Author Archives: Jim Gleason

Being a grandpa is one of the noblest positions of life. My wife and I have six grandkids (three grandsons and three granddaughters), five of whom live closeby. They all call me “Papa” and I love to hear that named called to me. They range in age from one to twenty. When the oldest twoContinue reading “Being a Grandpa”

This seems to an age of fear. The pandemic has caused many people to face their own mortality. People are afraid of what the virus can do to their health, including death. Civil unrest adds to the growing uncertainty of these days. The coming election raises suspicions and doubts about the future. All of theseContinue reading “Fear”

Before my operation the other day, they had to shave my chest and back. Since I am pretty hairy, the nurse wasn’t too excited about it. She wasn’t thrilled, but neither was I. I knew that I was going to pay in the coming days. The resultant itch and skin irritation has set in. LotionContinue reading “Itch”

Yesterday I was in the hospital to have a cardiac ablation. This was to correct a periodic rapid heartbeat. The procedure starts with the doctor inserting a camera into a vein to see where the problem is. Then they inject something into you to start a rapid heartbeat to help detect the electrical shortcircuit. Unfortunately,Continue reading “Loop Recorder”

Where I live, the grass is already turning brown and leaves are already falling off trees. It seems awfuly early to me and it is still hot outside. In some ways this is just the natural cycle of things. It happens every year. In other ways it strikes me how easily life turns to death.Continue reading “Green to Brown”

It has always intrigued me to watch the political conventions, hear the grandiose claims, and the see the polls reflect public opinion. Every four years after the first convention that party sees a significant increase in public approval. That higher ranking lasts until the other party’s convention and public approval swings the other way. SoContinue reading “Political Conventions”

I have tripped over raised sidewalks three times recently. One time I fell onto grass and was unhurt. The other two times I fell onto the sidewalk and skinned myself up quite a bit. Obviously I need to pay more attention to my steps. My life has been a series of twists and turns. SometimesContinue reading “Next Step”

Mood rings were popular many years ago. The rings supposedly revealed your mood by displaying different colors. The movie “Inside Out” took the idea a little further by showing various feelings in different colors as they battled for control of a person. I have often thought that people should dress in different uniforms according toContinue reading “Mood Rings”

Do you notice what is going on around you? I’m not talking about the big stuff, like a pandemic and the election. I am talking about the even bigger stuff, although it may seem routine and insignificant. Did you notice the sunrise with its amazing colors this morning? Did you hear the birds chirping, eachContinue reading “What’s Going On?”

When I was younger, my mom worked a full-time job to support the family. She would then clean the whole house on Saturday. She did that by moving every piece of furniture so she could vacuum and clean where it had been. As a result, our house interior looked different every week. This was theContinue reading “Paint”