The World of Grandpa Don
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Back to grandkid .
A work in progress - complete but not finished |
What's New In the world of Grandpa Don On this page I have recorded what I found significant during the past week as well as my thoughts about those events and other reflections. I started doing this before the practice became popular on the internet This is my diary, written a little each day and published weekly. At times I may seem to pontificate on a subject that comes to mind during the week. I do not intend it as a demand or even a suggestion that everyone should think or act as I do. It is rather, intended to let you know what goes on in my mind ... how I am motivated to live as I do. If The World of Grandpa Don appeals to you, you are free to join me in it. Be warned, however, it is not always what some would call "The Real World". |
Week Ending Friday |
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Or to learn more of Grandpa Don and his remarkable family ...
Many of the quotes found on this page are from the daily messages I receive from Covenant House  |
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The opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics was awesome. You don't need to like their politics to admire the people and their accomplishments, As a young boy I was fascinated with the stories of the Flying Tigers, American volunteer pilots who joined with the Chinese in fighting the Japanese invaders. I remember the story of the unsuccessful attempts to retrieve a plane that had crash landed in a lake while the Chinese villagers looked on. After the Americans gave up, a village leader asked if they could help. Then, one by one they swam down and placed sections of bamboo under the plane until it floated to the surface and was pulled to shore where it's valuable parts could be retrieved to repair other planes. I am also reminded of an incident related by Anne's dad when he delivered a big steel beam to a construction site in Chicago's China Town. .There was no crane waiting but a large number of Chinese men soon arrived, placed slings under the beam and carried it off the truck. That unity of effort was reflected in the entertainment as part of the opening ceremonies. It was a demonstration of what can be accomplished when people cooperate with each other. Another interesting facet of the show was that for the most spectacular parts, there were no "stars" or even leaders that were obvious to the audience each individual knew his part and performed as of one mind with the other performers.
The Chinese are often seen as "backward" but that is an incorrect valuation based on their understanding and use of simplicity. We can look to them for the wisdom of Confucius, the invention of the magnetic compass, gunpowder, and yes, even pasta. And, the last thing you would want to do is ignore theism. One fifth of the world population is Chinese.
Back to our world. I have been engaged in what I call "grunt labor". No it is not heavy lifting but it is repetitive, boring and time consuming. It was found that on the parish web site, our "interactive buttons" were acting strangely. I use them on this website also because they are kind of clever. Just looking at them, the text is one color. Then as you move your curser over them, the "hover" state, the text changes color. It changes again in the "press" state..All very well and good. Clever, cute, even a bit glitzy. But when multiple computers are used to maintain the web site, as is our parish web site, each computer assigns files names for these buttons randomly. (Definitely not the Chinese way).At times when a new button, which requires three graphic files to do its thing, is uploaded to the web server, it overwrites a graphic sent there by another web ministry member and the "hover" and "press" state of the button display different text than the "normal" state of the button. This is confusing to the visitor and creates not a very "professional" looking page. To correct this problem, the "Hover" and "Press" graphics are removed. This requires 6 clicks of the mouse for each button. Most, but not all of the more than 170, pages include from two to twelve of these buttons. Each page that has corrections made to the buttons requites 8 additional mouse clicks. You do the math ... grunt labor.
When presented with this kind of work I sometimes wonder if it is all worth it. That leads me to another story. After Mass, Deacon Bill Lubin waved franticly at me, motioning me to hurry out to where he was. "Don, come with me. You have to meet these people" We scurried through the Narthex and down the corridor to the parish offices, thence into a conference room. Sr Gael was there along with a young couple and their three little children. Bill interrupted the business at hand and introduced me as "Grandpa Don, the guy who does the parish web site". The lady said, "You are the Web Master?" At his point I had to explain that I am one of several Web Ministry members who maintain the parish web site and that we have no Web Master but instead serve as Web Servants to the parish. .She then said that when they moved into the community and saw our web site they decided to join our parish based on the web site. Attending mass here confirmed their decision. Yes ... that grunt labor is worth it. The fact is that Sr. Gael has mentioned that a number of people have commented favorably on the parish web site when they came in to register.
Indecently, at this writing I am about 80% of the way through the web pages making the button corrections. I am motivated to expend an extra effort to complete the task within a day or so.. .
