Well…THAT didn't go well!

 There we are!… Headed to College Station. Had some business to attend to vis a vis new home.  We’re on cruise control which is set to speed of traffic(about 75. Yes Beans, it also matches the number on the Speed Limit sign). 

In any case,Cruise Control is on, Map on the phone show route to MBD and family’s home.

Life is good! Mrs J had bought some jalapeño sausage and some jalapeño cheese @ Bucees! Pretty tasty!

Sausage and cheese has been consumed. Started to feel a bit of heart burn. No big deal.

Except the heartburn is getting worse. we make the last highway change and we’ll be “home” in about 10 minutes. I’m starting to feel a bit woozy.  It’s getting worse fast. I click the button to turn off cruise.

About this time the world starts spinning, I hit the brakes and start looking for an off ramp.

Unfortunately, I become unconcious. The last thing I remember is Mrs J yelling something.

The next thing I remember, I’m opening Mrs J’s door and let her out. I look at the truck, The engine compartment. It’s squashed against a pile of rocks.  Did you know that an Apple watch will call the nearest emergency response team and tell them where the accident is?

Less than 10 minutes later the ambulance is here. I’ve got several sensors attached to me. Medicine has been administered. And I’m having an IV installed.. 

Trip to the hospital was uneventful. Both Mrs J and I were sent to the ER. About 15 minutes later she comes in to my treatment room. Nothing serious.

Thank You Lord!

I unfortunately am not so lucky.

XX-rays, and other scanning devices were used and I’m shown to my hospital room, I’m still there as of Sunday. Diagnosis has Fractured sternum , neck issues as well as heart beat issues. 

Hospital room is assigned, been 3 days at time of posting this.  Haven’t been able to sleep much and my usual sleeping habit of rolling over has proven to be a tad painful.

 I am a bit nervous. Looks like the tentative go home date and moving date two are getting pretty close.

We shall see what will be.

juvat

 P.S. I’m in a hospital ER writing this on my iPad with no external key board. Not responsible for splling errors and sentences tHat make no cents.

Peace out y’all.  Oh and drive carefully!

Round 2?

 Here we go again! What is it about Texas and flooding on Sundays.

Yep, the Texas Hill Country is in another Flash Flood Warning.  Went to the  0730 Mass this morning, came out of Church and there was a slight sprinkle coming down.  However, a quick glance to the north said that was going to change quickly.  Mrs J and I had a quick executive decision making meeting and decided to hightail it home.

Screenshot from my phone.  Blue dot is us. Weather is coming down the screen.  The distance between the Blue Dot and San Angelo is ~150 Miles

Good thing.   The Pedernales was already reaching its banks and water was pooling on the highway as we drove home.  Phone just beeped a Flash Flood WARNING for the area.  So, anybody got any downloadable plans for an ark?  

Ain't the internet wonderful?  https://www.instructables.com/Noahs-Ark-1/

From what I understand, they are evacuating Kerrville's riverfront and general vicinity.  At least it's not 3AM, so most folks should be up.  And they've experienced a flood, so should be enthused about evacuating.  One hopes it's not as bad as the 4th of July flood.   

We're hunkered down and we'll see what's gonna happen.  But it is raining...HARD!

Prayers for the area will be appreciated. 

Well...Feces!

 As most of you have heard, Central Texas got hit by a very severe storm on the 4th of July. This storm caused catastropic flooding on the Guadalupe River which flows through Kerrville. There are a few summer Camps along the river. During the summer they are usually quite full with kids. That was the case this past weekend.

Updated at noon Sunday 6 July, there are 67 dead and 11 missing.  Many are elementary and Middle School aged.

God Bless and keep them all! 
 

Camp Mystic

 

 

 

Fox News

This occurred along the Guadalupe river.  However there also was flooding along the Pedernales, a tributary to the Guadalupe which is about a mile and a half from our property.  Fortunately, the Pedernales while it overflowed its banks, did not make it up to the highway that runs alongside it.  Another advantage is it's about a mile of level ground along the banks which, while blocking traffic, will minimize flooding by spreading out the river.  Finally at the end of that mile, there's about a 75' ridgeline that goes up to where our property and our neigbor's property is located, further reducing our flooding risk. 

So, the only running water we saw on our property was runoff from the property.  That having been said, we didn't venture out until things were a little bit more reasonable and the Law Enforcement people gave the say so. Which was a couple of hours after the rain stopped.

Oh, BTW the Guadalupe river is only about 10 miles from our property.  So, we had a fair level of concern. But...We got lucky.

