Michael Robert Dyet's Blog, page 45

Metaphors of Life Journal: Revisiting For Whom The Bell Tolls

Hmmm, what wisdom can I take away from four more days in the hospital?

I am resting at home after my fourth hospital stay in the last three months following colon surgery and post-op complications. Fortunately, this last episode resolved quickly and my stay was short – warding off the spectre of a second surgical procedure.

I have learned to look beyond the obvious for a lesson to be learned or an insight to be gained from these obstacles that life throws in our path. There is no shortage of possibilities for consideration from this latest storm.

The hospital ER experience is always stressful. It consistently requires five or six hours to work through the various tests, with wait times in between, to enable a diagnosis. But on this occasion the hospital was in serious gridlock status. I waited 19 hours on a stretcher, with many other patients, in the hallway outside the ER for a bed to become available.

I wonder if I should be vocal decrying the underfunding of our hospital system. But the problem is not exclusively political. Our aging society, with the wave of the Baby Boom generation reaching later years of life where medical issues are more prevalent, is a major factor. And what about the ability of medical science to prolong life. Is that a double-edged sword?

Takeaway: There is seldom a simple answer to society’s most troublesome issues.

Once I was in a room and feeling better, I began to roam the hospital hallways to reboot my system. I peered discretely into rooms seeing many patients who were far more ill than me.

The aged patients were particularly troubling with their shrunken and failing bodies, haggard faces and expressions of suffering and the absence of hope. I have been in several hospital rooms where the families were maintaining a morning to evening vigil not knowing how long their loved one might have left.

Takeaway: Death can be a cruel tyrant. No one should face it alone.

This time around I was in a room with an indigent man who was admitted for amputation surgery because of unmanaged diabetes of which he was unaware. A caseworker was working diligently to find a new place for him to live which he could afford on his Ontario Works pension and which had no stairs as he would require a walker while his foot healed.

Takeaway: No matter how difficult my situation, there is always someone worse off than me.

In the end, what drove home these insights was the sound the IV Pump makes when the flow through the tube is interrupted or the IV is disconnected for a few moments. A repetitive beeeeep-beep, beeeeep-beep, beeeeep-beep that was omnipresent day and night.

This sound haunted me as though it was warning of things I did not want to contemplate. It became an auditory metaphor for the suffering and tenuous hold on hope surrounding me. I was frustrated at my recurring health issue. But the plaintive tolling of the IV alarm bell reprimanded me and forced me to acknowledge how fortunate I am in the grander scheme of things.

~ My Latest Work: Hunting Muskie, Rites of Passage – Stories by Michael Robert Dyet

~ Michael Robert Dyet is the author of Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel which was a double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit my website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com or the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog.

~ Subscribe to my Metaphors of Life Journal aka Things That Make Me Go Hmmm at its’ internet home www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2. Instructions for subscribing are provided in the Subscribe to this Blog: How To instructions page in the right sidebar. If you’re reading this post on another social networking site, come back regularly to my page for postings once a week.

Revisiting For Whom the Bell Tolls

Hmmm, what wisdom can I take away from four more days in the hospital?

I am resting at home after my fourth hospital stay in the last three months following colon surgery and post-op complications. Fortunately, this last episode resolved quickly and my stay was short – warding off the spectre of a second surgical procedure.

I have learned to look beyond the obvious for a lesson to be learned or an insight to be gained from these obstacles that life throws in our path. There is no shortage of possibilities for consideration from this latest storm.

The hospital ER experience is always stressful. It consistently requires five or six hours to work through the various tests, with wait times in between, to enable a diagnosis. But on this occasion the hospital was in serious gridlock status. I waited 19 hours on a stretcher, with many other patients, in the hallway outside the ER for a bed to become available.

I wonder if I should be vocal decrying the underfunding of our hospital system. But the problem is not exclusively political. Our aging society, with the wave of the Baby Boom generation reaching later years of life where medical issues are more prevalent, is a major factor. And what about the ability of medical science to prolong life. Is that a double-edged sword?

Takeaway: There is seldom a simple answer to society’s most troublesome issues.

Once I was in a room and feeling better, I began to roam the hospital hallways to reboot my system. I peered discretely into rooms seeing many patients who were far more ill than me.

