Gilmore services

 

          Good evening, 919 Gang.

 

CARL LARSEN writes:

A reminder that funeral services for long-time U-T reporter and editor John Gilmore will be held tomorrow (May 2) at College Avenue Baptist Church, San Diego, followed by a reception. 

 

---------------------------------------------------------------------

 

          TOM GABLE writes:

Leslie Wolf Branscomb asked about hip replacements.

          Highly recommend!

          I have been active in many sports since my teenage years and started getting assorted issues of osteoarthritis in my late 60s. As I got into my mid-70s, my right hip was extremely painful in tennis and golf, even when using a cart, and just walking and sleeping. X-rays showed major deterioration. I tried cortisone. No luck, so I got a total hip replacement at age 79. I had surgery at 7:15 a.m. Great 90-minute procedure with the latest technology. Post recovery, I was semi-alert in a hospital room by 11 a.m. I snoozed for a while and started feeling better around 5 p.m., and had a light dinner at 7 p.m.

          I was out of bed and in a chair at 6 a.m. the next morning for breakfast. I used a walker to hit the head. The occupational therapist arrived at 8 a.m. and taught me important things, like putting on my socks without dislocating my new hip, using a tool. The physical therapist came by at 9 a.m. I took a few laps around the hospital floor with the walker and was tested on some stairs. I passed and was given the okay for discharge. The doctor came by, examined me, and approved. “See you in six months,” he said. 

          I was home by noon, on a walker for less than a week, then a cane for a few days, and walking unaided in two weeks. I had very little pain and just took Tylenol. Never did the prescribed narcotics. I did prescribed exercises before the surgery and continued after with outpatient physical therapy and walking increased distances. I followed daily exercises in an app provided by the medical group. I played golf after five weeks, eased into tennis at week six, and in week seven, accompanied my wife, Laura, on her travel agency’s week in London reward trip, which included miles of walking each day. 

          I now enjoy tennis, golf, and traveling more than I have in years, and pain-free. I wish I had been able to get the surgery sooner, but the surgeon was scheduled four months out. I joked that, given how things went, the docs could rebrand the practice as “Hips ‘R’ Us” and franchise it. 

          Best of success with your procedure and rapid recovery!

 

          MICHELE DAVIS writes:

RE:  Hip arthroplasty.  I was pretty much healed in four weeks.  I was not able to return to work at that time because of the requirement to be able to lift 50 pounds.

          All went well until I stupidly pivoted on my right leg.  Instant pain like you would not believe.  I fell to the floor, resting on my right side to reduce pain.  I had to push myself with only my big toe as a guide through a hallway and into the living room so I could call a friend to come and unlock the door so I could call an ambulance.  Once at the hospital they were able to reduce the displaced hip.  Very little pain at that point.

          It came out a second time, for reasons unknown.  I was near a phone but could not get to the front door.  I called the same friend to come over so the ambulance could assist me.  Reduction was successful.  

          And then a third time.  Very painful.  So painful I passed out in the ambulance.  Reduction was successful.  Pain relief was immediate!

          What I did not realize prior to surgery were all the restrictions placed because of the hip replacement.  Like, you cannot take a bath, cannot sit in a booth at a restaurant, etc.  

          Medically they usually perform another arthroplasty when the second hip displacement occurs.  I got lucky as they did not discuss this.  Same with the third time!

          I had this over 20 years ago.  I am sure techniques have improved.  Even if I had to go through all of this again, I would have the surgery.  Best of luck to you!

 

--------------------------------------------------------------

 

DAN BERGER writes:

After I left the San Diego Union (Business) in 1986 after nearly eight years with the paper, I moved to Northern California, worked for two years at the Santa Rosa Press Democrat, seven years at the Los Angeles Times, and eventually began a freelance career as a wine columnist. In 2022, I decided to make a little Riesling, and had a local artist design a label for the project. He came up with something that relates to a subject that has come up here recently – a typewriter.

