Random Comments/Stream of Consciousness Thread

[zelig]

Sorry for the loss Terry. I know how heartbreaking this can be. Thanks for sharing.

[herbertwest]

So sorry for your loss Terry

[Merlin1958]

Terry, that just about breaks my heart!!! I have also lost not one, but two very old pets, Indiana Jones & Hiedi during the last few years. It's heart wrenching. My condolences, my friend!!!

[Theli]

That's really rough Terry. My condolences. You and Worm keep your chins up.

[CRinVA]

Terry,

Gone but not forgotten! We lost Buddy a few years back but still he comes up in conversation often. "Remember when Buddy ...." or "wow, when our door opened a crack there was a flash as Buddy sped out the door." And man for a big old fat beagle you just couldn't catch him until he wanted to be caught!

Your post was heartfelt and the pictures wonderful. You couldn't have taken a nice final pic and Worm standing vigil over Thing's grave gives one chills for sure. Our furried family members could teach us a lesson or two! :-)

[Ockhamistic]

Terry,

Your picture of Worm waiting by Thing's grave has broken my heart. Hang in there. And give Worm a ton of love.

Sincerely,
Michael

[Sir_Boomme]

Thanks all for the kind words. I'm taking Worm on lots of long walks, lots of truck rides, lots of treats, and lots of lovin'.... hopefully if I keep him occupied enough, time will help us both cope. I've lost several fine dogs over the years , it's never easy, but this one was a little tougher because I lost Thing to melanoma... the same disease I've been fighting for 24 years now (three serious melanomas). My first one, was a class 4, back in 1991 - the doctor at MD Anderson told me if I had come in 2 months later, there wouldn't have been much he could do for me. Only 15% of the people with class 4's survive 5 years.
This brings home how close we all are to death.
From the time Thing had the surgery on his nose to remove the skin lesion.... it was only 3-4 months until he died. He died gasping for breath, the exact same way I watched my mother die (also in 1991 from emphysema caused by smoking)


Merlin/Bill... quit smoking damn you! You have people who care about you. Jerome I think you smoke too?, please stop.. people care about your skinny butt too.


Everyone else...stay out of the sun or use the sunscreen... and get anything questionable checked right away, don't put it off. I thought I was invincible in my 20's - it caught up with me in my 30's. If a hairy black dog can get melanoma on his nose and die within a handful of months... so can you.

[carlosdetweiller]

That is very good advice, Terry. Thanks for speaking up.

[CRinVA]

Excellent advice Terry. My sister just had her second Melanoma surgery - Dr. very confident he got it all, but it has left a nasty scar from the corner of her eye to her hairline!

Yes, while we all seem to think that we are or were invincible, something is always lurking in the corners to sneak up on you. Last year for me it was Bladder Cancer. Caught it really early (got lucky) and after a year of return checkups still no evidence of a recurrence yet. Having a Cystoscopy every three months is a small price to pay for getting the continued all clear signals! And for those curious that know or google Cystoscopy, know also that anesthesia is a wonderful thing! :-)

So if you notice anything different on your body - GET IT CHECKED!!!!

And you smokers, time to quit; lung cancer can be an ugly ugly thing - speaking as an ex two packs a day smoker - but having quit on Dec 7, 1979 - and never looking back! :-)

[Merlin1958]

Thanks for the good thoughts. I have tried to quit on several occasions and no dice. Longest I went was almost two months. After all the shit I've been through, health wise, if the smoking is the one that gets me then so be it. It's my last vice. We all gotta go someday and someway after all. May as well go with a smile on my face!! LOL

[Mr. Rabbit Trick]

I can only add my sympathy for your loss Terry. Losing a long term family pet is very hard.

And to the smokers...

I smoked (20-a-day) for 49 years and only stopped in October 2013. I could not have done it without using e-cigarettes, because it was actually the habit of puffing on a cigarette that was worse than the nicotine habit.

Try to give up. You will not regret it.

[Theli]

I should really get an e-cig. Don't smoke a ton (20 pack of cigars lasts me half a week) but I know it's probably just a matter of time before shit catches up.

