Health Care (Part III)

On Wednesday, Barack Obama makes his next health care reform pitch to the nation. The speech will need to be a real doozy to even put a dent in the literal tidal wave of scare tactics and misinformation spewed forth quite effectively courtesy of greedy insurance companies, right-wing talk show hosts, and many Republican politicians. In fact, the tactics have been so effective that they've managed to coax a large number of normally politically uninvolved people out to protest - some quite vocally as seen at those town hall meetings. All the while, Barack Obama's popularity has been declining according to recent polls.

For me, I've found it sad and frustrating watching and listening to the protesters express their (very real) anger and fear over any change to our health care system (especially the possible "public option"). The scare tactics and misinformation worked well because folks were complaining about illegal immigrants being covered under the public option (not true), government mandated euthanasia (wtf?), and a host of other misleading or blatantly false assertions - many of them similar to the assertions shown and debunked on this website: http://factcheck.org/2009/08/twenty-six-lies-about-hr-3200/

If that wasn't bad enough, the misinformation campaign helped bring out the right-wing fringe, gun toting, government hating, Timothy McVeigh wannabes to the town hall meetings as well.

To have any kind of success against the right-wing propaganda machine such as most anything broadcast on Fox News or written about on websites such as the insanely radical World Net Daily, the Democrats need to grow a spine and fight for real health care reform like they've never fought before. This country needs to quit being so damn selfish and start taking care of it's citizens.

Grandpa

It's now been 13 days since one of the most wonderful people I've ever known passed away. Grandpa Artie was co-owner of that house on Mankato Avenue in which I spent a lot of time and in which I always felt safe. As a child, there was nothing better than waking up to the sound of Donna Fargo belting out "Happiest Girl in the Whole USA" on the radio while the smell of eggs and toast gently coaxed me out of my sleeping bag. Jerry and I spent many Saturday mornings laying in sleeping bags on the floor and watching cartoons. Grandma and Grandpa let us do this as long and as much as we wanted. If we wanted to stay up late and watch scary movies, we could do that, too. The atmosphere was always friendly, always welcoming, always the place to be.

As I got older, Grandpa Artie was always there if I needed help or advice. He was there to comfort me if I was getting a lot of verbal abuse from my step-father, Wes at the time. When I got my driver's permit, he volunteered to help teach me to drive (and kept his patience with me throughout - even when I almost hit a car while parallel parking).

One of the things I remember most happened later, long after Grandpa Artie retired from Bay State. One morning, the first house that Paula and I lived in ended up with a horrible back-up of sewage in our basement. Despite having to wade in over a foot of putrid sewage, Grandpa stayed and helped with pumps and a wet vac until my basement was dry. I don't know if I ever thanked him enough for that. I don't know if one could ever thank a person enough for that....

Fast forward to 13 days ago. As most of the family were gathered around Grandpa Artie's hospital bed, we all felt a collective gasp and intense sense of sorrow as he passed away. At that moment, Lee knelt down and touched Grandpa's leg and said, "Good job, Grandpa."

I can think of no better way to describe what Grandpa Artie meant to me and what he did for his family. I think Lee said it best, "Good job, Grandpa."

Lee Joined the National Guard

I don’t know if I’ve ever felt such conflicting emotions. My oldest son, Lee (who just had his 20th birthday), joined the Army National Guard today with the goal of becoming an MP (Military Police).

Lee had mentioned his interest in the military a number of times over the last couple of years, but I never really realized just how seriously he was considering it. He’s always had a strong sense of duty as shown in his desire to be a police officer and the time he spends volunteering in the Police Reserves. Over the past year he’s been spending more and more time physically preparing himself by doing daily push-ups, sit-ups, as well as running for 3 or 4 miles every other day.

This didn’t really hit home for me or for Paula, though, until he actually spoke to the recruiter for the first time. Then the realization began to sink in step by step. Our son really wants to do this. Our son is really doing this. Our son is sworn in and committed to this.