 

----------------------------------------------------------------

 

JIM HEBERT writes:

Much gratitude to Jack for including the Boston.com item a while back on my plans to run the Boston Marathon in honor of my lilac-loving mom, who died three years ago after a long struggle with dementia. Circling back now with some good news: I finished the race, and had a memorable experience doing it. Your assertion that I was “competing” in the marathon was a bit generous, but I did participate! And I think my mom, whose photo I wore above my heart, must’ve given me a little boost when it came to the home stretch, as my final mile (at 7 mins. 48 seconds) was my fastest of the entire race. Now that it’s accomplished, I’m feeling fired up to continue living by her credo of Not Done Yet.

Quick thanks also to Brian Clark for his kind words on the Boston.com item — I’m hoping for a followup on his yachting adventures in Greece (birthplace of the marathon, ya see this all fits together!).

 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

          DANA WILKIE writes:

Since we've been on the subject of antiquated things -- like throwback typewriters -- I have the unfortunate habit of collecting items that are no longer useful....but awfully good conversation pieces. Like a phone from days of yore.

 It's one of those that you wind up until it rings like a bad fire alarm. It's absolutely useless. But it sure is fun. And purty. I still have those flat, round vinyl things we used to call "albums." Or maybe we called them "records." Battered trunks that crossed the ocean when my grandparents traveled from Sicily to Ellis Island. A quilt handmade by my great-grandmother while she was in Italy in 1907. Oil lanterns that pull their weight only when a storm kills the electricity. Got me wondering if any other 919ers collect such things. 

 

-----------------------------------------------------------------

 

          TOM GABLE writes:

Take 1 of the famous puns from literary history cited perhaps the first pun in literary history, from Homer. The research moved to Shakespeare, Oscar Wilde, and Dorothy Parker, among others.

Take 2 twists and turns from Chaucer to Benjamin Franklin, to James Joyce, Groucho Marx, Alfred Hitchcock, and our hero from the Irish Collection, Flann O’Brien.

Please provide additional leads in the comments. Thanks!

https://open.substack.com/pub/tomgable891684/p/hooks-lines-and-zingers-30-famous-8db?r=2lhjsb&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

 

                        Ben Franklin Punning

 

 

 

Royalty

 

          Good evening, 919 Gang.

 

          SHARON DOORASAMY writes:

On November 3, 1997, while living in Durban, South Africa, I attended a dinner in honor of King Charles, who, at the time, was still a Prince. In fact, the only King in the room that night was Your Majesty the King of the Zulu Nation, Goodwill Zwelithini ka Bhekuzulu, a direct descendant of Shaka Zulu (1816-1828), the founder of the Zulu nation.

King Zwelithini and Prince Charles sat next to each other at the head table on a raised stage. I don’t remember much about the night, except for two things: I was struck by how comfortable and chummy the Prince and the King were with each other. It was as if they were old school friends meeting after a long time. They laughed and appeared to reminisce about old times, the way you might expect old acquaintances to do.  

The second thing that lingers in my mind about that night was how funny Prince Charles was. He has a wry sense of humor. I don’t remember verbatim the one joke that made the crowd burst out laughing—after all, that was 29 years ago. I can’t remember what happened last week. But the punchline had something to do with his self-deprecating lament that he might not live long enough to actually become King like his friend Goodwill, given that both his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, was still alive (she died in 2002 at age 101) and his mother Queen Elizabeth II was also alive (she died in 2022 at age 96).

Perhaps it is worth noting that Natal, the province (state) in which the event took place and which formally became known as KwaZulu-Natal after the end of apartheid in 1994, had long been jocularly termed “The Last British Outpost,” though historically not true. British adventurers and businessmen had rooted themselves in the province in the late 1840s and began establishing sugar cane estates. My father-in-law, as a young man, cut sugar cane for 10 cents a day on a plantation called Ellingham on the South Coast of KwaZulu-Natal.

