Day: December 20, 2017

As someone who always had trouble learning, I’m having a lot of fun learning.

This week, I made my first purchase of women’s underpants for two women at the Mansion who are in need. I learned the difference in sizes, in bikini versus standard size underwear, white versus color, cotton versus polyester, and the different range of colors, prices and fabrics.

My work with Mansion residents and refugees has made me a first-rate online shopper. The underwear is a symbol of something.

I like these six packs of Fruit Of The Loom briefs for women, good price, good reviews, good material. ($9.94 for a six pack, soft briefs, I got two.) That is a really good price for six pairs.

Today I’m bringing them over to the Mansion, and I think this concludes the Christmas/Winter Clothing drive what was suddenly necessary.

We did well – thanks for your support. I now have a network of four or five high-quality thrift stores. I’ve also realized that with all of the wasteful shopping in America, especially among the rich, it is possible to buy some excellent clothes for very little money. Two of the thrift shops have offered to contribute clothes in an emergency, sometimes for free.

And I’ve learned what to buy online – personal things – and what to buy on thrift shops. Relatively late in life, I am learning how to shop in the land of too much and too little. This is a very positive experience for me. I’ve also learned how to fathom need among the elderly.

They rarely, if ever ask for help and resist charity.  Help is almost almost indirect and with little discussion.  Some residents are proud, some are ashamed of being poor, some just lose track of things.

If I identify need, or if the staff tips me off, as they are beginning to do, then I simply get what’s needed and drop it off. Nobody ever says a word about it afterwards.

In fact, if nobody says anything, that’s great, it means it fits, is comfortable and they like and need it. I’m earning enough to be good at it, and then, through my network of websites, thrift shops (sites like swap.com) and the connections I have made, I can get what’s needed quickly. I can’t think of a better way to observe the rundown to Christmas.

Underwear is not something we see, but it is something that matters, a question of comfort and dignity. Often,  hardest thing to do is to offer help for unseen things. That takes time.

We have enough clothes now for everyone, there is no need to send any, clothes are probably something I should get, they are so personal. If I need more help, I’ll ask. Thanks.

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Eye Update

I went to the surgeon this morning, and as I thought, I’m back at home blogging by lunch.

The swelling in my eye shrank a bit since my last visit, my eyesight is excellent but there is still concern about the eye and the size of the disruption. So they postponed the injection, I’m going to Albany in January for further tests, the doctor is now considering laser treatment, which possibly could resolve the problem in one treatment.

Injections take a lot longer, if they work.

If laser is not the best approach, then I will begin a series of injections. So this will go on for awhile. I have medication to take for my eyes and perhaps the swelling near the retina will continue to shrink.

Retinal treatment for eyes is evolving constantly, and I spotted the problem early and I think I caught it in time. My eyesight is very good.

Maria came with me, but I asked her to sit out in the waiting room. I didn’t want her to see an injection into my eyes, there I go being protective again.

But I was glad to have here there, and was certainly glad she could drive me home, my dilated pupils lelft me blinded by the sun and I forgot to bring sunglasses. I am seeing double type on the screen as I write this. Sorry if it’s a jumble. I’m typing blind.

I don’t want to be pollyannish, if the treatment fails, blindness is a possibility. I’m quite optimistic but I do need to take it seriously. Everyone’s eyes are important, but I really want mind to be strong for my writing, the farm, my photos.

The treatment for retinal disease most often succeeds, to varying degrees. Some people miss the old days, but I was born into the right days, I think. In the old days, I would be a distant memory by now.

This would have been a major shit storm just a few years ago, but it is still a shit storm, the doctors are concerned about the s welling.

The doctors are nice and they are open, and I trust them. I’ll write about it further after the next round of tests, an angiogram to make sure I can handle laser surgery, something required of heart patients. I am grateful and lucky.

This morning, a new chapter in my so far successful campaign to stay healthy and look to the bright future, the chronicles of rational aging I call it. You know the drill, I am open about my life, even when it makes me queasy. That’s the deal.

So here’s the story for today.

In recent years, I’ve developed a retinal problem in one eye that could result in blindness if not diagnosed and treated.

One challenge of aging is that your body needs more attention and maintenance, and I am not one of those people given to thinking much about my body, unless it grabs me by the throat and shakes me.

This happened a few months ago, when I was reading and noticed the tops of letters on the pages had gone away. I did get to the eye people quickly, and it was a good thing I did. I may have saved my eyesight.

I’ve been treating this condition with drops and medications, and my eyesight is excellent, a good thing for a writer and a photographer.

I don’t wish to lose my sight.

So today, a new procedure – the doctors call it a “miracle” –  than can forestall  deterioration of the retina and prevent blindness and keep my very  good sight.

It helps to have good eyesight when you take pictures and sit at a computer for  hours a day and drive all over the country.

You can look at it either way, really, it’s unfortunate to have to deal with it – multiple visits to specialists, and some shock when the tops of letters in books disappear – but I am fortunate to be able to deal with it at all.

Many people on this earth can’t, and if our political leaders get their way, those numbers will grow here in our country.

I think of this when anyone commiserates with me about my open heart surgery. Too bad I needed it,  but just 30 years ago, I’d be dead, not running around like a fool writing, taking photos, loving my wife, prowling around thrift shops, watching soccer games, hauling Red into assisted care facilities, writing books and blogging.

This morning, some medical work on my eye, including a needle injection into the retina. I know it sounds a bit creepy, and I hesitated to mention it,  but things that seemed unthinkable just a few years ago are often routine in our time. Change is life itself.

I’ll share the process, if anyone really wants to read about it.

As always, I’m not looking for help, advice,  sympathy, or medical diagnosis from the vast universe of social media.  There is nothing to be sorry about, quite the opposite. My case is unique to me, and my body and my genes,  not really relevant to your sister or Uncle Harry.

Maria’s driving me and I expect to be back blogging by lunch, if not sooner, and off to the Mansion for my final clothes delivery before Christmas. The doctor says I am very lucky.

A few years ago, there would have been nothing for me to do

And more good news. On Christmas Day, we will go and see the “Darkest Hour,” the new Winston Churchill movie starring Gary Oldham. Maria is taking me, a sweet Christmas gift for me. And how grateful I will l be able to be able to see it clearly.

As you know, I love almost everything about Winston Churchill, his life got rolling  when he was just about my age. And he drank a quart of brandy every night.

I am lucky. Talk to you soon. We are on the ride of life together, for all of its hills and valleys, and I do love every day of it.