We’ve never been more proud of him or more frightened for him. This will be an 8 year commitment in total. Sometime in August he will have his picture taken in uniform (which I will post). Back to back basic training/military police training starts in November of this year and doesn’t end until April of next year (during which time he will only be home once – during Christmas). After the training and for the next 2 years, he will be living at home while attending school, working at Target, and working with the National Guard one weekend per month. After 2 years, he is subject to deployment in both local and federal military operations (including being sent overseas). Considering the rate of National Guard deployment lately because of Iraq and Afghanistan, Lee’s chance of going overseas is quite high. Obviously, this is what scares us the most.

At the risk of sounding biased, Lee is a genuinely good and decent person who cares deeply about others. I know the military is a strict and extremely challenging environment both mentally and physically. I and the rest of the family know that Lee will meet these challenges to the best of his ability. Although we hope Lee will come through all of this safely, what we know as a fact is that the military will be a better place simply because Lee is part of it.

Health Care Part II

As the debate on health care reform rages on in Washington DC, most folks are finding themselves leaning toward one of two schools of thought: 1. The US Health Care system is a mess and feel that "some" form of government intervention needs to happen. 2. The US Health Care system is a mess, but feel government intervention would make it worse.

Believe me, I really do understand both sides of this complicated debate. I've read volumes of material (both pro and con) and enough statistics good, bad, and in-between to make one's head spin. I don't pretend to have all the answers, nor am I delusional enough to believe I'm smart enough to come up with them. However, after slogging through more of this material last night, I stumbled upon a really interesting news special that was produced last year while George W. Bush was still in office. It's a long, thorough, and thought provoking report on the interworkings of the health care systems in various countries. It has a straight forward premise in that it simply wishes to learn how these systems work, who they work for, what doesn't work, and what they cost to each country - all in an effort to help gather ideas for what might work for the United States. The host of this program appears to make every effort to remain fair and look at all sides of the equation. He asks tough questions of doctors, patients, hospital administration, insurance companies, etc. This report is not a one-sided affair like the Michael Moore documentary, "Sicko" was.

I know that many of you have already made up your mind (or at least know which side of the fence you're leaning at this time). However, in the hope of at least learning a bit more on this extremely important subject, please watch this program. Here is a link to it. Once on the page, go near the top and click "Watch Online" to view the whole program on your computer.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/sickaroundtheworld/etc/notebook.html

"B" Movies Part III

Whenever I need to get my mind off of life's woes, I always seem to slink back over to the trusty TV and soak up some more B movie nostalgia. Watching a good classic sci-fi to me is like nourishment being poured directly into the "fun" section of my brain. It doesn't matter that the "science" is bad or outdated, the acting is wooden or corny, or the special effects no longer seem special. Going back to these films gives me a feeling not unlike the feeling many people get when watching good reruns of "The Andy Griffith Show" or "The Dick Van Dyke Show". Sure they're over 40 years old, mostly black and white, and contain trends and ideas long outdated. They also happen to be well written while making wonderful use of some outstanding actors. Some of the episodes just glow with warm fuzzies - The same "warm fuzzies" I feel when revisiting my old movie collection.

The Art of Dreaming (Part I)

I've always had vivid dreams. Last night I was back in my old housekeeping job at the hospital, scrubbing floors in the kitchen - sometimes on my hands and knees and sometimes using that old single-disc scrubber. The kitchen had the same sickly tan color on the walls and floor, but the place was much larger. When I was on my hands and knees scrubbing the corners, edges, and old black mats, I could actually smell the cleaning solution mixing with the sour smell of old grease, dropped food, and spilled drinks. There were a couple of people with me - faceless and dark - whom I kept trying to direct in helping me, but seemed only interested in standing around. Suddenly I found myself laying on a beach towel on what appeared to be a beach. I looked to my side and noticed hundreds of people also laying on beach towels side by side in a single line starting with me. In the distance, the line curved away from the flat beach area and moved up a steep slope. I then realized we were at the edge of a large sandy bluff. As I stared at the absurd line of people laying on towels toward the top of the bluff, I heard a loud rumble. Rocks and sand exploded out from that same spot while people screamed in the distance. The next thing I remember was standing at the spot near the top of the bluff where I saw the explosion. There were no blast marks or any sign that anything had happened other than there was a small gap in the line of people. For some reason I took my towel and laid down in that gap. Everything seemed calm. No one else moved. I then stared at the sand next to my towel and noticed a few small, perfectly round rocks. These rocks were a few millimeters in diameter and were covered with swirling red and blue colors (like a dark marble). I lifted one up a few inches and was shocked at how heavy it was. It felt like it was as dense and heavy as a much larger piece of lead. More rumbles and explosions were heard as I realized that a shower of those impossibly dense, marble-like objects were falling on me.

