A Person Worth Mentioning

Before I move on from the hospital stuff, I wanted to mention a doctor on the ICU floor. His name is Dr. Woodcock. He is from Gr. Britain or Australia and if you recall the voice of Michael Caine you 'll kow how he sounds. What a gift a voice like that would be. His specialty is intensivist. He spoke to me several times, asking how I was doing, cheering me on and always ending with reminding me of how important it was to use my incentive spirometer(a breathing device that measures volume of air breathed in). Then he would ball his hands into fists and form his arms into what might look like handles on either side of an urn(representing the lungs) and say loudly in his Michael Caine voice,"DEEP BREATHS, DEEP BREATHS!" He is a gem. Thank you Dr. Woodcock!

Just to give this post a little more meat, I'm going to add a person not really worth mentioning. I think the best thing the press could do is not show up at T. Woods press conference. Why do we all scurry over like a bunch of lemmings for every, sports star, movie star or politician. It doesn't help their egos. Why would you put any more credence in their opinion than the next person you meet on the street? Something about T.Woods bothered me when he came along. Before he had even played his first professional tournament he was given $40 Million by Nike and declared the greatest golfer of all time. He seemed to me kind of wooden(no pun), stand offish and petulant (throwing clubs?). My grandson idolized him as did many young kids.
Of course, he is a great golfer, let's leave it at that. My favorite golfers?, you ask: Arnold Palmer, Ernie Els, Vijay Singh, John Daly and JensArne Pedersen.

Just wanted to get that off my chest. Now where is my spirometer? DEEP BREATHS, DEEP BREATHS!"

Tom Izzo Actor/Coach

I watched quite a bit of the Michigan State vs Tennessee(?) Game on Sunday. It was a very good game to watch, especially the first half. I thought there was a lot of bravado going on out there.

Neither team backed down. There is an awful lot of strategy in basketball and most of us know some of it. I don't, but Tom Izzo is a master strategist. I was watching the Golf Channel which had an instructional round with Arnold Palmer and his grandson (don't remember his name).

Every once in a while I would check to see the progress of the basketball game.



At one point, I noticed Izzo had put in a player who I'm not sure I had ever seen on the court for MSU. A tall white kid, I think with the number 10. I thought, "He must be in to foul someone." As predicted the ball was inbounded and number 10 fouled a player under the basket. That isn't an unusual strategy, but Izzo's performance on the sideline was phenomenal.

He gestured and cried and pleaded, as if saying,"How could you have fouled? You have really given them the advantage now!"



The announcers bought the act, but the hypnotic eye didn't. I believe this was intentional from the time-out when number 10 was inserted into the line-up. The kids on the floor were sure to pick up on Izzo's play acting. This changes the mind-set. They start thinking with the rational mind and they lose the focus of the subconscious. You must be in the "zone" to do your best at sports. Mr. Izzo, master strategist, master actor, master psychologist took them out of their focus. Dirty trick? Maybe, but the sports model we teach our youth is WINNING IS EVERYTHING. Especially in Basketball and Football. The big money sports.



I remember listening to a Lansing sports radio program when Tim Staudt was telling about Tom Izzo's One Man Show. He performed at Wharton Center. He is an accomplished actor and a fair Singer.

attitude adjustment

It was pretty nice having a nurse taking care of me. They are required to have a positive attitude, I assume. I told the supervisors they should fire the first guy I had. I won't go into the reason. The second one was nice but she was so slow, methodical and indecisive, if you wanted to use the facility, you had better anticipate it a good five minutes ahead of time. She was a good soul though. Also, if your going into the hospital just forget about dignity for awhile. No one is concerned with that...just your vitals and that is as it should be.

The final day I was transferred to the top floor of the Cardio-Vascular Unit, which is referred to as the Penthouse. You are treated like a King there. The room was somewhat like a nice hotel room. It had a window seat facing south with a truley beautiful view of The Observatory and surrounding area. There also was a separate bathroom with walk-in shower.

The Nurse and Nurse Tech would sign in on a white board and put the days date on the board. I liked it. I had a couple of really great young nurses there. It was almost over done, "I'm unworthy, I'm unworthy!"


It could be easy to have a nurse/personal assistant around. Even while I was up there BRL said, "Don't expect this at home." So, in a way, a hospital stay is like a visit to the spa. Food is delivered, next days menu is delivered, dirty dishes are taken away, TV, telephone and wi-fi. It was great. I'm fighting depression now, though. I think part of it is not having a "cheer-leader-type" nurse. Part might be getting off pain pills.

