LOL...I wonder why the word old just jumped out at me!

Tom, Durkheim depresses the heck out of me...and I fear he
was/is right. That's what Mr.Alffe and I were talking about regarding
our society and our values or lack there of.

And you are right...we lose more people we love as we get older. So glad I have you as a new friend Tom.

Another Karl Menninger quote..

Love cures people - both the ones who give it and the ones who receive it.

Hugs for the room....

Well, and I can only reference my own feelings here, I DO NOT FEEL OLD by any means. I'm only 62, I have started a new hobby called Sprouting, which feeds me and my husband.

I make videos. I'm up on youtube. People (who want to lead a healthier lifestyle), often email me and say: "Can you please give me a link to your sprouting videos, I want to change my eating habits". I then say "sure, here's the link".

I have been on a bus talking about sprouting with a friend, when a complete stranger will walk over to me and say "I was overhearing your conversation, can you explain sprouting to me". And there and then, on that bus, I gave sprouting lessons. The other day I was on a fully loaded bus going to my doctor to pick up his meds and I was carrying a package of my freshly harvested sprouts (to give to the doctor because he's a body builder and knows the benefits of broccoli sprouts, and I was showing another person on the bus what I had grown, and about 15 people started writing down what I was saying.

It seems they were all diabetic and when I was discussing controlling my diabetes with diet alone, (soon I shall be off of any med that I am on), and I've been on meds for 22 years, and I did this with diet ALONE, well, all these people on the bus who were diabetic wanted to know how I did this.

So I wound up discussing, diabetes, sprouting, and what we can do to lead healthier lives.

And one person got off at my stop and said "I need your help, I want to conquer my diabetes, HOW DO YOU THIS?"

And so we had a conversation at the bus stop.

And she was 27 years old by the way.

We should never stop learning, living and helping others.

And if any young people are reading MY post, be aware of one thing.

You don't know EVERYTHING. You couldnt possibly know EVERYTHING, you haven't lived long enough to know absolutely EVERYTHING."

This takes time, a lifetimes worth of experience, which you should then pass on to others.

It's called being productive.

It's fun, it's free and it makes you feel so much better.

And one more thing, if you happen to pass an elderly person who you think might need assistance, just say "Hi, how's it going"?

I find that if I say "May I help you across the street", I might get hit by their cane. This actually happened to me once. So I've leaned better communications skills.

Usually, I pass elderly people who seem out of breath, and if they don't have a cane, I'll pass by and say "are you okay?" This DOES NOT translater to: 'You are an old fuddy duddy who needs help" Asking are you okay, well, I usually get a smile, a show of appreciation and often, they will respond with:

"Yeah, I'm just a little winded" and I would say "well of course you are, look at the weather, we're all a little winded, why not sit here for a bit (hopefully there is a place to just sit for a while). I sit with them and they are on their way in a few minutes.

I had a friend who was in a supermarket and she was going to her car when she noticed an elderly women with a lot of packages and she had a hill to go up (the cars were parked undergound and the poor woman went out the wrong exit).

My friend immediately knew that this woman was in distress and looked bewildered.

Do you know that my friend took her home in her car? I said "wow, you did a really nice thing for that woman"

All it takes is one random act of kindness to make someone smile.

That's MY philosophy.

end of rant.
lol
Melody

Hi All-

I shared a poem I put down yesterday as I attended a funeral for a friend taken rapidly by pneumonia and this sharing was on my Boston Scientific thread. Well, Rae thought it best shared here as we all attempt to see the forest for the trees. Here it is, even as it may help or apply in ongoing Tom thoughts. Have a good day, Tom!


Place Me
MRidder 20100914

Place me among the forest.
Put me among the trees,
where God so move with ease.
There may I share His beauty
each and every day
as seasons all pass my way.
Cacophony of sound,
the trees creak and moan
while life through them roams.
Chatter of squirrel, cry of eagle
always with God in His chapel
knowing His brushstrokes and Happy
to see His brilliant painted sky
oh blessed time forever rest,
place me among the forest.

Peace,
Mark56 PJ

Melody - I'm so glad you've come into my life!
I'm going to my first visit with a new-to-me medical doctor ... its called a meet and greet. My goal is to learn a way to drop the 50 + pounds that I have packed on during the last 12 years since I left my husband. I really must start walking the talk!

Addy

"Place me among the forest.
Put me among the trees,"

That gave me goosebumps Mark...Thank you for
sharing it here.

Sometimes our light goes out but is blown into flame by
another human being. Each of us owes deepest thanks
to those who have rekindled this light. --Albert Schweitzer

Melody, your thought is as simple as it is profound. The power of a kind act is multiplied a hundredfold if applied to somebody you can't stand or you're angry at. Right away, you'll note a revolutionary change in your relationship with them. Revolutionary in the good sense, not the bad.

As for your note that young people don't know everything, my dad told me when I was a senior in high school: "Be glad you're 18. For the rest of your life, you'll never know as much as you do right now." A lot of iron in that irony...

Addy, if you can walk that walk, go for it. I did, three times per week, for years. Now I no longer can do it. Looking back, it's one of the few smart things I did.

As Alffe suggests, Mark always sees the forest and the trees...

Tom

Mark, for most of my life, I was very active.... aerobics, gym, swimming, skiing, walking for hours along the ocean with my dog ....

then something happened to me, too...

and here I am, 12 years later...

Hi Tom,

I hope you get a diagnosis soon. I guess I was lucky, it only took 5 months for me to get a diagnosis and I got on MS meds right away. I had a spinal tap too, but again, I was lucky, it didn't hurt either. Neurontin never helped. The only side effect I've had with the Lyrica was in my mouth. I felt like the skin in the inside of my mouth was getting stuck in between my teeth. I always wanted to floss. According to my dental hygienist, it was from the Lyrica, and told me to chew sugarless gum. Orbit Mist (my son found it for me) is wonderful and is especially for dry mouth. My neurologist prescribed the Lyrica, Cymbalta (which is also an anti-depressant) and Elavil (which is also an anti-depressant). My Pain Specialist agreed with my neurologist on my course of treatment. The oxycontin does help a little. But it is a opiate and makes me feel spacy, so I don't like to take it. Nucynta is also an opiate. My comment on the diagnosis of secondary multiple sclerosis is that it really doesn't change my treatment and since I am steadily getting worse and multiple sclerosis is a degenerative disease, having them say it is secondary ms doesn't really make a difference. By the way, a cane and a walker helps the fatigue and the pain. Doesn't make it go away, but every little bit helps. That's why they were invented.

I just lost my second wind, so I'm going to relax and hopefully finish the book I've been reading before I forget what the book is about.

Good night.

Doxie

Life happened to you...and with it came change and growth..not a bad thing but change is always hard!! Regrets? Sure, some.....

I am so relieved to read that I am not the only one who forgets what the book is about....starting over isn't easy when it's half a book.

You are such a realist Doxie...that's one of the reasons why I love you.