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Now and then it’s good to pause in our pursuit of happiness
and just be happy. |
A bit of baseball news from Wichita ... A ray of hope ... This from the web site describing Marc and Joe's second game ...:
Kenai Peninsula Oilers outlasted the Crestwood Panthers 6-4 in August 8th's second game. The Oilers were lead by pitcher Joe Gardner who threw for 7 innings, gave up 2 unearned, and had 9 strike-outs. On the hitting side, Francis Larson went 2 for 4 including a 3 run home run in the 7th; Oiler Vince Belnome homered as well in the game. Crestwood's only ray of hope was Marc Albano's 2 RBI single in the 8th, but that was quickly put out by Kenai as the next batter lined into a double play.
In their 1:30 AM game on Sunday, (This tournament features 72 continuous hours of baseball for the weekend) Crestwood won, keeping them alive in the tournament.
Meanwhile, I went over to Dan and Karen's for the most delicious grilled boneless pork chop I ever had, Kelsey left before dinner to dine with friends but Ana graced us with her presence. Nick had gone back to Carbondale for his final session of school at SIU. He had stopped by for lunch on Friday on his way. We talked of his plans after graduation and I must say they are fascinating. One option he has would be teaching English to Buddhist monks in Laos. Even to consider that demands a unique sense of adventure. In addition, just think how that line would look on a future resume' . But, back to Sunday. Dan and Karen told me of two new restaurants in the area, both got high marks and so I have new options for Dinner & Cards with the Halfords.
Another prominent politician has fallen. His politics and views aside, I find John Edward's statement, "I started to believe that I was special and became increasingly egocentric and narcissistic", to be very interesting in that I have been saying all along that to want to hold high office you need to have a huge ego and you have to be very careful not to let it take control of you. We see too many examples of it doing so. The fact that he recognized this in himself supports my contentions in this regard. To my knowledge, he is the first of his group to admit to the basic problem and leads me to believe that he could be a man that is now trustworthy as far as morals are concerned. But alas, he is a Democrat and I am convinced that they would take us in the wrong direction.
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God eagerly waits the chance to bless the person |
Monday morning I saw Dr Yung. He was happy with his surgery, removal of a pair of basal cell carcinomas, an so I am happy with it. After his brief look he turned me over to a young (no pun intended) assistant who expeditiously and professionally removed the stitches, front and back. Since I didn't fall apart, I was happy with that also. An appointment was made for a date three months hence and I was on my way. .I went a little out of my way on my trip home so that I could check out the location of one of the restaurants recommended by Dan and Karen. When bringing friends to a new place it is always nice to seem like you know where you are going. (There were two occasions years ago when I got lost).
My good friend Bob Lewis sent an email with a commentary on Obama's voting record on various abortion issues. I invite you, ... no plead with you, to read A Catholic Case Against Barack by Patrick J. Buchanan .
As you probably know, I am a former inconveniently conceived and unwanted fetus. I feel very strongly that had the laws of the land and the the self centered attitudes that Barack Obama and his kind are promoting been in vogue in the early 30's, I may not have been born. I may have been murdered (yes that is the correct term) before drawing a breath, or as Obama and his kind would have it , even after I had drawn several breaths. That I was inconveniently conceived and unwanted is a fact of life and not a condemnation of my parents. It happens in the best of families. But it is also a fact that there was a high regard for the life that was conceived and care was taken to see that I survived and was placed in the care of a family which wanted to have a family but otherwise could not. In my opinion, this action on the part of my mother was the greatest possible expression of love, the love of life when that life would disrupt her own. I am eternally grateful and love her for it. She is my Hero. Obama on the other hand, advocates the pandering to the most base and selfish act that a person can take, the heartless and cruel murder of the most helpless among us just because it presents an in inconvenience to us, I invite, ... no urge, you to read what I have to say about Heroes. After reflecting on what I have written here I decided that it needed a page of its own, indexed from both the Our Nation and the Pro-Life pages. And so it was created and includes a few additional comments on my part. Go see The Catholic Choice and feel free to use the link at the bottom of that page to email a link to it to your friends, acquaintances and even those who disagree. And ... it in not just for Catholics. It is for anyone who wants to do the right thing.
