Wednesday 30 December 1998

New shoes

Pic of the day: Birthday present.
My throat is still sore, and has been for a few days. Luckily I don't seem to have fever. The strep bacteria here in Norway have mutated into a deadly variant that is killing people in a macabre way, eating them alive. So strep throats are not quite the shrugging matter it once was. But it's still not a major cause of death, not even compared to lifestyle diseases which could have been easily avoided by a slightly healthier lifestyle. A sizable part of the population succumbs to over-eating, over- drinking, over-smoking and over-stressing. A slightly more religious lifestyle could crank up the life expectancy of our population noticeably. Of course, you'd still be just as dead when you finally die.
My father had a quote, I cannot remember from whom. In English it would be something like: "When a man is past 30, it's like he's walking underneath a mountainside. He is no longer sure of his life any day." The picture was quite understandable to me, since I grew up near just such a steep mountain side, where boulders could fall down at any time. As a kid I would not only ignore this, but even climb in the vertical cliffs where goats feared to tread. Now I wonder how I've survived this far, if not by a series of minor miracles.
Those who are old today, grew up in a time where diseases struck cruelly and seemingly at random. They lost friends and often brothers or sisters to tuberculosis, diphteria and other diseases who are today easily avoided by vaccination. It must be peculiar for them to see young people today gamble with their lives through smoking, drunk driving, unprotected sex with strangers and other thoughtless risky behavior. (Of course, the older generations probably did this too, given the opportunity. But that's a long time ago.)
Macabre diary today. But that's what I feel like, so take it or leave it. It will probably be more lighthearted tomorrow - if I'm alive to write it, that is ...


My other diary pages:
Tuesday 29. December
Monday 28. December
(Christmas holiday! :)
Monday 21. December
Sunday 20. December
Saturday 19. December
Friday 18. December
Thursday 17. December
Wednesday 16. December
Tuesday 15. December
Monday 14. December
Sunday 13. December
Saturday 12. December
Friday 11. December
Thursday 10. December
Wednesday 9. December
Tuesday 8. December
Monday 7. December
Sunday 6. December
Saturday 5. December
Friday 4. December
Thursday 3. December
Wednesday 2. December
Tuesday 1. December

Visit the Diary Farm for the diaries I've put out to pasture until they buy the farm:
November 1998


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