The Pacific Northwest weather might having thinking otherwise, but springtime is officially here. Just over half way through, we’ve had our share of “April Showers” – along with March, February, and… Bring on the May flowers!
With some free time and a forecast that looked okay, I pushed away from the dock for a few days for a much appreciated getaway.
For more information on the Motor Vessel David B, visit the Northwest Navigation Website and check out Christine Smith’s book, More Faster Backwards: Rebuilding David B.
It has been a pretty lousy winter for boaters in the Pacific Northwest this time around – at least it has been for this boater. The weather man says you can count the “nice” days we’ve had since October on one hand, and pretty much all of them I’ve been tied up with work or other obligations.
When my schedule coincided with a favorable weather forecast, I just had to seize the opportunity to get away from the dock for a few days and enjoy the offseason’s lack of crowds and a little sunshine for a change.
The month of Movember has officially passed, and today I get to say goodbye to my thirty day stache and return to a more recognizable clean-shaven look. I’m ready, because this thing is annoying, it smells like ketchup, and I can’t stop playing with it.
This year, as part of my Movember efforts I wanted to create a series of videos discussing the big issues that affect men’s health and cause men to die to young: Prostate cancer, testicular cancer, and mental health/suicide prevention. I introduced the month formerly known as November with partial nudity, took viewers for a walk near the beach to hopefully raise awareness for prostate cancer. My video about testicular cancer fell prey to technical difficulties.
The final video, regarding mental illness and suicide prevention almost didn’t happen either.
The reason? Well, because it’s difficult to talk about.
Three out of four suicides are men, and globally, we lose a man to suicide each and every minute. It’s an enormous problem, and we need to learn how to talk about it.
Each us has suffered a loss from suicide. In over twenty years with the fire service and EMS, I’ve witnessed first hand how suicide can devastate families and communities. On a personal level, I’ve lost friends, and I couldn’t help but wonder if there was something I missed. What if I had asked a few questions? And listened? But it’s difficult to talk about. And it’s easy to get wrapped up in worry about saying the wrong thing, that nothing is said.
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline provides 24/7, free and confidential support for people in distress, prevention and crisis resources for you or your loved ones, and best practices for professionals.
The Veterans Crisis Line connects Veterans in crisis and their families and friends with qualified, caring Department of Veterans Affairs responders through a confidential toll-free hotline, online chat, or text.
Safe Call Now is a confidential, comprehensive, 24-hour crisis referral service for all public safety employees, all emergency services personnel and their family members nationwide.
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention raises awareness, funds scientific research and provides resources and aid to those affected by suicide, including those who have suffered the loss of a loved one to suicide.
Thank you for following along with this year’s Movember efforts to help change the face of men’s health. Check out the Movember Foundation for more information on men’s health and what you can do to help keep men from dying too young. If you’d like, you can donate to help support the good work they do.
I couldn’t even begin to guess how many times I’ve passed by on my way to other destinations, somehow reasoning that good anchorages can’t be so close to home. The truth is, though, that an often overlooked little gem lies just a stones throw from Anacortes.
Saddlebag Island is a Washington State Marine Park, adjacent to the east end of the Guemes Channel near Anacortes. With an open schedule and a decent weather forecast, I decided to take advantage of the opportunity for an overnight trip close by.
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We are now nearly through the second week of MOVEMBER. Even though the moustache growing is less than stellar at this point, my spirits remain high and plenty of positive energy is channeled to my upper lip.
As mentioned in my previous post, with accompanying video, this is my seventh year participating in Movember. This year, with a new-found hobby of creating videos, I wanted to take the opportunity to use the platform to work toward the Movember Foundation’s mission of raising funds and awareness for the issues that affect men’s health.
So, today I take you along with me on a walk at Rosario Beach – a beautiful location not far from where I live. It’s part of the Deception Pass State Park, and a great setting to talk about… Prostate Cancer.
Prostate Cancer is the second most common cancer in men, behind skin cancer. It affects one in seven men and claims the lives of thirty-five men every hour, worldwide. It’s successfully treatable, if detected early, but often men don’t experience symptoms in the early stages of the disease. Often, early signs are found on routine physical examinations or through PSA blood tests.
What is prostate cancer?
Prostate cancer occurs when some cells within the prostate gland reproduce more rapidly than normal, and a tumor forms. The prostate is a glad located immediately below the bladder in men, with the purpose of producing a fluid that enriches and protects sperm. If prostate cancer is left undetected, it will often spread to other areas of the body – most often bone and lymph nodes – in a process called metastasis.
Risk factors include age, family history, and race. Older men are more likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer. Men with fathers and brothers with history of prostate cancer are twice as likely to be diagnosed. Men of color have a higher prevalence of prostate cancer.
The Movember Foundation is working on global scale to reduce deaths from prostate cancer by funding research to improve detection and treatment, and to help men make informed decisions if the need arises.
Let’s go for a walk.
For more information, please check out the Movember Foundation, to learn more about prostate cancer and other issues that affect men’s health. If you’d like, please consider making a donation to help support the work that the Movember Foundation does to change the face of men’s health.
