George Martzen "georgos"

I recently received an invitation to a reunion for the CLOC Club.  That invitation took me back to the school year, 1976-77.  It was my second year at Reedley College.  Reedley is a Jr. or Community college, and it easy access for those of us who hadn't quite made up their minds yet, or just needed to save some money.  It took just 15 minutes to drive there from my parents' home.  That year I was also president of the CLOC Club. The letters stand for Christian Living on Campus, and its a chapter of Intervarsity Christian Fellowship.  We met twice a week for large group meetings and small group Bible study.  We also held several events, a weekend camp and a street theatre presentation of Noah's Ark by the Lamb's Players of San Diego.  While many of my friends scattered to distant regions after Reedley College, many of the CLOC Club members from those days stayed in close contact, and we tried to get together periodically.   I was happy fo...

My new phrase: conserve energy.   Yesterday we met with the Palliative Medicine folks at Kaiser Bellflower.  They gave us a lot of attention, heard my story, offered resources, invited us to call or message them with any further queries, and got me a wheelchair.  Conserve your energy, the doctor said. Don't walk if you don't have to.    Palliative care is not the same as hospice, which is for the patients who are not expected to live much longer. Because my goal remains to get a lung transplant, palliative care provides more holistic care to ensure my well-being along the way.  I am grateful that Kaiser has a palliative care department.  There are no drastic changes in my condition.  I can sense a slight deterioration of my lung condition, though the Traditional Chinese Medicine doctor is helping me sleep better.  I will be investigating another gut issue, whether I have small intestine bacterial overgrowth (SIBO). We opted to go for the...

Possibly the darkest part point in the Lord of the Rings trilogy occurs in chapter 4 of third volume, The Return of the King .  The great city of Gondor is under siege. From the standpoint of Pippin, one of four Hobbits who were part of the expedition of the Ring, it must have appeared hopeless.  Sworn to serve the Steward of of City since his arrival with Gandalf, he has been able to observe the siege. Led by the chief of the Nazgul, the enemy has swarmed and burned the fields around the city and breached the first wall. The Riders of the Rohan, who were supposed to come to Gondor's aid, have not yet shown up.  Aragorn, who was expected to come and claim his rightful authority, has disappeared into the fateful paths of the dead.  Frodo is rumored to be wandering in dangerous territory on the edge of Mordor. Pippin has also watched with alarm the Lord Denethor's shift from pessimism to despairing fatalism when his remaining son, Faramir, is brought to him unconsciou...