Headaches No More

I hate headaches. I am fortunate in that I seldom have a headache despite having rather constant sinus drainage which makes me clear my throat frequently. I try to remember to thank God every day when I am not experiencing a headache as I want to be grateful that my headaches are few and far between. In the past, I had some fairly severe headaches, usually caused, I think, by my sinus drainage. Perhaps, the greatest thing to happen to me was finding a drug that relieved me from headaches within an hour–cold and sinus medications. I began with Advil Cold and Sinus and transferred to the Walgreens medication of the same name. They share identical ingredients, but the Walgreen brand is less expensive. As we users know, all medicines have some side effects. My cold and sinus medication raises my blood pressure. I have therefore checked with my primary care physician who has cleared me to take the pills so long as I take them sparingly. When I go out-of-town, I always take these pills with me as they have changed my life for the better.

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No Little Teapot

Ten years ago, just before I met Dimitris on-line, I had a lady coming once a month to clean my house. Her name was Brandy. Brandy teased me about living in a bachelor house, which indicated she thought that the house could use a thorough cleaning which she proposed to do. While Brandy was coming here to do the housecleaning, I was using a silver whistling pot to heat up water every morning for my instant coffee. Over the years, pot had become tarnished and rather unkempt in appearance. Once, II was doing some errands while she was cleaning, I returned to find a sparkling clean tea kettle. Brandy had tired of looking at the unattractive piece of equipment in the kitchen and had used cleaner to make it look like new. I bragged and bragged. Although Brandy has not cleaned my house in a long time, she recently sent word to me that she had something she wanted to give me. It turned out to be a new teapot for boiling water. It is not an ordinary teapot but one that will certainly attract attention. What do you think of my new teapot?

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Reverse Expectations

I most enjoy movies and books that take me in a direction that makes me believe that there is an impossibility of a satisfactory denouement. I am not good at out-guessing authors and movie producers and am rewarded when the ending is both satisfying and rational. I dislike movies and books that have cop-out endings–such as identity changes like the one I read about in a Dean Koontz book entitled The Key to Midnight. One of the movies I thoroughly enjoyed was “Abel’s Field,” a Christian-themed movie that portrayed a seventeen-year-old young man who has the total responsibility for his family, including twin girls. After watching him deal with his awesome challenges, I was pleased with the satisfactory resolution of the movie. One of my favorite movies, “Dear Frankie,” is a movie about child abuse and a family in Scotland. In the middle of that movie, I was distressed, knowing for sure that there was no way the problems that had been presented could be resolved to my satisfaction…but they were. I must let you know too that I enjoy stories that take me in a direction that completely fools me when the denouement arrives. The best example I can think of for that genre is the short story, “A Perfect Day for Bananafish” by J. D. Salinger. I guess you can tell that I love good literature and well-done movies.

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Exposure

One of my biggest take-home impressions from the 2023 Oscars was the diverse way breasts were exposed: some minimally; others maximally. Some were peeping over the top, others from the side, and many at the bottom. I can’t help but visualize Mammy in “Gone with the Wind,” yanking up Scarlett’s bodice and saying, ‘Taint fittin.’ Of course, the stars are competing for the most bodacious dresses they can wear in order to be the frontrunner in the Oscar’s fashion show. We see a little more “breastage” every year. Where will it stop? Perhaps it will stop when men decide they too must get into the exposure gig. Then, instead of seeing the ordinary coats and ties, we’ll see nominees wearing partial see-through trousers, getting close to showing off their “gifts.”

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Playing with Words

I once had the privilege of traveling in Scandinavia. I was traveling with my friend Dave and his two friends, a dentist and his wife. The trip had begun in Russia and had progressed into Norway, Denmark, and finally into Sweden. We were in Stockholm where we had viewed many wonderful sights in that fair city and had decided to window shop. Window shopping for me was more window-looking as I did not have much money to spend on items unique to this country. However, I found that my traveling companions were fascinated so much with the glass works on display that we were stopping every minute or two at a new display. Tiring of the frequency of these ooh and ah stops and recognizing a chance to play with words, I turned to my companions and addressed them, asking politely if they could perhaps restrain themselves by learning to pass glass.

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Raising Cain

Dimitris is both an encourager and a criticizer when I don’t live up to my goals for surviving as a senior citizen. He shows his displeasure, when I walk bent over by pulling me up erect. I know that standing erect is what I need to be doing, at least as much as possible. It is a symptom of my osteoarthritis diagnosis. The lower back pain is most evident when I am walking with my cane. Recently, we noticed that the cane would perhaps be more beneficial if it were longer. Since it is adaptable, Dimitris moved it up one notch. That occurred yesterday so the “test drive” occurred this morning. It will take some getting used to, but I believe it will help. I grew up in South Carolina being told that I should never “raise Cain.” I still abide by that admonition but feel that this time my raising cane will keep me healthy and out of trouble. Since I enjoy playing with words so much, I probably should write a blog entitled “Cane and Able.”

