And, my apologies ...................................

we were having "issues" with our 'Net provider - something about "corrupted information packets" between the local server & our abode ...................... I tried eMailing Gay Cynic, but it didn't even get out of the gate - so please, all, take a gander at his {requested by me} column, Requested Post ........................ I asked him to address a lack of respect I've observed between couples ........................ and trust me, it doesn't matter if the "couple" involved is straight, gay or lesbian - there HAS to be respect, first, last & always ................................ ;-)

OK, so the Goddess is ordering all minions she's linked ..................................

to list songs from our individual/collective "yoot" ......................... here's the thing - my birthday is in early December; also, earlier that year, I had the WONDERFUL opportunity to work at a radio station {in a clerical capacity} where the format {the kinds of songs they play} was middle of the road - the DJ's first song could be the Allman Brothers, and the next Frank Sinatra or Paul Anka ............................. ;-) {Billy Joel wasn't the force he later became} ........................... so there are a LOT more than 5 or 10 songs for me to choose from ......................... but the 3 below pretty much capture what I was 1) going through or 2) what I hoped for ...................... ;-)

Now, for the rest of the "meme" -
1. Go to the Billboard #1 Hits listings ;
2. Pick the year you turned 18;
3. Get nostalgic over the songs of the year;
4. Pick 5 songs and write something about how these songs affected you;
5. Pass it on to 5 more friends.


"AT SEVENTEEN"
By Janis Ian

I learned the truth at seventeen
That love was meant for beauty queens
And high school girls with clear skinned smiles
Who married young and then retired
The valentines I never knew
The Friday night charades of youth
Were spent on one more beautiful
At seventeen I learned the truth...

And those of us with ravaged faces
Lacking in the social graces
Desperately remained at home
Inventing lovers on the phone
Who called to say "come dance with me"
And murmured vague obscenities
It isn't all it seems at seventeen...

A brown eyed girl in hand me downs
Whose name I never could pronounce
Said: "Pity please the ones who serve
They only get what they deserve"
The rich relationed hometown queen
Marries into what she needs
With a guarantee of company
And haven for the elderly...

So remember those who win the game
Lose the love they sought to gain
In debitures of quality and dubious integrity
Their small-town eyes will gape at you
In dull surprise when payment due
Exceeds accounts received at seventeen...

To those of us who knew the pain
Of valentines that never came
And those whose names were never called
When choosing sides for basketball
It was long ago and far away
the world was younger than today
when dreams were all they gave for free
to ugly duckling girls like me...

We all play the game, and when we dare
We cheat ourselves at solitaire
Inventing lovers on the phone
Repenting other lives unknown
That call and say: "Come on, dance with me"
And murmur vague obscenities
At ugly girls like me, at seventeen...



FREE MAN IN PARIS
Joni Mitchell

"The way I see it," he said
"You just can't win it...
Everybody's in it for their own gain
You can't please 'em all
There's always somebody calling you down
I do my best
And I do good business
There's a lot of people asking for my time
They're trying to get ahead
They're trying to be a good friend of mine
I was a free man in Paris
I felt unfettered and alive
There was nobody calling me up for favors
And no one's future to decide
You know I'd go back there tomorrow
But for the work I've taken on
Stoking the star maker machinery
Behind the popular song
I deal in dreamers
And telephone screamers
Lately I wonder what I do it for
If l had my way
I'd just walk out those doors
And wander
Down the Champs Elysees
Going cafe to cabaret
Thinking how I'll feel when I find
That very good friend of mine
I was a free man in Paris
I felt unfettered and alive
Nobody was calling me up for favors
No one's future to decide
You know I'd go back there tomorrow
But for the work I've taken on
Stoking the star maker machinery
Behind the popular song.


Second Avenue
T. Moore

Since we can no longer make it, girl,
I found a new place to live my life.
It's really no place at all,
Just a hole in the wall, you see.
It's cold and dusty but I let it be,
Livin' here without you,
On Second Avenue.
And since our stars took different paths,
I guess I won't be shavin' in your looking glass.
Guess my old friendly grin,
Must have started to dim, somehow,
And I certainly don't need it now,
Still, I keep smiling through,
On Second Avenue.
I can still see you standing
There on the third-floor landing.
The day you visited we hardly said a word.
Outside it was rainin',
You said you couldn't be stayin,
And you went back to your flowers and your birds.
Since we can no longer see the light
The way we did when we kissed that night,
Then all the things that we felt,
Must eventually melt and fade,
Like the frost on my window pane
Where I wrote, "I Am You,"
On Second Avenue.

