March 3, 2026

Good morning my DU family,

I wrote in another post the other day that ther is no segment of any personal journey that you are sentenced to travel alone.

This doesn't eliminate the need to make those difficult choices on which direction to go and who to share that with. I can't count the number of times the voice of experience and empathy that I needed to hear was right there speaking softly.

Please give us a day filled with opportunities to not only make difficult choices, but to share that process with those nearest me, and ultimately to take those incredibly important first steps that have been calling us for some time.

Have an adventurous day DU.

Love, John

March 3, 2026

I hope I'm not doing something wrong by posting this.

Temu has great prices on No Kings Tee shirts, as in $5 or less. I ordered 4 for Toby, Tracy and Me to wear with one spare. Arriving no later than March 15.

You can't make them that cheap.


The march is March 28.

March 2, 2026

Good morning my DU family,

As we find ourselves in armed conflicts in dangerous places, it is more important than ever to ensure peace within us.

With the anxiety of the unknown swirling all around us, most of it designed, I must remember that in my space, I create my environment that doesn't have to avoid reality, but doesn't have to swim in the sea of chaos all around.

Please give us a day filled with opportunities to experience stillness and peace, to know I can choose my state of mind and how much "stuff" inlet in today.

Have a fantastic day DU.
Love, John

March 1, 2026

Good morning my DU family,

When it comes to the old saying, "If you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything at all" I find it to be wonderfully direct and true.

But what about the opposite?

Please take the time to share those kind thoughts with others, to say thanks, to notice the extra effort with a few words that will lift someone to the clouds.

Please give us a day filled with opportunities to share kind words and thoughts, to share the high esteem we hold someone in, and to give back in acknowledgement that which they gave us.

Have an inspiring day DU.

Love, John

March 1, 2026

Please bookmark this post, in case you can use it later, God forbid

Someone who's advice I respect greatly suggested I write about my journey to and through my quadruple bypass surgery last February 21, 2025.

One of the things we struggle with as people, is how to handle things that impact our mortality. It is such a natural thing to avoid facing something when its presence is right in front of us and in most cases, screaming for attention.

I consider myself the recipient of numerous miracles as there is no way I should be writing this post, much less any that I've written in the last 2 years.

I had multiple instances of mild chest pain that I poo-pood as anxiety before, during, and after my last back surgery in April, 2024. A a matter of fact, it was only a last second comment during my August, 2024 six month check up with my primary Dr. as I mentioned the occasional discomfort I was feeling in my chest.

My Dr. said let's be on the cautious side and get you a stress test just to be safe. One thing led to another, and I ended up under the knife 6 months later.

There are 3 things I want to address in this post.

1. If I had continued to ignore my symptoms, however mild they may have seemed, I wouldn't have made it to the end of the year. Being properly diagnosed early enough, prevented permanent damage to my heart and created the best possible situation for a positive outcome.

Please listen to your body and what it's telling you, and if it's not normal, please get it checked out. One of the most self destructive things we can do to ourselves is "diagnosing" ourselves. Chest pain, headaches, abdominal pains, lumps and other symptoms are never as simple as a sprained ankle. I'm not trying to scare you, just trying to remind you that there's a difference between our normal aches and pains and these, And we usually know they're different.

2. I really really struggled to feel I deserved a positive outcome. It is this state of mind that I feel almost killed me because If my life isn't worth living, it's not worth healing.
As my surgery approached, I didn't in any way shape or form feel deserving of all the outpouring of love I received here, much less to get a second chance at living while so many who deserved it so much more than me, died. One of the great lessons that was reinforced time and again in this process for me was that I am not the true purveyor of my worth in this world. It was and continues to be a real struggle to accept and acknowledge that my worth is kind of like beauty. It is in the eye of the beholder.

We're not very good at sharing that which we appreciate in others with them in a meaningful and poignant way, in a way that might register. Please trust in two absolute truths about you: Someone values things about you that you've never even noticed, and you impact people near you in ways you can't yet recognize. They are not the same thing lol.

3. There isn't a single step of this journey that you are required to take alone! I found this out purely by chance as during so many quiet moments, whether reflective, anxious, or in peace, your voices came to me again and again. So many words of wisdom, comforting words, hopeful words, affirming words, loving words. I am still so eternally grateful for the suggestion that I say a prayer of thanks right before I went under for the surgery. All I can attest to is that that gratitude flowed from me every minute I was in that hospital except the first hour that I was awake. That first hour awake after the surgery was profound, as I again struggled with believing I deserved to live.
My sister Jill and dear friend Tracy were there when I woke up and they helped calm me.

Each of us have had and of course will have life defining segments of our life's journey, and unfortunately, health related segments are usually the ones we can't control much.

Please trust that no matter your faith, no matter your spiritual place in life, if you allow it, the people you need to hear from the most, who help you the most, who love you the most, will find you. You may not know their names yet, but you will.

It is this last sentence that matters the most to me. I believe that a higher power brought so many of you to me in my moment of need, healing me with your love, kindness and energy. I can't tell you how critically important you all were and continue to be in my life. I am not talking about the GoFundMe at all here.

That so many of you held my hand for this step or that, through this dark time or that, and, most importantly, through each wonderful moment that I could share and celebrate TOGETHER with you, instead of alone, is why I have described to anyone who has cared to listen all this time, these events as miracles in my life. Hundreds of them in this timeframe, HUNDREDS, and they all have a name. YOU!

Please know in your heart that there is no journey that your are sentenced to travel alone, there is no experience in your life that isn't worth sharing AND celebrating, together. Whenever I look back on the most difficult moments in my life, I think of the Footprints In The Sand poem with my understanding of it being that it was You that carried me, it was Your grace, Your love that helped me to the other side of this trial in my life, just like in hindsight, You've done so many times before, for all those You love, not just me.

I hope you find this post useful and find some part of it applicable in your life.

Written in Gratitude and Love, John Mckusick

February 28, 2026

Good morning my DU family,

As spring teases so many of us across the country after a cold winter, I hope today tease how wonderful it can be from the start.

Please give us a day filled with simple pleasures, an adventurous pallette, and a wonderful companion with whom to share it.

Have a delightful day DU.
Love, John

February 27, 2026

Bliss, by definition

End of February, 75 degrees out, I walk Cuddles, in short, sleeves and midway through ,we lay sunning ourselves side by side for a good thirty minutes at the edge of the pond,with a gentle breeze teasing us so wonderfully.

If it gets better than this, tell me how.

February 27, 2026

Good morning my DU family,

Sticks and stones will break my bones but words won't ever hurt me.....is obviously an old line of BS that we know to be not just false, but damagingly so.

Please remember the power of your words, the importance of choosing them with care, and a reminder that criticism without love is cruel.

Please give us a day filled with opportunities to use our words to help lift up others, encourage others, support others, and to compliment others. In other words, to love one another.

Have a wordswhile day DU.

Love, John

February 26, 2026

Good morning my DU family,

As Cuddles takes turns supervising my typing and washing his feet after a hard day's night, his purrs are so soothing and comforting to feel and hear.

It reminds me of how important we are to one another when we offer those soothing and comforting words to a person in need.

Please give us a day filled with opportunities to express our love and care for those near us, especially those who rely on it for part of their sense of worth.

Have a touching day DU.
Love, John

February 26, 2026

I just figured out that 3825-87867 translates to FUCK TRUMP.

Maybe I'm really slow on the uptake,

That makes you a hero in my eyes lol.

I love your name.