Celebrities are on the headlines when they die more than us common folk.  I have noticed that there seem to be too many people dying at age 50.

Did I miss something here? This is not the middle ages. Billy Mays, Mike Jackson and how many others seem to be shocking people by dying at 50.

Call me paranoid, but I would really like to see a look at the general population.  Is the deaths of 50 year olds on the rise?  Is the new average life span going backwards?

Have a save 4th and remember, time waits for no one.

Gwen & I went out to a local Sushi restaurant as we do on father’s day.  Good sushi there, crummy soups.

You know how sometimes eating with chopsticks, stuff can get away from you. Slickery fish is no exception.  During dinner, a piece tried to escape while in route to my mouth.  A save kept it in my chopsticks but moved it in an awkward position, causing me to hit my cheek before I could actually eat it.

While taking my napkin to my cheek I say to Gwen casually “Missed my mouth” She began to laugh hard, and asked I not do that least she laugh hard enough to loose her partial, which has happened in the past according to her.

“Well, aren’t we a couple of Gavones here.  Me, missing my mouth as I dine, while you drop your partial in your plate.  For sure we will be asked to leave.”

We then laughed until we cried.  Something I have not done since before my sister died January.

My father died when I was 13 from a massive heart attack. Growing up in Messina NY in farm country to immigrant parents from Italy was rough for him. He spend a lot of his childhood seeing the country by riding the freight trains, I think to get away. His home life was less than ideal, to say the least. Grandpa was a violent nasty man, that today, would be in jail for child abuse and wife beating.

My Dad tried to do better. He did. Of course compared to what he went through that is not saying much. Still there was no Dr. Phil, Dr Spock or anything like that. Food on the table, a roof over the head and plenty of trips to the Jersey shore was all a kid needed, aside from the occasional beating interspersed with the more frequent cuff without explanation (kid gotta figure it out on their own you know).

Point is, anyone can be a father by making a baby. So if my 8^th grade educated, barely literate father can stick around for his family, anyone can.

Happy father’s day!

Florida is not for sissies, that is for sure.  I have a couple of projects that require I deal with the Florida heat.  One is getting the huge oyster plants out of my key lime’s pot and into the ground.  Honestly I don’t know how they got there.  I like the long purple leaves but I also like my key lime happy.  I hope to try that tonight.

Next is to reclaim my garage.  I need to be able to get to my fuze box and my mountain bike.  Both of which are buried in boxes.  I want to put a motor assist on my mountain bike.  With 5 herniated disks I am terrified of taking it out for a ride, and being unable to get myself back because I lost the use of my leg.  There is a bike shop that can put the motor on and I can start back on my bike riding.  At night of course.  It is way to hot to even think about it during the day.

First things first.  I have to get to it.  I bet I don’t need 95% of what is in that garage, and you know, for the trouble it takes to store the small stuff, it would be more cost effective to buy it if I need it.

How’s that for logic? 

It has been what 2 days since we switched to digital.  I decide to take a break from Second life and watch some TV to get caught up with some movies.

First was the bucket list.  It may have been a bit too soon after my sisters death to watch it but I think I needed it.  Reminded me of my sisters death without the adventures.

Then there was the dark night (preposterous, log and crummy movie BTW).  About every 5 minuets through these movies the picture stops in a sea of small squares, while the audio continues.  The picture catches up with the sound, but it really has ruined the watching experience for me and I really, really prefer the reliability of analog.

Way to go.  The US government steps in and ruins everything.  The US government is a retarded giant, incapable of anything but the most simplest of tasks.  Anything it touches ir ruins.

A yellow cab going by brought back some bad memories. I remember back when I lived in NJ. I knew Union City like the back of my hand. Every sidewalk crack, every building. It was where I was born.

I remember a taxi cab company advertising for drivers one day. It was either Baillies or Best taxi (I forget, it has been many years). Heck, I knew this city well, not many would be better qualified than me.

In I walked to the office in a very conservative outfit. First thing out of the guys mouth "Hello Baby" In such a condescending tone, like he was talking to a child, yet his eyes never left my bust line.

"I’m here about your add in the paper for drivers." I added trying to ignore feeling less than human.

"Oh baby the job is filled." Again that tone. It was first thing in the morning. I knew damned well it was not filled. He on the other hand, felt women were nothing more than a hole to fill. I said "Oh OK bye." His reply was "Bye Sweet Cheeks" I knew his eyes never left my rear with that remark as I left.

Oh, to have been smart enough to wear a recorder at the time. My sex is not a birth defect.

I remember going home and taking a shower. I had just had one before going. I just felt so FILTHY after having him look at me like that and speak to me in such a way.

So, these young women that have never had that happen to them. They need to experience that before they start harping on feminist.

I have many such horror stories. Perhaps I will string them together. A reminder to the women today that do not have to experience the abuse, thanks to us. We fought for some basic human dignity on the job. These young women need to be more appreciative that we made sure they do not need a shower after the simple task of looking for honest work.

I live in a so called right to work state.  That is a nice way to say as a worker you have no right.  Period.  Also here if you lay off a worker you have to pay into the unemployment, not so if you fire them.

When I lived in NJ that was not the case.  I don’t know how it is now but payment was made into the unemployment insurance system no matter what.

