I'd like to talk a little bit today about my coming-of-age story. I think everybody has a coming-of-age story of some sort . For example, I recently found out that my great-grandmother came to Ellis Island circa 1910, right around when my grandmother was born . Her last name was Filosa, and they emigrated to Waltham Massachusetts soon thereafter. My dad's father immigrated from Chatham New Brunswick circa 1930. His interest at the time was to play hockey with the Springfield Indians, the team run by Eddie shore not long after Eddie retired . I know my dad left us with a lot of stories before he passed two years ago , and every time we see uncle Billy we listen for any new gems that we haven't heard before . The past is truly a fascinating thing, and I will document what I can so that my kids remember and tell the story as best as they can.
I'm curious as to how others treat their coming-of-age stories. Are you curious about your forbears? I know short and long-term genealogy is becoming a big thing. I'm not sure if all these blood tests really aid in genealogy research or if they are merely moneymakers for whatever companies are doing the testing. I think I would like to travel to Chatham New Brunswick at some point in the near future , maybe this spring. My dad told me it was beautiful country and a grounding spot for Martin's way back at the turn-of-the-century.
I know that people are equally concerned about where we're heading . The news is so fragmented these days, with discussions about kneeling at football games , North Korean conflicts, tax cuts that we can't afford, investigations that are starting to reap results, just so much going on. Being a centrist, I don't wander too far to the left or right so I have no real passion when it comes to right-wing issues or left-wing issues . I want to be able to make a good living, have a safety net when needed, and be able to pass something along to my kids that is meaningful. Like lynayrd skynard said, I'm a simple man . Being disabled certainly changes your viewpoint on a lot of things. As much as I want to engage in long-term thinking and medium-term thinking, I am more concerned with the present and with issues that need to be corrected in the short-term. I don't want to be a burden to others and want to be independent. I want to get to the point where I can work again and have something meaningful to say. I'm still not sure how that will work out as I'm not sure how much work I can endure . My endurance is a little limited at this point, but does get better with time.
My message to my friends and family remains the same . Take care of yourselves, be diligent, and have fun out there. I appreciate you checking in when you do , I am here just about every day and love to hear from you. Be safe, and God bless.
Monday, November 6, 2017
Thursday, October 19, 2017
Hospitals may suck but I don't hate them
So we have another in a long line of entries concerning my health of course. This past Saturday I was listening to the end of the BC football game. Around 4 o'clock I was starting to feel some chest pain. My wife and daughter came home from shopping and gave me a nitro. That son of a bitch didn't help so we decided to call 911. I arrived at the hospital a little after four. I got good care here in the emergency room but did not get admitted until 3:30 AM. My wife left at midnight. What ensued was a catfight between a couple of drunken patrons outside. What a freaking shit show. I would not be able to work in the ER for all the tea in China .
I was in the hospital for a total of four days. Besides the usual bloodwork and blood sugar checks and all that crlap , they did a nuclear test and sonogram of my heart both resting and stressed, induced by medicine. The results? No heart attack, which is a good thing . I have existing blockages which still are the same. Because of prior kidney issues I am not a good candidate for stenting. We will carry-on and manage with my PCP, cardiologist, and CHF doctors. None of the three are convinced that I didn't have a heart attack. I was asymptomatic for four days, and feeling pretty good . For now we'll go with that.
Now for the drama. Wednesday, I exited the hospital at 4: 45 . I signed my exit paperwork at 4 o'clock. They insisted on me being wheeled down to the front to get my ride. I had to wait 45 minutes for wheelchair service e ! The service at the hospital was awesome. The management has a little to be desired.
That certainly is not all the drama. I forgot to take my Crestor home with me from the hospital . I sent Judy and kd back up the hill to pick up the Crestor. What ensued was a shit show. As soon as Judy and Kd got into the hospital, the hospital went into lockdown status . Judy sent me a text and told me to lock the doors. I turned on the news and saw that we were on TV. There were helicopters in the air searching for someone who is trying to get into the hospital to hurt somebody. After a few minutes they caught the person. The lockdown of course ended after about 1/2 an hour of waiting. It was certainly an extremely scary experience for me and Christian at home, and Judy and Katie at the hospital. They were literally searching the streets around our house for this person. The funny part is that I did not get locked in , Judy and Kd did . Again, what a shit show!
