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Dr. Ted Klontz

Random Thoughts September 2024




Blog 9-20-24 Random Thoughts



I noticed myself noticing other men’s hair as I walked behind them in the airport a while back. I have a hunch it is because it is something that is somewhat novel, because I don’t see much of it when I look into the mirror. 

 

A warm feminine voice announces which way the elevator is going and when the floor I am trying to reach arrives, she lets me know the number.  I am in a hotel in Las Vegas and noticed her voice is familiar.  She also does that job at Mayo Clinic.  I was thinking she’s in both places and my sense (and experience tells me) that people in those two places are probably having quite difference experiences, though one could argue that getting an “all clear” on a health report might trigger the same ecstatic experience that winning, or anticipation of winning in the Casino does.  

 

A friend said, “there is nothing that shows one’s age like a motto or cliché a person just can’t let go of, regardless of how outdated it is.  Like, “Jiminy Crickets.” or “Sock-it-to-me”.  I said, “Unless it is the worn out, defective or faulty methane gas release valve located at the posterior junction where my two legs come together”.  

 

I told my Dr. many years ago that I had noticed a crack in that area, and that I had a hunch that someday, that crack would prove problematic.  I asked if there was anything to do about that.  You know, like, “Is there any way to keep the crack from getting bigger, spreading, to the point where there will be a problem, like what happens to windshields.”  “You should be so lucky to live that long,” he retorted.

 

Well, I have lived ‘that long,’ and my hunch was right.  The doc says the part is not replaceable OR fixable.  So now I’m looking to see if anyone sells squeaky shoes, so that when I walk, people will think it is my shoe leather. 

 

Getting a dog is another idea, but I can’t always have a dog beside me.  As in blaming it on him.  Though, on second thought, perhaps this faulty valve thing might medically qualify me as legitimately needing an emotional support critter.  Not so much for myself, but for those who wander a bit too close to me.  So, he might serve two purposes, be blamed as the source, and also offer comfort for those who needed to pet him.  By the way, I wonder why we laugh when animals “do the release” and are disgusted when humans do that. 

 

You’ve probably heard of the conversation prompt that asks, “If you could have a small intimate dinner party with anyone who has ever lived, currently living, or who might be living in the future, who would it be?”  That thought came to me this morning, and my answer surprised me.  It would be both my parents, and both sets of my grandparents.  Unplugged.  Not in their roles, but just as people.  If I could invite a few more it would be my great-grandparents.       

 

Wonder why it is called a “rest room’ when the only place to sit has a hole in the bottom of it, and people sitting on either side of you are often making painful to listen to noises.  Rest Redefined?    

 

Joseph Campbell suggests that one should “follow your bliss.”  I’d add, “You might not get ‘it,’ but you will more likely be headed in the right direction.” 

 

Colorado temperature rules of thumb as I have observed them.  50 degrees, convertible top down.  55 degrees, shorts. Flip Flops, no shirt.  

 

On the way to my dentist, I had the thought that I hope there is a big special reward at the end of it all for those dear souls who have made the choice to live their lives peering into, taking care of, and working upon and within my various orifices.

 

I went to a little restaurant in Boquete, Panama and as I walked in, I noticed a fragment of bark from a local tree.  It had been cleaned, polished up, probably urethaned and I had the thought, that sometimes when we think it might be all over for us, we become someone’s treasured work or art.    

 

East-North Street (Rapid City, South Dakota.)  East-South Boulder Road (Boulder, Colorado.)  Couldn’t we do a little better than that?  Maybe not.  One of our local heavily traveled thoroughfares has half a dozen different names within five miles.  (1) State Route 42; (2) N 95th Street; (3) Courtesy Road; (4) South 96th Street; (5) Via Varra; (6) West Midway Blvd.

 

“When you love someone, the best thing you can offer that person is your presence.”  (Attributed to Thich Nhat Hanh)  That is one lesson I have learned.  One of the cool things about life these days is that there are so many ways to be ‘present’ for someone.  I have been pretty good over the last twenty years at being present.  Visiting, sending notes and letters, texts, voice memos, regular phone calls, etc.  My doing that is a little bit of altruism, but it is mostly my trying to avoid feeling bad if something happens to them.  People have told me how my doing that is helpful to them.  

 

I recently spent a month in the hospital with a near fatal brain bleed.  Twelve days in intensive care, sixteen in rehab. 

 

My wife and kids set up a Caring Bridge account for me.  I now “get” what people were trying to tell me about how meaningful and powerful someone “being there” is, this time being on the receiving end.  Each time my wife would read me what people had written, I would picture them, at a time or place we had shared, and it transported me “Into the bigger than my hospital room world.”  Their comments would bring a tear, a smile.  Each one was like a warm blanket, and I love warm blankets.  So, if you are tempted to send one, or have the opportunity to be on the receiving end, I would encourage you to risk it. 

 

My friend John taught me this lesson.  On one fateful day he had eight heart attacks.  After my initial visit I left the hospital realizing that there was nothing I could do to help.  Discouraged, defeated, hopeless, helpless, I was a mess.  I called my wife and at one point said to her despairingly, “There’s nothing I can do.”  She said, “Well you can keep showing up.”  And amazingly, the darkness and despair lifted and over the next couple of weeks did exactly that.  Every day I would see John.  So, if you are ever in a place where a loved one is in a hopeless situation or you are in a place and it seems there is nothing you can do, show up.  In some form.  Please. 

1 Comment


nanmay21
nanmay21
Sep 21

It is so good to hear from you again♥️thank you♥️you are a treasure♥️

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