The aged patients were particularly troubling with their shrunken and failing bodies, haggard faces and expressions of suffering and the absence of hope. I have been in several hospital rooms where the families were maintaining a morning to evening vigil not knowing how long their loved one might have left.

Takeaway: Death can be a cruel tyrant. No one should face it alone.

This time around I was in a room with an indigent man who was admitted for amputation surgery because of unmanaged diabetes of which he was unaware. A caseworker was working diligently to find a new place for him to live which he could afford on his Ontario Works pension and which had no stairs as he would require a walker while his foot healed.

Takeaway: No matter how difficult my situation, there is always someone worse off than me.

In the end, what drove home these insights was the sound the IV Pump makes when the flow through the tube is interrupted or the IV is disconnected for a few moments. A repetitive beeeeep-beep, beeeeep-beep, beeeeep-beep that was omnipresent day and night.

This sound haunted me as though it was warning of things I did not want to contemplate. It became an auditory metaphor for the suffering and tenuous hold on hope surrounding me. I was frustrated at my recurring health issue. But the plaintive tolling of the IV alarm bell reprimanded me and forced me to acknowledge how fortunate I am in the grander scheme of things.

~ My Latest Work: Hunting Muskie, Rites of Passage – Stories by Michael Robert Dyet

~ Michael Robert Dyet is the author of Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel which was a double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit my website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com or the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog .

~ Subscribe to my Metaphors of Life Journal aka Things That Make Me Go Hmmm at its’ internet home www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2 . Instructions for subscribing are provided in the Subscribe to this Blog: How To instructions page in the right sidebar. If you are reading this post on another social networking site, come back regularly to my page for postings once a week.

 

Metaphors of Life Journal: Iron Man, the Internet of Things and Facing the Music

Hmmm, could I be reborn as Iron Man courtesy of the IoT?

If you happen to be in Spartanburg, North Carolina and think you see Tony Stark in full gear, do not be concerned. You have not crossed the event horizon where reality and fiction merge. What you are seeing is a practical application of wearable technology.

The BMW assembly plant in Spartanburg is testing the use of exoskeleton vests for plant workers. Selected workers are wearing motorized metal frameworks that reduce the muscle effort required for a task by as much as 40%.

This technology is an offshoot of the Internet of Things (IoT) – the network of physical devices embedded with electronics and network connectivity that enables the devices to connect and exchange data. The experts project that the IoT will encompass 30 billion objects by 2020.

Fear not, I am not going to launch one of my anti-technology rants. I see this development as a very positive application of technology – particularly since BMW envisions its application as keeping workers on the job longer rather than replacing people with robots.

Truthfully, I am wondering how I might get my hands on one of these exoskeletons. Seems like a perfect solution to my wonky back.

I could pop on the metal vest every morning and breeze through my day with no worries. The only hitch I see is that the price of such a device is probably several times my annual salary. Might be a tough sell to convince HR that it is a reasonable accommodation.

Now that I think of it, perhaps the techno experts could develop a wearable, IoT-enabled belly band that regulates the functioning of my digestive system which has been off its game for some time. No more castor oil pack treatments, pureed soups and magnesium tablets. Strap on the bellyband, connect by Wi-Fi and let technology take over.

Continuing on that theme, my eyes are showing signs of aging. I now need two pair of glasses – one for computer work and reading and a second set for general use. Seems quite feasible that a Geordie Laforge eye visor could be manufactured for me to regulate my optic nerve to find the perfect focal point once every nanosecond.

Why stop there? I have been wearing custom orthotics in my shoes for years to compensate for plantar fasciitis. It should be possible to have a pair of exo-shoes designed that precisely compensate for my weak arches. Bonus: It would save me the expense of getting fitted for new orthotics every few years when the old ones wear out.

Hmmm, maybe I should just face the music and have a full, head-to-toe exo-body suit developed that takes over the entire operation of my body. I could literally become Iron Man – a walking metaphor for the fusion of technology and biology.

It would certainly save me a lot of time in medical appointments. Where do I sign up?

~ My Latest Work: Hunting Muskie, Rites of Passage – Stories by Michael Robert Dyet

~ Michael Robert Dyet is the author of Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel – double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com or the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog.

~ Subscribe to Michael’s Metaphors of Life Journal aka Things That Make Me Go Hmmm at its’ internet home www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2. Instructions for subscribing are provided in the Subscribe to this Blog: How To instructions page in the right sidebar. If you’re reading this post on another social networking site, come back regularly to my page for postings once a week.