All in all, we got 10" of rain in a little under 5 hours.  For those of you living in Rain Forests, that's probably not a lot.  In Central Texas, well....It's flood level. 

Lots of emergency vehicles headed towards Kerrville this morning as we were headed into town (AKA away from the Guadalupe River) for Mass.  Needless to say there were a few extra prayers being said.

As it should be.

Saturday, in the middle of all this, our daughter called and asked if a family that's friends of theirs could come up and spend the night in one of our cabins.  They had reservations on the Guadalupe for the weekend.  

After checking our driveway wash, we said sure. The wash was only 6" or so.  They showed up a bit later.  The husband got out  and I thought he had an interesting outfit on.  A two toned green tee shirt and a pair of new looking jeans.  The tee shirt was light green at the top and a darker green about 2/3rds of the way up.  The jeans were a very dark blue.  I thought it interesting as I walked out (into the rain) to greet them.  Got them settled in the guest bedroom and he asked if he could use the washer/dryer.  I said sure.  He then explained that he had to wade out of the guest house they'd rented in Kerrville while helping his wife and two kids get to the car to evacuate.

The police had knocked on the door and told them they had 2 minutes to evacuate. 

Somebody in Heaven musta been looking out for him .

One of the several people still missing is a 4th grader.  She badly wanted to go to camp with her friends.  Her family, friends of our daughter, had planned a trip to Italy during that time frame.  The family came to an agreement and let her go to camp while they went to Italy.

I cannot imagine what is going through that family's minds now.  I hope they get help soon. Again, prayers much appreciated.

So...not a great week here in the State of Texas.

Oh and it’s Sunday PM, we’re back in a flash flood advisory and it’s raining…HARD!

Yay!

Some weeks are harder than others. For instance...

Well, Campers, it's been another "fun", "exciting", "suspenseful" week at Rancho Juvat.  I hope, by now, y'all can detect a bit of sarcasm in my online "voice".  

Let's just say that it's a VERY good thing that both Mrs J and I are retired military and therefore have a very good version of medical insurance. The numbers at the top of the bill are shocking to say the least, fortunately the "You Pay" section is significantly lower. 

Best 20 years we ever invested.

But, it ain't over til it's over.

Mrs. J's colonoscopy mentioned in last week's post went off without a hitch.  However, during debriefing, the oncologist said there might be some cancer cells still active and he would have to do surgery to remove them as well as any deceased cells in the area.

Well, that's taken a bit of air out from under my wings.

We'll meet with him tomorrow to find out more details.

Just to add to the "Fun", a couple of weeks ago one of the dogs (we have 5, 3 inherited when my Sister passed and 2 we've had for forever) got a little rambunctious and scratched Mrs. J's leg.  One of the drawbacks to Chemo/Radiation Cancer treatment is it severely weakens the immune system.  Today (Sunday) as we were getting ready for Church, she asked for help in replacing a bandage.  Now, she had had a mole removed a month or two ago and unfortunately the stitches broke leaving a hole.  I've been treating that for quite a while and it's starting to look much better.

2 weeks ago

This Morning

In any case, those were not the bandages she wanted replaced.  Nope,  She pulled up the leg of her PJ bottom and there's this huge bright red rash.  

 

So, I did my best with the ointments we had on hand, went to Church (Yeah, Beans, I did a lot of begging the Big Guy for help) then immediately followed that up with a trip to one of the "I don't think I need the hospital or an ER, just need someone to take a look and tell us what to do" facilities in town.  Turns out the NP had been in Little J's Boy Scout troop and I'd been one of the adult leaders.  He was very helpful and the chatting about old times while he was doing his treatment brought my BP down a few points.  

No, Beans, Mrs J didn't start laughing about some of my foibles as a scout leader he had told her until we got in the car and went home.

In any case, he recommended some OTC stuff to treat it for now, made sure that if any of the symptoms he described appeared we were to head to the ER most hastily. He also told us we needed to see our regular doctor as soon as possible.

Went over to our winemaker friends winery last Saturday.  It was a Birthday.  As you are aware, he passed away last July from colon cancer (see a connection? I'm somewhat sensitive to that version of the disease).  His wife managed to find a  buyer for the winery and it closed this last week.  They had their final bottling under their management recently and produced this wine.

Rest in peace, Gary.

Can't think of a better way to be remembered.  They sold out the first day it was released.  I managed to snag two bottles.  We'll see when they get consumed.

But...As I said, it's been a pretty crappy few weeks.  Faith that things will get better, is taking some hits, but I've still got faith in the Big Guy upstairs.  Never give up, Never surrender!

