Looking back on 2026

January 6:  Jean checked out of the hospital (HonorHealth Scottsdale Shea Medical Center).

March 12:  Had lunch at Harold's Cave Creek Coral with Niece Lesley and her husband Jason Rahschulte, their son Kyle and Kyle's girl friend Briana Shandel.

Above:  Photo from Leslie's iPhone.

March 14:  Finished reading Quest and Crew: A True Sailing Adventure by David Beaupré, read Kindle version on my iPhone 12.  This was the first of 4 books about a married Charlotte, NC couple that purchased an old 1986 Bayfield 36 sailboat named Quest that was in need of restoring before becoming suitable for blue water sailing in the Atlantic Ocean.  David and his wife Wendy purchased the boat in 1999, did a complete retrofit in North Carolina and eventually put it into the water about a year and a half later at Tiger Point Marina after moving to Fernandina Beach in Florida.  From Fernandina Beach they sailed down the Intracostal Waterway and docked in North Palm Beach on Lake Worth.  They lived there on the boat for about a year and eventually sailed out the Palm Beach Inlet to West End on Grand Bahama, the Berry Islands, Nassau on New Providence Island, the Exumas (and ending at Georgetown).  After that their journey continues in the next 3 books, which I haven't read.

Looking Back on 2025

Jan 6:  Continued vein treatment on legs, through February 7.

Jan 22:  Finished reading "Riding Soul-O" by Debi Tolbert Duggar.  Debi was a 53 year old woman that made her first long distance motorcycle ride in 2008 from Florida up the east coast to Canada on a Harley Davidson Heritage.   Later she bought a Road King and toured the lower 48 states, Alaska, and six Canadian Provinces. The book is part memoir, part travelogue.

Above:  Cover from Kindle book.

April 8:  Finished reading "They’re Lying: The Media, The Left, and The Death of George Floyd" by Liz Collin.  This book states that Derek Chauvin was not responsible for the death of George Floyd, that Floyd died of a drug overdose or some underlying health condition, and that the trial was tainted by perjury and manipulation of evidence.  Liz Collin is a former reporter for WCCO, a CBS affiliate serving the Minneapolis/St. Paul area.  She is married to Bob Kroll, former police officer with the Minneapolis Police Department.  The Chauvin trial revolved around whether Floyd was suffocated by Chauvin kneeling on Floyd's neck and back for more than nine minutes or if Floyd died from drugs and poor health.  An important part of the trial was whether Chauvin used an approved police technique known as the Maximum Restraint Technique (MRT), or if the technique was not approve.  Collin also implies that the county medical examiner originally listed asphyxia (lack of oxygen) as a cause of death, and cited Floyd’s pre-existing health conditions, including coronary artery disease, in his autopsy.  Collin also implies that the medical examiner findings changed after meetings with prosecutors and the FBI, and his final report stated that Floyd’s death was a homicide due to "cardiopulmonary arrest complicating law enforcement subdual restraint and neck compression.”   

Above:  Cover from Kindle book.

April 10:  Started weekly service with Priority Pools, monthly cost to be $129.

May 2:  Finished reading "Sailing Alone Around the World" by Joshua Slocum. Slocum was 51 years old when he started his journey sailing around the world.  He was the first person to sail single-handedly around the world.  Note, single-handedly does not imply non-stop.  The trip took 3 years and 2 months and covered 46,000 miles.  He started in 1895, complete the journey in 1898 and published his book in 1900.  He started in Boston, Massachusetts, sailed east to the Strait of Gibraltar, then west to South America, through the Strait of Magellan, to Australia, around the southern tip of Africa and back to the US ending his journey in Newport, Rhode Island.  His ship was the Spray, a 36′ 9″ sloop, a former oyster boat that was given to him but needed major repairs.  The rebuild took 13 months and was done in Fairhaven, Massachusetts,  Slocum decided to sail around the world solo due to a combination of factors, but primarily due to a love of the sea and a desire for adventure.

Above:  Cover from Kindle book.

