Morning Ramblings

Morning Ramblings (3/6/2025)

I am hyper

When I first started writing computer code in basic back in the 1980’s, there was a command you could enter that would RUN a “list” of all the lines of code in your program.

The lines of code would run across the screen so fast, that you could not read them, without hitting the pause key.

Sometimes my mind would have thoughts go through it just like that computer. I don’t remember much about my childhood, but it seems like once I became an adult, I had a NEED to always keep my mind occupied with thoughts that would challenge me.

This morning, as I was in the bathroom, taking care of my morning rituals of communicating with God, and taking care of my health needs, I started making written notes about all the thoughts going through my mind.

I may or may not use them all at one time, but at least this list may inspire or help me or others in the future.

• Guardian Angels

As a YOUNG child, I was told that I had a Guardian Angel, always by my side, that would protect me. Due to this belief, I tried to be careful when I would roll over in bed, so I wouldn’t HURT my Guardian Angel.

I also tried to act accordingly so that I would not do anything inappropriate that would offend my Angel.

I wonder how many parents in today’s world teach their children about having a Guardian Angel?

 

• Light Switch

One of the houses we lived in when I was a child, had a covering over the light switch that said, “The Family That Prays Together, Stays Together.” I don’t remember which house that was or how long we stayed there, because we lived in so many of them, but the fact that I can still remember that phrase 60+ years later, might send a signal to others about what type of memories or influence “writings on the walls” can have with their children or grandchildren.

 

• Changing Times

As I think about the Christian messages I received as a child, as troubled as my childhood was, those deep seated messages helped me to get through the rough times.

However, one of the things I have noticed over the years is the lack of “complete families” attending church together.

I have attended a wide variety of churches over my lifetime. My favorite time was during the evangelical period of the 1960’s.

I remember a group of teenagers from the church, meeting at a local family restaurant and praying before eating. That action sent a message all across the restaurant, especially coming from teenagers that did not have an adult supervising them.

I also remember being part of a group from the church that went downtown and walked up and down the street, writing down license plate numbers from the vehicles that were parked in front of an x-rated adult movie theater.

I don’t know what the adults in charge of the group did with those numbers, however it felt good to at least be a part of some type of challenge against Satan’s temptations.

But times have changed. The churches I attend now, may have a group of young people that are picked up by the bus ministry, but the parents are not coming with them.

I also see a lot of Seniors filling the pews, but I don’t see many of them walking in or out with younger family members.

As I read the news on the Internet, I see articles about college campuses having revivals and large prayer meetings, and that encourages me.

But what I don’t see or hear much about are complete families that attend church together, or in many cases, even stay together as a family. And that hurts my heart.
 

• What is mid-life?

I know that due to medial advancements, people are living longer, but I wonder what is mid-life for the average adult in America today?

Due to my volunteer work with American Legacies Org, I realize people can live to reach 100 years old, There are even a few that are over 110, but there is no record of anyone alive today, that is over 120.

So, I would guesstimate that 60 would officially be “over the hill” and that definitely puts me much farther over the hill than I ever expected to be.

That is one more reason I am trying to document as much as I can about my life and thoughts.

 

• Morning Rituals

Years ago, I was a long distance, coast to coast over the road truck driver. Sometimes I drove as part of a two person team, while other times I drove as a solo driver.

While driving as a solo driver, it was not uncommon for me to pull over to the side of the road, normally on an entrance ramp to the Interstate, and lay my head over the steering wheel, in order to take a short nap until the sun came up.

When I woke up, I would simply put the truck in gear and take off down the highway. After getting up to highway speed, I would pour myself a cup of coffee from my thermos and check the CB radio for any traffic reports. That was my morning ritual during my years as a truck driver.

Later in life, once I started working at home on the computer, I would wake up in the morning, go to the bathroom, get dressed, pour myself a cup of coffee, and sit down at the computer to start writing.

Now that I am ‘over the hill’ I get up, go to the bathroom, have a long conversation with God, while taking care of my health needs, then get dressed and head to the computer.

 

• About Health

During my lifetime, there have been many time when I have heard or read the phrase, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

That may work on some things but not with your heath. For way too many years, I ignored my health. Yes, as an over the road truck driver, I had to get a physical every year, but most of those were NOT real physicals. They were simply a case of walking into a medical office and paying for a paper stating you were healthy enough to drive. Sometimes they might weigh you, or check your eyesight by reading a chart from a few feet away. On rare occasions, they might even check your blood pressure, but they were not a complete serious physical.

I was actually in my 50’s before I went to a real doctor for a serious physical, where I got a lung scan, blood tests and a full exam. Everything seemed to be okay at that time.

By the time I was 55 or close to 60, I went to anther doctor, and when I walked into the office for the first time, the receptionist asked me if I was on any medication, I said,”No.”

The receptionist replied, “The Doctor will change that.”

She was correct. That was when they started me on medication that I would need to take for the rest of my life.

At this point, I don’t even remember what medication they put me on, but I know part of it was for high blood pressure and something was for my thyroid.

While seeing that doctor on a regular basis, I had a heart attack while riding my motorcycle and passed out while I was on the bike. Luckily, I was able to pull over to the side of the road and get my kickstand down on the ground before I passed out and fell off the bike.

Needless to say that after they placed me in a helicopter and transported me to a hospital where they placed the first of multiple stents into my heart, I decided to get a new family doctor.

My new doctor took me off the thyroid medicine, because the blood tests confirmed there was nothing wrong with my thyroid. However he also told me that I was diabetic and needed to eliminate the sugar and starches in my diet.

This is when I learned that once you get “certain” diseases or health issues, you can NEVER reverse them.

From that point on, my life changed. That is when I started changing my lifestyle, including things I ate and learned how to take my blood pressure at home, text my sugar levels and regular visits to the doctor complete with blood tests every six months.

As my health deteriorated and new problems crept up, I began visiting “specialists” and learned as much as I could about how to “slow down” the progression of certain health issues, plus how to prevent other health issues.

As a biker, truck driver, fighter and man that always relied on his strength and wisdom to deal with obstacles that life threw my way, I learned that as the body begins to wear out, we NEED to learn how to prevent or prolong certain problems as much as possible.

So this once “tough guy” learned that if he really wants to stick around long enough to take care of his handicapped wife as well as pass on the many lessons he learned over his lifetime to others, he needs to learn how to take care of his body, inside and outside.

There are many many lessons that senior citizens can pass on to younger individuals. I wish there was someway I could encourage them to share those lessons.

I have been trying to manage 200 social media sites and 30 websites. I have decided it is time for me to reduce my workload. But as I delete some of my websites and turn over the social media sites to others, I also think I “might” put something on the American Legacies Org website where other seniors can share their pearls of wisdom and experience with others.

Maybe the next time I write my Morning Ramblings, I might write something about the Sandwich Generation and the Elders responsibility to pass along their Pearls of Wisdom.

 

Just my thoughts

Franklin T. Wike, Jr. © copyright 3/6/25 Franklin T. Wike, Jr.