Health
Movie Analysis: The Social Dilemma
Most readers know my newsletter is not a platform for political, religious or social commentary. This one may be a small exception. Although not political or religious, there is a bit of social commentary here. The documentary film, The Social Dilemma, is eye-opening, explaining how Facebook, Google, Instagram and other social media platforms work. I…
Read MoreFive things Social Media does, like it or not
Yesterday my friend Frank Del Monte recommended a new documentary film called The Social Dilemma. Maggie and I watched it last night and were stunned. If you’ve ever used Facebook, Google, Instagram, etc. it explains how these platforms work and why you see what you see. It is an exceptionally well done film and does…
Read MoreVote like our future depends on it – it very well might
Today I was surprised to see an opinion piece, a letter to the editor, written by my niece, published in The Arizona Daily Star, the Tucson newspaper. Alona Sukhina came to our family when she was a very young girl, when her older sister married my nephew, Robert. Their entire family, including Alona’s parents, are…
Read MoreWhat we fear, and why?
On a Sunday earlier this spring, before the whole Coronavirus issue, Maggie and I were hiking in the valleys surrounding nearby North Mountain, in Phoenix, AZ. As we walked a couple engaged in a vigorous discussion passed us, going in the opposite direction. They were speaking Russian, a language I’ve learned to recognize. They spoke…
Read MoreMartinis and smoke – one magical mixture
Dr. Ed Banner gave me a glimpse into a part of the world of which I was mostly unaware, but in ways that made me feel there was nothing I couldn’t accomplish. We were vastly different in age and light-years apart in economic and social status, but he treated me as an equal and friend. …
Read MoreAghh! I thought it was COVID-19. It was worse.
On Thursday night, May 7, indigestion flared in my gut. It kept getting worse with other symptoms developing. Little did I know, two trips to the Emergency Room (ER) and two 3-day hospital stays were about to follow. When my indigestion discomfort was joined by a racing pulse (95+ just lying in bed), dropping blood…
Read MoreHealth Issue (Part 3 of 3): “Oh, oh, something is wrong – no, really wrong.”
Recovery from my April 2016 OHS (open heart surgery) seemed to be going splendidly except for a persistent cough. It would just not go away. Recovering in San Diego, we consulted respiratory experts at Scripps Memorial Hospital, but no cause was found. Back at Mayo in Phoenix, experts diagnosed it as a throat damaged during…
Read MoreHealth Issues (Part 2 of 3): Yes, they operated on kids back then.
Face it, at my age (69), a primary topic of conversation with friends relates to health and our various ailments. When younger, this drove me nuts. I swore to never indulge this sort of behavior. But that was before I had health issues to trump nearly everyone elses. My 1965 open-heart surgery, at just short…
Read MoreHealth Issues (Part 1 of 3): You’re not going to believe this!
Having Open Heart Surgery at 15 years old in the summer of 1965, I became somewhat of a medical anomaly. As unusual and traumatic as that was, I managed to up the ante 50 years later and heart issues have been my primary concern the past few years. I’ve broken this story into 3 short bite size “parts.”
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