Tag: Essays

March 7th Essay

~ A Pondering Mind ~ 6 Comments

its been almost six years now that I quit smoking
the same time I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes
during this past time, my average weight has been
around 140 pounds plus/minus a pound or three
before I was hospitalized my weight was around
170-175 pounds and for my height of 5’6″ that to
me was a lot of excess baggage to carry around
at 75 years of age I never felt better in my life

back in the day when I was a smoker I was sometimes
smoking up to two packs a day which is way too much
so about a few months before I quit I was slowly
weaning myself away from the horrible habit
now I can’t even stand the smell of cigarette smoke
I will say this the smell of a it cigarette and the
smoke it produces is fucking disgusting and I don’t
miss smoking at all

Writing

~ A Pondering Mind ~ 3 Comments

In an earlier post titled: You Know, it was a post that was written to get something off my chest. It’s been the hot humid air that I am not too fond of. I never did like that kind of weather. Anyway, when I came home from an early afternoon walk, which by the way slows down my pace, I still ended up soaked by sweating and cut the walk short. So, I got my laptop, and a cup of coffee, sat on the couch and just started typing away, and wrote anything that came to mind, actually it just flowed out, without any real thinking as to what I was going to say.

The other thing I want to point out is, is that it reminded me of the way Jack Kerouac would write. Just type away like a madman, and that was how I felt, which was a good feeling. I mean I could of wrote a lot more but I think I made my point about the way I feel about certain types of weather.

One more thing I want to point is that a lot of what I written was meant to be a cross between truth and fiction, so you can read it any way you like, I will not hold that against you.

Hopefully it will be the impetus to write more. and go from there…

Monday Morning

~ A Pondering Mind ~ 6 Comments

got out of bed a few minutes
before 6:00 am grabbed my phone to see what the current
temperature was … lo and behold it was 73F with a dew
point reading of 72 … looked out the window and it was
hazy all fuck … now this will make for a miserable day
as I really hate this weather … keep it down south way
down as far it will go and keep it there … when I went
out to do an errand it didn’t take long to be soaked with
sweat … it’s good to be home

namaste

Saturday Evening

~ A Pondering Mind ~ 2 Comments

took a walk after I finished my supper and it is muggy as all hell and needless to say I was drenched … what helped me keep my mind off the humid air I listened to podcast about an independent bookstore… it was very interesting as I am a book lover and I do make the time each and every day to get some reading in …  what surprised me was a few more people out and about both young and old … here I’m thinking that I would be the only person out walking which on most I may see a couple or more out there  … not even going to bother to figure it out …  now sitting on the couch writing this post along with a cup of coffee and finally feel like a normal self again

namaste

Friday Afternoon

~ A Pondering Mind

it is shortly after noon the sky got really dark and off in the distance the rumble of thunder now the rain has arrived and will be doing its thing for the next couple of hours or so…the afternoon walk is put on hold so I can sit back and read a book…books to me are a life saver as it beats watching tv or staring at the walls…hopefully the mugginess will go away, as it did a number on me yesterday and this morning and everything inside had that wet feeling, knowing it was humid outside on went the a/c to dry the damp feeling…

namaste

Wednesday Morning Pondering

~ A Pondering Mind ~ 2 Comments

Today is supposed to be the hottest day of the week …with it comes the high humidity and the haze that accompanies it when it does get hazy it makes the sky the air and everything around it and in the distance too look like total shit …it like altars the color of things like trees and buildings just to name a couple of things …it can also make breathing difficult for people who respiratory problems …it can make some dogs lazy and seek out a shady spot to lie down and relax …when I go for walks it kind of automatically slows down my pace a step or two which is probably a good thing …with all this said this is why I love the winter months so I don’t have to put up with this bullshit

