Is there something?

[doctork]

Is there something you've dreamed of doing for a long time? Why haven't you done it?

OK - that's cheating a little, since it's two questions, not one. But since the first one is yes/no, it wouldn't be very interesting without the second question no, would it?

[doctork]

I have been thinking of spending a month or 6 weeks in Costa Rica or Ecuador, going to Spanish language school while living with a Spanish-speaking family, so I can learn to speak Spanish. I've heard it is not too hard if you already speak French, since they are both Romance languages.

I haven't done it yet because I haven't put enough intentionality into it. I find if I really want to do something, if I concentrate on getting it, put all my energy there - well there I am! My dreams usually involve travel, and I did do two trips last year - one each to Afghanistan and Palestine. So maybe I'm not yet ready to energize Spanish language yet. I do have to get moved to North Carolina.

[jspnrvr]

Well, not exactly a dream, an idea just sort of sitting up in the cupboard waiting for awhile. Ever since the two hurricanes of 2004 that nailed us here, as well as having a heightened awareness of preparedness in general, I've been concerned about communications. Whether it be civil disaster, hurricane, zombie invasion. Landlines were down, towers were down, cell phones were no good for awhile, even our Emergency personnel had problems due to multiple comm systems. But who came through? The original Internet, amateur radio operators!

So the short version is, as the result of a couple little things just dropping into place, I'm taking classes for my ham radio license!

[liriodendron]

My dad had a ham radio license. Given how much he enjoyed talking to other "hams", I always thought he would have loved the internet.

[doctork]

That is way cool, Jay. And you are so right about (lack of) communications in an emergency.

[gailkate]

Most everything I long to do involves travel and great expense. But look at this.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEli2rrrJwI

I'd kill to do this. Look at the intricacy! Even when they're "just" stepping, every move is precise. That's what I can't do even for a short sequence.

Probably the guy bleaches that gray into his hair and the women are really 30.

[jspnrvr]

Apr 15, 2009 10:07:38 GMT -5 gailkate said:

Most everything I long to do involves travel and great expense. But look at this.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEli2rrrJwI

I'd kill to do this. Look at the intricacy! Even when they're "just" stepping, every move is precise. That's what I can't do even for a short sequence.

Probably the guy bleaches that gray into his hair and the women are really 30.

Nah, gail, nothing like that. Notice the shoes? That's the secret, those two-tone shoes. Watch some Frank Sinatra movie, it was those two-tone wingtips that got him across the floor. If the guy is wearing two-tones the girls don't even have to work, all they have to do is hang on. Kind of like conducting an electric current.

[gailkate]

Of course! I exalt you, Jay, for your unerring eye.

[BoatBabe]

Dahhlink always says that dancing is a horizontal expression of a vertical desire. We dance REALLY well together, although maybe not QUITE that good. We're jitterbuggers, too.

I'm trying to think of something to answer the question of this thread. I'll let you know when I come up with something. It is rather rude of me to be so happy with my life that nothing comes to mind right off . . .

[BoatBabe]

Man! That's even better this morning with my speakers plugged in. Yeah! I wanna do that.

I can think of tons of stuff I want to do again. Spring and Fall, the changing seasons, make me yearn for a road trip. I'd love to do a cross country again. Fortunately, the road is made of water now instead of concrete, and we cruise regularly. Keeps me from getting too stir-crazy. Next cruise is the 24th.

[doctork]

The swing dance looks like such fun! So where do we get those special shoes, Jay? Ah well, not gonna happen, as Howard does biking, not dancing.

Where do you go on the next cruise, Boatbabe? The liveaboard life has its appeal, but then I think about how we can barely take care of a yard - we'd never manage a boat. Even an RV sounds intriguing, but the high maintenance gets us.

I'll just fly to Charlotte, NC tomorrow for some househunting and be happy with that.

[jspnrvr]

Apr 16, 2009 9:49:16 GMT -5 doctork said:

The swing dance looks like such fun! So where do we get those special shoes, Jay?

Well, down here I'd start at the thrift shop for All Saints Episcopal Church.

[BoatBabe]

They are dance shoes, purchased at dance shops. The soles are leather. I preferred the tap shoes without the taps, with the Mary Jane straps or T-straps, with higher heels than those girls are wearing. His black-n-whites are very popular. Your local thrift store may have some from 1947. ;D

We aren't cruising far, Doc, just to Poulsbo, which is a really cool town, and by water, it is much closer than by land. The thing about living aboard, is that there is no yard, no additional thing to take care of besides the place you live.

Good luck with the trip! How long will you be gone?

[doctork]

Apr 16, 2009 23:37:27 GMT -5 BoatBabe said:

They are dance shoes, purchased at dance shops. The soles are leather. I preferred the tap shoes without the taps, with the Mary Jane straps or T-straps, with higher heels than those girls are wearing. His black-n-whites are very popular. Your local thrift store may have some from 1947. ;D

We aren't cruising far, Doc, just to Poulsbo, which is a really cool town, and by water, it is much closer than by land. The thing about living aboard, is that there is no yard, no additional thing to take care of besides the place you live.