AND, anyone who wishes may take part in this exercise ......................... ;-)

From my LtColonel ............................ remember what Memorial Day is all about .................................

The Left Handed Salute
The color guard passed in review, the banners flying high...
And the crowd stood silent in respect... Old Glory passing by.

There were no protests at the scene... Just Americans proud and true...
to honor the colors of our nation, the red, the white, the blue.

Many were the veterans... Wearing medals of wars long past...
And the young were wearing uniforms... As the colors moved slowly past.

There was in the crowd an old man standing... His legs were bent with years...
But the sight of our proud flag... To his faded eyes brought tears.

His old form worn and trembling... His clothes tattered and not regal...
But on his breast there shined an emblem...the Anchor, Globe and Eagle.

And as the colors passed on by... He stood there stern and mute...
With tears streaming from his faded eyes... He raised his hand to salute.

Now his stance was not of what they teach ... In the military way...
His feet misplaced and back was stooped... But he never once did sway.

Then a young lad wearing the uniform of a United States Marine...
Came to the old man standing there... And said Sir you're causing a scene...

You see I must tell you now... And my words you may refute...
But you must never to our flag... Give a left-handed salute.

I see you have the Globe, Anchor and Eagle there upon your chest...
And I question if you ever served... With what is America's best.

We've fought in every American war since 1775...
And Marines have always gave their all...and thousands fell and died.

The old man looked with shameful eyes at the young lad by his side...
And said Marine I realize... You must think I have no pride.

But you see young Marine an old man here... One armed and barely alive...
My other arm I left in the sand.... On Iwo Jima in '45.

Many were my buddies that fell on that hot black sand,
and I made a vow I would never forget... The price they paid for our great land.

Yes, I too was a Marine young lad... Perhaps not as good as you...
But we fought and died the same way then... For the Corps, and the red, white and blue.

So don't judge harshly I beg of you... This old man in his final day...
but as a Marine of yesterday... Please let me my homage pay.

Yes, let me pay my respect to my buddies... Who fell so long ago...
And as the colors pass us by...please try and understand ...
The only way that I can salute is with my old left hand.

The young Marine stood silent... Then with tears clouding his bright eyes...
He came to attention proud and tall as the colors passed on by.

He stood there at attention beside the old man bent and stooped...
but he whispered a soft "Semper Fi" as he slowly raised his left hand in salute.



Semper Fi to all Marines, Past Present and Future from the pen of cd sliger, USMC 1957-1960

Hmmmmmm, so DragonWatch tagged me ………………….. ;-)

for a restaurant meme ……………………….
The rules: add your name to the list,
Pick five people and notify them,
List your five favorite eating spots at your location. {I explain my choices below}
The List:
Nicole (Sydney, Australia)
velverse (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)
LB (San Giovanni in Marignano, Italy)
Selba (Jakarta, Indonesia)
Olivia (London, England)
ML (Utah, United States)
Lotus (Toronto, Canada)
tanabata (Saitama, Japan)
Andi (Dallas [ish], Texas, United States)
Lulu (Chicago, Illinois, United States)
Chris (Boyne City, Michigan, United States)
AB (Cave Creek, Arizona, United States)
Johnny Yen (Chicago, Illinois, United States)
Bubs (Mt Prospect, Illinois, United States)
Mob (Midland, Texas United States)
Yas (Ahwatukee, Arizona USA)
RSP (Scottsdale, AZ USA)
Ralphd00d (Phoenix, AZ USA)
DW (South East US)
Diamond Mair (near Houston, TX)

See, the PROBLEM is, I’ve yet to find any restaurants that really impress me here in the Houston area …………………………… so if you’ll indulge me …………………………. ;-)

#1 – All-time favorite – Penzione Stara Roudna, Plzen, Czech Republic. It’s a family enterprise, and the “cook” {what a denigrating term for what he does} is their son – for the single ladies out there, he’s also awesome eye candy – who trained at the Cordon Bleu, Paris – his “steak” would provide dinner for a family of four – almost a full kilo {2.2 pounds} of beef …………………….. he also makes a to-die-for mixed grill {you’ll want to give them 24 hours’ notice, and have a party of at least 4} ……………………. If she’s still alive, Angie may wander over to your table – she was an ancient old dog when I saw her last, but she’s the official “welcomer” – just please don’t take photos of her with a flash, as it scares her.

