Blah days of January are here

After some deep breathing, 10 cups of hot beverage and even a run (actually, a slow walk) through the snow, I believed my mind would come alive. That my brain cells would start to percolate, however, they were short-circuited on a winter morning.
It must be the February blahs. However, it occurred to me that it was only mid-January.
What to write about?
Well, the latest breaking story in these parts examined the practices of a previously untouched realm, that of medical doctors, but a California website (RateMDs.com) has stolen my thunder. Then the B.C. medical gurus (cpsbc.ca) has outlined just who was given more than a slap on the wrist by its disciplinary board. So that has been done; and every Tom, Dick, Harry and Joan has reported on Iraq, Iraq and all the other hotspots throughout the world.
So, Boss, what can I write about?
Of course, there's the Seven Pillars of Health, written by Dr. Don Colbert, a board-certified medical doctor, and how I could change my sedentary life in 50 days or less.
And what were those seven pillars? Water, Sleep and Rest, Living food, Exercise, Detoxification. Supplements and (Learning) to cope with Stress. The only problem has to be what is "living food?"
So that's a "seven-week journey to great health" that I must start on. Perhaps, on the weekend.
However, what to write about for the next edition of the Daily Courier, is the question before me.
Then a small, still voice mumbled: "Got anything interesting in your "treasure chest?"
That "treasure chest" happens to be a closet in the back bedroom filled with dust-covered books, magazines, such as Sports Illustrated and National Geographic as well as some long-playing records. The only problem is, I don't have a phonograph to play them on.
When I started thumbing through the National Geographic from December 1995, the front cover showed a towering gorilla, named Gregoire, examining the top of Jane Goodall's head at the Brazzaville Zoo in the Congo. And inside, a fascinating story. "Her decades of study show that chimps in the wild are startlingly like us. Today the primate primatologist travels the globe to speak up for their captive and orphaned kin."
Nearly a dozen years later, she is still going strong at age 72 and now she has a "Dame" in front of her name of Valerie Jane Goodall. "The English primatologist, ethologist and anthropologist is probably best known for conducting a 45-year study of chimpanzee's social and family life, and founded The Jane Goodall Institute in Gombe Stream National Park in Tanzania," according to Wikipedia research.
That magazine also stretched my imagination, for I went "exploring" about The Timeless Vision of Teotihuacan and new finds among the ruins, which were putting a human face on the great metropolis of ancient Mexico.
Then there was an in-depth piece complete with pages upon pages of photographs concerning the Manta "with its devilish horns and a fearsone 20-foot wingspan which belie the gentle nature of the giant ray." At least that's what the blurb indicated.
However, by far the most awe-inspiring section was James Reston, Jr.'s "exporation" of Orion: Where Stars Are Born.
Accompanied by a map supplement, the piece claimed the Hubble Space Telescope granted "a fresh look at clouds of gas and dust forming around young stars -- perhaps the start of solar systems."
Even as a youngster, the National Geographic opened up a door to the world of "explorers," and it brought back an avalanche of memories when I ventured down the Amazon River. Of course, I never did, but one never is too old to dream.
After closing the pages of the National Geographic, I wondered where I could acquire one of those old phonographs, on which I could listen to Frank Sinatra's Greatest Hits.
On side one, there was Strangers in the Night, Summer Wind, It Was a Very Good Year, and turning it over I could "almost hear" That's Life, When Somebody Loves You and Softly As I Leave You.
Of course, this sentimental journey wouldn't be complete without some Bing Crosby and such classics as MacNamara's Band, Play A Simple Melody, Blue Skies, Far Away Places, The Bells Of St. Mary's and I'll Be Seeing You.
Actually, when Sinatra and Crosby sang, one could make out the words, unlike today's so-called music.
Ah, the sign of aging has to be remembering the past, even if it's just in my head.
Now, Boss, where can I find a phonograph? One that, actually, plays.
SPEAKING OF NOSTALGIA (From Uncle John's Bathroom Reader): Some doo-wop sounds you may have forgotten such as -- Pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-Oom-A-Mow-Mow, Papa-Oom Mow Mow. One of the most famous rock syllable combos, from the group called the Rivingtons and their semi-doo-wop tune, "Papa Oom Mow Mow" ... Of course, there was Yip, Yip, Yip Yip Boom, Sha-Na-Na-Na, Sha-Na-Na-Na-Na. It's from "Get a Job," by the Silhouettes and it's not only a great doo-wop, it was the symbol of the '70s doo-wop revival.
FINALLY: In the words of the great Jim Taylor, who once wrote: "Slobbies feel that anyone stupid enough to go looking for a wall of pain deserves to find it."