Heavy Rains

 

September is the heart of our Rainy season, and we have had some really heavy downpours.  We are not affected much here in Bangkruai, but in some provinces and in districts of Bangkok the local flooding has been disastrous.  The TV news shows the amazing extent of the chaos.  Streets and canals are overflowing in certain areas.  

It reminds me of our neighborhood chaos during the Great Flood of 2011, which was a much larger flood in extent because it was the entire drainage of the great Chao Phraya River, which overflowed it's banks.  (My descriptions of that epic are recorded below, starting in mid-October 2011.)  

Our western bank of the river has not been affected as much as the eastern Bangkok side.  The river is not high, nor are our canals.  Today I rode the elevated train several miles south for grocery shopping, and everything was dry along the line.  

But still, before going out I must choose carefully from my extensive arsenal of umbrellas.  

-Zenwind. 

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Rains

 

Heading into September, we can expect more frequent and more intense rain.  So far, we have had a little bit of rain almost every day, with a few hard downpours.  At this time of year I begin the day looking at my To Do list and then the weather forecast.  Even if the possibility of rain is low I still pack an umbrella, choosing a small portable or a big robust one.  There is not as much boiling sun, but the humidity is brutal.  

I am still doing my Roadwork routine:  Heavy Hands stair-climbing with 2kg in each hand, although now I'm often having two rest days between workouts instead of one.  In July I started to have that old familiar feeling in my chronically weak (right) Knee; the feeling that if I keep pushing too hard it would turn into crippling pain.  I took 3 weeks off from doing the stair-climbing and weights, but I did use a weight for strengthening the quads.  

This knee problem goes back to my teens and twenties.  When milking cows, my father and I used a low stool when attaching the milking machine cups instead of squatting down (which would really kill the knees), however it would strain the right knee when getting up from the stool in the tight awkward stall.  Later in my twenties during my early climbing experimentation, I did solo practice in Direct Aid climbing (ie, hanging in stirrup-ladder slings that twisted and strained the knees).  Add to that the grossly heavy packs I humped up and down steep mountain terrain  -- especially the down climbing.  The knee requires careful nurturing and the stretching of the hamstrings.  

Re:  Peace of Mind.  I have been continuing to research and reflect upon the original psychological and ethical teachings of Gotama the Wanderer  -- not so much on the orthodox dogmas and brahmanistic mysticism that took over his following soon after his death and made him "the Buddha", an object of worship.  He insisted that we focus on this life and navigate through its ups and downs with skill and equanimity (reminding me of the Greek Epicureans and Stoics).  I have always especially enjoyed the nature aesthetics that were added on by the ancient Chinese Taoist-Buddhists, the Chan/Zen mountain hermits.  

-Zenwind. 

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Bangkruai In The News

 

Bangkruai, my district (ie, "county") in Nonthaburi Province, is in world news today for a school shooting.  It was about 5 miles west of us in this heavily populated area on the northern rim of greater Bangkok.  

Apparently, a 14-year-old accessed his grandfather's pistol, killed his grandparents, then shot up his school, killing teachers and students.  This is dominating national news, and details are still coming out.  

-Zenwind. 

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Independence Day

 

A reflection on the Dharma of Liberty.  

It's been 250 years since the Declaration of Independence was proclaimed.  When I was a teacher 20 to 30 years ago, I would celebrate this holy day alone.  I would backpack deep into the Allegheny National Forest, far from any humans, at my secret spot I named Dharma Point.  There, I would mourn the failing of America's libertarian promise as citizens allowed government to become obscenely powerful, and I would read Jefferson's Declaration.  

It is even worse now, with both major political parties worshipping Power and ignoring the sanctity of Individual Rights to "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness".  As a student of history, I shouldn't be surprised.  Independence must be earned.  

I think of those annual retreats to Dharma Point and it gives me some serenity.  The spot was off the trails and hidden.  On a high ridge, it has a big rock upon which I built a fire circle, and there is a nearby spring with a perennial flow of cool water coming out from under a boulder.  I could meditate there in sublime quiet.  

The concept of "Independence" is close to that of Liberation or Emancipation, which reminds me of the core lessons of Gotama the Wanderer.  

Gotama (aka, the Buddha) was troubled in his youth by 3 Questions:  1. "What is the Delight of life?"  2. "What is the Tragedy of life?"  And, 3. "What is the Emancipation of life?"  

