https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=30344800
It was six years ago, and my mate, Pink, had just been told he was going to die. He accepted the news with a grace I can only marvel at, but he said he’d a list of things he’d still like to do.
We sat in a pub one night and read it over. Eight things? Four months? Ok. Deal.
🧵
— Electra Rhodes – writes a bit/archaeologises a bit (@electra_rhodes) January 25, 2023
Can’t figure out where this came to my attention, but I’m sure no truths were harmed in its production…
Don’t get me wrong, he’d been pissed when he found out. Routine check up. Bit of a cough. Shadow on an X-ray. Bad. His wife had just had an all clear and it seemed particularly cruel.
He told us when we were on a dig, heads in a trench, bums in the air. Dignified? Not.
At that point he’d had a few weeks to get used to the news. And what he wanted to do. Never mind us wailing & gnashing our teeth. (Yeah, yeah. Very dramatic. Over it? Good.)
He had a plan. A great plan.
Mind that bit of pot & that jawbone. He said. I’ll tell you, over a pint.
Most of his list was easy – just things he’d never got round to – steer a boat on the Thames, visit a particular collection, see a fancy show – a few seemed harder – publish an essay, trespass, do a gig – and 2 seemed impossible – rough camp at a longbarrow, hide out in a museum…
Six weeks in & we stayed overnight in a museum. Don’t ask which one, we pinky (get it?) swore we’d never tell. Not one I used to work in & no artefacts were harmed…
Pink wasn’t doing so well. But he was still determined. Longbarrow. Camp. Just one night. Pleeeease.
Tony and I did a spot of reconnaissance and schlepped between different sites in Wiltshire and Berks. Private land. Private land. Ancient monument. Shit. Pink’s wife phoned. Maybe just an afternoon trip, pals? I think a night might be too much. Pink though? Such a stubborn git.
What do you do when your friend says one thing, his wife says another, and you can hear death knocking at the outside door?
I dunno about you.
We went to Wayland’s Smithy.
We’d all been there plenty of times before. And walked the Ridgeway, & argued about the White Horse, cut in the hill. And discussed why hill forts are called hill forts at all.
It was a good afternoon. We ate our sandwiches, drank a huge flask of tea. Walked back to the car.
It wouldn’t start.
There was a bit of tarp in the car, plus a couple of picnic blankets & the portable wood stove Jan’s dad had just fixed for me. (There’d been a small accident on a field trip, best not to ask.) Tony had got half the weekly shop in the boot – it was just meant to be a quick trip.
Back at Wayland’s Smithy we set up camp in the corner, far away from the stones. The sun slowly sank, the blue sky faded to dusk & then dark, the temperature cooled.
It was just the 4 of us, eating Tony’s bacon & eggs, feeding cardboard & bits of punk & debris into the rocket stove to keep us warm. We drank more tea & shared a packet of biscuits. (Chocolate hobnobs. The best of the best.) In the quiet dark Pink said he could hear singing.
It was a single voice, singing a folk song, full of mighty deeds & beer (they’re always full of mighty deeds & beer, or dragons & beer) & eventually, its owner arrived at the site. Big bloke, big voice, big pack he dropped beside us. He was thrilled to see us. Or maybe the grub.
It was one of those nights you talk about, any time you meet. Singing. Stories. Long periods of silence, staring at the stars. Pink told the guy about his list, the guy told Pink a story about finding yourself.
He lost the thread. We did too. It didn’t matter. Sometimes you do.
Not surprisingly, given the location, one of the stories was about Wayland and the horse he’d shod to take him across the sky. Did we know that version? The stranger asked. Yes, No, Maybe, we chorused, tell us anyway!
At some point we all fell asleep. Or woke. Or slept again. I heard singing and thought it might be the moon or the stars, crooning a lullaby.
In the morning the stranger had gone, with his big pack. He’d left us each a gift, wrapped in a burdock leaf, done up with a bit of string. Mine was a hook made of bone, Tony had a skail knife made of flint, Jan had a scarf made of nettle yarn. Pink had four tiny iron horseshoes.
One for each of us. Pink said. Grinning.
On the way to the car I found someone had covered a ‘strictly no camping’ sign with a bin bag. I glared, but Pink swore it wasn’t him.