I have concluded a couple of things. First, I do not like hospitals but I love the people that work there . Second, my medical stuff is just too complicated. I wish I could simplify it , but I can't. I need to live with that. Last, the world is just too screwed up. Like Brother Sullivan used to say, you just need to sit back, scratch your balls, and laugh.
My hope is to have poetry for the next entry. We'll see how this medical stuff goes.
I was in the hospital for a total of four days. Besides the usual bloodwork and blood sugar checks and all that crlap , they did a nuclear test and sonogram of my heart both resting and stressed, induced by medicine. The results? No heart attack, which is a good thing . I have existing blockages which still are the same. Because of prior kidney issues I am not a good candidate for stenting. We will carry-on and manage with my PCP, cardiologist, and CHF doctors. None of the three are convinced that I didn't have a heart attack. I was asymptomatic for four days, and feeling pretty good . For now we'll go with that.
Now for the drama. Wednesday, I exited the hospital at 4: 45 . I signed my exit paperwork at 4 o'clock. They insisted on me being wheeled down to the front to get my ride. I had to wait 45 minutes for wheelchair service e ! The service at the hospital was awesome. The management has a little to be desired.
That certainly is not all the drama. I forgot to take my Crestor home with me from the hospital . I sent Judy and kd back up the hill to pick up the Crestor. What ensued was a shit show. As soon as Judy and Kd got into the hospital, the hospital went into lockdown status . Judy sent me a text and told me to lock the doors. I turned on the news and saw that we were on TV. There were helicopters in the air searching for someone who is trying to get into the hospital to hurt somebody. After a few minutes they caught the person. The lockdown of course ended after about 1/2 an hour of waiting. It was certainly an extremely scary experience for me and Christian at home, and Judy and Katie at the hospital. They were literally searching the streets around our house for this person. The funny part is that I did not get locked in , Judy and Kd did . Again, what a shit show!
I have concluded a couple of things. First, I do not like hospitals but I love the people that work there . Second, my medical stuff is just too complicated. I wish I could simplify it , but I can't. I need to live with that. Last, the world is just too screwed up. Like Brother Sullivan used to say, you just need to sit back, scratch your balls, and laugh.
My hope is to have poetry for the next entry. We'll see how this medical stuff goes.
Thursday, July 27, 2017
Parades are ok
I was originally looking to enter this section of the new blog into the Salem news. What I found is that because I live in Beverly and grew up in Beverly Farms this blog is going to read like somebody that grew up in Beverly Farms and lives in beverly. It is very wishy-washy. Maybe it means there is no real great solution to this particular parade problem. It's very hard for me to look beyond my alliances both in Beverly and in Beverly Farms which maybe means I'm too close to the ocean to see the depth of the water. It's all good. I submit this in my blog as a token of respect to my friends in beverly. I'm thinking of you and wish I had something to offer.
thanks.
For the purpose of full disclosure , I moved to Beverly Farms when I was four years old . I lived in Beverly Farms until 1982 . In the last 45 years I've lived all over the North Shore . Beverly has been my home since 1992 . I am a self-professed 'farmer.' I love West Beach, Dix Park , and all the other amenities the Beverly Farms has to offer. I love the people there. It is my home
Also..... I love Beverly. I love Lynch Park , Rices Beach, and all the amenities Beverly has to offer. I am blessed with many lifelong friends here. I'd like to think that I have friends all over Beverly. We agree on some issues, we disagree on others. We coexist and we move on . I love the people there. It is my home.
I have read more than one editorial regarding the ever popular horribles parade. I feel it necessary to defend my friends from Beverly Farms who both participate in and manage said parade....volunteers are are coming under professional and personal attack. In my opinion, if you have an issue with the contents of a parade float, focus on the words and not the volunteers. Criticizing the contents of a float is fair game. Stereotyping the volunteers and participants into a particular economic category is not accurate nor is it terribly mature. I am not a First Amendment lawyer, but we all have rights. Name-calling, either in the context of being in a float or in the context of critiquing the contents of a float is not terribly constructive.
In my opinion, there is no reason for any person to take any issue and lampoon to the point where people feel threatened . Feeling is in the eyes of the beholder, and is a very touchy matter to deal with. Do you really feel threatened ? Are you just looking for a judgment ? At the end of the day, no one wins here. An adversarial approach is not necessarily the best way to coexist and move on.