That's all I remember. I often have recurring dreams laced with a heavy dose of anxiety in which I'm back at the hospital working in either Housekeeping or Admitting (or a really bizarre combination of the two). They're all different in that the settings change, what I'm doing changes, and/or the hospital itself changes. However, what never changes is my anxiety. In each dream I'm either behind at something and trying to catch up or being criticized by an authority figure in some blatant yet intangible way.

Let me hear about your dreams......

It Isn't Just Me

A short time ago, I wrote a blog entry describing my history and fascination with the movie, "The Blob" - a movie that was a minor hit way back in 1958. Imagine my surprise when I learned of the following festival: http://www.thecolonialtheatre.com/blobfest/

At least now I know that it isn't just me.

Father's Day

It was Father's Day yesterday and quite possibly one of my best ones. I felt better and was actually able to eat a nice supper at a restaurant. The food was great and we all had a good time talking about the events of the day (Ryan marching in the Steamboat Days Parade and Lee patrolling that same event as a Police Reserve). The kids bought me a Star Trek Father's Day card and a new PC game called "The Sims 3". The game is really fun and highly addictive. Warcraft? What's that?

I don't know if it's a good or bad thing, but I still seem to be 44 years old and going on 12.

Corrupt Auto Reflex

I don't know. Maybe it was the work of hamsters -- intelligent hamsters.

Earlier in the week, while attempting to add another post to this blog, I dropped a small container of medication on the floor. Worried that it had busted open, spilling it's contents all over the basement floor, I quickly rolled my chair backward and bent down straight forward toward the floor, right arm outstretched. As my hand was within an inch of the medicine container, I felt what I can only describe as an intense jolt in my lower back, worse than anything I've felt before. As the forward momentum carried my clutching hand on the rest of it's journey to the safely closed med container, my mind literally went black. Somehow clutching the container, I snapped back in my chair to a backward leaning position, totally immersed in waves of pain so intense I thought I was outside of my body. If I could ever imagine my body being broken in half at the waist, that must be what it feels like. I can think of nothing worse.

It took only a few seconds for the most intense pain to fade. After which I was left with about 20 minutes of less intense sharp jabs and an overall burning sensation.

Today is the first day I've felt comfortable enough to creep down my basement steps and go back on the computer.

One thing I've learned since the onset of my back problem is that I seem to have little control over my automatic response in trying to catch things that I drop. I have a history of doing this. Back when I used to work in housekeeping at the hospital, years before my back injury, I remember walking into a room in which I was helping a couple of guys remove floor finish. I had a razorblade floor scraper in my hand and dropped it just as I entered the room. My automatic response was to quickly grab it in mid air. Of course the part I caught was the blade instead of the handle.

I don't know. It really must be the work of hamsters - intelligent hamsters ----- evil intelligent hamsters.

Classic "B" Movies Part II

During the early seventies when I was about 10 or 11 years old, I got my first viewing of a strange movie imported from Japan entitled "Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster" (The picture shown in the title of my blog at the top of this page is from that movie). Again I have to thank my mother for taking me to this movie and introducing me to what turned into a lifelong love of Japanese monster movies - and what better movie to start it off than this bizarre, psychedelic, in your face rant on the dangers of pollution. This was my introduction to Godzilla (who had been in a number of movies since his debut in 1954 as "Godzilla: Kind of the Monsters"). This was also the first movie I ever paid to see at the theater more than once. It was also the first time I realized that my taste in movies didn't always measure up with the rest of the human population (as I found out a number of years ago when I read about this movie winning the "Golden Turkey Award" for one of the worst movies ever made). Apparently I'm able to see qualities in this movie that many other people cannot, or what I see as unique and eccentrically amusing, others find to be a painfully awful waste of time. However, once I realized later in life that some of my friends agreed with me as well as a huge following of people on the Internet, I finally felt vindicated in my belief. We're all different. We all grow up in different environments and are exposed to different kinds of entertainment as children. Most importantly, though, I've found that a person's imagination - the scope of it's vividness and openness to strange ideas - plays a large role in shaping that person's taste......either that, or I'm just plain weird.