His hard-won answers:  

"The happiness and joy arising from the conditions of life, that is the Delight of life."  

"That life is impermanent, difficult (dukkha), and changing, that is the Tragedy of life."  

"The removal and abandonment of Grasping for life, that is the Emancipation of life."  

So, today, the Fourth of July, is a great time to declare independence from futile grasping to avoid life's difficulties.  Embrace life and all that goes with it.  I can't always get to such peaceful spots as Dharma Point, but I can try to find mental spaces that approximate it wherever I happen to be.  

-Zenwind. 

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Vesak

   Today is Vesak, the Buddha's birthday and also commemorating his Enlightenment.  These landmark events of his life are said to have happened on Full Moons of May.  It is a high holy day in this culture.  

   I am re-reading The Odyssey by Homer before the July release of the film by Christopher Nolan.  I chose my favorite translation, a prose one by E.V. Rieu.  Great story.  

   I saw a couple of my favorite Kubrick classics at my Bangkok movie club this last month, Dr Strangelove and A Clockwork Orange.  

   I am still doing my Roadwork three times a week, walking and stair-climbing with dumbbells.  It kicks my butt, but it does make me feel quite fit (for my age) after long regular practice.  

   The Rains have come, and we don't feel the unrelenting hellish heat as much, although the humidity is always lurking.  I have my big umbrellas ready.  

-Zenwind. 

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Beltane

 

   It is Beltane, the Eve of May, in the Northern Temperate Zone, when the vegetative world comes back to life and farmers put their flocks and herds out to pasture after the long winter.  My father would let the cows out to grass in the first week of May, after being in the barn since Halloween.  

   It's not the same here in the Tropics at 14* North latitude.  We do share the same "cold" season, but that's all.  Coldest temperatures in December and January might get down to 65* F here in the Central Plains, but it is quickly followed by the Hot Season of April.  I look forward to the Rainy Season and its blocking of the Sun.  Today we had a brief hard rain, but then the Sun came out and the steam rose.  Sauna!  

   My Zebra Dove friends have not come back to nest under the roof of my veranda.  They had successfully hatched four chicks in four consecutive nestings this year, but I think they didn't come back because of the noisy construction work next door, which has scared off a lot of wildlife.  

-Zenwind. 

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My Neighborhood

 

   I have lived in this neighborhood for 20 years now.  I have so many friends here, even though no one speaks English and I am unable to learn Thai due to an auditory disability.  (Even Tuk speaks English poorly, not practicing it enough with me since she never has been one for conversation.)  

   My neighbors know me well enough because I had a very short introductory note translated into Thai by a rare Thai friend who once studied in America.  I made copies of the note and give it out to neighbors.  It explains that I cannot learn Thai but that I thank everyone for making me feel at home here; and also that I am a retired teacher, a farmboy, a veteran combat Marine, and a fellow Buddhist (who meditates while walking in the neighborhood).  I feel that I am accepted by the locals:  the store clerks, street vendors, security guards, taxi drivers and motorcycle-taxi drivers, as well as the folks along "China Row" (the stretch of street going to the river, which I stroll frequently).  

   My nightlife has been significantly curtailed in recent years.  Maybe I'm getting old.  Fifteen years ago, I was out regularly exploring music venues, especially the excellent Blues bars that were everywhere in Bangkok until the Covid pandemic closed things down.  The Rock Pub still flourishes, and I try to stop by and say hello to my old friends there once every few months (they play Zeppelin's "Rock & Roll" for me).  I belong to a private movie club in the city and try to see some of their rare films.  I haven't been a regular at my Libertarian meet up very much, since member attendance has fallen off a bit.  

   In other news, my Zebra Dove friends successfully hatched a 4th chick on their old nest up under the roof of my veranda.  Before this new one could fly, it sat with its mother looking down at me as I went about my daily routines.  I would do the Tai Chi form "The Crane", standing on one foot, and looking up I would see two pair of eyes watching my every move!  I miss them now that the nest is empty.  

-Zenwind. 

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Roadwork

 

   Early 20th century boxers called one of their essential conditioning exercises "Roadwork".  It was simply running on the road while shadow-boxing.  My variation is marching and high-stair-climbing with a 2kg dumbbell in each hand.  It works my legs and core, and it's a great aerobic workout.  Three times a week.  

   I do an hour of prep before marching.  First a micro-dose of C sativa, then Tai Chi, Yoga, stretches, and calisthenics.  I recently added a second round of TC and cals using 1kg weights.  Then I hit the pavement with the 2kg ones.  

