Once a week I get an “idea” email from Storyworth, hoping to inspire another report on my past. These are the questions that have been posed this month, as I continue to add chapters to this book:

What places can you travel to over and over again? My favorite place on earth is still the Italian Mediterranean Coast. If there weren’t so many places yet to see and unlimited funds, I would be a regular visitor to Amalfi, Capri, and Salerno. Food, history, hospitality, and beauty make it special.

What were your favorite cartoons growing up? I was definitely part of the initial television generation (1946-1964), growing up with a diet of Captain Kangaroo, Romper Room, Disney’s Wonderful World of Color, and Bonanza. Cartoon characters like Mighty Mouse, Underdog, Roadrunner, Yogi Bear, Deputy Dawg, Fred Flintstone, Snagglepuss, Tom & Jerry, Huckleberry Hound, George Jetson, Mr. Magoo, and Bullwinkle were some of my regulars. 

What were your friends like in high school? I have always made friends easily. My closest is probably still Tim Steffen, a relationship dating back to grade school. He inspired me to run and get involved in wrestling. When I first met him, my parents were concerned about how frail he seemed – how wrong they were! Grant Balkema and I were chemistry partners. He was a true genius and the Best Man at my wedding, who set me up with my first girlfriend, Debbie Osborne. Our makeshift experiments taught me about electronics, pyrotechnics, wine making, explosives, mechanics, and science. He went on to get his Doctorate and became a college professor but died at an early age. Dennis Pippinger, Bob Grove, Dave Geiger, Frank Weiss and I were like the “Rat Pack,” often together as a group for overnight Risk game sessions, slumber parties, innertube races, and bicycle adventures. Alan Harper was a fellow choir member who showed me through example how to gain self-confidence. He was part of my earliest travel adventure to California, inspiring my dad’s famous quote, “Thank God There’s an Ocean.” I also had neighbor friends, classroom buddies, fellow competitors, and club acquaintances that extended my range of companionship – but few girls. 

What are some good and bad choices you’ve made with respect to your health?

I’m struggling with several health issues of late after decades of problem-free living. As I write this, my hands shake from what they call an essential tremor – although I’m still trying to figure out what could possibly be “essential” about being unsteady. It’s hard some days to hit the right keys on my computer and find myself constantly correcting my work. It takes away the fun of writing. I tried to hang some decorative fixtures yesterday and it was difficult to use a level or even a screwdriver. It now takes me twice as long to do simple tasks involving my hands, but I know that I need to keep moving or it will probably get worse. This is my justification for running every day despite balance concerns, simply to keep moving forward rather than succumb to these challenges. 

My daily running streak, that hopefully will reach fifteen full years at the end of December (2023), is in jeopardy. My feet are relatively numb due to peripheral neuropathy but there is no pain involved, unless you consider how slow my pace has become. On a more serious note, doctors are now talking about operating on an aortic aneurism that was discovered in January of 2019, after abruptly halting my run as my head began spinning and I was forced to sit down in fear of passing out. In retrospect, it was probably related to dehydration, but it was a rare trip to the Emergency Room, surrounded by a cardiac team. Tests proved that my heart was fine, but finding this bulge in my aorta has turned out to be a family medical concern over the past four years.

In our family, there is both a retired cardiothoracic surgeon and a PA that have raised alarms regarding my health. Obviously, if it bursts, it could spell the end of me. However, my doctors have found little change in its size and have established a 5.5 cm threshold. It has been relatively stable at 5.3 cm, but they have decided to run a few more tests. If they decide to operate, I might have to start a new running streak, if I have the motivation. The nurse asked if I had ever had surgery and my answer was an out-patient eyelid procedure. She smiled and said, “well, then you’ll be going right to the top!” I’ve been in the hospital for both rabies shots and bronchitis as a young child but have since spent only a single night for a kidney stone as an adult. 

The other health issue that I’m dealing with is an enlarged prostrate that causes frequent urination and other embarrassing malfunctions. Let’s just say that I’m considering an experimental butterfly procedure to relieve the pressure on my bladder. Unfortunately, too many old-timer discussions end up in toilet humor related to this common problem. Alcohol and caffeine seem to make things worse. There were times in life that I abused these things, along with drugs, but the best health decision I ever made was not to smoke. As a result, most of my medical conditions are probably inherited and therefore unavoidable due any lack of care or nutrition. 

I rarely missed a day of school or work due to sickness, but I have experienced some mild symptoms after two positive Covid tests in the last few years. Daily exercise has been the other great decision I made in life. Push-ups, sit-ups, stretching and running are the daily routine, but it still doesn’t keep me from taking eight pills a day for hypertension, cholesterol, and prostate relief. My diet could have certainly been better with a preference for sweetness, red meat, and starch. I’m definitely a steak and potatoes kind of guy, with Diet Coke and cookies my greatest nemesis – they call me The Cookie Monster – take that Mighty Mouse!