Iron Man, the Internet of Things and Facing the Music

Hmmm, could I be reborn as Iron Man courtesy of the IoT?

If you happen to be in Spartanburg, North Carolina and think you see Tony Stark in full gear, do not be concerned. You have not crossed the event horizon where reality and fiction merge. What you are seeing is a practical application of wearable technology.

The BMW assembly plant in Spartanburg is testing the use of exoskeleton vests for plant workers. Selected workers are wearing motorized metal frameworks that reduce the muscle effort required for a task by as much as 40%.

This technology is an offshoot of the Internet of Things (IoT) – the network of physical devices embedded with electronics and network connectivity that enables the devices to connect and exchange data. The experts project that the IoT will encompass 30 billion objects by 2020.

Fear not, I am not going to launch one of my anti-technology rants. I see this development as a very positive application of technology – particularly since BMW envisions its application as keeping workers on the job longer rather than replacing people with robots.

Truthfully, I am wondering how I might get my hands on one of these exoskeletons. Seems like a perfect solution to my wonky back.

I could pop on the metal vest every morning and breeze through my day with no worries. The only hitch I see is that the price of such a device is probably several times my annual salary. Might be a tough sell to convince HR that it is a reasonable accommodation.

Now that I think of it, perhaps the techno experts could develop a wearable, IoT-enabled belly band that regulates the functioning of my digestive system which has been off its game for some time. No more castor oil pack treatments, pureed soups and magnesium tablets. Strap on the bellyband, connect by Wi-Fi and let technology take over.

Continuing on that theme, my eyes are showing signs of aging. I now need two pair of glasses – one for computer work and reading and a second set for general use. Seems quite feasible that a Geordie Laforge eye visor could be manufactured for me to regulate my optic nerve to find the perfect focal point once every nanosecond.

Why stop there? I have been wearing custom orthotics in my shoes for years to compensate for plantar fasciitis. It should be possible to have a pair of exo-shoes designed that precisely compensate for my weak arches. Bonus: It would save me the expense of getting fitted for new orthotics every few years when the old ones wear out.

Hmmm, maybe I should just face the music and have a full, head-to-toe exo-body suit developed that takes over the entire operation of my body. I could literally become Iron Man – a walking metaphor for the fusion of technology and biology.

It would certainly save me a lot of time in medical appointments. Where do I sign up?

~ My Latest Work: Hunting Muskie, Rites of Passage – Stories by Michael Robert Dyet

~ Michael Robert Dyet is the author of Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel – double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com or the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog .

~ Subscribe to Michael’s Metaphors of Life Journal aka Things That Make Me Go Hmmm at its’ internet home www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2 . Instructions for subscribing are provided in the Subscribe to this Blog: How To instructions page in the right sidebar. If you’re reading this post on another social networking site, come back regularly to my page for postings once a week.

Random Act of Metaphor: A Murmuration of Starlings

Hmmm, can we learn a life lesson from the unique behaviour of the common Starling?

As an avid birdwatcher, I try to appreciate all birds – the common species I see regularly as well as the heart-pumping, once-in-a-season sightings. I will confess, however, that I often take Starlings for granted since they are always present in significant numbers.

But at this time of year, Starlings transform into a collective that in itself stirs my soul. Hundreds or even thousands of Starlings come together in flocks which move as a wave – twisting and turning, changing direction at a moment’s notice and shape-shifting in geometric patterns.

This phenomenon is known as a murmuration. I do not know who coined the phrased. But I love the cadence of it and the way it rolls off the tongue. It elegantly captures the way each bird in the flock bends its will to the greater good and achieves perfect unison with its companions.

A murmuration of Starlings in an airborne dance of delight – a random act of metaphor to teach us that harmony is a state of grace much to be coveted and a thing of wonder to behold.

~ Now Available Online from Amazon, Chapters Indigo or Barnes & Noble: Hunting Muskie, Rites of Passage – Stories by Michael Robert Dyet

~ Michael Robert Dyet is the author of Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel which was a double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com or the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog.

