Saturday 9

 Cheeseburger in Paradise (1978)

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here. (This is my favorite Buffett song, quintessential Jimmy.)

1) In this song, Jimmy briefly attempts a healthier diet, which included sunflower seeds, carrot juice, zucchini and bulgur wheat. Do you pay attention to your daily consumption of vitamins, minerals, dietary fiber, etc.? I have a history of gut trouble, so I try to make more fiber-wise choices. I also have to look out for oxalate content because of my predispositition to kidney stones. As an old broad, I just can't eat like I did in my 20s.

2) Jimmy sings that he'd like french fries with his burger. Do you prefer to dip your fries or drizzle the ketchup over them? I dip.

3) Which cheese would make yours a cheeseburger in paradise: American, cheddar, Swiss, bleu, Muenster, or Monterrey Jack? I like the visual of yellow cheese on my burger, so I'll have cheddar or American, please.

 
4) Buffett fans call themselves Parrotheads. Concert attire for a well-dressed Parrothead often includes a Hawaiian shirt and a foam fin hat. What will you be wearing tonight? I'm doing this Friday night, but I can predict what I'll be wearing Saturday night: my pjs. I've got a busy week coming up and am keeping my Saturday and Sunday clear for chores and lazing about.

 

5) For someone with such an easygoing and laidback vibe, Jimmy is a very busy man. His business ventures include liquors, restaurants and hotels. He's also published eight books. All this in addition to making music! On a scale of 1 to 10 -- with 1 being lazy and 10 being highly motivated -- how would you rate yourself this morning? 1. But that's only because I don't think the scale registers negative numbers. I'm a slug.

 

6) Jimmy has some very famous fans. Paul McCartney asked him to play at one of his parties, and Barack Obama invited him to perform at a fundraiser. If you could invite anyone -- anyone at all! -- to play at your party, who would you ask? Sir Paul would be nice, certainly. Strumming and singing and telling stories. Sigh. That would be a dream come true for me.

7) Jimmy was born on Christmas Day. Does your birthday fall on a major holiday? If yes, do you mind "sharing" your special day? My birthday often falls on Thanksgiving. When I was a kid and through my 20s, I hated it. But now it just seems convenient.

8) In 1978, the year this song was popular, the Susan B. Anthony Dollar was first minted. The initial design was not a hit with the public because vending machines could not accept it. What's the last thing you bought from a vending machine? I used a $20 in the self-pay kiosk at Target. I had to wait forever for the machine to spit out my $12.22 in change. I don't think many customers use cash in those kiosks ... and now I know why.

9) Random question -- If today's your birthday, your zodiac sign is Virgo. When did you last check your horoscope? I used to check it every morning on the train as I read the paper while riding the rails to work. But now that I'm retired, I don't check it all anymore.

Well, that's a relief!

Yesterday I spent two hours at an ophthalmology center having (I believe) four different tests. I wasn't looking forward to it. Back in June, when I got my new glasses, the optometrist thought she saw evidence of glaucoma and recommended a more detailed exam. It took me this long to get an appointment at this ophthalmology center. 

It's been weighing on me. I'm at an age when my original parts are wearing out and breaking down.

The ophthalmologist didn't rule out glaucoma, but he said he couldn't diagnose it, either. Since I don't have high pressure on my optic nerve, he thinks what he's seeing is just the results of decades of near sightedness. But, since glaucoma can sometimes exist alongside normal eye pressure, he wants to see me again every six months for a year. He told me that he sees nothing -- nothing at all -- that leads him to believe surgery should even be considered, and if in six or a year my condition warrants it, he would likely prescribe eye drops.

I like this approach. We are being careful and vigilant, but we aren't jumping to act.

I also appreciate that the eye center is going to communicate with both the optometrist and my primary care physician. 

I am fortunate that I live in a metropolitan area where this care is available (though the 90 day wait for a new-patient appointment was worrisome) and I'm grateful that Medicare and my Medicare supplement plan make it affordable. I'm glad that 48 years of payroll deductions are paying off!

Photo by CDC on Unsplash