"The Blob" and Other Classic "B" Movies

Further down along the right side of this blog, I've posted a series of pictures that showcase a tiny fraction of the classic "B" movies I love collecting on DVD.

Just like my love of classic rock and roll, my fascination with this type of cinema started when I was really young. I recall staying up late on weekends just to catch "Horror Incorporated", which was broadcast out of the Twin Cities. Week after week, an eerie, low-pitched, growling voice would introduce me to another golden treasure of sci-fi celluloid. Transfixed, I soaked up every creepy moment with absolute glee. Apart from the usual Frankenstein, Wolfman, and Dracula pictures (which were okay), Horror Incorporated showcased what I really loved - 1950's and early 1960's science fiction! One week it was "The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms" (1951), which was inspired by a short story (The Foghorn) by Ray Bradbury and featured early stop motion model work by Ray Harryhausen (The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, Jason and the Argonauts, Clash of the Titans). The next week it was an attack by giant ants in the movie "Them" utilizing state of the art, life-sized mechanical ants. I was on cloud nine during the week they broadcast, "The Land Unknown" (1957), which contained my all time favorite childhood love - dinosaurs!! I didn't care that the Tyrannosaurus Rex was just a guy lumbering across a cheap set in a dinosaur suit. The movie had decent acting and eerie atmosphere that somehow worked. Other movies shown were more highly regarded such as the original "The War of the Worlds" (1953) with outstanding effects work for the time, and the original "The Thing" (1951) with a good script, acting, and a creepy alien played by James Arness (before his Gunsmoke days).

When I hit age 9 and my imagination was really peaking, I was on pins and needles looking forward to watching the late show with my mom because it featured the sequel to "The Blob" entitled "Beware: The Blob" (1971). I remembered really enjoying the original "The Blob" (1958) when I was younger and couldn't wait to see this newer version. Well, by the time this cheaply made movie (the only movie ever directed by Larry Hagman) was 20 minutes into it's running time, I was so frightened that I needed to stop watching and go to bed. It had something to do with the creature's blood red color, the way it kept growing every time it "absorbed" someone, and it's ability to silently seep under the cracks in doors. It did this in the original as well, but just didn't seem as creepy when I was younger. The idea of this creature freaked me so much, I was unable to sit with my back to an open dark room and I had to constantly keep my feet off the floor near the couch. After this behavior continued for a while, my mother seriously considered sending me to a therapist! Fortunately I finally got over my fear (for the most part) while my love for these kinds of movies has only increased.

Now, as a father, I can enjoy collecting these movies as they slowly restore and release them on DVD and then watch them with my kids. However, as polite as they try to be to their father, asking them to watch these movies has been almost as bad as asking them to watch TV static. Apparently shaped a bit too much by slick, fast pacing and modern CGI (computer generated images), my old favorites must appear to my kids the same way silent movies appeared to me as a kid. No matter. Hopefully, some day my kids will learn to appreciate these movies as a sign of the times in which they were created and view them through the respectful lens of history.

The Life and Times of an Arachnophobe

I've been living with a severe fear of spiders most of my life as many people have. However, I'm firmly convinced that my fear is special; my fear lives and pulsates at the very core of my being, easily awakened at the most awkward of moments. Large spiders literally make me scream - and not a deep, bellowing manly scream either. The scream tends to be absurd and girly. As a person with a true fear of spiders (arachnophobia), being confronted with a decent sized spider is akin to a person with a fear of heights being hung by his/her left foot from the edge of a tall building.

It was so much fun being me as a young boy camping with my parents on a spider infested island on the Mississippi, or being trapped on the floor of a small canoe with spiders dropping from the overhanging trees as we meandered through the backwaters.

