tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4320479736034351430.post7960111840452786926..comments2023-10-03T07:01:41.144-05:00Comments on Always On Watch: Semper Vigilans: Happy New Year — And My Year In ReviewAlways On Watchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08192688822955022541noreply@blogger.comBlogger31125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4320479736034351430.post-84669222055585081452017-01-07T07:50:43.169-06:002017-01-07T07:50:43.169-06:00Benning,
Thank you for your well wishes. I need &...Benning,<br />Thank you for your well wishes. I need 'em! Neurogenic Pain Syndrome is horrific. I'm desperately trying to cope.<br /><br />Are you still writing your books?Always On Watchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08192688822955022541noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4320479736034351430.post-59718224623692956522017-01-07T07:20:41.698-06:002017-01-07T07:20:41.698-06:00Good for you, with that incisional thingie! :D Huh...Good for you, with that incisional thingie! :D Huh? Anyway, HAPPY NEW YEAR, AOW! To you AND the Mister. *HUGS!* As you could tell I've not inhabited the blogging world for a while. Good to know you are still doing the great things you've always done. I trust your 2017 will be healthier, more pain-free, and give you a whole lotta happiness, too! Whoo-Hoo!benninghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12883327259794768568noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4320479736034351430.post-26989269369467417162017-01-04T15:36:06.007-06:002017-01-04T15:36:06.007-06:00Stogie,
Thank your for your well wishes.
My reco...Stogie,<br /><br />Thank your for your well wishes. <br />My recovery is slow, slow, slow. This neurogenic pain syndrome is a real bear! Can take up to a full year. Sheesh. <br /><br /> I did, however, gain incisional recovery ahead of schedule. Always On Watchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08192688822955022541noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4320479736034351430.post-1725522122637794722017-01-04T15:25:22.814-06:002017-01-04T15:25:22.814-06:00Happy New Year AOW! Glad to know your illness is ...Happy New Year AOW! Glad to know your illness is finally on the mend. Wishing you a pain-free and healthy 2017.Stogiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05852841950131130696noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4320479736034351430.post-12754120409510281102017-01-02T08:39:55.713-06:002017-01-02T08:39:55.713-06:00FT,
Emily's description of pain in those first...FT,<br />Emily's description of pain in those first two lines describes what I'm going through!Always On Watchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08192688822955022541noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4320479736034351430.post-27656888974419582492017-01-02T07:45:24.950-06:002017-01-02T07:45:24.950-06:00Emily also said:
To be alive — is Power —
Existen...Emily also said:<br /><br /><b><i>To be alive — is Power —<br />Existence — in itself —<br />Without a further function —<br />Omnipotence — Enough —<br /><br />To be alive — and Will!<br />'Tis able as a God —<br />The Maker — of Ourselves — be what —<br />Such being Finitude!</i></b><br /><br />~ Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)<br /><br />A bit more cryptic, perhaps, but the first stanza is wholly affirmative and abundantly clear. If everything is spelled out in common language, its abysmally dull. What we say may not be as important as the WAY we say it.<br /><br />FreeThinkehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16682678301019952436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4320479736034351430.post-16230188976961075532017-01-02T07:37:57.188-06:002017-01-02T07:37:57.188-06:00Pain has an element of blank;
It cannot recollect...<b><i>Pain has an element of blank; <br />It cannot recollect <br />When it began, or if there were <br />A day when it was not. <br /> <br />It has no future but itself, <br />Its infinite realms contain <br />Its past, enlightened to perceive <br />New periods of pain.</i></b><br /><br />~ Emily Dickinson (1830-1886) <br /><br />Not exactly comforting or reassuring, but at least these small poems let us know that those who suffer serious pain are not alone. Sometimes commiseration can be a great help in coping with undesirable conditions. I have to say I have often flund that to be true. May it be so for you too.<br />FreeThinkehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16682678301019952436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4320479736034351430.post-20546417505593973402017-01-02T07:31:06.970-06:002017-01-02T07:31:06.970-06:00I like a look of agony,
