Peekaboo, I see you!

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On Monday, Feb 11, 2008, I am scheduled to have cataract surgery on my left eye. While the lenses of both my eyes have become befogged, the left is worse. My ophthalmologist, Dr. Michael Cohen, is no longer able to sharpen my diminishing vision with corrective lenses. So, while I must admit to being a little anxious about the surgery, I am looking forward to seeing better. Perhaps, with clearer vision, my pessimistic view of the world will become a tad rosier.

What follows is a letter from my primary care physician, Dr. Alphone Aversa. On 01/28/2008 he subjected me to a requisite pre-op examination and this is his report. (Interestingly, although we are generations apart in age, he and I served our medical residencies at the same hospital in Brooklyn, Kings County Hospital).

Dear Dom,

Your recent tests all look fine, with the exception of a slightly elevated glucose level and also a slightly elevated thyroid stimulating hormone level. No treatment is needed for either of these findings, but I do recommend a followup test for both in 6 months. Everything else was normal. Your cholesterol is outstanding.

Cholesterol 167; Triglycerides 93; HDL (Good Cholesterol) 69; LDL (Bad Cholesterol 80; and Cholesterol/HDL Ratio 2.4. All are well within normal range.

The complete blood count, urinanalysis and the rest of your chemistry were normal. Your stool specimen showed no sign of blood.

I wish you a speedy recovery.

Sincerely,
Al
Alphonse Aversa, MD, FACP

Hillary vs Obama

I retrieved this from our archives

It was first published here on 01/31/2007

Fasten your seat belts

We're in for a colorful campaign

Senator Biden once described Senator Obama as "the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy." Taken from NY Times, 1/31/07. Has Senator Biden pre-cooked himself? ~ The Horn

"When Biden apologized to me for his reference to Obama being "clean" I told him I take a bath every day." ~ Rev. Al Sharpton

Articulate is really (white) shorthand to describe a black who isn't too black. Whatever the intention, expressing one's astonishment that such individuals exist is no compliment. Just come out and say it: "Gee, he doesn't sound black at all" ~ Eugene Robinson ~ Washinton Post Columnist, 2/2/07

After a speech Hillary recently gave to American Indians, she was given an Indian name, "Walking Eagle." Reporters were told it's a name given to a bird that is so full of s--t, it can no longer fly ~ Google 2/5/07

Heaven forbid!

Above is from the Sistine Chapel, Rome

Is it divinely ordained
that we and the rest of the world
must continue to be deprived
of quality leadership?
Why,
of all life on earth, is it only mankind
that has incurred God’s divine wrath?
What is it about us that He detests?
Could it be that He sees Man
as being too much unlike
Him?

Our next president (?)

Some Election Reflections

From all that I hear, view and read, it will be convention time before the Democratic Party nominee emerges. Meanwhile, because the struggle between Hillary and Barack is so indisputably a matter of Gender versus Race, the Democratic Party is undergoing serious, perhaps irreversible polarization. And, because the supporters of both candidates are so passionately committed, they will not be disposed to transfer good will to the victor. Indeed, while some may defect to the Republican side, many will simply not bother to vote. In all likelihood, therefore, the end result of this insidious process will be an unelectable Democratic nominee.

On the other side, although each of the remaining candidates is a white male with ostensibly traditional political experience, their tactics are polarizing. McCain’s age, his unequivocal support of our position in Iraq and his persistent alienation of the conservative wing of the G.O.P. is sharply diminishing his ability to lead. Huckabee’s strong identification with Evangelicals detracts from whatever political impact he endeavors to display. Romney, perhaps the most capable of the three has been too contentious and inimical. If, as now seems inevitable, McCain becomes the Republican nominee, look for his overall support to be tepid at best.

In conclusion, with Democrats continuing to defeat themselves, and most voters depending on feeling rather than cerebration, I predict that a less than fully representative Republican candidate will narrowly prevail in the presidential election.

Cheers!

This letter by Squire Carl Payne of Tennessee

relates to a plot of ground in Lynchburg

which was deeded to me 5 years ago

by the Jack Daniel’s Distillery

Dear Squire Gabriele,

<><><> I understand that you are the honorary owner of plot no, g71470 here in Moore County. Since I am a fellow Squire who has served three times as the County Executive, I have been asked to help out by writing to you and a few other landowners to find out how you feel about granting a permanent easement across your place. This would allow the local residents access to one of the better fishing spots on Mulberry Creek.

<><><> The Motlow Estate and the Jack Daniel’s Distillery have already granted adjoining easements. So now, we only need the easement of your plot and a few others. Actually, it really doesn’t even have to be anything too official. We’d just like to know if you’d mind if some of your neighbors cut across your place now and then to get to the creek. We’ll see to it that no one takes undue advantage of your situation.

Sincerely,

Carl Payne,
Lynchburg, Tennessee 37352

Dear Squire Payne,

<><><> Thank you for your kind and thoughtful letter. Here in this frozen waste we currently call New York, I can only dream of what it must be like to fish in a weatherproof Tennessee creek. By the way, note the eerie coincidence that the number of my plot (g71470) contains the numbers of my birthday (07/07/14).

<><><> But Carl, surely you remember the story of Pat and Sean, where they promised to pour whiskey over each other’s graves, when the other passed on. And you will also recall that Pat made it a point to reassure Sean that he would pour his whiskey on Sean’s grave only after he first filtered it through his kidneys.

<><><> Similarly, I trust that any local fisherman who might meander near and over my plot, will have the forethought to load his urogenital tract with a liberal (forgive my use of that word) quantity of Jack Daniel’s.

Here’s to you, Squire Payne
Dom Gabriele