[WeDealInLead]

My father in-law quit smoking cold turkey after forty years...but only after the surgery for throat cancer.

[Sir_Boomme]

Bill... I promise to donate $500.00 to the Haven fund if you can give up smoking for 6 months.

[The Library Policeman]

Really sorry for your loss, Terry. Stay strong buddy!


And Bill, you can do it! I'm off the cigs a full year this month!

[Merlin1958]

Bill... I promise to donate $500.00 to the Haven fund if you can give up smoking for 6 months.

For the 2015 HF? If so, you're on!!! It'll have to be on the honor system, but I am a man of my word and I still have a few packs of, Mark Ten E-Cigs (They don't count right?) I believe I have two dozen Nicotine patches left as well. I'll tell you what, the 6 mos will start from the day you donate the $500 and If I fuck up, I'll reimburse you. Deal?

For the HF, I will do this and who knows, if I can make 6 mos I can probably kick it for good.

[Sir_Boomme]

Bill... I promise to donate $500.00 to the Haven fund if you can give up smoking for 6 months.

For the 2015 HF? If so, you're on!!! It'll have to be on the honor system, but I am a man of my word and I still have a few packs of, Mark Ten E-Cigs (They don't count right?) I believe I have two dozen Nicotine patches left as well. I'll tell you what, the 6 mos will start from the day you donate the $500 and If I fuck up, I'll reimburse you. Deal?

For the HF, I will do this and who knows, if I can make 6 mos I can probably kick it for good.

It would be on the honor system... but then you are a pretty honorable guy. and I'm hoping that if you could go 6 mo. that you'd feel better to where you would decide to just keep going.


But.... trading cigs for E-cigs - not sure that is really a big health improvement...
to quote the FDA/CDC:


E-cigarettes, too, come with health and safety concerns. The problem? Liquid nicotine.
Liquid nicotine is extracted from tobacco, but unlike tobacco leaves, liquid nicotine can be lethal. It can cause harm when it's inhaled, but it can also be harmful when ingested or absorbed through your skin. Only a small dose is dangerous -- less than one tablespoon of many of the e-liquids on the market is enough to kill an adult, and as little as a teaspoon could kill a child) [source: Richtel]. The number of calls to poison control centers regarding e-cigarette nicotine-infused liquids rose sharply every month between September 2010 and February 2014, from just one call per month to as many as 215 -- that's a rise from 0.3 percent to 41.7 percent of all emergency calls. As many as 51.1 percent of those calls involved accidental poisoning of kids under the age of 5 (roughly 42 percent involved adults age 20 or older) [source: CDC].
Some testing suggests it's not only the nicotine that may be dangerous. Certain e-cigarette devices may also release metals during use -- including tin in some cases -- as well as other impurities known to be toxic and/or carcinogenic.




So here is the deal... 6 months cold turkey...
or 7 months... and the first three months you can use the E-cig crutch - the last 4 months you give up the crutch....


still want to play?

[George at C-Springs]

Happy to say I've never smoked anything in my life or taken an illegal drug, but I've had three skin cancer surgeries so far and they kinda suck. If it's not one thing it's another. Might as well make that another a really good scotch.

[Sir_Boomme]

Bill... strangely, this was just posted on my facebook feed by one of my best friends Shanda.... THIS is why you should stop smoking....for the people who care.


"My mother is dying tonight. I'm with my dad. I'm drunk and I'm so sad. 1. I HATE fucking cigarettes. I HATE the people who promote them. May they rot in hell. Forever. In damnation, whatever the hell that is. 2. Gotta admit, I'm not a fan of religion. Really? No clue to the afterlife? No clue to let the dying as well as those left to know that...we will meet again? Feels like a parlor game of the rich and the powerful. Fuck all of him/them. Amen."


My mother died 24 years ago from emphysema ... I'm still pissed off at her weakness and selfishness... and the grief she caused our family to go through.

[Sir_Boomme]

<== officially off his soapbox and going to bed now

[Merlin1958]

Bill... I promise to donate $500.00 to the Haven fund if you can give up smoking for 6 months.

