2/6 to 2/13/2010 - Tom Farnam’s Journal
Many more photos can be seen in this Kodak Gallery
This saga begins in August of 2009, when Naomi sent me an email with the subject “Birthday Idea” reading: “Any interest in doing John's Caribbean Cruise for your birthday? Interesting way to put new skills from Dave's clinic to play! Let me know and I'll register us - early birthday present?” Lest you think Naomi does not plan ahead, this was 6 months and two days before my 65th birthday.
Duly registered for the trip, in October 2009 I made reservations on Spirit Airlines for a non-stop flight from Washington Reagan National Airport (DCA) to Fort Lauderdale International Airport (FLL) to arrive FLL at 12:30 on 2/6/10, giving us plenty of time to get to our cruise ship.
On 2/2/10 Naomi sent me an email about the snow storm expected to hit the DC area on Friday the 5th, suggesting we change the flight to 2/5. Found Spirit had a 4:40 departure on Friday, so we booked it, then contacted our friends Russ and Betty Gaudreau, who had asked us to come stay with them on our way through Ft. Lauderdale. They confirmed their generous offer was still open, and we planned to join them for dinner and the night of the 5th. By Wednesday afternoon (2/3/10) the storm prediction was getting more severe, and we started talking about changing our flight to Friday morning, but Naomi needed to be in the office on Friday. (There had been a lot of turmoil in her office that week, and as VP of HR she needed to be present.)
I flew into DCA on 2/4, then took the train to Baltimore for some IRS meetings going on there on the 4th and 5th. En route to Baltimore I had an email exchange with Naomi about whether we should try to leave earlier on the 5th. Her office was going to follow federal “liberal leave policy” that morning and close at Noon, so she felt she could be away after all. By the time I got to Baltimore and was able to get online at 4:45pm on the 4th, the earlier flights on Spirit were no longer available. By the time I got home that evening, there were no alternatives to get out of DCA on the 5th, on any airline. No matter, we were going on this trip, both because of my birthday and because she’d had several tough weeks in the office and needed to get away.
Friday the 5th we arose at home to a gray and lowering sky, which actually smelled like a storm. The TV news was telling us Amtrak was closed and it was not looking good at any DC area airports. By the time we got in a cab at Noon, the first scattered flakes were beginning to fall. At DCA there was no one at the Spirit counter, so we waited. 30 minutes later, still no one and I got on the phone with their reservations department. After finally getting a connection to a supervisor, the story became there would not be anyone from Spirit at the airport, all their flights were canceled and the staff had gone home. As Naomi listened to my end of the conversation, she got on the phone with US Air and found a flight out of Charlotte at 8:00am on 2/6 which would get us to FLL by 10:00am. We left the Spirit counter, got my laptop going to reserve the US Air flight while she called Hertz for a rental car.
By 2:00pm on 2/5 we were in a Toyota Camry headed through the snowstorm to Charlotte. Naomi drove the first leg in the “daylight”, through snow and sleet. Dave Morales had been called and was online giving us traffic and weather projections as we headed out of town. Tom sat there sending emails to friends and family about our situation, one of whom said "Amazing how you managed to find a solution without sitting in the air port whining...".
Only a bit the worse for wear, in Charlotte we first found the Hertz return location, thanks to the “free” GPS unit in the Camry, then doubled back to a hotel we passed on the way there. Actually caught about six hours of sleep after a coach’s nightmare of a pre-race meal - generic cheese puffs, beer, beef stick and Cadbury crème eggs.
5:30am on Saturday 2/6/10 we were on our way back to the Hertz counter, reaching the airport on their shuttle by about 6:00am. Must say US Air was doing a great job of dealing with a full Charlotte terminal, with “all hands on deck” at the ticket counters to deal with the extra load from flights canceled the day before. Our flight departed on time with every seat filled, many of the occupants wearing Saints or Colts jerseys, hats and other paraphernalia as they headed to the Super Bowl in Miami.
