Older Folks and Vaping Back Porch - Part Five

[Flowersoul]

i'm really messed up now. i owe many apologies across the board

sorry, all. it's been a nasty few weeks

Dennis, you owe no one an apology as far as I'm concerned.....when you're feeling down all kinds of negative emotions come to the top.

I wish you could only realize what a good man you are and how much you are loved!!!!!

Wow, been trying to read up for about the last hour - it says I only have 5480 more messages to go - I think I may have to skip a few pages (LOL)... That could take a while.

Well made it back yesterday - got home - took a shower (after being stuck traveling for almost two days - yuck) and hit the sack...

Sure is great to be back - got a lot to catch up on and a lot of things to fix - Google locked down all of my accounts while I was in the Philippines - it thought I was being hacked - even though it was me logging in - first time this has ever happened...

I got into the HO that one time using my wife's account - all of mine were locked - hers got locked a few weeks later - what a pain... Got them all fixed now - this morning... Time changes are the pits - been up since 4am, still tired, but cannot sleep - aaarrrrggghhh - hopefully it passes quickly.

Ya'll take care - just had to pop in - will try the HO tonight to say hi in person...

Phil.......WELCOME BACK........it's so good to see your name back on the thread......I'll be looking forward to hearing all about your venture in the H/O tonight.

@bigbells Dave, my condolences on your loss.....it's always a difficult time when we lose someone even if we haven't seen them that much during their lifetime.

@MattB101 Matt, sure hope you're able to get your A1C down a bit, but congratulations on losing 10 lbs.

 

[Iffy]

Well made it back yesterday...

Great to have ya back, Semi!

Really am curious how well your PI vaping cache survived.

Catch ya later...

It's not vaping batteries, so not qualified for Vaping topic.

Just post it on da FP as a prototype fer 18650s!

Very windy out.

Couldn't tell from da vid. Still amazing stability!

You may have chanced upon the ultimate redundancy.

 

[Debadoo]

Well made it back yesterday - got home - took a shower (after being stuck traveling for almost two days - yuck) and hit the sack...

((((((((((Semi))))))))))))) go good to have you home!!! Hope you can get your schedule reset quickly so you can sleep better. Can't wait for you to rest a bit then tell us all your stories!

Just one thing hun.......how much did you pay garyoa1 to pick on me while you were gone???

Our daughter was lucky enough to miss all the snow by flying here from Denver the day before that storm hit.

oh glad she's getting to visit and glad she got out before it hit! Hope her mil will fare well.

hmmm ... now that you've taken me off the hook for a transporter

uhmmm yur not off the hook mister!!!

Howdy y'all

 

[garyoa1]

Just one thing hun.......how much did you pay garyoa1 to pick on me while you were gone???

 

[Diver9543]

i'm really messed up now. i owe many apologies across the board

sorry, all. it's been a nasty few weeks

No apology necessary, Dennis. Like I used to tell my wife when she would get depressed and start talking down about herself, "I wish just once you could see yourself through my eyes." You are loved by many and one of our family.

Wow, been trying to read up for about the last hour - it says I only have 5480 more messages to go - I think I may have to skip a few pages (LOL)... That could take a while.

Well made it back yesterday - got home - took a shower (after being stuck traveling for almost two days - yuck) and hit the sack...

Sure is great to be back - got a lot to catch up on and a lot of things to fix - Google locked down all of my accounts while I was in the Philippines - it thought I was being hacked - even though it was me logging in - first time this has ever happened...

I got into the HO that one time using my wife's account - all of mine were locked - hers got locked a few weeks later - what a pain... Got them all fixed now - this morning... Time changes are the pits - been up since 4am, still tired, but cannot sleep - aaarrrrggghhh - hopefully it passes quickly.

Ya'll take care - just had to pop in - will try the HO tonight to say hi in person...

Welcome home. I always enjoyed visiting the Phillippines. Such a great place to dive and wonderful people.

Talking about the naming of children, OK, ya know to take what I say with a grain of salt. My daughter-in-law and son were visiting and she was pregnant with their 2nd child. The knew it was going to be a boy and were trying to figure out a name and were thinking of naming him after her grandpa. Other relatives were also being considered, too. I looked at her and David and told them I was a bit hurt as no one ever wanted to name their child after my grandfather. She looked at me with a hurt look and my wife just rolled her eyes. Christina asked then what my granddads name was, and I said, "Clarence" sort of drawing the name out. I couldn't keep a straight face as my wife reached over and popped me on the shoulder and David just started laughing. I think it was a couple days before Christina started talking to me again. I know, I'm a bad Papa. lol

 

[misswish1]

So good to see you back with us, Semi! Can't wait for the stories.