Now, not wanting to become known as Dougie Downer on Sarge's blog, there is a bit of good news in the near  future.  By the time this post actually hits the internet, Little J should be en route from HK to Austin.  Won't arrive until tomorrow PM, but on his way.  

 

Miss B and the Gang are looking forward to Little J's arrival.

He'll be here for a couple of weeks, then He and his family will travel to Jolly Old England for his next assignment.  While Mrs J and I will miss them, but without a doubt being together as a family is the best option for all three of them.  Thank You, Lord!

So, one of the thing's I learned in flying Fighters is it's hard to keep your airspeed & energy level up when you're always turning to keep out of your opponent's gun sight.  This last couple of months feels like that right now.  Think I'm going to go and join Mrs. J in taking a nap.

Peace out y'all. 

Seems like I've been on an "E* Ticket" Roller Coaster ride lately!

 First, let me say "Thank You " to our host.  Saturday was my 10th Anniversary of my first post here.  So, a boatload of posts later, I'm still having fun, mostly.

Thanks, Sarge.

As most of you frequent readers know, the last 6 months or so have been, well...stressful.  Mrs J was diagnosed with Cancer back in October and immediately put on Chemo which was then followed by Radiation.  Fortunately, we are almost out of that hole.  Both Chemo and Radiation have been completed, both Doctors in charge of their section are extremely happy with the results.  

As for me, if they're happy, I'm frickin' ecstatic!

We have a Surgeon's appointment this next week, to take the After picture of the cancer cells.  Then mid-June, she gets to have surgery and have them excised.  

Been a long road, getting from there to here (yes, Beans, I'm quoting the lyrics from a song)

And...Just Because.

Unfortunately, stress, worry, lack of sleep, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera, took a toll on me also.

I was at my Doctor's office midweek last for my normal quarterly checkup that the Air Force thankfully pays for.  I like my Doctor and his Nurse, they tell it like it is and don't pull punches.  So there I am sitting in the Doctor's office.  The Nurse walks in and starts the normal pre-flight checklist (gotta involve flying here somehow).  She starts with the temperature scan, all normal,  reaches for my wrist and checks my pulse. 

There's a bit of an eyebrow quiver.  Puts the BP wrap on.  I know this is going to be commented upon, it's been that way for quite a while.  No exception here.  She then takes my pulse.  

She stands and says "Stay here, I'll be right back".

She isn't kidding, She's back in less than a minute with the Doc in tow.  He takes my pulse then listens to my heart.  Asks me if I'd noticed anything out of the ordinary with my chest.  

Well...I tell him my pectoral muscles seem to be quivering somewhat, just kind of a flutter, no pain.  Doc says, "Where's Mrs J?"

"Home"

"Do you want us to call her or would you rather us call an ambulance?"

I may have used the "WTF?" vernacular.

"You are going right now to the ER.  Your heart rate is off the charts and irregular. It's called AFib and it can cause a Stroke."

OK,  That got my attention.  Mrs J came and got me, we went to the ER.  They met me at the front door and escorted me back to a treatment room.  All sorts of needles and stuff were attached.  Medicine was administered.

 

After a few hours, my numbers were back to normal and I was released.  I asked the ER Doc what I should do if this happened again.  He said, get a pulse/Ox meter and check your numbers regularly regardless of how you feel.  If the Pulse is above 120 come back here immediately.  

They've got my attention.  I'm going to be a very good patient.  Get the machine, (it's about 2"x1"x1") it goes on your index finger. Nice to know numbers displayed in about a minute.

 

No Beans, it's not 194, what looks like a 1 is actually a cursor to show it's working.  94 is the Pulse Rate O2 level, 74 is the Pulse Rate.

 The next couple of days, the numbers are well below 100.  The third day, I wake up and, yep, 144 again.  

Mrs. J drives me to the ER.  Same Doc is on duty.  I get all poked and prodded up.  Meds are administered, he comes in and says, we might be admitting you for about 3 days or so, we're calling your cardiologist to see what he says.

Well...Fecal Matter!!!

We stay there for several hours, but things eventually settle out.  The ER Doc and the Cardiologist have a telephone chat.  The ER Doc says the Cardiologist is prescribing a new medicine for you.  We're going to release you.  You need to go over to his office and pick up some samples of the meds and we'll send the prescription to your pharmacist.

All proceeds as planned.  I get the samples.  Supposed to take one every morning and evening.  After doing that, if symptoms return take an additional pill, if symptoms still continue, return to the ER.