Betty and Russ Gaudreau picked us up at the airport, then gave us a brief tour of Ft. Lauderdale before taking us to lunch at a lovely beach club near their condo. Lunch completed, we went off to the Cruise Ship Terminal. Betty was forced to get out of the car at the gate because she had neglected to bring the photo ID required by TSA rules for anyone entering the Terminal. Actually boarding the Eurodam was smooth as good Dutch chocolate.
Found John Bingham & Jenny Hadfield, along with our cruise companions. 61 had made it, there were two couples who were not as lucky as we at making emergency changes. (They were from Pennsylvania, wound up catching up with us in San Juan, one of the options we considered.) Dinner on the Eurodam, a nightcap in the Crow’s Nest bar, and early to bed.
Sunday the 7th we met for a “pre-race briefing” at 7:00am, then off to the Promenade Deck where we had special permission for those of our group so inclined to run on the deck, which has large signs posted forbidding that activity. Three miles on the Promenade deck required 9 laps, and we were eligible for prizes if we were able to finish within plus or minus 15 seconds of the time we predicted for ourselves. Tom was 6.3 seconds faster than his predicted time, Naomi was 1.5 minutes faster than her forecast (and a lot faster than Tom).
The balance of Sunday was spent in a very low key and easy-going day. The evening wound up with us watching part of the Super Bowl via ESPN satellite link to the ship. They even put the “Ship’s Theater” to work as a projection room - talk about a big screen. Fortunately it was also on the TV set in our stateroom, so we retired with the sleep timer set. Actually wound up staying awake for the finish, which meant it was quite a game since neither of us is a big football fan.
Monday the 8th - another mandatory pre-race briefing at 7:00am as we had breakfast, followed by debarkation on Grand Turk about 8:00am. John and Jenny had arranged for us to be the first ones off the ship, even ahead of the dedicated shoppers. A set of Toyota buses were waiting to take us out to the Lighthouse, on the far end of the island from the cruise terminal. (These buses were the same type we rode on in Bhutan & Nepal, clearly a very functional vehicle.)
What a wonderful way to really see an island! There is not much elevation change on Grand
Turk (about 90 feet), and they really got hit hard by hurricane Ike in 2008, but it’s a lovely place. Sort of glad we got there this year, they are about to construct a 600 room resort hotel (about 10 times the number of rooms now available) which is sure to make big changes in the island. The only reason it’s not already under construction is their need to finish building the new hospital to replace the one destroyed by Ike. We went from the lighthouse on the north end of the island, through Cockburn Town then back to the cruise terminal, about 8 miles and 2 hours, really interesting to see the island up close. We even had a water stop - two local ladies with water bottles in their car who met us at least twice - plus police protection including our own motorcycle escort and ambulance that cruised back and forth along the road.
Back on board the Eurodam for some relaxation before dinner followed by a drink in the “Crow’s Nest”, the very classy lounge on the top deck at the very front of the ship. Not too late though, we have another “stage” of the Marathon the next day in San Juan.
Tuesday the 9th we get a leisurely start with time for breakfast before our “Mandatory Pre-Race Briefing” at 11:00, then time to watch the ship come into the harbor at San Juan, which is a lovely sight. Once again our group is allowed to be off the ship even ahead of the shoppers (some of whom seemed a bit irritated) and off we go on a “Great Race” tour of Viejo San Juan. Jenny had put together maps and clues describing nine locations we were to find, then take a picture at each of them. Of course, she did a masterful job of giving us a complete tour of Old San Juan as we completed the course, most of us completely ignoring our watches/times and just having fun seeing the city.
One of our personal stops along the way back to the ship was a spice shop (great gifts) where we asked the clerk if she had a restaurant suggestion for good “local food”. She did indeed, and since the ship was not departing until 10:30, John, Jenny and eight others decided to join us. It took about a half mile walk back up the hill into the old town to find La Fonda del Jibarito, http://www.eljibaritopr.com/ but the end result was an outstanding meal at a very reasonable price. Plantain tamales with pork filling, cassava root, little salad and a “tres leches” (three milk) cake. Good local beer, some hot sauce which brought tears to our eyes (even a Penguin who claimed no sauce is too hot) and a fun evening.