May 10:  Finished reading "ADVENTURES ON BORROWED TIME: Old bikes, Distant Places" by Nick Adams.

Above:  Cover from Kindle book.

May 18:  Finished reading "Pre-Territorial Boating in Arizona, 1541-1863" by Jon Fuller.

Above:  Cover from Kindle book.

May 22:  Finished reading "A Motorcycle Memoir: My 10,000 Mile Journey into the Soul of America" by Neal Toulan.  Toulan was a 62 year old single-man that made a cross-country motorcycle ride from Massachusetts to California and back in 2018, over a 3 month period.  He rode a BMW 2015 R NineT 1200cc Boxer engine motorcycle.  The book contains lots of good photos, route information, names of places where he stayed overnight and the places where he ate.  He details a lot of conversations with people he met on this trip.  The book was published August 2020.

Above:  Cover from Kindle book.

May 29:  Gave 30 day notice to Priority Pools to cancel their weekly service, for reference only the monthly charge was $129.  Service lasted less than 2 months.

June 10:  Finished reading "Arctic Drift" by Clive Cussler and Dirk Cussler.  Book gifted to me by friend Diane Waller on June 6.  I also ordered the Kindle version.  The plot of the novel is that scientists and politicians are trying to find a way to stop Global Warming, and the secret may lie in finding one of the old ships from the 19th century Sir John Franklin expedition that was mentioned in the prologue.  The ship may contain the location of the rare mineral Ruthenium.  Ruthenium would be used as a catalyst in an artificial photosynthesis process that would convert carbon dioxide into something less harmful.  Discovery and control of Ruthenium was the central conflict of the novel.

Above:  Book cover.

July 11:  Went to the Eric Ramsey, Hans Olson, and Chuck Hall Blues in the Round concert at the Musical Instrument Museum (MIM) Music Theater in Phoenix.

Above:  L to R:  Hans Olson, Eric Ramsey, & Chuck Hall.

July 22:  Finished reading "The: Phoenix Sound: A History of Twang and Rockabilly Music in Arizona" by Jim West.

Above:  Cover from Kindle book.

July 26:  Finished reading "North to Wrigley: End of the Summer Road" by Troy L Ramsell.

This was a 3,750-mile roundtrip journey from Portland, Oregon to Wrigley, Northwest Territories in Canada, on a single-cylinder motorcycle, a water-cooled 2008 Kawasaki KLR 650.  Ramsell rode up through British Columbia but came back via Alberta.  A very interesting read, I read the Kindle version, but felt the book should have had more of the many photos he mentioned taking.  

Above:  Cover from Kindle book.

September 1:  Finished reading “Ghost Rider: Travels on the Healing Road” by Rush drummer Neil Peart.  In 1997 he lost his only child (daughter) in a car accident, less than a year later his wife passed away (cancer), and as a way of coping with their deaths he went on a solo motorcycle ride of about 55,000 miles, through Canada, USA, Mexico, and Belize, took him about 14 months.  He started his ride on August 20, 1998. Many years later in 2020, Peart died of cancer.  A very interesting book, Peart was an excellent writer.

His bike was a red 1994 BMW R1100GS.

His first loop (Book 1) was 30,748 miles and ended in December 28, 1998 (4 months later) when he flew back from Mexico City to Toronto, Canada, with a connection to Montreal.

Above:  Cover from Kindle book.

September 15:  Finished reading “Riding Route 66 - Bringing Boris Home” by Stephen Mason.  After completing his motorcycle trip around the world Stephen Mason stored his bike in Boston for a few months, with plans to ride the Blue Ridge Parkway later. The COVID pandemic changed that plan. After two and a half years Stephen returns from his home in Scotland with a new plan where he would ride to Chicago, meet some friends, ride Route 66 then head up to Canada to ship the bike home.  A short book, only 89 pages.  He has 3 other books at this writing.

Above:  Cover from Kindle book.

October 10:  Jean and I got our flu and COVID-19 vaccines.

