What is this all about

         During the cold war the US and Russia were fighting a proxy war  (Using other nations and armies to stand in so to speak)
         With the release of memos, cables and so-forth today it has been noted Saudi Arabia telling the US how to conduct a war against Iran. Are we the US being used to fight a proxy war for Saudi Arabia?    

The saga continuies

    I can still hobble around, an attachment under my special shorts, my foot with the side missing, so I head to Kmart one day I am standing in line when the bag flange lets go and springs a leak. I had been standing line for ten minutes and although I now have a wet stain running down the front of my, (Now daily  Uniform) sweat pants I decided that if I could stand the smell all day my line partners could take it for a few minutes, of course suddenly the line thins out ( I wonder why ) and I am suddenly out of the store and on my way.
    This same sort of thing happened a few times in various places but I got through them no big deal,,, HaHa
    Christmas rolled around in 2000 so Sharon and I headed to Georgia to be with the kids. Rick, Ali and Lainey  making us feel there was still hope for the world and all would right. Lainey surprised me she did not appear to be grossed out by my damaged foot or all the other stuff, but then come to think of it; I remember one time while climbing a tree Lainey slipped hanging with her hand caught in the fork of a branch, she did not cry while I ran to her and lifted her up to free her hand I was in aw of this tough little person and I still am         

Take another Look

          A cartoon in yesterdays newspaper showed a huge cornucopia with homes and cars and planes coming out of it Uncle Sam is riding it and on this cornucopia is the label saying, Financed by China, what this also should show is the last nine years of War paid for by the credit card from the bank of China and the interest is about to go up.
         A few days ago, in a conversation, the person said that we had defeated socialism in Russia. I responded, no we defeated Communism.  Communism is a financial system  not based on profit or supply and demand but the needs of a functioning society. Sadly this  Doesn't work though due to the human factor
         Today most people do not see the difference. Truly a Democracy is the purest form of socialism allowing all of a nations people to determine how they are to be governed; Giving from the lowest to the highest position in society an equal voice
         In the first two decades of the twentieth century  greed caused a near collapse of not just our financial systems but our social systems as well. To maintain the well being of our nation as a whole we as a Democracy  ( social society) had to provided safety nets for some of our people as well a retirement system for the older members of our nation. Our form of enterprise is Capitalism our form of society is Socialism    
          Some of our citizens would still believe in the ice flow form of support for the sick elderly                       

I am all F- - -ked up OOOOO

      As soon as I could drive I returned to the hospital to try and get a copy of the hospital records showing the record of the insulin injection. Of course I could have the records I was told. After signing a release I was brought a stack of paper out of any order like a deck of cards that have been shuffled. So I sorted them by date finding the day of the injection missing. The medical records person said the file for that day had been held back for review by the Dr.,, after showing her the statement on the wall that said I could have all my records of my history of my hospital stay she coughed them up.
      The bag attached to the right side of my stomach couldn't be call a pain in the ass as it was nowhere that part of my anatomy. But a pain never the less shaving the area every day then gluing a snap on flange that circled the area to my skin then snapping on the bag; standing in the bathroom looking at my self  I would sing the Elvis song I 'm all (shook) F--ked up ooooo. Believe or not.
         

On and On

   Twelve hours and a dozen bags of sugar later I started heaving purple stuff, the nurse turned green and I found a tube being stuffed down my nose that had been pulled out the day before,,, my stomach had shut down and they had to start pumping it again.
    Two days later I was on my way home and I wanted to go back to work as soon as possible even though now I would have to wear sweat pants for five months or so.
    The insulin injection from my point of view should never have happened; turns out that a half hour or so after the injection the nurse who had injected me had gone to her supervisor crying ( I was told ) saying that she thought she had killed me. almost an hour after that and after I had thrown Sharon out of the room they started the sugar. A few days after I came home, Sharon and I decided that it would be a good idea to look into some sort of lawsuit.          