Because I know it ’s true...<b><i>I like a look of agony, <br />Because I know it ’s true; <br />Men do not sham convulsion, <br />Nor simulate a throe. <br /> <br />The eyes glaze once, and that is death. <br />Impossible to feign <br />The beads upon the forehead <br />By homely anguish strung.</i></b><br /><br />~ Emily Dickinson (1830-1886) <br />FreeThinkehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16682678301019952436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4320479736034351430.post-90993643426805331812017-01-02T07:27:49.279-06:002017-01-02T07:27:49.279-06:00There is a pain –– so utter ––
It swallows substan...<b><i>There is a pain –– so utter ––<br />It swallows substance up ––<br />Then covers the Abyss with Trance ––<br />So Memory can step<br />Around –– across –– upon it ––<br />As One within a Swoon ––<br />Goes safely –– where an open eye ––<br />Would drop Him–– Bone by Bone</i></b><br /><br />~ Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)FreeThinkehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16682678301019952436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4320479736034351430.post-83120581390542460672017-01-01T11:26:43.266-06:002017-01-01T11:26:43.266-06:00Afraid not. It was written 20 years ago for The S...Afraid not. It was written 20 years ago for The Sandpiper, but I hoped it would apply to any and all such occasions forever. <br /><br />As you probably have known for a long time, I try to write on basic principles, root causes, etc. and to reinterpret or restate the Wisdom of the Ages in new and different ways every chance I get. <br /><br />Dwelling too much on myriad specific "facts" often blinds us to any possible understanding of the underlying TRUTH <i>behind</i> those "facts" –– or so I believe. It's like sedulously examining each small chip of stone or glass in a mosaic at close range, when what one needs to do to understand what the mosaic is all about would be to STEP BACK and let oneself see the PICTURE, itself. <br /><br />I believe that mere RITUALISTIC REPETITION of Guiding Principles in the same words all the time is stultifying. It relegates profound thoughts to the realm of stale clichés to which no one pays heed after a while.<br /><br />After all doesn't the Bible, itself, warn us against "vain repetitions?"FreeThinkehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16682678301019952436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4320479736034351430.post-5680166506789074822017-01-01T11:11:23.255-06:002017-01-01T11:11:23.255-06:00Exactly my point, and if we don't adopt Walt W...Exactly my point, and if we don't adopt Walt Whitman's motto SOON, instead of carrying one as we have come habitually to do, we are in real danger of <i>extinguishing</i> ourselves. –– <b>No one is going to do it TO us</b>. We are in virtual SUICIDE mode, whether we think so or not.<br /><br />And what is Whitman's motto?<br /><br /><b>BE <i>CURIOUS</i> NOT JUDGMENTAL."</b><br /><br />And yet the nagging question remains ––– <b>SHOULD we have to tolerate TROLLS on principle, because of the sacred First Amendment?</b><br /><br />DO mischievous malcontents and potential usurpers have a genuine "right" to DISRUPT public meetings and performances by HECKLING, making CATCALLS, BADGERING, BESIEGING and BELEAGUERING speakers, performers and the audiences who came in good faith to LISTEN and possibly LEARN?<br /><br />I think it's a delicate balance, myself, yet many staunch defenders of the First Amendment would INSIST the the most obvious purveyors of misinformation, disinformation and traitorous sentiments have an ABSOLUTE "right" to express their views unmolested.<br /><br />I am intensely interested in what others might think about this –– to me –– <i>critical</i> –– issue.FreeThinkehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16682678301019952436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4320479736034351430.post-57658472272686155832017-01-01T10:56:51.930-06:002017-01-01T10:56:51.930-06:00allas police officers were defending protesters – ...allas police officers were defending protesters – some of whom were mocking them – as a black anti-white racist shot at them. That didn’t stop Obama from backing the protesters’ agenda, without evidence. “When all this takes place, more than 50 years after the passage of the Civil Rights Act, we cannot simply turn away and dismiss those in peaceful protest as troublemakers or paranoid,” Obama said. “We can’t simply dismiss it as a symptom of political correctness or reverse racism. To have your experience denied like that, dismissed by those in authority, dismissed perhaps even by your white friends and coworkers and fellow church members, again and again and again, it hurts. Surely we can see that, all of us.” Odd. President Obama dismissed anyone who said he was lying about Obamacare as a kook; he called Tea Partiers terrorists. He’s happy to deny the experiences of people who actually know what’s going on in government, but he insists we legitimize the feelings of people who ascribe nasty motives to the cops without evidence beyond the anecdotal.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4320479736034351430.post-10489694191204119082017-01-01T10:11:04.216-06:002017-01-01T10:11:04.216-06:00Rarely may we speak without a filter.