Man has only been on this earth a fraction of the time spiders have. I'm convinced that when we humans finally came along with our superior intellect, spiders took delight in dropping down from webs to dangle in front of us - showcasing those bizarre, quick leg movements while wrapping their squirming prey in death cocoons and taunting us with their alien facial features filled with multiple black eyes of various sizes. In other words, using our intellect (with it's vivid imagination) against us.

At this moment, I am typing on my computer which is located in my damp, spider infested basement. From my vantage point, I can see four different spiders hanging around in their webs a safe distance from me (out of my sphere of fear). In recent weeks, there have been a few instances in which spiders have dropped from the ceiling directly above me and dangled inches from my face (quick swat, girly scream). They have also been detected in my peripheral vision, crawling down the PC tower (quick backward roll in my chair inducing back pain, girly scream). So far, so good today. I continue to type, trying boldly to be an adult about the whole thing. All the while keeping my peripheral vision on active duty. I'm sure I'll be fine today, but the thought keeps nagging me that the worst is yet to come - the dread of that one day when a large, fast spider crawls across the keyboard sending me to that place akin to being dangled from the roof of the Sears Tower by my left big toe (insert playground of girly screams).

X-Files

My son and I own the first seven seasons of The X-Files on DVD and I've been watching the show since it started in 1993. It has since become my favorite show second only to Star Trek. After this many years I really should know better than to eat while watching this show. Well, really it is a crap shoot (so to speak). While one episode can be dealing with something as mundane as a UFO sighting, another one features a grotesque "Fluke-Man" crawling into the sewage under the seat of an outdoor toilet. Yummy.

Obviously I think it's a wonderful show filled with intelligent writing and interesting characters. I just need to remember to treat watching it like swimming - wait an hour after eating.

Refusing to Believe the Lessons of History

I see in the news that an elderly "holocaust denier" shot and killed a guard in the Holocaust Museum in Washington D.C. The article turned my stomach.

Since I first started paying attention to this phenomenon as a teenager, I've been sickened to read about large groups of people who get together to discuss their shared disbelief in the fact that approximately 6 million Jews were murdered during WWII. These "holocaust deniers" sent out propaganda to anger and entice others to join the "cause". Of course, now they have this garbage all over the internet.

How does one become so angry that he/she needs to blame others based on ethnicity, religion, and/or sexual orientation? I really can't begin to answer that question, but maybe Mel Gibson can tell us - - - once we get a few drinks in him......

Top 25 Albums in My Life

I posted this top 25 albums list on Facebook a while ago. It was so much fun, I thought I'd share it with the rest of you as well....

1. The Beatles “Magical Mystery Tour” – When I was a kid in the early seventies, we had a stereo in the living room. I made my mom play The Beatles "Magical Mystery Tour" album over and over. That album was released in 1967 but I didn't hear it until the early seventies. The atmosphere in that album just floored me at that age. The song "Fool on the Hill" still sounds haunting to me.

2. Paul McCartney “Ram” - One of Paul McCartney's first solo albums, "Ram" had some wonderful songs such as "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey" and "Smile Away". I wore out this album in the early seventies. Both this album and The Beatles "Magical Mystery Tour" always make me think of living in that little trailer in Lake Village, staring at the dull, brown walls, while I rocked back and forth with those huge head phones on - transported to another dimension of bizarre colors and shapes.

3. The Moody Blues “In Search of the Lost Chord” - As a child, I also remember certain album covers mesmerizing me and freaking me out a bit. The Moody Blues "In Search of the Lost Chord" is one scary-ass cover if you stare at it long enough.

4. In about 1974, I scraped up all my allowance money (about 5 bucks) and planned on riding my bike from the Lake Village trailer court to the Red Owl store so I could buy my own 45 rpm records. About half way there, I was caught in an intense hail storm that literally knocked me off my bike. Luckily a friendly couple with a station wagon saw me, made sure I was okay, and drove me the rest of the way to the store. Dripping wet and still stinging from the hail, I bought 4 records: Cher "Dark Lady", Jethro Tull "Bungle in the Jungle", Paul McCartney "Band on the Run", and Ray Stevens "The Streak" - Yes. That's correct. I rode my bike through stinging hail so I could buy "The Streak". Sigh.

