2024 Civics Challenge
2024 Civics Challenge: Identify the PATRIOT in this photo. (Hint: He’s on the ground being beaten by TRAITORS).
Category: Guide to Life
Fluorouracil Face
A routine visit to a new dermatologist recently brought on more than I expected. I try to get examined annually, and sometimes there’s a mole to be lopped or frozen off (I descend from a mole-y people). Sometimes it’s for cosmetic reasons, sometimes it’s because of concern they could grow into something more serious. My goatee serves primarily as a way to avoid nicking either of my two chin moles for the umpteenth time.
Anyway, my fresh faced new dermatologist who looked about the same age as Doogie Howser (Google it kids), told me that I had many precancerous skin cells on my face, and he recommended a treatment with Fluorouracil. This cream attacks fast dividing cells that could/would eventually become skin cancer. A Fluorouracil treatment is a pre-emptive strike against such possible skin cancer.
Well, I still believe in science and expertise (even when given from 14-year old doctors), and so I said, “Sure, let’s do it!”
I didn’t really realize what I was agreeing to. My Doctor said it would be like getting a severe sunburn on my face, with dryness, itching, peeling, oozing, and naturally PAIN! My googling led to a story about Facebook posts from an Irish woman who shared her experience with the same treatment that was eye-opening and certainly gave me some pause. Regardless, I still figured the treatment would be better than the alternative. And there’s never really a good time to self-administer some painful disfigurement, so why not in December? Get it done and behind you before the New Year! That was my thinking.
To daily administer a cream to your face that you know is going to bring pain, suffering, and disfigurement is one thing, but it’s a thing that gets harder and harder to do each day, especially as conditions worsen (twice a day for three weeks was the full program). In the final week, looking into the bathroom mirror at my tortured face, and then to glove up and administer another dose of THE STUFF THAT IS CAUSING THE PAIN, SUFFERING, & DISFIGUREMENT is a terrible mental challenge. It’s like an eye exam testing your vision by showing you different sized letters on an eye chart, only this process tested my will by it’s daily requirement to spread more Fluorouracil on my increasingly suffering face. Madness!
The experience also tested my vanity. My focus on the appearance of my face could only make it more difficult for me to face others. The pain I was going through fueled a poor mood to match my inflamed face! Nobody would do this by choice right?
Ah right… him. Of course, and proving my point. ONLY AN IDIOT would do this to themselves day after day, and intentionally! Still, I’ve been feeling more like THIS guy!
To humanity’s credit, at least among those who I’ve encountered over these difficult few weeks, my worries that I might receive the below kind of reaction were unfounded. For friends and family, I gave them fair warnings. For co-workers, I kept my camera mostly off. But strangers had to take me as I came, and I never felt a stare, or a double take, or received a question about my appearance. So thanks to all of them for that, it was appreciated.
Anyway, enough talk about pain and feelings, let’s get to the photos! TRIGGER WARNING: there are disturbing photos of my face below (even the ‘before’ shot), so scroll on if you wish, you’ve been warned.
If you’re a glutton for punishment, you can see every one of the daily shots here. I may even continue the daily photos, just to track how long it takes me to return to normal (It will likely be several weeks). Surely when it’s all done, my face will be someone closer to this original state right?
Anyway, my wish in sharing these pictures of myself in this painful ordeal is to share some of the best advice anyone can repeatedly offer; be sure to slather yourself in high-SPF (and reef friendly!) sunscreen whenever you’re going to be out in the sun for long. That sexy looking tan won’t last, and the price you might pay one day for it is severe!
Merry Christmas!
The Ocean Needs More Friends
The ocean makes up most of our planet, and plays a crucial role in our health and survival. Unfortunately this precious resource has been abused by humans for far too long. And now, more than ever, the ocean needs more friends.
Join us as we rally 1 million friends of the ocean to fight plastic pollution and climate change so our ocean, waves and beaches are protected for generations to come. Sign our pledge today and become a friend of the ocean.
#TheOceanNeedsMoreFriends
Music Credit: The White Stripes – We’re Going To Be Friends
A Mojito Love Story
“Will it be a regular mojito?”, she asked. “No my darling,” I replied. “It will be raspberry, and it will be fabulous!”