~ Subscribe to Michael’s Metaphors of Life Journal aka Things That Make Me Go Hmmm at its’ internet home www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2. Instructions for subscribing are provided in the Subscribe to this Blog: How To instructions page in the right sidebar. If you’re reading this post on another social networking site, come back regularly to my page for postings once a week.

Random Act of Metaphor: A Murmuration of Starlings

Hmmm, can we learn a life lesson from the unique behaviour of the common Starling?

As an avid birdwatcher, I try to appreciate all birds – the common species I see regularly as well as the heart-pumping, once-in-a-season sightings. I will confess, however, that I often take Starlings for granted since they are always present in significant numbers.

But at this time of year, Starlings transform into a collective that in itself stirs my soul. Hundreds or even thousands of Starlings come together in flocks which move as a wave – twisting and turning, changing direction at a moment’s notice and shape-shifting in geometric patterns.

This phenomenon is known as a murmuration. I do not know who coined the phrased. But I love the cadence of it and the way it rolls off the tongue. It elegantly captures the way each bird in the flock bends its will to the greater good and achieves perfect unison with its companions.

A murmuration of Starlings in an airborne dance of delight – a random act of metaphor to teach us that harmony is a state of grace much to be coveted and a thing of wonder to behold.

~ Now Available Online from Amazon, Chapters Indigo or Barnes & Noble: Hunting Muskie, Rites of Passage – Stories by Michael Robert Dyet

~ Michael Robert Dyet is the author of Until the Deep Water Stills: An Internet-enhanced Novel which was a double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com or the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog .

~ Subscribe to Michael’s Metaphors of Life Journal aka Things That Make Me Go Hmmm at its’ internet home www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2 . Instructions for subscribing are provided in the Subscribe to this Blog: How To instructions page in the right sidebar. If you’re reading this post on another social networking site, come back regularly to my page for postings once a week.

Metaphors of Life Journal: Hunting Muskie Preview - Meet Laurel from "Scars of Humanity"

In this post, we listen in on moments of self-analysis by Laurel, from the story “Scars of Humanity” in “Hunting Muskie: Rites of Passage”, for a backdoor sneak preview into the story.

Hmmm, how did I get myself caught up in such a peculiar situation and crash land on the guilty end of a tragedy?

It certainly was not in any way predictable. There were no signs of any such inclination at any earlier time in my life. I was happily married and unequivocally heterosexual, or so I thought. So how do I rationalize having an affair, let alone a lesbian one?

Kate said it was because of the Columbia space shuttle explosion that happened a few days before we met. She believes the sudden realization, that life can be so arbitrary, unearthed latent desire in me.

She may be right on some level. Something like that is not supposed to happen. We expect the Hollywood ending like Apollo 13 – hanging on the edge of the unthinkable and then saved by the bravery and ingenuity of the white knight.

But of course, it was much more complicated than the repercussions of that single event. As much as anything, it was the synchronicity. The stars aligning our lives – mine and Mission Specialist Laurel Blair Salton Clark’s – before her life was snuffed out in that horrible explosion in the sky over Texas.

The more I look at it the more predetermined it seems. How else do you explain the electrical blackout – the Northeastern and Midwestern U.S. and Ontario all going dark at the same time – hitting Mississauga just as I was in the elevator after leaving Kate’s apartment?

If I had been one minute earlier or later leaving, I would not have been caught in the elevator with that desperate man. Destiny would have been rewritten. The tragedy would not have happened and I would not be burdened with this terrible guilt.

But can I really dismiss it all as cruel fate? Surely I have to take responsibility in some way. I made a conscious decision to say yes to a temptation I did not understand. I rewrote the rules so I could acquiesce and believe I had no choice.

And then there is that shocking confession that Kate made to me. She shared the darkest, most painful experience of her life, and still I walked out. I should not have let her push me away. If I had had the courage to stay….

If, and if, and if again. Each time, a choice I made to turn away rather than own what I had got myself into. A succession of irrevocable choices. History denied and reimagined, promises carelessly made and recklessly broken, all aligned like telltale constellations in the night sky and all leaving behind their own telltale scars of light.

Scars of humanity, indeed.

~ Now Available Online from Amazon, Chapters Indigo or Barnes & Noble: Hunting Muskie, Rites of Passage – Stories by Michael Robert Dyet

~ Michael Robert Dyet is the author of Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel – double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com or the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog.