We all have choices. These choices have consequences. The fact that I am choosing to editorialize this particular issue puts me into the bright white spotlight. There will be no names mentioned here. There'll be no slandering here. We all have our First Amendment rights . We all have choices . Again these choices have consequences.
It has been suggested by more than one person that maybe the best solution here is to allow self policing to take over. It is very difficult, in my opinion, to try to enact rules and sanctions or punishment in a scenario where we all have First Amendment rights. We all have the right to assemble. We have the right to express our opinion. We have the right to free speech. The more you peel the onion, the more bitter the taste gets . Unless you like onions , at some point maybe you just need to stop and agree to disagree . It is okay to agree to disagree . It's okay to be civil. If you choose to pop off at a particular individual in a parade scenario, consequences may be forthcoming . I am not a civil liberties lawyer, and I don't play one on TV, but I respect that everybody has the right to do what they need to do to handle the situation at hand.
In closing, I suggest that maybe we take the mayor's suggestion and continue dialogue as an aggregate . The folks that disagree with the contents of the parade maybe need to be willing to get together with the mayor and any appropriate public individuals and the folks who run the parade and then maybe let nature take it's course. Cooler heads will prevail , and life will go on. If you don't like the parade, stay away. Allow people that want to convene and want to have a parade to do so in peace. If you don't want to be the subject of a float, you may consider your words . If you make a choice to engage in public activity and you are subject of a topic on a float ...You have rights . Exercise those rights. If you think you have been wronged, you have appropriate remedies. use your voice. Be prepared for an opposing response. I expect that some of my friends will not agree with my stance here . That's okay. I am an almost lifelong Beverly resident and stand by my words. I expect that others will do the same. We can meet at a table face-to-face and discuss this and coexist. We really can.
Addendum....More than anything I have written in my life, I have struggled with this particular blog . I love my friends in Beverly Farms. I love my friends everywhere . In my opinion there is no clear-cut answer to this issue. I am not satisfied with my recommendation that people just let things pass , but that may be the only answer. If you want to create a divisive scenario, all you need to do is either bring up West Beach access or the horribles parade.....easy argument fodder and strong opinions
That's it for now.
Thanks and God bless.
thanks.
For the purpose of full disclosure , I moved to Beverly Farms when I was four years old . I lived in Beverly Farms until 1982 . In the last 45 years I've lived all over the North Shore . Beverly has been my home since 1992 . I am a self-professed 'farmer.' I love West Beach, Dix Park , and all the other amenities the Beverly Farms has to offer. I love the people there. It is my home
Also..... I love Beverly. I love Lynch Park , Rices Beach, and all the amenities Beverly has to offer. I am blessed with many lifelong friends here. I'd like to think that I have friends all over Beverly. We agree on some issues, we disagree on others. We coexist and we move on . I love the people there. It is my home.
I have read more than one editorial regarding the ever popular horribles parade. I feel it necessary to defend my friends from Beverly Farms who both participate in and manage said parade....volunteers are are coming under professional and personal attack. In my opinion, if you have an issue with the contents of a parade float, focus on the words and not the volunteers. Criticizing the contents of a float is fair game. Stereotyping the volunteers and participants into a particular economic category is not accurate nor is it terribly mature. I am not a First Amendment lawyer, but we all have rights. Name-calling, either in the context of being in a float or in the context of critiquing the contents of a float is not terribly constructive.
In my opinion, there is no reason for any person to take any issue and lampoon to the point where people feel threatened . Feeling is in the eyes of the beholder, and is a very touchy matter to deal with. Do you really feel threatened ? Are you just looking for a judgment ? At the end of the day, no one wins here. An adversarial approach is not necessarily the best way to coexist and move on.
We all have choices. These choices have consequences. The fact that I am choosing to editorialize this particular issue puts me into the bright white spotlight. There will be no names mentioned here. There'll be no slandering here. We all have our First Amendment rights . We all have choices . Again these choices have consequences.
It has been suggested by more than one person that maybe the best solution here is to allow self policing to take over. It is very difficult, in my opinion, to try to enact rules and sanctions or punishment in a scenario where we all have First Amendment rights. We all have the right to assemble. We have the right to express our opinion. We have the right to free speech. The more you peel the onion, the more bitter the taste gets . Unless you like onions , at some point maybe you just need to stop and agree to disagree . It is okay to agree to disagree . It's okay to be civil. If you choose to pop off at a particular individual in a parade scenario, consequences may be forthcoming . I am not a civil liberties lawyer, and I don't play one on TV, but I respect that everybody has the right to do what they need to do to handle the situation at hand.