October 17:  Went to the Hans Olson "Arizona Troubadour" book signing at the Tempe History Museum.  See photos at https://photos.app.goo.gl/sFZymhFEYMzZRVz3A.

Above:  Photo from the book signing.

November 9:  Finished reading “Arizona Troubadour” by Hans Olson.  This book is an account of the life of an Arizona musician, filled with stories of his life in California, Arizona and touring in the US and Europe.

Above:  Cover from book.

November 18:  Finished reading “Solo Motorcycle Moments from the American Road” by Neal Toulan, his second book.  Toulan was then a 65 year old single-man that made his second cross-country motorcycle ride from Massachusetts to California and back in 2021, in about a month and a half.  And different routes this time from his first trip.  He rode his 2015 BMW R NineT 1200cc Boxer engine motorcycle.  The book contains lots of great photos, route information, names of places where he stayed overnight and the places where he ate.  He details a lot of conversations with people he met on this trip, much like his first book.  This second book was published August 2025.

Above:  Cover from Kindle book.

December 02:  Finished reading “Rural America An Old Man and a Harley - A Memoir” by David Rickerson Sr.  On the road for almost the entire summer. Camping, sofa surfing and staying at some pretty strange places.  The inspirational story about a fella that bought his first Harley (Harley Softail Slim with 4,170 miles on it) at age 65.  A total of 9,021 miles in seventy-three days, during which I spent approximately $4,000, including tires and oil changes.

Above:  Cover from Kindle book.

December 30:  Finished reading “Three Stories” by Ernest Miller Hemingway.

Above:  Cover from Kindle book.

December 31:  Jean's CT Scan performed at Southwest Medical Imaging Fountain Hills, Jean sent to Emergency Room at HonorHealth Scottsdale Shea Medical Center.

Looking back on 2024

 

January 3:  Canceled weekly pool service with Pool Solutions AZ LLC.  For reference only the monthly fee was $160.

January 10:  Received 2nd epidural steroid injection of lidocaine (numbing agent) and dexamethasone (steroid) into the epidural space.  The goal is to reduce the pain in my lower back.  Procedure was called L5-S1 ILESI (InterLaminar Epidural Steroid Injection) medial.

Note:  This 2nd injection was a further improvement in reducing back pain when walking and standing, but it seem to last only a few weeks.  

January 17:  Finished reading "Lone Rider" by Elspeth Beard, I read the Kindle book on my iPhone 12, I read this book based on a recommendation by friend Jimmy Jeffers.  The book is about one of the first women to ride a motorcycle around the world.  She left her family and friends in London and set off in October 1982 (starting her ride from New York City, to California) at 23 years old on her 1974 BMW R60/6 (600cc) and arrived home in London in November 1984 after covering 35,000 miles and 20 countries.  An incredible journey and an amazing story.  She was a very determined person.  The book wasn't published until 2017 (2018 USA), 33 years after her journey was over.  She carried a Pentax K1000 35mm SLR camera.

Above:  Cover of Kindle book.

January 21:  Finished reading and viewing the many excellent photos in "Jupiter's Travels In Camera" by Ted Simon.  This hardback book was published in 2013 to coincide with the 40th anniversary of his first round-the-world motorcycle trip that started in 1973.

Above:  Cover of book.

January 29:  Finished reading and viewing the many excellent photos in "Lone Rider-The Photographs" by Elspeth Beard.  This hardback book was published in 2021 and contains 450+ photographs from her 2 year round-the-world motorcycle journey (1982-1984).  I ordered the book on January 5th (before finishing reading "Lone Rider") and received it on January 24th.  Elspeth did an outstanding job on creating this book.

Above:  Cover of book.

June 23:  Went to the Arizona Music & Entertainment Hall of Fame (AMEHOF) Induction Ceremony held at the Rhythm Room.  The inductees were Hans Olson, John Dixon (Johnny D), Jon Rauhouse, and the Rhythm Room (venue).

Above:  2024 AMEHOF inductee Hans Olson on stage at the Rhythm Room.

