TOPICS ON MY MIND

By OLIVENE GODFREY

I enjoyed the musical tribute to Ray Charles on the
Grand Old Opry televised show which aired on the
Great American Country network this past weekend.

Since I was a teenager, I have liked "soul music"
or the blues. As a young adult, I spent a lot of time in a record store that had stacks of obscure blues records.
I carried those 78 records all over the country and only left them in the garage of a Florida rental house, because
my late husband, Ralph, refused to move them again.

I remember vividly the day back in the 1950s when I was driving
home from work with the radio playing as always.
Suddenly, a sound from the radio caught my attention.
A singer was singing the blues in a sultry voice, to
say the least. I knew that I would go to the record store
the following day and buy that record. And I did and
I bought the record, "Heartbreak Hotel", by an unknown singer
with the odd name of Elvis and the rest is history.

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I had a nice chat last week with my good friend and neighbor
of 28 years, Dorothy. She is in her late 80s now and she
was always healthy and strong until a few years ago.
She's a truly good person and often helped others over the years. Now she is confined to her home with several serious
health problems, including diabetes. She says that the
condition that frustrates her the most is not being able to see well now. She was always an avid reader but can't
read at all now. Her six loving children take turns staying with her
at night and prepare and get take out dinners for her.
She was a superb cook and misses being able to cook her meals and those of others which she used to do. She is still mentally alert and a joy to talk to and she is so cheerful that
I feel better after one of our chats.

I assured her that I am grateful that I can see and the last eye exam I had the doctor said my cataracts will
need surgery soon. Other than that, my eyes are healthy and
he told me that my diabetes hasn't affected my eyes yet.

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When I recently went to the doctor's office for a
mini-checkup, I had gained a few pounds the past year. I
didn't think that I was eating too many sweets as my
blood sugar tests are still normal. But, I have tried to cut down on fatty foods. I have read that dieters who eat
yogurt lose more weight. I used to eat yogurt but
hadn't in a while. Now I am stocked up on yogurt and
I'll report later if it helps me.

See you next time.