Milestones!

Everyone has milestones at some point in their life. We all have our first one when we are born. We all have only one birthday. It is only one birthday yet we celebrate it every year. Some of us get to celebrate it more often than others.

Many of you have had milestones like graduating from high school, college, graduate school, marriages, and some of you know what it is like to have milestones from your starter marriages! You may also know what it was like when your first child was born, and some of you may also add that second, third or even more children's births. It is those kinds of milestones that mark our lives.

I had a milestone last week that in the grand scheme of things is no big deal; however, I celebrated reaching 1,000 Friends on Facebook! I have not posted it until now because I spent a significant amount of time between then and now lying down trying to let my bedsores get some time to heal. By the way, I see that number is now up to 1002.
 
I know there are many people on Facebook who have many more than 1,000 Friends; but it was the first chance I got to put a comma in my number of Friends. That made it a milestone for me on Facebook The significance of that is I have Facebook friends literally all over the world from New Zealand to Scotland to Greece to Canada to pretty much every state in the union from Alaska to Florida to Maine to California and almost every state in between.

I list all of these, not because I am bragging, but rather I am trying to demonstrate how significantly small our world has become through social media! A few weeks ago, I put up a post about my discussion with my friend in New Zealand, Di Niven. I commented on how I would probably never hear her voice and wondered what her accent is like. Whereupon, she promptly through a voice recognition program spoke and I heard her voice and accent. I have also given my website with my voice on a television interview and video of the speech I gave several years ago; so, several people all over the world know what kind of an accent I have including another Mike Patrick in Scotland.

It is absolutely amazing to me how Facebook has brought the world together in a way that I do not think Mark Zuckerberg and his pals had any idea the scope of what they were doing!

I would like to add an interesting side note about the number of people on Facebook worldwide. According to statistics I've read there are 1.2 billion people on Facebook. If you were to take those numbers and make them a country it would make the second largest country in the world only behind China's 1.3 billion people! That is amazing to me!

I have had this cartoon for quite a while and want to share it with you:

Click on the image to make it larger:

I find some dark humor in this image and just how wide a scope Facebook extends!

It reminds me of the quote, "If you don't come to my funeral, I won't go to yours."

I did a little experiment several years ago after one Mike Patrick asked to friend me on Facebook. Of course, I did and decided to see how many Mike Patricks I could find who would friend me. I had thirty-five Mike or Michael Patricks from five countries and three continents aged from eighteen to seventy! Several of them have since unfriended me, but there are still at least a dozen from all over the world who often Comment or Like something I post. It will be interesting to see if any of them like this post.

I have doctors, lawyers, engineers, school administrators, teachers, retired folks and students who have heard me speak and wanted to be my friend after my presentation listed as Friends on my Friends List!

I have friends listed from many of the the towns we lived in growing up to the three colleges I attended and everywhere I have lived since graduating from the University of Minnesota in 1980. I have several friends listed from my short time in Berkeley in 1974 and '75. At least one of them from Berkeley is listed on my blog list. She knows who she is and Karen often will make comments from my blog posts.

One of my doctor Facebook friends will often comment on Facebook. He is a cardiac surgeon; and when I spoke at his twenty-five year high school class reunion several years ago, he had a hard time believing I had a pacemaker. I invited him up to feel the pacemaker in my chest and he finally believed I have one. In fact, he gave me some advice about the surgeon who installed my last one and gave his approval when I told him the name of the surgeon who installed my pacemaker. Thank you for that endorsement Dr. Tom!

I have known Dr. Tom Johnson since he was in high school and am good friends with his two older brothers Mike and Steve! Another one of my doctor friends, David Bisbee was a track teammate in high school and was my live-in attendant for a short time when we were both at the University of Minnesota. He now runs a very successful practice in New Hampshire.

It is fun to watch where my Facebook friends have gone with their careers, families and lives since I knew them when they were as young as first and second grades living on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation in 1960 to 1963! Yes, I have a Facebook friend who I have known since I was five years old!

I could go on about several of my virtual relationships, but I think you get my point about how I believe social media is keeping our world a small place and connecting lives over an extended period of time.

As always, I look forward to your comments.

Later,

Mike
 

I Am 60 Today!

