Fat, unfit but still a success

8 April

Over the last few years I have had so many blood samples taken that the vein they use in my right elbow is now very hard to find. I'm wondering how long it will take for it to be totally useless and they have to find another one. This then brought me on to how druggies end up with collapsed veins and arteries and causes treatment for them to be so hard. I find so sad that those people have done that to themselves, not good at all. But am I all that different in reality?

I am a diabetic; I have osteoarthritis; I also have high blood pressure and have a tendency to angina, already had one stent inserted; finally, I am obese weighing in at 17st 12lbs while being only 5' 5" tall. All of this is because of two simple reasons; being lazy and being greedy! Whenever I could I made excuses not to any exercise, even right back to my school days. And why have one egg butty when I can have two. And then I found booze! Need I say more?

Of course I was given warnings and ignored them. The more they warned the more I went off and did what I was being warned about. Now I am paying the price - and I hate it! I hate being fat and unfit. I hate being unwell and having blood samples taken so often. But of course, now it's too late and even if I was to magically lose all the excess weight and so on, I would still be prone to the same conditions.

This morning while having a mugga or two (we have mugs of tea and coffee, not cups), I sat reading the letters pages of the May Writing Magazine. An article in last month's issue has brought forth a few letters about success as a writer. Last month the article didn't strike any cords with me that I remember, but these letters did. How do we measure success? I have always wanted to write a book for as long as I can remember. Well, I have now written five books with number six on the way. That to me is my success. Selling them in any numbers would be nice, no writer would deny that, but right from the start, it wasn't a priority. In that sense then, I am a successful writer. Now all I need to do is to transfer that to my health and I would be well away.

Today's photo is one of me and Jan taken in the mirror windows of Selfridges in Brum.

And the Sage spoke last night ...

Amazing how your values change as you age!
An elderly lady was standing at the railing of the cruise ship holding her hat tight so that it would not blow away in the wind.
A gentleman approached her and said,
"Pardon me, madam.. I do not intend to be forward but did you know that your dress is blowing up in this high wind?"
"Yes, I know," said the lady. "I need both my hands to hold onto this hat."
"But madam, you must know that you are not wearing any panties and your privates are exposed!" said the gentleman in earnest.
The woman looked down, then back up at the man and replied,
"Sir, anything you see down there is 75 years old.
I just bought this hat yesterday!"