My friend, who gets to work 20 minuets before her shift ends.  Who can’t sleep without sleeping pills was fired for sleeping at her desk. She could not sleep at her desk if she wanted to!
                               
The employer just did not want to do what is right and eliminate her position.  Pay a loyal employee for their years of service with the pittance of unemployment insurance. To top it all off they have tarnished her record.

She is not 1/4 as angry as I am.  I am livid

Employers wonder why there is no loyalty.  Fah!  Me, I work for myself.  If I ever had to work for another person/entity I would treat them like the enemy.  Record each day of work and archive it in a video file format.  Record every meeting. Gad, you have to do that.  These companies have NO moral compass and are whore’s to every penny, the first to throw their own mother’s under the buss for a dollar.

Grrrrr.  Only in America. 

It finally happened.  I find myself living a comic strip.  That one is Opus.  It took me hours to find the strips that matches my life the closest.  Of course I am not a penguin, but insert one Nova, follow the laws of bio a bit more closely and you have it.

http://www.cartoonistgroup.com/store/add.php?iid=10219

Now, the one below reminds me of when I get together with friends.  (What ever happened to just having a beer?  Oh yeah, don't go well with our meds)

http://www.cartoonistgroup.com/store/add.php?iid=22782

Art imitates life which imitates art.      Sigh.


Check out the rest of Opus on the same subject here.  The ones above are just soooo me a the moment.

http://www.cartoonistgroup.com/bysubject/illness/byartist.php?id=81

OK, my usual M.O. for an airport is to come in under the radar.  I dress very conservative, even trying for doubty.  Trying to look as respectable as I can.

About half the time I am singled out for a bag check.  One time I was singled out for a body X-ray.  Of all the time to be wearing ladies fruit of the loom cotton briefs.  I really should have been wearing the red lace thong I NEVER wear. (Butt floss you know, looks good but drives me bats)

This time, I have my hair spiked, with a shock of BRIGHT purple in the front.  Jeans with snaps on the side, earrings, ear cuffs.  ACK, I even scare myself.  To add to it all I have a bunch of toys picked up at the adult shop in my carry on bag.  OMG if I am not asking for a search.

Nothing.  Nada. Zilch.  Not even a funny look from the guy looking at the X-ray of my bags.

Hey!!  You are supposed to be shocked and aghast! What is going on here?

How come I get searched when I look like a farm girl or business woman? 

Hmmmrupm!
 
(Grumble mutter). Next time, it’s a pink ribbon dress with a hip length wig of blond curls and pink bowed heels. Gad, I can’t cut a break sometimes.  Looking like a hood dose not help, at least not in NY.

There I was in the specialists office.  I have a very lazier fare attitude to the ‘finds’ of my doctors because they are often the boy who cried wolf with me.  12 years ago, the first time they did this, they scared the daylights out of me.  Thinking I had advanced breast cancer.  I made my will, got all my affairs in order, even chose a funeral service.  What they FOUND was that my breast tissue was & is very dense.  They had to open me up to find this.  To this day I wonder who was the bigger boobs.

Then there was the cyst on my achilleas tendon causing another panic among them. Another in my shoulder.  (That was a bad spot, right in the joint. Why can’t I get cysts on my butt cheek like other women?).  In between this was another panic on my breast. Another biopsy which turned out to be scar tissue from my prior operation.  Serves me right for going to another facility for an exam.

Hence my attitude.  I do not take my doctors seriously on their ‘finds’, in fact, it is an excuse to poke fun at them.  Granted, cancer dose run in my family BUT in smokers only. No smoker escaped cancer unless something else took them out earlier.  I don’t smoke. I take care of my body.  It’s the only one I will ever have.  I leave the panic to my doctors while I have fun at their expense.

Now back to the specialists office, where most of my films are up under the lights.  He looks them over carefully while I look bored.  Turns out bones have shifted because of a lack of use on one or two muscles in the shoulder (a very complex joint).  One moved down and began rubbing against the other.  It rubbed a hole or worn spot in the other.

“My! How long has this been going on?”
“It started about a year ago, but the pain has been unbearable since January.”
Looks confused as he holds some other films up to the light.  “You know, most people would have been in right away.”

“Well I thought I just injured it.  So I have been going to the massage therapist and using yoga to try and stretch it out.  It obviously did not work.”

His lips turn down as he studies each film.  “This can be corrected with physical therapy to pull that bone up and separate them. You are diabetic, so we may need to use a cadaver bone graft if your injured bone dose not heal on it’s own.”

“Yes, I have had that done to correct the bone loss on my jawbone from a severe abscess.” I interject

 Doctor nods “We can also give you a shot or two if the pain dose not subside, or we can’t restore full motion, but you will not be my friend after that.”

Fixing his gaze on me in confusion “But I am not sure that will be an issue with you.  You must have an incredible tolerance for pain to seek medical help after all this time.”

I nearly fell of my chair laughing.

For what he wants done, I can easily have done back home, I do have a joint specialist there.  Another false alarm from the keystone cops medical team I have.

So the many hours spent on SL will be cut back as I go for this and getting back to my normal lifestyle of being a gym rat.  I do miss the gym & I have been away too long.