Can we have a forum for "older" people with bc?

Seems cloudy today --- hope for a bit cooler then. Anne -- hugs. Lots of hope and positive energies.

I don't think we had the fluoroscope thingy here for the Buster Brown shoes, though I wore them for a while. Still have my tonsils -- but do have a bad thyroid. It runs in the family --- my mother ( now deceased ) my sister ( now deceased ) and I all had it. Mime was bad for 7 yrs. before discovering what was going on. For years I had a heartbeat that was often erratic, a pulse to high to count, finally started losing wt. to the tune of going down to 112 lb.'s. This is REALLY slim for someone 5'8". Then I started filling up with water --- over 40 #'s worth upon discovery. Just by chance ran into a Dr. who had just found thyroid issues in his own daughter and he knew immediately what he was seeing.

You'd think this was cave man era -- it was the mid-80's. So, though things could have easily gotten extremely desperate for me, I was given a thyroid specialist ( a young Russian Dr. ) and though it took a while and three different episodes of drinking radiated iodine mixed in sterile water in a lead lined container ( with a straw ) I at last broke free and got well. I have taken thyroid meds ever since. I had a bad case of Graves disease and to this day have an enlarged area underneath my chin where the goiter resided for several months. Thyroids can be big deals sometimes.

Hope everyone is going to have a fantastic day.

I thought his name was "Tide".... Hah! Our girls loved those machines they stuck their feet in...

http://melbirnkrant.com/collection/page8.html

Anne, sorry to hear about all the pain you're having. Hope you get relief and a cure.

I'm having some achy pain in my upper back muscles that I used this morning for about an hour when I was mowing grass in camp sites with a push mower. Then I spent another hour or hour and a half helping my neighbor Mary clear a thicket of wild lilac bushes. Lots of bending over and clipping and gathering up branches. Despite the mild weather I got soaking wet with perspiration. The exertion is my substitute for going to the gym. Dh drove the truck to Kansas City for his wood turners' convention so I have no transportation to the gym.

This afternoon I will either make some whole wheat buns or start a crochet project. Hm.... I guess another option would be to fritter away the afternoon. LOL.

Happy Thursday.

As we let our light shine,
we unconsciously give other people
permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear,
our presence actually liberates others.
- Marianne Williamson

Ducky, You shud see what hey charge for ONE Viagra!!!!!

Us too, since my DH had his prostate cancer!

Warrior.....you said it so well.....in the same respect...I have right arm lymphedema.....Medicare will pay for a compression pump, which I tried and now own, (and it does shit)....you sit an hour in the morning and another in the evening with this big thing on your arm, and when you done you put your compression sleeve back on which is the reason for this "vent".......

Aetna paid almost $2,000 for this thing that is sitting in a corner of my house in a bag, ...."YET"....they do not pay for compression sleeves that cost about $50.00, and you get about 1 year use out of it........now some might say "well I got mine paid for"......and in some cases you might....but that is after you spend hours on the phone jumping through hoops with the people who know "shit" about why you need the sleeve, and its another 10 calls to you Dr's for them to contact Aetna to tell them "why you need the compression sleeve"......so I think I have made my point....I know its not Chemo, but I am so sick and tired of no one taking "Cancer" seriously......and thinking our problems are all in our heads......

So Warrior.....I'm with you.....and how do ;you like a Dr. who has gotten all his knowledge about cancer from a book, telling you that what is happening to you is not "real" because the "book" says it isn't......or the SE you get from a "med" is not real because the manufacturer says "that should not happen", when in reality. .....the Dr. never read the insert that came with inside the "box"....

Ok, I'm done.....good luck Warrior.....will be praying for you....

Be sure that it is not you that is mortal, but only your body.
For that person whom your outward form reveals is not
yourself; the spirit is the true self, not that physical figure
which can be pointed out by your finger.

Cicero

Ah! Saddle shoes when I was growing up. But alas mom wouldn't approve. I think in the end I wore her down and got them anyway

Pink, I went to Catholic school and Saddle shoes were part of our uniform!

I went to public schools too, and we didn't have a uniform code in grade school—except white blouse, red tie or scarf, and navy blue skirt (or pants for the boys) on Assembly days. If we were Scouts, we could wear those uniforms to Assembly instead. Eventually, the uniform code was relaxed to just white shirts or blouses with any skirts for girls (and any pants other than jeans for boys). Few restrictions on footwear, though sneakers were frowned upon for anything other than gym. Boots were verboten unless they were over-the-shoe galoshes, which had to be lined up on the closet floor below our coats. And we all got saddle shoes when they were cyclically in fashion (as were ruffled “Elizabeth Taylor" and side-buttoned “Dr. Kildare" blouses). However, gray flannel circle and poodle skirts were before my time. From grade school clear up through high school, girls were strictly forbidden to wear pants (except under dresses or skirts when the mercury was below 20F). In junior high, girls weren't allowed to wear sleeveless blouses or v-or-scoop-necks; and we had to wear ugly green one-piece gymsuits which had bloomer legs. We had to wear white canvas sneakers and polish them (or get dreaded demerits if we didn't).