“Will the mojitos be raspberry?”, my love asked. “No my darling,” I replied. “They will be mango, and they will be magnificent!”
“Will the mojitos be mango?”, my love asked. “No, mi amore.”, I replied. “They will be passion fruit and kiwi, and they will be magical!”
“Will the mojitos be passion fruit and kiwi?”, my American woman asked. “No, my lady liberty”, I replied. “They will be watermelon and blueberry, and they will let our freedom ring!” 🇺🇸
“Will the mojitos be watermelon?”, my reason for living asked? “No, mon amie,” I replied. “They will be peach mojitos, and they will be peachy!”
“Will you put peaches in the mojitos?”, my Darling asked. “No, my Darling. Clementines!”, I exclaimed, “and soon they’ll be gone forever, but not lost. We’ll know just where they went.”
“Will you put Clementines in the mojitos?”, my adored asked. “No, you silly woman,” I replied. “I put the lime in the coconut, and pineapple too, in the mojito. Drink ‘em bot up and you’ll feel good in the morning!” 🥥 🍍
“Where is our charcuterie board from @americanfarmhousedesigns ?” my love asked. “I’m using it for the mojito photo!”, I replied. “Will they be coconut pineapple mojitos” she queried? “No sweetness,” I replied, “They will be strawberry and I will dedicate them to batman!” “Who?” she followed up. “My friend @igotitdude he made the board, and we once called him batman. I don’t remember why. But it must have been something beautiful like YOU my dear!”
It was only Saturday when my love asked, “Why are you making the mojitos today darling?” “Because I need it now!”, I replied lovingly. “Will they be strawberry?” “Berry berry baby!”, I shouted with affection. “But which berry?”, my daughter wondered aloud. “Blackberry and raspberry baby!”, I screamed adoringly to my almost 30 year old baby! “And I made enough for ALL of us!”
“Will the mojitos be berry berry?” my love asked. “No my sugar plum, they will be plum plum!”. “Sugar plums?”, she wondered aloud. “Black plums and red plums”, I answered adoringly. “And they will be plum-tastic!”.
“Will the mojitos be plum”, my wife of 33 years asked? “No darling, I replied. It will be a regular mojito.”, I responded passionately. “What’s in a regular mojito?”, she asked. “Love baby, mojitos are always made with LOVE!”
WTF is this all about, really??
OK, let me explain. My wife and I enjoy a drink. A good beer, a nice cocktail, it can bring some extra spice, some joie de vivre to life (redundant no?). We like mojitos! Mojitos are easy and awesome, and lend themselves to experimentation. And we have a mint plant on our front porch step. So all summer long, I made mojitos. And very early on, I heard voices when doing so. No, I’m not a nutjob (as far as YOU know), but the voices in my head as I made mojitos were of a romanticized hollywood-ish dialogue of a dashing leading man and gorgeous film starlet, discussing the mojito that I was making.
So yeah, look at it that way, my weekly binge drinks was just a response to the voices in my head. I’m OK with that. Nevertheless, I make an awesome mojito.
John Lewis Memories
I’m enjoying reading the memories and memorials being shared for John Lewis this morning. I have three.
At the 2004 Democratic Convention in Boston, I shared a few minutes with Rep. Lewis while he waited for his scheduled satellite time for an interview at the Democratic News Service where I was working. It was just him and I, and though I can’t recall what small talk we shared, I’ll never forget how genuine he was. He was completely unrushed (not a typical description of any Member of Congress), and in the moment, as if those few moments with an anonymous staffer were as important as his upcoming interview.
I’m proud of the fact that in 2008, my team at NGPVAN built his campaign website. I see they still host his current site today. So I likely still have a few keystrokes somewhere in johnlewisforcongress.com
And most recently, in 2016, my walk from the Metro to my office at Winning Connections would take me past Rep. Lewis’ home on Capitol Hill, and I would sometimes see him leaving for work in the morning. I’m not typically the type to pester a public figure who’s just going about their life, but my daughter had recently given me the first volume of the graphic memoir of his life ‘March’ as a gift, and walking past him on the sidewalk, I stopped to say hello, introduce myself, and tell him about the gift. “What is your daughter’s name?”, he asked. “Katie”. “Well thank Katie for me, and I hope you enjoy the book.”
