Happy Birthday

 Eighty years ago, three baby girls were born within three weeks of each other-- one in New York, one in Wisconsin, and one in Pennsylvania.  These girls grew up to be exceptional women, raising a family, providing leadership to their church and schools, leading organizations they supported.  They made the world a better place.

 After many moves around the country, it seems they were destined to find each other living on Lake Norman in North Carolina.  They became friends.  They walked together earning the name Walker-Talkers as people heard them coming before they saw them. They vacationed together and were involved with the families of each other.

Their husbands became friends and planned celebrations in late August or early September to celebrate their joint birthdays.  They had picnics at home with friends; they traveled to the North Carolina mountains for a weekend; on one birthday, they were surprised by a limousine pickup to take them to a restaurant to dine with friends; on another birthday, they traveled to New York City.

Now that they are older, they celebrated their birthday with another dear friend and ex-Walker-Talker, Mary Beth, in a restaurant in Greensboro, North Carolina.  As Bill, Rick, and I watched them, we could see the excitement of them being together and see the love for each other.

Thank you, God, for Priscilla, Pam, and Aloma.  They have made the world a better place.

Seasoned Man

stevelem117@gmail.com

Too Many Surgeries

 In early May, Aloma had a hip replacement (it was successful and she feels much better than before the surgery).  Two weeks ago, I had a large Squamous Cell cancer removed from my forehead (easy surgery).  Three days ago, I had a joint in my big toe frozen with a metal bar screwed in.  It was painful the first night but is fine now except I’ll be in a boot for six weeks.

During the interview before the surgery, I was asked about previous surgeries.  I started listing them.  Tonsillectomy, appendectomy, two knee operations while still in high school, ten more knee operations during the next 20 years, two knee replacements, two hernia repairs, broken hip repair, knuckle on hand frozen.  I didn’t mention dozens of skin surgeries.

What if I lived a hundred years ago?  I’d be bedridden or probably dead.  I was embarrassed to list so many surgeries, but I guess I should be grateful and be thankful for modern medicine.

I’ve read that every time one is under general anesthesia, brain functioning is lost--forever.  No wonder I can’t remember who Rumpelstilskin is. 

Seasoned Man

stevelem117@gmail.com

Moutain Vacation

 While we love the summers in North Carolina, they can get hot and humid during July and August.  For the past few years, we’ve gone to Sapphire Valley/Cashiers, North Carolina for a weeks’ break from the hot weather.  Our last trip was a couple of weeks ago.

On past trips, we would hike to a different, beautiful waterfall every day.  This year was different.  Aloma had a hip replacement two months before and was not up to hiking.  She did walk around an exercise track near our resort without any problems.  Last year with a bad hip, she had to sit four times just to finish the walk around the track.

The weather was perfect for the mountains.  High temperatures during the day were in the mid-seventies.  It did rain off and on for the first few days, but that is part of the mountain experience for us.

Other than cooking fresh mountain vegetables for dinner one night, we ate lunch out every day and had snacks at night.  Mostly, we read, talked, and sat on our deck looking at the woods behind our condo.

We feel fortunate that we could visit the mountains again.

Seasoned Man

stevelem117@gmail.com