oldflathead

Thank you for your prayers and good thoughts. I am getting better, walking with only a cane and not too much pain. The physical therapy is very painful, but necessary. I must keep reminding them I am 75 years old and have vestibular dysfunction, (no balance). I am still alive, my wife loves me, family cares and friends I have never met, like you care. On Feb. 18, a good friend, Marty passed from cancer. He was diagnosed only one month ago after a fall and went fast. We are working together. Tom

I am going in for knee replacement surgery 1/30/2014. Pretty routine - they say. November 2007 I went in for a hip replacement, infection, more surgery, (hospital borne pathogens), heavy doses of antibiotics, (gentamicin), regular tests forwarded to the MD's, who ignored them. Gentamicin is a very strong antibiotic that is usually given 3 - 5 days. I was left on it IV for 19 days until I had a near death experience 12/11/1207 while in the hospital. More on this on request. It was real! I came around with 5 nurses at the foot of my bed and a Doc holding my hand. I was grateful and thanked the Doc. He said, "Tom, I did nothing, God has something else for you to do" WOW, this is my first thought each day. I try to do what I think God wants me to do. Now, the villain arthritis has taken my right knee, I can barely walk and the pain is terrible. So, an Orthopedic Doc that I trust has me going to another hospital next Thursday for knee replacement. Needless to say, I am somewhat anxious because of my past experience,, so I am asking for prayers. Tom

My Granny always told me, "Idle hands are the devil's workshop." So I started mowing the neighbors lawn when I was in the fourth grade and kept that up until I enlisted in the Marine Corps at 17. In addition I worked on an Uncles farm bailing hay, cutting pulp wood and cleaning the barn. After serving our country, 1955 - 1958 active duty, I became a Firefighter in SoCal for 30 years. All the while I was working another job and/or going to college on the GI Bill, AA,BA & MA. After my formal education and achieving the rank I wanted in the fire service, I went back to school for boat repair, diesel engine, transmissions,etc. Also I was in SoCal during the heyday of the real estate boom, so I bought houses, fixed them up and flipped them. This allowed my wife and I to retire at age 50, get on our sailboat and roam Mexico, Central and South America, Caribbean, Gulf and the east coast of the USA from 1988 to 2002. While cruising, I repaired other cruisers engines, etc. After settling here on Bayou Chico, I started my engine repair business, performed several weddings and at age 75, I am still hustling. It feels good! Remember what my Granny said. I volunteer in several veteran's organizations, rescue sunken boats, and help others, like it says in the "Good Book" - Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. I hope to set an example by doing good. One young man who was heading for trouble met me, I took him fishing, taught him boat repair and now he is a US Marine serving his second tour in Afghanistan. Pray for Lance Corporal Gino, USMC. Next week I go in the hospital for a knee replacement. I guess I am just wearing out, but it has been a GREAT RIDE. OM OM OM, Tomas

Thank you Atwater Vitki for the words, "...individual lives progressing forward in their Spiritual Journey." As I progress in my spiritual journey, I am blessed with many gifts as I hope to share with others engaged in the same journey. Why I became ordained: In 1987 a good friend and his bride to be wanted to be married underwater in SCUBA gear with family and friends above in a glass bottom boat at Catalina Island off the California coast. He could not find a SCUBA qualified minister who would participate in the ceremony, so we came up with a solution, and I became ordained in the ULC. Later, before the ceremony the bride got "dry feet", so to speak and decided she did not want to marry my friend anywhere. Oh well, better then than later. May 1988, my wife of six years and I sailed away on our 46' sailboat after retiring. This was our dream voyage, mine since I was ten years old, (1948) and hers since we met in 1982. We sailed around the Western Hemisphere for 18 years, living our dream. It was even better than we had dreamed. Everything we wanted was on board our boat or easily attained, local folks must eat, so we ate what they did. The oceans are full of food, so we farmed them, diving, fishing, clamming, etc. We ended up in NW Florida, buying a small waterfront home on Bayou Chico, near Pensacola, FL. As always, we made friends with the locals and were asked to officiate at some friends wedding in 1996. This took place in their backyard. Afterwards we have performed weddings while knee deep in the Gulf of Mexico, on the beach, on our deck by the bayou, in community centers and on board a "pirate" vessel. I do not ask for payment, however, if they insist I suggest a donation to the charity or church of their choice. Some insist on a token of their appreciation, so I accept any good single malt from Scotland. I tailor the ceremony and vows to their wishes, yet I demand a session with them to discuss COMMITMENT, which I consider to be the essence of a successful marriage. I have refused to participate in weddings where I felt there was a lack of commitment. I feel a couple must stand in front of their family, friends and God and state their intentions. While I was raised in the Deep South as a Methodist, my Great Grandpa was a Methodist circuit rider in Tennessee during the war of northern aggression, I am a student of many beliefs. I have studied Zen Buddhism for over 50 years. Our boat is named "Satori". Perhaps I will be enlightened some day. I try to live by my beliefs, particularly Luke 6:37, "judge not and ye shall not be judged, condemn not and ye shall not be condemned, forgive and ye shall be forgiven." Since this is getting too lengthy, I will post another message about the recent, (10/22/2011) wedding aboard a "Pirate ship" where everyone was dressed as a pirate and I performed the ceremony three miles offshore of Orange Beach, Alabama. Old Flat Head Tom