#2 – Amory’s Wharf, Portsmouth, VA – my very first introduction to Oysters Rockefeller ………………………. SIGH!! None since have measured up ……………………….. GREAT seafood, beautiful view …………………………………

#3 – Spring Valley Inn, just outside Bethlehem, PA – there’s a trout pond where you can choose your dinner – great rainbow trout – had a great evening there, overindulging in Windex {kamikazes with Blue Curacao} – they also used to have a musician playing a harp there on occasional evenings ………………………….

#4 – El Paraiso, San Agustin, Monterrey, Nuevo Leon – a very comfortably formal dining experience – the food , no matter what you order, is excellent – a good place for either a business dinner or a gathering of friends.

#5 – Los Vientos de Garcia, Grutas de Garcia, Nuevo Leon – owned by friends of ours, it is a pensione-style hotel/restaurant ……………………… a place to get away from the at-times overwhelming hustle of Monterrey – if you give Abe & Martha a ‘heads-up’, they’ll prepare a melt-in-your-mouth beef brisket, cooked in an old adobe oven on the patio ………………………….. and there’s “American” TV available in the rooms ……………………………………


~~~~~

OK, I'm tagging Ambulance Driver, Crusader Rabbit, Holly the Goddess, Flying Flo and LawDog ............................ ;-)

If I may recommend ..........................

this links to the first 3 of a 4 part article in the San Antonio Express-NewsBreaching America: War refugees or threats? - the reporter's bona fides are To document the hidden world of special-interest aliens, San Antonio Express-News reporter Todd Bensman and photographer Jerry Lara traveled to Damascus, Syria; Amman, Jordan; throughout Guatemala; the southern border state of Chiapas, Mexico; Brownsville and elsewhere along the Texas border; and Michigan. Bensman documented routes used by smugglers to move immigrants from Islamic countries, including a popular one from Syria to Texas traveled by Iraqi refugee Aamr Bahnan Boles.
The Express-News hired Arabic language interpreters in Syria, Jordan and Texas, where Boles was first interviewed extensively. Bensman obtained materials from overseas smuggling investigations and hundreds of daily intelligence summaries reflecting Texas border crossings. He interviewed U.S. and Mexican law enforcement officials in both countries, and examined U.S. court records from a dozen federal smuggling prosecutions. Some dialogue and scenes described in this series were reconstructed based on interviews with Boles and, when possible, others who were present.

If you weren't angry/anxious before, you WILL be after reading it ......................

OK, anyone ELSE ready to stroke out over this??

Bush removes provision requiring back taxes from illegal immigrants

Not only are we by-God going to have amnesty crammed down our collective citizens' throats, but WE get to cover the freakin' illegals' tax bill ..................... somebody needs to use a clue-by-four on Chertoff - if they can't get'em for taxes, how in the HELL will they ensure that terrorists aren't dumped on us yet AGAIN???

Crusader Rabbit is spun up .........................................

about a piece o'garbage who has an American connexion, who decided that a video game based on the Virginia Tech massacre is necessary, complete with a {"joke"} ransom demand ..................... the mother of this p o'g is here in the States, supporting him {which has GOT to be a pain in the dupa, getting the monies from here to there} - he's 21, and apparently "feels" that HE had a rough childhood here in the U.S. ............................ ye-eah, not a lot of sympathy here .........................\

Got a {some?} questions ..................................

is it possible that a lot of the problems 'we' as a society are experiencing are the result of the determination that "self-esteem" is the Holy Grail of emotional development, causing the loss of "self-respect" as a determinant?

Every time I turn around, I'm hearing how peoples' 'self-esteem suffers' - but it seems to me that if they were proponents of 'self-respect' their self-esteem would be OK - self-respect would allow one to make mistakes, but to LEARN from them - if self-esteem is the only measure, everything devolves to subjective "feelings" ............................ maybe I'm too parsing of semantics - I don't say people are 'creative', I call them artistic - "creative" implies that they make something from NOTHING - far as I know, there is only one truly Creative Force .............................. and none of US are IT ........................... ;-)

Reverend Jerry Falwell has died ..........................

While I make no apologies for my ideological differences with the man, I had to respect him because as far as I know, he truly lived his convictions ........................ he came across as too strident and judgemental, IMO, but I never heard the slightest whisper that he didn't hold himself to the same standards he demanded of others ........................... {unlike Jimmy Swaggart, Jim Bakker, and all the Catholic priests who we've come to know are pedophiles} - may he rest in peace ..............................

I make no pretense of understanding economic indices ....................................

