The Experts Say....

"Man will never reach the moon regardless of all future scientific advances." -- Dr. Lee DeForest, "Father of Radio & Grandfather of Television." "The bomb will never go off. I speak as an expert in explosives." -- Admiral William Leahy, US Atomic Bomb Project "There is no likelihood man can ever tap the power of the atom." - Robert Millikan, Nobel Prize in Physics, 1923 "Computers in the future may weigh no more than 1.5 tons." -- Popular Mechanics, forecasting the relentless march of science, 1949 "I think there is a world market for maybe five computers " -- Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, 1943 "I have traveled the length and breadth of this country and talked with the best people, and I can assure you that data processing is a fad that won't last out the year." -- The editor in charge of business books for Prentice Hall, 1957 "But what is it good for?" -- Engineer at the Advanced Computing Systems Division of IBM, 1968, commenting on the microchip. "640K ought to be enough for anybody." -- Bill Gates, 1981 This 'telephone' has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us," -- Western Union internal memo, 1876. "The wireless music box has no imaginable commercial value. Who would pay for a message sent to nobody in particular?" -- David Sarnoff's associates in response to his urgings for investment in the radio in the 1920s. "I'm just glad it'll be Clark Gable who's falling on his face and not Gary Cooper," -- Gary Cooper on his decision not to take t he leading role in "Gone With The Wind." "A cookie store is a bad idea. Besides, the market research reports say America likes crispy cookies, not soft and chewy cookies like you make," -- Response to Debbi Fields' idea of starting Mrs. Fields' Cookies (Debbie's Deelites) "We don't like their sound, and guitar music is on the way out," -- Decca Recording Co. rejecting the Beatles, 1962. "Heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible," -- Lord Kelvin, president, Britain's Royal Society, 1895. "Airplanes are interesting toys but of no military value," -- Marechal Ferdinand Foch, Professor of Strategy, Ecole Superieure de Guerre, France. "Everything that can be invented has been invented," -- Charles H. Duell, Commissioner, US Office of Patents, 1899. "The super computer is technologically impossible. It would take all of the water that flows over Niagara Falls to cool the heat generated by the number of vacuum tubes required." -- Professor of Electrica l Engi neering, New York University "I don't know what use any one could find for a machine that would make copies of documents. It certainly couldn't be a feasible business by itself." -- Watson of IBM, refusing to back the idea, forcing the inventor to found Xerox. "Louis Pasteur's theory of germs is ridiculous fiction." -- Pierre Pachet, Professor of Physiology at Toulouse, 1872 "The abdomen, the chest, and the brain will forever be shut from the intrusion of the wise and humane surgeon," -- Sir John Eric Ericksen, British surgeon, appointed Surgeon-Extraordinary to Queen Victoria 1873. "There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home." -- Ken Olson, president, chairman and founder of Digital Equipment Corp., 1977 And last but not least. "We'll take no prisoners!" George Armstrong Custer - On the Little Big Horn---1876.

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Living High on the Hog

It's the dead center of another hot Summer in the deep South. In my younger days, I anticipated Summer eagerly and thrived on days at the pool or the occasional treat - a trip to the beach. Church retreats and camps were also highlights, and of course, NO SCHOOL was pretty cool. Summer was my favorite time of year. Now it's different - Summer presents it's own challenges that I never had to face back in those days. Like they say - 'Growing older isn't for sissies'. Some one said that, and it gets repeated, but I don't know who to credit it to.

So, how is it that I'm living "High on the Hog" in this uncomfortable weather? One simple answer - my Father's garden.

My dad has had the most beautiful and productive vegetable garden every Summer for my whole life. We moved around a bit when I was a child, and when we were in house-searching mode, there was one requirement that was never negotiable - the yard had to be suitable to sustain a garden. Whether renting or buying, living in "small town" South, or in "big city" suburbs, garden space was a must.

He works it day after day, putting sweat equity into every seed, plant, bloom, and ripened vegetable. Mom has always been there too, helping weed, pick, shuck, shell, or can - whatever is called for, she rises to the task to ensure Dad's scrumptious bounty is properly attended to.

I admit I have been spoiled. I won't even serve tomatoes that aren't "real". My definition of "real" is that the tomato came from my Dad's garden. We are enjoying the bounty every day. There is just no comparison between the "things" they call tomatoes at the grocery store and my Dad's REAL tomatoes.

Then there is the fresh yellow squash, butter beans, broccoli, string beans, corn, sweet peppers, okra, crowder peas, potatoes, and at other times of the year - turnip greens. I could eat my weight (which is pretty considerable right now) in these gems from Dad's garden. Every time I see my parents, they have a bag or two of fresh vegetables from the garden to give me. We savor every bite.

For me, I think there is as much psychology involved as there is pure joy in the consumption of Dad's Summer treats. Every time I prepare and serve his harvest, I am reliving the feelings of my childhood when my Mom served up Dad's veggies at mealtime. Preparing, serving, and eating them gives me that warm, secure feeling from childhood that comes from knowing your parents love, care, and watch over you - AND feed you home grown goodness day after day.

So for me, indulging day after day in Dad's home grown goodness is truly living HIGH ON THE HOG, and is a genuine joy of life that can't be matched.

No Hogs were harmed in the production of this blog.

Deja Vu

Last Spring was a tale of Emergency Room sagas; I think everyone in our family except for Michael went at least once, some of us twice. I'm sure we made some one's Jaguar payment - maybe even two. This year I carried on the tradition all by myself.

I had this strange pain in my right leg for a couple of months, so finally went to N.Fulton and had it checked out (I was fearful of a blood clot). After an EXTREMELY painful exam, they concluded there was no clot and sent me home.

Less than 1 week later, on the day of Will's confirmation, I awoke with a strange chest pain that went all the way around my chest, like a large rubber band being pulled tighter and tighter. I was also nauseous, so reluctantly I stayed home and missed his confirmation. When Michael got back home, he took me to the ER at Crawford, and they said I had a "mild" heart attack, because some enzymes were elevated. (Later, the Cardiologist decided it wasn't really a heart attack). During the exam, I mentioned my right leg pain. They checked and found not one, but TWO blood clots. They put me on Lovanox shots 2x a day and Coumidin. The Lovanox was truely a pain. My insurance company took forever to approve it, and it left ghastly bruises all over my arms, legs, and tummy. The Coumidin is no big deal, except I have to go every week to get my blood checked. Then they adjust the Coumidin dosage according to how my blood test comes out. Dr. says I'll be on Coumidin for approx. 6 months.

Now, it's nearly time for our long awaited trip to Louisiana, and my heart Dr. hasn't released me to go. I went to the clinic yesterday and had my blood taken for the Coumidin test, and the nurse is supposed to call me today with the results and with the Dr.'s green light (I'm hoping!) to go on the trip.

During all of this, I was tagged with new labels, "Pulmonary Hypertension" and "Congestive Heart Failure". The second one is kind of weird, because it sounds so scary, and (to me) it seems that if you have "Heart Failure", you would be dead. Well, I'm not dead, but I am told I have "Heart Failure". Hmmm. I suggested to the nurse that they should call it something less ominous.

Anyway, this Spring I was in the ER or Inpatient 4 x so I guess we've made our Jaguar payment for the year. Maybe we're done for awhile - I can always hope. Wonder if we'll ever get the car that goes along with all these payments?