The Nostalgia Of My Brother In Law.

 My  brother in law visited today to bring my wife, his little sister, a Big Mac, Fries, and half a Diet Coke.  Of course I had to give him a hard time about half a drink.  He claimed that he didn't want to spill it in his Jeep, but his girlfriend gave me one of those looks that made my assumption that much funnier.  I simply suggested that the other half of the drink mystically disappeared on the way to the house.  Of course this was met with a chuckled denial, but we know...

My wife's brother is a couple years older than we are, he's 76 years old now and tells me he has been getting into watching old reruns on Roku.  We had a nostalgic conversation about the, "Ozzy and Harriet Show," "Leave it to Beaver," "Dennis the Menace," and some of the old Hanna Barberra Cartoons we all used to watch as kids. 

I said that he was reliving his childhood through modern technologies, and he agreed.  I find it fascinating that in our present entertainment world it is possible to search up many websites where we can enjoy the programming that we enjoyed in our youth.  I myself spend hours re-watching programs like, "Lost in Space," the original, "Star Trek," "Space 1999" one of my personal favorites, "Emergency," "Adam 12", and of course, "Dragnet."  "Just the facts mam, just the facts..."  

Since the weather has been hedgy this summer allot of time is being spent taking those nostalgic jaunts down memory lane.   My Brother in Law was quite right when he suggested that an occasional walk in our memory is a good way to ready ourselves for the future.  He's a wise man.  He's almost at the age of immortality.   He's 76 years old and still bench presses 275 pounds.  There's something to be said about being nostalgic...

Peace and Balance,

John

Martial Entropy

 

This is the formula for Entropy.  Where S is Entropy, kb is the Boltzmann constant, 1n is the natural logarithm, and Omega is the number of microcosmic configurations or mutations involved in the mix.  Entropy is the natural decay in any system that progresses over a period of time.  In physics it is a bleeding of power or drop in mechanical productivity. In Biology it is the physical decay and deterioration of matter after the living processes are finished.  In Astronomy it is the slow death in the life cycle of a Planet, Star, or Galaxy in an ever folding Space.  In Psychology Entropy is the cognitive decline in the thinking processes of the human brain.  That slow dive into madness.

To a Martial Artist Entropy is the slow deterioration when the artist stops practicing and loses the technical skills and understanding of those skills over a long period of time.  Entropy is also the decline of certain skill and ability due to age, illness, and injury that the artist has succumbed to over a lifetime of practice. 

Entropy can also be considered the supreme challenge of the aging artist.  Fighting the forces of nature with every practice session, every moment of quietness, every time the artist engages the body/ mind connection and goes beyond those forces that quietly and coldly try to hold him/her down.  

The Master of physical awareness  be he/she a Yogi, Gymnast, or Martial Artist, after attaining that level of self awareness, spends a lifetime fighting this quiet foe, Entropy.  When other's notice in he/she that this battle is being won, that the Artist is excelling despite these obstacles, calls Him/Her Master and ask to be taught the Secrets learned over a lifetime of practice.  

The Master then waits, before answering, for signs of Humility...

Peace and Balance,

John

The Puzzle of Age

 A gray haired old lady approached me at the home and asked me to help her with a puzzle.  I asked her what the puzzle was and she squinted mindfully at the box and said, "A chicken, I think."

She dumped all the pieces out on the table and began trying to fit them together.

I said to the gray haired old lady, "Please mam, you're not going to be able to put that puzzle together, and let's put the Corn Flakes back into the box."  

At the time I first heard this joke I thought it was extremely funny.  I laughed for days.  That is until I looked at myself in the mirror and realized my hair was indeed gray, verging on a pale shade of white.  And again I noticed the tool dangling from a string around my neck, my spectacles.  Then I realized I have troubles remembering important things, like phone numbers, birth dates, and occasionally my own name.  Oh my God, I've become the butt of the joke.

A gray haired old man approached a gray haired old lady and asks, "Remember that puzzle you asked me about the other day? I've got a bowl and spoon, hungry?"

Peace and Balance,

John 

The Wonders of Benadryl

 

I have strange allergies.  They come they go, they sneak up on me and strike when I least expect them.  Hidden in my stuff I even have one of them self injectors full of epinephrine.  I'm supposed to use that when I suspect an episode of swelling, the type that put me in the ER the last time I was in the hospital.  I couldn't breath, the tongue swelled up, and the throat was closing.  So, I put on a pair of pants and drove myself to the hospital.  They gave the appropriate medications and eventually sent me home with a script for the injector.  

I have been instructed to take a Benadryl as soon as I feel the onset of the swelling.  Benadryl works pretty darn good to detour the effects of my allergies.  It has a nasty side effect however, one that I really could do without.  

About an hour after I take the pill the mystical Benadryl gods come and suck my brain out of my left ear.  I begin to become extremely sleeping and loose the ability to have rational conversations.  What I can muster comes out in grunts and growls, and the occasional un-mentionable adjective.  After the effects start wearing off my head begins to go through several levels of expanding and contracting followed by incredible whistling sounds at different tones and volumes.  It's wonderful thing, really.  

I didn't have any of these problems until I reached the, "respectable" age.  For those of you who don't know, the respectable age begins at about 60 and goes through to the age of ultimate knowledge right around 80.  So we are respectable for about 20 years then we become the keepers of the worlds secrets.  We don't have to be respectable anymore and have earned the right to point our boney fingers at the youth of the world and command their attentions with that special glare, and the grimace of the ages.  I remember that look from my grandmother, it was terrifying. Until then I'll pretend to be Respectable as long as I can get away with it.  

The thing about my allergies is that I'm allergic to the trees of my home. Trees like Boxelder, Silver Pine, Ponderosa Pine, and Birch.  Birch is the only one that is indigenous to New England, the others have gotten here on the boots of travelers and have germinated.  So, every year at about this time I go through a few weeks, and into the summer, of torture, torment, and the need for Benadryl.  

Swelling, itching, complaining, and the effects of drugs aside, Spring is still my favorite time of year.  And as far as being Respectable goes, getting old Sucks...

Peace and Balance,

John