Thinking it was just a little dizziness, a little back pain, some short-term memory loss—“give me a pill and I’ll be all better.” However, after extensive blood testing, expensive brain scans, and expansive psychological exams, it was finally determined that the cause of my complaint was, quite literally, all in my head.
Join me crossing over this old railroad bridge; it’s the only way to get to the other side. Let’s see what can be found on the other bank of the bayou. It’s a little scary — that water is a long way down, and if a train starts heading across when we are in the middle, down may be the only option available. Look at that lush pine and oak forest on the other side. Crossing over with my buddies about 1956, those trees looked, in our eyes, a thousand feet tall. Let’s see what we can see. It might be fun, but crossing that bridge that day was one of the scariest things I had ever experienced in my ten years of life.
Walking in the gardens of the estate, the remains of a small hognose snake came into view. It is not uncommon to occasionally encounter this creature or one of its relations slithering through the lawn. They serve a beneficial purpose, and their bite is not fatal to the bitten, so I avoid disturbing their activities.
One of my oldest memories goes back to a time in the mid-1950s. I can’t recall exactly how old I was at the time, definitely around the seven or maybe the eight-year mark. Television technology was still very new; we did not have one in our home, so we listened to the radio for our news and entertainment. The announcer said that the weather that day would be another hot and humid summer day, typical for the Texas Gulf Coast at a time when cool conditioned air was just beginning to become affordable and was still a luxury.
I’m so proud that my son Patrick is an RN working in the Texas Medical Center. It’s a hard, tough job working 12-hour shifts and dealing with rude and sometimes demented patients as well as doctors.
Johanna, my beautiful, spirited, artistic daughter, becomes 18 today. The best way to characterize her is smart and intelligent, like her Mom, but she would never admit that they are similar in any way. They are definitely cultural opposites and often at odds with each other. Growing up in entirely different worlds, shaped by vastly different economies, family structures, gender expectations, and technologies.
It was a beautiful crisp autumn day in Beijing, the overflowing capital of the People’s Republic of China. The leaves on the trees that lined the broad boulevards had turned from a lush, verdant green to various shades of red and gold, giving the appearance of soft, glowing embers on the verge of losing their light and warmth to the relentless onslaught of another bitter Chinese winter.
Another birthday has reminded me that I have more years behind me than ahead. No, I’m not sad or depressed. Oh sure, there are things I wish I had done in my life, we all go through the would’ve, should’ve, could’ve periods in our thoughts.
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