Tank birthday, 47+ years

[Paul B]

thanks guys. our friend sue is taking care of me, and i need a lot of help, like for doing everything but most of all to help my wife

 

[Lowell Lemon]

Get well Paul. Hope you are not experiencing a high level of pain. Prayers for you and your wife!

 

[Paul B]

lowell pretty painful but real men can handle it

 

[Paul B]

they wouldnt let me keep the "poppon fresh" hat

 

[smitten with ocean life]

thank you sue! glad thats over for you paul!

 

[Paul B]

thank you sue! glad thats over for you paul!

smitten, sue is probably our closest friend and has been for 50 years. her husband tommy died from covid when it frst came out and i miss him terribly

 

[smitten with ocean life]

im so sorry. i lost some friends to covid too.

 

[atoll]

I was back in A&E last night on 2 antibiotic drips. Home now but have more antibiotics to take. No sleep so off to bed soon. Hope your not in much pain Paul.

 

[Paul B]

good morning atoll hope you get over this soon.
i stopped taking oxy yesteday and now only on tylenol and vodka

friends are taking me out for breakfast in a few minutes. soon i will be able to comb my hair and in a few weeks, i should be able to type capitals

 

[ScottJ]

That Oxy is bad news! Best to get off it as soon as you can. I used it on and off for about a week after my knee replacement. Couldn't get off it fast enough

 

[Lowell Lemon]

lowell pretty painful but real men can handle it

You are free to stop proving your manhood now and take a break from all those repairs. Rest well and heal fast Paul.

 

[Paul B]

This happened 3 years ago so i just added my new experiences at the end.

So yesterday I had my left shoulder replaced (I may make a lot of typos) I have to wear that sling that keeps my arm a few inches away from my body 24/7 even sleeping with it. I love that hospital and wish I could rent a weekend there.

I have no pain at all and am thinking of hitting it with a hammer to make sure he actually replaced it. He said I have so much arthritis in there that he couldn't fix it if he wanted to and my rotator cuff is shredded and must be in my neck somewhere, so he doesn't have to use it :oops:
The surgery was a piece of cake. As a matter of fact, 15 minutes into the operation I had a dream. At least I hope it was a dream. There was a big cake on my stomach and all the people in the operating room were singing Happy Birthday to the Rastafarian anesthesiologist as he was blowing out the candles with my oxygen tube.

The hospital is great but like most hospitals, you can't get any sleep. First of all because of something with the anesthesia, I had to pee all night every 15 minutes like clockwork. So to take me to the bathroom they had to disconnect the two IV bags they have going into my hand, (one of the bags was filled with natural seawater (I could tell because It had live amphipods in it) and the other was an antibiotic with Prizapro) Then unhook the tubes on my legs that inflate around my legs every 8 seconds one at a time. The motor that does that goes WWWWOOOOOSSSSHHHHHHH...WWWWOOOOSSSHHHHH. So I asked for the pee container.
If a bubble goes through the tube to your hand it also has an alarm that just goes BEEP..BEEP...BEEP constantly.

When I decided to try to go to sleep at 2:00am I turned on the TV and was watching "The Greatest Storm" where George Clooney was the Capt. of a Sword fishing boat and was in a huge storm.

My bed had an alarm on it so when I got out of bed to either fall on the floor or jump out the window that goes BBBBBBBBBbbbbbeep-
BBBBBBBBBbbbbbbbeep etc until I got back into bed.

If anyone on the floor pushes the emergency button for anything like they want a toothpick, pain killer or cat food the thing would ring outside my door. It would continuously go. Ding, ding, ding.........Ding, ding, ding.......Etc.

The nurses constantly take your temperature and blood pressure. The blood pressure machine goes brbrbrbrbrbrbrbrbr,brbrbrbrbrbrbrbr etc.

So last night went something like this. In the movie George Clooney is being thrown all around the boat as my legs are being inflated one at a time so I keep hearing: WWWWOOOOOSSSSHHHHHHH...WWWWOOOOSSSHHHHH. As that is going on I hear blaring:
Doctor Kildare please come to the nurses station Stat.

Then my hips raise, WWOOOOOSSSSHHH...WWOOOOSSSHH. My left leg inflates, WWWWOOOOOSSSSHHHHHHH...WWWWOOOOSSSHHHHH. and I hear Ding,ding,ding. George Clooney is being thrown against the port side of the boat.