Wednesday the 10th we awakened looking at St. Thomas, USVI. Up early for 7:00am briefing, then down to the gangway to be the first ones off the ship. Clamber aboard local jitneys for a drive to Magen’s Bay, where we gather on the beach for instructions from Jenny. She takes off ahead of us (chalk in hand to be sure our course is marked) as we go up the hills. Highest point on our tour was Peterborg Point, which is about 400 feet above the ocean, and it felt like it was uphill both ways. But oh my goodness what views, as the road ran along the spine of the island with lovely homes on both sides overlooking the ocean. Not to mention flowering cactii, bougainvillea, and other lovely foliage. Once again while others were just getting started on their shopping we got to really see the island.
Finished the 6ish mile loop back on the beach, and even though it was not yet Noon, the cold beer was too inviting to pass up (a Margarita for Naomi to carry into the surf). Buses back to Charlotte Amelie, some shopping and then lunch at “Cuzzin’s”, which makes a really nifty rum punch, along with some great conch in creole sauce.
After shopping long enough to locate some studs for my formal shirt (the ones I brought were falling out of the buttonholes) and a gold penguin charm, Naomi caught a cab back to the ship while I searched for a “jump ring” to attach the new penguin to her racing charm bracelet. Found the jump ring, then wound up walking an extra 1½ miles back to the ship. No problem, “no hurry mon”, interesting view of the town. After dinner that evening Naomi retired but I decided to try my hand at karaoke, just for fun, and was invited to the “finals”.
Thursday the 11th we are at sea all day, so no “run briefing”, only a stretch and core exercise session on the top of the ship led by Coach Jenny. The rest of the day was “take it easy” time, which cost Naomi a sun burn. Seems that after using loads of sunscreen on the islands she thought it would be OK to simply sit in a deck chair on the top deck without covering. It worked out fine, she was wearing a blue dress that night and was very patriotic. Made a lovely contrast with my white dinner jacket, about which I got several compliments from people who saw me in the karaoke finals before dinner.
Friday the 12th, another 7:00am run briefing, then we were on the first tender when the ship anchored off Half Moon Cay. Based on John & Jenny’s visit a year ago the folks from Holland America had marked out a “running trail” of about 2.6 miles, covering most of the island. (The GPS unit on my Garmin said the island was named “Little Solomon’s Island, maybe Holland America changed the name when they took ownership.) Fun event, followed up with an hour or so in a “clamshell” on the beach to keep out of the sun.
Back on board the Eurodam, ready to depart, but there was a problem. The anchor chain had “fouled” and could not be pulled up into the ship. This meant we had some 400 feet of chain/cable/anchor hanging from the ship, which made it impossible to even consider going back to Florida. They finally resolved the issue by cutting the anchor chain, letting it drop into the relatively shallow waters off Bermuda, so it would only cost about $300,000 to recover and reinstall it instead of paying $600,000 for a replacement. My suspicion is someone’s career at HAL will go less well due to the incident, but we may never know.
We do know the ship was delayed several hours getting back to Ft. Lauderdale, so we had to revise our travel arrangements for the return to DCA. Finally wound up on an American Airlines flight from Miami to DCA, and since I fly AA almost every week we were able to upgrade to 1st and have a very relaxed supper flight home. Arrived home about four hours later than originally scheduled to find huge snowbanks along the nicely plowed streets in our subdivision. Thanks to our friend Nicole Harris who had been staying with Princess and Pinky, the driveway and stairs were even cleared.
What a trip, and now home to sleep in our own bed, celebrating my 65th by falling asleep in the arms of my lovely and thoughtful wife. If only the room would stop moving, which it finally did a couple of days later as our inner ears realized we were back on dry land to stay.
Did we enjoy it? ABSOLUTELY A BLAST! So much fun we have seriously discussed whether we could manage the Great Alaska Maritime Marathon with John & Jenny in July. Another week on ship - up the Windward Passage to Alaska. Might not be able to make that trip this year but both of us are really high on doing another trip with John & Jenny in the future.