namaste

Tuesday Afternoon

~ A Pondering Mind ~ 16 Comments

Tuesday afternoon also a song back in the 1970’s sung by the Moody Blues can still hear the song in my head like I was being transported back in time …with that said often wondered would want to back to those days and before that which would be the 50s & 60s … sure there was some good times mixed in with the not so bad the really bad … well I have mixed feelings about it so suffice me to say would probably just sit back and reminisce about the days of yore …some of the people I got to know have left this planet in different ways some I miss greatly and then there’s the ones no great loss …then there are the ones that moved away to different towns and different states …even most of my closest relatives live out of state but I elected to stay where I am in Massachusetts the state I was born  and raised in …anyways I have my books plenty of them which will keep me entertained and the mind sharp so the brain doesn’t go into dry rot …also I like to do crosswords online and ink on paper the digitals ones I do on The Boston Globe and The Washington Post some of the puzzles can be real head bangers but most of the time I will manage to solve them even if it takes me a awhile …back to what I like to read are mostly fiction essays and toss in some memoirs …speaking of memoirs the book I am currently reading is Townie by Andre Dubus III … its about growing up in the Greater Haverhill and Newburyport area the life he lived was very adventurous and violent …his father was a professor and writer a couple of his book I read many years ago …then there are the books that I have started reading like short stories, essays which I go back to from time to time I could go on but I’ll leave it right here

ciao

Sundays

~ A Pondering Mind ~ 8 Comments

a day of doing three online crosswords along with some book reading …get some walks in …watch a game or two of baseball which was always my favorite sport and then football …then there is blog to tend to if I find a some spare time along with replying to some of the comments that which some can be interesting to read …and then there’s Amazon always checking to see what if anything catches my fancy…

ciao

Saturday Afternoon

~ A Pondering Mind

took a walk muggy as all hell came home with the t-shirt practically glued onto my skin …it also drained me and was glad to be back home and the first thing I did was turn on the a/c …slowly recovering …now I’ll sit back relax and probably try to finish one of the books I am reading

ciao

It’s

~ A Pondering Mind

outside it is hot humid sticky

indoor it is cool

so sitting on the couch reading a book then emails on the laptop fell asleep while doing that the battery slowly shitting the bed when woke up from the power nap the computer was telling me to plug in charge it up then it will be good to go when I use it again so typing this post on the phone all is good maybe continue reading a few more emails and then probably read one of six books that I have going

undecided whether to take an after meal this evening as the walk earlier in the afternoon knocked the shit out of me … playing it by ear but dollars to donuts most likely will do it

Tuesday Evening

~ A Pondering Mind ~ 8 Comments

Fourth of July is nearly over with and with that said it seems that summer flies by and the next thing is that you wake up and its Labor Day and football season is upon us the kids are back in school plus the days keep getting shorter till the middle of December … well anyway the point I am making is that the time the months and the seasons fly right on by and it feels like when I change the calendar to the next month it seems that I am ready to change it again … with all that said it feels good to ramble on

Ciao

Friday Afternoon

~ A Pondering Mind ~ 1 Comment

Here it is a humid Friday afternoon. There’s a advertisement on the boob tube,that I have a beef with. It concerns doing the laundry, and the guy says that its the second most hated chore to do. What number one is I have no fucking idea, and I won’t even hazard a guess as to what the chore is. Anyway,  I have no problem doing the laundry,  don’t get me wrong its not like I do handstands and or cartwheels, that would be beyond the norm. I just do it and when it’s all said and done,  then I go onto something else. My feeling is that if you doing something like the laundry or whatever it is that has to get done,  then you start making up excuses into putting it off,  then you kick yourself in the ass for not doing it, as you end with more to do. You get the point I’m making.

Have a happy rest of the day.

Thursday’s Observations

~ A Pondering Mind ~ 4 Comments

The afternoon is half over with and it is humid and when I arrived home from my walk I thought I would have to pry off the t-shirt as it felt like it was glued on to my body

Come tomorrow another week is coming to a close along with the closing of the month of June oh well

So far we haven’t been affected by the smoke from the Canadian wild fires and reading how the air was from the smoke like in Chicago and Pittsburgh just to name two to see the photos of the smoke filled tells you how bad that shit is for the people who have breathing problems and other respiratory ailments

Wednesday Observations

~ A Pondering Mind ~ 2 Comments

Two-thirds of the afternoon is history with a third to go when it becomes evening yet it is still daylight for a couple of more hours so it should still be afternoon till the time the sun sets then call it for what it rightfully is evening I mean it’s the logical thing to do

And another thing is the gop clown show is off and running in neighboring New Hampshire and in one or more other states I for one don’t pay to much attention to what they have to say as it all amounts to a heaping pile of bullshit and anyways I’ve been an independent for 50 years or so and only voted for a republican only once and that was for our former governor of Massachusetts he probably the only sane gop governor who guided the state during the covid pandemic and he paid no attention to the orange menace in Washington

I try to stay out of politics as I am tired of getting into silly sometimes mundane arguments and end up with a fucking headache really who needs that

Wednesday Morning

~ A Pondering Mind

Last Wednesday of the month and have no errands or any other running around to do.