but this link was provided with the comment that, since 1973, men's wages {adjusted for inflation} have pretty much flat-lined chart on page 18 ............................ women's wages, in 1973 considerably less than men's, evidence an even greater disparity today ........................... but our economy is doing well, right?

Bleah .......................... I say we 'un-elect' ALL politicians in 2008 and start with a clean slate ...............................

Sent this as eMail to "my" Guys ........................

Hmmmmmmm, think maybe I have a 'hook' to run for office on? Come to think of it, I'd make a lousy politician ....................... ;-) Similarly to AD, my "filter" would just get stuck in the 'Off' position ;-)

I've been involved in animal welfare issues for the better part of 35 years {NOT the
PETA-type - I've stood for animals which were abused/neglected}
.......................................... back in '72 or '73, at age 16, I testified before Congress, regarding the laws concerning animals in transport. At that time, I tried to make the case that what was needed was NOT "new laws"; rather, that enforcement of existing laws would suffice.

The more I hear of how more & yet MORE laws are crucially necessary to "fix" the immigration mess, the more I want to stand up and scream "STOP! The only law that needs to be changed is the 'anchor baby' interpretation of the 14th Amendment - it needs to be delineated as having served it's purpose, and is NO LONGER NECESSARY" ................

God knows, we have MORE than enough laws on the books - they need to be enforced - we DON'T need 'new laws' that either won't be enforced, or will be selectively
enforced .....................................

From my LtColonel ............................ ;-)

MOTHER

This is a truly BEAUTIFUL piece. Please read this at a slow pace, digesting every word and in leisure...do not hurry....this is a treasure...

For those lucky to still be blessed with your Mom, this is beautiful. For those of us who aren't, this is even more beautiful. For those who are moms, you'll love this.


The young mother set her foot on the path of life. "Is this the long way?" she asked.

And the guide said: "Yes, and the way is hard. And you will be old before you reach the end of it.. But the end will be better than the beginning."

But the young mother was happy, and she would not believe that anything could be better than these years. So she played with her children, and gathered flowers for them along the way, and bathed them in the clear streams; and the sun shone on them, and the young Mother cried, "Nothing will ever be lovelier than this."

Then the night came, and the storm, and the path was dark, and the children shook with fear and cold, and th e mother drew them close and covered them with her mantle, and the children said,"Mother, we are not afraid, for you are near, and no harm can come."

And the morning came, and there was a hill ahead, and the children climbed and grew weary, and the mother was weary. But at all times she said to the children," A little patience and we are there." So the children climbed, and when they reached the top they said, "Mother, we would not have done it without you."

And the mother, when she lay down at night looked upat the stars and said, "This is a better day than the last, for my children have learned fortitude in the face of hardness. Yesterday I gave them courage. Today, I've given them strength."

And the next day came strange clouds which darkened th e earth, clouds of war and hate and evil, and the children groped and stumbled, and the mother said: "Look up. Lift your eyes to the light. " And the children looked and saw above the clouds an everlasting glory, and it guided them beyond the darkness." And that night the Mother said, "This is the best day of all, for I have shown my children God."

And the days went on, and the weeks and the months and the years, and the mother grew old and she was little and bent. But her children were tall and strong, and walked with courage. And when the way was rough, they lifted her, for she was as light as a feather; and at last they came to a hill, and beyond they could see a shining road and golden gates flung wide. And mother said, "I have reached the end of my journey. And now I know the end is better than the beginning, for my children can walk alone, and their children after them."

And the children said, "You will always walk with us, Mother, even when you have gone through the gates." And they stood and watched her as she went on alone, and the gates closed after her. And they said: "We cannot see her but she is with us still. A Mother like ours is more than a memory. She is a living presence......."

Your Mother is always with you.... She's the whisper of the leaves as you walk down the street; she's the smell of bleach in your freshly laundered socks; she's the cool hand on your brow when you're not well.

Your Mother lives inside your laughter. And she's crystallized in every tear drop.

She's the place you came from, your first home; and she's the map you follow with every step you take. She's your first love and your first heartbreak, and nothing on earth can separate you.

