Spooky!

Spooky, check.
Halloween, check
Woman, check.


musical time out.....

Gates, Buffett, and Me

Bill Gates and Warren Buffett are known for many things, but for the last few years, their major push into charities and the philanthropic work has been getting all the attention.

Hey wait a minute, me too! About 5 years ago I was reading an article in the Wall Street Journal about an organization called Kiva who works with people who are trying to get ahead in life. People from around the world get loans to start or expand a business and make a better life for themselves and their families.

The minimum loan dollar amount is $25.00. You lend it interest free. That is right, you don't make a nickel. There is always a chance of loss, but it is rare. I have made 12 micro loans to this organization. All money has been repaid and I re-loan it as soon as the money paid back hits $25.00.

My latest loan went to
Leslie Moreno 
Agriculture, Philippines
just loaned


Ana Avalos
General Store, Paraguay
36% paid back


Vitaliy Ivanchuck
Printing, Ukraine
70% paid back


Stella Ovenseri
Clothing Sales, Nigeria
100% paid back


Marlene
Pharmacy, Peru
100% paid back


Eva Vavrisevich
Shoe Sales, Ukraine
100% paid back


Thach Long
Construction Supplies, Cambodia
100% paid back


Marcelina García's Group
Retail, Paraguay
100% paid back


Antonio
Farming, Peru
100% paid back


Zonia López Moya
Food Production/Sales, Mexico
100% paid back


Rosa Sánchez 
Food Production/Sales, Ecuador
100% paid back


Cynthia Konnan
Beauty Salon, Ghana
100% paid back

When you go to the Kiva page, you see the people asking for money, the story behind them, their hopes and dreams and you pick the one you want to help. Being the loans are $25.00, it sometimes takes many  people  to get them to their goal. Yes, it feels good to help someone out, someone that you will never see but you know you had a helping hand in their success.

That's it. No fuss, no mess. No heavy lifting.


Watch out Gates and Buffett, here comes Ray!


Click on the title to get to the site or go here  http://www.kiva.org/

Breast Cancer Facts

My college daughter offered to give me some facts on breast cancer for this post. How could I say no? 

She is graduating in a few months with a degree in exercise science, a four year degree from Florida State University.

She then is off to get her masters! Smart kid

The following information was offered from

Core Concepts in Health. 

Eleventh Edition. Paul M. Insel and Walton T. Roth

What You Need to Know About Breast Cancer

• Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women.

• 1:7 women will develop breast cancer = 182,000 women a year.

• 1:30 women will die from breast cancer = 41,000 women a year.

• Less than 1% of breast cancer occurs in women under the age of 30. More than 75% of the cancer occurs in women over 50 years old.

• The risk doubles every 5 years between 30-45 years old and increases 10-15% every 5 years after the woman reaches the age of 45.

• A woman with two close relatives with breast cancer is 4-6 times more likely to develop the cancer.

• However, only about 15% of women with a history of breast cancer develop the cancer.

• Risk factors: early menstruation, late menopause, not having children, having a first child after the age of 30, using hormone replacement therapy, obesity, and alcohol use.

• Many of these risk factors involve high amounts of estrogen – early menstruation, late menopause, obesity, and alcohol. The longer a woman has a high flow of estrogen, the more at risk they are. Fat cells produce estrogen, so obese women produce more estrogen. Alcohol interferes with the way alcohol is metabolized by the liver and produces more estrogen in the blood.

• Estrogen is a growth hormone. It promotes cell growth in the breast and uterus.

• A Low-fat, vegetable-rich diet, regular exercise, limited alcohol consumption, and weight maintenance can help lower the chance of a woman developing breast cancer.

• Mammograms every year after the age of 40 are used for early detection. Women between 20-39 should have a clinical breast exam every 3 years. Breast self-exams should start at 20 years old.

• Watch out for lumps, swelling, thickening, skin irritation, dimpling, nipple pain, scaliness, and retraction.

• Survival rates: 98% if not metastasized, 89% for all stages after 5 years, and 80% at 10 years.
  
  
  
  
  Thanks Daughter!
  Love,
  Dad

Post Golf Recovery

My day started out ok. Up early, got ready, dropped off some art books at the library and off to the golf course. I was to meet friends later for coffee before signing in. There was a slight breeze as I practiced some putts by myself, no one around, perfect conditions I thought to myself.

The driving range awaiting anxious golfers

Golf carts at the ready

Simple enough game, put the ball in the hole!

A friend called, would pick me up and off we went to get something to eat, which I hadn't planned on, but I got swept up by the smell of French toast and succumbed. After eating, we went back to the course to sign up and wait for the start of the tournament. And wait, and wait, and wait. Two hours to the start seems like an eternity.


At the sign up table, they get your name and what cart position (meaning your starting hole) and your goody bag (golf shirt, socks, golf balls etc). When you send in your money, they don't send back an e mail confirmation, so there is an anxious moment that you might not play today. Whew, we are in.

Next in line waits three attractive women whose sole purpose is to separate you and your money (for a good cause) for raffle tickets for later on in the evening. But it doesn't end there. Various women are scattered around the course for games of chance and of course the beverage carts that travel around, free beer for everyone, tips accepted.

By tee off time. the wind had picked up considerably. There was no chance of rain, but a strong wind puts a damper on the game of an average golfer. We struggled somewhat throughout the day, but still had fun, because that is what friends are for.

