Tank birthday and I'm a Geezer

Unfortunately I received bad news last night. My close friend of over 40 years has 4th stage colon cancer.

Two weeks ago he went for a routine colonoscopy and got the news. He seemed to be in perfect health, he exercised all the time by playing tennis and racquetball and ate very healthy.

He has two Daughters and one just got engaged but we don't think he will even make the wedding.
I feel awful.

If he dies, he will be my 5th friend who passed in the last few years. I am about in the middle age wise. It's tough when all your close friends are dying. My old crowd is getting smaller every year and even though I realize this is the way it is and has always been, it is still depressing. His wife is going crazy and I don't blame her.

Paul B said:

Unfortunately I received bad news last night. My close friend of over 40 years has 4th stage colon cancer.

Two weeks ago he went for a routine colonoscopy and got the news. He seemed to be in perfect health, he exercised all the time by playing tennis and racquetball and ate very healthy.

He has two Daughters and one just got engaged but we don't think he will even make the wedding.
I feel awful.

If he dies, he will be my 5th friend who passed in the last few years. I am about in the middle age wise. It's tough when all your close friends are dying. My old crowd is getting smaller every year and even though I realize this is the way it is and has always been, it is still depressing. His wife is going crazy and I don't blame her.

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Sorry Paul

I am so sorry, Paul. My prayers will be with him.

Sad to hear Paul.

Last night in the pouring rain our power went out. So I called the electric company and informed them because it was only my block and not the east coast of the US.

Usually it comes right back on so I just got some of my battery lights and candles so we could see. My wife was in the bath tub so I gave her a candle.

After 20 minutes my fish had the look of horror on their faces so I started the generator. The power dept. trucks came and fixed the problem on the pole and the lights came back on.

Of course some of my neighbors came over to plug extension cords into my generator because I am so "lucky" that I have a generator.

Yesterday I cleaned 18 crabs for part of the Christmas Eve. dinner. My wife makes a dynamite crab sauce over linguine.




Last year I think we had 21 types of seafood Christmas Eve.

This is a building near my Daughters house in Manhattan. It's by Louie Vittone. I have no idea how they did it.

I decided that for my new book, (nothing about fish) I will donate any and all profits to "The Wounded Warriors" project. I dedicated the book to the almost 50 brave, young guys who lost their life fighting on April 1st 1970 on a remote Firebase in Vietnam.

I was very lucky that night and I really feel for those guys and I don't think enough is being done for them. Not that any meager profits from my book will help much but I think it's necessary.

I can't believe this is happening again in the same week. Another good friend is dying of cancer. Dennis was fine and playing golf two weeks ago and I just got a call they are putting him in hospice for lung cancer that spread. There is nothing they can do.

If he dies, it will be my 6th friend in 3 years that have died. I am really depressed

I am so sorry...hugs

So sorry Paul

f&%# cancer

I don't like this death thing at all but the older we get the more familiar we get with it. My Mother died at 99 and her and my Mother N Law used to say all the time, it isn't any fun to outlive all your family and friends so you are alone.

I guess that makes you lucky in a way because you beat the odds for a while.
I am no stranger to death and experienced plenty of it in my long life. My Dad suddenly fell down and died when I was 10, he was 47.
Ny next door neighbor had a little girl of 2 years old who moved next to me when I was 3.

We grew up together and even slept in the same crib. We were best friends all through school. We both got married (to different people)
She had 3 kids and when they were still babies, she got leukemia and died.

In the 60s many of my friends died in Vietnam, then I went there. On my first week we were attacked by 400 NVA and we lost about 40 of us.
I helped put them in body bags. We killed about 200 of the people attacking us and I'm sure their families missed them terribly.

After I returned home, I was still losing friends in Nam.
Then over the years I lost many more friends, and unfortunately it looks like I will have lost 6 in these last 3 or 4 years.
I know my time is coming and I don't fear it. I do fear for my wife because she can't live 5 minutes without me due to MS.

This past year I have been throwing out many things that I have held on to for decades. Tools and inventions that I will never use. Unimaginable parts and do dads of things I assumed I would use one day for something.

I buy nothing new for my tank except livestock as I don't want to burden my Daughter to much with all this stuff because I know how it is as to remove so much stuff after a person passes and I have way more than most.

Hopefully, I will take after my mother's side and live to 99 as I want to spite my Daughter. But no one can count on that.

So far, I think I am very health which is why I walk for an hour every morning, no matter the weather and we only eat what we assume are healthy. No fried foods, trans fats etc. You do what you can do.

I took a picture while feeding worms. Otherwise you can't see any fish

Tank looks great Paul

My friend Dennis sadly passed away last night

Paul B said:

My friend Dennis sadly passed away last night

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Very sorry for your loss Paul.

That’s sad. You have great memories of him.