In closing, I suggest that maybe we take the mayor's suggestion and continue dialogue as an aggregate . The folks that disagree with the contents of the parade maybe need to be willing to get together with the mayor and any appropriate public individuals and the folks who run the parade and then maybe let nature take it's course. Cooler heads will prevail , and life will go on. If you don't like the parade, stay away. Allow people that want to convene and want to have a parade to do so in peace. If you don't want to be the subject of a float, you may consider your words . If you make a choice to engage in public activity and you are subject of a topic on a float ...You have rights . Exercise those rights. If you think you have been wronged, you have appropriate remedies. use your voice. Be prepared for an opposing response. I expect that some of my friends will not agree with my stance here . That's okay. I am an almost lifelong Beverly resident and stand by my words. I expect that others will do the same. We can meet at a table face-to-face and discuss this and coexist. We really can.
Addendum....More than anything I have written in my life, I have struggled with this particular blog . I love my friends in Beverly Farms. I love my friends everywhere . In my opinion there is no clear-cut answer to this issue. I am not satisfied with my recommendation that people just let things pass , but that may be the only answer. If you want to create a divisive scenario, all you need to do is either bring up West Beach access or the horribles parade.....easy argument fodder and strong opinions
That's it for now.
Thanks and God bless.
Sunday, June 25, 2017
Update
what a difference a year makes. No medical attachments . Wellness more in place... Not in the mood for a poem or anything like that today..... Thankful for family and old and new friends. Period. Love seeing my friends going to concerts and moving up the musical part of life. If you have time, read my stories. My story is meant to be read , and I freely share with those who want to listen. I suspect that telling my story is going to become part of my life's work once I am able to work again. There is a cautionary tale behind my story , and I know I need to tell it so that maybe others can avoid the path that I have had to take. Enough of this serious crap! It's a beautiful Sunday . Enjoy carry-on with friends and family.
Thursday, April 27, 2017
On March 26, 1985 l was given a phone number by my buddy Stevie ...it was halftime of a Celtics playoff game.... I got the phone number for this girl I never met .....I gave her a call and she said hat she might go on a date sometime .....yah right!! turns out that I bumped into her a couple of nights later at a local bar ......the wayward duck..she had no intention of ever calling me.....our first official date was April 26 1985 at the Piccadilly pub in Peabody.....ever forget your dates name???classic faux pas.....Chris Furey was the bartender, and I was completely brainwashed. Chris broke the ice....'are you going to introduce me Rob!!'
This is a year of superlatives. We moved to Beverly 50 years ago. Dad was working in Salem and Marlboro was a haul.....I thank them for choosing Beverly ...cconstantly......May 3 Judy and I will be 30..... bring on thirty more.....without sounding redundant I am thankful for the present, for Judy, my kids, and our life.
This is a year of superlatives. We moved to Beverly 50 years ago. Dad was working in Salem and Marlboro was a haul.....I thank them for choosing Beverly ...cconstantly......May 3 Judy and I will be 30..... bring on thirty more.....without sounding redundant I am thankful for the present, for Judy, my kids, and our life.
Friday, January 13, 2017
I have gone thru a couple of events that leave me with much time on my hands.....perception is reality....call this purgatory, the pause before another chance.....I'll take the chance to leave relative limbo. Age has taught me that to have faith you must be willing to test it,,embrace it, question it.....live it.....be willing to choose your faith or choose nothing.....sitting on the sideline will hopefully grant me a chance too get back in the game...put me in coach.....
Friendship is a beautiful thing......I am fortunate to have many friends..... idle center can often be perceived as ambivalence....My bad if this perception has become reality. Not just over the last year or so, when silence has been predicated on crappy circumstances .....I have no excuse for before that.....
Embrace your friends and family...mend fences....minimize regrets.....enjoy life...hope to see you soon....spring is coming soon.....I miss my favorite beach!!!
Friendship is a beautiful thing......I am fortunate to have many friends..... idle center can often be perceived as ambivalence....My bad if this perception has become reality. Not just over the last year or so, when silence has been predicated on crappy circumstances .....I have no excuse for before that.....
Embrace your friends and family...mend fences....minimize regrets.....enjoy life...hope to see you soon....spring is coming soon.....I miss my favorite beach!!!
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