Point Made

From Camp Jeff 2 Good news! I am unrestricted in my rehab program. This means, if I do too much and reinjure my knee, it's my Physical therapist or my fault. It also means that I can start doing the kind of exercise that will work to strengthen my left leg. It's incredible how the little things suddenly mean so much. I stood by the bathroom sink and shaved yesterday. Before I was either sitting in a wheelchair or on the bench in the shower. In the case of the shower shave, I did that without a mirror. Funny, how you learn to shave facing a mirror and how strange it feels to shave without it. Grandkids. Waking Up As I've mentioned before, we get to welcome our two grandkids every couple of weeks. This week Maria picked them up on Thursday afternoon. They are a handful, but they are really pretty easy to deal with. It's the energy it takes to tend to their minimum needs. Being they are two and four, we don't insist that they eat at certain times....

I had a fabulous Father's Day Breakfast this morning. It consisted of a pork chop, soft scrambled egg, potato pancake, and cinnamon rolls. Lucy, our dog, approved of all the bits and pieces that rained down on the rug. She and I have been binging on the US Oen Golf Tournament. This year they are playing at Pebble Beach, in Carmel by the Sea, California. For readers who don't know, I am a devoted follower of the Professional Golf Tour PGA. Because it's in California the tournament Occupies the 1:00pm to whenever it's over for the day. (Approximately 8:30pm) Pebble Beach is the annual home of one of the most entertaining golf tournaments in the schedule. Notable is the entertainment area. Unlike other torunaments, this event is a weekend-long professional/amateur competition. Most of the pro/am's are played one day, normally Wednesday, before the actual competition takes place. At a Pro/Am, the professional play in the company of people who have more money than ...

The House Is Wired Thank Goodness There Are Only Two Vendors By Jeff Jordan We had to switch our WI-Fi and Cable, TV provider. I won't go into detail about why, but it was the cost. I understand the concept of offering a lower price for initial sales, but the outcome of having to eventually double the amount doesn't seem like an excellent approach to the market. It is incredible how quickly you can move from AT&T to Spectrum. A twenty-minute phone call got the job done.  (A sales Rep and I worked jointly off of a website page.)   Two days later, the technician installed the system in less than an hour. After setting it up and testing the system, He ran me through the intricacies of the Spectrum interface. Viola! We were in business. To disconnect, the AT&T system took one phone call to a disappointed representative. After reassuring her, about ten times, I was not going change my mind, she told me I had to go to a UPS or FedEx store, provide my customer number,...

What's New In New Mexico? My wife, Maria, bought me a ticket to fly to New Mexico to visit my daughter Mary Jo and her husband, Richard. They live in Stanly. You'll probably need a magnifying glass or to hit the plus sign on your digital map of New Mexico to find it. It's located on the Eastern Mountains between Santa Fe and Albuquerque I flew the Texas version of a bus company, Southwest Airlines out of Milwaukee. Here's a travel tip. Have a disabling health condition so that you can get wheelchair service. The person that will push you through the airport helps you check your bag, expresses you through security, stops for bathrooms, food, and parks you at the gate. The gate agent rolls you down the entry to the plane, and on board, personnel takes exceptional care of you on the plane. Sweet? Better than sweet. Living on the high desert for a few days is an experience. Lack of oxygen, (We are at seven thousand feet of altitude.) rattlesnakes and a horizon that i...

Steppin' Out By Jeff Jordan There's a small rise on my road to recovery. It's neither a cliff or a curb. It's four steps leading out of the house. Navigating those four steps, both coming and going, is my path to freedom. So far, so good. Well so good if you forget the first couple of times where I nearly knocked Maria down as I descended and had her lift me as I ascended. But clearly the last couple times, it's been more manageable, and I'm controlling the trip much better I received an email from my artist, golfer, and Packer fan friend, Lenny Nagler. Each year Lenny crawls out of his self imposed hibernation from his studio. Bearing the fruits of his labor, he feels compelled to take the temperature of his associates as to the quality of his work. Artists in all fields of endeavor crave the validation of the audience. No? Lenny calls this his "Preview Party" Taking a huge gamble f the weather, it is traditionally a cookout.  The highlight...

Challenge, What Has Photography Meant To Me? by Jeff Jordan I got an interesting challenge from an unsolicited source. Going through my many email's from all kinds of organizations and individuals I've never heard of, but apparently, silicon valley thinks I should, a photography course ad asked it's viewers, 'What has photography meant to you?' Wow! That one got my attention. First of all, I'm the oldest photographer in my family, but by no means the best. I began taking pictures in the sixth grade. I was a student a The Basilica of St. Mary's in downtown Minneapolis. Down the street was a camera store and a film processing company. Ah, It was there I experienced my first sniff of film and photo processing chemicals. Addictive? Of course, and who is more prone to such behavior? Moi. My most memorable photo of this period was a shot I got of my classmate, and probably my first baby crush, Karen. I was holding the entrance door of the church as my cla...

The Battle of Wounded Knee How you take a shower when you're required to wear an immobilization brace . by Jeff Jordan An Immobilization brace is a device that prevents any torquing or bending of a knee. In my case, it is necessary to protect my knee while healing from surgery for my torn tendon. I was home from the hospital just one day when my surgical site began oozing a combination of gooey stuff and blood. It fouled my suture bandage to the point I needed to have it changed. I needed a nurse or wound specialist to change it. We went to the ER at Thedacare in Appleton. They cleaned, rebandaged the wound and gave me a new brace. This brace, when compared to the one I was given at my doctor's office, is much more effective, comfortable and safe. Its rigidity is accomplished with three metal strips. One strip is underneath the brace, keeping the leg straight. the other two, are on the sides of the brace guarding against twisting. The other element is the foam pad...