Thanks!

Three days in intensive care and now I am back home.  Thanks to everyone for your thoughts and prayers and well wishes.  It is nice to know that I have so many people praying for me.  I am blessed to have so many great friends who care about me and I thank you for that.  Special thanks to my friend, Mark Thrasher, for 'rescuing' me. 

God bless each of you!

The Notorious Meddler

People I Have Known (In My Life)

When was the last time you went beyond your comfort zone?

There are people I have known who are afraid to go beyond their walls. They are perfectly content on staying inside their fortress. It takes faith to step out. A lot of relationships are lost because of one's unwillingness, for whatever reason, to do their part to make that relationship better, both personally and professionally.


There are people I have known who spent so much time building up the walls around them, when what they really should have been doing is building bridges. Imagine what the world would be like if there was no ethnic seperation or racial hatred. What if human beings could build bridges between each other and make this world a more friendly place? What if that personal relationship had the potential to be something great? Imagine instead of fighting or killing, we actually loved one another. Believe it or not, it's possible. All it takes is tearing down that wall and building a bridge.

There are places I'll remember

All my life, though some have changed

Some forever not for better

Some have gone and some remain

All these place had their moments

With lovers and friend I still can recall

Some are dead and some are living

In my life, I've loved them all

But of all these friends and lovers

There is no one compares with you

And these memories lose their meaning

When I think of love as something new

Though I know I'll never lose affection

For people and things that went before

I know I'll often stop and think about them

In my life, I'll love you more

The Beatles - In My Life (Lennon-McCartney)
Released on the 1965 album, Rubber Soul

*Photo by Charley Neal.

National Heart Failure Awareness Week

This is National Heart Failure Awareness Week.  I am a CHF survivor.  What is CHF?  It stands for congestive heart failure.  I was diagnosed almost seven years ago.  Because of what I went through, I want to remind patients with heart failure, their family members and others who may be at risk, how best to manage this syndrome, what heart failure means, to re-evaluate lifestyle and consider changes to improve qualify of life.

Here is my story.  Heart failure is a progressive condition in which the heart muscle becomes abnormal after damage from heart attack or high blood pressure and gradually loses its ability to pump enough blood to supply the body's needs.  My heart had taken a pounding from high blood pressure and there were even signs of a possible light heart attack, when I was officially diagnosed with congestive heart failure in July of 2003. 

In cardiovascular physiology, ejection fraction is the measurement of blood pumped out of a ventricle with each heart beat.  In a healthy man, the normal ejection fraction is 58 percent.  My EF was barely 13 percent.  I was told to gather my children around me so they could spend as much time with me as possible.  My name was going to be added to a list of heart transplant patients.  All this came two weeks after my dad had died.  I hated that my mother had to be in the room when my doctor first revealed all the above to me.  It had to be hard on her. 

I praise God that within a few short days my condition began to improve, so much so that I was no longer a candidate for a heart transplant. Even though she was obligated to tell me the straight up about it all, I could feel her faith and I fed off it, along with the faith of so many others in my life. 

After just three months, my ejection fraction went from barely 13 percent to 58 percent.  My condition had gone from critical to normal in just three months. I don't think anyone's condition had ever improved that fast.  I was waiting sitting in the patient room waiting for the results when suddenly I heard Dr. Shirley shout, 'Praise The Lord!"  She burst into the room grinning from ear to ear and told me the news.  Then, she announced it to her staff and they likewise rejoiced.  To say it was emotional for me would be putting it mildly.  You see, I had been told that it would take 3 to 5 years for me to get back on my feet, if I even did then.  I owe it all to God and prayer and a God-sent doctor and great medicines.   

Nearly 5,000,000 Americans live with heart failure and as many as 550,000 new cases are diagnosed each year.  Many people are not aware they have heart failure because the symptoms are often mistaken for signs of getting older. As for me, I was only 43 years old, so go figure.   Recent advances in treatment have shown that early diagnosis and proper care in early stages of the condition are key to slowing, stopping or in some cases reversing progression, improving quality of life, and extending life expectancy.