If I somehow come into some money and the situation arrizes I'm hiring a personal assistant. No reflection on Brooke, but Brooke is an executive and not a PA.

Thanks for bearing with me. I won't be talking about BRL much for a while.

Self Help

I was happy to see that at the hospital there was a hypnosis video that played occasionally on one of the hospital's instructional stations. A video of clouds drifting across the sky was accompanied by some gentle music and the narrator reading a script taking you on a relaxing voyage into your heart. You encounter your inner self there in the form of a "light" after the encounter you find this inner spirit has left you a gift, etc. It was well done. The fact that it is there gives more legitimacy to the "Work". Which I , of course, plan on getting rich in. Seriously, I would love to be able to help people who want/need the help.

I told BRL this morning that I was putting her on a program of self improvement. She was thrilled that I cared enough to help her with some of her problems-difficult though they are to ascertain. Another simple exercise to make you feel better about life is to ,every day, write down 5 things on a piece of paper that you like about your life(are grateful for). I had to demonstrate for her as she was cutting out coupons. I prompted: Gabriel...your husband (scratch that), couponing, Emma, Jake, Luke(scratch) and Friends from work. Well done-I felt good for helping BRL get off to a good start this morning. Hope you are off to a good start today also.
Remember-DEEP BREATHS, DEEP BREATHS!

Back From Door's Deathstop

I wanted to write out some of my experiences at University Hospital. I was scheduled for a valve replacement procedure on Monday the 22nd. I had had a murmur in my aortic valve for many years. Eventually the valve opening narrowed to the point where I was having symptoms. My cardiologist is Dr. Day at UofM and she consulted with Dr. Deeb also at Uof M. He said I need to have it done and if I didn't my chance of living three more years would be zero.

I felt like I had won the Lottery by having Deeb as my surgeon. He is world renowned for valve repair and replacement.


When discussing my operation after a comprehensive battery of tests. Deeb said normally the procedure has a 2% mortality rate but with my background of having a previous coronary bypass and added on top of that radiation therapy my chances were put at 12% mortality. I expected to survive the surgery and have about 10 more years on the planet as a human being. There was plenty of doubt, because, sometimes you lose.

We arrived at the Cardiovascular Center at UofM Hospital at 5:50 A.M. (20 min. late) and were checked in quickly and one of the technicians came out to walk me back to the prep area.
Many other people were being preped for their surgeries too. Kind of like a happy Buchenwald. After I was shaved, cleaned and had the proper tubes inserted in me, they brought Brooke in. We listened in to conversations and laughed hilariously at the man next to us who was being yelled at by his anesthesiologist because they had removed the old man's hearing aid. He said ,"THERE IS A RISK OF DEATH!"

It was time for me to go, so we said goodbye and they turned on the juice and my conscious memory ended at that point. I slept as things were done and finally I felt something squeezing my legs. I thought Zeke (one of our cats) must be laying down by my legs. Next: I must be in bed in Fenton. Next: I'm supposed to go in for surgery today. I opened my eyes. Next: This isn't the bedroom, it's a hospital room. Next: I made it! Hey, I feel pretty good.

I later found out that my heart started bleeding during the procedure. The valve hadn't been replaced. So the plan now is to heal up, go back with a different game plan in about two months. Hopefully I'll wake up again in the ICU, back from deaths door-step. I left some errors in here because I took a pain pill and it makes it harder to type and I thought the errors would indicate my state of mind. Nice to be back with you all again.

Go Saint Mary's

Watching basketball in the side bedroom. It's fun to watch some of the early rounds of the NCAA tournament in order to check out some of the teams from around the country. I like to pick out a few that I think might do well in the tournament. My main criterion is passing. If a team is great at passing the ball they can beat the defenses to get open shots. They also have to make the shots of course. It says to me the team aspect is more important than the dominant player aspect. As a nation I think we tend to worship the individual players. I really enjoyed St. Marys vs. Villanova on Saturday. The passing was so good many shots ended being lay-ups. I look forward to seeing the Gaels in the next round.

A well known authority on human sexuality was giving a speech in Fenton last week-end. After the introductions were given the speaker started with the statement,"There are one-hundred-and-five positions for sex involving a man with a woman."

A voice in the crowd yelled out,"One-hundred-and-seven!"