The British had tried all sorts of twisted ways to force the indigenous Zulus to cut their cane, but knowing where to hide, that was a lost cause. So starting in 1860, the British, then rulers over the Indian subcontinent, began importing India Indians as indentured laborers. Not surprisingly, they treated them like slaves once they arrived—the first Indian off the first ship was registered as “Coolie No. 1.” Today, South Africa has one of the largest Indian populations outside of India, and the majority live in KwaZulu-Natal, where a Zulu King still reigns.

 

 My seating place card and a program are pictured here, along with a copy of the address and toast given by Mangosuthu Buthelezi, the Zulu leader who President Ronald Reagan admired as an alternative to ANC leaders. How I got my hands on Buthelezi’s address I do not recall.

 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

          LESLIE WOLF BRANSCOMB writes:

Hi, I have a non-political question, and it's not journalism related either. I do enjoy the advice of my peers, who tend to tell it like it is, and that's what I'm looking for -- the unvarnished truth.

          Hip replacement. My recent x-ray showed no cartilage on my right hip, so it's go time. I was a little overwhelmed at my doctor's meeting this a.m., so I forgot to ask him about recovery time. (I'm all in for the surgery. I've been suffering for years, so I don't need advice about whether to do it or not.) But I would like to know, realistically, from people who have been through it, what to expect. Online inquiries tell me everything from they will have you up on your feet and going home the same day, to expect a 4-6 month recovery period.

          Apparently these surgeries have greatly improved in recent years, so even my sister's hip replacement experience 10 years ago is probably not relevant. I'm with Sharp Rees-Stealy, and they have given my husband and my sister excellent treatment during their cancer journeys, so I trust them. 

          Any helpful advice? My husband and I are still working, so I really need to know the nuts-and-bolts of it, like will I need to hire an assistant to get me out of bed and showered.

          While the SRS team did a great job of saving Max's life during his cancer journey, a lot fell on me, to bathe him, help to walk, puree his meals, drive him to daily doctors, radiation and chemo appointments. As it happened, I was unemployed at the time.

          But that's a huge ask of him since he's still working full-time as a college professor, and I feel like health care providers today put a lot of the burden on the family members as caregivers. Just my opinion. Your opinions and experience are most welcome.

 

          REBER: I can tell you what happened with our No. 2 son, but there’s no reason to assume everyone will have the same experience. He went home the same day, and he lives alone so there was no help. He’s a very active person, but the doctor told him no more running. He continues mountain biking, skiing, etc.

 

------------------------------------------------------------------

 

ANTONIA (TONI) ALLEGRA adds …

… about journalism history…About 100 years ago, some of my Swiss-Italian relatives from Verscio in Ticino settled in San Francisco and started a newspaper, L’Italia, for the growing Swiss-American community in North Beach. That paper became popular and established a family business. In our generation, during the 80s, I was lucky to work at the Tribune as Food Editor, and my sister, Nikki Lastreto, wrote for the San Francisco Chronicle editorial. So, we’ve continued that journalistic vibe, encouraging our next generation of kids to be writers, as well. I swerved the writing into books when I moved here to Napa Valley, and continue writing in various genres.

 

          DAVID COHEN writes:

Thank you for asking, David Hasemyer! 

          Dad was the sports editor of the Daily Bruin - Second Semester - Feb. 12, 1940-May 17, 1940. His column -- Here's Our Angle -- appeared regularly, but I don't think every issue. He did this while attending class and, as the attached line score fuzzily shows, pitching for the Bruins. His teammate (they're standing next to each other in the 1940 team photo - back row left) was Jack Robinson. You know him better as Jackie. Dad's record on the diamond was not worthy of All-American status, but neither was Jack's that year. He didn't blossom until years later. 

 

Dad's love of sports and writing was the catalyst for my interest in journalism. I'm forever grateful for the freedom he allowed me to pursue my dream, which resulted in a career in radio and television news, followed by my public information role with the San Diego Police Department. The memories include the typewriter and a bound volume of all of the Daily Bruins from dad's tenure as sports editor.

 

--------------------------------------------------

 

REBER: The last party of the month is for Larry Ross, and we wish him a Happy Birthday on April 30.