Last week I told you about the fun of geocaching which is looking for hidden treasures with a GPS.

This week, in a lighter vein, (cough, cough) I'm going to tell you about a new game called "Map That Vein." This new game can also help you find new places to visit.It's real easy. First, you need someone with varicose veins. Next, you have to pick the point of where one vein begins and determine if it is your home or some other town or city. Then find the end point of another vein. Trace that line on tracing paper and then apply it to a map. And Bingo! You've got your next road trip all mapped out for you!Harry and I are thinking of maybe a little getaway for our anniversary.So if I take the point on my lower left leg as Effort (Point A) to the end point on my thigh (Point B), it looks like we could end up in a place called Kearney, Ontario, Canada. Population 798, where the turkeys and evidently the blackfly outnumber the residents since Kearney boasts some exciting events each year like the Blackfly Festival and the Sand Lake Thanksgiving Sunday Turkey Shoot. Oh. Yay.OK, if I turn the tracing paper over and upside down and Point A is home, then it would land me smack dab in the middle of Watha, North Carolina. Population 151. It boasts being home to Camp Kirkwood where it provides "a variety camping and facility rentals including a rustic village and bunkhouse cabins. Enjoy yourself by the fire circles." Translated by Linda to read, "Hot dogs and toasted marshmallows are your fine dining choices. No running water. No electricity. No thanks."If I turn the tracing paper sideways, Miamisburg, Ohio is a possibility. Population 20,181. It is home to Mableleen's Fashion Outlet and a house that looks like two silver spaceships connected by a giant silver dryer hose. OK. That one has possibilities.But seriously folks, varicose veins are ugly and can be tortuous. And a great topic of conversation that can lead to an education, as I learned recently.My friend Pat was telling a group of us about her latest experience with her varicose veins. A golfer, she arrived at the golf course when one of her varicose veins began to bleed. Since this has happened on more than one occasion, she keeps gauze in her purse. She wrapped her leg and took off for the greens. A little later, she felt something on the back of her other leg and saw blood trickling down from another varicose vein that began to bleed. She wrapped this leg with gauze."I looked like the walking wounded," she laughs. But it didn't stop our intrepid golfer from completing all 18 holes.When she got home, she called her doctor to see what could be done about her still bleeding varicose veins. She was advised to go to the emergency room.Now maybe this is going to be common knowledge to you, but what she said floored me.The doctor used "Super Glue" to stop the bleeding! Super Glue!She said it was amazing! After just a few seconds, the bleeding stopped.According to a Dec. 4, 2007 article in The New York Times, during the Vietnam War, emergency medics began using the all-purpose glue to seal battle wounds in troops headed for surgery. The glue was so good at stemming bleeding that it was credited with saving many lives.Professional athletes often close small cuts with Super Glue or similar products to get back in the game in a hurry. The glues are used by veterinarians, and many people keep a tube around the house to help them out of a medical pinch. It is believed that the glues made from the chemical cyanoacrylate not only stop bleeding quickly, but also lead to less scarring.Does that mean we all should have Super Glue in our medicine cabinets?The article stated that there are studies that show although the glue can be useful in emergencies, it can also irritate the skin, kill cells and cause other side effects, particularly when used on deep wounds.The good news is that a safer alternative is an antibacterial form marketed as Dermabond.After Pat told us about her Super Glue fix, our friend Jan said that Super Glue is also used in other medical procedures. Well, not the Super Glue you buy off the shelf at Wal-Mart but another form. She said doctors use it today to close up after some surgeries instead of stitches or staples."Get out of here!" I exclaimed.Sometimes even I'm amazed at what I don't know!In an article of the March 25, 2004 edition of the "NEWS Medical," it states that doctors currently use a glue to close skin wounds instead of using sutures, and are now studying it for vascular grafts. The sealant, manufactured by Closure Medical Corporation, is designed to provide a strong physical seal that remains in place longer than the graft takes to heal naturally.The miracle of medicine!But back to varicose veins.I've got one on my left thigh that I know is going to blow one day like Mt. Vesuvius. I don't know if Elmer's Glue would do the trick so I'm going to go out and buy a tube of Super Glue, just in case. I'll chance the side effects.If it blows before our anniversary trip, it could seriously mess up my game of "Map That Vein."Oh well. I'll just have to trace a new itinerary.