‘Tis safer n...<i>Rarely may we speak without a filter.<br />‘Tis safer not, lest someone take offense.</i><br /><br />We have indeed become a self-censoring society! We're suffocating.<br /><br />Everything uttered offends <b>someone</b>.Always On Watchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08192688822955022541noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4320479736034351430.post-2786941319688872592017-01-01T10:03:26.297-06:002017-01-01T10:03:26.297-06:00__________ On New Year’s Day _________
Our hope w...<b>__________ On New Year’s Day _________<br /><br /><i>Our hope would be to take the roadblocks down<br />No more to have to hide behind the walls<br />Negativity built with a frown,<br />Even though she smiles in gleaming halls<br />Welcoming all with fawning falsity,<br />Yet yearning all the while for something solid.<br />Excitement dies in stuffy halls at tea,<br />As hypocrisy makes discourse witless, stolid.<br />Rarely may we speak without a filter.<br />‘Tis safer not, lest someone take offense.<br />So, fearing to be thought bizarre –– off kilter ––<br />Daft –– depraved –– or simply too intense ––<br />A fear of ostracism serves P-C,<br />Yielding a moribund society.</i></b><br /><br />~ FreeThinke<br />FreeThinkehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16682678301019952436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4320479736034351430.post-38700776534477191322017-01-01T09:25:42.501-06:002017-01-01T09:25:42.501-06:00I gave up on resolutions a long time ago. Heck, I&...I gave up on resolutions a long time ago. Heck, I'm still working on some I made decades ago. Lost cause, indeed. <br /><br />As for you, may 2017 brings you good health times three (cubed). I'm happy you have a kitty who cares for your well being. Cats can be so perceptive. cubehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13788126579896276199noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4320479736034351430.post-88013451633037499732017-01-01T06:12:13.719-06:002017-01-01T06:12:13.719-06:00DaBlade,
Nurse Cameo is so wise!
I wish that she ...DaBlade,<br />Nurse Cameo is so wise!<br /><br />I wish that she could cure this pain -- ongoing hot and heavy since July.Always On Watchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08192688822955022541noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4320479736034351430.post-71311008338834353962017-01-01T06:11:15.356-06:002017-01-01T06:11:15.356-06:00FT,
Another acrostic poem? Did you write this one...FT,<br />Another acrostic poem? Did you write this one specifically for 2017?Always On Watchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08192688822955022541noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4320479736034351430.post-69866056417950547002017-01-01T06:09:52.451-06:002017-01-01T06:09:52.451-06:00Z,
Happy New Year!Z,<br />Happy New Year!Always On Watchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08192688822955022541noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4320479736034351430.post-77716728243439448782017-01-01T06:09:24.735-06:002017-01-01T06:09:24.735-06:00CI,
Thank you for your well wishes.
I definitely ...CI,<br />Thank you for your well wishes.<br /><br />I definitely need to catch a break!Always On Watchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08192688822955022541noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4320479736034351430.post-64598585548295093032017-01-01T06:06:52.882-06:002017-01-01T06:06:52.882-06:00Kid,
We'll have a better idea after Trump'...Kid,<br />We'll have a better idea after Trump's first 100 days in office.Always On Watchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08192688822955022541noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4320479736034351430.post-59418219376529344612017-01-01T06:06:11.815-06:002017-01-01T06:06:11.815-06:00Bunkerville,
The operation appears to have been su...Bunkerville,<br />The operation appears to have been successful. I will have a MAG 3 Renal Scan in February to confirm.<br /><br /><b>BUT</b><br /><br />I have developed neurogenic pain syndrome (sometimes referred to neuropathic pain). The syndrome began before the surgery, and now we know that the surgery didn't resolve the syndrome. <br /><br />In fact, I spent Christmas morning in the ER.<br /><br />Dreading what the future holds.<br /><br />But enough of all that. Today is New Year's Day.Always On Watchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08192688822955022541noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4320479736034351430.post-80106351446567375182017-01-01T06:01:33.381-06:002017-01-01T06:01:33.381-06:00A bit of wry Mark Twain this New Year's Day --...A bit of wry Mark Twain this New Year's Day -- on the topic of New Year's resolutions:<br /><br /><i>New Year's Day—Now is the accepted time to make your regular annual good resolutions. Next week you can begin paving hell with them as usual.</i>Always On Watchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08192688822955022541noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4320479736034351430.post-82381404271846995692016-12-31T22:17:14.512-06:002016-12-31T22:17:14.512-06:00..Trump has won.....Trump has won...Kidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05287399775879832602noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4320479736034351430.post-71429998191644615922016-12-31T22:16:34.865-06:002016-12-31T22:16:34.865-06:00I love your post and as I boil it down I come up w...I love your post and as I boil it down I come up with "Truth comes from hard times".<br /><br />I am so happy Trump has one, but it won't bring us the final truth that America so desperately needs to reach bottom. Regardless - I'll TAKE 8 Years of Non-Democrat.<br />Kidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05287399775879832602noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4320479736034351430.post-68456382469072848972016-12-31T22:04:44.366-06:002016-12-31T22:04:44.366-06:00Best wishes for the new year for you and Mr AOW. I...Best wishes for the new year for you and Mr AOW. I was looking forward to an update. Does it look that the procedure you just had recently been successful? Are you pretty much pain free now. Thinking of you.Bunkervillehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14427978686579892380noreply@blogger.com