~ Subscribe to Michael’s Metaphors of Life Journal aka Things That Make Me Go Hmmm at its’ internet home www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2. Instructions for subscribing are provided in the “Subscribe to this Blog: How To” instructions page in the right sidebar. If you’re reading this post on another social networking site, come back regularly to my page for postings once a week.

Hunting Muskie Preview: Meet Laurel from “Scars of Humanity”

In this post, we listen in on moments of self-analysis by Laurel, from the story “Scars of Humanity” in “Hunting Muskie: Rites of Passage”, for a backdoor sneak preview into the story.

Hmmm, how did I get myself caught up in such a peculiar situation and crash land on the guilty end of a tragedy?

It certainly was not in any way predictable. There were no signs of any such inclination at any earlier time in my life. I was happily married and unequivocally heterosexual, or so I thought. So how do I rationalize having an affair, let alone a lesbian one?

Kate said it was because of the Columbia space shuttle explosion that happened a few days before we met. She believes the sudden realization, that life can be so arbitrary, unearthed latent desire in me.

She may be right on some level. Something like that is not supposed to happen. We expect the Hollywood ending like Apollo 13 – hanging on the edge of the unthinkable and then saved by the bravery and ingenuity of the white knight.

But of course, it was much more complicated than the repercussions of that single event. As much as anything, it was the synchronicity. The stars aligning our lives – mine and Mission Specialist Laurel Blair Salton Clark’s – before her life was snuffed out in that horrible explosion in the sky over Texas.

The more I look at it the more predetermined it seems. How else do you explain the electrical blackout – the Northeastern and Midwestern U.S. and Ontario all going dark at the same time – hitting Mississauga just as I was in the elevator after leaving Kate’s apartment?

If I had been one minute earlier or later leaving, I would not have been caught in the elevator with that desperate man. Destiny would have been rewritten. The tragedy would not have happened and I would not be burdened with this terrible guilt.

But can I really dismiss it all as cruel fate? Surely I have to take responsibility in some way. I made a conscious decision to say yes to a temptation I did not understand. I rewrote the rules so I could acquiesce and believe I had no choice.

And then there is that shocking confession that Kate made to me. She shared the darkest, most painful experience of her life, and still I walked out. I should not have let her push me away. If I had had the courage to stay…

If, and if, and if again. Each time, a choice I made to turn away rather than own what I had got myself into. A succession of irrevocable choices. History denied and reimagined, promises carelessly made and recklessly broken, all aligned like telltale constellations in the night sky and all leaving behind their own telltale scars of light.

Scars of humanity, indeed.

~ Now Available Online from Amazon, Chapters Indigo or Barnes & Noble: Hunting Muskie, Rites of Passage – Stories by Michael Robert Dyet

~ Michael Robert Dyet is the author of Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com or the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog .

~ Subscribe to Michael’s Metaphors of Life Journal aka Things That Make Me Go Hmmm at its’ internet home www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2 . Instructions for subscribing are provided in the “Subscribe to this Blog: How To” instructions page in the right sidebar. If you’re reading this post on another social networking site, come back regularly to my page for postings once a week.

My Life on the Clock: No Time to Spare

Hmmm, as my life clock ticks relentlessly on, is there time enough to make up for lost time?

The last two months have been a rollercoaster ride for me with several steep uphill climbs. A few weeks ago, I blogged about the unexpected health issue I experienced – major surgery for a twisted colon – and how it forced me to let go of my delusion that I am gifted with special immunity to health concerns.

I have been back in the hospital twice since that time for post-op complications. Fortunately, the issues were resolved without the need for another surgery, although there were some miserable days of nausea and vomiting (sorry, TFI) I had to endure. However, my surgeon has told me that if the problem occurs again, another surgical procedure will be needed.

I am fortunate to have been working with a dedicated naturopath for the past year. She has put me on a special diet – bone broth, pureed veggie soups and a fruit/veggie shake – for a few weeks to minimize risk while my colon continues to heal. It is a rather bland diet which takes some of the pleasure out of eating.

Aside from the obvious strain of illness, marathon emergency room encounters and hospital stays, riding out this rough patch has felt like a period of enforced deprivation.

I have missed out on the back end of summer and the front end of autumn. As a nature lover, these are days I treasure. Ordinarily, I would be spending as much leisure time as possible during these months roaming meadows and woodland paths tracking the winged wonders – butterflies, dragonflies and birds in their fall migration – I so love.