Back at the car, he produced a spark plug. Ahh, he said, patting the bonnet. This one was me.
A few weeks later, Pink’s wife, Tess, phoned. And even though I knew it was coming, I still wept.
His funeral was full of people who laughed as they cried. Angry tears and sorrow, all mixed together. For us, as well as Pink.
Tess had put the shoes on his coffin. Pink was sure you’d met Wayland himself that night, & that they meant he & the horse would come, to take him home, when the time came.
Pink had died holding them. 1 for each of us.
I thought of him, then. A man with a plan. To say goodbye.
War for Ukraine Day 336: The Russians Renew Their Bombardment of Ukraine
Albatrossity
Superb story. Thanks for this.
We all need a plan.
Rileys Enabler
Fine, fine story. Thank you for sharing it.
trollhattan
Remarkable. Memorable.Touching.
Thanks
Craig
Had a crappy day. Thanks so much for this lovely story.
Miss Bianca
OMG. I love this.
And yes, I am *absolutely* planning a balls-out bucket list for when I get my diagnosis, thanks. (Fully expecting the Big-C Crab will catch me in its claws at some point.)
eclare
Beautiful story. A little dusty in here, but in a good way, thinking about the horse that came to take him home.
Ixnay
Thank you. Wonderful share.
BruceFromOhio
What a way to go. That any of us should have such a fate.
Jeffro
I wrote down so many quotes from that thread – thanks AL!
Manyakitty
Excellent palate cleanser. Thanks
Ceci n est pas mon nym
Beautiful.
Bur what’s a longbarrow? And what is rough camping?
I’ve heard of the White Horse I think. That’s the giant chalk drawing that villagers have been redrawing annually for centuries, right?
Ohio Mom
@Miss Bianca: And what would be on your balls-out bucket list? Why not do those things, at least some of those things, sooner rather than later?
Can you tell have never understood the idea of a bucket list?
ETA, The story in the post is gorgeous. I love it. Obviously, there would be no story without the bucket list.
pat
Not to rain on this parade, I thought the story was very touching and a bit teary, but can you really just remove a spark plug that easily?
Ohio Mom
@Ceci n est pas mon nym: I looked those things up: “Long barrows are a style of monument constructed across Western Europe in the fifth and fourth millennia BCE, during the Early Neolithic period. Typically constructed from earth and either timber or stone, those using the latter material represent the oldest widespread tradition of stone construction in the world.” And: “Each long barrow comprises a formal trapezoidal mound of stone, with soil dug from adjacent quarries and piled high around the stone structure.”
Rough Camping is camping in the wild, rather than in an official campsite with amenities like showers, etc.
Origuy
The story, wonderful though it is, is fiction. The author has written other stories in Twitter. I follow several archeologists on Twitter who were taken in.
A long barrow is an elongated mound constructed during the Neolithic. They often, but not always, contain burials. Rough or wild camping is when you camp outside of campsites.
Ohio Mom
@Origuy: I thought the giveaway was the mythical visitor, Wayland (I had to look him up, too).
NotMax
Cold gray rainy day. Cycling between steady and torrential.
Don’t have a bucket list. Nor any other sort. Advance list production not encoded within my DNA.
FastEdD
We all have an expiration date. I am glad I don’t know mine yet. Growing older means replacing hope with regret. My friend reminds me that eventually we need to hope again.
My mom used to say we all need someone to love, something to do, and something to look forward to.
pat
Actually the giveaway was that “four months to live.” Still a moving story. Would like to go out that way myself, maybe……
Danielx
Aches.
Miss Bianca
@Ohio Mom: Ah. Well. *One* of those things is coming to pass tomorrow. The Finnish Lapphund puppy of my dreams. I anticipate my 60th decade to be All About The Dogs.
Basically, once the diagnosis comes, *first* I am going riding across Ireland and then I am grabbing Pal D and we are going to do music festivals all across Europe. :)
NotMax
Thinking back now on GrenNotGreen (sp?).
eclare
@Miss Bianca: You’re getting a puppy tomorrow?
