Saturday, January 19, 2008

Some more views from the January walk



Buckhorn Island State Park in January



Here are some views of Buckhorn Island State Park in January. It was a very warm day, but walking was a bit treacherous, with much of the path being covered by water, snow, and ice. Buckhorn is a wetland that was restored, and much of it is very swampy.
It was quite an adventure to get through the worst of the path, and I fell only one time, which caused a little injury to my dignity.
Once I got to the bike path, walking became much easier!

Christmas memories 2

During my walk, I saw a good number of Christmas trees that had been set at the curb.
Wow, for sure, Christmas is over. It's just a memory now. But a good one. I went to church, and I was able to sing. That meant a lot to me because, just two weeks earlier, I couldn't even talk. My doctor said that I would be able to sing by Christmas, and she was right.
I didn't believe her at first. I wasn't sure that I would live to see Christmas, much less sing.
I am grateful to have survived the pneumonia.
But, when my head was fogged up by fever, I was able to think about what kind of country I live in...
not a very compassionate one... We now have 50 million people without any health insurance at all. We have many more with inadequate health insurance. I have some coverage, which is good, but it's not enough.
I wondered... would I be sent to a hospital? How would I pay the deductible? I'm a free-lancer. If I don't work, I don't get paid.
Apparently, the U.S. government has plenty of money for war, but no money to make sure that all Americans have adequate health coverage for both routine care, serious illness, and long-term care.
Lots of money for killing...
Not much left for healing...
So... it's really up to people to try to maintain their health as best as possible. Of course, it's hard to avoid all of the viruses and bacteria and germs that float around and get passed from person to person. There is also little that one can do about genetic conditions. But... it is possible to make healthy lifestyle choices... exercising, eating a healthy diet, not smoking... These could make a difference.
So... recently, we had a January thaw, and I managed to take walks on both days that the temperature was over 55 degrees F (12.75 C). Actually, it got quite warm, nearly 65F (18.33 C), and, for a short time, the sun even came out. That was one heck of a bonus in Western New York.
So... back to the Christmas trees... tossed out... in the past tense...
But this one was the funniest... with the toilet next to it.
Oh, I had to take a picture. I couldn't resist.
Out with the old???

Jamie

This is my nephew, Jamie. He is a freshman at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. He likes boats, a lot.
I have two nephews and they both like boats, a lot.
There is something about the water that must attract people. I know that I like the water and I like boats... but, for me, the seasick remedy must come before I get onto the boat!!!
Jamie is a rower. He's a member of the freshman lightweight men's crew team at Cornell University. Recently, he spent a lot of time with his team, at crew camp in Florida.
When he's not rowing, he can be found on his bicycle, going up and down those steep Ithaca hills. Perhaps the Tour de France is in his future???
Could I be a bit biased.
What??? His aunt, biased????
Naaaah.

Devin

This is my nephew Devin. He lives in San Diego, and he is an engineer. He likes sailing boats a lot. He has this giant boat that he has been working on rehabilitating. One of these days, he is going to live on the boat. I am looking forward to seeing this boat.
Devin came home for Christmas and the new year. None of the family had seen his beard and mustache before he came for this visit.
When my dad saw Devin's new look, he said, "What's that?"
Devin said, "Hair."
They then debated on whether Devin's facial hair qualified as a "goatee" or as a "Van Dyke."
Apparently, a "Van Dyke" ends with a point, so the beard is probably a "goatee."
I won't comment about the lack of point because I don't want to make... um... pointless comments...
Never mind.
Devin's girlfriend also came to visit, but she arrived after Christmas. Her name is Kathleen, or Kat for short. She lives in Los Angeles, and is a student in a physical therapy program. Unfortunately, I failed to take her picture so that means that she has to visit again!!! She and Devin are the same height (far taller than me!) and kind of look alike.

Christmas memories 1


It has now been nearly a month since Christmas, and more than two months since I last posted in this blog.
Much has happened during that time. I embarked on a nightmarish journey through the world of illness, and I nearly found myself on the other side of the River Styx. Perhaps I dipped my toes into the River Styx. I don't know. My head was light and woozy from fever and my world shrank until all that was left was inner space... the world of imagination, dreams, and fuzzy, undefined images. One night, I had this dream:
I dreamed that I was standing at a parking lot, near a big body of water. I did not know where I was. I saw my father sitting in the car. He was reading a newspaper. He asked me when I was going to use my boat. I said, now. I thought that it was kind of late, but I didn’t say anything about it. I took a boat from the trunk of the car. It was deflated, sort of like a raft. I knew that I had to re-inflate the boat, but I didn’t think that I could because I didn’t have enough air.
I sort of woke up and started coughing. When I stopped coughing, I was in the boat, which somehow had gotten inflated, but I didn’t know how. So I started paddling in the boat. I saw other people in other boats and I saw houses and places that looked familiar. The lights from the houses and places shone in the water, and I paddled toward them. I could hear meows and voices. But the harder I paddled, the more distant those things became. I knew that either they were real or I was real, but I wasn’t sure which was which. They disappeared and I sort of woke up and started coughing.
When I stopped coughing, I realized that I was still in the boat and that I had done nothing but paddle around in circles in a very tiny area. I came back to shore and my dad saw me pulling the boat behind me. He said, you can go out again. Why don’t you ride in your boat. I looked at my watch. It was nearly midnight. I said that it was nearly midnight. He said, oh, it’s too late. The boat got deflated and ended up in the trunk of the car, but I am not sure how that happened. I didn’t doubt that it did happen because I knew that sequential time was not a factor in Feverland. So my dad drove away, and I started coughing again, and was never sure whether I was in the car with him or not because, when I returned to my dream, I was back in prison.
A correctional officer told me that I had to go to my room right away and get ready for the count. I thought that something was wrong with this and that the prison was not real. The CO told me that I’d better hurry up and get to my room or I would get handcuffed and taken to the SHU. I said that I couldn’t do that until I found my boat again. And then, the prison and the CO disappeared and I was back in the boat. I was not surprised because I knew that the prison was not real in this Feverland. This time, the waters were very choppy, and I nearly capsized. I went back to shore and my dad told me to go back out in the boat. I said, no, the water was too choppy, and all vanished, and I woke up, coughing.
During the time of my illness, my mind took my back and forth in time... back to prison, and forward to the fuzzy, unreal future.
The second antibiotic did the trick, and I recovered... slowly... and, a month later, I am still recuperating.
When I felt better, my parents took me to the mall, where I saw kids on a carousel and large teddy bears, all dressed up and moving. I took pictures of the bears, and they are depicted here.