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Write it on your heart that every day is the best day of the
year. |
The Crestwood Panthers were eliminated from the Tournament and Marc and Joe along with another team mate immediately made the 11 hour drive home. They had urgent business here. Marc, by the way, had left his job with the tax accountants. It did not take him long to discover that it was not the kind of work he wanted to do. (No surprise to me.) On his return home he soon left to go to Rockford where the Southern Illinois Miners were playing the Rockford RiverHawks. Marc has taken employment with the Miners, based in Marion. Illinois, as their bullpen catcher and will travel with the team in that capacity. When the team is at home, he will be able to visit his cousin Nick at Carbondale, IL. And .... Joe has taken the job of Bullpen Catcher for the Windy City ThunderBolts based here in Crestwood, Illinois. At this time he does not know if he will be on the road with the team or just work with them at home. In any case, both young men will have the opportunity to work out with the teams and be visible to the managers and coaches. It could be a door opener. All these teams are in the Frontier League as is Anthony's Midwest Sliders. The Albano family has tickets and plan to drive to New York later this season to see a NY - Chicago game in the soon to be replaced Yankee Stadium. However, Joe and Marc are giving up their tickets. Joe is determined to be present for all of his classes and fall baseball at RMC.
In the mean time, the Oakland County Cruisers team management insist they will have a ball park in May of 2009 and the Midwest Sliders will become the Oakland County Cruisers. If it indeed happens it will be a beautiful stadium. Visit the site and take the virtual tour.
On Wednesday the calls came about a half hour apart. They were all in regard to my impending prostate surgery. First it was the anesthesiologist's nurse checking my medical history and medications. I offered to email the information but she preferred to take the long list over the phone. She followed by giving me instructions regarding not eating and meds not to take prior to the procedure. The second was the surgical nurse. She already had the information but went down the list with me for me to verify that my medical history and medications were correct. She followed with additional instructions on where to find them, how to dress and such. I had been told that I would need to have a catheter for the weekend after the procedure and I asked if it would prevent me from attending church. She assured me that it would not and that I could do anything I would normally do as long as there was no heavy lifting or strenuous activity involved. That is never a problem with me any more. The third call came from my GP's office. I need to get a chest x-ray to complete the pre-surgical tests. They had faxed the order to the Primary Care Center and since no appointment is necessary, I will just go over there in the morning and get that done.
Health care has become almost unbelievably complex. The logistics alone are daunting. And all this, documented with tons of paperwork as well as the cost of the diagnostic machinery with the support staff to run it all makes health care extraordinarily expensive. Add to this the cost of insurance, extremely high to protect the doctors and hospitals from law suits which in turn generates the ordering of more test just to cover the exposure of the practitioners to any possible eventuality. This is supposed to improve one's health but what makes me sick is the commercials by the lecherous lawyers designed to entice us to hire them so that we can get "every penny we deserve" if there has been even the possibility of a medical mistake or accident. They promise us "every penny" but make sure they get at least 1/3 of the award or settlement. They are sure to inform us that we pay nothing unless we "win" as if it was a lottery. And yes, as long as I am ranting, another thing that makes me sick is the notion that if someone gives me a lot of money it will give me "closure" for any real or imagined wrong or hurt done to me or a close relative. Excuse my French but what the hell is "closure" anyway? All I want is peace of mind and that comes from within and can not be bought at any price.
After I have ruined my health the way I overfeed and under exercise my body I am highly pleased with my healthcare providers. They have not only been competent, but they have been pleasant and "much more kind than they need to be". They have been much more competent in caring for me than I have been in caring for myself. (Maybe I should sue me!) I am so glad that people didn't sue me every time I made a mistake in my working career. If, after I make my way to Heaven, I find that my children have even thought of seeing a lawyer because there may have been a medical error which caused my death, I will ask God to take away every material gift he has thus far bestowed on them and send them begging in the streets. The doctors have kept me alive far longer than I have deserved. Give them a break! OK, I can say things like that but I don't really believe that God punishes that way in this world, so no matter what I say, my kids shouldn't think I am that heartless or vindictive.
But ... still on the subject of medical care, one thing that would help and save much time and probably money, would be a universal health database. Over the past year, I must have had to provide information on my health history and medications on multiple occasions. How many times must I relate that I had my tonsils, adenoids and appendix removed in 1937? Every time a prescription is filled it is recorded into a computer. If all this information was in a universal database, if I became ill anyplace I would not even need to be conscious for a local emergency room to know my medical history, medications, and what my allergies are. Privacy? What on earth is there to hide? We hide too much of ourselves.