It does look it wants to do something weather wise as it is getting dark. If it rains I can live with that. What I don’t deal with is the sticky stuffy humid air. I am at my worst. Any other type of weather is not a problem. Thats just me.

Time to boot up the laptop and tackle the crossword.

Later

Ho Hum of a Day

~ A Pondering Mind

What a big change in the weather. The past two days was fairly hot, Thursday was in the high 80s, and Friday was  a couple of degrees cooler. Today, its a whole different ballgame with rain, chilly with that raw feeling, and in the afternoon it was 49 degrees. Sunday won’t be any better, with more rain cool temperatures again.  Anyways, it was a good day to get some book reading in, actually, I did makeup to finish up one by short story writer Alice Munro.  I love her books, as it was the third book I have read  by her. Then there’s the email to go through which seems to be a never ending ordeal,  along with the online crosswords and other bullshit to tend with.  I know. There’s 24 hours in a day,  so I do what I can to make it happen, and if I don’t, no worries at all. There’s always tomorrow and I’m fine with that.

Okay So

~ A Pondering Mind

June 1st signifies a new month, a new day and the month that has the longest hours of daylight. Also, it is the beginning of the sixth month which at the end will bring us to the halfway point of the year. Sure it is getting close to the real summer to begin, which means spending more time outdoors, this I do anyways throughout the year. Speaking of summer, it also the hot temperatures and the high humidity, which I detest, and positively do without. So all in all, I make the best of it, and I have been doing it for the past 73 years now that I am 74. Then there are the people who some you never see in the cold weather, come out of hibernation, and then there are the people from all walks of life. I’ve probably mentioned this before, tend to see real strange goings on. Some funny. Some sad. Some you can’t even make out what the hell they are doing. In the sum of it all, its what makes the world go around.

Past or Present

~ A Pondering Mind ~ 9 Comments

Were things better back in the day versus the present time. I’ve often would run this through my mind, would come up with the most common things that when I was a kid, it seemed that we were relying on the radio, television and newspapers for all the information. To me it seemed to be the gospel truth and that was that. Today, its also the numerous cable news channels and add in the internet, and what it amounts to a cluster fuck of bullshit. This leads anyone with a half a brain to figure out who is telling the truth and who is lying.

Then there is inflation. High rents. The cost of food is getting out of control, and other things we need in order to survive.

Homelessness is on the rise and there is no end in sight.

I could go on, but you hopefully get the picture.

Sunday Night

~ A Pondering Mind ~ 3 Comments

Another Sunday is soon coming to an end, and a new day will come about. Took my walks today, even though it was hot, it humid at all. On the early evening stroll, I decided to go walking on the boardwalk as it runs parallel with the river. About halfway down the way I ran into a good friend of mine who was sitting on the bench. She is a very good person and love chatting with her, as she is a very understanding person. So I filled her in on what was going on with me and the happenings of the past week. She’s a great listener and that is why and I told her this, is when I am finished talking to her, I feel really good and happy to have a friend like, as I find it hard to talk easily to most of the people that live in the building I reside in. I just wish there were more people like her, as it would make the world a better place to live in.

A Warm Saturday Evening

~ A Pondering Mind ~ 6 Comments

Came back from my usual after meal walk, and it is really warm out. When I left which was around 5:30, it was 77 F, and when I finished it was 74. Sunday it is supposed to 90 or close to it. To me that is much to early for this time of year. Temperatures like that high are usually occur in late June and/or early July. Climate change is definitely the culprit. It probably has all the makings of another hot summer, with the more than usual 90 plus temps. When through it last summer and I survived it, so I know what to expect. In the meantime, been stocking up on bottled water, so I won’t get dehydrated, which was not a pleasant thing to go through, as it happened five years ago. hopefully it will never happen again. With all that said, I think positive, and I am survivor.

Friday Afternoon

~ A Pondering Mind ~ 2 Comments

Late Friday afternoon the starting point for the working people which I am no longer a part of, the three day weekend. I remembered when I would look forward to the long weekend and how fast they flew by. Now that I am retired the longer weekends don’t really matter much.