Not time, not space... not even death!


MAY WE NEVER TAKE OUR MOTHERS FOR GRANTED..

May I be permitted a 'happy dance'?

My blog has gone international, with a link at Crusader Rabbit .......................... what a GREAT way to start the day!!

Man, the bragging rights are gonna be awesome today ...................... ;-)

My aching ...............................

sense of outrage - NBC is calling the loons who want to attack Fort Dix "homegrown" ........................ EXCUSE ME?!?!?! Not ONE of them was born in the U.S. - they got their incentive from InterNet jihad sites, all in languages other than English .........................

I dunno .......................... maybe I'm being too demanding on what constitutes "homegrown" - blame it on my being born at the Naval Hospital, Quantico ...................... Timothy McVeigh was 'homegrown' ...................... what's next, the 9/11 Nineteen's "disaffection" was a result of the old Noxema "Take it off - take it ALL off" commercials?

Is the MSM THAT stupid, or worse, do they think we're that stupid?

Gotta wonder about the voters of Maryland .................................

electing the likes of Steny Hoyer - he wants the U.S. to pay reparations to the people of Guam ........................ for what awful act, you ask? For the actions of the Imperial Japanese military in World War II ............................. WTF, over? OUR Soldiers, Sailors, and especially, Marines, shed blood and DIED to liberate Guam - and this gasbag has somehow convinced himself that WE owe the Chamorro?
Here's the link that will take you to the bill .............................. head shaking in bemusement .........................

A friend posts this on "my" Marine message board .................................

Carolyn McCarthy grabs for guns again .......................... as another friend {and, no doubt, Holly! ;-) } say, MOLON LABE ........................ as far as replying to the post, we've had issues with trolls, so you have to create & register a profile before you can post there, but it isn't for Marines only - we've a retired Army 1stSgt who stops by occasionally .......................

From Little Green Footballs .............................

Holy Warriors Booby Trap Girls' School
The mujahideen keep giving us new definitions for the word “evil:” Military: New Iraqi school had bombs built in.
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) — American soldiers discovered a girls school being built north of Baghdad had become an explosives-rigged “death trap,” the U.S. military said Thursday.

The plot at the Huda Girls’ school in Tarmiya was a “sophisticated and premeditated attempt to inflict massive casualties on our most innocent victims,” military spokesman Maj. Gen. William Caldwell said.

The military suspects the plot was the work of al Qaeda, because of its nature and sophistication, Caldwell said in an interview with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer.

The plot was uncovered Saturday, when troopers in the Salaheddin province found detonating wire across the street from the school. They picked up the wire and followed its trail, which led to the school. Once inside, they found an explosive-filled propane tank buried beneath the floor. There were artillery shells built into the ceiling and floor, and another propane tank was found, the military said.

The wire was concealed with mortar and concrete, and the propane tanks had been covered with brick and hidden underneath the floor, according to a military statement. Soldiers were able to clear the building.

“It was truly just an incredibly ugly, dirty kind of vicious killing that would have gone on here,” Caldwell said.

But the U.S. is the 'great Satan', right?

THIS is what an extreme example of what I mean when I refer to 'differences' in cultures ........................... granted, we have our 'lone psychos' committing abominable acts - occasionally, we have the 'folie à deux' {the sharing of delusional ideas by two people who are closely associated}, where 2 psychos find each other {Columbine} - please understand right now, I realize that most 'psychos' are, in fact, sociopaths/asocial personalities - creatures without a conscience, without the capacity for empathy - and we seem to have developed more than our fair share of the 'loner' variant - but you cannot convince me that the people who perpetrate such monstrosities as noted above are not sociopaths, one and all ..................... there is no more compassion than most exhibit for pesky insects - there is NO recognition of their victims as human, with the right to life.

It isn't too surprising, therefore, that those from OUR culture who would demand that the rest of us just roll over and surrender to the cant that "all cultures are equal" are many of the same people who insist that abortion-as-birth-control is a 'human right' {not much in the way of rights for the fetus, though} - the sooner that Western culture is eradicated, so goes much of the thinking, the better ...........................