Thankfully, that hasn't happened so far.  My followup with the Cardiologist's Nurse Practitioner went well, my numbers were pretty well normal.  She formalized my prescription of the new med and I sent it to my normal pill dispensary for regular refill.  Knock on wood, the AFib symptoms haven't returned.

Frankly, I've been in some very stressful, threatening circumstances in my life.  None of them concerned me quite as much as this episode.

I'm paying VERY close attention to the Rules of Engagement in dealing with this situation.  Should any of you experience similar symptoms, go to a Doctor, the symptoms don't feel as bad as they actually are.

Suffice it to say, this is a pretty good excuse for my not commenting here lately as prolifically as usual.  With any luck at all, I'll be returning to the verbal foray...soon!

Oh! And I got an early Birthday Present!  Mrs. J got me a hat since I don't have much natural sun protection.

 

Peace out y'all

 *E ticket, not an A ticket....Duh!

Well.....Scheiße!

 Good morning, fellow Chanters!

Gonna be a short one this week and, unfortunately, my normal humorous/glib tongue won't be making much of an appearance.

First the good news.  Miss B's surgery which replaced her nasal feed tube with a feed tube inserted into her stomach was successful and appears to be doing wonders for her.  It's only been a few days, but she  seems more aware of where she is and what's around her.

 

She also seems to have developed interests in other things.

Mom, I'd like to try a sip of that Chardonnay

In the above photo, Mrs J and LJW had decided I needed to go to our Winemaker Friends release party for their new Chardonnay and Cabernet releases. 

And that requirement is due to the bad news.

So, there we were, downtown San Antonio at the hospital the day prior to Miss B's release.  This past Wednesday for those keeping track.  Nice and peaceful visit.  Miss B is in a great mood.  All is well in the world.

Then, Mrs. J gets a phone call from one of our neighbors.  "Why is there an ambulance and Sheriff cars on your property?"

Since I'm looking at 4 of the 6 beings that live on the property, only my Sister and her housemate are on the property to answer questions.  So, I pick up my phone and call my sister.

Her housemate answers.

"juvat, your sister's dead! I need you here."

Well....Scheiße!

Mrs. J and I run to the car and head back home.  While enroute, I get a call from one of the Sheriff's deputies who's at the house.  I explain our situation and ETA and he fills us in on what's happening and asks what funeral home we want to use.  Good thing Mrs. J is in the car.  The modulating device between what I was thinking and what should come out of my mouth was broken.  Since we're on speaker, she answers for me.  

Thank you, Dear, sincerely.

He also mentions that the Justice of the Peace is enroute and will want to talk to us.  

75 miles and San Antonio traffic are between us and them.  Made it in under an hour.

The deputies (there were 2) meet us out in the yard and tell us the JP is finishing up his investigation, could we wait outside?

The JP comes out shortly thereafter and asks a few questions, nothing out of the ordinary, not that I would know what ordinary is.  He says he does not know the cause of death, but it doesn't appear to be suspicious.  However, he can't be sure without an autopsy.  Do we want one?

Remember that short circuit in my brain?  A four letter word rhyming with truck and a yes are starting down the path to my tongue, when the switch diverts it to another track and "Hell, yes!" comes out.  

"OK, but it could take up to 6 weeks to complete." Later I would learn this is a big problem across the southern border and is a result of a large influx of immigrants.  Not that LEGAL immigration is a problem, but...

A few minutes later the rep from the funeral home arrives.  I'd been pretty much under control up to now.

I completely lost it when they brought her out of the house. 

One final comment on this ordeal.  Over the last couple of days, we've been through most of her papers and have yet to find any Will or any other indications of what she wanted to happen after her passing.

Folks, if you don't have final instructions in order, dealing with the death of a family member is hard enough as it is, and I know nobody wants to think about it, but have some compassion for the people you will be leaving behind.  Just GET IT DONE!  Amazon has several different "workbooks" that can help you help your loved ones get through this.  This is the one I have.

Meeting and greeting, the two Black Dogs (plus one that didn't want to be photographed) are ours.  The three others are about to join our family.  This soiree' was intended to see if they'd get along.  Went well. Still have to check how they react to and treat the cats before they're officially adopted.

Happier times last Christmas.

Brothers and Sister

Rest in Peace, Lisa.

Equipment Malfunction

 Folks, bear with me on this one.  It's going to take quite a bit of setting the stage before I get to the point on this post.  I'll get there, I promise. But I'll start with the hero of the story.

No Beans, Not Princess Leia.  Miss B!