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Just looked them up. What a beautiful breed! My life isn’t very dog-friendly right now, and it makes me sad. It’s one of the reasons I’m thinking of making some major changes
CaseyL
@NotMax: Oh, gods, yes.
Seeing so many of my friends and relatives becoming more fragile with age, I am thinking of ramping up my travel plans, finances be damned.
Having already booked a long-delayed major trip this year, I’m thinking of taking an Antarctica cruise next year (2024). I’ll be 68, and hopefully still able to scramble onto and off of a Zodiac and walk the ice. (Finances definitely be damned: that is one expensive trip!)
mvr
@Ohio Mom: First off, as Ohio Mom says, the story has something going for it. It shares something with fly fishing literature for anyone who reads such things.
But second off, as Ohio Mom says, I also don’t really have a place for bucket lists in my way of going through life. I do have a list of projects and a stash of various materials and parts to make them and I’m getting old enough not to finish all of them. But I’m kind of doing what I want along the way.
Thanks for the story!
mvr
@pat: Depends on the make and model. My VW squareback had them in places they were hard to get to, but one once removed itself while I was driving. (And now that you are poking holes in the veracity story, all you’d really have to do is pull the cable or better yet the distributor cable since you can drive a car on just a few cylinders (don’t ask me how I know this). Probably just artistic license though).
Steeplejack
@NotMax:
greennotGreen.
Gin & Tonic
@Miss Bianca: 60 decades? I stand in awe and wonder. I’ll be lucky if I get 9.
kalakal
The giveaway was “the 4 months”.
Nonetheless it’s a great story.
Never let the facts get in the way of a good story*
*Unless you’re a journalist
Ohio Mom
@NotMax: Did greennotgreen have a bucket list that I missed? All I remember is that she settled herself down to make her transition in the most gentle, peaceful manner possible.
mrmoshpotato
@Miss Bianca:
Can your 61st decade be all about how you live to be over 600 years old? 😁
ETA – I see G&T caught that too.
Suzanne
@CaseyL: Oooooh, I would love to live vicariously through you on that Antarctica trip! One of my clients is going there this year. Apparently one part of the journey is through the roughest water in the world. So wear one of those seasickness bracelets!
mrmoshpotato
@kalakal:
Agreed.
NotMax
@Ohio Mom
It was the eternally sunny equanimity which I remember.
Ohio Mom
@Suzanne: That is the stretch of ocean with those rogue waves that knocked a cruise ship and killed one of its passengers last month. Yes, rough waters.
CaseyL
@Suzanne:
Yes, the Drake Passage. I’ve never been seasick in my life, but I’ll be sure to stock up on remedies just in case.
CaseyL
@Suzanne:
…and, per Ohio Mom’s comment, probably stay away from windows!
rikyrah
Beautiful story😢
rikyrah
@CaseyL:
Watch the TikTok videos of taking the boat to Antarctica😳😳😳
Sister Golden Bear
@CaseyL: Antarctica is literally a once in a lifetime trip that you should definitely do if you can. I still don’t have adequate words to describe the experience.
@Suzanne: Drakes Passage has some of the notoriously rough waters in the world, thanks to the Roaring 40s. There’s no land to stop the wind, so it keeps blowing and blow round Antarctica. Though when I went we were fortunate to have one of the smoothest crossings (both ways) all season.
If you want to live vicariously sooner, I’ve got photos I can post to the morning travel threads.
Yutsano
@CaseyL: Ginger. All the ginger. That will keep your stomach calm.
frosty
@pat: Yes, it’s easy with a plug wrench. In all my cars it would just run rough instead of not starting at all. There are other things that would stop it though so I’m going to assume a little writerly license on this one.
ETA: Having read the comments, I see that one spark plug causing the car not to start at all is also a giveaway.
frosty
@CaseyL:A little over 10 years ago my wife lost both her siblings when they were in their early 60s. We kind of looked at each other, decided we were alive and healthy and we were going to hit the road. We’ve hit the whole continental US, London, Paris, and Normandy, we’re going to Hawaii (my bucket list) this summer, then South America next year. After that we’ll see if the 409(k) can stand up to more.
frosty
@mvr: Yes, ask me how I know! We had a clapped out Bugeye Sprite with one cylinder that worked, two that sometimes worked, and one that never worked. In good shape it would have been 900 thrashing cc’s, 49 hp. 0-60 in 45 seconds! Downhill!
That was the car that my dad, my brother, and I used to learn how to rebuild an engine.
CaseyL
@Sister Golden Bear: @frosty:
I’ve been very, very fortunate in my life to have done a lot of traveling, including overseas. But there are a few places I haven’t seen yet that I want to, and Antarctica is high on that list. It’s also a place you need to be reasonably spry for – not something I should put off!
Sister Golden Bear – what company did you travel with? What can you tell me about them? (If you don’t mind my asking.)
@Yutsano: Fortunately, I like ginger.
eclare
@frosty: Wonderful plans! I was on a tour group in Peru, and talking with an older couple, maybe late 50’s, that said their plan was to do everything overseas first, then hit the US. One big reason, the US has the ADA. After seeing people struggle with strollers/walkers on steps overseas, I get it.
eclare
@CaseyL: My uncle and cousin went maybe twenty years ago, they both loved it. I think one of their passages was pretty rough, but not rogue wave rough.
eclare
Is anyone having issues with Twitter? I get a blank screen.
Fixed now.
Ladyraxterinok
OT——OK Superintendent of Education (R of course) has ask the OK Board of Regents for a list of all programs about diversity, equity, and inclusion. He specifically wants to know how much money is being spent on such programs.
He wants to be sure money is being spent to prepare students for a working life and not on “left-wing indoctrination”!!!
Explicitly shows that “diversity, equity, and inclusion” have no place in the GOP world!!!!
CaseyL
@Ladyraxterinok:
Nor does anything not strictly designed to train students to be proles in the oligarchic world.
Diversity, equity, and inclusion is right up there with critical thinking, liberal arts, and sex education as areas of knowledge our Corporate Betters want closed off.
mvr
@frosty: One cylinder is about as few as you can work with, I figure. Never tried that myself though.
Pete Downunder
The story goes that when he left office someone asked President Obama if he had a bucket list. He said “I have a list, and it rhymes with bucket”. Not sure it’s true.
Amir Khalid
@Pete Downunder:
It might not be true, but it damn well should be.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Pete Downunder: it is
Obama’s list...
ETA: but Luther the Anger Translator is funnier
smike
@mvr: Had a one cylinder Ducati scrambler. Worked very well.
eclare
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: That is an awesome response! So cool…
Ruckus
@FastEdD:
As someone fast approaching the end of the 3rd quarter of life, a birthday with 75 candles, I have to say hope comes a bit slower and the rear view mirror gets a bit bigger, but having an idea that reaching the 4th quarter would be quite nice and maybe actually fun really does seem to help the concept of hope. There is that concept of course that we don’t know what tomorrow brings, but the moment we stop looking forward to it’s arrival seems to be another human trait as time flies by.
NotMax
@Ruckus
Occasionally someone will ask how it feels becoming old. My standard response is “It’s a carnival of revelations.”
One of the most succcinct definitions: “When you wake up for the day, everything you have two of, one hurts.”
Yutsano
I will say this whole thread is making me miss LilBrit something awful. I hope she’s okay.
eclare
@Yutsano: I do too. Last I remember hearing she was doing well.
Ruckus
@frosty:
I’ve been to 45 of the states, lived in 4 of them. Missed North and South Dakota, Montana, Maine and Alaska. Been to Canada, the UK (OK it was for 5 minutes at Portsmouth navy yard to empty the trash, but still, the UK), Denmark, Norway, Belgium, Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece, Cuba, Puerto Rico, British Virgin Islands.
I think I’ve been pretty lucky to be able to travel and see a fair bit of the world, I’ve know others who have traveled a lot more and there is a tint of jealousy about that, but still I’ve seen a fair amount in person.
Ruckus
@NotMax:
It’s worse when something you have 2 of and they both hurt. But still 50% isn’t all that bad at this age. I have a rather long list of friends, family and acquaintances who no longer have pain. We get what we get, we should, if we are smart, make the best of every day and enjoy the hell out of living, even when it hurts.
mrmoshpotato
@Pete Downunder:
It is true.