Oh yes, I finally looked up the word that Dr. Schiappa, my GP, keeps putting down as the reason for the tests he orders. Dyspnea, the sensation of breathlessness or inadequate breathing, a common symptom and, in most cases, it can be effectively managed in the office by the family physician But it sure covers a multitude of sins. See Dyspnea. Do I have shortness of breath? Only when I do anything. That's not very often.
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When a friend is in trouble, |
After a leisurely breakfast on Thursday I took myself to Palos Primary Care Center and got my chest x-ray done. It was quick, efficient and the technician was pleasant and professional in her duties. She asked about previous surgeries and yes, she could see the stitches from my by-pass procedure and there was my heart, right where it should be. This was proof positive that I am not heartless. I have not had a standard chest x-ray in many years and although my lungs "sound" good this will confirm their good condition I am sure.
Upon my return home, Mikey, I and a cup of coffee proceeded to the patio for meditation and relaxation. A light rain, however interrupted us and we were forced into the house. The rain was a teaser, nothing to it. I will need to use my sprinklers tonight. My garden is thriving and I want to keep it that way. Even the Clematis is beginning to bloom again after a spurt of foliage growth. The day turned sunny and offered several sojourns into the yard to enjoy it.
The grunt labor with the errant buttons on the parish web site being completed, I turned to adding a couple testimonials to the parish "Witness to Faith" section by TNT (Teens Need Togetherness) members regarding their recent mission trip to Cairo, Illinois. Two were added but in the process, I discovered that while using one of the previous reflections as a template, I overwrote it. Unfortunately I no longer had the original and with my tail between my legs I contacted the Youth Director at the parish to see if she could provide a replacement copy. She will try to find it. .To read what some of these youngsters have said see Witness to Faith.
Anne Marie sent an email late last night. She had to let me know that Anthony hit a home run in his game Thursday evening and the sliders WON! Great! Marc's and Joe's teams also won and Marc left Rockford for home at 10:30, a two hour drive. She wants to see him before he grabs a couple winks and gets on his way to Marion, Ill at 8:00. He needed to come home for some cloths and stuff.
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God gave you the gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one to say “thank you”? ~ William A. Ward |
After my lawn guys left this morning I went out to the patio for my second ... and third cup of coffee and morning reflections. It was cool, with a pleasant breeze so I settled in a sunny spot and its warming effects were delicious. Caffeine does not effect me and even after a good night's sleep, a 20 minute nap took me to dream land. But before that I found myself musing about the fact that although not a vast space, my back yard presents a verity of vistas.. The trees are large enough now to screen out a great deal of the rest of the world. The views of the garden present a different setting depending on being from the patio, the swing, the gazebo or from the stone bench within the garden. I have even found myself with my eyes closed, thinking I could smell a fresh breeze off a quiet lake. Isn't imagination wonderful? It is too bad we tend to stifle it as we leave childhood.
With my little detour to dream land, today's update was in danger of being late but the morning's email insured that was to be. I was notified of a guestbook entry. Actually there were two. One was from July 19th and I must of missed. the notification when I was having trouble with my email. Both required attention, one grabbed me and diverted my attention. Judy had found the page with my dad's military information and his photo in his 123rd Field Artillery uniform. Her husband's uncle was in that unit and was killed in France. They knew little else about him and were looking for information. I knew that I would find his draft registration card using Ancestry.com and so I looked it up, made a copy and sent it to her along with a note and suggestions on how to find additional information. She also asked to be added to my list of friends. I must apologize to Arina. Hers was the month old guestbook entry and I will reply to her later today. She mistakenly thinks that I have been personally involved in Don Hall's D.R.E.A.M.S. project in the Dominican Republic.. She is interested in becoming involved. I will get back to her and also give her email address to Don Hall. You can review both postings by viewing my guestbook. And so, that is why this update is a little late. That and the fact that I broke for lunch and refused to give up my post lunch coffee in the gazebo before returning to this infernal machine in the house.
Next week's update will be either very early or very late, maybe a day either way. It will definitely not be done at noon on Friday because there is something else on my schedule. But ... it WILL BE!
Grandpa Don Plefka
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Anne wanted everyone to be 'Nice'. This button was in one of her dresser drawers I cleaned out in August of 2004
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