The speaker thought, not another one of these! Then continued, "I've studied this for over twenty years sir and I assure you there are one-hundred-and-five positions."

The voice came back, "One-hundred-and-seven."

Annoyed, the professor decided to settle the matter once and for all. He said, "All right, the first position is with the partners facing one another with the man on top."

The voice in the crowd said, "One-hundred-and eight!"

Golf

Jake dragged me out to the driving range a couple of days ago and we shared a large bucket of balls. The weather's been great here for the last week or so. People are out walking and raking and riding motorcycles. Golf courses are opening up so warming up the old swing is the thing to do. As usual the first several shots are very good. Then something goes wrong. Did I "look up" expecting to see another beautiful ball flight? Have I changed my stance a little? Why can't I just keep making that same swing that I started out with? I think I do start going for more distance, ie. swinging harder. I ascribe to the school of thought that one develops their swing when learning the game. Once you have it, in your unconscious mind, don't think about it, which is with your conscious mind, of course. Just enjoy the beautiful weather, think strategy, work on timing but don't mess with your swing. Feel good about the fact that you have a good swing. Golf can be a very humbling game. If you want to play better and enjoy it more, see a hypnotist. They have all the answers.

There is more to keeping your eye on the ball than we ever knew. Enjoy your Spring golf. If you're not having fun out there, don't play. Go out and drive the cart, take pictures but remain still and quiet while players are making their shots.

Are You A Man or A Bowling Pin?

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!
My immediate family, with the exception of Curtis and Kevin who reside in Florida, have been spending a week together. A week is too long to avoid difficulties. I wouldn't say we are dysfunctional. I would think that most families have some problems getting along for any extended period of time. All it takes is an incident of small or large proportion to start the action and then the pins start to interact. In our family all the pins must go down. I'm not going into details but I have had this on my mind overnight and tried to make the bowling pin analogy. What makes the pins stand up again? I think we are more like the bowling pins that have the little cords attached to the tops. After we get knocked around, the cords pull us back up and we're standing up again. What those cords consist of is important and in general I would call it self image. It makes for an uninteresting blog. So here is the recipe for No Bakes.About 2 dozen

1 stick margarine
2 cups sugar
4 Tbs cocoa
1/2 cup milk
Melt slowly in a sauce pan, bring to boil-stirring constantly. Let boil for 2 1/2 minutes while stirring constantly.

Remove from heat and add: 1 tsp vanilla 1/2 cup peanut butter.
Stir until melted.

Add 2 1/2 cups quick oatmeal.

Drop on waxed paper or parchment...let cool and eat.

Bye, I'm on my way to the bar!

Cats and Dogs

So far I've been writing something every day. I think there will be some days that I'll skip and then some weeks and who knows, maybe just close down. It is possible to add other people as co-bloggers. I told Emma about it ostensibly so she could edit my copy because Brooke is put off by my grammatical mistakes and some of the misspelled words. A good writer requires a good editor, a great writer requires a great editor and a writer who has himself as an editor, has a fool for a client.

I awoke at 4:15 AM (the new 4:15 AM) today. I could have laid there and eventually fallen back into sleep, but after 20 minutes or so I got up. My automatic pilot guided me to let the dog out, feed the cats and make a couple of cups of coffee(not the flavored kind). I can drink coffee and still go to sleep, so I thought, and so I pushed the brew button. The machine started grinding because on this machine it's possible to grind and brew coffee. If you only want to brew you must first disable the grind function. I had only seconds earlier been thinking about that, yet I went ahead and pressed brew. I would do better if I would say to myself, "You have decided to start brewing coffee...what steps should you take first?". I'm going to try that for a while and see if I can cut down on potential missteps.

I sat down in that black leather chair by the fireplace because I was planning on reading a little of a novel. I had read about two paragraphs when I noticed Sophie, one of our two cats, moving her head up and down which is what cats do to judge distance(I think) before they jump or go somewhere. She wanted to get on my lap. She didn't jump. She put two paws on and then when ready, she brought the back two over. She's a very care full cat. The other cat, Zeke, was nearby on the floor and Luke was waiting somewhat patiently by the hall door, letting me know he wanted to go back up-stairs where his bed is. It took a while but Sophie got comfortable enough that she could start purring. Then she started "trilling" like purring but with the cat voice added. Finally she nuzzled her head against my chest. I thought, this is another situation like the garden or a beach that a person might like to use for relaxation. Two cats and one dog is a pretty good combination. They're entertaining, comforting, require some movement on your part(especially if you walk the dog) and get your mind off of yourself.

