9/26/2009 Fishing Buddies

This morning was a very special day for Camden. We woke up at 5:30 AM and prepared to head out to a friend's home on Little Sebago Lake for his first fishing trip on a boat. The Senior Warden of my Masonic Lodge is Ken Pritchard. We have worked many an hour in the Lodge kitchen cooking breakfast and of course, we have enjoyed a few hours in a boat over the last six years. Each year I usually obtain our smelts and he puts them by is his game freezer. Because of schedules we have been unable to get out on the water until today.

I have dreamed of this day for five years. As a parent, there are experiences you want your children to have. Some of those experiences are purely for selfish reasons others are not. In the case of this morning's fishing adventure it was all about me. Well, kind of... You see I have dreamed about the first day Camden would fish on a boat for several years now. I even imagined that this experience would take place on Ken's boat. My hope was that he would catch lots of fish with our assistance.

I spent my morning sewing the smelt onto hooks and Ken helped Camden work the lines. It was also my job to get some pictures. Below is a picture of Camden's first fish. What a great start to a wonderful day. The pictures that follow are of other fish he caught this morning. All told Camden boated 9 white perch. In the spirit of the outdoor code we released all 9 fish because we did not indend to eat them.

As the morning was winding down Ken and I had some time to reflect upon the morning's work. We both lamented the fact that Camden did not hook a trout or other larger fish. At one point I had a big grin on my face and Ken looked a little perplexed. I just laughed and noted that today was a great day to be on the water. I also told him the best part about fishing with someone who had never caught a fish before was quite a treat, because to Camden, all the fish were big. It is just amazing to think how magical that is. I am blessed to have been present for the occasion.

I want to extend a special Ordinary Maine Thank You to Ken Pritchard for having us out on the boat this morning. I value greatly the times we are able to share together either at the lodge or out a field. It was very nice to share these moments with you and we are both grateful for your generosity.

Great Joy!

Tony

9/2/2009 Oh the places he will go...

I am a lucky man. I am married to a wonderful wife, and I have two great children. On top of that, I have always been in a position to enjoy all of the really big events in the lives of my kids. Camden, my son, is the oldest and today he had another first that I was able to witness. While discussing this first with my wife the other night, I began to wonder just how I would write about this experience. Renee suggested that I spend some time thinking about some of Camden's other firsts.

In his five years, I have personally been present to watch Camden do many things. I still remember the first time I held him in my arms. I remember the first time I changed his diaper, and I will never forget the first time he woke Renee and I up in the middle of the night. Since that evening in January of 2004, I have been fortunate to be present for some great firsts.

I remember the first time Camden got really sick, and we discovered that he had a problem with his ears; that was a Christmas Eve to remember. I remember his first trip to the playground and his wonder on the swing. I remember his first long car ride to Van Buren, Maine and how well he slept. I will never forget the day I captured him on camera discovering his shadow. His first haircut was so fun to watch. He was so serious. I remember his first broken bone, his first ER trip and his first visit to the Doctor. As I sit here typing, I am amazed that it was only yesterday Renee and I put him in the car and brought him home from the hospital.

I can still picture the first night I tried to tent with him in the backyard. He almost made it the entire night, but got spooked at 3 am and had to go inside. I remember our first walk together; that turned into a habit that has continued to this day. I remember the day he became a big brother and was the first person, other than Dad, to hold his baby sister. And now it is only within the last few months that Camden lost his first two teeth in the space of three days.

So with all those great experiences and many more behind us, I prepared myself for this day with great pride and reservation. You see, today Camden's journey took a different path, and instead of going to day care, he boarded a bus for the ride to his first day of school. I have always heard others talk about these days, but to be present for the actual event and add it to my list of memories, is truly something to be thankful for.



