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Bainstorming - July 29 to August 25, 2016

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Bainstorming: Darrell's Bain's Blog.
Copyright © August 25, 2016, by Darrell Bain
http://www.darrellbain.com

Responses to subjects brought up by this blog are welcome. I can be contacted by e-mailing me from my website.

Subjects in this blog: Thanks to Fans and readers. MY back: fixed or not?

Thanks to Fans and Readers
During this period of transition from one publisher to another or to self-publishing, I’d like to thank my fans readers for their past and present loyalty and letters telling me they enjoyed my books, as well as the reviews placed at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other on line book stores. Some of the books moved are already re-edited and re-published, some with different covers. Others will follow in their turn.

Some re-edited books from Twilight Times publishing will have new covers. In any event, the only books now available from Double Dragon are print editions remaining in inventory or used editions. If you are unable to purchase ebook editions, please be sure you aren’t trying to buy a double dragon edition. If so, you will get a notice that it is unavailable. Continue to scroll through my books at the store you are at to find the Twilight Times or self-published editions.

Books currently either reissued or re-edited are:

T.I.N.S. (formerly titled Toppers),
Robyn’s Rock (formerly titled Oops),
Postwar Dinosaur Blues, Williard Brothers Adventures Book One
Bigfoot Crazy, Williard Brothers Adventures Book Two,
(Other Williard Brothers books in the series will follow)
Savage Survival, Rogue Program, Book One
Samantha’s Talent
Space Trails

*Other books that will follow are The Apertures Series, Books one, two and three. Book One, re-edited, is nearing publication. The other two will follow and a fourth book in the series is being written.

Rogue Program, Book Two (title not yet decided on)

**All other Twilight Times Books are still in print and available at the regular on line book stores or some brick book stores.

My back: fixed or not?

Not. As I’m writing this, it is the 16th of August. Tomorrow I have an appointment with a very good neurosurgeon. Hopefully, he will set a surgery date in the near future and get me back on my feet and back to spending much more time writing. Stay tuned. Watch Facebook, My web site www.darrellbain.com and Twitter to see what’s happening. Even with surgery I have no idea how long the recovery period will be. I hope not too long. Right now, I’m having to limit my computer time to ten or fifteen minute increments in the mornings with at least an hour’s rest between time. And my wife, Betty, bless her heart, is doing all of her work around the house and almost all of mine as well. We can’t even go out to eat sometimes to give her some relief from cooking. I can’t drive, or more accurately, Betty isn’t allowing me to drive for fear I’ll injure my back even more, and I couldn’t anyway, what with the pain pills I’m taking. So please wish me luck and compliment Betty for everything she’s doing to get me well, and in the meantime keeping me from getting worse. I’d smother her with love three times a night and twice during the day if I were able.

Update: Damn it, you can’t do anything at a hospital these days, especially surgery, without a pile of lawyer-induced junk they’ve convinced surgeons and hospitals they have to do in order to keep from being sued. First, of course, is a jillion pages of forms to fill out (and this is supposed to be the age of “paperless” society since we have computers to store these things). Sorry, doesn’t work like that. Go to a different place and you have to start from scratch. Same old forms, too. I guess it’s too damned inconvenient to simply get them from the computer at the other place, but heck no, you gotta fill out those papers again. And of course, that’s just the start of it. Next comes pre-surgery preparations. First I have to go to a cardiologist and get a “cardiac clearance” in order to have surgery. And of course, can’t get an appointment for another two weeks, no matter how much pain I’m in in the meantime. Also, the cardiac office sent me an email that stated there were bunches of forms to fill out and bring with me attached. Whoever sent it didn’t attach anything, so I can’t even get started on that yet. Grrrr. Another update will follow after seeing the cardiologist.

Update: I know a little something about computers but it still took me almost an hour to figure out how to access the damn attachments that were sent after I asked twice. There are only 16 pages of forms to fill out, most of them the exact same ones I filled out for the neurosurgeon.  They have to be printed and taken with me. Ah, the age of paperless interaction. Sure it is.

More to follow, but I can now safely predict that my surgery won’t be until sometime in September and then a month of recovery, at least. I’m glad I’m not in really intractable pain.

Update Assuming I pass the Cardiac clearance exam, I’m now looking at a surgery date of September 12th. A little better than I expected. In the meantime, I’m spending about an hour a day at the computer, all I’m allowed. Part of it has gone into getting this issue of Bainstorming ready for publication.

More news after my surgery date.

Married Bliss
Today, Betty and I are going to have sandwiches and otherwise relax and re-read the Williard Brothers adventure series. It really makes an author feel good to see his wife enjoying and reading and re-reading his books at the same time. Now that’s real togetherness. Just to remind everyone, the series is Postwar Dinosaur Blues, Bigfoot Crazy, The Billion Dollar Caribbean Caper, and Space For Sale. The first two have been re-edited, with new covers, and are available now at bargain prices. The last two above are in the process of re-editing and should be available soon. I’m writing the last book in the series.

