October 9, 2008

What's New? A Podcast of: Stock Market Woes, Movies I Won't See, and Jillian Michaels' Inspirations of the Week.

The Dude on the Right is just as flustered about the stock market as you might be, but he just tries to make you remember the motto - "Buy low.  Sell high."  Sure, his other tip is "Don't pet a burning dog," but if the stock market is nearing its low, you know what, ten years from now, unless the world totally falls apart, your buying now will be flying high!  Inspiration is a big topic of this podcast, granted it might not have to do with "South Park," or any of the movies opening this weekend, or if you are a subscriber to "Rolling Stone" you now have batteries to properly dispose of, but The Dude is now fascinated with Jillian Michaels from "The Biggest Loser," and introduces his new feature, "Jillian Michael's Inspirations of the Week."  Go ahead and add it to your iPod for some inspiration just when you are thinking of quitting.

Posted by Rightdude at 7:47 PM | Comments (0)

May 25, 2008

What's New? The Dude sees "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" and Fireworks, Stu Wonders if He Can Get "Wii Fit."

The Dude on the Right saw "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" with someone who doesn't really like bugs, which, because The Dude is weird, actually made the movie experience bring a bigger smile to his face, but in the end it's all about the review, and The Dude does what he does.  Stu Gotz, though, is back doing some typographical reviewing, maybe because his kids might be a little too young to see the "Crystal Skull" movie, but that doesn't mean his family, or at least just him, can't get in shape thanks to the Nintendo "Wii Fit."  Hopefully Mama Gotz won't let Stu shove the thing under the couch to collect dust bunnies.  The Dude saw movies and fireworks, Stu is probably trying to figure out how to dry a sweater on a "Wii Fit."  Such are different weekends.

Posted by Rightdude at 6:31 PM | Comments (0)

"Wii Fit" Probably Won't Help Me Lose Weight, but Thank God for those McDonald's Trans-Fat-Free Fries!

By: Stu Gotz
I always knew the Wii had exercise potential…
Well over a year ago, when I woke up at 4:30am to be in line by 5am to try a purchase one of a promised 12 available Wii units at my local Target, I never thought the Wii could be anything more than the next generation, cool, video game console. That notion quickly changed the day I brought the console home and became out of breath after loosing 3 rounds of boxing to my 5 year old. I joked to the wife that day that Wii Boxing was a great workout, and I should start a regimen. Did I?  No, and I’m still a lard-butt over a year later, but all that's gonna change!!!

Reading the Sunday sale's ads in bed on a Saturday night…
While checking out the weekend sales ads I stumbled across the newest, must have, Wii accessory - Yup, there it was, the new Wii Fit, along with the optional Wii Fit Yoga Mat, available exclusively at Target, and they were going to be available on Wednesday. Perhaps now I could realize my fitness goals by playing Wii games? Figuring that there would be a rush to get the new Wii Fit, I planned my workweek to get me close to a retail outlet when the doors opened.

Would my Wii Fit dreams be dashed???
Wednesday came and I was running late. My Target store opened at 8am, and I was pulling into the parking lot at 8:12am. That’s ok… In a worst case there was a Best Buy across the parking lot, and they opened at 10am. I was feeling good about my potential of getting a Wii Fit as I strolled past the automatically opening doors of my Target, and I was faced by no less that 8 people checking out with Wii Fits. As I walked the aisle to the game area I was passed by 3 more people with Wii Fits tucked into their shopping carts. Then I saw the end cap... There were only 4 left! I rushed to grab one and felt a sense of accomplishment as I checked out with my new Wii Fit complete with Wii Fit Yoga Mat.

