The Random Comic Strip

The Random Comic Strip

Words to live by...

"How beautiful it is to do nothing, and to rest afterward."

[Spanish Proverb]

Ius luxuriae publice datum est

(The right to looseness has been officially given)

"Everyone carries a part of society on his shoulders," wrote Ludwig von Mises, "no one is relieved of his share of responsibility by others. And no one can find a safe way for himself if society is sweeping towards destruction. Therefore everyone, in his own interest, must thrust himself vigorously into the intellectual battle."

Apparently, the crossword puzzle that disappeared from the blog, came back.


Wednesday, December 2, 2015

In Case You Were Wondering...


It's obvious, even to me, that I have been slacking in my posting. I'm pretty bored with the whole thing lately... plus I have been busy lately... I am trying to sell my car (yeah, the Mercedes).I should not have bought it, to be honest, we do not need a second car; mine has less than 4000 miles on it (3670, I think) and Faye's Lincoln has also less than 4000 miles.

It made me think a bit about my childhood when it was not unusual to have one car and one bathroom to a home. Once I reached 16, though, I wanted a car of my own. My brother had one and so did my sister (both were older than me). In fact, my brother was on his second car by the time I got my first one. I already talked about that first car... a well-used `52 Studebaker Champion that had a defective front passenger door which was held shut by a hunk of wire. You can be sure that did not impress my dates' parents.

But I was mobile! And I wandered as much as I could (good thing gas was cheap then).

I have a new doctor this year, he seems competent which is all I ask. He is also not what I expected; he's short, slight, and probably in his 60's. When I went to him the first time, I was expecting a taller, more distinguished sort and maybe a little younger. Of course, he wanted to run me through a battery of medical tests... which is good since I am fast approaching 70... and my insurance insists on them anyway.

So far, I have had some blood tests, an echo-cardiogram (which included a check of the blood flow in my carotid arteries), and a few others. I am also being scheduled for a colonoscopy... I don't want one but the insurance demands it. My hypothesis is that we form tumors and polyps all the time but most go away. I don't like the idea of messing with them unneccesarilly.

You know the old saw about "to a hammer, all problems look like a nail?" Well, I think surgeons are like that also; too quick to cut.

Well, we shall see how the next year goes... I have the strangest feeling that it is "first they take away your dignity and then they kill you."


2 comments:

Tom at Sightings said...

Doug, I sometimes feel the same way as you; but as far as colonoscopies go ... my first colonoscopy saved my life. I got it when I was 51, and the dr. found and removed an "aggressive" polyp that probably would have turned into cancer, and probably would have killed me by now. And, btw, it's not a fun way to go. Since then I've had one every 5 years and thankfully I've been clean, and the procedures haven't done me any harm ... other than, you know, the preparation.

Douglas said...

I know very well what the end results of bowel cancer is like; my first father-in-law died from it... first they gave him a colostomy bag and then, 6 years later, the cancer returned and spread everywhere. He lasted about a year before he quit fighting it.