You Forget How Feeling Good Feels Until You Don't Feel Good Anymore

Until, that is, you feel better, which, as you know if you've been reading my postings, has been my wife's experience for the last few weeks. Her visit to her pulmonologist revealed that she has begun a slow recovery, though her breathing still isn't at 100%. And I had my scheduled visit to my pulmonologist at the University of Minnesota Clinics which revealed that I haven't gone backwards, though I haven't lept far forward either

It appears that my wife has a touch of emphysema, as do I. So I suppose that the pneumonia was a tiny blessing, as it revealed the emphysema, and she's now using an inhaler with steroids every day. As you probably know, this condition is permanent, and her shortness of breath is now a part of her everyday life. Now we both have to be careful about what we're exposed to and also keep ourselves well covered in this freezer chamber of a city!

I just received an email from a former student who was commissioned an officer in the U. S. Marine Corps just after he finished working himself through college. He sent it from Afghanistan. Being a former Marine, I'm particularly proud of him, as he attained the rank of Captain in less than 4 years. Even more important than that, he's a man of good values. He's a solid human being, the kind our country needs more of. This is his second tour in Afghanistan; between those 2 tours, he also served a tour in Iraq. I'd say he's fulfilled the obligations he took on when he became an officer in the Corps. I'll add only that he's also a proud Mexican-American.

Oh! One more addition. My student serves in danger zones; he could easily be killed. But when his Commander-in-Chief, our pitiful president, faced the possibility of serving in combat, his daddy got him into the Texas Air National Guard over others on the waiting list. And he spent the war hiding behind the National Guard and engaging in dereliction of duty. That was still a time when National Guard service almost guaranteed that you wouldn't serve in Vietnam. This cowardly president now has the temerity to send others to their deaths, others to return wounded and maimed beyond recognition.

Being someone who loves to put words on paper, I'm disturbed by the strike of the Writers Guild of America - West. Actually, I'm disturbed by the avarice of the producers, who refuse to pay the writers a fair share for material which winds up on the web and other technological outlets. It's insulting what the producers are offering. I just spent 20 years in Hollywood, and I have an idea how difficult it is to make a living writing for television, movies and other outlets controlled by the producers. I don't mind if the entire fall tv season is cancelled because of this strike. The writers deserve their share of this gold mine.

In the past, my wife and I made popcorn and settled in for the night to watch the Academy Awards on television. In the last few years of our lives in Hollywood, we were only about 2 miles from the Kodak Theater, now the permanent home of the Oscar ceremony. Though I never attended the Oscars, I knew it was coming when Hollywood Blvd just east of us was closed down and seats were erected. Don't most of us enjoy all that glitz even though few of us have anything to do with the entertainment industry? I think so. And I make the best popcorn you can find anywhere.

Well, this wasn't a particularly sharp installment, but you'll allow me the freedom to occasionally just ramble a bit and keep the "old" brain sharp. Think of us with warmth as the snow returns and the temperature falls below zero for 10 nights in a row. Brrrrrr!