A really bad month

I've been pretty sick this past month.  It started with what my doctor thinks was food poisoning, and it went downhill from there.  I ended up seriously ill, in the hospital, and I didn't realize just how close I came to cashing it in at the time.  Well, after almost a week in the hospital, under the good care of the doctors, nurses, and technicians at Methodist Hospital in Germantown, Tennessee, I was good enough to be released and although weak, just being home made me feel better.  My elderly parents insisted that as soon as I was strong enough, they wanted me to travel to their home in northeastern Pennsylvania and recuperate there.  So off we went.  It was nice spending almost 2 weeks in that part of the world, getting some good food....mostly....I won't get in to the mostly part because I don't need the wrath of mom descending on me.

We went to the Harford Fair, one of the largest country fairs in the state of Pennsylvania, and it was crowded.  Good food, interesting exhibits, and fun competitions like tractor pulls made the day worthwhile.

I came home to get some stern warnings from some of the pathology reports.  Because I had hepatitis when I was younger, and I've not always treated my liver all that well in the past, I've been told in no uncertain words, never to take an alcoholic drink again.  I can do it, but I won't like it.  My white blood count is also very low, and one hematologist wants to get a bone marrow sample from me.  This is an extremely painful procedure and may not yield any useful information.  My PHP told me do not do it.  (Next year when I get stuck under ObamaCare, it will probably not even be offered as an option, as it is expensive).  That is advice I'm happy to follow.

So folks, I'm back, just feeling old at 56, and still trying to get over this really bad health crisis. 

Thanks to my friends for your prayers and good thoughts during my illness, and know I appreciate you all.  God bless!

TSA and selective use of full body scanners

I've been traveling through a number of airports, both large and small over the past few months, and one thing that is omnipresent are the multitudes of TSA agents, even at the smallest airports.  TSA has become an acronym for Thousands Standing Around in many of the small town airports.

One thing I'm beginning to notice is that TSA has removed the full body scan (back scan) machines at some of the small town airports, and restoring the tried and true metal detectors that don't require you to take off everything except shirt, pants and socks.  The reason given to me by a TSA employee at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport (AVP) for removing them is that they are needed at larger airports.  So, if the back scanners are not needed at AVP, why are they needed anywhere?  There are direct flights to Philadelphia, Newark, Chicago-Ohare, Detroit, Atlanta and Charlotte daily from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and passengers are not required to be re-screened upon arrival at the major airport..

Does the Department of Homeland Security think that a potential terrorist would only consider using a major airport to initiate an airborne terrorist attack, and not pay any attention to more lacks security? (although, I tend to think these small town airports do look people over better than my hometown airport of Memphis International Airport)

So here is a suggestion to our friends at TSA, get rid of all the full body scan units, or use them everywhere there is scheduled commercial air service..  The back scan units are intrusive, leave x-ray radiation residue in the bones, that is accumulates and is a potential cancer threat, and now seems the use of these machines depends on your airport of origin.

With the removal of the back scan e-ray machines at secondary airports, the effectiveness of using them at all now approaches zero.  Use them everywhere or better yet, get rid of these intrusive monsters.

Trust

Trust is not something that is a given thing, but must be earned.  Ronald Reagan said about the once defunct Soviet Union, trust but verify.  Under Vladimir Putin, an old KGB guy, Russia is not trustworthy once again.  Trust is hard to earn, and it has to be earned, not by words, but by deeds. 

A good and decent person who I've helped out for the past 11 years, not only with moral support, but monetary support at times told me I'm not trustworthy.  It's a dagger in the heart to me.  I'm not only sick in my heart, but have lost faith in people I used to think I knew.

I really don't like being like this, but my soul has been shattered.  I guess I'll be trustworthy to people who are not afraid to have someone who loves them.