Senior Citizens
I found this on my computer. I don’t know where it came from. I don’t think I wrote it but some of it sounds like something I might have written, especially that part about horses. Of course it doesn’t apply to me, since I never rode horses and think the only use for horses is to take up space another horse might otherwise occupy. I think that last part of the sentence is paraphrased from Robert A. Heinlein. Anyway, wherever it came from, here it is:

WELCOME TO THE RANKS OF SENIOR CITIZENS! NOW THAT YOU HAVE REACHED THAT MAGIC AGE, HERE ARE A FEW RULES AND TIPS TO MAKE THE TRANSITION EASIER.

1. You no longer need to feel embarrassed when complaining about aches, pains and illnesses. They are legitimate and senior citizens are expected to talk about them. In fact, that’s about all they do talk about.
2. When you go see your doctor, don’t write a check. Tell them to charge it to the government.
3. All work more strenuous than lifting a cup of coffee to your mouth should be relegated to younger members of the household. If there are no younger members, you are authorized to hire household help.
4. If your wife or husband is not yet a senior citizen, he or she must give you a back rub morning and evening to get your day started and ended right.
5. Horseback riding is now one of the forbidden activities. You may still look at a horse, though.
6. Keep the number of a tow truck in your wallet at all times. You are no longer allowed to fix flats or try to repair cars or trucks.
7. If you feel the need of some sort of activity to help pass the time, just ignore it and it will soon go away.
8. You are authorized to spend money as fast as you possibly can in order to avoid the nursing homes getting their hands on any of it.
9. If you have not already retired, do not go to work any more. If your former place of employment calls to see why you didn’t show up, tell them where to send your last paycheck and order them not to bother you again.
10. You are now a sage, wise and humorous old man or woman rather than being a cranky old shit. Take advantage of it.
11. Remind youngsters constantly of how hard you had it in the olden days when you had to get up to change channels on the TV, computers took up whole rooms, and you actually had to have things repaired instead of throwing them away and buying new ones.
12. Get yourself a handicapped parking permit whether you need it or not.
13. Dogs and cats may live in the house now that all the kids are gone. Goats must still be kept outside unless you live in West Virginia.
14. You can be as rude as you want to whenever you want to. People will just think you have Alzheimer’s.
15. When you don’t want to do something, just say you forgot. People will expect you to forget anyway, whether you do or not.
16. You don’t have to wear shoes any more. House slippers and sandals are fine, even on formal occasions.
17. You no longer have to baby sit the grandkids unless you really feel like it.
18. Ignore all that advice about eating healthy. You’ve probably already outlived several doctors.
19. Start all conversations by telling people how bad the weather was last century.
20. And finally, avoid funeral homes. They are bad places and you don’t want to go there no matter how eager the kids are to inherit your money.

A lot of truth contained in those 20 little statements. HOWEVER, there is a bit more to it, especially if like us, you live 40 or 50 miles away from most medical facilities. And old age, unless you are extremely lucky, encompasses a multitude of aches and pains, many of which require a lot of medical attention. My back is just one example that takes up a lot of visits to the doctor and pharmacy and the medicines to keep me functioning until I can have surgery are very expensive. I’m on three different pills a day just for pain, along with many other pills and potions that all go into trying to keep me functional. There is eye care that you never worried about when young. Right now, I have two different worries there, dry eye syndrome and eroding lower eyelids that apparently can’t be cured, but just kept in check. And my derned feet. Oh yes, let’s not forget them, but I doubt anyone wants to hear about all the aliments which have afflicted me there.

Internet Problems

The internet, which I get by satellite dish, went down early in the week and took two days to get fixed. Today it went down again. The last time it took two hours for the technician to find what he said was the problem. He replaced the wire leading from the dish to the house. I’m just wondering what else can possibly be wrong. The last guy replaced everything in the system except the dish itself. Oh well, I won’t be distracted and can get some writing done.

This time it was a cable that my hired hand accidentally cut while working out behind the house. The technician enclosed it in PVC pipe to stop that problem.

Other Problems
Sure I’ll get some writing done. We just had a death in the family, one of our granddaughters who died unexpectedly at an early age. And my back is aching now about as bad as ever. I can’t go far from my heating pad today, even though much of the family has come here to mourn since she was the oldest daughter of Betty’s youngest daughter, and they live just across the private road from us. I hate this and we all do. She struggled so hard to do the best thing and appeared to have finally found a man she could really love and who loved her in return. They’ve been living happily for several years, first in Dallas and now in Houston, about 50 miles south of our little town of Shepherd. She and her husband have visited us here a number of times and she thought she finally had her medical problems straightened out. You just never know--and I never know what to say on these occasions. During the Vietnam war I saw so many young men’s lives thrown away uselessly by our stupid politicians that I get mad all over again just thinking about it. And the ones in office or running for the Office of President are no better. I’ll confess, I don’t like to face death. It makes lives seem so futile to me, and yet if you can do some good in the world, help others when you can, try to be understanding when other people’s problems seem to be too much for them and assist them if you can, then I guess no life is really futile. What I’m trying to say is that if you can leave this life with the world a little better, then you’ve accomplished something, be it ever so small or large. She did that, I think.

Darrell Bain
Shepherd, Texas
August 25, 2016

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