I encourage all heart patients to follow the low sodium diet you have been given, exercise properly, manage medications and report any irregularities.  The absolute hardest thing I had to overcome was the salt shaker, but I did it and seven years later, I am still salt shaker-free.  When I was released from the hospital, the first thing I did was go online and learn all I could about heart failure.  I learned to listen to my body and not to take anything for granted.  I have made many trips to the emergency room in the past seven years, only to be told I have indigestion, but, it is better to be safe than sorry. 

Please, for more information on heart failure, do what I did, visit abouthf.org.

Thanks For A Great Year!

9,300 visitors to The Notorious Meddler since Feb. 13, 2009.  Thanks for your support.  2010 is off and running and I couldn't be more excited.  The Notorious Meddler stories are published weekly in the Clinton County News and the Pickett County Press, which have a combined circulation of 5,600 readers weekly.

At the moment, my head is filled with so many new story ideas and I just finished writing, God Bless The Weary Well-Doer, which can be found at The Hour of Rescue.  Please visit THOR and read this story.


Thanks,

N. Meddler 

Who dat say gonna beat dem Saints?

Last night, I cheered as the New Orleans Saints defeated the Indianapolis Colts in Superbowl XLIV.

It was a gutsy call to open the second half with that onside kick. Coach Sean Payton called the play during halftime, while The Who rocked on the field. But, what really rocked was Tracy Porter's interception return for a touchdown. It was special because Porter is a native of Louisiana and who better to shine than Porter. You see, what he did was carry the entire city of New Orleans into the end zone when he scored. What a great moment it was for the city, and literally everyone around the world.

With Hurricane Katrina's devastating torment of the city in 2005, the Saints playing in the Superbowl was a time of renewed hope for New Orleans, because, along with thousands of residents, even the Saints were displaced from the city for a while because the Superdome was damaged.

So, the victory is good for the city; for its economy and for its morale.

106.5 million people watch the game. I heard someone say Superbowl Sunday is the biggest 'non-holiday' holiday in America. I agree. It's huge.

"Who dat, who dat, who dat say gonna beat dem Saints?" Nobody can say it now.

"Everybody back in New Orleans gets a piece of this trophy," said Coach Payton.

Very fitting.

The Hour of Rescue

I have begun a new project, which I am very excited about. The Hour of Rescue is a faith-based work that uses a Christian approach to help all of us get through the difficult moments in our lives, using encouraging or inspirational stories and anecdotes. It is my prayer that The Hour of Rescue will comfort and keep you, and that you will be blessed. Guest commentaries are always welcome.

The Hour of Rescue


Thanks,

The Notorious Meddler

Anticipations

I caught up with an old friend today, even if it was by her words only.

Strangely familiar, not-forgotten words and phrases written with such grace and beauty, in the same poetic fashion I had been accustomed to. Words full of charm that always swept me off my feet and took my breath away. It made me realize the worth of an old friend, especially this one. It was the backdrop of days spent wrapped in the lulls of winter, and it reminded me of how much I yearn for tomorrow, and a new season filled with promise, and with hope, and with...anticipations.

I love preliminary things
(wrote JSJ in The Sunday Times on March 25, 1922)
The tuning of flutes and strings
The little scales musicians play
In varying keys to feel their way
The hum - the hush in which it dies
But most to see the curtain rise

I LOVE preliminary things
The little box the postman brings
To cut the twine, to break the seals
And wonder what the lid reveals
To lift the folds in which it lies
And watch the gift materialize

The snowdrop and the daffodil
The catkins hanging straight and still
The blossom on the orchard trees -
Do you know any joy greater than these?
Each represents the hope that springs
In ALL preliminary things

Thanks for today old friend.

The Virgin Snow

Earlier this morning, snow Virga was falling in middle Tennessee. Virga is precipitation that evaporates somewhere on the journey from clouds toward earth. If you were outside earlier this morning, you sensed the air had a 'wet' feel to it. Sometimes the air thousands of feet above the ground is moist enough to produce clouds and rain at the same time that the air closer to the ground is as dry as a bone. So when the snow falls in these conditions it evaporates on its freefall to earth.