Add you comments and I will change the text

Several people have commented on dates, Please post your comments and I will change the text to correct these events as this is a history of all of us also feel free to in comments section add your piece of time I will also put this in the text,,,,,, Thanks folks... 

Ali and Alaina

            Not all was bad during this bump in life; Our youngest Son had remained in Georgia a few years earlier, to finish School and had met the love of his life actually the two loves of his life Ali and her Daughter Lainey. Rick Called us from Georgia saying he wanted to bring some one up to Tennessee His Lady and her Daughter Sharon and I had a green hassock that happened to be large enough for Lainey to use as a bed also a good place to watch TV    
            In 1998 during some celebration Sharon and I drove down to Augusta Ga. to be part of this get together We stayed at a local hotel trying to get our bearings around Rick's friends. Ali surprised me, not shy and not afraid to speak her mind was my impression, a great person and very pretty as well, at the end of the night Sharon and I were asked if we could keep an eye on Lainey, she was only two years old and might be frightened I thought as she didn't Know us very well. The Kids, Rick and Ali placed her sleeping on the bed in our hotel suite as it was a separate room we wouldn't wake her. Watching TV an hour or so later I sat across from the door which opened a little bit,  this tiny little girl with her blanket stood  in the door checking me out I guess I passed as she ran over crawled into my lap snuggled down and went back to sleep to me that was a gift unmatched by few others as I had been adopted as her Grandpa.       

Election 2000

During my first round of Chemo other than sick all the time I could get around fairly well then slamming my foot didn't help but I was still determined to vote albeit early. I am standing in line with other oldies, on crutches sick due to the chemo and radiation for an hour. I voted,, so the night of the election of 2000 I sat in front of CNN finding that the early votes for that part of Tennessee had how become lost and could not be counted.  

On we go

So now I am ending my round of Chemo; so I head back to the first Surgeon Michael Glover expecting  him to say Wow the cancer is all gone or some thing like that. (Shows how my mind works) he used a tube about the size of a paper towel to look up my butt. ( what a pain in the ass that was) worse than before he said or words to that effect. We left his office me on crutches feeling a little down, However I had the spark of an Idea, Richard Antonucchi  was the name of the Dr. who directed My chemo and I intended to use him once more if I could. When I got home I went on the internet looking for board certified  colorectal surgeons and found a Dr. by the name of Jim Bakker he had a partner Named Jay Young they were working on a new procedure where the rectum could be rebuilt. Dr. Antonucchi contacted Dr. Bakker that afternoon from his office and Jim Bakker would see me the next Day, Friday. In a couple of weeks I was in Fort Saunders regional Hospital for the surgery I under stood that when I awoke if I found the bag attached to the left side it would be a permanent condition if the Right side I was rebuilt and I would have my working parts (Ass) back in a few months.I woke to find tubes (at least Four) coming out of my lower stomach not to count all the ones from my nose and chest but the attachment was on the right side so I was relieved in that respect. Sharon stayed with me every minute she could going home to shower and try to get ready for the next shoe to drop. the fourth day early the Nurse Ida Scarlet, (that was her name) came in to give me a shot of heprin a blood thinner. Sharon ask what is that and the nurse said heprin the nurse checked my name and so but Sharon seemed uncomfortable about this Woman. 1 started to wind up in about five minutes after the shot, extrema agitation! Sharon's breathing sounded like roaring in my ears, I was talking through gritted teeth yelling for everyone to leave the room Sharon headed on home thinking that I was mad at her feeling hurt. With in minutes the floor nurses came in and started IV's of (sugar) Glucose which brought some relief  At around ten the Dr. J Young came in saying that I wasn't losing my mind I had been injected with a huge dose of insulin                       

Paradise Lost

Paradise  Lost

         As the power and glory of the United States of America pass into history we under stand why our country in its founding refused to establish a national church as John Adams had established in Massachusetts.