There’s audio of it, may be video too.Actually, come to think of it, I’m damn sure there is video.Yup. White House Correspondence Dinner
ETA – Jim beat me to it by a country mile.
NotMax
As it’s been such a chilly and damp day, had planned on throwing together a form of Brazilian black bean stew (feijoada) for which have had ingredients squirreled away. Time, as it does, slipped away and before I knew it came 9 p.m. Only then got around to browning the Portuguese sausage and beef cubes and sauteeing the onion in the Instant Pot, followed by adding and mixing everything else. 9:50 when set the lid on for the IP to work its magic for 40 minutes.
Eight — count ’em, eight — spices in varying quantity: kosher salt, black pepper, cumin, coriander, turmeric, white pepper, cayenne pepper and oregano.
Late late meal; lip smackingly looking forward to it ladled over rice.
eclare
@NotMax: Sounds good!
mrmoshpotato
@NotMax: What did you use for the cooking liquid – just the bean juices?
prostratedragon
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Oh no, he’s interlacing his fingers! He’s interlacing his fingers!!!
sab
@NotMax: Late sixties and hitherto mostly healthy. This aging has been a revelation to me. My slightly older husband has had huge health issues for years and he troups on.
New to me. My little paws ache all the time. I bought some wrist braces so I wouldh’t throw my paws out of whack wrestling for blankets with the pitbull every night. Blame the dog. I guess I am getting too old to cook with cast iron. I lie in bed at night with my paws throbbing.
Also too my knees hurt. l’d rather not go down stairs. I used to be a healthy exercise maniac.
Not that I am a mess. My younger than me doctor has always warned: You cannot take health and fitness over 60 for granted. You must exercise.
Mel
@Sister Golden Bear: Oh, please do post the photos! That would be wonderful!
Traveller
Interestingly, or not, I had this conversation with my brother on Monday evening. From out of nowhere he asked me what I would do if I had 30 or 90 days left to live?
Honestly I told him that I would clean up my life, that I wanted to make things better for him because he is the trustee of my trust, not that there is that much there but there is something. And also maybe interestingly, he has no legal obligation to carry out its terms as trustee, but there are a series of moral obligations within the trust.
Ex wives, children, nieces, nephews…he had the duty to distribute this and that but if he doesn’t? If he flies to Las Vegas and gambles it all away, there are no legal repercussions. It is designed thusly.
Our parents left behind quite the mess, there was acrimony and bad feelings and debt and so, as the eldest child I had to clean this all up and I certainly would not want to wish this on my brother. If I’m going to be dead it’s not going to make any difference to me, but while living we do cast a backwards eye and hopefully I will leave things in a tidy fashion for the living. (obviously from my name I’ve traveled most everywhere and he was astonished that I wouldn’t want to go back to Rio, or Belem at the mouth of the Amazon, Moscow or, Phnom Penh, all places I have been very happy, but seriously….
I would like to leave a neat life, something I’ve never achieved in living.
Mel
@NotMax: That sounds so good! Would you be willing to share the recipe?
It’s 23 degrees here. The InstantPot is going to be cooking up some Brunswick stew for dinner tomorrow, with a side of cornbread. Childhood comfort food.
eclare
@Traveller: That is an admirable goal. I need to straighten some things out too. I am in my early 50’s, but no spouse, kids, or siblings. I have some cousins, but they are either out of town or much older. I should meet with an attorney and figure some things out, like you, I don’t want to leave a mess for someone else.
Ruckus
@sab:
You must exercise.
Absodamnlutely. Without exercise every thing wastes away a lot faster. You don’t have to try emulate a 20 yr old Olympic runner or something along that line but you have to do something. I normally walk a couple of miles a day, unless it’s snowing but then I live in SoCal so that’s not really a worry…..
Ruckus
@Traveller:
@eclare:
Life is neat, to use an out of day phrase….
I also have only cousins, all of which I’m older than. I’m still working on middle chapters though so I am so not ready for anything close to the end of the story. Even at my getting near 75 yrs. Life isn’t always easy but I still have so much more of it to do.
NotMax
@mrmoshpotato
Chicken stock and a healthy dollop of the bean juices.
sab
@sab: @Ruckus: That is it. You will not stay fit without exercising every single day. Annoyingly , that is your future.