Michelle Malkin has had the phrase "I will not submit" translated into some Arabic characters - that's going to be my next tattoo - when I get my EGA & rose re-done, it will be nearby ................................

Folks, the line has been drawn in the sand - hell, if you didn't notice, it was dug as a TRENCH on 9/11 - WE need to make decisions, as to what we will do, as individuals and communities ....................... this includes many more aspects than just the GWOT - illegal immigrants demanding 'rights' in this country is right up there in priority - I don't get in someone's face re: abortion {my spousal unit is pro-choice}, but if asked, I will give my opinion {it needs to be available for rape/incest; but I've met women who have decided it was a method of birth control, ie, repeated abortions; it should NOT be taxpayer financed} ............................ just my thoughts on the 'culture wars' ............................

If I may ask your collective indulgence, please keep my spousal unit in your thoughts tomorrow - it's the one year anniversary that his 'Miss Sylvie' died - she'd been with him 18 years - her ashes are on his bookcase in his home office ......................... she was a sweet old girl, who would play like a kitten almost to the very end ......................... St. Francis, please give her some Pounce, catnip and some lizards to chase ....................... we miss you, Miss Sylvie ...........................

From my retired LtCol ................................. IMPORTANT FOR WOMEN!!

Female Heart Attacks

I was aware that female heart attacks are different, but this is the best description I've ever read.

Women and heart attacks (Myocardial infarction - MI)

Did you know that women rarely have the same dramatic symptoms that men have when experiencing heart attack... you know, the sudden stabbing pain in the chest, the cold sweat, grabbing the chest and dropping to the floor that we see in the movies. Here is the story of one woman's experience with a heart attack.

"I had a completely unexpected heart attack at about 10:30 pm with NO prior exertion, NO prior emotional trauma that one would suspect might've brought it on. I was sitting all snugly & warm on a cold evening, with my purring cat in my lap, reading an interesting story my friend had sent me, and actually thinking, "A-A-h, this is the life, all cozy and warm in my soft, cushy Lazy Boy with my feet propped up."

A moment later, I felt that awful sensation of indigestion, when you've been in a hurry and grabbed a bite of sandwich and washed it down with a dash of water, and that hurried bite seems to feel like you've swallowed a golf ball going down the esophagus in slow motion and it is most uncomfortable. You realize you shouldn't have gulped it down so fast and needed to chew it more thoroughly and this time drink a glass of water to hasten its progress down to the stomach.

This was my initial sensation---the only trouble was that I hadn't taken a bite of anything since about 5:00 p.m. (this was now 10:30pm)

"After that had seemed to subside, the next sensation was like little squeezing motions that seemed to be racing up my SPINE (hind-sight, it was probably my aorta spasming), gaining speed as they continued racing up and under my sternum (breast bone, where one presses rhythmically when adminstering CPR). This fascinating process continued on into my throat and branched out into both jaws.

"AHA!! NOW I stopped puzzling about what was happening--we all have read and/or heard about pain in the jaws being one of the signals of an MI happening, haven't we?

I said aloud to myself and the cat, "Dear God, I think I'm having a heart attack !" I lowered the foot rest, dumping the cat from my lap, started to take a step and fell on the floor instead. I thought to myself "If this is a heart attack, I shouldn't be walking into the next room where the phone is or anywhere else.......but, on the other hand, if I don't, nobody will know that I need help, and if I wait any longer I may not be able to get up in moment."

"I pulled myself up with the arms of the chair, walked slowly into the next room and dialed the Paramedics... I told her I thought I was having a heart attack due to the pressure building under the sternum and radiating into my jaws. I didn't feel hysterical or afraid, just stating the facts.

She said she was sending the Paramedics over immediately, asked if the front door was near to me, and if so, to unbolt the door and then lie down on the floor where they could see me when they came in.

"I then laid down on the floor as instructed and lost consciousness, as I don't remember the medics coming in, their examination, lifting me onto a gurney or getting me into their ambulance, or hearing the call they made to St. Jude ER on the way, but I did briefly awaken when we arrived and saw that the Cardiologist was already there in his surgical blues and cap, helping the medics pull my stretcher out of the ambulance.

He was bending over me asking questions (probably something like "Have you taken any medications?") but I couldn't make my mind interpret what he was saying, or form an answer, and nodded off again, not waking up until the Cardiologist and partner had already threaded the teeny angiogram balloon up my femoral artery into the aorta and into my heart where they installed two side by side stents to hold open my right coronary artery.