I have a hard time believing I am 60 years old today! I do not know where the time has gone and how I reached this age!

Before I talk about my age, I want to tell you about my new pacemaker. I told you I would keep you informed as to when the date will be. I will be getting number four on Friday, April 17th at noon. Chances are I will check in, have them insert my new pacemaker and go home that afternoon. 

I did something I had never done before and that was to put a two-sentence status post up on my Facebook page. I simply wrote, "I just found out I will be getting my new pacemaker April 17th! That makes number four." 

For me, the response was overwhelming! I know other people get much larger numbers for posts on a regular basis, but that was incredible. I received more than 100 Likes and more than 50 Comments! That is the second-highest number I have received for any post on my Facebook page except when I posted a Profile picture from last summer when I gave the keynote speech for the University of Minnesota's Physical Therapy's Commencement Ceremony. I had 163 Likes!

The Comments and Likes came from people I have known my entire life and six of the eight towns I lived in before I was 14! I also received notes from all three colleges I attended. They also came from people I knew from giving a speech or met in an unusual way. As if anything is usual for me!

Now, it is back to the point of this post. I want to show you my first birthday cake and see what you think:

I was already using my left hand at an early age! Scroll ahead thirteen years to my 14th birthday, and notice how I am using my left hand as well to light my birthday candles.

 
Click on the images to make them larger:

It was only two more birthdays after that I stopped celebrating my birthday. Let me explain why. When I first got hurt September 3, 1971 my goal was to be walking by basketball season. When that goal obviously did not arrive, I set a new goal of walking by my 17th birthday. Obviously, that did not happen either. It was then I decided my birthday was just a reminder that I was still not able to walk. That did not seem like a reason to celebrate.

That is until this year! I have been getting a number of reminders from unlikely sources reminding me that 60 years is a long time and deserves a celebration. First of all, I have had reminders at my acupuncture receptionist, the receptionist at my wound clinic a week ago, a social worker, one of my personal care attendants and two women from my past lives who are both my age.

On April 8th, Karen (Smalley) Bixby who lived in the women's dorm next to my dormitory the second year I was in Berkeley called me and wanted to be the first to wish me a happy 60th birthday. Karen and I have been lifelong friends and she is smiling right now as she keeps track of me through my blog posts and I am writing about her!

She called to remind me my birthday was April 12th and I would be 60 years old! Since Karen's birthday was April 9th, a full three days before mine I asked her to tell me what it was going to be like since she is so much older than me. We have discussions on our cell phones every once in a while, although they are not frequent enough, but we had a great thirty-minute conversation before she had to go. I am sure we will have another talk soon.

About an hour later I was chatting with a new Facebook friend who I played baseball with her brothers when we lived for a brief time in Sibley, Iowa.  Mind you, we were only in the seventh and early part of eighth-grade when Susan (Streit) Wheeler moved to town with her family. I had never talked to her when they lived in town because of my fear of girls at that stage of my life. I am over that fear now. I believe I was afraid girls would bite me if I spoke to one back then. Little did I know if one did, I might actually like it!

Susan and I had a forty-five minute conversation that only had to be cut short because she had to be someplace. I am certain we will have another conversation again soon. It was like we had been lifelong friends and in reality had never spoken before. I find myself in conversations like that all the time.

I have no problem meeting people now and finding things to talk about. Often times I will end up finding something in common from one of our past lives. That also happened to me several times last week while I was either in the hallway or in speaking to a therapist or physician. I love stories like that.

If you did not know it already, you might think I am a bit of an extrovert!

I am not sure what I'm supposed to feel like now that I am 60? I have had people tell me I  do not feel old to them because I do not act old. What is the definition of old? When does a person become old, or is it just a feeling? There are many questions I have about the aging process and the attitude one takes as he or she ages. I know people who are younger than me and feel much older to me. Do you know people like that? 

Is it about being positive, realistic or negative?  Can healthy relationships be built at any stage in life? Can they be built between people with drastic age differences? I could go on but this is already a long post. I will save more of my questions for another post.

Now, I believe it is time to watch the Masters Golf Tournament for a while. Does that make me old?

As always, I look forward to your comments.

Later,

Mike

People Always Amaze Me!

