Tank birthday, 55+ years

[smitten with ocean life]

thats tough paul. im sorry for both of you. i hope you have someone close by to call for help. i know id be glad to but im on the other side of the states!

 

[Paul B]

My reef reached 55 years old this month...(I think) If my math is correct.

 

[Paul B]

i hope you have someone close by to call for help. i know id be glad to but im on the other side of the states!

Unfortunately Smiten, no one here to call. Our Daughter lives in Manhattan and almost all my friends now are in Florida to escape the New York winters. :oops:

This is one reason I walk every morning just before sunrise. I am trying to keep in shape and I need to get back before she gets up in case of an accident. She walks with a walker but if she turns fast or does just about anything, she can fall and can't get up. Yes, like that commercial that I used to laugh at. I don't laugh at it any more. :confused:

I met my wife when she was 12 and I dated her older cousin because I am 6 years older than her. When she was 12 she looked like she was 17.

We got married when I was 24 and she was 18. We still have an excellent marriage and never lost any of that original love that many times fades over time. :beaming-face-with-smiling-eyes:

 

[Paul B]

I think I am very healthy so far but I have a colonoscopy next week and they are always fun so if that comes out fine, I will say I am in perfect shape. :beaming-face-with-smiling-eyes:

We all have aches and pains at my age but that won't kill me. (I'm pretty sure Agent Orange and Asbestos will do that to me eventually) but all the health issues I know about are stupid broken and torn things. I can live with that. My wife on the other hand is unfortunately on a downward trend due to MS. :confused:



I consider myself "very" lucky and blessed. I was actually having this conversation with my wife over breakfast this morning. Yesterday was Ash Wednesday and as a Catholic, I got ashes. I am not a very holy person and I am not sure I would get them if it were not for my wife but I was discussing with her all the times in my life that I came very close to dying. A few of those times were of course in combat in Viet Nam where I emerged almost unscathed where many others, right near or next to me died or were seriously wounded. I was also in two helicopter crashes where I walked away.

My job as an industrial construction electrician in Manhattan where we built many sky scrapers from a hole in the ground up I came very close to dying many times. Mostly from falling, heavy things falling on me or getting severely shocked. :face-in-clouds:

In VietNam during a very nasty battle, I was positive I would be killed in a few seconds. I prayed like I never prayed before and I don't know if God heard me and wanted me to have a really old fish tank or if I was just very lucky, But up to this day, if a serious situation comes up, I pray and I think I have a "relationship" with God. Or Aliens, Spirits, Ghosts, deceased people, I don't know. But I am still here with all my limbs and my sight so I feel something happened. (Thats in my new book)

As I said, I am not a very religious person, but don't know how to describe it. I do pray but never for myself (after that VietNam thing)
I feel that is selfish to ask for things for yourself. But I do pray for my wife, Daughter and Grand Kids. Does it work? I have no idea but I figure it can't hurt. :beaming-face-with-smiling-eyes:

 

[Lowell Lemon]

Praying is never a waste of time Paul! Especially, when praying for the welfare of others!

 

[Paul B]

I think I may start praying for some of the fish on this site for all the medications some people use on their fish. :rolleyes:

 

[Paul B]

As I said, my two books made $700.00 last year and I always donate it to charity. $500.00 went to MS and $200.00 went to Wounded Warriors.

I always post the receipts to prove I don't use that money for Copperband butterflies or some other stupid thing.

I would like to thank everyone who bought one of those books.

 

[Paul B]

Good Morning everyone. Yesterday I went to my pain Mgt Doctor and she filled my back with my quota of cortisone so I'm good to go on my dark and cold morning walk. :beaming-face-with-smiling-eyes:

 

[twentyleagues]

Good Morning everyone. Yesterday I went to my pain Mgt Doctor and she filed my back with my quota of cortisone so I'm good to go on my dark and cold morning walk. :beaming-face-with-smiling-eyes:

Oh man I dont miss those shots. I have had to get two in my elbow in my lifetime, I dont want to do that again ever. The pain right after was so much worse than the original. I feel for you!

 

[Paul B]

Twenttyleagues, the back shots aren't to bad. I think the ones in the palm of your hand or between your toes are the absolute worst. My doctor had to re-paint her ceiling because I hit it the last time I had shots in the palm of my hand. :confounded-face:

 

[twentyleagues]

Twenttyleagues, the back shots aren't to bad. I think the ones in the palm of your hand or between your toes are the absolute worst. My doctor had to re-paint her ceiling because I hit it the last time I had shots in the palm of my hand. :confounded-face:

My elbow was "froze" and then injected with cortisone. No pain felt pretty good. Dr told me to go home rest and take the pain pills he prescribed. I thought he didnt know what hes talking about he doesnt know my pain tolerance. I stopped at Dunhams to check out what pew pews were instock on the way home. About 10 mins into my window shopping the Frozen shot wore off, pretty sure I was dead or dying. Not 100% sure how I got home the pain was that bad, it made my whole body ache and my brain shut down. lol some pain tolerance huh?

 

[Paul B]

Yes, I don't like people to know that with some of those shots, tears came to my eyes. Especially being my pain Mgt Doctor is a young "girl" (all females to me who are younger than my Daughter are girls) and I didn't want her to know that I couldn't take the pain. :confounded-face:

 

[Paul B]

Some of my Waspfish. Very cool.