My husband with a bad back after surgery whines, Meanwhile me and the pitbull become schlubs. We need out and about.
ETA Husband isn’t a schlub. He is just really physically a mess, and doing the best he can. Bad back surgery really leaves patient a mess. Or nurses were wonderful, but …back surgery.
eclare
@sab: A good friend about my age has a bad back from years of tennis. All that stop, start, change direction motion on a hard court tears it apart. When we took a vacation together a few years ago I bet she took six Advil a day.
So far, knock on wood, mine is ok. But back issues are really debilitating.
NotMax
@Mel
This is for the 6 or 8 quart IP. As I have a 3 quart model, I cut the recipe down to reach to fill line on that inner pot. Some parenthetical changes for small pot included below. Had to play with the amount of spices the first time I made this and finally said the heck with it and now toss in what’s listed below (YMMV).
4 slices bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces (optional, I’ve found it makes the stew too fatty for my liking)
1 medium onion, diced
2 Linguisa of chorizo Sausage Links, sliced (I use one link of Portuguese sausage)
good size package of beef stew meat chucks (I use about a pound)
5-6 cloves garlic, pressed or minced (For smallest pot, 2-3)
1 Lb dry black beans (canned black beans okay)
5 cups chicken stock (for the smallest IP, 2 cups)
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp white pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne
1 tsp oregano
.
If using dry beans, rinse them in a strainer to remove any impurities. No need to pre-soak them.
Saute the sausage slices (and bacon, if using), brown the stew meat and saute the onions. This can be done in three separate steps. Sauteeing the onion last allows for scraping the brown goodness from pot bottom while stirring them.
Add chicken stock, garlic and spices to the sauteed onion. Stir until simmering.
Add the meats along with black beans. I use 2 cans for my size IP – one can undrained, the other drained. In all honesty have never attempted it with raw beans.
Seal the lid and cook for 40 minutes. Use instant release. Check for salt and pepper and adjust accordingly, Lightly smashing a portion of the beans against the side of the pot at this point and then stirring will thicken the stew.
Serve over rice.
If were traditional feijoada, there would not be any beef and servings would be sprinkled on top with farofa. Not an ingredient I nor the vast majority of U.S. cooks have handy. Don’t miss it at all.
Mimi haha
@eclare: Pre-pay for whatever it is you wish to happen to your remains. I’ve paid for my cremation and have designated a dear friend as the person who receives them. Beyond that, she knows my probably illegal wishes for their disposal. If she decides to do something else, I’ll not be in any position to argue with her.
Mel
@NotMax: Thank you! Can’t wait to try it!
I wonder if a bit of coarse-ground yellow cornmeal could serve as a passable sub for the farofa, at least with regards to texture?
Gvg
@kalakal: No, some medical conditions do mean death in approximately a time frame. Many others are much less concrete but people sort of push them into boxes. We don’t think in statistical terms very accurately. But it is quite possible for a diagnosis of 4 months to really be real. I have known of that. It is usually just an estimate though.
Baud
@Mimi haha:
I’m amused that this comment appears right after MotMax’s stew recipe.
mrmoshpotato
@Baud: YUMM-O!
NotMax
@Mel
No rush (obviously) but if you do try it, will be on tenterhooks to hear as to how it came out.
Like many meat stews, it’s even better a day later, IMHO.
NotMax
@mrmoshpotato
Isn’t it California that made (or is about to make) composting of human remains legal?
NotMax
@mrmoshpotato
The cannibal among the siblings Marx about whom all kept mum.