In high school, the gymsuits had attached skirts (but outside of gym class, our skirts had to be no shorter than 1" off the floor when we knelt, as the Girls' Dean often made us do—with the result that I was the only Honor Society, aka Arista, member to serve detention). By then, we were all wearing stockings and pumps (flats or kitten heels), but pantyhose or stay-up thigh-highs were yet to be invented. So we had to wear either garter belts or girdles. Naturally, the locker room was in the basement, and the next class was always on the fourth or fifth floor (and only faculty & disabled students were allowed to use the elevator). We didn't want to be late, so many of us wore our stockings & girdles beneath our gymsuits, white socks and sneakers. We also used chalk to touch up our sneakers because white shoe polish stank and took too long to dry. But then one day, the gym teacher--as we sat on the floor, knees up & feet flat for attendance—began patrolling our ranks, randomly pinching legs to see if there were nylons on them and sweeping a finger across Keds to see if any telltale chalk came off (or the polish was still wet). I'm sure gym teachers were probably very nice women in real life, but back then they seemed petty tyrants who took particular delight in the power they had to wreck honor students' GPAs and even threaten being left back for poor performance at dodgeball or inability to pass the swim test.

I rejoiced when I graduated and went on to Brooklyn College, where the dress code was “no shoes, no shirt, no service." Jeans! Sleeveless shell blouses! V-neck tees! Sandals! Sneakers (whenever we wanted and as grungy as we cared them to be)! Anything that wouldn't get one arrested for indecent exposure on the subway was permissible. Then I rushed and pledged a sorority…and during pledge month, we had to wear dresses or skirts. Sigh.

Chilly here too, Jackie, though nothing like it was this morning up in Hayward, WI where I performed. (Carole, how far n. in MN is your summer resort? I was pretty far north of Minneapolis today, almost to Lake Superior). On the way home, in Milton, WI I saw a double rainbow at sunset—pretty neat considering it's Pride Weekend. Will post a pic later when I can upload it.

Having delightfully cool mornings here. Took up most of my day yesterday with dealing with a beautiful med to lt. gray cat that wondered into the building ( Sears ) where Dh works. It apparently happened the day/afternoon before as the opening manager was startled by being talked to as he was doing something else. I mentioned elsewhere -- around here many times -- if an older person passes away the remaining family often will just turn a beloved pet outside or drop it off in areas where they are aware that other homeless cats reside.

I believe ( but could be wrong ) they feel that the cat will do just fine. They don't always. To be accepted into an established colony is difficult as the pecking order works to make sure the new person is well aware they are LAST. These cats often have to wait for their opportunity to get scraps which may be all there is for the group. If these LAST residents are not good at hunting --- they may not eat well at all.

Many reasons why the cat came in --- but Dh called me to bring food which I did. All day long the manager became more and more enamored of the cat and decided he wanted to take it home with him. I came home and cleaned up a crate, got a dish and toy and clean small blanket for the crate. The cat was starving but viable. Ate well and very attentive to human interaction --- craving both the food and attention. I hope this 'marriage' takes.

Catch up day here then. Lots of fun things but it is okay. Bill paying needs to begin ( sigh ) but it happens every month. So I do expect a fun day filled to the brim. May check in at the store ( Sears ) and see how things went last night. I will of course, make my usual trip to Wally's World. So tiresome sometimes but at least we now have the bigger store so it can be often one-stop shopping. At least I can feel good about that.

Hope you are all going to have a fantastic day.

Forgot to mention --- my school was quite close to being a one room school. Many fond memories of it -- but we didn't have such a thing as dress code. The first three grades were in a small building that did have a stage -- how and why it got there I don't know. The BIG room housed 4th., 5th., and 6th., and there was a big swinging door and 7th., and 8th. were there. So some separation but generally scant.

Many kids just were lucky they could go to school every day as it was a fairly poor community. I have no regrets and feel fortunate that we had a situation where we were all WELL known by our teachers and each other. We were bused after grade school to the next small town to high school. It was a four yr. high school and again though a lot more students --- all were well known. Back then time moved way too slow most of the time --- and somewhere along the way it ( time ) sure caught up.

My Dad would make me put white polish on my saddle oxfords before I ever wore them. It just broke my heart, because they never had that new shine again. Still makes me feel sad when I think about it. I went to school in a town adjacent to an Air Force base. Everyone was having kids by the dozens and they had to build a new school all the time. I was in the 8th grade before I went to the same school for 2 years. There was only one high school and most of us knew each other. We just got back from DH's 60th high school reunion in Anchorage and will go to mine in Okla in Sept. They had a banquet for students and spouses and the next day a picnic for all years. The oldest graduate was 93. Both schools said it's the last reunion for our class. I went to my 50th and was surprised at how many couples in high school had married and were still together. DH and I met in college.

I just finished two hours of scanning photographs into my computer-all of them of my younger brother. I want to take him the originals when I see him this summer, but I want copies for my genealogy spreadsheets.

My SIL told me they had no pictures of my brother, other than their wedding pictures. I had taken eight boxes of photographs from my mother's apartment when she died last fall and am trying to get a genealogical photo record put together. I have managed to get through six of the boxes and found about 60 pictures of my brother.

My sister & I started the family trees years ago. Mother & I would visit the churches and cemeteries to get information and my sister did the family contacts. Together we got a lot of information. I learned how to sort & archive photographs using spreadsheets through the genealogy department in our library system. The manager of the department had been a supervisor of mine about 11 years ago, so we know each other well. He showed me how he has been doing his family photographs and later taught a class on it. It looks so neat and clean with each family group cataloged under tabs by years or surname. I am just starting, so mine are still in the chaotic stage.

~Wren~

Sadly, I only attended my ten year reunion and have never been notified of any others.