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Well, I'm too old, and in far too lousy health to fight. It's all I can do to make it from one day to the next. Can't work in the garden for more than a half hour or so without popping a nitro under my tongue as I lay on the dirt sucking air through my teeth wondering if this'll be the time I don't get up again. The rest of the time I "live" on several times more drugs than Limbaugh's getting 'oist for (all legal, all prescribed by one physician, who is not a "Doctor Feelgood" type, so I'm not worried about seeing my name in print). I put the word "live" in scarequotes because I hardly call this living. It's already too far off topic, so I'll simply say that constant serious pain sucks. It really, really sucks, in a way that cannot be described other than by experiencing it, and I certainly don't recommend that!

So, I guess I don't really fit into the picture you paint.

My observations are based on my knowledge of history, which I see playing itself out as it always does -- it's stuck in "repeat" mode. If you want to see the future, look at the past.

I worry about the next generation, and those that follow them. What can I do about it? Realistically, nothing, other than blab here, for all the good it does. Mainly gets it off my chest, I guess.

Well, it's late, I'm tired, and my pain meds are finally kicking in, so I guess I'll be off to sleep for a while. ("A while" generally means 3 to 4 hours, before they wear off, and then I get to mope around in a mixture of pain and exhaustion for another few hours, and repeat the process. Hey, I told you it sucks.)

Can't work in the garden for more than a half hour or so without popping a nitro under my tongue as I lay on the dirt sucking air through my teeth wondering if this'll be the time I don't get up again. ... .
I worry about the next generation, and those that follow them. What can I do about it? Realistically, nothing, other than blab here, for all the good it does.

You can set an example for others who'll follow in your footsteps, some of whom will face harder things than you're dealing with, most of whom hopefully will not.

But perhaps even aftter you're gone from this world and its pain and torments, some of those flowers in your garden you've planted may bloom again, or even propagate and spread, with their beauty remaining for others who never knew you- a gift for strangers. Some will appreciate it, some not.

Indeed, that's all ANY of us can do while we're here. I don't know for certain how good a job I've done myself, but I know one thing:

I'm glad I have the example you've set to follow. I hope to see you around someday, some other time or place, or under circumstances where time and places may not matter for much.

Thanks for the flowers in your garden, my FRiend.

-archy-/-