On the home front my partner is doing well. I thank you all for the concerns and the comments.

It Can Be Embarrassing

~ A Pondering Mind

Walking with one’s head in the clouds, can end being an embarrassing event. I have done it myself but snapped out of it pretty quickly before anything happened. A few years back when I was part of the work-a-day-world, I was returning back to where I work, I was on JFK Street in Central Sq., Cambridge, there was man walking across the street, more than likely with his head in the clouds, walk straight into a telephone pole, face first. He seemed to be alright, and he moseyed on his way. I figured he must have been a teacher or professor at MIT. In Cambridge you do to see some strange and sometimes funny suff going happening. Never a dull moment in that city.

Wednesday Evening

~ A Pondering Mind ~ 23 Comments

Never got around to posting yesterday, so I will try and give it a go. Anyways … after I finished posting Monday evening, there was a medical emergency I had to attend to. My partner became ill, and asked her what was wrong, and she thought she was having a silent heart attack. Like a good boy, dialed 911, and told them why I needed an ambulance … then being bombarded with all kinds of questions … with all that said, a few minutes later three firefighters are at the door, and a minute or later the EMTs arrived. They worked on her using an EKG machine, plus took her temperature, along with more questions. Soon they were off to the hospital, and they kept her overnight, and it turns out after all the testing they did, it turns out it was high anxiety … a right eye infection and one other thing which is ok now. She came home late Tuesday night, and she is doing quite well. As for me, doing very good, as I kept thinking positive, and my sugar never did go out of whack.

It’s been raining here quite steadily since around 5:30, and it won’t be over till later in the evening. Time to nuke my coffee, and find something to do.

Monday Evening

~ A Pondering Mind ~ 4 Comments

Monday evening and all is well. Nothing much to report on, so … anyway I hope to get back to posting on a daily basis. I know it can be hard to find the time to sit down and get on with it. With that said, I will give it my best to come up with some good ideas to write about. Till then, stay safe and think positive.

Saturday

~ A Pondering Mind ~ 2 Comments

Saturday evening and and nothing really exciting happened today. Its been raining all afternoon and it is still going on. I did manage to get a couple of walks in, got some book done. Sadly the book that I am currently finishing up is by Martin Amis. He passed away on Friday in Florida at the age of 73. Anyways, tomorrow is another day and see what happens happens.

Never A Dull Moment

~ A Pondering Mind ~ 13 Comments

As you all know, if not some of you know that I do a lot of walking. Most days, it will be three sometimes 4 times a day, and average about anywhere from three to sometimes 6 miles in a day. I will admit that there those days that I have to push myself to do it, as I may be a bit tired, or don’t feel all that great, so when I do go, I make it quick and short. The walking helps me in different ways; like it helps clear out my head, it helps keep my glucose readings good, also it keeps the weight in check, and above all, it keeps me away from using insulin, which I’m so happy to be off that fucking stuff.

When out walking there are times I have to deal with the fucking morons, who see me in a crosswalk, and don’t even have the smarts to stop and let you cross. Really!! I will call them a jackass, or some other choice word or words, but in the long run, I end up letting it go, and proceed with my walk.

The other thing I would like to mention, is that I do meet some nice people who also out for a stroll, and then there is the one or three assholes, that I will totally ignore. Then there’s the one strange and or funny stuff, that just seem to make one’s day.

With all this said, one of the first questions my doctor asked when I saw her the other day was, are you still taking your walks, and the answer was yes I do, she was very pleased. She said she didn’t know to many people who got off the insulin and manage to stay off of it, and not to have any problems with my sugar and weight. As I said before, I do what works for me and just keep on doing it. No need to spend time in the ICU again, unless I necessarily have to which is never, ever.

Going With The Flow

~ A Pondering Mind ~ 7 Comments

Its the last day of April, and still dealing with this damn head cold. Its not as bad as it has been. Anyways, I’ve been more or less taking it easy, getting the things that have to be done out of the way. As for books, I can’t seem to get my head around into heavy reading, so I’ve reading a collection of really short true life’s stories. At first, I would read a couple three stories, stop, rest my eyes for a while, then read a couple more. You know; wash-rinse-repeat. Still doing the daily crosswords, along with the strong black coffee. So, all is right with my corner of the world.