Favorite event: Magen’s Bay. After those hills, we’d like to think we don’t have to train hills at all leading up to Nike in San Francisco. Nice in theory, but we know better.
Most fun & educational event: the Great Race across Old San Juan.
Most revealing event: Grand Turk, an island in recovery.
This saga begins in August of 2009, when Naomi sent me an email with the subject “Birthday Idea” reading: “Any interest in doing John's Caribbean Cruise for your birthday? Interesting way to put new skills from Dave's clinic to play! Let me know and I'll register us - early birthday present?” Lest you think Naomi does not plan ahead, this was 6 months and two days before my 65th birthday.Duly registered for the trip, in October 2009 I made reservations on Spirit Airlines for a non-stop flight from Washington Reagan National Airport (DCA) to Fort Lauderdale International Airport (FLL) to arrive FLL at 12:30 on 2/6/10, giving us plenty of time to get to our cruise ship.
On 2/2/10 Naomi sent me an email about the snow storm expected to hit the DC area on Friday the 5th, suggesting we change the flight to 2/5. Found Spirit had a 4:40 departure on Friday, so we booked it, then contacted our friends Russ and Betty Gaudreau, who had asked us to come stay with them on our way through Ft. Lauderdale. They confirmed their generous offer was still open, and we planned to join them for dinner and the night of the 5th. By Wednesday afternoon (2/3/10) the storm prediction was getting more severe, and we started talking about changing our flight to Friday morning, but Naomi needed to be in the office on Friday. (There had been a lot of turmoil in her office that week, and as VP of HR she needed to be present.)
I flew into DCA on 2/4, then took the train to Baltimore for some IRS meetings going on there on the 4th and 5th. En route to Baltimore I had an email exchange with Naomi about whether we should try to leave earlier on the 5th. Her office was going to follow federal “liberal leave policy” that morning and close at Noon, so she felt she could be away after all. By the time I got to Baltimore and was able to get online at 4:45pm on the 4th, the earlier flights on Spirit were no longer available. By the time I got home that evening, there were no alternatives to get out of DCA on the 5th, on any airline. No matter, we were going on this trip, both because of my birthday and because she’d had several tough weeks in the office and needed to get away.
Friday the 5th we arose at home to a gray and lowering sky, which actually smelled like a storm. The TV news was telling us Amtrak was closed and it was not looking good at any DC area airports. By the time we got in a cab at Noon, the first scattered flakes were beginning to fall. At DCA there was no one at the Spirit counter, so we waited. 30 minutes later, still no one and I got on the phone with their reservations department. After finally getting a connection to a supervisor, the story became there would not be anyone from Spirit at the airport, all their flights were canceled and the staff had gone home. As Naomi listened to my end of the conversation, she got on the phone with US Air and found a flight out of Charlotte at 8:00am on 2/6 which would get us to FLL by 10:00am. We left the Spirit counter, got my laptop going to reserve the US Air flight while she called Hertz for a rental car.
By 2:00pm on 2/5 we were in a Toyota Camry headed through the snowstorm to Charlotte. Naomi drove the first leg in the “daylight”, through snow and sleet. Dave Morales had been called and was online giving us traffic and weather projections as we headed out of town. Tom sat there sending emails to friends and family about our situation, one of whom said "Amazing how you managed to find a solution without sitting in the air port whining...". 
Only a bit the worse for wear, in Charlotte we first found the Hertz return location, thanks to the “free” GPS unit in the Camry, then doubled back to a hotel we passed on the way there. Actually caught about six hours of sleep after a coach’s nightmare of a pre-race meal - generic cheese puffs, beer, beef stick and Cadbury crème eggs.5:30am on Saturday 2/6/10 we were on our way back to the Hertz counter, reaching the airport on their shuttle by about 6:00am. Must say US Air was doing a great job of dealing with a full Charlotte terminal, with “all hands on deck” at the ticket counters to deal with the extra load from flights canceled the day before. Our flight departed on time with every seat filled, many of the occupants wearing Saints or Colts jerseys, hats and other paraphernalia as they headed to the Super Bowl in Miami.
