Category Archives: Rancho Roly Poly

Saving Austin from the bums

Posted on October 4, 2015 | Comments Off on Saving Austin from the bums

Our bums lately are sometimes too busy staring at the screens of their smart phones to even hold up their begging signs. Tough life. But there’s hope right here in River City.

“To be homeless in New York City today means three meals a day, a microwave oven, TV, free laundry, free Internet, free health care and a prepaid cell phone with 300 minutes a month. That was a few years ago. Maybe they have free laptops now. If that sounds like a better deal than most New Yorkers or tourists get, you’re right. It’s why bums from across the country and even the world have been flocking to the privileged life of a Big Apple bum.”

Oh, joy, Austin’s bums finally may have a bigger attraction. True, it’s colder up there in Yankeeland, but the summers ain’t near as hot. And they have pro sports for further entertainment.

Forget Go West. Go Northeast!

Via Sultan Knish.

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Posted in Blogosphere, Rancho Roly Poly

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Mrs. Charm comes home today

Posted on September 26, 2015 | 1 comment

She’s been in Seton Hospital for ten days now. The first four were for her second round of high-dose chemo for her recurrent lymphoma cancer. The next five were to recover from what was initially diagnosed to be a probable seizure but has since come to be regarded as a particularly intense version of “chemo brain.”

So bad on Monday and Tuesday that her Austin onocologist considers it a show stopper. Either she’ll get a smaller dose for the next round or she’ll get a different brand. Of course whether there’ll be a third round at all depends on testing to be done Oct. 6 at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.

This last day of her Seton stint will be spent (as began last night) charming the nurses down to their toes. It’s good for Seton she’ll be coming home this afternoon. Otherwise there’d soon be a mob of nurses making pilgrimages to her room.

UPDATE:  And then the oncologist decided her potassium and magnesium counts were too low and she might need a platelets infusion by Sunday morning. So she’s still in the hospital.

MORE:  Finally came home Monday evening. Probably wishes she was back there as my cooking cannot compete with hospital fare.

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Posted in Cancer, Mrs. Charm, Rancho Roly Poly

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Second chemo round Thursday

Posted on September 16, 2015 | 2 comments

We’re about 24 hours away from the beginning of Mrs. Charm’s second round of high-dose chemo for her recurring lymphoma, this time at Seton Hospital in central Austin. And it can’t come too soon. Her two-week recovery from the first round at M.D. Anderson in Houston has not been very pleasant. Her abdomen pain is back and the fever also, though neither are as bad as they were before the first round and the fever, at least is lower and it comes and goes.

The fever (possibly signifying an infection) will have to be gone before they’ll start the second round, according to the Austin doctor with Texas Oncology who will handle it. We met with him on Monday. The good news was that the swelling of her leg (called lymphedema) had diminished almost back to normal. The bad news is that it is swelling again. At least she has not been much bothered by nausea from the first round, though she has had trouble sleeping and so is tired much of the time and has little energy.

Once the second round has been over for two weeks, around Oct. 5, we’ll go back to M.D. Anderson for tests to determine if a culminating third round would be meaningful. If so it will be done in Austin again. If not, her Anderson doc will enroll her in a clinical trial of an experimental drug, probably there in Houston. Other alternatives also may be available. So we’ve got a ways to go yet. As always, thoughts and prayers are appreciated.

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Posted in Cancer, Mrs. Charm, Rancho Roly Poly

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Thank you, Jerrod Heard

Posted on September 13, 2015 | Comments Off on Thank you, Jerrod Heard

The new Texas QB, a so-called redshirt freshman who actually is a sophomore, used his debut Saturday night to remind us Longhorns fans what a real QB looks like after too many months of tired old Tyrone.

Jerrod’s juice, as coach Charlie Strong called it, or spark, or what have you jump-started UT’s moribund offense, so much that even special teams got into the act. The defense, despite some very bright spots, still needs work. But it was a good start. Rice 28, Texas 42.

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Posted in Rancho Roly Poly, Texas Football

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Lifeguarding

Posted on July 26, 2015 | 2 comments

Mr. Boy worked ten hours yesterday in his first paid life-guarding gig for the city and went back for another five hours this afternoon. Lot of hours for a 15-year-old.

He had one semi-funny story. A young mother told him her infant had inadvertently thrown up “a little bit” in the kiddy end. He told her he was “not authorized” to deal with it. Heh.

Could have been worse, he said, an AFR. What’s that? Accidental Fecal Release, in bureaucratic-speak. He’s scheduled to work everyday this week from noon to four.

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Posted in Mr. Boy, Rancho Roly Poly

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Waiting for the call

Posted on July 10, 2015 | 2 comments

The city was supposed to have summoned Mr. B. and his new lifeguard license to a summer gig at a public pool this week but, as of Thursday, we’d heard nothing from them. If we don’t hear by this afternoon we’re supposed to call them and find out what’s what.

Although I would argue for calling this morning. The bureaucracy around here (city, county and state) usually bails out early on Friday afternoon. You used to be able to tell it by the sudden increase in traffic. Now, of course, the traffic is bad all the time.

UPDATE:  No call received and none made. On to next week.

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Posted in Mr. Boy, Rancho Roly Poly, Texana

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Mr. Boy is now a lifeguard

Posted on July 3, 2015 | 2 comments

Yep, after five days of instruction, test-taking, rescue-practicing and how-to-avoid lawsuits, he got his city license and badge of office: a blue, plastic whistle. It makes my ears vibrate when he blows it.

Now he awaits appointment (probably in a week) to a public pool where 15-year-olds can work. Next summer he’ll be old enough to apply to private pools.

More cajones than me. At his age I did not have the self-confidence or the strength to even think about being a lifeguard. Best I could do was delivering newspapers and taking out trash cans for aging widows.

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Posted in Mr. Boy, Rancho Roly Poly, Texana

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