July 11:  Finished reading "Erik The Red" by Captivating History, I read the Kindle book on my iPhone 12.  I knew nothing about Erik The Red except a vague memory from one of my grade school history teachers that briefly mention him.  As an adult I remembered nothing about him except for the name and that he was a viking.  But now I know he was most certainly the first European to create a permanent settlement on Greenland, that he had at least 4 children, one of which (Leif Erikson) who is given the credit as being the first European to step foot on North America.

Above:  Cover of Kindle book.

August 8:  Finished reading "The Vikings in Greenland" by Charles River Editors, I read the Kindle book on my iPhone 12.  After reading the above book about Erik The Red I decided to read this book about the history of the vikings in Greenland. 

Above:  Cover of Kindle book.

August: 12-15:  Jean's 4 days at hospitals. 

August 20-Sept 4:  Jean's 10 rad.

Sept 5:  Jean's 1st PET scan.

Sept 7:  Jean's 1st Ibrance.

Sept 13:  Jean's 1st Zometa Infusion.

Sept 17:  Diagnosed with "Venous Stasis and Lymphedem" per Kim Hart.   Patient portal showed "Chronic Venous Insufficiency (CVI), Lymphedema tarda (which begins after 35 years of age), Edema, Hereditary lymphedema diagnosis.

Venous stasis, or venostasis, is a condition of slow blood flow in the veins.

chronic venous insufficiency and chronic venous stasis are two names used interchangeably for the same vascular condition.

Primary lymphedema is due to a genetic malformation of the lymphatic system during embryological development, and includes lymphedema tarda

October 18:  Finished reading "The Case for Trump" (original version published in 2019) by Victor Davis Hanson (military historian, conservative political commentator, and Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, a conservative think-tank in California), I read the Kindle book on my iPhone 12.  An amazing book, very informative!  I learned a lot of things I didn't know.    Hanson documents how a celebrity businessman with no political or military experience won the Republican nomination in 2016 over sixteen other Republicans, and went on to win the election and become a successful president for the first two years, which is where this version of the book ends.  Hanson released an updated version in 2024 but I don't know if it contains any information beyond Donald Trump's first two years as president. 

Above:  Cover of Kindle book.

October 23:  Received 3 vaccines, Flu (high Dose), COVID-19 (Pfizer), and RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus) at Safeway.

November 4:  Finished reading "Hey, Is That Your Bike?--Riding My Motorcycle Across The USA--A Dream Come True!” by Robert Cress. I read the Kindle book on my iPhone 12.  A very interesting story by a 71 year old man that purchases a used 2016 Honda Gold Wing in 2021 with about 22,000 miles on it, then rides across the country—for three weeks and 8,000 miles, from Melbourne, Florida to California, up into Oregon and then back to Florida. 

Above:  Cover from hardback book.

November 25:  Had first symptoms of COVID-19, Jean had hers on the 27th:  I tested positive on November with one of those COVID-19 & Flu A/B test kits.  I finally tested negative on December 6.  Jean had worse symptoms than I did, she finally tested negative on December 14.   Note that Jean and I both had our latest COVID-19 vaccines on October 23.

Above:  My COVID-19 test results.

December 10-12:  Purchased a new Mac mini M4 and BenQ 32" MA320OU 4K 3840x2160 monitor, as shown below.

Above:  Mac mini M4 and new BenQ 32" monitor.

December 16:  Had my first vein treatment (Radiofrequency Ablation on left leg), have more to go in 2025 (both legs).

December 19:  Started reading "Riding Soul-O" by Debi Tolbert Duggar, but probably won't finish it this year.  Debi was a 53 year old woman that made her first long distance motorcycle ride in 2008 from Florida up the east coast to Canada on a Harley Davidson Heritage.   Later she bought a Road King and toured the lower 48 states, Alaska, and six Canadian Provinces. The book is part memoir, part travelogue. 

December 24:  Had a DISH Hopper 3 with Sling installed.

Above:  Hopper 3 starting up...