Back in the day my folks would try and teach me the need for trust in the world.  One needed to trust their fellow man to do the right thing else one would spend his entire life looking over his shoulder for protection instead of ahead for opportunity.  

Of course they also taught that once someone had proved themselves untrustworthy...Well, don't trust them.  Ever.  I'm not talking a simple "letting you down", but actual betrayal.  Failing to do their duty to honor their word deliberately regardless of reason.  That was the ultimate sin.

Then I joined the military and realized where that ethos came from.  My instructors insisted on trustworthiness in themselves and their students.  That expectation extended through all members of the military.  If you wore the uniform, your word was your bond.  You may fail, but you failed while giving your best.

Source

 

As a "For Instance", even non-flying readers will realize that an In-Flight Fire is an extremely serious event.  They would not be wrong.  Unlike a sailplane, the engines are the things that keep you aloft.  Without them, you are going to be landing.  Whether on a runway or not, is not generally your choice.  The airplane is coming down. Period.

Ok, how does the USAF address an Engine Fire?  The "Bible" on aircraft operations in the Air Force is affectionately called the "Dash One".  The F-4E Dash One can be found here.  Just as an example of how important that document is, 40 plus years after the last time I read it, looking through the Engine Fire or Overhead during Flight Emergency Procedure, I recognized some subtle changes in the wording and punctuation of the procedure from the previous reading.  That's how serious we took that book. In any case, here's the procedure. (It's found on Page 3-9 at the link above.)

Engine Fire or Overheat during Flight

1. Throttle bad engine - IDLE
2. If warning light goes out - CHECK FIRE DETECTION SYSTEM
Depress fire test button to determine that the fire detecting elements are not burned through.
3. If detection system check is satisfactory (i.e., warning lights illuminate when checked) - LAND AS SOON AS PRACTICABLE
Increasing thrust on the bad engine after the throttle has been retarded and the warning light has been extinguished may cause fire or overheat damage, and/or possible burn through the fire detecting elements.
4. If warning light remains Illuminated or fire detection system is inoperative or fire is confirmed - SHUTDOWN ENGINE
5. If fire persists - EJECT
6 . If fire ceases - LAND AS SOON AS PRACTICABLE 

CAUTION
Do not attempt to restart the bad engine. If the fire ceases, and a landing is to be accomplished, make a single engine landing.

Pay particular attention to #5 in that procedure.  If the fire light does NOT go out, you are to eject from the airplane. Period-Dot-End of Story.

So, juvat, interesting, but where are we going with this story?

Trust, my Friend, Trust.  We had an E-model at Moody that was pretty much a hangar queen. (For the non-familiar, the term indicates the jet has a boatload of mechanical problems which are difficult to ascertain, expensive to fix and the fix may not fix the entire problem.) One of the requirements when a Hanger Queen is thought to be "Fixed" is to give it a "Functional Check Flight" or FCF.  This is always flown by a VERY experienced crew and is flown on a fixed profile with specific parameters to make sure the airplane is fixed and ready to be put on the daily schedule.  This jet had passed it's FCF flight and was back on the schedule.

I'm Flight Lead for a 4 ship range ride to go and drop practice bombs and fire the gun at the gunnery range at Eglin AFB FL.  

No those are not 25Lb Practice bombs, those are inert 500Lb Bombs, but that is Eglin Range. Source

Typically the aircraft is loaded with 12 x 25Lb practice bombs and 100 rounds of 20mm bullets. 

 

Source

 Fighter Pilots, being the competitive type, typically bet on the scores.  Quarter a bomb, nickle a Hole.  So, worst case, one could be out 8 bucks, plus the requirement to buy beer in the Debrief.

Bragging rights, however, were worth much more than that.  So, one tried their very best.

Unfortunately, I've drawn the Hangar Queen and, even with my best body English, couldn't get the bombs very close or the gun to hit the target.  I'm irritated at myself on the way home and we're about halfway there when I simultaneously hear/see the Master Caution light come on and hear the WSO yell something about "Fire" over the intercom.  Suffice it to say, I am focused at this point.  

The right engine fire light is on.  Technically, at this point, I'm supposed to ask the WSO to get into the check list and read me the procedure after which I will perform the procedure.  That works well in the Simulator.  (AFAIK no one has actually died in the Sim.)  I immediately pull the throttle to Idle.  Nothing.  I decide on a count to 10 before skipping to #4 on the Emergency Procedure.  I know it didn't take 10 seconds for that count, more like 1  maybe 2.  

