Wednesday, July 19, 2006

My day yesterday . . .

Happy Birthday
to Daughter, Karen!
Oh to be 29 again


I started out at sunrise. We have to cross over the bridge on FM 1097 to get to the freeway, Interstate 45.

My little Mustang GT was humming along all the way. With the top up and A/C on even this early in the morning. It just loves to hum along and stretch once in a while. I won't say how fast it did in a little exercise, but old Fords don't ever go that fast. Maybe hotrods do.


This was my destination, a treadmill, to have a stress EKG. It would take place at St. Lukes Tower in Houston, across from St. Lukes Heart Institute. My cardiologist, Dr. Krazcer, had repaired my AAA (abdominal aortic aneurysm) with a large stent graft five years ago (link).

This checkup he wanted to check on my circulation as I have two other stents in heart arteries. There is a tricky blockage that would have been difficult to stent. I don't think much has changed from last time, but we don't want to take chances with this old guy.


That wasn't a picture in front of the treadmill, it was a picture window. This view is the South end of the Houston Medical Center, just across the street. We were on the top, 27th, floor.

From left to right: Texas Children's Hospital's three buildings; the VA Hospital flying the colors brilliantly; a few buildings of the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center; a public low income housing apartment complex; Texas University Hospital, a teaching hospital where you can learn to be a doctor; Reliant Stadium, home of the Houston Texan football team; various parking garages, medical offices, and hotels; the bubble is associated with the old Astrodome complex, I think the Texans train in there with A/C; and to the far right is a nice Bank of America high rise building.



Wouldn't you know it, on a very hot Houston summer day it rained. Just when it was time that I could leave. Had I been going over to the hospital, I could have walked through this enclosed walkway over the street. It stretched from our building over to St. Lukes Hospital.


The rains didn't stop the train. I say train, we only have one line with several trains. It took over forty years to get this one. Nobody could decide which kind of mass transit Houston should have.

When it was finally decided to do light rail, Tom DeLay had Congress put a stop to it. We finally overrode him, but in the process lost most of the available federal funding and fifteen years time while the bickering was going on.

The train goes from the sports center, Reliant Stadium all the way to downtown and ends at the University of Houston Downtown Campus.


While it rained I went back up to the 12th floor of the St. Lukes Tower and had coffee. The rain had about stopped when I took this nice shot of the new tower for St. Lukes Heart Institute; my hangout five times since 2001.


The rain had stopped so I continued on to my final destination. My friend Tom's mother is in rehab down the street, across from Methodist Hospital and I would be visiting with her.

Mrs. L. is a lovely woman who has had quite a bit of medical problems lately. Her age might be 92. This time it was surgery to repair a blocked bile. It wasn't arthoscopic surgery, they had to go in with a big incision to explore.

I have several fan clubs, my blogging fans and my Sunday school class members when I am teaching, to name two of them. Mrs. L. thinks she is Number One of the Sunday school group. She well may be.
We are looking north down Main Street of Houston Texas. She has this lovely view from her room. The tall building is a nice dorm at Rice University. Those buildings to the left are tops of other buildings at Rice.

Next time I go down there to the Medical Center I will try to get pictures of the center and north parts to complete our tour.

I'm in no hurry to go. I think the Mustang is.


Comments:
Boy Jim you sure had a busy day today. I am glad that your stents are o.k.. I am pleased that you are taking such good care of yourself.

Blimey we need some of that rain here. Poor old desert. Scragend is out watering a tree that is fading away from the heat.

Take care xx
 
It didn't rain at our house.
It hasn't really rained for over a month here.
..
 
I had a hard time getting past the pic with the rain. I can now recall what that looks like.
Hope all goes well for Mrs L.
 
Jim
Except for the visit to the treadmill, it sounds like you had a pretty good day. Nice pictures.
Ralph
 
Yeah, my Mustang's been kicking up its heels lately too. Time to get her out of the barn and let 'er rip. Oh and thanks for the neat tour. I contemplated moving to Houston right after my divorce way back when, but along came my knight in shining armor and here I still am.
 
Great pictures Jim! Glad it all went well. Just how fast did you get up to in the Mustang???

My nephew recently bought a Mustang convertible. They love it. His wife told me that it had "lots of power and it would jump sideways real easy." I told her she better lighten up on the gas pedal!
 
Oh, happy birthday Karen!!!!
 
Happy Birthday, Karen!
 

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