For the 2015 HF? If so, you're on!!! It'll have to be on the honor system, but I am a man of my word and I still have a few packs of, Mark Ten E-Cigs (They don't count right?) I believe I have two dozen Nicotine patches left as well. I'll tell you what, the 6 mos will start from the day you donate the $500 and If I fuck up, I'll reimburse you. Deal?

For the HF, I will do this and who knows, if I can make 6 mos I can probably kick it for good.

It would be on the honor system... but then you are a pretty honorable guy. and I'm hoping that if you could go 6 mo. that you'd feel better to where you would decide to just keep going.


But.... trading cigs for E-cigs - not sure that is really a big health improvement...
to quote the FDA/CDC:


E-cigarettes, too, come with health and safety concerns. The problem? Liquid nicotine.
Liquid nicotine is extracted from tobacco, but unlike tobacco leaves, liquid nicotine can be lethal. It can cause harm when it's inhaled, but it can also be harmful when ingested or absorbed through your skin. Only a small dose is dangerous -- less than one tablespoon of many of the e-liquids on the market is enough to kill an adult, and as little as a teaspoon could kill a child) [source: Richtel]. The number of calls to poison control centers regarding e-cigarette nicotine-infused liquids rose sharply every month between September 2010 and February 2014, from just one call per month to as many as 215 -- that's a rise from 0.3 percent to 41.7 percent of all emergency calls. As many as 51.1 percent of those calls involved accidental poisoning of kids under the age of 5 (roughly 42 percent involved adults age 20 or older) [source: CDC].
Some testing suggests it's not only the nicotine that may be dangerous. Certain e-cigarette devices may also release metals during use -- including tin in some cases -- as well as other impurities known to be toxic and/or carcinogenic.




So here is the deal... 6 months cold turkey...
or 7 months... and the first three months you can use the E-cig crutch - the last 4 months you give up the crutch....


still want to play?

Oh man, this will be tough for a while, but hell yeah, I'll do it!!! You know I'm gonna put on some pounds!!! LOL Fuck it, it'll make my kids happy as well. Now my wife will have to deal with me for a couple of months, but after 35 years I guess she is used to me by now!!! LOL

Okay, Terry I'll play!!!

[Mr. Rabbit Trick]

You know I'm gonna put on some pounds!!!

Don't worry. Laser Liposuction was invented for that!

[Ari_Racing]

Bill... I promise to donate $500.00 to the Haven fund if you can give up smoking for 6 months.

For the 2015 HF? If so, you're on!!! It'll have to be on the honor system, but I am a man of my word and I still have a few packs of, Mark Ten E-Cigs (They don't count right?) I believe I have two dozen Nicotine patches left as well. I'll tell you what, the 6 mos will start from the day you donate the $500 and If I fuck up, I'll reimburse you. Deal?

For the HF, I will do this and who knows, if I can make 6 mos I can probably kick it for good.

It would be on the honor system... but then you are a pretty honorable guy. and I'm hoping that if you could go 6 mo. that you'd feel better to where you would decide to just keep going.


But.... trading cigs for E-cigs - not sure that is really a big health improvement...
to quote the FDA/CDC:


E-cigarettes, too, come with health and safety concerns. The problem? Liquid nicotine.
Liquid nicotine is extracted from tobacco, but unlike tobacco leaves, liquid nicotine can be lethal. It can cause harm when it's inhaled, but it can also be harmful when ingested or absorbed through your skin. Only a small dose is dangerous -- less than one tablespoon of many of the e-liquids on the market is enough to kill an adult, and as little as a teaspoon could kill a child) [source: Richtel]. The number of calls to poison control centers regarding e-cigarette nicotine-infused liquids rose sharply every month between September 2010 and February 2014, from just one call per month to as many as 215 -- that's a rise from 0.3 percent to 41.7 percent of all emergency calls. As many as 51.1 percent of those calls involved accidental poisoning of kids under the age of 5 (roughly 42 percent involved adults age 20 or older) [source: CDC].
Some testing suggests it's not only the nicotine that may be dangerous. Certain e-cigarette devices may also release metals during use -- including tin in some cases -- as well as other impurities known to be toxic and/or carcinogenic.




