Blog Outline

 Scope of my blog: This blog is intended to inform my family in the event of my demise or in the process of my dementia.  It is also hopefully useful to others who may experience life in the 80s and hopefully in the 90s.  It is divided into sections which are as follows:

  A.   Current projects:  There several current projects. 

           1. Book: The Power of the Double Circle  is now in the hands of the publisher and printer. I intend to purchase 500 copies to distribute to people who may be involved in the double circle group process in the future.  I will need to secure some kind of funding for this.  The amount necessary is to be determined.

            2.   Development of my blog:   I intend to develop my blog so that it can be used by family and friends toward improved life in later years as well as discussion of the ideal family in the age of the Internet.  The blog will be connected with Facebook as long as Facebook continues to be a helpful adjunct to letting others know of what is going on in my life.

             3. Spiritual Direction:  I am starting my day with rosary and mass on Tuesdays and Thursdays.    On Monday Wednesday and Friday I attend the eye-opener group of AA  as well as the Saturday and Sunday morning meetings of  AA.   I attend Alachua Presbyterian church on Sunday morning at 1030.  In a parallel way I consider my book club which meets monthly and my writing pond which meets monthly, as well, as part of the spiritual direction.  At this late stage of life I consider my spiritual direction and mental health to be virtually synonymous

             4.  Relocation of Home:   Although unwelcome I consider the relocation  of domicile as a project.    Presently  we intend to move into rental quarters  with at least three bedrooms for Stewart David and myself. 

             5.State of physical health and medical responses:  This section will hopefully inform especially family  of medical problems that may arise later on  because of our genetic linkage and other issues such as contagion.   It could also be useful from an anthropological standpoint.   I am attempting to avoid privacy where unnecessary.   

              6. Intimate Relations:  suffice it to say intimate relations are not going too well.



B. Philosophical Discourse:

               1.  Reading: No not intended as a useful review of  things  that I am reading it may be useful in the long run to know what is influencing me as time passes during the 80s and hopefully 90s.

                2. Writing:   I have not started the second book.  I hope the blog is useful to some.  What I am trying to write about in my writing pod  is metaphorically called a breath of thin air.  it may not get off the ground because I am having difficulty in finding words  that explain my feelings.

                3. Dialogues:   In the course of each day  I engage in many conversations and I wonder what they really mean in the long run and how useful they are to others as well as myself.  These dialogues happen after AA meetings and after church sessions and within the family discourse.

C. Longevity:

                1. Attempts to extend length of life:  so far I have been able to lose some weight.  In the past year and down from  210 to 175.  I am also attempting to modify my diabetes by changing the flora of my colon.  Through diet modification I hope to and the use of Lasix.  Also through diet modification and the use of probiotics I hope to modify my diabetes. My current probiotic is Dr. Langer''s  and is composed of many different bacteria.  It can be purchased  on Amazon. I have not taken any Lasix and a week now and I wonder if this may be the result of the probiotic.  Time will tell.

                 2. Improving Lifestyle:   Improving lifestyle is rather a polite way of talking about avoiding dementia by lifestyle changes.  The last decade my mother's life was one of extreme senility and finally dementia while residing in a very plush nursing home.  The funding was provided through an inheritance from  family which is not available to me.   Even if I could afford a place there is no I doubt that I would want to live a demented life.  In contrast  when father died he was quite alert and able to understand his surroundings and continue to study in his field.

 personal medical

 The first issue in the  personal medical arena is the question will type II diabetes.  My mother and my three brothers all had or have type II diabetes.  At first blush it would seem to be hereditary but that would not follow the  mendelian  protocol.  In studying the issue of our gut bacteria it is now    apparent the all of us boys received bacteria from our mother  which  over a period of time  caused diabetes.  It is too late to tell anything to Chris or my brother John when I told Mike the other day and hope  that he can follow up on it.  me while my plan is to try to alter my gut bacteria through probiotics and if  that fails I will use probiotic enemas.  