"DOCTOR KILDARE PLEASE COME TO THE NURSES STATION ". Ding, ding, ding.
Beep, Beep, Beep, My right leg raises WWWWOOOOOSSSSHHHHHHH...WWWWOOOOSSSHHHHH.

The bed also has inflators that randomly raise your head, hips and shoulders and the blower that makes that work sounds something like the inflator for the legs but it has a few less double you's and Hs.


Then my hips raise, WWOOOOOSSSSHHH...WWOOOOSSSHH. My left leg inflates, WWWWOOOOOSSSSHHHHHHH...WWWWOOOOSSSHHHHH. and I hear Ding,ding,ding. George Clooney is being thrown against the port side of the boat. "DOCTOR KILDARE PLEASE COME TO THE NURSES STATION ". Ding, ding, ding.
Beep, Beep, Beep, My right leg raises WWWWOOOOOSSSSHHHHHHH...WWWWOOOOSSSHHHHH.

The nurse comes in as a huge wave washes Clooney onto the starboard side of the boat

Nurse says: "My Christmas Birthday Baby Baldassano, I need to take your vitals". My left leg raises.

WWWWOOOOOSSSSHHHHHHH...WWWWOOOOSSSHHHHH. ding,,ding,,ding
Open your mouth and stick out your arm for your pressure. brbrbrbrbrbrbrbrbr,brbrbrbrbrbrbrbr. I can tell she used the wrong thermometer by the taste

I got to pee. BBBBBBBBBbbbbbeep-BBBBBBBBBbbbbbbbeep

"KILLDARE WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?" The nurse gets called away, probably to look for Killdare and the pressure machine is still going up
brbrbrbrbrbrbrbrbr,brbrbrbrbrbrbrbr. The pressure is going up over 120 psi and it isn't stopping. My arm looks like a strand of linguini and wax is starting to shoot out of my ears right into my Jello.

WWWWOOOOOSSSSHHHHHHH...WWWWOOOOSSSHHHHH. Ding, Ding, ding....Ding Ding, Ding. brbrbrbrbrbrbrbrbr,brbrbrbrbrbrbrbr. My head raises WWOOOOOSSSSHHH...WWOOOOSSSHH.

Clooney gets impaled on the steering wheel...... "Kildare you Quack....Your Fired" I have to pee so I stand up because gravity helps.
BBBBBBBBBbbbbbeep-BBBBBBBBBbbbbbbbeep so I have to be fast. My right leg inflates as my hips raise
WWWWOOOOOSSSSHHHHHHH...WWWWOOOOSSSHHHHH .... WWOOOOOSSSSHHH...WWOOOOSSSHH.
Beep ,,Beep Beep.
Clooney gets washed off the boat into the sea only to be torn apart by school of designer clownfish. Blood pressure machine is still going
brbrbrbrbrbrbrbrbr,brbrbrbrbrbrbrbr And the nurse is no where to be found. I have to pee. BBBBBBBBBbbbbbeep-BBBBBBBBBbbbbbbbeep

My left leg raises.
WWWWOOOOOSSSSHHHHHHH...WWWWOOOOSSSHHHHH.

I got to pee. BBBBBBBBBbbbbbeep-BBBBBBBBBbbbbbbbeep Ding,,Ding "HELP,,HELP, I have fallen and I can't get up".

WWWWOOOOOSSSSHHHHHHH...WWWWOOOOSSSHHHHH. Ding, Ding, ding....Ding Ding, Ding. brbrbrbrbrbrbrbrbr,brbrbrbrbrbrbrbr. My head raises WWOOOOOSSSSHHH...WWOOOOSSSHH.

I have to pee.
BBBBBBBBBbbbbbeep-BBBBBBBBBbbbbbbbeep so I have to be fast. My right leg inflates as my hips raise
WWWWOOOOOSSSSHHHHHHH...WWWWOOOOSSSHHHHH .... WWOOOOOSSSSHHH...WWOOOOSSSHH.
Beep ,,Beep Beep.

Then about 8:00am breakfast comes. You can't make this stuff up.