Light's still on.  So I shut down the engine.  Soon as it spools down, the light goes out.  I push the test button, it lights up and goes out when I release the test.  I have one of the wingmen give me a look over.  Nothing, no smoke, no visual damage.  OK we get to skip #5 (Thank you, Lord.  My takeoff #s will continue to match my landing #s.)  

Approach and landing are normal, well, as normal as a single engine approach and landing gets and except for the fire trucks, ambulances and other crash vehicles near the runway, other than that perfectly normal.  Pull into the dearm area.  Dearm crew safes the crucial stuff and give the shutdown signal.  1.6 nanoseconds later, myself and the WSO are on the ground and vacating the immediate vicinity.  

The jet goes back into maintenance, the maintenance repair checklists are applied and she  gets back on an FCF schedule.  The same thing happens.  Back into maintenance and another FCF.  Again a Fire Warning Right Engine.  In that afternoon's Wing Honcho meeting, the Maintenance Commander wants to annotate the problem in the maintenance forms as a "glitch" and keep the jet on the schedule. Maintenance Stats...Gotta love 'em.

At that point in the meeting, the Wing Commander relieved him from command.  As he did so, he said "If the warning light comes on, how does the pilot know that the jet is not on fire? If he stays with the jet and it IS on fire, he and his WSO will likely be killed.  Is your in-service rate worth that?"

In other words, the Maintenance Officer had betrayed our trust.

The jet went to depot maintenance and AFAIK never flew again, at least not at Moody.

BTW, that Wing Commander went on to 3 stars.  IMHO, shoulda had 4.

Interesting story, juvat, but what's behind this story? That would be Miss B's monitoring equipment and sensors.  More knowledgeable medical readers may correct me, but I believe that one of the last organs that develop when a Baby is in the Womb are their lungs.  Therefore, premies, spending less time there, tend to have lung issues after birth.  Miss B is currently on O2 while her lungs get better.  She also wears a Pulse Ox sensor that keeps track of her pulse rate and oxygen saturation level in her blood.  It sets off an alarm when either reading goes below the minimum level. 

That alarm can, and should, be heard throughout the house.

However, the Damn thing goes off ALL THE F.....g time!  The medical equipment company says that's caused by the baby moving.  OK, maybe.  But, then, why does it go off when she's sound asleep and not moving.  AKA one of us is sitting right beside her watching when it goes off.

So...Next they said it's a faulty sensor cord.  OK.  They send a new one.  Except that one is for a different model sensor. 

Top two are the new cable.  Bottom two are the old cable.  I'm not an electrician, but something tells me the new ones won't work.

 They send a new, new one with a technician.  No change.  Course the baby's awake while he's here, so moving.  Later that same day.  No movement, still alarms.  

Drive down to San Antonio to meet with the Pulmonary Docs.  They hook up their device side by side with ours.  There's doesn't squawk and their readings are virtually the same as ours.  Guess what squawks.

I mentioned to them my story about Trust and the fire light and asked what, worst case, might happen in the middle of the night if LJW, being extremely sleep deprived and tired, decided it was a false alarm and rolled over and went back to sleep.

We'll see what the next appointment with them yields. Suffice it to say, the NICU Staff and Docs are on Santa's good list while the Medical Equipment folks...well...aren't!

Nap Time!

Oh, and by the way, as I'm wrapping writing this up Sunday PM, we just got a winter storm warning with icing.  Last year when this happened, electricity was off for quite a while, 3 days for us; up to 6 weeks for some people further in the boonies in the county.  Electricity is needed for Miss B's breathing assistance equipment.  Emergency Action Plans are being developed as we speak.

 

Sine Waves and the meaning of Life

 It's been a trying couple of weeks around Rancho Juvat.  As I was pondering them and the results the Lord was expecting from them, I kinda came up with a realization.

My new working hypothesis on Life?  Thought you'd never ask, Sarge.

Life is like a Sine Wave.

WTF is a Sine Wave, juvat?  Well, Beans (Had to change persons in the conversation. Sarge knows, he deals with them all the time.)  According to the All-Knowing Wikipedia, a Sine Wave is:

"A sine wave, sinusoidal wave, or just sinusoid is a mathematical curve defined in terms of the sine trigonometric function, of which it is the graph.^[1] It is a type of continuous wave and also a smooth periodic function.^[2] It occurs often in mathematics, as well as in physics, engineering, signal processing and many other fields."

Isn't that a perfectly clear and understandable definition?

Because I was a simple Fighter Pilot once, a picture is worth (in this case) a million words.

 

Source

One of the functions performed by a sine wave is to make the Radar on my jet work.  That was kinda important to me.

