A Conversation Overheard

A couple were trying to decide where to go for dinner.

"Remember, we can't eat inside - it'll have to be on the patio," she said.

"Yes, yes, I know," he replied, somewhat crossly.

"I think it's wonderful that there are so many restaurants with patios," she replied.  "How many times have we had visitors from other states and countries, and so many of them say, 'I can't believe you don't have more sidewalk seating than you do with your wonderful climate'"

"Okaaay," he muttered, "What restaurant do you want to sit out in front of tonight?"

I take this as a comment on our times and of perhaps a dire future regarding dining.  Fie! virus!  It's fun now, but it's not going to be come November when the marine layer drifts in and there's little sun in which to bask.

Locals you may well not need it, but here is a brief list of patio-ed restaurants.

Madrone's, RB  Whole front of the restaurant

Las Brisas, RB

Barnacles, HB

Hennesey's, HB and Riviera Village

HT Grill, (flagship of Hennesey's) Riviera Village

Crème de la Crepe, HB

International Seafood, RB Pier
Capn Kidd's, RB

Kincaid's RB Pier

Be Careful What You Wish For and How I Learned the Hard Way

For quite some time, I've been complaining about Lumbar5 (L5) and the back and leg pain it was causing me.  My alarm clock was incandescent pain every morning.  I was beginning to dread going to bed at night.  No matter how I slept - pillow under knees, etc.  Surely something could be done to fix this.

So I made an appointment and saw my orthopod who promptly referred me to  his choice of a superior orthopedic surgeon.  We met; I liked him and went off to think about surgery; decided to do it and was all set for Monday 7/27, be at the hospital at noon for 2 p.m. surgery; choice whether to go home after or spend the night.  I spent time, daydreaming about being pain-free.  I had to have a pre-op okay to make sure I was up to it.  Apparently surgeons (of any kind) get all pissy when a patient pops their clogs on his operating table.

So off to the cardio, blood work, culminating in an MRI. And when that report came in, all hell broke loose.

Along with a good view of L1 to 5, the radiology doctor saw and reported a cyst on the top of my right kidney and a tiny dot at the bottom of my right lung to my GP who told me and got a barrage of fear-induced bad temper along the lines of, "What the hell is this?  This was supposed to be L5?  What were they doing messing around up by my kidney?"  Simmering outrage, freely expressed.

The kidney specialist said that because both growths were so tiny, that he just wanted to do careful monitoring and would see me next for ultrasounds (a machine handily right in his office suite) on November 2nd and then again in February 2021.

This reassured me terrifically.  And better still?  He cleared me for the back surgery "or any other kind of surgery you want."  Am now trying to reschedule.

And, in the future, am going to only wish for things like which restaurant for dinner tonight?


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At The Doctor's

This is a true story - the two reasons I know that it is are:    I was there and I triggered it.

Background:  our two main hospitals here are Providence Little Company of Mary and the other is Torrance Memorial..  Either one this was my first visit to a certain doctor from one or the other.  In an effort to make chitchat, I said, "Do the two hospitals have ? softball teams and play each other?"

"No, no" he said.  Without thinking, I said, "Well you're no fun!" teasingly and as he turned to get something from across the room, I heard this, very softly, somewhat resentfully/defiantly  " I'm a lot of fun!"    I'm grinning at this as I type...

New Virus Sign? BOLO!

Be On Look Out!  I don't have any empirical proof that what I think I discovered is true.  But to at least make people think … all I would say is:  Portland, Oregon.  Does it get any crazier than that?

Too Much Togetherness

When too much together amounts to an obsession.  Here's a perfect example of something I ran across this morning.  The article was headed that "The Most Identical Twins in the World" are now planning to become impregnated and give birth together.

Lucy and Anna DeCinque, 33, and their shared boyfriend Ben Byrne, 34, a mechanic,  in Perth, Australia, is to do the heavy lifting on this.  They began dating in 2012.  They, plus the twin's mother, all live in the same house.  Separate bedrooms?  Get real!  Mom has one, but the twins and Ben all sleep in the same California-king sized bed.

Examples of their alikeness include the following:
They eat one meal a day, evenings.
They do 6 hour workouts (daily or not, article didn't say)  2 hrs. treadmill; 2 hrs. weight training; 2 hrs. walking around the house.
They cannot be apart from each other less than an hour.

Surgeries include:  lip fillers
eyebrow and hair extensions
Breast implants - double D!
They eat, drink, shower, go to the doctor and beauticians together.  Basically never apart and that's the way they want it.  They want to share every single experience.  Hence their decision to use Ben as a sperm donor to further their desire to go through pregnancy and birth together.
                                             Good luck to you ladies.  Yes, both of you.

Jeopardy Final Question "Who is Alex Trebek?

He's a game show host and has steered Jeopardy for the past 36 years which in almost any profession you care to name is remarkable and very much unheard of in television.

So much of his life is well-known:  originally from Canada; became an American citizen and continued to thrive.  His dry sense of humor and the exactly perfect comedic timing amuse many of us, who are ardent fans of the show "Because it's 'Different'" so is the forat of the book:  example -  Fatherhood is the answer.  Who is Johnny Gilbert?  What is strategy?


Well, no surprise, so is his book: The Answer Is... Reflections of my life.  Instead of just reading words, the many photos in it show some unexpected sides of the man.  This can be a bad thing, but in this case, not so.  He is an ardent do-it-yourself home improvement guy.  Refurbishing his wife. Jean's bathroom, for example.  A local hardware store was going out of business, so he hotfooted it over and bought all of their tools, etc.  His kids Matthew and Emily looked around his garage shop and asked if he's bought the hardware store?!

This photo caption still makes me grin.  Alex is talking to a horse, wearing jeans and a jean jacket:  He explains this denim suit with the explanation that it's a Canadian tuxedo.

There's plenty more to laugh at - go for it!

A Treat Coming Up

Yesterday we made a special trip to Barnes & Nobel, hoping they still had copies of "Jeopardy" host Alex Trebek's book "The Answer Is ... Reflections on My Life."  They did!

A peek inside tells me it's 289 pages,  $26  B/w and 4/c photos.

Will read it and give you some tidbits as the pages flick by.  Still, it's not the same as having your own copy.

                                                            BUY ALEX'S BOOK!