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 What the heck am I doing today? Shenanigans, General Tomfoolery or What? You never know |
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Talk about perks, my career had one of the best I can think of! I traveled in the course of business, delivering classes for my employer. I was a Senior Training Specialist for Motorola Solutions, and taught classes on a wide variety of subjects centered around 2-way radio communications. I knew that when the time arrived that I would retire, and I have. I've always said that if you can't stand the heat in the kitchen, get out! I can't handle the heat anymore. I was qualified to deliver approximately 32 different classes, but about half of those were 'Legacy' classes, and were not in demand anymore. My students were technicians, those who maintained, programmed, calibrated, and repaired large 2-way radio systems. Some of these systems are statewide, and use TCP-IP networking to allow sites to communicate with others. Some are small, traditional type radio sites. The size doesn't matter, in each case the systems must be kept operational at all times, since many of them are Public Safety Systems. So I traveled, sometimes frequently, 3-4 weeks in a row.... where have I been? Some of the places I've been (I can't list them all here, the list would be too long) are pretty interesting. 1. Hawaii - Four times, Oahu, Maui (twice), and the Big Island, Plus I lived on Oahu from 74-83. 2. Bangkok Thailand, twice 3. Frankfurt Germany, twice 4. Algiers, Algeria 5. Melbourne Australia 6. Bismarck North Dakota, Summer & Winter 7. California, especially the Los Angeles area, Too many times to count 8. Washington DC, Too many times to count 9. Seattle three or four times 10. Texas, all over the state 11. Florida, all over the state 12. New Mexico, HOME! Several times  Best Cultural And Regional Honorable Mention |
Surgery Wednesday 3/18/26 As you might know, I had Back Surgery this past Wednesday, March 18, 2026. Let me try to explain what went on, as best I can. I was the first person (Guinea Pig?) that morning. There was no way I was a Guinea Pig, the surgeon is too experienced for that term to be used. Since I was first in line though, we had to be there at 5:30 am! We were there at 5:20 though, no one was there yet. Not to worry though, all was well, and on schedule. After checking in we were shown to our small enclosure. This was actually the largest area in the prep area. I had showered that morning using Hibiclins, I felt I was ready. Of course I had to remove all clothing and don that robe they use. Can't forget the anti-slip socks too! (I hate those things, but understand why they are necessary). I lay on the gurney for over an hour, then things picked up. During that hour a lot of hospital paperwork was completed, and late in the hour, an IV was started. Pretty standard stuff. Dr. Seibly (My surgeon) came by just to visit a minute, my anesthesiologist also dropped by, as did about anyone involved in the procedure. A small dose of some drug, designed to make me sleepy as administered, and that was all I knew. I woke later on pain free for the first time in over a year. I was able to order lunch, and since I saw Stir-Fry on it, I thought I'd have that. Mistake #1 if I do say so. It was Chicken, Broccoli, a few small pieces of Carrot, a few Baby Onions, and Soy Sauce. No rice or noodles anywhere in it. It tasted fine, but really lacked in some regards. I slept well and long Wednesday night and woke about 7am Thursday morning. This is where my stay got 'interesting'. I would be discharged that day, and eventually was. Before that, I had to have X-Rays taken. Why? Because during the Surgery, my L5 and S1 Vertebrae were fused. They needed to know all was well with the Fusing Process.  For some reason though, the hospital decided to get an X-Ray of my abdomen. Mistake #2. I think it was because I'd had Diarrhea that night, and all morning. This time the X-Ray machine was brought to my room. The problem was, they used the old style X-Ray to get this. I had to lie on one of those older X-Ray plates. That resulted in the excessive bruising I experienced. I won't post the image here, but it is in my photo album, photo #297. You can see the almost straight line just above my bottom, let's just say it's UGLY. We arrived home Thursday afternoon, I was fine then. By Friday morning though, things had changed a lot for me. I was in some amount of pain, I needed to use our Walker to get around with, a completely different day than my return home. Right now I'm on a 4-6 week recovery, and cannot do any B-L-T. Bending, Lifting, or Twisting of my Torso. They didn't have to tell me that, it hurts far too much to even think about doing something like that. Kathy has been my Angel through all this. She has done everything for me, fed me cleaned me, made me sit around the house, all that. If I didn't have her, there's no way I could manage on my own. I an now walk without the Walker at least, but that's about it. Ask how I'm doing on April 30th, that will be 6 weeks since the surgery. Y'all have a Blessed and Happy Sunday, full of love and happiness. |
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