But...For purposes of this post, I think a sine wave kinda reflects life.  Lots of ups and downs and one usually follows the other.  If one refers to the peaks as good things happening  and the valleys as less good, maybe even bad, things, then I think it makes sense.

Lots of good/great things happened around here over the past couple of weeks.

Having the family together for the Holidays is always a great thing.  That particular Sine Wave covered about 5 months.  Since July anyhow. 

Birth of Second Granddaughter?  Peak.  At 27 weeks & 8" 1 lb 2 oz? Valley.  Little J arriving before Mom woke up from the surgery? Peak.  All the events in LJD's life progress since? Mostly peaks with some valleys.

However...And it's a big one...This past week the NICU Doc in charge of LJD's case told Little J and LJW  that she would most likely be released from the NICU this week.  

Mt Everest Peak. 

Little J and LJW as well as Mrs. J and I will have to learn how to insert a nasal cannula feeding tube prior to her release.  Very shallow valley.  Little J has to report back to assignment mid-January. Bigger valley.  LJD won't be able to join him (which means neither will LJW) until the tube is not required.  So, sometime this summerish. Another Valley.  But all doable.

MBD, The Rev and MG visiting for Christmas? Very nice peak.  MG is 14 months, walking, starting to talk.  Also a nice peak.  MBD teaching her basic sign language? A very big peak. No, not needed.  She'd read that babies can learn to use hand gestures to communicate basic needs faster than verbally.  Seems to be working.  

This past week, MBD and The Rev  taking a little mini-vacation and leaving MG with us for 4 Days.  Huge Peak, maybe not Mt Everest, but certainly Pike's Peak.  

Had a blast! 

The only downside to that visit is "Miss Rachel and Songs for Littles".  (No, I will not accept any responsibility for loss of sanity incurred by clicking the link and watching the video.")

Source

But, as the above graph shows.  Every up is followed by a down.  A couple of days before Christmas, Mrs J and I were on our way to College Station when her phone rang.  It was from our Niece, she's the daughter of Mrs J's older sister, and a registered nurse at the VA.  She'd received word that her aunt's (Mrs. J's younger sister who lives very near her) house was on fire and could we go there and work with the Sheriff's deputy on station there.  

The graph is definitely on the down hill side.

Unfortunately, it would take a couple of hours to turn around and get back, so not real responsive.  We called Little J and he went over.

Called me back a bit later and told me to take the phone off speaker.

Mrs. J's sister didn't make it out.

Ahhh...Shit!

Praying for few dozen major graph upswings to come along soon, Lord! 

 

That was pretty fast, yet good, reminder of the realities of life. Thanks, Lord!

Peace out, Y'all.  Ya gotta roll with the flow. In other words...

Never give up...Never surrender!

A Whine about wine (again)

Had a bit of bad news a couple of days ago.  The son of our winemaker friends passed away unexpectedly.  The memorial service is this afternoon (Sunday) and we'll be attending.  As a memory of happier times, you get a rerun of a post from 2014 describing our trip with our friends to France.  See you next week.

So, there I was....* Retired from the Air Force almost 10 years, working in a school district now providing IT support after teaching a bit.  (Update) Retired from the Air Force almost 24 years, retired from the local school district for 3 years now after 21 years providing IT support and teaching a bit. Owned and profitably sold two wine related retail businesses which introduced me to some fine friends, two of whom own one of the finest wineries in Texas.  In fact their 2006 Syrah was rated as one of 12 Excellent wines in the United States. We enjoy wine, so having friends in the industry has its perks.

A few years ago, we decided to vacation together.  For various reasons, November has worked for our busy schedules.  Their harvest is over and the hectic activities in the crush have slowed down.  School has started and we've gone through a couple of grading cycles so except for the occasional paper jam, most of the teacher technological panic attacks have slowed way down. So, November it is.

Destination--France.  Unlike Sarge, I've never been assigned to Europe and but thanks to a few TDYs, have been able to visit a bit.  Enough to want to go back. Paris, the City of Lights will be our base camp with day trips to various areas of interest around the country.

Vacation has arrived and we have arrived at CDG, transitioned to the train, then to the subway and have arrived at our hotel near the Ecole Militaire.  Check in was mercifully quick and we head to the elevator to go to our rooms.  The elevator was quaint.  You had a choice.  Either you, or your bags, could use the elevator, not both.  I go up.  Mrs. Juvat loads bags from below, then joins me.  "You Americans! This is not a bug, but a feature!"

Knowing that jet lag is minimized by staying awake until bed time in the new time zone, we go walking about.  