 

[Paul B]

As I said, now my tank is going through a really severe hair algae cycle. I wish I would get some hair on my head. :rolleyes:

I have been sucking it out with my DIY diatom filter without adding the diatom powder. Hopefully, in a few weeks it will all be out and the tank will be pristine again. :beaming-face-with-smiling-eyes:

Thats all hair algae in the bottom and it is dying in droves. I could open a sod farm. :beaming-face-with-smiling-eyes:

 

[ScottJ]

Yes, I don't like people to know that with some of those shots, tears came to my eyes. Especially being my pain Mgt Doctor is a young "girl" (all females to me who are younger than my Daughter are girls) and I didn't want to know that I couldn't take the pain. :confounded-face:

I was getting shots in my knees for a few years. They used the freeze spray and I hardly felt a thing. They used to work pretty good, till they didn't. Getting 1st knee done in July, 2nd one 5 or 6 months later. I just want to be able to climb the basement stairs without a string of profanity escaping my mouth. :anguished-face:

 

[Paul B]

Scott, yes, those knee shots are also not fun especially if they inject that gel stuff that doesn't work. That is a huge needle. I had that done quite a few times, just before I had 3 or 4 surgeries on each knee. Then I just told the guy to replace it because thats easier than all those stupid shots.

Now I have a new shoulder and knee and I put in for a new head. Maybe something like Brad Pit has. :beaming-face-with-smiling-eyes:

The people with those "sit down" computer jobs don't know about that good stuff. :)

 

[Subsea]

I was getting shots in my knees for a few years. They used the freeze spray and I hardly felt a thing. They used to work pretty good, till they didn't. Getting 1st knee done in July, 2nd one 5 or 6 months later. I just want to be able to climb the basement stairs without a string of profanity escaping my mouth. :anguished-face:

Beam me up, Scotty,
I have two titanium knees that were done 5 years apart. Initially, Joel Hurt, my orthopedic surgeon wanted to do both knees at the same time. I said no way and 5 years later the VA did my second knee with a spinal block AND that was a BIG needle.

 

[ScottJ]

Beam me up, Scotty,
I have two titanium knees that were done 5 years apart. Initially, Joel Hurt, my orthopedic surgeon wanted to do both knees at the same time. I said no way and 5 years later the VA did my second knee with a spinal block AND that was a BIG needle.

My Dr said they used to both knees a once. They discovered that wasn't an optimal outcome. Hmm, I probably could have told them that from the get go. :thinking-face: Now they wait a few months between so you can at least hobble around enough to feed the fish.

I hope your knees are working out for you! In all honesty, it's pretty amazing what they can do nowadays to keep us going. I'll take all the spare parts I can get:p

 

[Paul B]

my orthopedic surgeon wanted to do both knees at the same time. I said no way and 5 years later the VA did my second knee with a spinal block AND that was a BIG needle.

I knew a guy who had both knees replaced at the same time, but they made a mistake and mixed up the right and the left. Now he can't walk straight, he just goes in circles. :rolleyes:

I have two titanium knees that were done 5 years apart.

I think mine are aluminum. We get titanium from China and I don't buy or wear anything from China so I got aluminum melted down from the shock absorbers from the front end of an American 1957 Oldsmobile Startfire. :beaming-face-with-smiling-eyes:

 

[Paul B]

I have decided that God made aging less than pleasant so that we would actually look forward to heaven. Otherwise we might want to stay here forever and miss out on what eternity has to offer!

Yes, God did one thing wrong. Instead of being born poor and in good health, we should all be born with a lot of money and not to healthy. As we age, we should be able to spend all that money and get healthier by the year.

Then at the end of our life we would have spent all of our money having fun and will be very healthy so we can die laughing.

i bought your marine aquarist book, paul, and am enjoying it. gives me the giggles! i want to lend it to my brother when im done because i know he would enjoy it too. your way of doing things reminds me of him :smiling-face:

Smitten, How did you like my fish book?

Relax and feel better Paul — maybe photos from your walk tomorrow.

I don't remember if I took this picture from a helicopter or found it on National Geographic.

We always try to go for a helicopter ride whenever we go someplace. Those trips are a distant memory now.

I once took my wife and young Daughter to Manhattan for a helicopter ride. We didn't live to far from there and I worked there. We went to the heliport and there was this old, rusty looking wreck of a helicopter there so I told the guy, I won't take my family on that wreck, I want a real and new aircraft, something that doesn't look like that thing from Jurassic Park where the monster jumped up and ate the thing.

Ther was a newer helicopter there, a 4 seater like I used to fly in in Vietnam. He said OK. It's $250.00 for a 7 minute ride.

This was about 40 years ago and that was a lot of money. I said, look, I am a New Yorker and we have to take care of each other. I don't care what you charge the tourists but you need to give me a deal. He said, OK, you take care of me and I will take care of you. So I gave him twenty bucks.

He said wait here. Our helicopter came in and as we walked to it, Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman got in the thing before us so we had to wait. But for that $250.00 he gave us the 25 minute ride around Manhattan instead of the stupid 7 minute ride. :beaming-face-with-smiling-eyes: