I have to get this out early due to traveling: when you get this I will likely be in India or on my way there to visit Aby Philip and his wife, Shoba, friends from my time in Swaziland. I hope to do a little medical volunteer work and some sightseeing in the Kerala state and won’t be back until Christmas Eve. I finished my time in Zambia in January. I rode out the humid wet season in the South Luangwa area and fortunately never had anything go wrong on the job or while moving about in the wild areas. While there, I felt at times like I was the man I am meant to be – the term that popped into my head was “a man in full.” The key was that I was sharing my faith more and putting myself out there, especially in the little Catholic church I attended, culminating in a modestly attended Healing Mass where I spoke and prayed over all the people. I left in good standing and headed for Livingstone to visit the amazing Victoria Falls and bungy jump off the bridge between Zambia and Zimbabwe. I flew out of Lusaka the next day and was back in time for my birthday and to finish all the paperwork for a job in Arizona with Gila River Health Care south of Phoenix (It seems like I spent much of my time outside of work filling out forms for work). I lived in Chandler for 3 months working two jobs with them then drove over to Albuquerque to work for the VA for 2 months. The southwest US is a very interesting and beautiful place and I would like to return. I had most of the summer off and traveled a lot, leaving the country to go to Cancun with my sister Kelly and her family. I had to wait for 4 weeks to get approved for another job with the VA (despite just working for them) in Wilmington, NC at a satellite clinic that was terribly run. All the while I was hoping to get to Ireland this year, but I eventually gave up on that for now and instead decided to go back to Waimate in New Zealand for six months next year. There are a lot of places I did not see before and a lot of changes for the better at the job I held, so I am really looking forward to it.
Match the quote with its author (there can be more than one quote per author):
- “Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.”
- “For the secret of man’s being is not only to live but to have something to live for.”
- “There are no greater myths to mislead humans than nationalism and patriotism.”
- “Men are not flattered by being shown that there has been a difference of purpose between the Almighty and them.”
- “The Veterans Administration will spare no expense to save money.”
- “If you really want to ‘support our troops,’ BRING THEM HOME!”
A: Terence O'Rourke Jr.; B: Abraham Lincoln; C: Fyodor Dostoevsky
(answers:6A,5A,4B,3A,2C,1B)
Excellent 2009 Reading: The Dark Side, Jane Mayer: The Brothers Karamazov, Dostoyevsky; Angler, Barton Gelman; Born to Run, Christopher McDougall (a life changer); Middlemarch, George Eliot; The Forever War, Dexter Filkins; What Paul Meant, Garry Wills; The Shock Doctrine, Naomi Klein (eye opening); The Healing of America, T.R. Reid (for those of you keeping score, it is correct I have read three 19th century novels over 800 pages in length in the last year, and all of them were great).
In music, it was the year of the Who. On the internet I found a young man in Louisiana who sent me (FREE) 4 DVDs of the Who in concert from the 70’s and 80’s, a documentary and 3 concert CDs. I supplemented this with significant back-catalog purchases from iTunes. No one could convince me they are not the greatest band ever by several orders of magnitude. My other big fave this year is “Little Moon” by Grant Lee Phillips. Other nice purchases (I download now to save space and money): Todd Snider: “Peace Queer” and “The Excitement Plan.” Roddy Woomble: “My Secret is my Silence,” and a reunited Buffalo Tom: “Three Easy Pieces.” I had the great fortune to see Todd Snider live in Phoenix and would gladly do so again.
It is well-documented that I dislike cell phones (outside the fact they will be shown to be harmful, and not just as a distraction), but over the past 18 months I had the occasion to use a few and even to send some texts. There are a multitude of acronyms and abbreviations used to shorten typical texts. I put forth these additions for those of a more refined literary palate (they are capitalized here not to infer shouting but to clarify the letters utilized):
- LOTIWIC – “Laughing on the inside where it counts”. Typically followed by #2.
- CT – Chest tapping. Infers internal acknowledgement.
- ICBTD – “I can’t believe those douchebags.”
- FKATL – “First kill all the lawyers.” Nothing personal.
- LMAITAC – “Leave me alone. I’m taking a crap.”
- FSBTD – “find something better to do.”
- GDLNDF – “God doesn’t love Notre Dame Football.” One I would never get tired of sending on Saturday afternoons.
- JNYYBJ – “Judge not yet ye be judged.”
- ICWTIMS – “I could write that in my sleep.”
- WWDCD – “What would Dick Cheney do?” My guess: something terrible, then a good bit of lying.
- TFTG – “Triceps from the gods.” I used this one often, but it might not be so handy for you.
Golf/fitness update: I played a bit in the southwest on some very nice courses to no great effect but kept at it, knowing that if I hit the ball just a bit better I could shoot a good score. It all came together one day in Roanoke when I shot a two over par 73, my best by two. It didn’t last long and my lack of patience played a bigger part than a lack of skill in that.
My fitness is my favorite topic. I was down to 172lbs (in good shape) on returning from Zambia, but I got back into my weightlifting and found a useful gym in Albuquerque where I got about as strong (and heavy) as I’ve been since the early 90’s. It went away, as it always does, but I got it back and then some in North Carolina. I tried to run faster and had some nice runs in Arizona before deciding to overhaul my running form. The results were mixed in Albuquerque, though I did get faster, but then I found several excellent sources of info (including Born to Run) that helped me put it all together and I’ve never enjoyed running and exercise more. Knowledgeable physiologists agree you can keep pushing yourself into your mid-60s before you have to accept much decline. There is also a mountain of evidence that most running shoes (especially the motion control and heavily cushioned ones) are bad for you. To paraphrase DDE, “Beware the Sneaker-Industrial Complex.” I am wearing Vibram five fingers shoes several days a week and otherwise train in shoes with hardly any padding, meant to simulate running barefoot. I highly recommend it, but you must start gradually.