5. Electric Light Orchestra “Out of the Blue”, “Discovery”, and “Time” - In the late seventies, I had my own paper route for two years (at age 13 - 15). Finally making my own money, I was actually able to buy whole albums. Woohoo! During this time (1979) I discovered The Electric Light Orchestra's single "Don't Bring Me Down" on the radio. This was a huge song for me at that time. I later went on to collect most of their albums. Now they remind me of my upstairs bedroom in my old house on Hamilton Street. I had to lay on my bed backward with my fan in the window blowing on my face because it would get so damn hot in the summer.

6. Rush “Permanent Waves”, “Moving Pictures”, and “Signals” - In 1981 I was a junior in High School. This was the year that Bruce introduced me to the band Rush. Although it took me some time to warm up to Geddy Lee's high-pitched singing, I loved the sheer intelligence of the music. This is the only band I've seen live three different times - once in 1982 and then two more times twenty some years later!

7. Devo “Freedom of Choice”, “New Traditionalists”, and “Oh No! It’s Devo!” - Eric drove us (the whole gang) around listening to Devo's "Freedom of Choice". The bizarre singing, catchy riffs, and goofy energy won me over immediately. It wasn't long before I owned every one of their albums as well. Love them or hate them, to this day Devo has been mentioned as an influence on a wide variety of popular bands today. More than any other band, though, they seem to remind me of the fun I had with all of my good friends Bruce, Mark, Eric, Todd, Chuck, Peter, and Uncle Jerry.

8. Soundtrack to the movie “Heavy Metal” – One twisted movie with a great soundtrack!

9. Blue Oyster Cult “Fire of Unknown Origin”, "Cultosaurus Erectus"– Great fantasy/sci-fi music that reminds me of all my friends.

10. The Cars “Candy-O” - Mark introduced me to The Cars "Candy-O" while we sat on the floor of his upstairs bedroom playing a cool board game he invented. Not only did they become another favorite of mine, but The Cars first and second album turned out to be the two albums I had in common with my then girlfriend, Paula when we met in 1983. When I listen to “Candy-O” now, I think back to Paula driving me around in her little Volkswagon Jetta.

11. Weird Al Yankovic “In 3D” and “Dare to be Stupid” - I know he annoys some people, but his sense of humor is the soundtrack of my life. I think it’s great that he continues to put out a new album every couple of years. I even saw him live a few years ago with Lee, Peter and his wife Siobhan. It was a blast.

12. Penguins From Mars - I and most of my friends created the album "Penguins from Mars" in 1983. This "classic" album was created late at night at Artie and Shirley's (while they were gone someplace) using Jerry's tape player, Shirley's Fun Machine keyboard, harmonica, and a guitar with missing strings. We stayed up until 4:00am making "song" after "song" until we were exhausted (from laughing).

13. Asia – This album reminds me of poor Chuck getting tickets for us to see Asia live in concert. The jerks canceled the tour on us. I like their first album, but I still haven’t forgiven them….

14. Oingo Boingo “Dead Man’s Party” – Lead singer/song writer, Danny Elfman has since gone on to compose the music to countless hit movies such as Batman and Spiderman, but in the 80's he was the leader of this quirky band. My wife and I went for countless drives in the country listening to this album. Paula didn’t always like the more bizarre aspects of my musical taste, but I always thought it was cool that she liked this album.

15. R.E.M. “Reckoning”, and “Fables of the Reconstruction” – In the mid 80’s, R.E.M. was still a relatively unknown band, but Paula and I wore out my tapes of these albums while going for drives in the country. Gas must have been a lot cheaper back then….

16. Rush “Presto” - In the late 80's I got married, got promoted to supervisor at work, bought a house, had my first child, and consequently my first anxiety attack. I landed in the Emergency Room for my trouble. Rush's 1989 album "Presto" got me through it. I remember dancing around the room to Rush's "Superconductor" while holding my son, Lee, who was less than a year old at the time. I’m glad he still likes Rush today.

17. Penguins From Mars “The February Sessions”, “Sci-Fi Visions of Lightning Bug Children”, “A Comedy of Errors, A Spectrum of Bright Red Goalie Masks” - In 1991 Todd, Peter, and I decided (at the spur of the moment late at night after polishing off a pizza) to resurrect our band, Penguins from Mars. We made three albums that year (“The February Sessions”, “Sci-Fi Visions of Lightning Bug Children”, “A Comedy of Errors, A Spectrum of Bright Red Goalie Masks”) and became legends in our own minds.