//
eclare
@Baud: Hehehe…
PST
@sab:
That’s for sure. Fortunately, it’s never too late to start. That sounds like a reassuring cliche intended to lift our spirits, along the lines of condescending crap like, “You’re only as old as you feel.” But there is plenty of evidence that exercise programs started after long decades of sedentary living produce objective improvements rather quickly in characteristics like strength, endurance, and balance.
raven
Ugh, I’ve spent 2 1/2 years trying for figure out my leg problems. After three rounds of PT and “tethered spinal cord surgery”, I’m not closer to an answer than I ever was. I had a hip MRI early in the month and it showed arthritis and a slight labrum tear. I went to an Orthopedist (PA) this week and he determined that my hip is fine. Late last year my Neurosurgeon looked at my spine MRI and said “dude, people would kill for your lower spine, there is no there there”! The ortho has prescribed PT for IT Band syndrome so that’s next on the hit parade
Oh yea, everything I’ve suspected of having connects weight loss to the condition so, two weeks ago I added the Mediterranean Diet to my intermittent fasting. I’ve lost 8 lbs. since I started and my GP told me “don’t lose too much”!!!!! WTF???
eclare
@raven: I can’t imagine not having an answer for so long.
kalakal
@Gvg: Oh I know, my father’s prognosis was accurate to a week. Time gets strange then in a groundhog day sense, In my head it was always weeks away until suddenly it wasn’t.
It wasn’t the ‘4 months’ in itself, it was just something about the phrasing, the feel of the sentence, that struck me as off or contrived
PST
@raven: I also had surgery for a tethered spinal cord, something I had never heard of before and have not run across since, until now. My surgeon advised me to never again do a sit-up, advice I have heeded religiously.
mrmoshpotato
@NotMax: “Washington was the first U.S. state to legalize human composting, followed in 2021 by Colorado and Oregon. In 2022, the practice was legalized in Vermont, California and finally New York, meaning human composting is now permitted in a total of six states.” Newsweek
But no one is throwing grandma in the backyard compost pile.
mrmoshpotato
@NotMax: Hahaha!
raven
@PST: Huh, mine said it was 50-50 that it would help my problem and it didn’t. He also said “it’s not an emergency, you’re not in a veelchair”! I really like the guy.
raven
@eclare: There may not be an answer.
mardam422
Wow. That is the kind of story that makes life, and living.
And I’m NOT crying.
prostratedragon
Something cherce for Mozart Day, from Anthony McGill and the Pacifica Quartet.
OzarkHillbilly
Git a little dusty in here.
zzyzx
Some random thoughts:
1) I got diagnosed with diabetes nearly a decade ago (2/19 will be the anniversary of the call) and I started an exercise program. I can definitely tell the difference.
2) I don’t really have a bucket list because I’ve kind of done everything on it. Been to all 50 states and pretty much every city in the US. Been to Paris. Had my favorite band sing a song about me once and got a cool acknowledgment from them. Ran a half marathon in downtown London. Wrote a book that many people like. That’s part of my problem now. Other than wanting to see Amsterdam, I don’t really have a what’s next.
Albatrossity
@Sister Golden Bear:
Yes, please!
opiejeanne
@zzyzx: What is the name of your book?
zzyzx
@opiejeanne: This Has All Been Wonderful. It’s a self published (via Amazon) tour memoir about seeing Phish in 1994 but also about the drives across the country then. The band has informed me that they enjoyed it.
https://www.amazon.com/This-Has-All-Been-Wonderful/dp/149756591X/ref=nodl_?dplnkId=ab7970be-cac0-47de-b114-3cd738c2af17
Ohio Mom
@mrmoshpotato: It may not be composting but i know that in Ohio there are cemeteries (or sections of cemeteries) where an unembalmed body can be buried in a shroud without a casket.
On another note, Anne Laurie must surely wonder how the asterisks she put in the post’s title around the word “legendary” helped not a single reader determine this lovely story was just that, a story.
Miss Bianca
@eclare: Yep, puppy tomorrow. Oh, whoops – TODAY!
@Gin & Tonic: Oh, awk. Yeah, I’m a lot older than I look! ; )
J R in WV
@raven:
My dad was kind of athletic all his life, loved swimming, kept very trim, was proud to be slim, 6′ 175lbs. Then he was diagnosed with leukemia, had severe chemo to qualify for a drug trial, which worked OK. Lost a lot of weight, no apatite, had no excess weight to lose.
I’ve lost 35 pounds in the past 6 months without trying, wonder why. I have it to lose, could lose that much more before starting to worry. But my jeans are too big, using the last notch on my belt. What to do?
Take care everyone!
Mel
@NotMax: I will let you know! Likely making it next weekend. Thank you again for sharing the recipe!