It's 6AM now. I'm going to try to get some sleep before the rest of the humans get up.

Have a nice week.

March Madness

Hi, You know it's going to be hard blogging when you write and delete the word Hi, three times before you finally go with it.


I went to see Jeff Butler, my nephew, compete in the Forensics version of March Madness. Forensics, is competitive speech. The contestants give short speeches in a classroom, one following the other. There are two categories of speeches-sales and informational. The categories are not mixed. So we watched about six informational speeches. A judge and a timekeeper are the officials. There are no fouls called or penalties. The results are posted all at once about an hour after the competition then you see who makes it into the next round.





There are rules to be followed by the contestants and part of the fun is trying to infer the rules based on what you see in the speeches. Everyone had three easels with poster-board display-boards with graphics. It seems at least one of these had magnetic elements to be added or removed. All contestants were well dressed and groomed. Jeff's topic was crying. What is it? Why does it happen? How is it perceived in society? He did a great job and moved on to the semi-finals. There were two speeches on Make-up. Interesting to compare the two. One was about Saturday Night Live. Another was on Smokey the Bear. The girl who was speaking about cheese was quite engaging, but she lost points(I assume) for forgetting part of her speech.



It's nice to see all these kids. They are all mingling, talking, eating lunch, occasionally chasing each other(regressing?). When the results were posted one of Robin's proteges had advanced and I could see how great she felt about herself. That was nice.



This is good training and experience for these kids like acting is. I didn't have any say in who was best but, no offense Jeff, I liked the girl with the big boobs.

Gotta go, Gabe is coming "home" and we must clean. I really do appreciate your stopping by.

Abolish the 3-point Shot/Finding money

I think you know where I'm going here. If you watched Michigan's game yesterday you will know. Now, I'm not saying to get rid of the 3-pointer altogether just as a last shot. The new rule would be ...if a team is down by two points they cannot win the game with a three point shot. They would be awarded two points to send the game into overtime. Of course if there was a shot and a foul they could take the foul shot and win. If you saw that game you might agree. Especially if you are a Michigan Fan.

Jake disagrees and maybe I'm just too pissed off right now, so if you're a high muckettymuck with the NCAA,give it a little time to digest before making that change.

Changing gears. We had gone into the Social Security building in Flint to replace Jake's card. While waiting for His number to be announced I decided to take Luke for a walk so he could,"use the bathroom". There is an area between parking lots there and a tree here and there and then a stand of trees with some brush. We headed over to the stand and I was thinking that with the recent snow melt, this is a good time to keep your eye out for paper money. If someone loses a bill in winter it often blows away to be caught in brush or a fence. I looked for a minute or so and then my mind moved on to the next thought. Then, hey-there's a $5.00 bill! What can I say? I was lucky. How can I begrudge Ohio State being lucky.

We'll See When We Get There

Brooke and I were at someones open house some years back and we were talking with a couple roughly our own ages. The subject of boating came up and I said I liked sailing as opposed to power boating. The idea of using the natural power of wind appeals to me, plus a motor needs fuel and there are other complications. The man responded, "I want to get where I'm going, fast". Well I think he was really saying, "I'm a powerful person, who knows what he wants, and goes for it". So, that made me a weak person without goals. Maybe I was reading too much into it, but that's what I do. Sometimes I do want to get someplace but even so there is a process, a trip involved in getting there, and I say try to enjoy the trip. If anyone has gone on a road trip in an old Volkswagen, you know first hand that it's the mishaps, changes in plans and adventures that make the trip, sometimes challenging, but enjoyable.

A few weeks before Christmas I had bought a used stove on Craisg's List. It was a goal of mine to replace our old stove before the holiday, therefore goal accomplished. There was a part that I wanted to find for the stove and that part is pretty expensive so I checked Craig's List again and there was another very similar stove there but I had to buy the whole stove to get the part. I asked Mike Gilmour if he would go with me to pick up the stove and he said yes. Mike shows up at the agreed upon time and I sensed some doubt in him when I said we were taking the camper van. I knew it would work because that's what I used to get the first stove. I put the address into my Magellan and brought along a dolly(moving, not blow-up) and one of those tie-down straps that you can ratchet up tight.