"I know it sounds like all my thinking and actions at home must have taken at least 20-30 minutes before calling the Paramedics, but actually it took perhaps 4-5 minutes before the call, and both the fire station and St. Jude are only minutes away from my home, and my Cardiologist was already to go to the OR in his scrubs and get going on restarting my heart (which had stopped somewhere between my arrival and the procedure) and installing the stents.

"Why have I written all of this to you with so much detail? Because I want all of you who are so important in my life to know what I learned first hand."

1. Be aware that something very different is happening in your body not the usual men's symptoms, but inexplicable things happening (until my sternum and jaws got into the act ). It is said that many more women than men die of their first (and last) MI because they didn't know they were having one, and commonly mistake it as indigestion, take some Maalox or other anti-heartburn preparation, and go to bed, hoping they'll feel better in the morning when they wake up....which doesn't happen.

My female friends, your symptoms might not be exactly like mine, so I advise you to call the Paramedics if ANYTHING is unpleasantly happening that you've not felt before. It is better to have a "false alarm" visitation than to risk your life guessing what it might be!

2. Note that I said "Call the Paramedics". Ladies, TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE! Do NOT try to drive yourself to the ER-- you're a hazard to others on the road, and so is your panicked husband who will be speeding and looking anxiously at what's happening with you instead of the road.

Do NOT call your doctor--he doesn't know where you live and if it's at night you won't reach him anyway, and if it's daytime, his assistants (or answering service) will tell you to call the Paramedics. He doesn't carry the equipment in his car that you need to be saved, the Paramedics do, principally OXYGEN that you need ASAP. Your Dr. will be notified later.

3. Don't assume it couldn't be a heart attack because you have a normal cholesterol count. Research has discovered that a cholesterol elevated reading is rarely the cause of an MI (unless it's unbelievably high, and/or accompanied by high blood pressure.) MI's are usually caused by long-term stress and inflammation in the body, which dumps all sorts of deadly hormones into your system to sludge things up in there.

Pain in the jaw can wake you from a sound sleep. Let's be careful and be aware.
The more we know, the better chance we could survive...

A cardiologist says if everyone who gets this mail sends it to 10 people,
you can be sure that we'll save at least one life.

* * Please be a true friend and send this article to all your friends you care about * *

Phlegm Fatale & Lainy, my apologies ..............................

for not welcoming y'all sooner - I'm not normally so ill-mannered - but with an attention span that was never that good, getting worse, I'm hoping y'all will understand .......................... plus, today, I've been fighting a "hegg-ache" {as the progeny used to call them} all day - not a migraine, it's concentrated on the left, around my eye & ear - Flo, AD, DW - I'm PERRL {although the left seems a little slower than the right - that may be normal for me} - I'm not including the "A", as I never thought to ask for a definition of accommodation - so I'm not worrying about stroke - it just HURTS so da## much - and the reason I know it's not an aberrant migraine is, soaking my feet in hot water didn't help - no, I'm not crazy - if you suffer from migraines, next one, try this before any meds - run water as hot as you can accept in the tub {or sink, if yours is easily accessible} - soak your feet for about 10-15 minutes - then lay down {if you can} for another 15 minutes ......................... I don't know HOW it works, but it does - I have Raynaud's {icicle hands & feet}, and when my feet are warmed .................... the hegg-ache goes away .........................

GOTTA tell y'all - Saturday, I went to a small, local community's first-ever Founders Day {New Caney, Holly} - I met some friends there, saw one friend's new baby {she's beautiful} - the lady I've the longest friendship with has a 3 year old - the Army had a recruiting tent, AND a rock-climbing wall - C., the 3 year old, decided she wanted to climb it - fine, her mother encourages her to try new stuff - the harness was put on {over C.'s sundress} and a young soldier hauled away so that C. went swooping up {about 6 feet} - he slowly lowered her, and she is MAD - yelling at her Mom to take her shoes off and let her go again, she wants to CLIMB ..................... of course, I kibbitzed the soldiers, told them she was gonna go Marines ........................... ;-) Her Mom, afterward, told me she loves that C. is so adventurous, but would like her to become a bit more .................... discerning about her challenges - Mom used the word "fear" & that's NOT what Mom wants - just some degree of judgement ................... ;-)