A Thought on Judgment

~ A Pondering Mind ~ 4 Comments

As a society in totality, we tend to be judgmental on just about any and all subjects we can touch upon. Why I’m bringing this up, I ran into a dear friend of mine, and we sat down and had a chat in Washington Sq., park. She is someone I had met about a dozen years ago, and I love talking to her, as she is very levelheaded, and easy to talk to, and a great listener. We talked on a few different subjects, and we both dislike talking about Trump, as it’s not worth the time hashing over his day in and day out bullshit. I can live without it. Anyways, we both agreed that we are judgmental, and try not to be. But I/we did come to the decision that we are judgmental, and we let it go at that. Myself, I am somewhat guilty of it, yet I do not lose sleep over it. After we said our goodbyes, I felt really good about myself. The reason why I say this, is because I was trying to get rid of a headache that started just before I left to go for my evening walk, I did take two Ibuprofen which helped immensely, and as we were chatting, the headache was finally done with.

Namaste

Let’s See

~ A Pondering Mind

Today was kind of a busy day. Went to the super market, picked up a few things, like bananas, black raspberries, red raspberries, a red pepper, and a few other things. Got that out of the way, and then had my breakfast, and did an online crossword, finished it of course. After that, did some book reading. My new hiking shoes arrived today, which I bought on Amazon. Now I have two new pairs, so I am good to go right through summer, fall and into next year. I do tend to do a lot of walking, three, sometimes 4 times a day and sometimes at nighttime too. Anyways, the rest of the day and evening was really nothing to get excited about. So for the rest night, I’ll just kick back, relax, hit the sack in a bit, and then comes a brand new day.

Weather

~ A Pondering Mind ~ 4 Comments

It was a surreal kind of weather we had the past couple of days. Thursday, the late afternoon temperature registered 86 degrees. That is not the kind of heat to have in the middle of April. I’ll be truthful it knocked me for a loop, and eventually drained the shit out of me. With that said, off came the cover of the A/C, and put it to good use. Thank goodness for A/C, as I grew up in an old tenement building, with no means of cooling off, with the exception of open windows, with screens. I guess as kids we don’t mind the heat as much as we do when we get older. Then again, I’ve been a lover of winter weather, and I still do. Can’t change old habits.

Big Box Stores

~ A Pondering Mind ~ 2 Comments

Big box stores just don’t do it for me anymore. They haven’t for quite a while. Its probably been at least eight years, maybe more. There could be a couple of reasons why I don’t bother to go to them, as in another life, I did work in two of them, and for the most part, I detested it. Cheap wages, assholes for bosses and hours that they you to work at the beck and call. With that said, even though I am retired, I would never do it again. Supermarkets and grocery stores are a different story, as when I go into them, I usually know what I need, get it, and I’m in and out in no time. That’s fine with me.

The goods and whatever else I use to purchase in the big box stores, I buy them online. Clothes, shoes, toilet paper, paper towels, paper napkins, and a few other things, I buy them online through Amazon or Wal Mart. Books: Amazon, Blackwells Book Store in Oxford, UK and Book Depository in London, UK. Most of the different brands of coffee, I buy online as I found they can be cheaper than the local supermarket. Ditto with bottled water, as the city water in my city sucks. Almost every day, I will browse the websites and see what bargains I will find, and mostly but them.

A Good Day

~ A Pondering Mind ~ 4 Comments

Today was a good day. I was up and out of bed earlier than usual, actually about a half hour before sunrise. The outside temperature was 33 degrees, at around 6:00 am. It got up to 64 degrees, late in the afternoon, which made a nice day. Got the one errand done early, then took a walk. Did some more in the early afternoon, and again this evening. I find taking walks is very beneficial. It helps keep my head clear, keeps the weight in check, and I feel real good about myself. It also helps immensely with my glucose levels, as I don’t use insulin. I have been off the insulin for the past 2 1/2 years. When I was injecting it nightly, just before I went to bed, I would wake up the next morning, feeling week and in a stupor. Some mornings the fasting glucose reading would be in the 50s, 60s and/or 70s. Those are dangerous readings. I finally convinced my diabetic doctor to take me off the stuff, so he slowly weaned me off, and since then I knew I would make it work, and I stuck to it.

By the way, I was browsing Amazon, and ended up buying two more books, trade paper backs, as I don’t really care for hard cover books. Along with that, also bought a bag of Panera coffee, as is was on sale. Now, I think its time, to sit back and relax.

Namaste.