Recently I went to the doctor.

During the examination the doc said he’d need a urine sample.

No problem, except that when I got to the office the very first thing I did (after checking in with the receptionist) was use the bathroom. So thenI had to sit and drink a gallon of water so I could supply the sample.

Why don’t all doctor’s offices just put sample containers in the bathroom with a note:
“While you’re here, give  us as sample. We might need it.”

Right now, I’m sick. Fever, cough, scratchy throat, chills. Last night I slept mostly upright sitting in a great chair. Mother says I’m just like my father and that he did not “do” being sick very well.

My mother’s contention is that women “do” sick better then men “do”.

What do you think? Agree or disagree?

No one should die because they cannot afford health care, and no one should go broke because they get sick.

Bad news:

“Authorities today (19.Jun) confirmed [he] drowned at the MCM Grande Hotel pool in DeSoto  [near Dallas]“

See the original article here:
http://snipurl.com/kh4f8

James Huggins has a second child named Maria Adela Huggins with Penelope Ann Miller. You can read about it here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30087730/

I have moved from Dallas to Houston. Here is the story.

Mother had been sick for a while.

Sheds had a persistent cough and a lack of energy, stretching all the way back to her trip to Colorado in August or perhaps as early as June.
                   
She’s had other significantly bad days, some of which seem to have been caused by reactions to medicines along the way.

Well, we have good news. The results of tests were finally in (in November) and it is not lung cancer.

That was a concern for a while so this is very good news.
                   
However, it is a serious lung infection.
                   
You can read about it here http://snipurl.com/734n9 and here http://snipurl.com/6pmhc 

(Though common in AIDS patients, she doesn’t have AIDS; just this lung infection.)
                   
The good news is that it is treatable. The downside is that treatment is anticipated to last 6 to 18 months, with possible side effects of significant nausea from the drugs and a continued vigil against side effect liver damage from the treatment.
                   
In short, this isn’t “no big deal”. And it is a long road ahead. But it is treatable, and curable and just knowing that, mother already seems to feel a little better.
                   
For those of you who wish to call her, her number is

281 488 7043
                   
if you wish to write her, Her address is

Sue Huggins
1814 Plumbwood Way
Houston, Texas 77058

(Mother avoids email in large part because she sees how it consumes me and doesn’t want that to happen to her. LOL)

These developments have brought changes changes for me as well. I have left Dallas and moving in with mother in Houston. Her treatment will take “a while” at an optimistic best and mother needs support. Because of my business commitments at the time I gave two months notice and planned the move for end of January.

I looked forward to the transition. For one thing, I knew it would be (and was) will be a great opportunity, indeed a mandate, to throw away lots of “stuff”. Don’t worry, I donated everything I ccould. But I did dispose most of my personal possessions (though not my Music CDs nor my art). So this was a huge transition for me.

I am unsure what I will do, either short term or long term, for continued cash flow. Some of my contacts are already contacting me to see if, given my new “freedom”, I can address some of their technical needs. That is certainly one possibility. In addition, I’ll be contacting individuals I have not contacted to see about moving forward on some projects which have been discussed but never begun. I choose to consider it a time of transition and opportunity.

So, let me note that, if you’ve been dying to ask me to work for you but have held off for ANY reason, it is a new world now … many of the old obstacles are gone … let’s talk.

But enough of business, I’m looking forward to being in Houston, supporting my mother and moving to this next phase of my life. Wish us both luck on this. We’ll both be pushing lots of “buttons” of the other, but I know we’ll get through it.

My new phone and address are active in Houston now so please make a note:

281 488 5820
Post Office Box 58266
Houston, Texas 77258-8266
  
Of course my email address remains active also:
JHuggins@JamesSHuggins.com

Between mother’s illness, my recent stroke (http://www.myephemerae.com/i-have-had-a-stroke), rolling my car on Interstate 45 south of Huntsville, Texas and losing my pet cat of 10 years ((http://www.myephemerae.com/a-truly-sad-time-for-me-the-loss-of-my-cat), this has been is a time
of massive change for me.

But I’m confident it will all work out.

As I write this, it is Sunday morning. I’ve been online surfing the net looking for a replacement car (remember that I managed recently to roll and total mine,  http://JSH.us/blog-auto-accident.) But I am not a car person.

(I once challenged a car salesman to tell me everything great about the car without ever talking about how it looks since I intend to be inside the car, not outside looking at it. Suffice it to say he failed. But that is another huge post I need to write another day.) 

Becoming tired of surfing for cars, I explored a bit for a respite. I found this. I hope you smile as I did.

(Depending on your browser security settings, may need to click twice to start the video. If you are receiving this via email, or want to open the YouTube page with the video, just click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bEdIUxFwBw)

I encourage you to read forward in this blog but also to read backward.

There are a few themes that are going to be present for a while, specifically (1) my stroke and (2) the loss of my cat. But in each case, both events, especially the loss of my cat, continue to affect me deeply. If you are new and if you don’t read backward you may not know about my stroke and the loss of my cat. And these two items are VERY important to me. Yet I must keep moving and “forward” seems to be the best direction. Life is what happens while you’re making other plans.

On Saturday, 27.Sep.2008 I was in a serious automobile accident in Huntsville Texas.

While headed south on I-45 from Dallas to Houston, another car lost control and cut across my path. We both ended up leaving the interstate and I rolled my car. My car is totalled.

We were lucky. I walked away and my passenger, my uncle, did too.

But I am devastated because I lost my cat, Spot. She was frightened and ran off in the confusion. She was seen alive and well after the accident but is now lost. And it truly breaks my heart.

She may be hurt, is certainly very afraid and will be hungry. She is completely declawed and completely black and is an indoor cat with  no idea how to feed herself in the wild. She is not yet microchipped.

You can see the location here http://snipr.com/jshlostcathere and get my “poster” here http://JSH.us/spot2.

I have contacted all the local property owners.

I am offering a REWARD because my heart is broken.

I am not particularly hopeful but if you know anyone in the Huntsville Texas area would you please let them know.

I am offering a reward.

Thank you so much.

I am in the process of recovery. You see, I have had a stroke. Fortunately, it was a teeny tiny one (which is kind of like saying that the nuclear bomb was just a small one). I had the “event” on a Sunday night then forced myself to work thru the week eventually going into the hospital on Friday.

Please, please, please, if this happens to you do NOT do what I did. When you think you are having a stroke immediately go to the emergency room. There are some things they can do if you get there fast enough. Within the first couple hours they can apply some therapies and treatments that make a difference. Do NOT do what I did. Do NOT wait.

I was very lucky. I entered on Friday. They admitted me and tested me. I had a CAT Scan (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat_scan ) and eventually an MRI (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mri). The CAT Scan was easy. The MRI was terrible. A full hour inside a teeny tiny tube, loud as blue blazes and tiny. Good thing my claustrophobia is not severe. I left the hospital on Saturday and I’m doing pretty well.

I’m making changes in my life … those changes we’ve all thought about but haven’t made yet. Eating more healthy. Committed to gentle exercise. I’m joining a local gym. Gold’s Gym (http://www.goldsgym.com) has a great deal for AARP members. Not an AARP member? Just join. It’s cheap.

This is just a tiny start. But it is a start. Wish me luck