So here is the deal... 6 months cold turkey...
or 7 months... and the first three months you can use the E-cig crutch - the last 4 months you give up the crutch....


still want to play?

Oh man, this will be tough for a while, but hell yeah, I'll do it!!! You know I'm gonna put on some pounds!!! LOL Fuck it, it'll make my kids happy as well. Now my wife will have to deal with me for a couple of months, but after 35 years I guess she is used to me by now!!! LOL

Okay, Terry I'll play!!!

Great move! You deserve a Go Yankees!

[amd013]

Good luck to every one trying to quit!

As a kid I always tried to get my parents to quit. My Dad quit in the mid '80's, and my Mom tried to quit but couldn't, but she at least cut down. She finally managed to quite completely in early to mid '90's. In 1998 she had part of her lung removed, and suffered with COPD for the last 10-15 years of her life. In 2007 she was diagnosed with cancer. They never narrowed down what the source of it was, but I know in my heart it was lung cancer. She passed 2 months later. Watching my mother die was the worst thing. I don't wish cancer on my worst enemy. (fortunately I don't have one of those)

I now harp on my godson who smokes, and my nephew who chews (maybe smokes too).

Mike

[Sir_Boomme]

Bill... I promise to donate $500.00 to the Haven fund if you can give up smoking for 6 months.

For the 2015 HF? If so, you're on!!! It'll have to be on the honor system, but I am a man of my word and I still have a few packs of, Mark Ten E-Cigs (They don't count right?) I believe I have two dozen Nicotine patches left as well. I'll tell you what, the 6 mos will start from the day you donate the $500 and If I fuck up, I'll reimburse you. Deal?

For the HF, I will do this and who knows, if I can make 6 mos I can probably kick it for good.

It would be on the honor system... but then you are a pretty honorable guy. and I'm hoping that if you could go 6 mo. that you'd feel better to where you would decide to just keep going.


But.... trading cigs for E-cigs - not sure that is really a big health improvement...
to quote the FDA/CDC:


E-cigarettes, too, come with health and safety concerns. The problem? Liquid nicotine.
Liquid nicotine is extracted from tobacco, but unlike tobacco leaves, liquid nicotine can be lethal. It can cause harm when it's inhaled, but it can also be harmful when ingested or absorbed through your skin. Only a small dose is dangerous -- less than one tablespoon of many of the e-liquids on the market is enough to kill an adult, and as little as a teaspoon could kill a child) [source: Richtel]. The number of calls to poison control centers regarding e-cigarette nicotine-infused liquids rose sharply every month between September 2010 and February 2014, from just one call per month to as many as 215 -- that's a rise from 0.3 percent to 41.7 percent of all emergency calls. As many as 51.1 percent of those calls involved accidental poisoning of kids under the age of 5 (roughly 42 percent involved adults age 20 or older) [source: CDC].
Some testing suggests it's not only the nicotine that may be dangerous. Certain e-cigarette devices may also release metals during use -- including tin in some cases -- as well as other impurities known to be toxic and/or carcinogenic.




So here is the deal... 6 months cold turkey...
or 7 months... and the first three months you can use the E-cig crutch - the last 4 months you give up the crutch....


still want to play?

Oh man, this will be tough for a while, but hell yeah, I'll do it!!! You know I'm gonna put on some pounds!!! LOL Fuck it, it'll make my kids happy as well. Now my wife will have to deal with me for a couple of months, but after 35 years I guess she is used to me by now!!! LOL

Okay, Terry I'll play!!!

Remember... No cheating... I trust ya
Money will be forthcoming later tonight.


BTW.... got up and and checked Facebook... first thing I saw was this message from my friend Shanda.
"She died at 5:45 this morning."


I'd really hate to see a similar message regarding you any time soon. Believe me, after watching my mom die - bed-bound for the last year, gasping for breath (back in 1991), my dad having to carry her to the crapper and clean her up each time.... It's a really nasty undignified way to go.


Yeah, everyone has to die... but at least you can make the choice to take that one bullet out of the loaded gun in this life of Russian Roulette.
Right now you're playing the game with a fully loaded semi-auto clip... rather than a single bullet in a revolver.


Let me know when to start the clock.