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My Constipated Clock (repeat)

When my wife and I divorced, I moved out of the house and left almost everything behind. One of the things that she offered me later was my Centurion chiming clock which I had bought with my CITGO credit card. She didn’t want the clock; it was too noisy. That clock, which is now many years old, still works like a charm. It requires winding only once monthly, and its chimes greet me each morning…well, most mornings. During the years that I had a roommate, I was asked if there was a way to mute the clock, which is possible as there is a mechanism for turning on/turning off the chimes. The only problem is that when the chimes are turned off, the clock, instead of chiming on the hour and half hour, makes a strained sound as though it might be constipated. Now that I’m living here with Dimitris, the chimes are on again. I never hear the clock during the night, but I hear it each morning as it chimes five times, the time I should rise. I never wear a watch which keeps me from becoming a clock watcher, but I depend greatly on my chiming clock, my no-longer constipated companion.

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A Bad Hair Day

When I get into the tub to take a shower, I am blind. I can’t wear my glasses in there so I have to arrange things the way a blind person does. I know the place mat with the suckers on the underside is hanging on the side of the tub. I also know that there is a towel hanging on the back rack, and there is some soap in the soap dish. The shampoo and the conditioner are upside down with the shampoo in front of the conditioner which is closer to me. This week, my cleaning husband, who cleans only once a month, did his usual good job of getting our house in shape for another month. The morning after he had cleaned, I stepped into the shower as usual. I found the place mat and the soap–no problem. I always adhere to the “chain of command” regarding the shampoo and the conditioner in that the shampoo should always be used first. However, when I took the bottle in the forefront and rubbed it into my hair, it didn’t lather, leading me to believe that my housekeeper had reversed the bottles of shampoo and conditioner. What’s a “blind” man in the shower to do? It was a bit late to change so I decided to defy the normal order and risk having a bad hair day.

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A Shoe Story

I am not a clothes horse. I was told once that I had many very colorful shirts, but that was a long, long time ago. Because I now wear only long-sleeve shirts because of my getting chilled, I probably wear shirts that I would not have worn during my youth. I have big feet—size 12 D—and have to be careful of shoes, especially as I age. I have been told that I have neuropathy, a malady that causes shooting pain at times in my feet. I am therefore careful when selecting shoes. I recently bought new bedroom shoes that are warm and keep my feet feeling secure. I have one pair of dress shoes that I wear almost everywhere, including church. I noticed that the heels on those shoes that I have had for years were wearing down so took them to a nearby shoe shop, asking the owner if they could be salvaged. He agreed that they could if I were willing to pay $37.50. I picked them up this morning, and they look great. It is nice to have these shoes wearable again as they seem to know better than I where my feet are going. They also are the only pair of shoes I wear that I feel confident wearing when I am driving the car. By the way, the new heels are nice and “cushiony”.

Reader, if you are not a follower of my blog, go to bobosbest.wordpress.com. On the bottom of the right-hand corner, you will see the opportunity to sign up so that you receive this blog every time it is published. At present, I have 581 followers. I’m eager to have as many readers as possible. If you’re not already a follower, click on the word FOLLOW and enter your e-mail address. Thank you.

Breakfast at the Bear

Most everyone has his or her favorite restaurant. Ours is a small restaurant on Starkey Road by the name of the Golden Bear. I don’t know how it received its name, but I do know that it is Greek owned, which thrilled Dimitris who spoke to the owner in Greek. I was first introduced to the Golden Bear by a friend who took me there. I’m sure I did not realize when I left that morning that the Bear would become my favorite restaurant. As this story would have it, I invited my friend Dan Lawrence to have breakfast with me at the Bear as it was a midpoint for meeting. After that breakfast, I suggested that we meet there again to which Dan replied, “Would you mind if Glenda came also?” Glenda is his wife, and after that the three of us began to meet there frequently and continued to do so even after I met Dimitris. For a while, the Bear employed a waitress named Rosetta who insulted everyone and became beloved doing so. Last week, we returned to the Bear. So, Reader, if you want some good ol’ eggs, grits, and hash browns, join us at the Golden Bear one of these mornings.

Reader, if you are not a follower of my blog, go to bobosbest.wordpress.com. On the bottom of the right-hand corner, you will see the opportunity to sign up so that you receive this blog every time it is published. At present, I have 581 followers. I’m eager to have as many readers as possible. If you’re not already a follower, click on the word FOLLOW and enter your e-mail address. Thank you.