Well, we had a nice little adventure. There was some difficulty in finding the right address. We stopped in for a great breakfast at a quaint restaurant. The guy, who helped us get the stove from his backyad, cranked down on the tie-down so hard that the glass door of the stove exploded into literally a thousand pieces.

The outcome was great. To summarize I GOT THE STOVE. But, the adventure with Gilmour far outweighs the goal.

Thanks for checking in and have a great friday.

Have you heard about the Fenton Vortex?

Hi all. Jake is in town so there is much activity. Talk of hops abounds. This Summer we will be growing hops in the garden. When people are asked to imagine a place where they feel calm and at peace, gardens rank up there in the top 3-5, along with a beach, a forest or the side bedroom.



There are places where there is strong"spiritual energy" where if one meditates there, they really get in touch with that world. Please feel free to insert "allegedly" and/or "supposedly" at will. In Sedona, Arizona(the center of new ageism, spiritualism and crystal hugging) it was discovered that one of these places "a vortex" existed. The people flocked there, It became so crowded that it was a great relief when another vortex was discovered not too far away. So it went until now I think there are 13 known vortices in the Greater Sedona Area.

A few years back I put up a screened in tent in our side yard; out by our gardens. I really enjoyed sitting out there and not necessarily meditating but enjoying the natural peace of the surroundings. Gilmour named it HQ and the name stuck. We had a party or two out there. A friend of mine and his wife visited from Sedona, Arizona and they were enjoying the garden. She told me there is definitely a vortex in the garden. Very strong at that. I'm not looking to draw a crowd, but if you would care to come over and sit in the side yard this Summer be our guests. I'm not sure, but wouldn't logic tend to the conclusion that a vortex would be a place where a garden would do well. A fertile place of abundance. There is more evidence of the Lamson Vortex. Just kidding with the Lamson name. No one can claim such a phenomenon, but just to avoid confusion with the other vortices. Let's talk about it over a beer or some wine.

That's it for today. The Big Ten Tournament starts today and Jake and I have to plot out which part of the Vortex/garden will be best for the Hops.

Blog you tomorrow...Ken.

Wednesday is for You

Thanks for dropping in to the sidebedroom. Don't read this while driving or operating potentially dangerous equipment. Please don't let this get out. Switching to black ... It was really hard to read that yellow type. It's mid-summer and you and some friends have gone out to a local woods for a picnic. After eating you all decide to split up and do some exploring on your own. You will meet up back at the car in a couple of hours and then you'll report what you had found. You are well prepared to walk through pretty rough brush-bringing along gloves, a jacket and a few other items in your back-pack. Good thing because the woods are quite thick and only get thicker as you go deeper. It seems to be getting darker but you know it's a sunny day so the darkness must only be a result of the increased density of the trees. You're thinking of going back as you notice ahead something bright through the branches and undergrowth. You move further on and with each step the bright area ahead increases in size. Soon you see in the middle of the dense wood, somehow, a large almost circular area has formed. The sun is shining here and grass covers the ground. No trees are growing there. It seems so odd how beautifull and almost magical this place is. You fear there may be snakes there because you remember as a child walking in grass and encountering a snake then. It's so enchanting you decide to just stay there and observe for a while. It's like a natural garden. Birds are singing in the neighboring trees and butterflies enjoy this grassy paradise. There is a conveniet low tree branch that you can sit on and you think,"Nature is providing for me". Just a slight breeze carries the scent of the rich forest amalgam to your nose and you breathe it in deeply. You seem mesmerised as though staring into a camp-fire, when you notice a flash of red. Not more than fifty feet away a fox seems to be chasing something into the grass. He isn't aware of you at all and perhaps the adrenalin in your bloodstream makes the scene even more intense. Time has stopped. The fox is no longer visible. You wait and listen and watch...nothing. It's getting late and you decide to leave to rejoin your friends. Before leaving you want to check in on the fox to see if he is even anywhere around. You cautiousy approach the area you last saw him. The fox suddenly jumps and flails and you know something is wrong. Some kind of trap has him held fast by the base of the tail. You want to help, but he might bite you out of fear. You decide to try to cover the animals head with your back-pack if he/she will calm down enough you can use your Swiss Army Knife to cut the snare loose. You commit to the plan and thank God on the first attempt you manage to get the head and both front paws in the pack. You had opened the razor sharp knife already and as you lay on top of the frightened animal you grab the tool and cut loose the cord. You push yourself away allowing the fox to discover his(definately a his) freedom. After a brief look at you, perhaps to determine if you were a danger, there were three quick jumps
and the fox ran off with his tail intact.