I could not send him off without a hug and a kiss, but today unlike all the others, there was no room for our High Five, Low Five, Knuckle Bump and Mish-Mash combo. I guess that is the price of parenting a growing boy. As he rounded the corner and headed down the isle of the bus, I watched with pride as he took his seat and looked out the window with great excitement. He smiled and returned my wave as the bus drove off into the morning. Just another first in the jouney of life. I cried.

Tony

8/31/2009 Road ID

As you all know by now I am a type 2 diabetic. I am open about my disease because I believe that people in general, and men in particular, don't talk about and share things like that enough with their peers. We often let the "no talk rule" get in the way of getting or giving the help we need from people who we can help or vice versa.

Over the last eight months I have worked hard to get control of the disease. While top of the line medicines have been a big part of that process, I cannot overlook the significant part that exercise and food control have played in this process. Since the beginning of the year I am down 40 pounds and I have lost 3 inches off of my waist. I feel great, but I am still a good 15 to 20 pounds away from my goal.

My biggest worry on my almost daily walks is emergency care. It is east to get hit on the streets of any city, but as a diabetic I have other issues to worry about. The last thing I want to have happen is a tragic death because I could not communicate vital information about my medical status. Enter RoadID.com and their incredible product.

I paid 20.00 for this ID and I purchased the option that allowed me to set-up an online interactive profile that allowed EMS personnel to either call their company or access my information via the internet at MyRoadID.com. On the reverse side of this laser engraved tag is a serial number and pin that will allow access to via information about me, my medical conditions, medicines that I take and how I take them. My profile even gives the user information about who my emergency contacts are.

Now you may be wondering why I just didn't go with a regular med alert type bracelet? For me that is a no brainer. Most, if not all, of the ambulances in my area have computers on board and I want any EMS provider to have the best possible chance to save my life. Leaving that option up to a tag with minimal information just isn't an option.

As for the Purple, Madockawanda!

Tony

8/21/2009 Living by the numbers....

Since January I have developed a passion for living by the numbers. Back in January I decided it was in my best interest to start taking care of myself and my diabetes. I was motivated by some discouraging numbers (blood glucose readings in the 300s) which left untreated would lead to all kinds of aliments to include kidney failure, and stroke. With two kids and a wife I did not want to leave on such a bad note.

Each day I test my blood glucose 4 times. That is before breakfast and dinner and two hours after the first bite of each meal. This allows me to just how well the medicine I take in conjunction with the food I eat effects my blood glucose levels on a daily basis. My doctor, and yours too, looks at the results from a test called a hemoglobin A1C. This result give your a pretty accurate three month average for your blood glucose levels. In January I was well over 12. That would translate into an blood glucose average that most would understand of 298.

In order to reverse this trend I needed to change the medicines I take and increase the amount of exercise I get on a regular basis. The first part was easy. After talking with a few diabetics and using a little bit of my biochemistry background from college I asked my doctor about Byetta. This medicine is a GLP-1 inhibitor that boosts insulin production in the pancreas, slows the rate at which food leaves your stomach and also slows down the liver's production of glucose. If you are a diabetic remember this class of medicines, as they are the future of treatment. After taking this medicine for two months I was feeling a lot better and able to work on the second change.

Starting on April 21st, 2009 I began walking and counting my steps with a pedometer. I joined the website walkertracker.com (username tjbessey) and aimed for 10,000 steps a day. After about a week, I learned that the guidelines for moderate exercise have changed a bit and now suggest a goal of walking 3000 steps in 30 minutes or 100 steps a minute to meet the new government guidelines for moderate exercise. Just that one change in my walking routine helped me get from 258 pound down to 248 pounds from April to early June of this year. At my June check in my doctor reported that after three months on Byetta (in conjunction with metformin) my A1C had been lowered to 6.4 which translates into an average blood glucose of 137. If you saw my weekly blood glucose graphs around the time that I started walking, you would be impressed with how much of an effect exercise has on the equation. Talk about some motivation.