The last two days have been extraordinary in so many ways. I think they will be the basis for Volume II of my book I Still Believe in Tomorrow. This post will eventually be turned into a chapter. Let me give you a summary of yesterday but I really want to focus on this afternoon.

I had an acupuncture treatment at 1:45pm, arrived early with a backpack full of books. I started talking to the two women at the front desk who have to put up with my constant teasing. I asked Cindy to open my backpack and grab a book. Then, Mary wanted to see one. I told them to open the Acknowledgement page and read it. They recognized several names and we talked about them. I had them go to the passage on my acupuncturist, Bob Decker, and my experience with Eastern and Alternative Medicine.

Then, Bobbee came out and he wanted one. Bob came to get me for my treatment. He looked at the passages, and guess what? Yup, he wanted one! The manager was not there, but I am hoping she will sell them in the Institute's bookstore. I was going to give them the books to plant some seeds, but they all insisted on purchasing the books. After my treatment, I was a puddle again.

Off to Doogie's office to give him a book, because he wants to buy a large quantity to give to his patients. Before that, I showed it to his receptionists, Tammy and Kathy. They enjoyed the Acknowledgements and the passage when I called Doctor Jason Reed, "Doogie" in front of some mortified staff.

Next, it was off to the lab for a blood draw. Guess what? The lab tech bought one. By the time my day was done, I had sold seventeen books! I thought that was a good first day for selling by myself. Plus, who knows how many patients Doogie has?

That was yesterday. I have not even gotten to today! Like Mister Scrooge, I counted my mound of money and my attendant, Kelly, helped me fill out my Deposit Slip, and it was off to the bank to deposit my fortune. I asked my banker, Dave, if he would help sell the book by putting a copy on the teller's counter and offering it to customers. Well, he bought a book.

Now, I am off to Magers & Quinn Booksellers to talk to their Acquisitions person. Aaron was not in, but I started talking to Steve. He mentioned he graduated from Berkeley. You can imagine where that conversation went! Before I know it, he wants to know if I would do a reading at the store some evening!

Are you kidding me? Of course, I replied, "Let me think about it, and I will get back to you." I did not say that. I said, "Sure, that would be GREAT!" I left the store feeling pretty good.

I went a few feet, hit a bump in the sidewalk, and just like that, my chair died, nothing! I am stuck, I cannot move. I could recline, but that was it. I must have had that look on my face that said, "I need help!"

That was when Jill stopped and I asked her if she would help me. I had her check the cable to the joystick and it was plugged in. I asked her if she had a smartphone and she told me she had just bought one two weeks ago when she and her fiancee moved here from Boston. She found my wheelchair repair shop, we called the shop and Kris came out to fix my chair.

She stayed with me for over an hour, bought me a bottle of water, and left only when Kris showed up. We had a wonderful conversation, I made a new friend, and guess what? They each bought a book!

I could go on, but I think this is the longest I have ever posted! Thank you for reading to this point.

I will tell you more in Volume II.

I look forward to your comments.

Later,

Mike

Friends Are Important

According to an article in the NYTimes.com on April 20, 2009, our friendships are incredibly important in our overall health. This quote comes directly from the article you can read in its entirety by clicking here.

“In general, the role of friendship in our lives isn’t terribly well appreciated,” said Rebecca G. Adams, a professor of sociology at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro. “There is just scads of stuff on families and marriage, but very little on friendship. It baffles me. Friendship has a bigger impact on our psychological well-being than family relationships.”
Personally, I have friends from nearly every stage of my life, from as far back as elementary school, junior and senior high school, to college in Worthington, UC Berkeley and the University of Minnesota. I don't always keep in touch with some of them as much as I'd like, but from past experience, I know I can reach out to many of them with a phone call or an email, and we can pick up like we have never been apart.

With living in eight towns and going to school in five different districts before I was fourteen, I made a lot of friends at an early age. They come from many different backgrounds and I can count many people as friends, some going back more than forty-five years!

I have also made many friends with people from all areas of my adult life. I'm happy to say each one of those relationships has helped me to shape who I am. To site a quick example of that, in my recent hospitalization, I had visitors, emails and phone calls from friends from many stages of my life.
Please feel free to comment on how your friends have affected your life. I look forward to reading them.

Later,

Mike