Now that I am 82  and feeling as though I am accelerating and it is time to write about it.  It has been three years since my spouse's departure from this life and I may have been given permission to go the rest of the way on my  own. Several times a day I want to tell my wife what has just happened but she is not here as far as I know.

 Perhaps it is too soon to write about the acceleration.  Perhaps I should first  put on goggles or strap myself in.  What the hell; there is nothing really to hide and I want to live all a very full life from here on out.  It all began on February 1, 2016.    I am going to divide this blog into sections.    There will be a personal life section and a public life section.   But I intend to be open and honest as I possibly can without injuring anyone's feelings I hope .  Much of this is about how to traverse the 80s.    But it is with us was a very say that because the there are many ways to traverse the 80s and has given you the one that I know about.    intend to explore intimacy without regard to  sexuality per se but rather simply personal intimacy  in which those involved including  myself  allow the semipermeable membrane to fully open.

Shelby and I are in our final week or so of preparation the book the power of the double circle.
 Our next big order businesses is how to have regular meetings to train people to begin working with groups in the region. Although we hope to work with correctional officers this is been a daunting task. It may be that we will find easier groups to work with.

 I would like to put out feelers to people that have helped us in the past as to several issues. One would be where to have regular training group leaders meetings. We have the Alachua Presbyterian Church available as well as my home.

 There are some days that I don't seem to be able to write anything. So I decided to blog.. So far nobody reads my blog so it's safe to continue writing nonsense. About the time I get on the crest of a wave I'm sucked back into the past. But reworking the past is Not as much fun as it might seem; more honestly one returns to the past the more ridiculous it seems.  When I look at 2015 I realize that a lot of things have started. Some may be completed and some won't. The dementia scare brought me to get a trainer and begin physical exercise. So I'm into it now about five months and my trainer Gary  thinks things are a little better  and I see some improvement myself. The most remarkable thing looking over the last year  was the wonderful to visit from the grandchildren from Minneapolis. Their collective and individual personalities were so harmonious as to defy description. But even with that harmony  they are total individuals. They seem to listen to each other very carefully and avoided  but not appeared to avoid negative comments. It's practically an impossibility for siblings to be this good.  But I have to accept what I see.

 It is giving me the courage to  launch a trip to Dominica. So far Ariel is aboard, as well as Dougie, and now Harrison. I wish I could find a way to get Bennett over here but I guess he's a bit young to travel along such a distance.  I think that Hannah and Erin are too tied to boyfriends at the moment to consider a grandfather trip.  I wonder about what Kaitlin  would like?

The book is complete except for a possible final chapter called "conclusions". But I can't seem to write it so it may not be there. Meanwhile the big decisions about the house has been made which I hope I don't renege on. I will give up the house and hope to obtain an RV that David and I will tool around in. I hope to go to local prisons and encourage officers to submit to the group process of the double circle group. I will offer almost anything but beer to get them involved.

 I am enjoying the pleasantries of platonic relationships with several ladies. That's not necessarily my wish but it is my ultimate testosterone. There is no intelligence in testosterone but a great deal of unconscious stomping about and waking up as if out of a drunk. One friend says I need to have at least five orgasms a month or more. These  solo ones lack pizzazz,  but lack the danger of experimental relationships.

We decided to have regular meetings of the Double Circle Training Group at the Alachua Presbyterian Church.  They will be held at 2 PM each Sunday.  I hope that you can attend some of these meetings.   Although the Double Circle Group is a central topic we are experiencing a great deal of attention to the correctional officers and their plight.  So in some sense the meetings will be a correctional officer booster club.  We hope that some family members could be attendance.  We also hope that by having the meetings at Alachua that we will be able to get  participants from Suwanee, Lancaster, RMC, UCI, FSB and even Columbia eventually.

  We have set a meeting of the double circle group process at the Starke Cedar River restaurant.  It will be on October 15 at 7 PM which is a Thursday.  Doug is bringing several people from Lancaster.  I am now in the process of inviting correctional officers from this area.