Yes, it is only a matter of 8 to 10 weeks of my life – a small fraction of my total days on this earth. However, at the age of 59, I am increasingly aware of how precious each of those days is to my life. I cannot foresee what the future may hold. Counting on tomorrow, next month or next year is a gamble with fate.

I have no choice but to take it slow under the current circumstances to ensure I fully recover. But a simmering impatience lurks just below the surface, reminding me that my life clock keeps ticking towards an end date that is unknown.

Have I made the most of the 59 years I have lived to date? Would I have done anything differently if I had had a crystal ball way back when? These are rhetorical questions that only spin me in circles. I need to find a frame of reference.

If I adopt the clock as a metaphor for life and do the resulting math – average lifespan for a Canadian male is 79, I am 59 – my life clock sits at 9:00. This leaves three, precious metaphorical hours left for me to optimize.

I find myself returning to a conclusion I arrived at in a post several years ago: There is time enough, but none to spare.

~ My latest work now available: Hunting Muskie, Rites of Passage – Stories by Michael Robert Dyet

~ Michael Robert Dyet is the author of Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel – double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com or the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog.

~ Subscribe to Michael’s Metaphors of Life Journal aka Things That Make Me Go Hmmm at its’ internet home www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2. Instructions for subscribing are provided in the Subscribe to this Blog: How To instructions page in the right sidebar. If you are reading this post on another social networking site, come back regularly to my page for postings once a week.

My Life on the Clock: No Time to Spare

Hmmm, as my life clock ticks relentlessly on, is there time enough to make up for lost time?

The last two months have been a rollercoaster ride for me with several steep uphill climbs. A few weeks ago, I blogged about the unexpected health issue I experienced – major surgery for a twisted colon – and how it forced me to let go of my delusion that I am gifted with special immunity to health concerns.

I have been back in the hospital twice since that time for post-op complications. Fortunately, the issues were resolved without the need for another surgery, although there were some miserable days of nausea and vomiting (sorry, TMI) I had to endure. However, my surgeon has told me that if the problem occurs again, another surgical procedure will be needed.

I am fortunate to have been working with a dedicated naturopath for the past year. She has put me on a special diet – bone broth, pureed veggie soups and a fruit/veggie shake – for a few weeks to minimize risk while my colon continues to heal. It is a rather bland diet which takes some of the pleasure out of eating.

Aside from the obvious strain of illness, marathon emergency room encounters and hospital stays, riding out this rough patch has felt like a period of enforced deprivation.

I have missed out on the back end of summer and the front end of autumn. As a nature lover, these are days I treasure. Ordinarily, I would be spending as much leisure time as possible during these months roaming meadows and woodland paths tracking the winged wonders – butterflies, dragonflies and birds in their fall migration – I so love.

Yes, it is only a matter of 8 to 10 weeks of my life – a small fraction of my total days on this earth. However, at the age of 59, I am increasingly aware of how precious each of those days is to my life. I cannot foresee what the future may hold. Counting on tomorrow, next month or next year is a gamble with fate.

I have no choice but to take it slow under the current circumstances to ensure I fully recover. But a simmering impatience lurks just below the surface, reminding me that my life clock keeps ticking towards an end date that is unknown.

Have I made the most of the 59 years I have lived to date? Would I have done anything differently if I had had a crystal ball way back when? These are rhetorical questions that only spin me in circles. I need to find a frame of reference.

If I adopt the clock as a metaphor for life and do the resulting math – average lifespan for a Canadian male is 79, I am 59 – my life clock sits at 9:00. This leaves three, precious metaphorical hours left for me to optimize.

I find myself returning to a conclusion I arrived at in a post several years ago: There is time enough, but none to spare.

~ My latest work now available: Hunting Muskie: Rites of Passage – Stories by Michael Robert Dyet

~ Michael Robert Dyet is the author of Until the Deep Water Stills: An Internet-enhanced Novel – double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com or the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog .

~ Subscribe to Michael’s Metaphors of Life Journal aka Things That Make Me Go Hmmm at its’ internet home www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2 . Instructions for subscribing are provided in the Subscribe to this Blog: How To instructions page in the right sidebar. If you are reading this post on another social networking site, come back regularly to my page for postings once a week.