That was 3 years ago and this week i had my right shoulder replaced so the story was almost the same except for a couple of things that i will explain.

(no capitals or much punctuation because i have to type using only one finger on my left hand)

i get to the hospital at 5:30 am and they get me ready for the surgery.



I am naked except for this Tommy Hilfiger outfit with a matching hat. they wheel me up to my room and introduce me to these girl scouts.
they were actually nurses but about the same age as my granddaughter




After a while, I have to pee, so these two 12-year-old nurses come in to disconnect my leg pumps and 2 IVs. They walk me into the bathroom and lift my gown up to my armpits. (not to embarassing) Now I have to pee in a cup because they want to measure it.

This goes on for a few hours because the two IVs are constantly filling you with saline solution, which is seawater.

Then I have the surgery, and I assume that went well.
About an hour after I wake up, I hear this blood-curdling scream. GET THE H-LL AWAY FROM ME. DON'T TOUCH ME. GET AWAY. I HATE YOU. DON'T COME TO VISIT ME ANY MORE, etc. This screaming went on for 6 hours, and they had to restrain this woman, who was throwing things at the staff and hitting them.

About 2 hours after this starts, the claxon horns start blasting the loudest noise I have heard since Vietnam. Bright lights start flashing, and I hear sirens. The old woman is still screaming, and firemen come running through the halls carrying axes. i thought they were there to help quiet the woman.
They closed my door, and I figured some radical group was rioting in the hallway, but I think someone was smoking in the bathroom and set off the alarm.

Anyway, that was some of my new hospital stay. i will finish when i could type better.

 

[smitten with ocean life]

am i supposed to laugh or cry. i think ill just sigh!

 

[atoll]

Last night there were 6 of us in this small room all on drips. Sleep not a chance we are just sitting uncomfotably in chairs with nurses coming and going taking blood pressures, temperatures and changing bags.

My first bag empties and is sounding the alarm. No nuses to be seen. Half an hour still no.sign of a nurse. I recon they have gone to a nurses leaving do party or dance classes. I ask the people in the room is there someway of getting the nurses attention. Guy next to says yeah see that red button just press it. I do and he'll lets lose nurses doctors the SAS and paratroops decend.
Luckily I am forgiven but wrong or not one of the nurses puts the new bag on which takes 4 hours to drain into me.

 

[atoll]

Just read this and thought I just had to post it here.
My name’s Tommy. I’m 67.
I spent over forty years crawling through attics, basements, and half-built homes — running wires, fixing circuits, and making sure the lights came on when people flipped the switch.

I never wore a tie to work. My uniform was steel-toe boots and a tool belt.
And you know what? I was proud of that.

Last spring, my grandson asked me to speak at his school’s “Career Morning.”
There were doctors, software engineers, and one fella who said he “worked in fintech” — whatever that means. I was the only one who brought a voltage tester instead of a PowerPoint.

When it was my turn, I told the kids,
“I didn’t go to college. I went to work.
When storms hit and power lines fall, I’m the guy who helps bring your heat back, your lights back, your normal back.”

They all leaned in a little closer.
One kid raised his hand and said, “So… you fix stuff when everyone else is scared to touch it?”
I grinned. “Pretty much.”

Afterward, a quiet boy came up to me.
He said, “My dad’s a mechanic. He gets dirty every day. People tease him for it.”
I looked him straight in the eye and said,
“Son, the world stops without people like your dad. When your car breaks down, no one’s calling an accountant. They’re calling him.”

Here’s the truth I’ve learned after a lifetime of hard work:

The world runs on skilled hands.
It runs on the people who get up early, stay late, and solve the problems no one else sees.

You can build all the apps you want, but when the furnace dies in January — it’s not a diploma that saves you. It’s the person who shows up with a wrench, a flashlight, and the know-how to make it work again.

We’ve spent too long treating trade work like a backup plan, when really, it’s the foundation everything else stands on.

A few weeks later, my grandson’s teacher emailed me. She said,
“That shy boy you spoke to? He’s joining a trade program next year. He said you made him proud of what his dad does.”

And that right there — that made every sore back and late night worth it.

Here’s what I know now:

Not everyone needs a corner office to make a difference.
Some of us build the rooms those offices sit in.

