Good News and Bad News Today

We had a full day with a 225 mile round trip for doctor appointments near where we used to live in Montgomery County, MD.  Gerry and I both have doctors that we trust and make the drive down there each year for our yearly exams.

First the good news.  My urologist guaranteed me that I wouldn't die of prostate cancer.  I had seed implants and radiation a number of years ago and have been fine since then.  My PSA numbers went up about .1 this past year and I asked him about it.  Nothing to be concerned about was his answer since normal results will vary a few tenths from year to year.  My results were super good and that is when he guaranteed me I wouldn't die from prostate cancer.  WHEW!  Then he said something else would have to do the job.  He does have a wicked sense of humor and that is one of the things I like about him, plus he is a super great urologist.

The bad news came when Gerry went in for her yearly ear exam.  A number of years ago she needed surgery on one ear and her ENT Doctor performed it successfully.  He wants her to have it checked each year to ensure all is well.  He said it looked great and even better than in the past.   Then the bad news came.  He has decided that he is tired of dealing with medicare and the insurance companies and is retiring to Florida where he will teach at a University down there.  Gerry really trusts him and is very sad to see him leave the practice.  

We have had 4 doctors in the past couple years give up their practice due to heavy government burdens put on them resulting in increased cost to run the business and decreased income due to gov't requirements.  It doesn't look good for the medical profession and their patients in the future.

After the 2nd appointment we stopped by Total Wine & Beer and picked up some wine to carry us over into October.  They have the best prices around and their wine selection is great.  Maybe the wine will help Gerry through her sadness.  

Tom & Gerry's sister Darlene meet us for dinner since it was close to where they live, and we selected Olive Garden.  It was very noisy there with two large groups drowning out everyone else.  They should put them in a separate area so they can make all the noise they want and not bother others.  We managed to talk over them and enjoyed seeing Tom & Darlene.   

The meals were great as usual and they were so large that we had to bring a doggy bag back home with us.  It looks like a lasagna lunch for us on Thursday.   

I have an eye appointment Thursday and another with my GP on Monday in regard to the blood clot and hopefully that will be it for a while.  They are both close to us and I am grateful we found them near the cabin.    

Assuming all goes well we are planning on traveling down to Roanoke Rapids on October 3.  We will stop for a few days and visit with our good friends Carolyn & Mann and then continue on so we can join in the wedding festivities for the marriage of our grandson Jared to his sweetheart Hannah on October 8th.  It will be a fun time for all seeing the family members once again.

That was our day and some of our plans for the next few weeks.  At least we will be back on the road again and seeing new sights or visiting old favorites.  

A Travel Through Time

1978 was an interesting time for me while working for USAID.  I was a project manager on many different projects and was still able to take a vacation that summer.

Larry Jr. was 7 years old and he was a good traveler so we decided to take a journey through the New England states.  At the time we had a Ford Pickup and an Apache Buffalo tent trailer.  I had modified the trailer by adding some storage bins, a kitchen box and other changes.   The Ford truck had a camper shell on it and Larry Jr spent most of the time back there playing while we drove down the road.  Yes I know, he wasn't in a seat belt.

1978 Ford F-150  $5500 new

We wanted to show Larry Jr some historical sites in the US along with some fun places.  He loved Watkins Glen, Ft Ticonderoga, Cooperstown and the baseball Hall of Fame.  He already was a Pittsburgh Pirates baseball fan and was thrilled to see how many Pirates were enshrined there.

We saw many historical sites on our three week trip and had a great time.  Many sites dated back to the 1700s and the Revolutionary War.  250 years of history in three weeks.

In October I had the opportunity to work for about 3 months in Cairo, Egypt and eagerly agreed to the TDY.  I had a layover in Rome on the way there and took advantage of that to take a whirlwind tour of Rome.  The next day when I arrived at the airport to leave for Cairo the airport workers were on strike.  Back to the hotel and then catch the bus back to downtown Rome for more sightseeing.  

Coliseum on the right.

Spanish Steps

I took many photos while I was there but don't want to overload the blog with them.  Other than visiting Rome I did have an interesting experience.  There was a big conference going on at the hotel but I didn't pay attention to it since I was in a hurry to get downtown.  The next day while I was waiting for the bus a woman about my age came up and asked if I was going downtown to tour the city.  She said she went yesterday and the Roman men pinched her so often she couldn't sit down and wondered if she could go with me.  No problem, so off we went.

I was a walker back in those days and must have walked 10 miles checking out the buildings and monuments that dated back about 2000 years.  On the bus ride back I asked her what she was doing in Rome and she said she was there for a Sexology Conference that was going on in the hotel.   A WHAT??  She explained a little of what she did (very professional with a PHD) on the way back.  You never know who you will meet while traveling.

Then it was on to Cairo, Egypt for the actual TDY.  I am a history buff and loved Egypt.  The US & Egypt had good relations back then and Americans were more than welcome there.  I am sure there were some people who didn't like to see us, but for the most part I didn't see any negative attitude toward Americans.

There is too much to write about the TDY so I will just present some of the highlights.  Gerry joined me for three weeks while our daughters watched Larry Jr.  It was the first time in over 20 years that we were free of kids and on our own.

We toured Cairo in depth, visited the Pyramids, Alexandria, the bazaar, had custom made leather coats made ( Gerry still has hers), ate at different restaurants and had a great time.  It was her first time overseas and she adapted to it like a duck to water.  That was when we decided we wanted to work and live overseas and we accomplished that in 1982 when I joined the Foreign Service and was sent to Abidjan, Ivory Coast.

I took over 500 photos on the trip and scanned a number of them into digital format over the past couple years.  

Oxen working an old old water wheel for irrigation

Old Roman theater in Alexandria

Hard to imagine how good shape it was in for being 1500 yrs old

Gerry all tired out from walking all over Alexandria

It was an interesting time for me since I experienced seeing some of the US history (250 yrs), Roman history (2000 yrs) and Egyptian history that dated back to 4500BC.  It sure makes you wonder how long things we build now will last when we tear down football stadiums because they are too old at 25 yrs.  

That was what I did 38 years ago, what did you do?