From left to right, Tom, Dick, Ray(me) and Gary

As a group, our score at the end of the day was a 70. The winning score was a 61. The worst score was an 88, so all in all, we did ok. I came away with nothing at the end of the day prize wise with the raffle give away.

I had some soreness early on, with my right knee and twisted my back with three holes to go for the day. As I write this, I am hoping I can make it into work. Sigh....

But all in all a fun time was had by everyone and I can't wait to do it again,

A remarkable resemblance don't you think?

The end

Chock Full Of Inner Demons

While out walking this morning, I realized I was feeling stiffer then most days. My knee was still aching, my shins seemed to get sore real quick and OMG, I forgot to pee before I left!

My music was going, but I hadn't found the right song to get me going. My brain was yapping in overdrive. negative thoughts, one after another first crept in and then like a floodgate being open here they came. It took about ten minutes or so before I could start to cage them up for another day and continue onward. Good thing I was able to continue and finish up laps(4) (1 1/2 miles each)and sweaty and kind of exhausted, head back to the house. But it got me to thinking.

Everyday we are bombarded by complaints, negative thoughts and otherwise useless information we can't control, whether at the workplace, at home, wherever. You have to be aware and be strong mentally and focus on the tasks at hand, no matter how repetitious or seemingly unimportant it may appear to be.

Someone does want you to fail. And sometimes that someone is you. Or me. Failure is common. It is comfortable. Victory is fleeting, failure is forever. Anyone can fail, not everyone succeeds. Pick a sport, who won the championship last year? Who won two years ago? Fame is fleeting. The road to success is a twisting winding road, were it ends up is unknown. How fast, how slow, to get there, I don't know. There isn't a time clock, but there is a scorekeeper. That would be you.

Dead ends, failure, they are everywhere. It is so easy to quit, blame others on why it didn't work out. People will nod their head and say, "yep, could see that coming." Champions work on a game plan. They attack the enemy. They use strategy. A strong work ethic. But even champions have doubts. Mental mistakes, blunders. Why oh why? Even the best have their down moments.

But think about it. An error in the first inning of a game counts just as much as an error in the last play of the game. Except during the course of a game, things early on are forgotten.

So when things don't go right, go to your happy place, when you were king for a day, when you couldn't miss and realize you can do it again.

And find the right music and march on.
Watch out world!

Can Poetry That Doesn't Rhyme Still Be Poetry?

An article in Slate magazine caught my attention. Being that I write poetry that doesn't rhyme, it caught my eye.
Click on the title to get to the article or copy and paste this link.

http://www.slate.com/id/2271417/

This Is So Me!

This sums up my elementary school days. Click on the picture to make it bigger.

click on the title for more. I get this strip in my in box each day!

25 Miles To Go!

After writing the previous post, I felt the need to add this music spot. Time to get up and go!

Walk Don't Run

I used to be quite the athlete when I was younger. I am not saying a pro quality athlete, but I hung out with a bunch of guys that would play any sport at any time. The trunk of my car, when I got older looked like a sports store, I was ready for anything.

Flash forward. married, kids, move to Florida, another kid, work, and then a revival of sorts, 5 k's , softball and stuff. Injuries pile up. Then it fades away,

until now.


Linda and her Twaddle is what I consider an athlete. She constantly works out, 4 days a week. Rain or shine.
Literally in the rain. Next year, on April 1st she will be walking 62 miles in approximately 28 hours straight, no sleep.

Something clicked inside me. Competitive juices have gotten stirred inside me. Now we will never compete on the same field together, we may never meet, but game on. Like a Phoenix rising I am back in the game.

Some concessions to some injuries on my part, a torn meniscus in my right knee, has limited me to walking but not running. But after a few test days to see how I would feel, I am thinking time is the only constraint I have each day. I walk daily at a very steady rate listening to music as I go along.

After almost 3 weeks, not missing a day, I am up to 4 1/2 miles.  Today, I might stretch it to 6 miles.  Am I stiff, sore shins, tired when I start? Yes, all of the above depending on the day.  Do I fell good when I am done? Yep!

Look out world, I am on the march.

To be continued.

Saturday Golf Tournament Excitement!!!!

It is time once again for the annual golf tournament I play each year. We tee off this Saturday at a local course, Cypress Creek Country Club. It is a charity event, raising money for Juvenile Diabetes. Some friends and I have been playing for the last 5 years or so. It is very popular and a full complement of foursomes will be playing. Last year many foursomes were turned away as they ran out of space.

I expect the same this year.  It is a best ball tournament, which means each player takes their best shot, it is decided which one is best, and everyone plays from that point. In essence you get four tries for each shot. 

It is relatively easy to do well, much better scoring than playing on your own. But the competition is fierce and scores will be very low. Two years ago we came in 7th.

But this is not why I am writing this. It is the feeling of excitement building inside me. It is playing for something tangible, something important, being a member of a team, striving for victory.  I don't play that often, a difficult work schedule, and golf itself is costly.  But all that aside, it makes me feel like a little kid getting ready for his first little league game. I remember my son, a little guy at the time, going to bed in his uniform, he couldn't wait to play the following morning. I wonder how silly I would look sleeping in my golf clothes.

It is the feeling of having something on the line for a change. As an occasional golfer, the skills aren't there. But on any given shot we are all capable of making a TV golf shot that shows up on replays everywhere.

The little kid in me, now an older man, is ready.

Bring it on