The book opens on January 20, 2009 – Barack Obama’s first inauguration day, with Rep. Lewis waking early on a cold morning for what will be a historic, but still long and hectic day ahead. At his office on Capitol Hill, met by a mother who brought her two young boys to the inauguration, and took them just to see John Lewis’ office, she’s surprised both at getting the opportunity to meet him personally, and his unrushed generosity of his time, as he shares his story with her boys. It would be easy to doubt that setup, but having experienced it myself, I knew it to be genuine.
Rest in Power John Lewis. And thank you for what you made of your time on Earth.
In Memory of Jeff Hecker
On Christmas Day 2018, I learned the terrible news that a friend and professional colleague of mine passed away four months earlier. During my eight years as a staffer in the United States Senate, Jeff was my closest colleague and friend. But I left the Hill in 2000, and Jeff did as well a few years later, moving to Florida. And so for years our interactions were reduced to their lowest common denominator of annual birthday greetings on Facebook. So my sadness at Jeff’s passing is compounded by my regret of having mostly lost contact.
Seeking to do something meaningful in his memory, and true to his very unique character, a fellow former colleague and I considered a few options, but then he nailed it with a four-letter type reply… SETI. If you knew Jeff, then you’ll likely be quick to understand and agree. But if you didn’t, then let me share this about Jeff;
If you work on Capitol Hill, your access to information is greater because of Jeff.
If you work in digital advocacy, your tools, emails, petitions, websites, streaming media, and sharing were innovated by Jeff.
If you sometimes see only clowns to your left, and jokers to your right, but bemusedly press on in the search for intelligence on earth, Jeff was stuck there in the middle with you and could laugh about it.
And if you believe in the power of technology to help boost that intelligence, to better ourselves as individuals and for all humanity, and if you hold out hope that there IS intelligence to be found in the universe, then you share a core conviction with Jeff that drove his work day to day.
So I invite you to join me in making a small contribution to a worthy cause in Jeff’s memory. Were he here Jeff would demur the effort. But he’s not, and it’s for us that we do this in his memory. And I know that Jeff would appreciate that whatever modest amount we might raise, is still more than nothing, and that is something. Thank you.
Goodbye Tree
We lost a tree today. It’s actually been dead for some time now, but unlike dead people, dead trees often manage to stay standing for quite a long time. But today it came down with a chainsaw induced crash. I’m struck by some emotion over this (it’s not my first such nostalgic goodbye), it had to go, but it’s always been there.
We’ve lived in our home for 27 years, and the tree was here first. So that’s how long we were acquainted. It was a pine tree of some sort. I don’t know enough about trees to specify a particular sort of pine tree. But it had needles, and cones, and sap, and smelled like pine. That was good enough.
Years ago, we were visited by a young man who lived in our house before us during his childhood, his family was the original owners (we’re the third – did any of us really ‘own’ the home? – but I digress). This young man told me that for their first Christmas in this home, they had a live Christmas tree that they planted in the yard after the holidays. This was our pine tree. I wrote about it at the time.
Pine tree saw our three kids grow up, providing sturdy and evenly spaced limbs for young climbers, and plenty of sap to sticky them up to mark their efforts. Tree’s branches supported piñatas at birthday parties, and bird feeders that were quickly emptied by acrobatic squirrels. Tree’s shade was of a superior quality. Yet each year tree dispersed piles of brown needles which covered our roof, filled our rain gutters, and took out one hot tub pump after sneaking past the filters.
In tree’s shadow is a younger dogwood tree that I planted 12 years ago on an inspired arbor day. I wrote about it at the time. Dogwood has done well in Pine’s shadow, and will now enjoy much greater light, now that Pine’s not there to cast a shadow any longer. I’m glad that Dogwood will inherit the legacy of being the tree planted by one of this home’s rotating owners.