 

[MikeE3]

I know, I'm a bad Papa. lol

Nice one Diver!

 

[yiddleboge6]

I'll be bringing over a few bits and pieces from previous Threads .. I believe we need to carryover some things and maintain them in a live thread .. I don't want them to get lost and it's a good reminder as well as little History for new porchers .. beginning with :

And so it is reborn once again .. I'll muse for a moment and say : Will the Legacy be around in 50 years .. ?? Will it continue in 100 years .. ?? Whether or not, certainly the bits and bytes will reside somewhere in another time, and perhaps, someday, someone will stumble upon the stories of us, the slices of time that we're all had a hand in .. as long as the baton gets passed .. Salute to the ones that stayed, Salute to the ones that came and left for whatever reason, Salute to the new folks .. Salute to those that left and came back, and certainly, Salute to those that have departed .. Raise a Glass ...

.. My feeble attempt to encapsulate the Man we Owe a Debt of Gratitute to .. In Memoriam ..

"I believe every one should have a lasting Memorial that attempts to capture, in some way, a tiny bit of the essence of a person. So, on the cusp of the passing of our old friend, Randall (txtumbleweed), I have tried to put together a small Tribute to the man that we, for the most part, owe a debt of gratitude for initially bringing us together here. It has been a few moons now, since TX passed .. many have come to the Thread, many have come and gone, some have stayed .. the landscape changes, much like life itself .. so here we go ..

I always figured Randall used the term "Tumbleweed" because it best described his life. He mentioned in many posts that he always wanted to sit down and write a book about his Forrest Gump like life. I don't know if that book ever got fully written, although he did write .. I hope it did get finished, because Randall had a story to tell. One of the reasons I tried to stay in touch with TX both by email and phone, was because, in a way, we were somehow kindred spirits, since both our lives had taken dramatic turns and twists as the Journey unfolded ..

I'm going to just hit what my memory can bring up, I will be brief and I encourage all of you that remember TX to add to the narrative ..

Born in the California San Joaquin Valley, raised in Texas .. As a young man, Randall and his brother rode the rails of America, as a vagabond, as an adventurerer .. he was a proud Veteran of the US Miltary .. his failure at married life left him a self declared bachelor, although he deeply wished that a Soul Mate could have been found, it was not to be. His free spirit was really not designed for domestic tranquility .. even though he had a bit of the Romantic in him (Randall actually
wrote poetry) .. as a child, he and his Brother were swept out to sea on a raft .. and almost drowned. He loved the Redwoods of Northern California and called it his favorite place on Earth. TX lived in a logging camp for four years back in the early 50's.

Randall dated an original Mouseketeer, her name was Margene .. he worked, primarily as a Lineman, for 30 years. Then, at the age of 50, when most men are beginning to think of retirement, slowing down, settling down, etc .. while living in Seattle, he sold his truck and bought a one way ticket to Alaska. Because the Vagabond was still itching .. all his life, Randall had dreamed of working on a fishing boat. When he got to Alaska, he landed a job on a trawler out of Dutch Harbor and spent 10 (that's ten) years working on the Northern Jaeger fishing all the way from Siberia to Northern California and the Bering Sea .. what man does that at 50 .. ?? And for 10 years, no less ..

And he danced .. a self declared bonafide avid, wood floor, honky tonk line dancer that would tell us about the many pairs of cowboy boots he wore out and the ladies he used to swing around the floor ..

What I remember most, though, about Randall is the fact that he never had a bad word to say .. sure, like all of us, he had his ups and downs, but no one that visited the old threads got anything from TX other than a warm welcome and an encouraging word .. that and his Faith .. you see, when TX initially went in to have a lump on his neck area diagnosed, all of us back then went on the Journey with him .. he kept us updated, but most importantly, he stayed strong, he never let his Faith waver, his optimism was and is an example even to an admitted Faithless man, such as myself. His postings got to be fewer and fewer, yet almost had a palpable feel .. you could sense things were not going well as time passed, yet he believed, to the End, that whatever lay in store for him was just another part of the Story he had lived .. and TX considered us his Friends and Confidants so much so, he brought us with him on the Journey.