Given that this was the view from our hotel room, we decide on where we are going.

We spend the next couple of days exploring Paris with all the usual suspects.

We see some pretty ladies.

Go to Church.

Drink some wine.

For some reason, this resonates with my twisted sense of humor.

Spend a lot of time consulting maps.

Even ask for directions.  This fellow was helpful.

We did not get lost. I've never been "lost", that position where you don't know where you are, nor how to get where your going, or even how to figure out where you are.  Nope never!

A low level fly by of a ROKAF runway was simply a matter of practicing airfield attack tactics.  Their calls on Guard questioning my identity simply confirm the effectiveness of my tactics.

Gratuitous Airplane Shot
Source RCGroups.com

I digress.  We have successfully navigated in a very large city.  It is time to expand our horizons.  We decide to visit Reims.  As I said earlier, having wine makers as friends has it's perks.  We are going to get a private tour of Veuve Clicqout

Not usually a fan of Champagne, but this was excellent.

I wonder if they'd miss just one.

Successfully returned to our hotel, we plan the next day trip,  I'd always heard about the beaches in France, so we decide to visit one.

This beach is named for a town in Nebraska. Big Red One visited here. Quite a few decided to stay.

Returned from that trip, sobered, but emboldened of our navigational abilities, we decide we want to sample wine from the Loire Valley. We take a train to the town of Tours because that's what we want to do.( I know, "try the veal, I'll be here all week.")

Rent a car and drive to Chinon,  a French Castle astride the Vienne River near Anjou.

With drawbridges on either end, the castle has instant moat protection from an attack.  It was interesting, the gardens are beautiful, but it's time to find wine!  The castle gift shop has a map purporting to have all the local wineries on it.  I purchase it and we hop in the car and are off. The ladies are in the back seat and as good back seaters they have assumed the navigational responsibilities.  We get back on the road and they tell me to start looking for a major highway which we will cross.  We find it and do.  A defined starting point.  They tell me to drive for about 10km when we will come to a village.  We do.  "Take a right, 10 km to next village".  "Take a left".  "We should be coming into village named  xxx".  I can't find anything that says what village we're in at all.  Continue on in this manner for a while and finally come into a village on a river.  It's about lunch time, and we spy an Auberge.

We decide we'll stop and get lunch and ask directions while we're there.

We walk in the front door and are greeted, in French, by the Maitre D', the waiter, the proprietor, cook and busboy.

He speaks no English.  There are several, male patrons in the Auberge, one of whom comes up to us and says "I speak English!". Great,  I ask him if the restaurant is open and could we get lunch.  He says "I speak English! Your wife is sexy!"  Well, I think so, but....Those phrases seems to be his version of my fluency in 22 languages (the ability to order a beer and find a restroom, neither of which I particularly need at this time).

I pantomime an eating gesture and the Maitre D', the waiter, the proprietor, cook and busboy takes us to a table.  A couple of minutes later, he brings out a terrine of something and cuts off a slice, placing it on my plate.  Points at it and pantomimes eating.  Now, I've eaten balut and lived to tell about it, I'm not intimidated.  I cut a piece of what is probably the innards of some long dead animal and commence to chow down.  The bar erupts in cheers and clapping.  Having passed whatever test was presented to us, we are now old friends,  Wine is poured, food is served and lunch goes on for quite a while.  At some time, I approach my new friend, (the all in one Maitre D'...) with my map and explain our situation.  With the wine consumed at lunch, my friend's English and my French are improving rapidly, or maybe it was the pointing at the map and scrunching my shoulders while lifting my hands.  In any case, We've communicated and he starts unfolding the map from where I had opened it to our supposed location. And unfolds, and unfolds, and unfolds.  Evidently, we are about 30 miles from where we thought we were.

I point to where we think we are, and he shakes his head and points at the location on the map.  I look at him quizzically and he responds "Le Carte es Merde!" (Google translate does a reasonable job on the statement.) 

I point to one of the bottles of wine we'd consumed and then pointed at the map with my patented "Where the hell are we?" gesture, and he points out where the winery is and the route necessary to arrive there.  We pay our bill, thank him profusely and get back in the car. Crank it up and promptly turn the wrong way.

I don't get very far when I realize my error and turn around.  Drive past the Auberge and the clientele is outside, bent over in laughter!

My friend the English speaker on the right

We manage to find the winery and taste some very fine Vouvray.

I am certain that should we find our way back to that Auberge, they will still be talking about the Americans that came to visit.

*As Buck was wont to say, "Everybody knows this Juvat, get on with it!" Therefore, I will.