Pine tree fell victim to some sort of boring beetle (I’ve yet to ever meet an engaging beetle). Goodbye Tree. You will be missed, and remembered as your remains will be cremated in many driveway fires for years to come.
Goodbye Family Minivan
I don’t care much about cars. I’m definitely not anything at all what you would call a ‘car guy’. My requirements for a car, as Steve Martin so succinctly put it, “Four fucking wheels and a seat!”. But we just sold our car, and the truth is, I’m feeling pretty sentimental about it.
We purchased our 2001 Honda Odyssey used way back when it had about 20,000 miles on it, and we just sold it with 208,074 miles. And among those miles in between, we raised our family it it. Local miles to school and soccer games, family trips to the Outer Banks, and home to Illinois. It drove us through big cities, and it delivered us to campgrounds. Our kids learned to drive it, and it sat loyally in the driveway every winter, posing for the obligatory buried in snow photos without complaint.
But as we empty our nest, and downsize our belongings, we no longer need an old minivan. We considered many options; shooting it (don’t own a gun), living in it (down by the river), abandoning it (probably traceable DNA to be found on lost french fries and cheerios on the floor), or selling it. I’m very happy that we found a buyer, a family with five kids, and dad’s a mechanic. They live close buy, so it’s gonna be kinda weird seeing our minivan on the road sometimes. But it will be nice to know, it’s found a new family to serve.
Here’s a few photos from over the years:
Just moving is the best medicine.
Dumping Coins
Washed and ready for refilling
For many many years, since I was a kid, I’ve kept a coin jar for collecting loose change. Piggy banks are boring, you can’t see what they hold inside! Coin jars rock. You can see your hoarded coins accumulate and shake them around hunting for the right coin to suit your needs. My jars sit in my closet, and each day I add whatever silver is in my pocket to the smaller of the two jars, and segregate pennies into the larger jar. The silver jar sees a lot of traffic, both in and out, as the whole family would routinely fish for quarters to help pay for a day’s lunch or bus fare. But the pennies just accumulated. Once in the jar, there’s never any real reason for a penny to come back out. Until today.
Today I acted on a notion that I had since the start of the year, that maybe it’s time to dump the coins, turn them into more practical funds, and give each jar a fresh start. So here’s how that went.
First, upon hearing of my plan, daughter Colleen asked if she could first help herself to quarters from the silver jar. I dumped the jar and gave her some time to hunt and gather quarters as I bagged the rest of the coins. She managed to scoop up $11 in the process. The remaining silver and all of the pennies, now dumped into plastic bags for transport, headed to the local grocery with me for tallying in the Coinstar machine. Now back in the day, I remember the burdensome chore of getting paper coin rolls, carefully counting out all of your coins and rolling them, and then having to write your bank account number on every single roll, just so you could deposit them in the bank and make some use of your excess coinage. It was a lot of work and hassle, and that’s probably why I haven’t bothered in so long. Coinstar machines will sort and tally your coins for you, and then you have three options; receive a cash voucher (after a 10.9% fee), or without fees you can get the full amount on a gift card, or donate the full amount to charity. But I was in this for the cash, and figured the fee was worth it.
I’m not certain, but I think this is a LOT of money somewhere!
Here’s my tally:
$ 6.50 – 26 Quarters
$25.90 – 259 Dimes
$ 7.50 – 150 Nickels
$21.79 – 2,179 Pennies
——
$61.69 Total
$ 6.72 Service Fee
$54.97 Cash
Nice!
There were a few coins rejected by the Coinstar machine, all legitimately so. They were 10 Japanese Yen, 1/2 Swiss Franc, 1 Czech Koruna, and 2 Irish Cents.
I did a bit of shopping with my newly flush wallet. And then at home, I gave both of my coin jars a nice scrubbing, and filled them each with my newly acquired change totaling $1.33. That was after spotting I had a commemorative issue Virgin Islands Quarter which was removed for placement in one of our state quarter collection folders.
The idea occurs to me too late for this year, but in 2015 I’ll plan on starting the year with empty jars in order to tally exactly how much pocket change I accumulate in a year. That will be exciting won’t it?? Stay tuned! (and hope I remember).