So let us rejoice a Life Well Lived, from the man that was instrumental in many of us joining hands here in our small corner of the CyberWorld. The final two slides reflect Randalls posting tag and his favorite saying as he approached the end .. "

The Tribute is held in my Google Drive, thus it can be had for anyone that cares to download and save or share ..

CLICK BELOW LINK ..
txtumbleweed.mpg

Since we have so many new folks here on the porch, I'd like to extend a welcome.....and we'd really appreciate it if You all took a few minutes to acquaint yourselves with a bit of our history in the hopes that it will help you to know what this thread is really all about and what it means to those of us who've been here from the beginning...

 

[garyoa1]

 

[yiddleboge6]

Sometimes, something warrants noting, and this particular something is note worthy .. and, I don't think I've seen it posted, which I think is odd, so here we go ..

The supportiveness, camaraderie and general wish for well being that permeates the threads since thread one has been, rarely, if ever to my knowledge, pushed to a real life example .. at least until the recent past .. and those that lent a hand in this should be recognized .. however, since I have not asked their permission to use names, nor do I know the full extent of the story, I am simply going to tell what I have pieced together ...

During a Hang Out session, one of our own here had a Medical Emergency .. thru the quick thinking and actions of others in our fold (I'm unsure whether it was one or two folks) .. an Ambulance was able to be dispatched and rescue our fellow friend .. all of this unfolded on camera as the Hang Out session stayed live ..

Now, I don't know about you, but this fortuitous simple twist of fate needs and deserves recognition .. in fact, it's a 6:00 News story as far as I'm concerned .. I sincerely hope that those involved step up and tell the tale in greater detail and take the bow with which they have earned ..

How the Fates converged at just the right time in order to bring these folks together VIA ECF, then lead them to a fairly obscure thread, then lead them to the Hang Out and end up at EXACTLY the right moment in time with which to witness and act on a Medical Emergency has to be a billion to one odds ..

So please, step up, tell the whole tale and take your place at the head of the Table .. please ..

Dennis (MamaTried) Writes :

So...

i'm the one who fell down in this scenario. i had recently been thru a few more low blood sugar incidents, which required 911, but this was my latest. so, "i fell down and couldn't get up". ring a bell to anyone?

fortunately, i was in the hangout when i fell (on an awkward trek to the bathroom) . i wasn't carrying my phone. i couldn't call 911

but... i WAS in the hangouts when i fell...

so.... yiddle calls oldbroad (and wakes her up from a dead sleep) to try to get someone else to call who has my address. fortunately, oldbroad had my address. (actually, i'm still kinda worried about that, but...)

so... yiddle ends up calling 911 (with oldbroad's help) giving them my address. 911 shows up and saves my life. if that hadn't happened, there's a good chance i'd still be laying on the floor

like many of us, i have a lot to be thankful for.

i am more than delighted to say that many of my reasons to give thanks reside on this porch

Happy Thanksgiving, ALL of you wonderful people .. End of Dennis Post

And to complete the Circle of Life :

As I don't expect most of you will take the time to go back and read our beginnings.....I'm bringing some bits of it to you...

 

[yiddleboge6]

In Memoriam

Her name in Real Life was Debbie .. she was kind to me, as so many others have been here .. we exchanged emails periodically .. she was a good Woman, proud of her Family .. proud of her work .. strong, independent .. her ECF Handle, my4jewels, represented her Family ..

Although she chose to not share her Journey as it began to approach the End, It is my Hope that her memory will live on with most of us .. I am hoping to be able to gather enough material for a Tribute video .. until then, I will leave you with an exchange we had almost exactly One Year Ago near Labor Day ..

I wrote to her : "I hope all is going as well as can be expected for you .. as Summer begins to draw to a close and another year will approach it's end, it seems time continues to accelerate .. there should be some mathematical theory that deals with "The Older You Get, the Faster Father Time Moves" ... remember when you were a child and things moved so much slower .. ?? Maybe it's just me ..

I thought about you this morning when my mind began to drift into sadness and thinking of your journey and attitude helped put things into a better perspective .. for what ever that's worth .."