Betty and Russ Gaudreau picked us up at the airport, then gave us a brief tour of Ft. Lauderdale before taking us to lunch at a lovely beach club near their condo. Lunch completed, we went off to the Cruise Ship Terminal. Betty was forced to get out of the car at the gate because she had neglected to bring the photo ID required by TSA rules for anyone entering the Terminal. Actually boarding the Eurodam was smooth as good Dutch chocolate.
Found John Bingham & Jenny Hadfield, along with our cruise companions. 61 had made it, there were two couples who were not as lucky as we at making emergency changes. (They were from Pennsylvania, wound up catching up with us in San Juan, one of the options we considered.) Dinner on the Eurodam, a nightcap in the Crow’s Nest bar, and early to bed.Sunday the 7th we met for a “pre-race briefing” at 7:00am, then off to the Promenade Deck where we had special permission for those of our group so inclined to run on the deck, which has large signs posted forbidding that activity. Three miles on the Promenade deck required 9 laps, and we were eligible for prizes if we were able to finish within plus or minus 15 seconds of the time we predicted for ourselves. Tom was 6.3 seconds faster than his predicted time, Naomi was 1.5 minutes faster than her forecast (and a lot faster than Tom).
The balance of Sunday was spent in a very low key and easy-going day. The evening wound up with us watching part of the Super Bowl via ESPN satellite link to the ship. They even put the “Ship’s Theater” to work as a projection room - talk about a big screen. Fortunately it was also on the TV set in our stateroom, so we retired with the sleep timer set. Actually wound up staying awake for the finish, which meant it was quite a game since neither of us is a big football fan.
Monday the 8th - another mandatory pre-race briefing at 7:00am as we had breakfast, followed by debarkation on Grand Turk about 8:00am. John and Jenny had arranged for us to be the first ones off the ship, even ahead of the dedicated shoppers. A set of Toyota buses were waiting to take us out to the Lighthouse, on the far end of the island from the cruise terminal. (These buses were the same type we rode on in Bhutan & Nepal, clearly a very functional vehicle.)
What a wonderful way to really see an island! There is not much elevation change on Grand
Turk (about 90 feet), and they really got hit hard by hurricane Ike in 2008, but it’s a lovely place. Sort of glad we got there this year, they are about to construct a 600 room resort hotel (about 10 times the number of rooms now available) which is sure to make big changes in the island. The only reason it’s not already under construction is their need to finish building the new hospital to replace the one destroyed by Ike. We went from the lighthouse on the north end of the island, through Cockburn Town then back to the cruise terminal, about 8 miles and 2 hours, really interesting to see the island up close. We even had a water stop - two local ladies with water bottles in their car who met us at least twice - plus police protection including our own motorcycle escort and ambulance that cruised back and forth along the road.Back on board the Eurodam for some relaxation before dinner followed by a drink in the “Crow’s Nest”, the very classy lounge on the top deck at the very front of the ship. Not too late though, we have another “stage” of the Marathon the next day in San Juan.
Tuesday the 9th we get a leisurely start with time for breakfast before our “Mandatory Pre-Race Briefing” at 11:00, then time to watch the ship come into the harbor at San Juan, which is a lovely sight. Once again our group is allowed to be off the ship even ahead of the shoppers (some of whom seemed a bit irritated) and off we go on a “Great Race” tour of Viejo San Juan. Jenny had put together maps and clues describing nine locations we were to find, then take a picture at each of them. Of course, she did a masterful job of giving us a complete tour of Old San Juan as we completed the course, most of us completely ignoring our watches/times and just having fun seeing the city.