   I have been constantly pushing it, swinging the weights, twisting, pumping them, especially focusing on working my core.  I am exhausted by the end of these workouts and need a rest day between them, but I am feeling stronger.  My sciatica pain is mostly gone, although I still get twinges of a reminder of it if I move carelessly.  

   Views: 

   From the top of the stairways up to the Rama 7 Bridge, I can watch the river traffic, eg, tugboats pulling long trains of barges, and express boats.  Looking north, up-river, I can see six Buddhist temples and one new mosque, which is very beautiful in white and light green.  

   At home, from the corner of my veranda, I have a view of a couple of the only trees left out back.  I keep my binoculars out there for watching the squirrels and birds.  My pair of Zebra doves came back and nested a 3rd time on the veranda, successfully hatching another chick.  The doves were a bit disrupted this time because of major demolition of a building just across the wall on the side of the electric company.  

   This disrupted other creatures as well:  a big Monitor Lizard was perched on the fence at the top of the wall, evidently flushed out of his underground home.  His body was two feet long, with a very long tail, and he had muscular arms and huge claws.  

   I am reading Stephen Batchelor, *After Buddhism: a re-thinking of the dharma for a secular age* (2015).  Batchelor and I are on the same page about Siddhartha Gautama.  

-Zenwind. 

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The Doves Nest Again

 

   I was surprised when my old friends, a pair of Zebra ("Peaceful") Doves, revisited their old nest up under the roof of my veranda.  (I mentioned their successful hatch in my posts here in September and October.)  

   The hen sat for three full weeks again, and then, after another week, the nest was empty.  I was worried, because from below I couldn't see them feeding a chick as I had seen in October.  But in a couple of days they all appeared, the mother, father, and the new baby bird.  They rested on the spacious window ledge of the building across from my veranda, and they spent a few afternoons and nights there before ranging farther afield.  

-Zenwind. 

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Vipers!

 

   We've had a couple of visits from snakes in the last few weeks.  I knew they were poisonous because of the triangular shape of their heads.  They were night visitors, and dark tan-brown in color, so I couldn't identify the first one.  But my best guess is that they were either a Malaysian Pit Viper or a Siamese Russell's Viper, both "venomous and potentially fatal".  

   The first was spotted one evening just outside the glass door of Tuk's living room.  It headed for the street, and was captured by some locals, who took it elsewhere for safe release.  

   The more recent visit was discovered in the connected toilet area in back of Tuk's area.  This was once an old open toilet space, but has recently been covered with a roof and hosts her washing machine as well as refurbished toilets and shower.  The area is still open enough for critters to climb over the walls  -- we've had Monitor Lizards (aka, "monsters", as Tuk calls them) come in several times.  

   This second viper was found on the inside wall slithering along a water pipe.  Tuk called for help (which I believe was from the fire squad of the neighboring electric company), and a few guys showed up quickly with proper snake gear:  gloves, hooks and a bag.  They bagged it and took it away, with an attitude of "no big deal".  

   Folks here are quite casual about very venomous snakes  -- while I am not used to them  -- yet they freak out when encountering Monitor Lizards or Tokay Geckos.  But these recent viper visits have me a bit spooked, since they tend to have large litters.  I fear there is a nest nearby.  So, I will more carefully watch where I step at night.  

-Zenwind. 

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Baby Dove Took to Wing

 

  Last month, a pair of Zebra (aka, "Peaceful") Doves built a nest on my 2nd floor veranda, high up under the roof.  As they were building it, I was afraid of scaring them off, since I am frequently out there for shower, toilet and exercise.  After the hen  laid and remained sitting, she watched my daily movements and seemed to accept me  -- even my Tai Chi and energetic calisthenics. 

 She sat for about 3 weeks until one chick hatched.  The father would then come to stay with the chick while the mother went out to forage.  (I'll bet she was hungry by that time!)  She would return to feed her chick by regurgitating food as the chick stuck his (her?) beak into her mouth.  

  The little guy grew fast.  Within a week, he was standing up in the nest and flexing his wings.  His learning curve was fast.  Mother and father would both be at the nest and then fly off while he watched.  Then the nest was empty.  

  A couple of days later, baby bird flew up and perched on a nearby building, and then the parents flew in nearby.  That evening, the three of them settled down for the night together on window ledge, as one happy family.  This entire time, over a couple of months, was a very wonderful visit for me.  I wish them well.  