The Wii Fit family unpacking event…
After dinner I assembled the family together to unveil our new "game" to them. At first the kids didn’t seem too excited about the whole thing until their mom informed them that we could get a snow boarding game to play with the Wii Fit, and suddenly they were onboard, so to speak. Setting up the Wii Fit is simple, strait-forward, but does take a bit of time. One aspect of the set-up is that the Wii Fit assigns you a "Wii Fit Age" based upon your height, weight, age, and balance test. I faired better than the wife as I was assigned a "Wii Fit Age" of 45 and she was assigned an age of 49. We’re both 40. The Wii also took the customized Wii characters the wife and I had created, and in my case porked "me" out while slimming up Mama Gotz.

What’s this thing gonna do???
The Wii Fit is set up to be a fitness partner in 4 training areas: Yoga, Balance, Strength, and Aerobics. The family and I spent several hours familiarizing ourselves with all the areas, and the first thing we have come to find out is that we all lack balance, at least according to the Wii Fit.  Mama Gotz was the first to advance in the Balance Games and open the first bonus game, "Tightrope," although now she seems to be stuck there, because, like many other Wii games, the Wii Fit is set up to train the user and reward them upon mastery of a particular skill.

Bottom line, is this thing really gonna work???
Yes and no. The Wii Fit definitely has the potential to add an additional element to an exercise regimen, but if you don’t have a regimen already then I really don’t see this thing being a motivational source for someone to start one. Actually, I take that back, you’ll start one, but see my final paragraph, "The real bottom line…," below.  That being said, though, if the Wii Fit is shared by people with a friendly sense of fun and competition, you might just get motivated, but it just won’t be as much about reaching a fitness goal, rather one of who can take 1^st place in an area, or who can go on to the next level, therefore opening a new game or exercise.

The real bottom line…
Go look in the mirror - Are you either fat or just in need of some muscle toning? Now go look around the house - Do you have unused exercise equipment (drying your sweater on the treadmill does not constitute use)? Now search your mind – You can’t remember the last time you hit the gym or went for a jog, correct? If you answered, "Yes" to 2 or more of the previous 3 questions, then I have a feeling your new Wii Fit will be destined to collect dust bunnies under your sofa. Prove me wrong!!!

I'm Stu Gotz!  ‘nuff said!

Posted by Rightdude at 5:53 PM | Comments (0)

April 20, 2008

At First I Wondered "What Was I Thinking?" An Hourish Later My Legs Weren't Screaming "Frack!"

By: The Dude on the Right
Today was one of those weird days when I had everything planned.  My normal morning routine would easily be in place, complete with starting laundry, reading the Sunday Chicago Tribune while eating breakfast, and, at the same time, catching up some some TiVo viewing.  Okay, I realized I still can't seem to get recording the new "Battlestar Galactica" correct, muttered "What the frack!", then tried to set up a season pass I screwed up before, hoping it didn't miss this week's episode forever, or at least until the DVD season comes out.

But my Sunday also had a lot of errand-running planned, which, I know, is kind of lame, but the Sunday also had planned a one hour walk in my favorite Springbrook Prairie Forest Preserve.  I was sort of curious to see how things were looking after they torched the place a few weeks back, except with a slight wind blowing from the northwest I knew heading north would make my walk back a little easier so I wouldn't get to see the result of the torchness.  And I'm walking, and I'm walking, and I get to the thirty minute mark and realize that I'm feeling good, my legs feel spry, I've got over half a bottle of water left, and I say to myself, "Self, why don't you just do the entire loop?  Why turn back now?"  Then I said to myself, "Self, What the hell are you thinking?  Do you realize that it will add another hour to this walk and your Sunday is already scripted."  Then I said to myself, "Self, it's a gorgeous day, with a slight breeze, and it hasn't started to heat up yet."  Then I said to myself "Self, shut the hell up.  We're going for the six miles."  Yes, I'm nuts.

And so I did my first six-mile walk of the year and it felt great.  I mean, my legs didn't get fatigued, I planned my water drinking properly, and it was actually more refreshing walking into the slight breeze on the backside of the loop than letting the breeze bring me home.  I also got to see that the crispy prairie was starting to turn green, the recent warm weather has instantly put trees into budding mode, and sure, there might be one more cold snap, or a crappy day or five here, but it looks like we have really, finally, turned the corner into the Spring and Summer season.

