A friend of mine was in the hospital for breathing issues and while there he suffered several "small" heart attacks. At least that's what he is saying now, but it was really groggy when I spoke with him.

I remember the first time I heard that a friend of mine had had a heart attack. It was about 10 years ago and it really shook me up. It was a reminder that my friends and I are getting older and that this kind of thing is going to start occurring more often.  It's been several years since then without incident...and then this.

It's kind of ironic that he is one of my younger friends---five years or less, if I recall correctly. We used to joke about me being so old. But he has COPD and that's what he thought was going on when he went to the ER but apparently it's his heart. This just happened this morning so I don't know many details. And he lives 3000 miles away w/o family as a support. I feel so sad for him and it certainly has given me pause.

The tropical storm we had did some damage to my screened porch and there's a big pine tree limb on the ground next to my chimney. I think that limb did the damage.  But the storm, although the wind gusts were just shy of hurricane force, was kinda cool for us. My dog Gizmo gets a little jumpy in strong winds but he managed to feel secure sitting in my lap.
We didn't lose power, which I hate when it happens because you lose A/C, but it was cool enough during the storm that I opened the front door and the porch door to get a nice cross breeze. And I read a book the entire night. I hate watching weather on TV because the forecasters are such alarmists...after all they live for storms like this one.
I am so glad we have a landscape service because I could never move the branch that fell.
It rained this morning, but cleared up to cloudy and now it's partly sunny. It really has been kinda nice.
TTFN

I have been waiting to see The Great Exotic Marigold Hotel since it opened on May 4, but it only opened here where I live today. I went to the 1:45 pm showing and found a theater almost half full. The audience was excited, appreciative and delighted because the movie is really, really good. There might be too much of a Hollywood ending, but the ending isn't what matters; it's the journey.

India has never appealed to me as a destination because of the same things most of the characters  in the movie mention: the poverty, the odors, the heat, the spicy food that is difficult for Westerners to digest, the squalor. However, the colors, the light, the smiles on the people's faces and the glint in their eyes-- their belief that life is a gift not an entitlement (a line from the movie)---is inspiring. Although I doubt I will ever see India in person, this movie changed my opinion of it.

There are a couple of surprises in the plot of the film, and all the actors shine, as you knew they would, pros that they are. Anyone over the age of 50 should see this film and think about its many messages, which are lovingly presented. No, everyone who thinks about aging should see this movie and be inspired.

I don't read much fiction...although I've been reading more of it recently. One such novel is Sanctus, which is as riveting as the DaVinci Code and is the first installment of three, according to the author. And I have discovered I really like historical fiction. The Alienist by Caleb Carr is a staple of this genre and being that I am a native New Yorker I love books set in that city. The Gods of Gotham (I think that's the name of it but it might be The God of Gotham---I borrowed it from the library so I can't check) is set in the mid 1800s and is a murder mystery. It's excellent.

One non fiction book I can recommend with gusto is "King Peggy" about a woman who works in the Ghanaian Embassy in DC who is chosen to be king of her village in Ghana. She's an American but her family is from Ghana and she is chosen to be King not Queen of the village, which doesn't happen very often to a woman.
The story of how this impacts her life but more importantly the lives of the village, which has 7,000 residents who have suffered from the effects of corruption for a long time, is simply wonderful. The reader learns more about Africa than just Ghana. I loved it.

Another great non fiction book is Man Seeks God, which is exactly what the title says it will be. A man travels the world investigating the great (and some not so great) religions of the world. It's informative, funny and a very easy read. Two thumbs up as the saying goes.

I'm having trouble going to sleep. I don't really think I'm stressed; it's not as if I lay in bed worrying. But my mind does seem to have a lot of things to go over...and over...and over...and over. Once I'm asleep I do fine, but it's the getting there that's increasingly difficult. I heard that sleep can become elusive as you age but I really didn't think it would happen to me because sleeping was...and is...one of my favorite things to do. I've always championed sleep as a healing activity and now there are reports in the news of medical studies that reveal how important sleep is to all of us.

Bob used to say that I loved to sleep because my dreams were so vivid it was like going to the movies for me. I miss those days. I still remember my dreams now but there don't seem to be as many of them.

Last night I saw 4 a.m. and that's a record for me. Usually it's some time before 3 but not yesterday. I sure hope that tonight isn't a repeat.

I want to volunteer more. I spent the weekend volunteering at a two day super pet adoption held in the Mandarin community of Jacksonville and loved every minute of it. I felt as if I had done something worthwhile and had fun doing it. I also learned that I like to volunteer at events and will definitely seek out more opportunities. I was very, very tired by Sunday evening, but it was a good tired; a feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment. The goal was 200 adoptions and I believe the end total was 215 dogs, puppies, cats and kittens. And it was our first super adoption sponsored by Best Friends, a national animal rescue group and sanctuary located in Kanab, Utah. I've been a supporter of theirs for at least a decade and would love to visit or even go to the conference they are having in Las Vegas, which is where you fly into if you are visiting the sanctuary. Then I'd like to take the three day tour/stay after the conference. It's expensive, though, so I'll have to sell something to offset the hefty price tag. Know anyone who needs a diamond ring?

Feeling Grateful is Uplifting and Humbling.

I was beginning to get unmotivated about writing this blog, but a friend emailed me and said he has been reading it and likes the way I write. I am encouraged because I really didn't think he'd be interested in reading it.

Some days I'm just not motivated to write about aging so I've decided that on those days I'll write what I'm interested in. Today, it's how fortunate I am.

I've been reading a travel book in which the writer goes to the Andaman Islands, which are in the Bay of Bengal nearer Burma than India. He stays for a few days on his way to Papua, New Guinea in an effort to find a place that is real, one that is not run by the global tourism industry.

Well, he found it. But I wouldn't want to spend an hour there and reading about it made me really appreciate  my life, one I often...no, daily...take for granted. I am so grateful to have been born an American, proud that I am a native of New York City, although I had absolutely nothing to do with that. I could have been born into the kind of poverty I only read about, live in desperation I can only imagine in a repressive country where knowledge is withheld and I fear for my life. Given the reality of the world I beat the odds.

Years ago Oprah recommended keeping a gratitude journal for at least six month. Each night you were to write a list of at least three things you were grateful for that day. The list didn't necessarily have to be "big" things; it could include something as "small" as a sunny day. I think the purpose was actually counting your blessings every day, getting in the habit of seeing life from that perspective.

 At the time I was unhappy and a gratitude journal sounded like a good idea, however I was skeptical that I could commit to it for such a long time. Miraculously I did and it changed my life.