          All of Europe for many centuries had burned in War; over whose brand of religion was the right one; Muslims aren’t one belief but many and they tried to kill off each other and still do. The believers in Ali (Sheia) stood shoulder to shoulder with Christens and Jews to the last man in their stand against the Sunni.  Christens weren’t any better, the crusades killed more Christens than Muslims. Even in our Country, Protestant and Catholic have killed each other and many more including Mormons.

           Now we try to invoke Gods name for our politics as we do for the Friday nights foot ball game. Where is good will toward all men, peace on earth and love thy neighbor as thy self …                    

           How we call our selves Followers of Christ is beyond me

  

Michael Ferguson  

And on we go

    I had been writing the emergency response scenarios for Blunt County and worked with a Dr. who felt he could help me find some help he gave me the name of a group of Doctors involved in the chemo end for cancer treatment. through him I met a oncologist for the chemo and through him another for radiation Both scheduled me for the installation of a port in my chest to pump in the chemo then a saddle to lay on to hold my hips and back still for the Gamma Rays
    On Monday at eight o'clock I would go to Chemo to be attached to a bag of chemicals and pump then drive down the street to the center for a radiation Zap. The pump stayed on all week while each day began with a shot of Gamma this lasted for three weeks then a week off and three more weeks after the first few days I was always sick and after the first three weeks the lining of my throat and intestines ulcerated bringing to me a whole new meaning of pain. I drove to work every day. In the seventh week the brakes failed on a palate jack I was using to travel through the plant smashing my left foot.                  

Supplement to todays Blog My view of the real world

Of The People By the People and For the People
>
> Today we as a nation watch as our financial system melts down; we fail to remember that contrary to what is being said; the Republicans were voted out of office 2006 because of the economy was going belly up. And Now We have voted the foxes back into guarding the hen house.
> As wealth was flowing from the bottom to the top from an entire population of Americans who in one way or the other had borrowed or out right paid for Homes, goods and services, and medical care at an ever increasing cost while take home pay only fell due to loss of production of these goods and services by the earners in side our borders
> In the last few years our economy has come under siege and truths has been made evident; that wealth does not trickle down or flow down but in an established economy comes from the bottom up. When homes are not paid for, when jobs are lost, when this flow from the bottom is cut by the inability of the people to match the rising cost for even the basics. Food becomes more important than stuff including their homes. The people are the back bone of this nation not corporations. Critical mass has been reached by the debt of individuals (people). This has been brought about by the need for more capital, (money) and made possible by the mass marketing of Credit to a population with a lower and lower income.
>
> Today I listened to the discussions around the news channels of the ideas on how to get our economy breathing again. I feel the need to speak up and say what I feel. The senseless hubris on the part of our so called experts and leaders keeps them from the entire picture of this country and the world.
> The plain truth is, business of our country and the world strives  to produce goods and services at lower and lower cost while these corporations cut the pay and the number of employees required to provided these things. Is this greed? The problem, the down side is that these same employees are the users of these goods and services and they either have lost their jobs now making a fraction in whatever employment that could be found and if the people managed to retain their jobs, the salaries paid fail to provide enough money to use the goods and services that are the fruits of their labor. Mortgages aren’t paid, tax revenues fall, credit accounts crash and the supply of money feeding from the bottom to the top ceased. So what does our government do? It feeds vast amounts of cash to these banks with the idea that some how the worthless paper held, that reflected the existing value of homes was separate from the people who could no longer pay for them. The rules still apply; some
> thing of value has to be held by a bank in exchange for money loaned.
> With out jobs with out money on a steady bases people can not afford Cars, TVs, new furniture, medical care, even clothes. With out jobs and jobs that pay a living wage banks will not loan money for any thing.
> One more thing; these people who have lost homes to foreclosure do not meet the credit requirements for a loan for a tooth brush or any thing else.
> We are a Government the Government of our nation. The Government is not some separate body it is us. When some politicians say that they are against big government the idea is to restrict the input to and isolate the people of the nation.
> To move back to a healthy economy we needed to see the problem. The root cause has been identified and employment with a living wage at the base of our economy who now number in the tens of millions is what is needed to start or nation’s engine once again.
> Michael Ferguson
>

