New Shoes in the Rain

Good morning and happy Thanksgiving to everyone! I just wanted to stop by to share a couple of brief thoughts on this, our national day of gratitude and appreciation. I am most appreciative that I have a wonderful family who loves me in spite of my failings, and who accept my love unconditionally! I am fortunate to have a job that I like, where I feel I am doing people some good (finally, after many years of NOT feeling this way!), and that I am very good at performing! I am grateful for the core of good friends I have upon whom I can rely for strength, support and comfort.  Some of them don't even know how much I feel for them, so I need to work on that.  But most all of them know who they are! I am thankful to live in a country that is not under military assault by another, and where I have the ability to exercise my right to help choose our leaders.  Let us hope that we are able to continue to provide this freedom in perpetuity. And I'm appreciative of this forum, where I ca

Good afternoon, friends.  Hope your week is going well. Let's put this out there.  I've had problems with my feet for a long time, dating back to the 90s.  Specifically, I have plantar faciitis in both feet.  That's a disorder where the tendon that runs along the sole of one's foot is too tight due to inflammation or other issues, causing pain and discomfort in most any activity, but particularly in walking. I began to develop this issue following some health issues, after which I began to walk for exercise regularly.  Plus I began working at a job where I was in a building but walked all over that structure during each day.  So there was no escape. At that time our next door neighbor was a nurse and she said that she knew what my problem was and recommended two things:  New Balance running shoes and insoles with pronounced arch supports.  That helped, but I needed to do more, particularly during the work day, so I began to explore shoes that were softer but provided ar

Good Thursday to you…. Have you ever really wanted something, eventually accepted that getting that thing was not possible, only to finally receive it when you least expected it? That happened to me recently.  Well, not JUST to me!  Let me explain. As I am sure I have mentioned in this space more than once, I am an enormous fan of the Beatles.  You know, John, Paul, George and Ringo!  Became a great admirer of their work well after they had gone their separate ways, followed their solo careers with interest and was astounded that so many songs I knew were actually Beatles songs.  With the help of a friend who loaned me his collection of British album releases of the group, I immersed myself in their music and became a true fanatic.  Listened to entire albums on tape on car rides, back in the days before streaming and playlists, and understood about how the group and their brilliant producer, George Martin, polished their songs (mostly written by Lennon and McCartney) and chose the orde