After my trip to Texas at the beginning of June I decided to step things up a notch. Since early June I have focused on speed walking or nordic walking a 5k five times a week. For me a 5 k is 6,773 steps at 29 inches per step. It takes me approximately 49 minutes to reach that goal. That coupled with some slight diet modifications and strict compliance with my prescriptions has lead to a loss of another 20 pounds and last Friday my doctor informed me that my A1C average has dropped again to 5.8 for an average blood glucose of 120.

Not only do I feel great, but I am starting to look a lot better too. I also learned today that my fatty liver, a condition I have had since college, is starting to reverse itself. My doctor's words were more to the effect of better than normal function. That is very encouraging. So tomorrow I will take part in the 2nd Annual St. Ann's Episcopal Church 5k in Windham, Maine. I won't be running, but I will be participating. As someone who has never been in a road style race, I am very excited.

The only other thing of note is my doctor's advice when it comes to medicine. While I take two diabetes meds, I also take Omega 3 Fish Oil, a multi vitamin, a B12 supplement and a baby aspirin. Each time I see my doctor he stresses that the most important pill I take on a daily basis is the 83 mg baby aspirin. It is funny to know that the cheapest pill I take is also the most important to my future.

I hope you all have a great day tomorrow. I know I will.

Tony

8/19/2009 Counting your money and tax blunders...

Over the next few weeks Mainers are going to learn a lot about the State's new tax laws. There are many changes, and in the immediate future, the number of new tax collectors is going to be significant. Below is a list of items that will be newly taxed, taxed at a higher rate or subject to tax because of changes in definitions.

• The expansion of sales tax to the following services:
o Amusement, entertainment and recreational services
o Personal property services
o Installation, repair and maintenance services and
o Transportation and courier services

• The increase in tax rates on prepared food, lodging, short term auto rentals and liquor for on-premises consumption.
• New definitions of candy and soft drink.
• Applying sales tax to rental payments and lease payments
• An airport transportation fee on taxicabs and limousine operators
• Applying sales tax to residential long distance telephone service

• Additional sales tax exemptions
• Change in sales tax treatment of park model recreational vehicles
• The expansion of the motor oil premium fees to pre-packaged motor oil and
• Change in tax rates on smokeless tobacco products

Now I understand that our legislature thinks that this latest expansion of our tax base is a good thing, but the entire experience as of late reminds me a lot of my late friend and mentor, Carl Trynor. He often cautioned his friends and business associates to beware of other people counting your money. You see when other people start counting your money, they start to get ideas about how they could better use that money to accomplish their own goals. This can and often does lead to passive aggressive and subversive behavior that can ultimately lead to the untimely demise of one's business.

In many ways that is why you pay your income tax on the wherewithal to pay concept via payroll deduction. Paid out over a whole year and many pay checks, a little bit does not hurt, but left to our own devices, politicians know that lump sum payments would cause all out rebellion of the masses. Think of payroll deductions as the frog being in the pot and having the heat turned up slowly.

Over the next few months, there are going to be many people are going to be turned into tax collectors on behalf of the State of Maine because of these tax law changes. All of those people are going to incur additional expenses, and in many cases, face price increases and unhappy customers because our legislature, in its infinite wisdom, decided to lower our income tax rate and increase and expand our sales tax base. All of this sounds good, but I suspect that come tax time, when people see just how drastically the income tax procedures have changed, many people are going to be upset. Think of this entire change as the people of Maine being tossed into a boiling pot of water all at once.

It will be interesting to see how the people of Maine handle all of this change. Will the Democrats be held accountable for this legislation at the ballot box in 2010? Will Republicans find a way to capitalize on these tax woes come April? As a Civil Libertarian, I am all too eager to sit back and watch the show. I suspect that the usual characters will be all over both sides of the issue, and in the end, the people of Maine will be left worse off for poor leadership on both sides of the isle. The question that remains: will the Tax Shuffle of 2009 finally lead to real change here in Maine? Speaking only for myself, I look forward to grabbing some popcorn and watching the whole mess unfold.

Tony