And also and, the walk was not perfect because there was one miscalculation, especially since my original plan didn't include a six mile, one hour and fifty minute walk, and that was I was wearing jeans.  I woke up this morning, didn't get myself a gun, didn't figure for the six mile walk, and haven't put myself back into "shorts mode" yet, so I pulled on my Levi's, put on a t-shirt, embraced the subtle, slight chill in the air, not thinking that less than two hours later I would be a little sweatier than I planned, had people on the trail looking at me like "What the hell is that dude wearing jeans for?", but you know what, at the end of it all, I got to see some deer frolicking in the prairie, and sure, you can't see the mallard in the upper picture of the pond but I did (I so have to bring my better camera gear), and the burnt prairie is starting to sprout grass.

So what if my running errands were bumped by about an hour.  So what if I was the dork wearing jeans on a six mile walk.  And so what if my iPhone photos aren't up to my normal standard.  It was a beautiful day, it was great to enjoy it, and it's almost time to get my white, pasty legs in some shorts.

That's it for this one!  I'm The Dude on the Right!!  L8R!!!

Posted by Rightdude at 8:30 PM | Comments (0)

April 12, 2008

But on What Occasion Would I Wear a "MILF Island" T-Shirt?

By: The Dude on the Right
So I'm watching the TV show "30 Rock," as I am wont to do because I enjoy it, and the episode dealt partly with the "finale" of "MILF Island," with "20 super-hot moms, 50 kids, and no rules," and the first part of me, as a fan of "Survivor," knew that if there was actually a TV show called "MILF Island," I'm sure I would be watching.  The second part of me knows, now that NBC has screwed it up and probably copyrighted the concept somehow, FOX won't be able to actually make it a series, nor will CBS, who did their own exploitation of children with "Kid Nation" and all they would have to do would be add some super-hot moms.

In any case the episode of "30 Rock" made me laugh, but then quickly reminded me that I am old.  Why?  They advertised that you could actually buy a "MILF Island" t-shirt, I found that very funny, and I even thought of jumping online to order one.  Then I quickly caught myself saying "Self, you're not in college anymore, even though you may think you are.  Where in the hell do you think you could actually pull off wearing a 'MILF Island' t-shirt?"  And in listening to myself I realized there isn't any place in the entire Universe where I could pull off wearing that t-shirt, although it would be sort of funny to try, especially if I could be a fly on the wall, listening to the comments wearing it had brought about.

I might still buy it anyway since I need a new t-shirt to wear while I'm exercising at home, and I know that every time I would look in the mirror while wearing it, well, it will make me laugh, but could I wear it in public?  Maybe I should just buy one for Stu Gotz. I'm sure he would wear it, out in public, and be able to make the ladies laugh.  He has that way.

That's it for this one!  I'm The Dude on the Right!!  L8R!!!

Posted by Rightdude at 6:20 PM | Comments (0)

January 18, 2008

A New Chapter for the "on the Right" Family.

By: The Dude on the Right
Every family has a change leading to a new chapter in the book that is their story.  Most of the chapters progress from things like the start of the book, namely the marriage, to the birth of a child, to the child's first words, to the child's first steps, to maybe the birth of a brother or sister, and much of the cycle usually stays the same for a while.  The chapters switch from the innocence of children, to the family progressing through the years.  The children in the family grow, to grade school, to junior high, to high school, and to adulthood.  A new book is started as some of those children create another family, an offshoot of the original story, yet still intertwined with the original.

And as the book that is a family's life is similar for all, there are so many differences.  There may be an illness or accident that takes a child away from a family;  There may be financial hardships that all must deal with;  There may be a divorce where mom and dad, not thinking of the children, do their best, at any chance they can, to make their children hate the other parent; and then there are families that, for most of the time, forget the meaning of family.

