My Slow Takes (Vol. 128)

1. It’s Tuesday about 10AM. The temperature is 12 degrees with a wind chill factor of minus three. My coffee is hot and my wool sweater is comfortable and warm. The sun is shining allowing me to forget about the frigid weather. It is a beautiful winter day.

2. On January 8, 1815, the final battle of the War of 1812 was fought in New Orleans. Andrew Jackson defeated an invading British Army, commanded by General Edward Pakenham. More details at Wikipedia.

http://americangallery.wordpress.com/2013/06/30/edward-percy-moran-1862-1935-2/

3. Phil Everly of the “Everly Brothers” died Friday January 3, 2014. He was 74. 

4. On Wednesday the temperatures were warmer. It was 20 degrees and the sun continued to shine. This made for an enjoyable morning walk. I was the only one on the road and dressed as I was, it reminded me of Rocky Balboa when he was training for his fight. “Yo, how you doin’?”

Rocky

Me

5. I was putting together some writings for our men’s weekly group meeting. I found and re-read Steve Givens “Today’s Word: Gratitude.”

“We treasure the time with older family members and friends and learn to lean in a little closer when they tell stories that we want to make sure we never forget. Our friends — both old and new — become all the more precious to us as the years pass, and the opportunity to spend time with all those we love is a blessing beyond measure. When you face any kind of serious health issue you learn this fast: It is the presence of those special people that enriches our lives, and everything we have or own pales in comparison to the gift of that time together.And so we learn to live in gratitude and come to know that “thank you, God” can be the most important and deepest prayer we can ever say. For “thank you, God” means, “I’m paying attention.” It means, “This is not all just about me.” It means, “Everything is gift.””

The last two to three weeks I’ve been blessed to be able to spend time with family and friends. We shared many things, laughed, cried a little bit and created memories that will always be with us. I am grateful to God for this time and treasure these gifts.

6. I went for my annual flu shot this week. While I was completing the necessary consent form I was asked if I wanted the high dose shot. 
"Does that mean we have regular and high test vaccines?"
"Is the high test more expensive?"
"Does the high test give me more oomph?"
The druggist politely asked if I were 65 or older. Hmm, she was getting a little bit personal now. So now age is a factor. I had already written down my date of birth, so she had me. "Okay, I’m a candidate, you win, give me the high test."
"It’s high-dose sir, and it was designed specifically for your generation.” There was a smile on her face and what seemed to be a triumphant gleam in her eyes. Druggist 1, Paul 0.

7. I had Xbox, then purchased Xbox 360. Now Xbox One is available. The price is more than I want to invest in, but the new games are tempting me. "Ryse: Son of Rome"  and the new Halo trilogy are not available for Xbox 360. Well, at least not yet. Maybe I'll wait and see what develops.

Read other "Takes" at Conversion Diary.