I usually cannot resist some politics. I have been disappointed by the way things have gone since President Obama took office. He has been, despite a frenetic pace and a full plate, too passive. He was elected to change things, but he seems to place a very high priority on trying to get along with Republicans and not doing anything divisive. I hope he soon realizes that is a complete waste of effort, but perhaps it was worth it to build even more evidence that the leadership of that party and far too many of its members are not interested at all in making America a better place for all Americans: they only want power and the money that comes with it no matter what it takes. It has been said before, and perhaps better than this, that conservatives cannot govern. They have contempt for government and, in many ways, want to destroy it, but government is necessary and serves many valuable purposes other than as a way to make you and your friends rich. When they are in charge, they don’t want things to work and don’t care if they do: instead they sit around arguing about who is more against abortion. That’s what we had from 2001-2009 – only a fool would want that to occur again. There’s a lot that needs to be done, and we need to work together to get the best results, but that won’t happen until we all realize that every person has dignity and no one is inherently superior to anyone else. Until then, this country is no longer worth fighting and dying for.
I did a lot of traveling this year (Thanks to all who hosted me), but the best trip was one of the shortest. My father had his 75th birthday in June, and I was trapped in Albuquerque then. I planned a celebration Terry-style for him on my return. Much of it was a surprise, and I owe most of its success to my good friends Joe Hoffmeier, Mike Guro, and Robert O’Reilly. I came up with a trip during a week off he’d already scheduled that started with us going to the US Women’s Open golf tournament on Friday with Mike Guro, all with tickets from Joe H. I contacted his med school roommate who lived in Bethlehem, and he met us there with his wife, the biggest surprise. It was a beautiful day and Saucon Valley was awesome. We followed some of the biggest stars (they play SO slow). I took him for cheesesteaks before we left for Philadelphia. The next day we played golf at Glen Mills, a great course, and then went to a Phillies game with seats right behind the Phillies’ dugout (again courtesy of the marvelous Joe H), all with Dr. O’Reilly. It was a lot of fun. Sunday we went home after going to Mass at the big, beautiful basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul in downtown Philly. I loved showing him a bit of adventure, and we couldn’t have had a better time. Thanks again, everyone.
Let’s try to finish strong…..
Getting Cranky, 2009
I know it is possible to walk around without talking on or looking at a cell phone – why does it seem so impossible for so many? What could be the appeal of having long braids or dreadlocks hanging out the back of your football helmet? In Australia, car commercials are not allowed to show a car being driven in an unsafe or illegal manner – sounds like a good idea. But that’s not the American way – 48000 traffic fatalities a year is. Balanced reporting is not letting two people with different opinions argue about an issue. Perhaps I am coming at it from the wrong direction, but if you’re at the gym and you decide to use a machine that is set at some ungodly weight, maybe you should do your set quickly and then get off it so the pumped up bald guy pacing nearby can keep using it. It is a common mistake to underestimate both the ignorance and the pluckiness of Americans.
I can’t believe….
1. I have been out of the Air Force for 13 years!
2. People watch Glen Beck (and believe him!!).
3. Hardly anyone seems as outraged as I am at the scope of torture and war crimes perpetrated by our recently departed government. They should all be in jail.
4.How ashamed I now am at having swum with dolphins while in Mexico. Rent “The Cove” for the reasons why.
5.Increased “awareness” of problems with chronic pain has led to the true crisis of prescription drug abuse in our society, a problem whose vast scope is only minimally understood.
6.The Call of Duty video game was expected to sell 6 million copies in its first day of release. Whatever happened to fresh air, Mom?
7.I bungy jumped at Victoria Falls. I wish you could have been there to see and hear how crazy the whole thing was. Oh, the twisting! The reciting of the Presidents’ names!
Yes, it’s not groundbreaking, but I did it:
Like many of you, I am aware of the horrors of industrial scale farming and food production, but until this year I didn’t do much about it beyond boycotting veal. While in Wilmington I gave up eating all meat (except for some fish), dairy products, and high-fructose corn syrup. I also tried to buy organic foods when possible. It was opined that a certain fragrant malady of mine might be augmented by this diet, and I can say without a doubt now that it was, oh my. I will try to do it everywhere I go from now on, but moderation and common sense have to have their say as well. Soy yogurt is not very good, but I got used to it, and I didn’t miss meat much at all – it made me slightly ill to see it marketed so aggressively and in such malignant forms. So much of what we do not only doesn’t make sense; it is horrible for us and the planet. Farmers who do their work ethically and prudently deserve much more money than they currently make – what is more important than good food?
Jesus taught us to die to the world. Here is how I apply that to my life:
- I don’t care if Britney Spears is wearing underwear while she lets her kids drive.
- Instead of paying a lot of money for a new driver to hit my golf ball farther, I have been trying to swing harder with the one I have and hit it even shorter.
- Things like Facebook strike me as too narcissistic. It’s better to write and email a 5 page letter at the end of the year. It teaches everyone patience as well.
- A good guide for that life is to do the opposite of Oprah.
- Like Jesus, I have never owned a gun.
- I joyfully give my recycling to my mother to sort and drop off.
- I have forgotten my password to view my investment portfolio, so I am forced not to dwell on how much of my money has vanished.
- I lived in the southwest for 5 months without turning on the heat or air-conditioning.
- Little seems tedious or uncomfortable once you’ve sweated through a 3.5 hour Mass jammed between two smelly men on a foot-wide piece of concrete.