But with every family story, probably, usually, definitely, inevitably, there will come the death of a parent/spouse.  Sometimes that death comes as a shock and other times not, most will agree the death comes to soon, but for some it is way too soon.  With that death the story continues, though, with one character now only in memory as the next chapter begins with getting back to some normalcy, "some" because with the passing of a family member things aren't the normal that was created a chapter before.  The book that is the story of the family is not complete with the death of one member, more chapters must be written, until that day when the book can be closed when all of the members have passed on.

Fine, right now you might be saying to yourself a couple of things, things like "Dude, what's with the reflective beginning to this blog, and why haven't you posted anything new in over a week?"  Well, both the reflective nature of the opening of this blog and the lack of postings came about because of the passing of Dad on the Right on January 12th, starting a new chapter in the book of the "on the Right" family.  In the realm of my being old enough to fully comprehend and have to deal with the loss of an immediate family member, the recent passing of my Dad is the first.  I was 11 when my last grandparent passed away, and even though I've been older for the deaths of some of my aunts and uncles, and yes, their passings were sad, for me this death thing is kind of new and a lot different to deal with.  Sure, I could probably go see a shrink to help me "move on" as it were, but what fun would that be and why would I spend the money when I could just write about here it from time to time.

So, today's therapy lesson was two-part.  One was to reflect that as much of a bummer it is to have my dad die, I realized that my family's story isn't done yet and there are already stories to tell of the days immediately following when he passed, stories like "What the heck is his name, anyway?", "Who knew driving to a cemetery could be so much fun!", "What's the deal with the food?", "Niece on the Right is a rocker!", "That's not an obituary.  This is an obituary!", and "Everyone says 'Mom on the Right' is a hottie."  And Mom, if you're reading this, don't worry, one story will remain in the circle of our family to laugh at from time to time.

The second part of my therapy lesson was to get back to some normalcy, and what better way then seeing a movie, in this case "Cloverfield," and write a review.

So the story of the "on the Right" family continues, and at least right now Sis on the Right has her own book of her family so that even when the book of the "on the Right" family is closed, another book will lead people back to our story.

Stories are always to be read, but better to be written, even with a death as part of it.

That's it for this one!  I'm The Dude on the Right!!  L8R!!!

Posted by Rightdude at 8:31 PM | Comments (1)

December 27, 2007

What's New? A Podcast of: A Chubbier Nephew, Lorain, and A Christmas Tradition.

The Dude on the Right is home from home for the holidays and worries that his nephew is trying to be a little too much like him. Such is one of the musings for this podcast. The Dude is also closer to being "street" thanks to a gift from his niece, and as a gift back he takes his 16 year old to another R-Rated movie, this time "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street." The Dude's movie review should follow soon.

Anyway, he also ponders his mother being in the hospital over Christmas, looks forward to seeing a boatload of movies over the upcoming weekend, and wonders if any college students realize the impact that Momofuku Ando had on their life's, or even celebrated Mr. Ando's life hearing about his death back in January of 2007. If you are a college student you should probably chug a beer, that you can now afford, thanks to the invention by Momofuku Ando.

Posted by Rightdude at 7:43 PM | Comments (0)

August 3, 2007

Dear Stu Gotz, I'm Sorry. It is My Fault for your Chubbiness, and for Introducing You to "Snyder of Berlin" and their Cheese Curls.

By: The Dude on the Right
Sure the Chicago Tribune and other news outlets reported that your weight might be directly related to the people you hang out with, and in a podcast last week I blamed my buddy, Stu Gotz, for my chubbiness.  Now I realize that I owe Stu an apology because he isn't the reason for my chubbiness, and in fact, I might be the reason for his.  I realized this after a two day battle with the best cheese curls in the world.