   Of course I did not have Hepatitis C,, Our Dr. if he had (allowed me) not found a way  to stop me from being admitted would have lost out on his (Money) piece of the pie from my PPO . Sharon and I checked in for the procedure, in line with others. the man that went in before me, Sharon told me, was told to come back in five years. next thing I knew I heard words saying " a biopsy will be done on the tumor" then the voice was talking to Sharon. I faded out remembering bits and pieces coming completely awake in the car on the way home. A few days later a call came in saying that I had cancer, this was from Bellingrath,  he also gave me the name of my next stop and the name of the Dr. I was to see Michael Glover.
    Glover had a small office in down town Knoxville he specialized as a colon rectal surgeon. I had done a little research believing that the cancer would be removed I would be reconnected and all would be well. Dr. Glover was not so optimistic saying " we will remove the cancer making a stoma (hole in my stomach wall) and that is that".. I asked and how long before I would be re-hooked up? Sharon understood better than I what he had said. Saying, "Mike he does not intend to reattach,  he is saying he will be done. That was not good enough. Sharon asked about Chemo or radiation he didn't seem to be in favor of those. I left the office feeling a little bewildered.                          

Continuing story

    The Emergency Dr said that I would be admitted and Asked me to lay back also who was our family Dr. About five minuted later I was given a stack of Gauze pads and told to contact my family Dr.. I couldn't help but wonder what brought about the sudden change for this Dr. he also kept more space between us which I thought was my imagination  So stuffing those pads in the back of my pants and feel emphatic for my wife at her time of the month I headed home. (Our Family Dr. was a small man with very short fingers and in the three previous years he had given me my yearly prostate exam which might explain some things.) When Sharon could see how much Blood had been lost she now understood what we were up against.  I called our Dr. who said that he would see me first thing in the morning, the bleeding had stopped so I was able to clean my self up eat something and drag my self to bed.
     I arrived at the office at nine o'clock and waited until one o'clock in that afternoon. Dr Bellingrath met me in the waiting room saying that he owed me a huge apology as he had told the emergency Room Dr. that I had Hep C he had found his mistake this morning and I was to have a colonoscopy the following morning.         

Family in time of need

     Hi folks, We will continue with my story later, I want to take this time to say thanks to my kids for with out their support I couldn't have made it. Thanks Lisa,, Mike and Rick    

Tell me if I should stop

   When the Dr. told me what this would cost up front I found another reason to put this off  I didn't feel bad so why should I shell out money for something I didn't need,, cancer didn't enter my mind.
   Spring of 2000 and all was right with the world I had just become co chairman  for emergency management for Blunt County Tenn. had a raise in pay and had a good crew I could depend on working for me. Then in May a fork lift operator hooked some electrical controls for an ammonia system shutting down power in part of the building I rushed back and forth up and down stairs resetting circuit breakers while clearing damage everything was fixed and working after a couple of hours except me. Bad cramps a trip to the head (bathroom) and filled the toilet with blood. I called Sharon then headed to the emergency room with Toilet paper stuffed in the back of my pants, the Dr. who examined my stepped  back with blood up to the elbows looking a little gray saying you have to be admitted now          

My life with Cancer or year one 1999

  1999 was a good up until late summer, I was now employed with a good company for Two years. Sharon and I seemed to be comfortable we were having family coming and although we had been through some hard family times we were sure that we would make it at least to the new year. I had to go to Washington DC on company business and was really looking forward to seeing John and Diana in the fall.
   The night before I was to fly home I found a lot of blood in the toilet not a smear or touch but a lot and being the type of guy that I am I thought I had eaten something that had some how cut me on the way out (Ha) the next day I was fine and I didn't say much about it.
    We were in Gatlinburg Tnn. as planned John and I were making gluttons of our selves For some reason I had to return to Knoxville one night that night when I got home I found that I was covered with blood and again rationalized the problem away after having a major WTF moment. After the family had gone home I told Sharon and made an appointment for a colonoscopy See you tomorrow for the rest of the Story               