-Zenwind. 

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Exercising Again

 

   We are in the midst of our Rainy Season, and, although it has not been an extremely stormy one so far, a check of the day’s weather report is mandatory first thing in the morning.  One must choose the right umbrella for any extended outing:  a small compact one for a chance of rain; or a big one for almost certain downpours.  The right choice of footwear is also critical.  (I haven’t worn long trousers for many years; cargo shorts only, for both the heat and rain.) 

   A month ago, my urologist said I could start “light” exercising again, as long as I don’t “overdo it”.  (No hand weights yet.)  It’s now two months after prostate surgery, and I feel I’m slowly getting back on the trail.  I’ve now completed two-and-a-half weeks of my resumed marches to the river while climbing the high stairways.  Leaving the dumbbells behind, it just works my legs – as well as the basic aerobic workout.  Gotta keep those climbing muscles in tune!  I’ve also re-started my old gymnastic routine of Tai Chi, stretching, Yoga, and calisthenics.  Feels good. 

   A pair of birds – some kind of small gray doves – have been building a nest on my veranda.  It is on the site of an old nest from several years ago, high up under the roof at the top of a vertical steel beam.  (The previous family had lost one chick who fell out of the nest; it is a site safe from predators but is small and precarious.)  I try not to disturb them too much when I go out there for toilet, showers, laundry tasks, and calisthenics.  I think the eggs have just been laid, since the hen hasn’t left the nest for 24 hours now.  I wish them luck. 

-Zenwind. 

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Post-op Recovery

 

   Five weeks after TURP prostate surgery, and I’m doing well, although I’m going crazy from not exercising.  I see my urologist in a week, and he will let me know when and how much exercising I can begin. 

   I’ve been reading, watching movies, and getting weak, soft and fat.  I hope to reverse this slothfulness soon and start the task – like Sisyphus rolling his boulder up the mountain – of rebuilding strength. 

-Zenwind. 

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I'm Free!

 

   So long, Sancho Panza.  I’m finally free of the urinary catheters that I’ve been hooked up to and that have been my constant sidekicks for the last eight months.  I had been able to exercise quite hard with them, but they were exasperating annoyances. 

   A week ago, I had TURP surgery (Trans-Urethral Recission of the Prostate), and was in hospital for three nights recuperating.  The hospital staff were all great, and they made the bedrest time very pleasant.  When the catheter was removed, three days after surgery, and I could freely pee again, I was discharged.  After five or six days, my urine was free of visible blood.  And, I’ve never felt any pain the entire time. 

   It is so wonderful to at last be able to just jump into a pair of pants without the intricate hassle of rigging the catheter and tubes.  I no longer have to be super-careful about all my movements, lest I snag the tube. 

   Again, just like my preparation for my cataract surgery in November, I’m glad I waited until I was physically fit before opting for an operation that would force me to rest and be inactive for a while post-op.  My long routine of stair climbing with dumbbells made it so that now, with enforced rest, I still feel quite fit. 

   I will have a follow-up with my urologist in ten days, and he will advise me on when I can start exercising again and at what intensity.  I can hardly wait.  To stop moving is to stagnate.  Excelsior! 

-Zenwind. 

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Rainbow

   We had a nice cool rain this afternoon, and the air is now fresh and clean.  There was a nice rainbow high in the East South East.  It reminded me of the many times I would see one over the big chickencoop in Sugar Grove. 

   The weather reports have been calling for nearly certain rain showers each day, but, so far, they are often false alarms.  Yet one must have an umbrella when out, just in case.  But soon we will have steady rainy days. 

   I enjoy watching squirrels and birds from the back veranda.  Having my cataract surgery done was an excellent decision.  It is easier to use binoculars, and I don’t have to fumble with glasses.  Aristotle was right:  one of our great delights is our sense of sight. 

   I am a reading addict, so I must force myself to get up and exercise regularly.  Tomorrow is Sunday, my favorite morning for my stair climbing march down by the bridge, since there’s nobody on the sidewalks and it’s at its most quiet. 

   I’m feeling strong enough now to have my prostate surgery, which I will try to schedule for some time in July. 

-Zenwind. 