But, no need to worry about 'virga' snow now, as the real deal is heading for us as I type this.

Stay safe and warm, and enjoy the snow! I just hope we don't get the ice that is being forecast.

The Man I Yet May Be

Yesterday I dragged wearily along, passively resigned, the Man-I-Am, between the Man-I-Might-Have-Been and the Man-I-Yet-May-Be. But now, today, I feel that with Christ's help all things are possible to the aspirations, the energy and the courage that are thrilling in me in this beautiful new-born life of today, and the Man-I-Yet-May-Be draws closer to my side.

The Case Of The Missing Cell Phone

I hate to admit this but I guess turning 50 has affected me more I thought it would. The other night, while driving home from a basketball game, I dialed up my friend, Don Johnson. We were deep in conversation when I pulled into the driveway. I walked in the house, took off my coat and started putting my stuff where my stuff goes. That's when I came to the awful realization that my cell phone was missing. So, while continuing to chat with Don, I went through my coat pockets twice, went through every room in the house - some twice - and even went outside and looked in the car. Still...no phone. Darn it! So, with Don still chatting in my ear, I went back into the house, back to my coat, checked all the pockets TWICE, went through every room in the house - some twice - and, once again, went back outside and looked in the car. I was fast becoming frustrated. The thought occurred to me that the phone might have fallen between the seats. Sadly, the phone was not there either. Again, I go back in the house, while continuing the chat with Don. I looked around but the phone was no where in sight. I sighed a deep sigh of aggravation and disappointment. I remember thinking, "Someone might try to call me!" That should have been a clue right there. Well, it was right about then that I said goodbye to Don, and that's when I closed my cell phone, looked at it, and said aloud, "THERE IT IS!"

It's a good thing that I didn't tell Don I had lost my cell phone. He would have accused me of losing more than that!

I'm just glad Elijah keeps up with the remote.

That reminds me of the time my mom took us five kids to a school talent show. A neighbor lady and her four kids went with us. Our van was packed. There were kids everywhere. Also packed was the school cafeteria where the talent show took place. On the way back home, mom said something to my youngest brother, Mark. She repeated herself when he didn't reply, and it was then we realized Mark was not in the van! Mom turned the van around and sped back toward the school. Along the way, we met a car flashing its headlights. It was Wendell Burchett, who had found my brother wandering around the parking lot.

Hey wait, that's it! My problem is genetic! There...I feel much better now!

Have I Done My Best?

The date was September 8, 1860. Edward Spencer, a sophomore at Northwestern University at Evanston, Illinois, thought it would be a normal day. Like himself, several students got up for an early walk along Chicago’s Lake Michigan beach. As they were walking, they saw that some debris had washed up on the shore. Some of that debris was human. What they didn’t know is that around 2:30 in the morning, a storm had brewed on Lake Michigan and the Lady Elgin, carrying soldiers, collided with another ship. Life boats were deployed, but there was not enough. As the ship sank people looked for anything to float on. It was one of the worst marine disasters ever in North American history. Over 400 people lost their lives and that morning still hundreds more were floating on debris, trying to make it to shore.

Without a moment's hesitation, Edward rid himself of any extra clothing that might hinder him and be dived in the rolling, chopping waves. He was able to reach the wreck and, fighting his way back, he brought the first person to safety. He had repeated this heroic effort several more times when those on shore said, "Ed, you've done all you can. You'll surely kill yourself if you try it anymore." Ed's reply was, "I've got to go my best." He plunged again and brought another one to safety, and another and another until he had rescued 17 people. He could go no further and fell unconscious on shore. All through the night, as he lay in the infirmary, he kept repeating, "Have I done my best, fellows? Fellows, have I done my best?" He had done his best but the experience cost him his health, because, you see, from that moment on, Edward had to use a walker or a wheelchair just to get around.

Years later, inspired by the story, Ensign Edwin Young wrote the song, 'Have I Done My Best For Jesus?'

How many are the lost that I have lifted
How many are the chained I've helped to free
I wonder, have I done my best for Jesus
When He has done so much for me