So the next time you ask a kid what they want to be, don’t just ask, “What college are you going to?”
Ask, “What do you want to build? What do you want to fix? What do you want to make work again?”

Because this world will always need more people who can keep the lights on — in every sense of the word.

Respect the trades. Teach the pride. Celebrate the work that keeps us all going.

Amen to that!

 

[smitten with ocean life]

here! here!

 

[Lowell Lemon]

Just read this and thought I just had to post it here.
My name’s Tommy. I’m 67.
I spent over forty years crawling through attics, basements, and half-built homes — running wires, fixing circuits, and making sure the lights came on when people flipped the switch.

I never wore a tie to work. My uniform was steel-toe boots and a tool belt.
And you know what? I was proud of that.

Last spring, my grandson asked me to speak at his school’s “Career Morning.”
There were doctors, software engineers, and one fella who said he “worked in fintech” — whatever that means. I was the only one who brought a voltage tester instead of a PowerPoint.

When it was my turn, I told the kids,
“I didn’t go to college. I went to work.
When storms hit and power lines fall, I’m the guy who helps bring your heat back, your lights back, your normal back.”

They all leaned in a little closer.
One kid raised his hand and said, “So… you fix stuff when everyone else is scared to touch it?”
I grinned. “Pretty much.”

Afterward, a quiet boy came up to me.
He said, “My dad’s a mechanic. He gets dirty every day. People tease him for it.”
I looked him straight in the eye and said,
“Son, the world stops without people like your dad. When your car breaks down, no one’s calling an accountant. They’re calling him.”

Here’s the truth I’ve learned after a lifetime of hard work:

The world runs on skilled hands.
It runs on the people who get up early, stay late, and solve the problems no one else sees.

You can build all the apps you want, but when the furnace dies in January — it’s not a diploma that saves you. It’s the person who shows up with a wrench, a flashlight, and the know-how to make it work again.

We’ve spent too long treating trade work like a backup plan, when really, it’s the foundation everything else stands on.

A few weeks later, my grandson’s teacher emailed me. She said,
“That shy boy you spoke to? He’s joining a trade program next year. He said you made him proud of what his dad does.”

And that right there — that made every sore back and late night worth it.

Here’s what I know now:

Not everyone needs a corner office to make a difference.
Some of us build the rooms those offices sit in.

So the next time you ask a kid what they want to be, don’t just ask, “What college are you going to?”
Ask, “What do you want to build? What do you want to fix? What do you want to make work again?”

Because this world will always need more people who can keep the lights on — in every sense of the word.

Respect the trades. Teach the pride. Celebrate the work that keeps us all going.

Amen to that!

Now that is a worthy sermon. Pass the collection plate and we will call that our weekly church service.

Both you and Paul need to heal up!

 

[Paul B]

atoll. that's the best post i ever read. even better than mine
everyone today wants to go to college to become a software engineer (whatever that is) no one wants to talk about hardware anymore but as you said, your car and the world run on hardware and not virtual things.

we had cars, electricity, atom bombs, and coffee pots long before software. when i was a kid, software was a woolen sweater.

i can build or fix just about anything. (right now, there is a nuclear submarine parked outside my front door that needs a tune up)
but if the thing needs a password, i won't touch it.

i always tell people. see those people getting off the train at 8;00 or 9;00 at night?
they are college graduates and many of them are in their 70s and 80s.

see the people getting home at 4;00 or 5;00, they are blue collar workers and the ones in their 50s. the ones going out on their boats on a tuesday afternoon.

the blue-collar workers also have free insurance, pensons and a lot of friends
because they have the free time to enjoy them.

i have a few college graduate friends still working and they are my age. they can't stop because they can't afford it or the insurance and they will die while still working.

my goal in life was to retire while i was still young enough to enjoy the time off.

and if i died while still working. i lost.

 

[MikeyZo]

Atoll, thst was awesome. Good job teaching those kids a little humbleness about the back scene people that keep this world running. Kudos to you and your years of work!

 

[atoll]

Atoll, thst was awesome. Good job teaching those kids a little humbleness about the back scene people that keep this world running. Kudos to you and your years of work!

In later life I moved into building management as a building projects manager. It paid more and gave me a better pension. Didn't stop me building and repairing things just not as much. I still keep my hand in as they say