Where To, Bud?

I want to start the week off by reminding you that September is World Dementia Awareness Month, and link you to an excellent new website developed by Richard Taylor, PhD, who himself is a dementia patient:  There are a lot of segments for you to read and become involved - just pick one (or more)! This month is a time when we can all shine, especially caregivers and those who help us by championing the cause of research and legislation: Our Champions , as they are called. But it isn't just a special month out of the year that's important. This month should serve as a reminder that we need to be proactive year-round , because Alzheimer's/Dementia research is at a very low rung on the funding/research "ladder", and for a disease which is the 6th leading cause of death and the 10th in our nation which cannot be prevented or cured, this is unacceptable. I've written before that the chances of you knowing someone with dementia are very high and they'll be h...

I want to to tell y'all a story. Everyone knows what happened on September 11, 2001 and everyone can tell you where they were and that they were doing on that day. This isn't about that. This is about friends, but 9/11 plays a part, so I hope you'll read this and get something from it. I certainly did. On that day, I was in Rothenburg ob der Tauber, my hometown. I was staying with one of  my best friends Peter and his family, but had gone shopping and so was unaware of what had happened until Harry, Peter's father in law, told me they'd been watching CNN about an airplane in the US hitting a building. "So what?", I thought to myself. And then I sat down, and disbelief mixed with tears as I saw what had happened. My "Nephews" Hannes and Jonas came to my side and stayed with me until I had myself under control again. Well, of course all planes home were grounded out of Frankfurt, but Peter and Petra (his wife) would not let me leave their...

Every once in a while you run across someone doing something that just inspires you, gives you initiative and makes you root for him and yourself. This is the story of Alan Moore , a Viet Nam vet who went back to college and..... well I won't spoil it for you..... It's Labor Day weekend and we have a couple of dangerous storms (one a hurricane) heading our way down here near the Gulf Coast. We never travel on holidays (unless it's to Germany) , so we're having guests over on Saturday for a holiday meal and some pickin' and grinnin'. It's been a long time since I've had someone to play guitar with and I'm looking forward to Bill and Suzette's visit very much. After Irene and the fact that Lee is headed toward Louisiana makes me worry for those folks. They still haven't completely rebuilt from Katrina yet. ================================================================== ================================================================== ...

The entire month is Alzheimer's month, so here's a site which will let you help us to get the word out. Just click here  to get started. Click here for an easy and free way to help care for those in need at The Animal Rescue Site! Thanks Bill

This is 2 weeks running I haven't been able to sleep because my brain's telling my legs to do a 50-mile triathlon while flat on my back. Yep, as if I needed one more symptom to add to my list of afflictions, I can now add restless leg syndrome. If you have it too, you'll know what I'm talking about: it's a neurological condition with no known definitive etiology (med-speak for "cause"), but in my case I'm wondering if the fact I'm on three kinds of anti-depressants is causing this. It's right now 6:10 am and I've slept maybe 30 minutes tonight. For the week, maybe 3 hours, and I'm irritable as hell. This is nocturnal, so I figure my autonomic nervous system needs a fine-tune with some chemical assistance. (I take so much medicine and supplements now , it's like eating a small meal!). FAST FORWARD..... The doctor told me Thursday I'm taking too many anti-depressants, so we cut back the Welbutrin to 150 mg just once a d...