The last ten years

             I think that tomorrow I will start the story of the last 10 years and what led to where we are to day. 
             I have needed to write this story and a few days ago when Lainey said that she didn't know that I was supposed to kick off while we lived with her maybe she can read this along with a few others

Family

        This Afternoon I spent a little time at the soccer field with my family while watching young ladies play their hearts out while all of  their support group screamed for them to try harder our Granddaughter fired in the long balls which ended up being scores for her team.
        I know that all of us on the side lines kind of play these games through our Kids when we watch the girls run down the field we twist and turn standing there as though it is us right there with the kids.. I have to say to Lainey thank you for allowing this old man share this with you.         

What are we all about?

      The great leaders in  history all had one thing in common; a sense of the future this has been used for good and extreme evil.
      The image of the world to come, his idea of that world was the driving force behind Hitler and others of his ilk. by the same token the Washington's, Lincoln's  Roosevelt's and Johnson's visions make them their place in history. Currently our nation is in peril due to our lack Vision of the future. However what if the current national peril is due to the effort of some, where their vision of the future is one where freedom for all and bias for or against any does not exist...              

What tomorrow will bring

              

View for today

Clearing house for greed

         Through the nineteenth Century the US became a major player on the world market and our people realized that we as a Nation are capable of massive Greed. From the profiteering of the Civil war to the early oil industry it became clear that we needed rules and regulations so we could police our selves. And there were abuses, through out the years time and time again these laws / Regulations were bent or broken to meet the needs of private greed and most of the time the violators met justice. As politics changed over the years these laws rankled some of the more greedy of our American Industry community. Some administrations felt the need to favor the forces of greed and deemed these laws as a nuisance and although they would not change the status quo the laws would be deemed low priority. The following elected government would identify the malfeasance and prosecute the violators in accordance the regulatory body and laws. The previous Republican Administration and congress  populated these agencies and courts with persons with ties to the bodies the were to be regulated claiming that this would bring fairness back to the misunderstood agents of industry. An example of the results of this policy is noted in the following  

  The two-year, $5.3 million investigation by Interior's inspector general found workers at the Minerals Management Service's royalty collection office in Denver partying, having sex, using drugs and accepting gifts and ski trips and golf outings from energy company representatives with whom they did government business.

  The investigations exposed "a culture of ethical failure" and an agency rife with conflicts of interest, Inspector General Earl E. Devaney said. 

  And so we Know that Minerals management Was the Inspection Body over seeing the drilling in the  Gulf of Mexico  

   Apparently misfeasance is one of the new prerequisites for employment by this new Congress  

All things begin with a first step and this is mine;
     It seems that in the world today we all have something to say on our view of the world and some how those few words might make this world a better place. So lets give it a try.
     A little bit about me, I am 66 years young and at the bottom of my soul I am still 16 with the same feelings of joy when things are good and the same desperate hope when things are bad. In the year 2000 I found out that I had colon cancer and after chemo, operations, radiation, and a metastasis to the liver twice I walked away minis a few parts.
       My wife and I have been together for 47 years and there were a few moments of desperate hope in that time. Our kids are now parents them selves with the same trials and tribulations we slagged through and as much as I would like to butt in, they are doing well. Now to the crux of the matter.
       Truth and Justice for all  were words that I felt were some of the cornerstones of our nation. We are a nation made up of the world, all peoples of all creeds and beliefs welded into one common people by our laws, freedom for all with biases or favor toward none.  As we are the government and we are responsible for each other.