One of our personal stops along the way back to the ship was a spice shop (great gifts) where we asked the clerk if she had a restaurant suggestion for good “local food”. She did indeed, and since the ship was not departing until 10:30, John, Jenny and eight others decided to join us. It took about a half mile walk back up the hill into the old town to find La Fonda del Jibarito, http://www.eljibaritopr.com/ but the end result was an outstanding meal at a very reasonable price. Plantain tamales with pork filling, cassava root, little salad and a “tres leches” (three milk) cake. Good local beer, some hot sauce which brought tears to our eyes (even a Penguin who claimed no sauce is too hot) and a fun evening.
Wednesday the 10th we awakened looking at St. Thomas, USVI. Up early for 7:00am briefing, then down to the gangway to be the first ones off the ship. Clamber aboard local jitneys for a drive to Magen’s Bay, where we gather on the beach for instructions from Jenny. She takes off ahead of us (chalk in hand to be sure our course is marked) as we go up the hills. Highest point on our tour was Peterborg Point, which is about 400 feet above the ocean, and it felt like it was uphill both ways. But oh my goodness what views, as the road ran along the spine of the island with lovely homes on both sides overlooking the ocean. Not to mention flowering cactii, bougainvillea, and other lovely foliage. Once again while others were just getting started on their shopping we got to really see the island.
Finished the 6ish mile loop back on the beach, and even though it was not yet Noon, the cold beer was too inviting to pass up (a Margarita for Naomi to carry into the surf). Buses back to Charlotte Amelie, some shopping and then lunch at “Cuzzin’s”, which makes a really nifty rum punch, along with some great conch in creole sauce.After shopping long enough to locate some studs for my formal shirt (the ones I brought were falling out of the buttonholes) and a gold penguin charm, Naomi caught a cab back to the ship while I searched for a “jump ring” to attach the new penguin to her racing charm bracelet. Found the jump ring, then wound up walking an extra 1½ miles back to the ship. No problem, “no hurry mon”, interesting view of the town. After dinner that evening Naomi retired but I decided to try my hand at karaoke, just for fun, and was invited to the “finals”.
Thursday the 11th we are at sea all day, so no “run briefing”, only a stretch and core exercise session on the top of the ship led by Coach Jenny. The rest of the day was “take it easy” time, which cost Naomi a sun burn. Seems that after using loads of sunscreen on the islands she thought it would be OK to simply sit in a deck chair on the top deck without covering. It worked out fine, she was wearing a blue dress that night and was very patriotic. Made a lovely contrast with my white dinner jacket, about which I got several compliments from people who saw me in the karaoke finals before dinner.
Friday the 12th, another 7:00am run briefing, then we were on the first tender when the ship anchored off Half Moon Cay. Based on John & Jenny’s visit a year ago the folks from Holland America had marked out a “running trail” of about 2.6 miles, covering most of the island. (The GPS unit on my Garmin said the island was named “Little Solomon’s Island, maybe Holland America changed the name when they took ownership.) Fun event, followed up with an hour or so in a “clamshell” on the beach to keep out of the sun.
Back on board the Eurodam, ready to depart, but there was a problem. The anchor chain had “fouled” and could not be pulled up into the ship. This meant we had some 400 feet of chain/cable/anchor hanging from the ship, which made it impossible to even consider going back to Florida. They finally resolved the issue by cutting the anchor chain, letting it drop into the relatively shallow waters off Bermuda, so it would only cost about $300,000 to recover and reinstall it instead of paying $600,000 for a replacement. My suspicion is someone’s career at HAL will go less well due to the incident, but we may never know.
We do know the ship was delayed several hours getting back to Ft. Lauderdale, so we had to revise our travel arrangements for the return to DCA. Finally wound up on an American Airlines flight from Miami to DCA, and since I fly AA almost every week we were able to upgrade to 1st and have a very relaxed supper flight home. Arrived home about four hours later than originally scheduled to find huge snowbanks along the nicely plowed streets in our subdivision. Thanks to our friend Nicole Harris who had been staying with Princess and Pinky, the driveway and stairs were even cleared.
What a trip, and now home to sleep in our own bed, celebrating my 65th by falling asleep in the arms of my lovely and thoughtful wife. If only the room would stop moving, which it finally did a couple of days later as our inner ears realized we were back on dry land to stay.
