The Demise of "WHATEVER"

I was just thinkin' that because a headline this morning identified the word "whatever" as the most irritating word in the English language for the second year in a row, that maybe it was time to follow the implied advice of a friend and change the name of my blog. (Thanks, Hank.)

So I have. I'm not sure if 'Just Thinkin' will work out but it's worth a try. Also, Blogger has some new templates so I have changed the look of the blog as well.

Playing CAT and Mouse

As some of you may know, about a year ago, I was diagnosed with stage 3 duodenal cancer. Surgery with that type of cancer is often not an option because of the location near numerous blood vessels. I did have surgery by a gifted surgeon, followed by time to recover from the surgery and then six months of chemotherapy.

Upon the completion of chemo, I had the follow-up tests. The CAT scan showed "spots on my lungs" but all was clear at the site of the original tumor. My oncologist sent me for a PET scan (see image at the right) to find out what the spots were.

I met with him last week. The PET scan revealed one small spot on each lung. However, they were too small to diagnose as benign or malignant. So I'll have another CAT scan in three months to monitor changes in these pesky spots. If it turns out to be more cancer, my feeling is that it's early and treatable.

I can't resist saying that I am now in a CAT and mouse game.

"Merry" Christmas Origin

Each time I'm wished a Merry Christmas, in the back of my mind is the feeling that Merry did not fit with Christmas back in the days when Christmas first became an event. My perception is that the first Christmases were somber events. I finally took the time to check it out.

I was reminded that Christmas was first celebrated in the 4th century AD but the expression "Merry Christmas" was first used in 1699.

Here's the rest of the story:

The term Merry Christmas is not only used by the Christians to greet each other during the festival of Christmas but by all, irrespective of class as well as religion at the time of the Christmas Festival. In the term Merry Christmas, 'Merry' stands for happiness while 'Christmas' meant Christ's Mass in old English.

To learn more, just Google "origin of 'Merry' Christmas" or go here.