You see, a few weeks ago I took a trip to the old country, Lorain, OH, to visit the parents, and prior to my departure I mentioned to Stu how the best cheese curls in the world were sold there.  They are from "Snyder of Berlin" (not ever to be confused with "Snyder's of Hanover"), and they make, in my mind, the world's best cheese curls.  The cheesiness flavor is fantastic, above the flavor of many other brands, but what makes these cheese curls almost the best, unless you want total crispiness (in which case you could buy the "Cheese Crunch" version), is if you chomp down on them right away you get a nice, fluffy, crunchy feeling without seeming to tear up the inside of your mouth.  But what makes them the world's best cheese curls, and is the the ultimate joy in eating them, is that if you let your mouthful of cheese curls rest on your tongue, for a couple of seconds, they suddenly melt in your mouth, nearly disintegrating, with a giant explosion of cheesy flavor.  You swallow, easily, with minimal chewing, it's on to your next handful of curls, and if you are sort of careful, all of a sudden, you have eaten at least half the bag.  If you aren't paying attention, eight ounces with 1,360 calories of cheesy, airy, goodness has made its way into your belly.

Then last Tuesday I opened up the eight ounce bag of cheese curls I brought home with me, and by Wednesday night they were gone, and as I was joyfully licking the orange, cheesy crumbs from my fingers I realized Stu wasn't the blame for my chubbiness.  That didn't stop me from finishing the finger licking, but I realized that maybe I'm the reason Stu is chubby because as much as he puts me in some situations where proper dietary functions could be done if I just picked the right things off of the menu, and he might actually follow, I brought Stu a bag of the world's best cheese curls from Ohio, and he and Mama Gotz ate them, and liked them, and if I didn't bring home that bag of cheesy curl goodness, Stu wouldn't have 680 calories of goodness he has never known before.

So Stu, I am sorry for making you be chubby, and your being chubby isn't the reason for my being chubby because maybe I should set a better example and not tell you that, if you ever get a hankering for the world's best cheese curls, you can sort of order them online, but sadly they want cash upfront and it might take a week for the delivery.  But, if you want instant gratification for your cheesy-curl goodness, they're only about a five hour drive away, somewhere in Ohio.

That's it for this one!  I'm The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!!

Posted by Rightdude at 8:00 PM | Comments (3)

July 15, 2007

A Pouty Boy, and No Pictures of "Team Pink" Girl.

By: The Dude on the Right
Today was a nice day in Chicago-land, and as I like to do on weekends I went for a walk in a local forest preserve.  It was an incident at the start of the walk that for most of the rest of the time I wondered about something - Did I ever do something like that when I was about five or six years old?

You see, as I started upon the trail I saw up ahead a little boy, on a little bike, trailing behind mom.  Then, for whatever reason, the boy, I would gauge about five or six years old, got off his bike, threw it to the ground, and proceeded to sit himself down in the grassy area next to the path, crossing his arms and legs and with a look of defiance of "I am not going on a bike ride today."  Mom quickly stopped, looked back at, I'm assuming it was her son, seemingly perplexed by the actions of her son, and at times like these I sort of wish I didn't have my music playing during my walk, drowning out the ambient noise around me, so I could fake needing to tie my shoes and see how mom planned on diplomatically resolving the situation at hand, to get Skippy back on the bike, or if she would just get all nuts saying something like "Get the hell back on your bike and start riding.  You're the one who wanted to go for a bike ride in the first place, so dammit, get riding," and which I would just have probably died with laughter if the kid retorted back, "But Mom, I'm Jesus Christ."

But, with music playing, I just walked on, and began to wonder if I had ever done anything like that when I was a child.  Did I ever just sit down and pout, and then I took out the pouting part because I'm 100% sure I have pouted as a youngin' (hell, I've probably pouted as an oldin', too).  It was the entire package of the little boy that was classic, from the slamming down of the bicycle, to the sitting down with crossed arms and legs, to that perfect face, and I almost wished I could have captured that on my iPhone.  Instead, I took these couple of pictures of the prairie that is my weekend walking location.