Debbie wrote back :

"It's not just you. Time does seem to move faster as we get older, at least I think so. Funny that I should inspire you. Last night, my thoughts were also of summer coming to a close, and I found myself having a total meltdown, wondering if this was my last summer. If I allow myself to entertain those thoughts for more than a nanosecond, they take me over. My eyes are still puffy from crying. I gave myself 20 minutes to have a pity party, and then said, "That's it"! Today I am much better emotionally. Yep, it's all about perspective."

I am filled with sadness, knowing we have lost another Good One .. yet, at the same time, I feel Debbie would not want sadness, she would, instead, prefer we celebrate a Life Well Lived .. I used to kid her that she was the "Worlds Biggest Toby Keith Fan" .. so it only seems appropriate to put up this tune .. and I won't post a sad tune .. so Debbie, raise that margarita glass, a little salt on the rim, on the rocks, please ..

What I've already quoted here, and a few more to come will tell you a great deal about the Porches and those of us who have called it our home for almost 4 years......

 

[yiddleboge6]

My first real Post from Older People 1st Thread .. I would encourage all of you to share for posterity a little History on how your personal journey began ..

"I decided to quit telling my age some time ago, and would quit birthdays as well if folks around me did not just have to remind me .. suffice to say, I qualify to post on this thread ..

45+ years / at least a PAD / believed the word "Light" actually meant they were not as bad for you .. it was the cool thing to do when I started .. no health facts were well known .. and that first smoke about made me cough up a lung .. but I hung in there ... gas was about 20 cents a gallon in my neck of the woods and when I joined the Military, smokes were around 25 cents a pack ..

Heart attack and 2 stents a few years back .. first thing I did when I got home from the Hospital was, guess what .. ?? Light up a Marlboro .. sadly, true .. the power of addiction ..

One day, maybe a year after the heart attack, I saw an expensive e-cig in the local smoke shop, NJOY .. paid over $100.00 for it, used it for a month, maybe .. put it away, back to the analogs .. about a year ago, I broke it out and decided to give it a try again .. nosed around the Web for supplies and accidentally stumbled on ECF .. read / read and read some more .. ordered a proper PV kit and some liquid with the help of classwife ..

In the last year, I'll admit to having 3 analogs .. each time at a function, each time as my old friend Jack Daniels had loosened my resolve .. "

Now, I need to start the "Battle of the Bulge" and try and shed those extra pounds I've put on due to my inability to resist cuisine that now makes even a Big Mac taste like gourmet ..

There is a lot more to know about our Uncle Willie, but.....I'm going to challenge you to go back and read to find it....

 

[yiddleboge6]

I'll give Mike a hand here .. Mike's first intro :

"Guess it's time to come out from behind the bushes, say Hi all, and introduce myself. Ran across this place a few nights ago and have been wandering back each day since. Feels like a comfortable place to be.

I'm Mike, my wife's Janet. We started vaping Sep. 2011. Both now ex-smokers after 45 years of sucking the ugly burning stick. Janet stopped analogs the day she took her 1st vape. It took me about a month longer. The 1st month I went from 2 ppd to 1/2 ppd which was remarkable for me. The 2nd month I discovered WTA juice from Ethan at Vapelicious. The day I tried his juice was the last day I smoked an analog - been free of 'em since last Oct. 14, 2011. On Nov. 14th I was analog free for a month on my son's birthday - he said with a huge grin - "Pop that's the best birthday present you could give me." That's been a big inspiration for me to stay off the ugly sticks.

We both started on basic slim e-cigs. Janet went for the 808's and I started w/ Joye 510's. Being brand new to the sport of e-cigs we thought we'd each try a different brand to see if one was better than the other. Her 808's lasted longer between charges as she vapes less than me and the batts are a bit stronger. Me - I had one of the multi-charger's for the Joye 510's and was charging ten of 'em at a time to get through a day. One would last me 2 hrs if I was lucky. I moved quickly to the Joye eGo. This was much better, I could get through the day with 2 of them, maybe 2+. This was so much better, way less fuss and muss over constantly recharging the basic 510. Janet thought the eGo was BIG. But within a week or so, she saw how much more convenient they were because of the battery life. Yup, she switched to eGo's too. She's got 1/2 doz in assorted colors plus my few black ones.