Did we enjoy it? ABSOLUTELY A BLAST! So much fun we have seriously discussed whether we could manage the Great Alaska Maritime Marathon with John & Jenny in July. Another week on ship - up the Windward Passage to Alaska. Might not be able to make that trip this year but both of us are really high on doing another trip with John & Jenny in the future.
Favorite event: Magen’s Bay. After those hills, we’d like to think we don’t have to train hills at all leading up to Nike in San Francisco. Nice in theory, but we know better.
Most fun & educational event: the Great Race across Old San Juan.
Most revealing event: Grand Turk, an island in recovery.
ps Cataract Surgery
Some of you, including those who were on the CIMC outing, may have heard I was scheduled for cataract surgery soon after the cruise. It’s now done, and even one day “post op” it seems to have been a complete success. My friend, ophthalmologist since 1989 and surgeon (Frank J. Catanzaro, Jr. MD FACS of St. Louis) did the work, and after examining me the next morning said all looks good. I can honestly say there was no pain, even though I was conscious for the procedure.
It was interesting to see the shadows of the tools Frank was using inside my eye. Nothing visible in the usual sense as it was all behind the lens. Doing several kinds of eye drops for a few days to ward off infections and such, but no pain from those either. Will be going back to Dr. Frank next week, then again in a couple of weeks for new prescription measurements. We selected a fixed lens for distance vision so reading glasses will still be needed for the left eye, with full prescription for the right. Of course we fully expect to be doing comparable surgery in the right eye in the future when the cataract forming there gets denser.
Dr. Frank says the cataracts are more or less to be expected,with age but can be slowed down a lot if you wear your sunglasses – the biggest factor is UV radiation. I wonder if many years spent in fluorescent-lit offices are a factor, but it does not really matter. I do recall my mother had cataracts removed 35 or more years ago before the lens implant technology was not available so she wound up with “pop bottle bottom” glasses. Implants are much better.
Most fun was going to dinner last night at Trattoria Marcella, my favorite restaurant in the world. It’s always a great meal, but the large YES on my forehead made for lots of fun conversations with Chef Steve Komorek, brother and maitre ‘d Jamie Komorek, and the staff. Having Brian Stujenske there to celebrate his birthday and mine (9 days apart) and be my driver made it even better.
Some of you, including those who were on the CIMC outing, may have heard I was scheduled for cataract surgery soon after the cruise. It’s now done, and even one day “post op” it seems to have been a complete success. My friend, ophthalmologist since 1989 and surgeon (Frank J. Catanzaro, Jr. MD FACS of St. Louis) did the work, and after examining me the next morning said all looks good. I can honestly say there was no pain, even though I was conscious for the procedure.
It was interesting to see the shadows of the tools Frank was using inside my eye. Nothing visible in the usual sense as it was all behind the lens. Doing several kinds of eye drops for a few days to ward off infections and such, but no pain from those either. Will be going back to Dr. Frank next week, then again in a couple of weeks for new prescription measurements. We selected a fixed lens for distance vision so reading glasses will still be needed for the left eye, with full prescription for the right. Of course we fully expect to be doing comparable surgery in the right eye in the future when the cataract forming there gets denser.
Dr. Frank says the cataracts are more or less to be expected,with age but can be slowed down a lot if you wear your sunglasses – the biggest factor is UV radiation. I wonder if many years spent in fluorescent-lit offices are a factor, but it does not really matter. I do recall my mother had cataracts removed 35 or more years ago before the lens implant technology was not available so she wound up with “pop bottle bottom” glasses. Implants are much better.
Most fun was going to dinner last night at Trattoria Marcella, my favorite restaurant in the world. It’s always a great meal, but the large YES on my forehead made for lots of fun conversations with Chef Steve Komorek, brother and maitre ‘d Jamie Komorek, and the staff. Having Brian Stujenske there to celebrate his birthday and mine (9 days apart) and be my driver made it even better.
See you soon – better than ever!
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