Enjoy your day.

What is the Sidebedroom like?

Hey, it's as good a topic as any. The side bedroom is a room off to the side of the original portion of our "palacial mansion". Our house is the Benjamin Bangs House. Built by Benjamin in 1867. B.Bangs was the first Village President of Dibbleville and Dibbleville was what Fenton was known as before it was named Fenton. Have I lost you yet? It's a medium sized house with quite a few rooms(none too big), uneven wood floors, nice fireplace etc. We love it. One could write novels with this setting or children's books.(been done) There was even a movie shot here titled, "Lurking Terror". When Brooke's Parents bought the place in 1971? many changes were made and I think that is when the side-bedroom was added. It has a private entrance, windows on two sides(south and west) and french doors leading to the central hall. It has served as a bedroom at times but it's more of a den/study/junkroom. I liked it because when there was a family get together Ray(Brooke's Dad) would have a football game or something on the TV in the sidebedroom and we could escape the chaos.

Today, it is a haven where I can keep some of the things I like, even if they are unused. Old radio controlled airplanes, three guitars and an amp, treadmill, computers, TV, turn-table(for playing records) and much more. It also contains the armoire which is purported to contain the ghost of Norman(another story).

So, that's where I am and if you would like to visit, we'd love to have you. This Summer Emma is getting married and we're having guests, so the sidebedroom is in need of a facelift. Jake is coming in two days and maybe he and I will get that project started. Too late to change your plans, Jake.

When the dust clears, this will serve as my hypnosis headquarters. Just another chapter for the old house on Leroy Street; The Benjamin Bangs House.

Did you try our experiment? Were the results positive? Thank you for checking in.

Mental Block

Hi, How are you today?
This is so one sided. I woke up at 3:30 and laid in bed awake for about two hours before I came downstairs, cleaned up cat throw-up and what Zeke decided not to do in the cat box. I think he doesn't like the new litter. I hadn't prepared myself for this start, but it's not unusual. I think I had been drifting along on a cloud of optimism from yesterday's positive outcomes.

The thought of what to blog about wasn't clear: body piercings, computer repair, stock market, hypnosis, University of Michigan's Basketball Program or a trip to Goodwill perhaps.

I recently read a post about spiritual beings and how it was difficult to relate what they were saying because they didn't use words-they communicated in thought packets. Well I communicate in mental blocks. There's a whole block of stuff up there and maybe it will eventually unwind.

If you are still reading this far, thanks and let's talk STOCKS! Here are the stocks I own, Penn West Energy(Canadian-pays a nice dividend), Wells Fargo(solid financial-dividend), Apple(no dividend-just looking for growth), Zagg(mobile device accessories-no dividend-praying for growth), Allos Therapeutics(no dividend) and QuantumGroup(medical records on the web-big loser so far).

I'm disappointed in my results so far in the stock market. I believe it is a good time to get in, if you're not in already. I put a lot of money in a couple of Jim Kramer picks and lost. Just went with the wrong ones.

I'm going to give you a little experiment, let's try it tonight. Just before we go to sleep tonight...think positive thoughts about Tuesday morning. We'll have great energy, abundant enthusiasm and a powerfull attitude of calm and control...It is great to be alive. bring on the cat issues!
From the sidebedroom,

First post

Hi everyone. Thanks for checking in. My blog is intended to gather a following, get a lot of traffick and eventually make a ton of money so I can feel vindicated. I should tell you before I start ranting, I am a hypnotist, pure and simple. If you would like to ask a question about hypnosis or anything else, I would be happy to answer and if I didn't know the answer I'd find it or say I don't know. I won't make up any answers, even though that could be fun.

I'm A former science teacher, letter carrier, tennis (and racquetball) instructor and coach, picture framer, etc. So I have a varied past. I play golf and some tennis these days. I'm a father of three wonderful human beings, and grandfather of two fantastic boys. One is in college in Florida and the other is in diapers in Toronto.

I will try to avoid talking about religion, politics and teen age sex. So, you'll have to go elsewhere for that.

If you're wondering how I came up with the sidebedroom name, that's where my most used computer is and if you've ever tried to pick a name for a blog almost all of them are unavailable.
I tried five or six before I found one that was available. That list included whisperplanet and hypnotoad.

Use your imagination,