Steve and Judy's Travels!

 

Yesterday.  The two-year anniversary of our heart bypass surgery.  I say “our” surgery because Judy had so much more to do with it than I did.  All I had to do is show up when they told me to and let them do it.  Judy did everything else.

 

They stopped my beating heart and kept me alive with a machine.  They took parts from my legs and rearranged how my heart works.  I’m thankful for the scars on my chest and legs.  I’m thankful for the exemplary medical care at the hospital.  I’m thankful for the exemplary recovery care from Judy for all the weeks and months after.  I’m thankful every time that Judy and I kiss goodnight and still get to stay together; thankful every morning when we wake up together again.

 

I’m very glad to be here today and every day.

 

 

 

You probably thought I wasn’t going to write about urinating in public tonight, but sometimes things just have to be said.

 

It’s about public parks.  If I were building a public park, after I figured out where all the grass, paths, ponds, flowers, bushes, trees, and picnic benches went, I’d figure out where people are going to pee.  It’s a public park.  You’re drawing people there on purpose.  Probably half the people there are going to be women, so that means at least half of them are going to have to pee first thing when they arrive!  Oops.  Did I just say that out loud?  The point is, people pee.  It’s a fact of life.  I’m amazed at how many public places make no allowance for that.  As soon as I need to go, which by now in my life, is about once every two hours, I look around and wonder “where do they want me to pee?”  If there aren’t any restrooms, I conclude they want me to pee on the bushes.  It’s a little more complicated than that for Judy.

 

My most recent experience on this topic was a little different though.  The problem was caused by the coronavirus.  I had dropped Judy off for her knee follow-up appointment and of course I couldn’t go in with her because of the pandemic.  I was walking loops around the buildings and parking lots.  Before long, it was time for me to find facilities, but I couldn’t go inside any of the buildings to use the restroom because there were checkpoints at the doors to prevent anyone besides patients from entering.  Eventually, I had to pick a door.  I chose the main entrance to the hospital.  Multiple people at the security table.  With my mask on.  “I need to use the restroom. ”  “Are you a patient?”  “No, but I really need to use the restroom.”  No sympathy.  Thinking maybe they didn’t understand that I wasn’t just some hopeless hapless person walking down the street, but I really had business there, I said “My wife is in an appointment with her doctor and I need to go inside just to use the restroom.”  Still nothing.  So I volunteered “I’ll go back outside, stand in the parking lot and pee if you prefer, but really I’d rather use the restroom.”  I made it her choice.

 

That did the trick.  She relented, took my temperature and a brief health history, gave me a shirt-sticker, and stood aside.  By the time I came back out and stopped to express my appreciation, it was all good-natured and smiles.  Maybe they had thought it through enough by then to realize that if you invite people together at your facility, even during a pandemic, eventually someone is going to have to pee!

 

 

 

Summer Rain

 

I let the video run, expecting another big lightning flash, but missed it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A protester and a soldier embracing.  A police chief kneeling with demonstrators.  We can focus on what makes us opposite, and fight against each other to make sure nothing ever changes; or we can recognize hurt and pain and work together, through obvious difficulties, to find a more just future.

 

 

 

…and I was excited to.

 

All my life driving, what controls how long I go, how far we drive in a day, is the ache I get in my right leg, back, and butt.  When my butt’s done, I’m done.  Of course, it took all day to get to that point when I was younger, but it comes so much sooner as I get older.  I also notice that the problem never happens from my office chair.  I can get a little stiff from sitting too long, but nothing like what happens after a long day’s drive.  Since my right leg is the problem, I though it might have to do with working the gas pedal, but prolonged highway driving on cruise control rarely involves the gas pedal, so that might not be much of a factor.

 

But I googled my issue, and I found the solution!  There is a guy with medical experience and a website who has figured out that we get that pain from driving because of the design of cars and how we sit.  Cars are made so we’ll sit low, reach our legs way out for the pedals, lean back with our arms outstretched for the steering wheel, and slouch our way down the road.  All we need to do it adjust the seat up straight and sit closer to the wheel.  It’s all about posture.  Better posture will take the pressure off the nerve that’s being offended and problem solved!  Yes.  A new thing.  I am so glad to learn this.

 

So off we go today on the drive to Corpus Christi and back for Judy’s follow-up knee appointment; me sitting up uncomfortably and unnaturally straight.  My arms not fully extended for the steering wheel, but well-bent.  Prescribed posture adopted!

 

Well, after a 300 mile round-trip to Corpus and back today, I can report…  …it didn’t make a damn bit of difference!  I learned something new, but it didn’t turn out to be true.  I sure hope I didn’t have to kick something true out of my brain to make way for that!