Now the entire walk wasn't just about wondering how I acted as a boy, as I was walking I was passed up by a member of "Team Pink."  She was tan, she was thin, she had long, black hair, and I know she was a member of "Team Pink" because she was wearing shorts with it spelled across her ass, and for an instant I really wished I was in better shape so I could maybe run with "Team Pink" girl, but for now walking is my speed and it was back to my recollections of being a little kid.  I remembered a moment I had run outside naked, I remembered the bunk beds my brother and I had in our bedroom, I remembered being a member of "The Fonz Club," and kept seeing in my head little pouty boy, and kept convincing myself I was never like that.

With the music playing in my head, and me heading back to the dude-mobile, I was getting over my "how was I when I was a little kid" thoughts, and then, passing me up again was "Team Pink" girl and it occurred to me, "Why am I taking pictures of the prairie when I could be taking pictures of "Team Pink" girl."  Sadly, though, she's a pretty fast jogger and before I could get my iPhone out of pocket, she was too far away.  "Goodbye 'Team Pink' girl."

And so, on today's walk, I recollected that I was a perfect angel as a little boy, and would never had slammed my bike down, mostly because I didn't learn to ride a bike until I was like eight or ten years old, and the next time I'm going for a walk, and "Team Pink" girl passes me up, I better have the camera ready for when she comes back around.

That's it for this one!  I'm The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!!

Posted by Rightdude at 7:34 PM | Comments (0)

May 29, 2007

What's New? Stu & The Dude's Weekend Wrap-Up! Waitresses, Pirates, Walking, Baseball, Cornholing and Summer TV.

Stu Gotz & The Dude on the Right get together after Memorial Day for this podcast where the highlights are Stu seeing a baseball game and The Dude going for a six mile walk. Sure, there were other things they talked about, like "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, " The Dude seeing "Waitress," and getting double-time by working on a holiday. The Dude needs Stu's advice about the possibility of his townhouse burning down, Stu wonders about "Ocean's 13," and The Dude seems to have missed out on the cornholing craze.

Posted by Rightdude at 7:27 PM | Comments (0)

August 9, 2005

Green Day and Prayers

By: The Dude on the Right
I must say that I am both excited and a little nervous to cover Green Day at the Allstate Arena on August 10th. I'm excited because as much as I used to enjoy Green Day and their style of music, I am even more of a fan after seeing their performance on Live 8. I was watching the AOL feed of something going on somewhere else when they nicely put a note up that Green Day was getting ready to go on stage in Germany. I quickly switched to the feed from Germany to catch their performance, and they just totally kicked ass. When I started a couple of weeks ago to get back into covering concerts, I was more than pleased to see they were coming to town, and hopeful I would get clearance. The review should be posted Friday or Saturday. But why am I nervous? It's my first photo shoot with my new camera. I'm all digital, baby, and I've done my preliminary testing and playing with the damn thing, but nothing is like being in the heat of a concert photo shoot to see if things work out. The batteries are charged, the memory cards are empty and ready, I just hope I don't screw it up.

On a more heavy note, my prayers to the family of Peter Jennings who passed away from lung cancer the other day, and also to Dana Reeve and her family, as she announced today, after I heard on Howard Stern that it was going to be in The Enquirer, that she has been diagnosed with lung cancer. I'll also send a general prayer to all of those out there going through the same type of thing because in ways I won't give up here, I understand. The human body is a strange being. For some people they are able to smoke all of their lives and never have a problem, others get riddled with lung problems, and others who may never really have smoked, they still get afflicted with the challenge of cancer.

That's it for this one! I'm The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!!

Posted by Rightdude at 7:23 PM | Comments (0)

July 28, 2005

I Got a New Bike!