She's in love with her eGo's and see's no change in the future to needing anything else. Me - well bigger is better right. When I passed my eGo's to her it was because I bought my 1st ProVari. What can I say about a ProVari other than it's a black chrome w/ blue led and it's awesome. Did I say I bought my 1st ProVari - that implies I have more than one. Yep - the black chrome is beautiful but I treat it like a newborn because I'm afraid to scratch it. It spend 90% of it's life in a carbon fiber sleeve to avoid accidentally scratching it. But then I don't get the satisfying visual and tactile feedback when vaping with it in the sleeve. Sooo, when the black satin ProVari came out - yep - I got one of those w/ the blue led option. I'm a happy person!

In the begining like everyone we tried lots of juice vendors and different carto's and tanks, etc. We settled down a lot and our primary juice is from Vapelicious, BWB, and Sweet-Vapes. I'm a dripper using IKV IO6 2.5 ohm or 3.5 ohm atty's. Janet keeps two of her eGo's topped with Stardusts, which she really likes, for easy refilling, vape and taste but prefers the vape and flavor of dripping - so 2 more eGo's are topped w/ IKV IO6 2.5 ohm atty's.

Whoa! 'nuf said for now. Didn't realize how wordy I got.

Best regards all,
Mike"

You should have met Mike on the front porch, as well as here.....and his lovely wife Janet...

 

[yiddleboge6]

A few "Handles" some may or may not remember .. Tiny, n9emz, bobalex, sandybeach, Richie G, VapRon, wendallb, tj99959, Gadd, wyojoe, toothfairy,
Bullette the Cowdog, Corpa, harleydiva, taxman32, morri, RicardV, old hippy, NorthOfAtlanta, CharlieGirl,

And, of course, elbertdee .. our Gentle, Native American ..
"I am a storyteller have been for about 35 years.
I can honestly say I believe them all to be true,regardless of the nation they come from.

Like the stories here. Everybody has one and they are all true.
Most nations in North America, that I am familiar with, have same motif story about humans and Wakan Tanka/God/Creator/Tabaldoc/...

Long ago there was a wise and peace-loving elder who travelled from tribe to tribe
encouraging cooperation and friendship between all nations. He was a spokesman for
the cause of good will and his mission was to promote unity among all beings.
At a very great age the elder called a council meeting of elders and representatives
from the many clans, tribes, and nations which he had visited and taught. He told them
that his work was coming to an end and he must soon join the spirit world. However,
he promised to return in a new form as a reminder of the peaceful brotherhood he had
sought to establish among the nations.
A short time after his death a new plant sprouted from his grave. This was tobacco
and has been used in ceremonies ever since as a symbol of unity, honesty and peace.
The rising smoke from the pipe is a reminder that the thoughts and prayers of people
go upward to the Creator."

Just a few of the many that have come and gone ..

A continued trip down our memory lane.....with fond memories of many of those mentioned ....

 

[MattB101]

Went to the HO a little bit ago hoping somebody would be there and that Semi would stop in. Guess I was rather early or it ain't gonna happen cause I was lonely (alone). I'll stop in later to see if anyone else showed up.

 

[Semiretired]

Just one thing hun.......how much did you pay garyoa1 to pick on me while you were gone???

Hey, someone had to step in to keep you in line... Sounds like Gary did a good job at it also...

 

[yiddleboge6]

Lastly, I'd like to close out my trip down memory lane with one of the songs that I believe encapsulates my personal feelings toward the Here and Now, as well as The Past .. because, when I needed it most, there were those that are here now and those that are gone that truly, truly, gave me "Shelter From the Storm" .. salute and raise a glass to yourselves ..

EDIT : Dylan's people are at it again, link to video may be blocked ..

I hope that folks are taking the time to read these quotes....What is contained in them is important to many of us here.

 

[Semiretired]

Went to the HO a little bit ago hoping somebody would be there and that Semi would stop in.

Plan on hopping in around 9pm or so... Just got up again for the third time today...

 

[yiddleboge6]

As a noob....I opened my mouth in a long forgotten thread and was flamed so bad for 4 days straight that I was literally afraid to post anywhere, and then.....I found the threads that Randall had started. I had found my home on ECF

I've only dug up my first post in one of the threads, that I will link to here. Jewels was the first person to welcome me there.....and in the other thread....it was ElbertDee....

Older Folks and Vaping

And last of all, I'll leave with you my own little bit of inconsequential history....

 

[MattB101]

Plan on hopping in around 9pm or so... Just got up again for the third time today...

Well I'll try to make it too. My usual bedtime these days is around 10 but, I've actually started to feel good enough to be busy during the day and today was no exception. Tad bit tired but, I think I'll make it.