just put it aside, like I can with alcohol. 

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Nocember And The Cold Season

We are now in the middle of the time I call Nocember -- where November and December tend to combine because of the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, which can seem to run together if you let them.

Also, the days get colder and the daylight grows shorter. You'll see the first snow of the late fall/early winter season. 

(No snow has fallen as of today, but the first frost of the season fell during the night of Sunday, Oct. 7. )

It's also the start of what I call The Cold Season. It lasts from late October to sometimes between St. Patrick's Day or April 1 at the latest. Not only does the weather get colder, but chances of catching a cold or coming down with a light case of  the flu or the 24-hour bug increase.

To fight that, I take a 500-milligram pill of Vitamin C every day, starting from Halloween to Tax Day. From April 16 to late October, I take the same dose every other day.

I've been doing this for the last few years. Sometimes I think it's been five years. sometimes I think it's seven. But I know this. I haven't come down with a cold or the flu since I've started, and I recommend that everybody I know do the same thing.