By: The Dude on the Right
I did something yesterday that I haven't done in three or four years (that last time was on Long Beach Island in New Jersey, known for its summer resort areas and Chowderfest, but it was just a quick trip for some breakfast so I don't really think it counts).  Anyway, I went for a bike ride.  It's not that I haven't wanted to go on a bike ride, it's just there was one essential thing missing - a bike.  But on my last trip to the homestead, my brother, who has two bikes, let me take his old Schwinn World Sport.  I hauled it back to my pad, and finally, yesterday, had some time to load it into the dude-mobile, head to my local forest preserve, and take it for a spin.  They say you never forget how to ride a back, and I guess they are right, but I have to admit I was a little shaky at first.  My first issue, dealing with toe clips, but I finally got adjusted to them, and even though it was one of those multi-use trails, I made it around the trail no worse for wear.

Now this may not seem like anything significant, but when was the last time you went on a nice bike ride?  Me, I used to bike a lot, back in Ohio down lots of country roads, and when I was in college at I.I.T., the Lake Shore Drive bike path was a fabulous ride.  But then my bicycle broke and I never did anything about it.  The other thing is that I have a bet with my sister about some weight-loss issues, and this adds a new weapon to my arsenal, along with my coat rack, umm, I mean exercise bike, and this other crazy contraption that I don't want to admit I own unless I actually get off my ass and use it.  It supposedly worked for a couple of famous personalities, but we'll see on that one, in any case, it really felt good to hear the crunching of the limestone under my tires and have the wind go through my hair under my bike helmet.  After I caught my breath, it was good to hear the Cubs beat the Giants on my drive back to the dude-pad.

That's it for this one!  I'm The Dude on the Right!!  L8R!!!

Posted by Rightdude at 7:04 PM | Comments (0)

July 27, 2005

Happy Birthday Mom!

By: The Dude on the Right
Yesterday was my mom's birthday and she turned the excellent age of 79.  It's weird though, these days, because her health isn't nearly the state it used to be just five or six years ago, and for me, it has to do with three things, and she may or may not agree, but part of her decline was a result of a stress test she did a couple/five years ago, too much stress from dealing with my father, and her years of smoking.  Yup, mom was a smoker, and for the most part, other than my dad, you can attribute her health issues to that.  But when you are a woman approaching 75, with diagnosed emphysema, and sure, and you're having some heart issues, do you really give this woman a full-blown stress test and put her on a treadmill?  And that being said, as she's on that treadmill, and she is saying she can't keep going, do you force this woman to keep going, even to the point where you are holding her up?  Go figure, the stress test didn't detect anything. A little later she had an angiogram, and low and behold there was some blockage in one of her coronary arteries.  They fixed that, but a lot of her lung issues started to happen after that stress test, and my theory is simply this, and I'm no Doctor and I don't even play one on TV, but her years of smoking and emphysema left a lot of crap stuck in her lungs.  Being in her early seventies, mom wasn't one to get her heart rate nor heavy breathing up, although helping my dad, she really kept her strength, but with this running and unable to catch her breath on the treadmill, all of that crap blew out of its settled places and headed to the rest of her lungs.  Diagnosed now with what the call COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease), she is tethered to an oxygenator 24 hours a day, and as days goes, some days are better, some not so much.  She will be the first to admit that smoking was a bad thing, and for the couple of stories we all hear about of people who have smoked all of their lives and live it long and healthy, for the most part, you will probably end up in your later years like my mom.  Make that choice today and quit smoking, as hard as it may be, because in seeing my mom, she would give up all of those years of smoking if she didn't have to live with this today.  And if you are a friend of a smoker, try to get them to quit.  If they give you crap, feel free to make them contact me and I'll give them a few other things they might get to look forward to as they get older.

With her health issues aside, I will always love my mom.  She probably never fully understands some of the decisions I have made in my life, but she has always been supportive.  She was a great singer, played an organ like nobody's business, but spent her years as a mom and housewife, and all she ever seems to really want for me and my brother and sister is to be happy.  She has her favorite saying now when people ask her how she is doing, and that is simply "Still breathing."  That's all I can hope for everyone dealing with the same things my mom is going through, is to be "Still breathing."

That's it for this one!  I'm The Dude on the Right!!  L8R!!!

Posted by Rightdude at 7:03 PM | Comments (0)