http://gruggersway.today.com Retired and Restless Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:47:29 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Twenty years ago I quit smoking. That was a great milestone. I also quit 21, 22, 24, 25, 26, 30, 34 years ago. And 35, 36, 36 1/2, 37, 38, 40 and 42. In fact, the first time I quit smoking was 1963. Age 16. ... http://gruggersway.today.com/2009/11/19/smokeout-now-or-tomorrow-again/ No event in my life as a member of the Baby Boomer Generation is so impregnated in my memory as the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Kennedy was my first real hero. More so than Eisenhower or MacArthur, who were my parents' heroes. More so than Mantle or Mays. ... http://gruggersway.today.com/2009/11/15/kennedy-assassination-my-deepest-sorrow/ A very long time ago, and far, far away, out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, we crossed the Equator, and engaged in the time-honored tradition of sailors everywhere, and became Shellbacks. Below is a photo from 1982. I am the guy with the sneer on my ... http://gruggersway.today.com/2009/10/26/shellback-initiation-and-crossing-the-equator/ Breast cancer remains a significant health concern for women in the United States and throughout the world. In the U.S., it is the most common form of cancer in women. After lung cancer, breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in women. The American National Cancer Institute ... http://gruggersway.today.com/2009/10/02/breast-cancer-awareness-month/ Few stories have so moved the American public during the past year than Patrick Swayze's determined struggle for survival. Most people recognized that his battle was futile in the long run; but his fight for life inspired us all. When faced with a terminal illness, his powerful, "never give up" ... http://gruggersway.today.com/2009/09/16/pancreatic-cancer-kills-patrick-swayze/ Yesterday, I reached 350 posts on this site. That is a lot of writing, drafting and proofing, as well as a lot of ranting, complaining and preaching. Someone commented that my post on Labor Day camping made me sound like a grumpy old man. Yup. I am, in ... http://gruggersway.today.com/2009/09/09/old-fashioned-guy/ I saw five families camping together over the Labor Day weekend. Perhaps 20 people in all, including five unruly kids, who were evidently INVISIBLE to their parents, or maybe everyone was making so damn much noise that the kids made no impression. And WHY bring Off-road, four-wheeler ALL ... http://gruggersway.today.com/2009/09/08/labor-day-rejuvenation-or-relapse/ If you have traveled to The Republic of The Philippines and been introduced to the local cuisine you may have enjoyed pancit, chicken adobo, lumpia, and other fine foods. There is one item that usually tests the mettle of even the most experienced World Traveler. If you think you have ... http://gruggersway.today.com/2009/09/03/balut-duck-embryo-delicacy/ I was filling out a survey form online the other day and it asked for my age. There was a pause....I had to think....what the hell? I know what year I was born--1947, that never changes. But my age in years is something I can hardly keep ... http://gruggersway.today.com/2009/08/21/what-is-my-date-of-birth-again/ Is that so wrong? I don't think anyone else can tell. Men's styles don't change much. My wife thinks I should just throw out stuff when it gets old, but if I like a shirt, I will keep it and wear it until the collar frays. Cuffs can fray and ... http://gruggersway.today.com/2009/08/17/wearing-a-30-year-old-shirt/ Ever hear about the "flash of genius" that inventors and novelists speak of? I'm a wannabe writer, and I'm still awaiting the brilliant flash. I have a feeling that I could wait "until the cows come home" (which is every night), but never have that "AH HA!" moment ... http://gruggersway.today.com/2009/08/13/awaiting-the-flash-of-genius/ I don't recall when I first fantasized about traveling around the country in a motor home, wild and free, I imagined, like a wandering saddle tramp in the Old West. But it was probably during high school in the 1960's. I wanted to buy a used school bus, ... http://gruggersway.today.com/2009/08/06/moving-along-in-life-the-rv-phase/ I really wish I had the patience to grow a "real" garden. I love how they look and I love the idea of growing our own food, but I haven't had the energy to plow, plant, fertilize, weed, nurse, coddle, and curse a garden since the 1970's. This year we put ... http://gruggersway.today.com/2009/07/31/one-tomato-two/ Or, Food for thought. I'm going to keep this short because I don't believe we should have to think about eating so much. Our lives can be full and joyful without packing on extra pounds and forcing ourselves to eat just one more meal. I knew a very healthy fellow who ... http://gruggersway.today.com/2009/07/29/thought-for-food/ I went to a memorial service last week, a "celebration of life" is how the surviving spouse described it. I went to show support for the widower. He spent 30 years with the great love of his life, and lost her at age 50 to cancer. It can ... http://gruggersway.today.com/2009/07/27/in-death-a-celebration-of-life/ I found a knowledgeable, honest and responsive auto mechanic. That is a significant find when your truck breaks down, as mine did, with a broken Timing Belt. If you don't know what this means, become informed. The motor just suddenly stops. No warning, no sputtering, no coughing. ... http://gruggersway.today.com/2009/07/20/finding-an-honest-mechanic/ How much chocolate do you think a person would have to eat at a single sitting in order to have poop smell like chocolate? A stupid question you think? Perhaps so, but if you are eating so much chocolate that your poop smells "chocolate-ty," then you will might ... http://gruggersway.today.com/2009/06/11/poop-should-not-smell-like-chocolate/ Euthanasia is the last resort for a pet owner and rarely is it an easy decision. Again yesterday, we experienced that agonizing realization that there was nothing further to be done for our pet and the decision to release him from Earthly agony was one we reached reluctantly but with compassion. Sadly, ... http://gruggersway.today.com/2009/06/10/euthanasia-difficult-decision/ I have no idea why I continue to gain weight on a meatless diet. I previously discussed beer and chocolate but I adjusted for that by quitting both, at least temporarily, but the FIVE pounds I have put on just depresses me. I know that my diet is ... http://gruggersway.today.com/2009/06/08/meatless-month-but-weight-gain-continues/ Three weeks have passed since my resolution to eliminate meat from my diet. I was expecting it to be difficult, but so far so good. I also expected some weight loss, which would be good for me, but so far not so good. I am two pounds heavier, and ... http://gruggersway.today.com/2009/06/01/three-weeks-on-meatless-diet/ It's been a few days since my blog's first anniversary, and I have been running ragged with springtime chores, thus no posts for the past week. That is the longest stretch without an entry since I began this blog on May 19, 2008. As usual, summertime brings many ... http://gruggersway.today.com/2009/05/26/two-weeks-still-no-meat-in-diet/ Writing and Publishing a blog has become so commonplace that we hardly notice when new ones arrive on the scene and others seem to simply "disappear." There are, by some estimates, over 100 million blogs worldwide. That means NONE of us will ever see even one percent of all the ... http://gruggersway.today.com/2009/05/18/blog-anniversary-one-year/ One week now, without red meat or fowl. I used to think vegetarians were rare (no pun), but it seems that vegetarianism has existed for centuries! Leonardo da Vinci, Plato, Socrates, Plutarch, and Pythagoras were all vegetarians. (This is based on their writings.) Albert Einstein, Voltaire, Van Gogh, Henry David Thoreau, Albert ... http://gruggersway.today.com/2009/05/16/think-vegetarians-odd/ I wish exercise actually did "kill" appetite, but, at best, it stifles it temporarily. Perhaps the increased intake of water also fills the stomach and lessens the "eat now!" feelings. Today, I tried exercising to reduce my hunger pangs, caused in part by a meatless diet (to which) I am ... http://gruggersway.today.com/2009/05/14/exercise-to-kill-appetite/ I am weakening; I can feel it. I want to eat a chicken sandwich but I resisted the temptation while out in town today. I truly believe that I would have eaten meat today if it were not that I see this as a challenge for me; a chance to ... http://gruggersway.today.com/2009/05/13/another-long-meatless-day/ I went to bed hungry last night. Not hungry in the "World hunger" sense, but there was a nagging "emptiness" that could have been filled with a big burger. Not eating meat shouldn't be such a major dietary issue; millions of people around the World get NO meat in their ... http://gruggersway.today.com/2009/05/12/meatless-monday-was-successful/ "No More Meat" is a pretty outlandish (daring) statement for a Montanan (beef ranching etc) to make, but I am convinced that meat, particularly RED meat, is going to kill me early if I keep eating it, even in small amounts. I have been reading a LOT of material on the ... http://gruggersway.today.com/2009/05/11/no-more-meat/ At least once a week we ought to be entitled to blow off steam at some of the things that have "bugged" us during the past few days...don't you think? I could easily go on a rampage and list hundreds of types of people and activities that really annoy me, but ... http://gruggersway.today.com/2009/05/08/friction-friday/ I hate that feeling when we just “know” that something bad is about to happen. When the “Breaking News” icon comes on the television, or my e-mail notification says something like the same thing, my stomach tightens up and I prepare for the worst. Pretty much I have been this way since ... http://gruggersway.today.com/2009/05/05/waiting-for-the-other-shoe-to-drop/ During life's many ups and downs I have often wondered how I would know if I ever reached that point of no return known as Rock Bottom. Many of the events that psychologists list as life-changing are also the most stressful. I have experienced many of those events and have ... http://gruggersway.today.com/2009/05/04/rock-bottom-how-do-you-know/