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Towel Day

 

   Today, May 25, is Towel Day, an important intragalactic holiday.  On this day, we hitchhikers proudly carry our towel everywhere to salute Douglas Adams (1952-2001), author of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.  Without his Guide, we would be lost in our galactic wanderings, and we would forget to always pack that essential towel. 

   Here in Thailand, our Hot Season has morphed into the Rainy Season.  It is still uncomfortably humid and hot, still Sweat City, and a towel is an absolute necessity as we slog through Samsara. 

   Re: my Roadwork exercise routine (high stair-climbing along the Chao Phraya River with 2kg weights in each hand; 6 steep stairways; 2.5km in 47 minutes).  I’m entering my 5th week of 3 sessions per week, and I’m starting to feel that power buzz.  It strengthens my legs, feet, back and gut. 

   This week I will consult with my urologist to plan upcoming prostate surgery.  I want to be sure to be fit and strong before it is done, as I will then spend downtime in hospital and recovery. 

-Zenwind. 

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Fat Cat, RIP

   The last of our cats has passed away.  Fat Cat died of old-age and increasing disability.  She was getting gray and weaker only in the last half-year.  She had wandered into our courtyard many years ago with no history, so we don’t know how old she really was.  At the time, we had other cats in the house, and she fought with them, so she lived outside under the eaves for a few years until they all died.  From homeless to housecat, she found numerous hideaway nooks in the house to sleep in private.  She was not an affectionate cat, but she did like Tuk, following her around. 

   Earlier, about one year ago or so, my cat, Pinky, died at 17 years old.  I never wrote about this, because I really didn’t know what to say.  She was special, and was very shy and stayed mostly in my room.  During the night, I would wake up to find her sleeping with her head resting on my ankle, so I had to be careful when moving or rolling over.  She liked to have her tummy rubbed and relished having her face brushed with a stiff brush.  I miss her. 

   In other news, I’m still chained to a urinary catheter and will need some major surgery so I can pee again.  The prostate has shrunk, but scar tissue is blocking my urethra.  I’m not sure how this surgery will go. 

   I have become determined to get physically fit before any serious operation, because I know I’ll be laid up for a while after.  So, I’ve begun my old heavy hands stair-climbing routine again.  Back to only 1 kg in each hand, I walk 2.5 km and climb 6 high stairways – stairs up to the river bridge and pedestrian flyovers.  I’m calling this routine my “Roadwork”, because it reminds me of boxers’ aerobic training.  Next week, I aim to wield 2 kg dumbbells.  That’s the plan, anyway. 

-Zenwind. 

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Earthquake

 

   Early this afternoon, we felt effects of the earthquake (7.7) that hit central Burma/Myanmar.  (My rough guess is that it was around 600 miles from us.)  It brought down a high building under construction in northern Bangkok and has shaken a lot of folks up, many of whom were evacuated into the street from high buildings.  This doesn’t happen much in Thailand. 

   I didn’t feel anything and didn’t even know there was an earthquake until Tuk came into my ground-floor kitchen very excited.  I had just returned from a grocery shopping trip and was busy unloading stuff from my pack.  I was on my feet and didn’t feel any ground motion at all.  The only unusual thing to me immediately upon my return was a noise from above in my second-floor area.  I thought it might be Tuk up there using a broom and being clumsy and noisy about it, hitting the wooden handle against the wall or stair railings – yet she rarely goes up there, so I was mildly puzzled. 

   Then Tuk comes into my kitchen exclaiming about an earthquake.  She went on about sitting in her ground-floor living room and thinking that she was dizzy; then she saw overhead powerlines outside swaying and heard the glass sliding doors on her living room rattle. 

   I was skeptical at first.  In my second-floor bedroom, I’ve often felt my bed sway any time big trucks and buses rumbled by on the street below.  It feels just like a mild earthquake.  Our old brick building sits on soft alluvial sediments, and it shakes like jelly when big vehicles go by, so I had always wondered what the effect of an actual earthquake would be like.  Scanning the news, BBC was first to break the news that an earthquake in Burma had indeed affected Bangkok.  And I think this explains the unusual knocking noises coming from upstairs. 

   Nothing in the house seems to have been damaged or even disrupted, nothing knocked over, etc. 

-Zenwind. 

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Last Cool Day; Exercise

 

   I think today will be the last cool one this season, because forecasts predict that, starting tomorrow, temperatures will rise radically along with much more intense humidity – i.e., oppressive dew points every day.  The dread Sweat City is approaching for the next several months. 

