Our minds continually lie about our true capabilities

This morning, I could barely move my right hand. It was numb and tingly. I knew it wasn’t a stroke. I, like millions of other people, have carpal tunnel syndrome. Stressing your hand and or wrist makes it worse. Yesterday, I fished all day in the Gulf of Mexico with friends. Today, I paid the price. My hand reminded me I am getting old, and my days of this kind of “fun” might be numbered. It also reminded me of how my mind lies about reality.

Aging is a balance between what…

Yeats of lying by the main-steam media have led to widespread vaccine skepticism

President Joe Biden recently blamed Facebook posts about the Wuhan virus vaccines for explaining why millions of Americans are not getting vaccinated. I am no Facebook fan, but this is hogwash. The media-big tech-Progressive complex loves to find politically convenient reasons to explain less than robust vaccination rates. However, to quote Vice President Harris, we need to look at the “root causes.”

The distrust of the media and the Federal government did not arise out of a vacuum. Nor was it all due to Donald Trump. Trump…

Here are three good reasons why asking me to give you five stars is terrible for business

I recently purchased a new car, and everything went well until the salesman was about to hand me the keys. Before he was able to finish his sentence, I already knew what he was going to say. “You will be receiving a survey in the mail from XYZ company. Anything less than five stars is not good.” My stomach turned. I knew this wasn’t his idea. He was doing what his bosses told him to do. …

It will be difficult, but not impossible, to divorce the principles he advocated from the man

I suspect there are very few Americans who have a neutral opinion about our most recent ex-President. His name often invokes either visceral disgust or admiration by most. However, it is crucial to try and examine his policies and beliefs separate from the man. This examination is not easy given that Trump sometimes sounds like a conservative and, other times, a populist. Moreover, a populist is not that different from an opportunist.

Building the wall

The most famous of his initial campaign promises was…

There is an old saying. “The doctor who treats himself has a fool for a patient.” And doctors who treat their own families are fools too. As the son of a physician, I can attest to the truth of this assertion. My father was an excellent doctor. He was intelligent and compassionate. His patients loved him. However, his treatment of his family led to severe errors that likely would have never happened had he delegated our healthcare to someone else.

During the 1940’s he researched the use of antibiotics to treat heart valve infections, known as subacute bacterial endocarditis. Before…

Chronic diseases and a faulty Medicare system result in too many doctor visits

There is an old joke about retirement. When asked, “How do you spend your time?” a senior citizen replies, “I am actually quite busy seeing doctors.” This not so funny joke rings true for my wife and me. We both have chronic illnesses that trigger multiple doctor visits. Her disease, corneal dystrophy, is under control. My condition, Crohn’s disease, is not. Not a week goes by when it seems one of us has a doctor’s appointment. Medicare is partly to blame.

Being a retired physician, I am…

At last count, I had five things I need to use or wear while sleeping, and I’m over it

It all started with my dentist. He noted my teeth were getting ground down and diagnosed bruxism, or teeth grinding. He recommended a hard plastic bite guard — not just one but two; one for the upper and one for the lower teeth. Next, I was diagnosed with sleep apnea and eventually went on a CPAP machine, which I still use. Plantar fascitis came after that, so I had to sleep with a boot. …

Unless you visit an aquarium, no one plans on seeing a whale shark while at sea. These gentle but elusive giants are as misunderstood as are their names. Whales are mammals. Whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) are fish. They have gills and cartilage rather than bones, so they are in the shark family. They are the largest known living fish, growing up to 40 feet and weighing as much as 41,000 pounds.

A buddy and I were heading out to fish for grouper and snapper in May 2018. About twenty miles from shore, he spotted two large fins. Although he grew…