18. Rush “Roll the Bones” – Rush came out with this album in 1991 and I listened to it over and over all year. It reminds me of several difficult people I had to supervise at work. Yuck. I still like the album, though.

19. Rush “Counterparts”, They Might Be Giants "Apollo 18" – I was listening to these albums a lot in 1993 and 1994. They remind me of the birth of my second son, Ryan in 1994. It was a good year!

20. Smash Mouth – “Astro Lounge” – In 1999 Lee purchased Smash Mouth’s “Astro Lounge”. Lee was still small enough to sit on my lap as we sat and listened to the whole album using his old Sega Dreamcast. The album kind of sounded like punk rock if punk rock had emerged in the mid 60's. Later, Lee went on to other CDs, but “Astro Lounge” became one of my all time favorite albums. Most importantly, it reminds me of Lee looking at me and smiling during each song.

21. Penguins From Mars “Pimby’s Buried Treasure” - Around this time, Peter and I completed the final (so far) Penguins from Mars album. I don’t think I’ve ever worked so hard on something so silly and pointless. It was great. Later after recovering from my 2nd back surgery in May of 2003, I went back through all that goofy “music” we created and transferred the songs from cassette tape to my computer. I then had a blast creating album covers (front, back, and inserts) for each one.

22. Rush “Vapor Trails” - In 2002, and after 30 years of making music, Rush came out with “Vapor Trails”. It was invigorating and inspiring to listen to three guys in their early 50’s rock like there’s no tomorrow. Soon after, I was able to take Lee to see them live (along with Peter and his wife Siobhan, Bruce, and Mark). It was deafening, and great fun.

23. The Shins “Oh, Inverted World” and “Chutes Too Narrow” - A couple years ago, Peter mailed to me a CD of a band called “The Shins”. I had never heard of them before, but once I listened I was hooked. The Shins are a mid-tempo alternative band with strange lyrics and nice harmonies (almost like The Byrds or Simon and Garfunkel). By this time, Lee had an iPod and we were copying all our CDs into iTunes. Whenever Lee wasn’t using his iPod, I was listening to The Shins over and over and over……

24. Rush “Snakes and Arrows” – The band “Rush” came out with yet another new album “Snakes and Arrows” and this time I got to take both Ryan and Lee to the live concert. It was even better than their 2002 concert. My back was hurting me more by this time so I haven’t been able to do anything like that since. I’m really happy I made it to that concert.

25. Bad Religion “New America” - Ryan has really been getting into music much like his older brother (perhaps even more so). With his own iPod, Ryan has been downloading all kinds of great tunes by bands like Bad Religion, The Offspring, Green Day and 311 (just to name a few). However, when he found Bad Religion’s album “New America” and listened to it with me, BAM! I found a new favorite band. Bad Religion is mainly a punk rock band that also happens to be very melodic with wonderful harmonies. I’m sure this album will remind me of discussing and enjoying good music with Ryan more than anything else.

Health Care

A few years ago, a woman I worked with told me that she had gone into bankruptcy because she could not afford her son's medical care. She was working two jobs. Insurance companies refused him because of pre-existing conditions.

Currently my wife and I pay almost $700 per month for health insurance through her employer. The coverage has a high deductible which, once met, pays only 70% of the costs. The premiums, like most, rise each year.

Why are Republicans (or should I call them puppets of the insurance companies) succeeding yet again at beating down any chance this country has of having decent health care?

Living in Slow Motion

It's been almost a year since I stopped working and 12 years since I originally injured my back. It is clear that after two surgeries, many injections, and more therapy than I can remember, I'm not getting any better. In terms of the speed in which I live my life, I have been on a gradual decline spanning 12 years. I'm assuming the reason I'm as positive as I am at this point is because it was such a slow decline. Had I been scrubbing and shampooing floors one day and then using a cane and unable to drive the next, I probably would have been fighting some really severe depression. As it is, however, I have been able to slowly learn to appreciate what the world has to offer from a sitting position.