   Re: my exercise routines.  I stopped exercising after 21 November last year when I had my cataract surgery.  The eye doc forbad it since it would take a month for my eyes to heal.  Also, I stopped micro-dosing Cannabis then because I mainly use it for goading me to exercise, and I vaguely knew of its effects on eye pressure.  (Cannabis had historically been recommended for certain glaucoma treatment, since it affected eyeball pressure; I didn’t know the details, but I thought I should stop toking pot just to be safe.)  And, since marijuana is one of the most dramatic incentives for me to exercise with vigor, I lost the inspiration to work out. 

   In the weeks after my eye surgery, I had my prostate crisis.  Enlarged, but benign, prostate meant a catheter and the Rezum surgery on 3 January.  That surgery didn’t work.  The continuing need for a catheter is fundamentally restricting, and my old exercise routines of radical stair-climbing had to stop.  I have become a couch potato, only reading or watching films, not moving enough. 

   I have lost an incredible amount of muscle.  One worry is that, with weakening core muscles, my crippling sciatica pains will return.  I’ve already felt the beginnings of such pain.  What exercises could be possible to keep from collapsing into such downward-spiraling weakness?  Maybe some dumbbell work and Yoga for the upper body and core – while restricting the legwork only to stretches, moderate walks, and no radical stair climbing. 

   But my months of inactivity have let me slide into a mindset of sloth.  That’s a tough morass to clamber back up out of.  What can inspire me again?  Cannabis! 

   I have again tried micro-dosing with two tokes of weed.  It is amazingly transformative; in that it immediately gets me into a Tai Chi workout that is focused and that makes me work on so many different muscle groups with mindful concentration.  Not just token Tai Chi movements – but intense focus on all needed muscles that need waking up and care.  The incredible awareness of my physical body is beyond compare.  Cannabis is excellent medicine when used in moderation. 

   Also in these weed sessions, I moderately do my USMC calisthenics, Yoga and stretches.  Then I do the Tai Chi and calisthenics with lite dumbbells. 

   Throughout my life, a micro-dose of marijuana has encouraged me to physically move out, work out, and aspire to greater things.  It is life-affirming. 

   After full exercise routines today, I sat out on my camp lounger on the veranda, watching the day cool down.  Maybe the last comfortable evening for a while.  Pairs of birds race by.  The wind is still.  There’s a lot of silence, punctuated by bird calls.  Life is good. 

-Zenwind. 

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End of the Cool

 

   We’ve had remarkably comfortable weather for this, our “winter” Cool Season.  Nighttime lows have sometimes gotten down into the high 60s*F, and daytime highs rarely got up into the 90s.  Dewpoints have been consistently low for long stretches, longer than I can ever remember here, with an incredible lack of oppressive humidity and sweating.  The only discomfort is when you’re in the hot tropical sun. 

   This comfortable weather has made it easier for me to recover from eye surgery and ongoing prostate problems. 

   Unfortunately, higher dewpoints and temperatures will arrive soon as the extreme Hot Season looms ahead in the next couple of months.  And, most unfortunately, my prostate problems continue to disrupt my life. 

   I had prostate surgery on 3 January (the Rexum “steam treatment” therapy).  Luckily, prostate cancer has been ruled out, but my prostate is still extremely enlarged and I still have to wear a urinary catheter in order to drain my bladder.  This cramps my style, to say the least.  Like a ball and chain, I must wear my catheter – the current one is the third I’ve been fitted with over two months; I call its collection bag “Sancho III” – and it’s with me from bedtime to shower to any other activities of the day and night, 24/7.  The prostate has still not shrunk enough, so Sancho is by my side for the next two months.  I do hope that more prostate surgery will not be needed after that. 

   All my physical exercise programs had been halted, starting ten weeks ago when I had my eye surgery.  I still cannot exert myself with the catheter.  This lack of exercise is alarming.  In a couple of weeks, I will be 75, and, with aging, it becomes harder and harder to build up and maintain physical conditioning and strength.  (What was it that Moses said?  “Teach us to number our days, that we may get a heart of wisdom.” – Psalm 90)

   I’m numbering the days to when I’m free of this damn catheter and, hopefully, free of current prostate problems, and then I can start moving out again, rambling on foot (or, shuffling along as best I can), climbing stairs, working out with light weights, and generally getting strong again.  Hope is stubborn.  Maybe I’ll gain some wisdom out of the whole ordeal. 

-Zenwind. 

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