Good luck with the trip! How long will you be gone?

You sure know a lot about dance shoes, Boatbabe! Maybe you and Dahlink go out dancing quite a bit?

It's Sunday night and I am in Sparta, exhausted because it is tiring looking at houses. I'm heading home tomorrow evening after a day of meetings with the folks I will be working with. I looked at 16 houses in 2 days (that's a lot!!), and any of 11 would be fine for us, depending on which we way choose to go. Gotta sleep on it and talk to husband and daughter.

[booklady]

www.RunningForMyExistence.com

Here is a plug for a man who dreamed of doing something extremely difficult and did it.

If any of you are looking for or willing to consider an end-of-the-year charitable contribution, I wish you would look at this website.

The man is an old friend of mine, whom I worked with from 1997 to 2000 at his brother's mortgage company. I was there when Julia was born and they discovered she had CF. It was a terrible time.

Anyway, I never would have believed Roger would lose the weight, but he has, and it's truly an amazing story.

Anyway, I'm passing it along for inspiration, even if you can't or don't want to donate to CF. It's the best true story I've seen in a long time, maybe ever.

[doctork]

Cystic Fibrosis Foundation is already on my charity list, booky. They do good work and your friend's story is indeed very inspiring.

I donate in honor of my friend Suzanne who has CF and who recently celebrated her 40th birthday. The prognosis today is much better than it used to be, though we still await "the cure."

[gailkate]

That's a deeply moving story, BL, and he seems like a prince of a guy. There was a Julia in my family (his name was Andy);
he made it to 14.

We have so many charities on our list that I think we've let CF slip down on the priorities. As K said, there've been some advances in the 25 years since Andy died, so maybe we thought it wasn't so urgent. This film has spurred me to put
Sixty-Four Roses (little kids' name for their unpronounceable condition) back up there with the priorities.

[booklady]

I think Roger is the funniest person I've ever known.

I lost touch with him, so this came out of the blue via email to my work address. I've just been marveling all day that he really did it! When I worked with him he couldn't go three days on a diet without giving in and ordering calzones or fried fish or burgers and fries for lunch. It's a good story.

Julia's parents had three other children when she was born. They had no idea either of them carried the CF gene, so her diagnosis, at three days old, was stunning.

[doctork]

Dec 28, 2009 17:29:06 GMT -5 booklady said:

I think Roger is the funniest person I've ever known.

I lost touch with him, so this came out of the blue via email to my work address. I've just been marveling all day that he really did it! When I worked with him he couldn't go three days on a diet without giving in and ordering calzones or fried fish or burgers and fries for lunch. It's a good story.

Julia's parents had three other children when she was born. They had no idea either of them carried the CF gene, so her diagnosis, at three days old, was stunning.

CF is generally an autosomal recessive genetic disease. That means that both parents have to have the gene in order to transmit it to a child, though they won't show any signs of the disease, and typically there are no known cases in the family. Then for each child, there is only a one-in-four chance that the child will get the recessive gene from both parents and actually have the disease.

So although it was a shock to the parents of 3 healthy kids to have a CF baby, it was consistent with classical Mendelian genetics. I'm a bit surprised CF was diagnosed at 3 days of age. Often it is weeks to months before the disease becomes apparent and is correctly diagnosed.

There is a lot of research into "gene therapy" for CF and many other genetic diseases. Since CF is the result of a genetic defect, there is the possibility of infecting the cells with a normal gene to replace the defective one, resulting in the potential for cure, not just treatment. The research is still in animal models only, not ready yet for humans.

[booklady]

As I watched the show on Darwin the other night, Julia was uppermost in my mind, especially in parts where they showed researchers inserting certain DNA segments into other creatures to test for certain traits. I was hoping they would address the possibility of "correcting" genetically-determined diseases like CF through that kind of manipulation, but they did not mention it. Still, it seemed like a logical "someday" type of development.

[doctork]

Dec 31, 2009 9:50:38 GMT -5 booklady said:

As I watched the show on Darwin the other night, Julia was uppermost in my mind, especially in parts where they showed researchers inserting certain DNA segments into other creatures to test for certain traits. I was hoping they would address the possibility of "correcting" genetically-determined diseases like CF through that kind of manipulation, but they did not mention it. Still, it seemed like a logical "someday" type of development.

There are a number of different genetic abnormalities associated with CF (all on roughly the same spot on the same gene), and researches know where they are, what they are, and what they should look like instead, in order to be normal. Since the disorder is basically one of abnormal mucous production (yes I am simplifying somewhat), it "should" be curable by a genetic correction that allows production of normal mucous.

My friend who has CF and is now over 40 also has Type I insulin-dependent diabetes, common in CF. She has an insulin pump in place and has achieved excellent diabetic control, no complications. Diabetes cures (and prevention) are also under study. There is a lot that can be done with genetic medicine, and we are only at the very beginning of understanding. Young CF patients may well see a cure in their lifetime. I hope that is the case for Julia.