Joe Digby, an old friend from an earlier business life, recently connected with me while passing through town. We haven't seen each other in years, and it was good to visit for a few hours that passed much too quickly.
Stories that Might be True
One man's observations and musing on just about everything and anything.
Saturday, April 5, 2025
Joe Digby aims to get one thing right
Joe Digby, an old friend from an earlier business life, recently connected with me while passing through town. We haven't seen each other in years, and it was good to visit for a few hours that passed much too quickly.
Sunday, March 23, 2025
My Gene Hackman Appreciation
Tuesday, February 11, 2025
Stories that might be true: My post-operative nocturnal trolley rides through the hospital
Wednesday, February 5, 2025
A story that might be true: How I got old man hands
I entered the hospital in late December for a quadruple-bypass following a heart attack. The seven-hour procedure went well, and I was sent home after nearly a week of post-operative hospital care.
It was while recuperating at home one morning that I noticed I had old man hands. Just weeks before, prior to entering the hospital, my hands had been firm but warm. Now they were weathered, wrinkled, withered, even a bit shriveled, and cold, always cold; now that I thought about it.
I held my hands up in front of my eyes and stared at them in disbelief. These are not my hands, I thought. These are not the hands I have carried with me through life thus far, I told myself. I was certain of it. The fingernails look familiar, and the knuckles, too. The skin, however, was definitely different. No question about that.
These were not the same hands I had on hand when I entered the hospital, I declared. And that was when it occurred to me. The doctors. For some reason the doctors must have surgically removed my original hands during the heart procedure and replaced them with the old man's hands I now looked upon.
Yes, that made complete sense. While they were harvesting arteries from legs to stitch around my heart they also took the time to remove my young and supple hands and replaced them with a pair of wrinkled and weathered hands, ones suited for a man well beyond my years. Why they would do this I could not explain, perhaps for their sick amusement, maybe to kill time in the operating room. A reasonable explanation escapes me to this time, but the fact remains that they clearly replaced my hands and managed to do so without leaving any sign of a surgical scar, none whatsoever.
So here I sit, recuperating at home with a newly rewired heart, so to speak, and a set of old man hands. And I give thanks for both.
-- Thank you for reading. Your comments and questions are always welcome.
Thursday, January 23, 2025
A story that might be true: My hospital visitors
Sunday, August 4, 2024
The steam from my coffee reminded me of the theme from a classic Western movie
Thursday, August 1, 2024
Coffee and Conversation: Taco Bell looks to expand use of AI
The Taco Bell chain is known for being nimble in its marketing and innovations so its plans to expand its use of AI at its drive-thru operations seems to be a good fit. However, I admit to being skeptical about the reasons the company offers for the move.
I don't frequent fast food outlets much anymore, but I had an interesting experience during my last visit to Taco Bell, about a year and half ago. I was attending a workshop and stopped at Taco Bell, the nearest outlet, during the lunch break. It was a short distance from the meeting location, so I opted to walk rather than drive.
Inside I discovered there was no counter help, no one to greet me or take my order. Instead, there was a kiosk with a display screen, smudged with greasy fingerprints. I used one of the few remaining sanitary wipes to clean the screen and then fumbled my way through placing what I considered to be a simple order.
It took longer than probably necessary. A younger customer could have completed the transaction faster, I thought, but a younger customer probably would have used the drive-thru option. As simple as my order was, I was proud to have successfully placed it, but was annoyed when the device asked me if I wished to add a gratuity to my total purchase. I had yet to see a single employee and couldn't imagine who would have received my tip.
So anyway, I placed my order, the device printed out a receipt that included an order number and instructions to wait for the number to be called. Although I had seen several cars lined up in the drive-thru lane, I was the only customer inside the store. I distracted myself with my smart phone, and a couple of minutes later heard a voice call out the number that was on my receipt.
I looked up and a tray of food was sitting on the counter. I didn't know how it got there. I hadn't seen an employee. No employee stood behind the counter to thank me for selecting Taco Bell for my mid-day meal. I heard what I assumed were people moving around behind a closed door, which I assumed concealed the kitchen area and access to the drive-thru window, but I never actually saw these things.
The food was OK, as fast food goes. I recalled that experience as I read that Taco Bell plans to expand its use of AI. We might be living in the "Brave New World" Aldous Huxley warned us about, but I'm beginning to suspect it's not all that new.
-- Thank you for reading. Feel free to leave a comment or question here, or send an email to kbotterman@gmail.com.