| Past Thoughts and Outbursts ~ June 26 - September 3, 2006 |
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Those Desperate Evenings I spent a good part of the last couple of days cleaning particular areas of the walls. This area is about five feet up from the floor where my hands grab, lean on, or fall into as I "wall-walk" my way around the apartment. Sometimes it just looks dirty rather than cute. But it is rather ironic that I would wish to clean places that reassure me that I can still be vertical albeit a bit wobbly. You see, there are other times when the smudges appear to me as loud reminders that I am no longer the young, athletic stud I once was. The disease compounded by age are making life quite a challenge at times. On the lighter side, I was groaning right along with Andre Agassi as he painfully succumbed not so much to a younger player than himself, as with the back pain years of tennis had put on him. On the other side, the pain is really kicking my ass. It is getting harder and harder to smile at the day's joys rather than focusing on the constant struggle to keep the pain controlled. The walls here are staying cleaner as I need to cruise around in my wheelchair rather than waddle from here to the kitchen, bathroom, or to bed. (thought I forgot about the walls; didn't you?) Okay - so let's just get this out of the way. On three...ONE...TWO...THREE..."Poor David". Ahhhhh. My sister Chris visited last Saturday (or was it 2 weeks ago?). I think she was aware of my struggle to get around and sent me a little present which I received the other day in the mail. Now she may have sent a copy to all the siblings, but to boost my pathetic mood, I'm sticking with being singled out as "special" on this one. She sent me a 5x7 print of us kids (yeah, its the one below). It is far and away the best photograph of the five of us together. I grabbed the nicest frame I have (thanks Sue - hope you don't mind the switch) and placed it under a lamp next to the TV where I'll see it easily every day. So today has been a rather sucky day. My body is growing less mobile each and every day. The pain has kept me in bed more than ever. My sleep is all screwed up again. And yet, if I may be corny here for a moment; like Lou Gehrig before the crowd (and even Andre addressing the US Open fans one last time), I feel like the luckiest man on earth. I mean, "duh". Just look at the picture for a moment.
I love you all very much. David September 3, 2006 |
Oh, that George! "We will fight the terrorists overseas so we do not have to face them here at home." But Mr. President, what about all the innocent lives that have been lost? "Al Qaeda blew up two U.S. embassies in East Africa, and bombed the USS Cole. Then came the nightmare of September the 11, 2001, when 19 hijackers killed nearly 3,000 men, women, and children." Mr. President, figures say that as few as 20,000 to as many as 45,000 Iraqi civilians have died due to your invasion of their country. How can you justify those numbers? "September the 11, 2001, when 19 hijackers killed nearly 3,000 men, women, and children." So what you're saying is that the deaths of civilians are okay as long as they are not Americans? "Extremists in Iran seized American hostages. Hezbollah terrorists murdered American troops at the Marine barracks in Beirut and Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia. Terrorists set off a truck bomb at the World Trade Center. Al Qaeda blew up two U.S. embassies in East Africa, and bombed the USS Cole. Then came the nightmare of September the 11, 2001, when 19 hijackers killed nearly 3,000 men, women, and children." And where does Saddam Hussein and the Iraqi people fit into any of that? "Some Americans didn't support my decision to remove Saddam Hussein; many are frustrated with the level of violence. But we should all agree that the battle for Iraq is now central to the ideological struggle of the 21st century. We will not allow the terrorists to dictate the future of this century -- so we will defeat them in Iraq." Do you ever listen to yourself? "Not as long as I am President!" I give up. You get the idea. I said it in 2001 and I'll say it again. This man wants to rule the world. This is the most dangerous man on earth today. August 31, 2006 |
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The other day Sean and I were out shopping and ran across a unique find. But before getting to that, I should explain the picture on the left. Being a couple of fun spirited youth (okay - at least one of us), Sean took me up on the dare of posing with the pink chair we saw in a store. Shenanigans ensued! Out came the camera and a Kodak moment was born.
After a bit of questionable haggling, "Shydog" was
paid for and on its way to a new home. Sean and I had already thought of
many things to do with it and on that evening's PoCam, Shydog was
introduced to the world. What more
Shydog is only as real as any of the other "creatures" I put in animated poses around the house and on the PoCam. Truth is, that he fools me as well when I spot him out of the corner of my eye. Let's just say - he's always into something (to hide that fact that he has no front legs or head). Sorry for pulling the proverbial wool over your eyes - I just couldn't help myself. Truly this is an oddity as much at home here as at the Addams family place. Now if only I could find my own Cousin Itt! August 3, 2006 |
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Realizing we're talking about a Sylvester Stallone/Wesley Snipes movie, I don't want to give too much praise to this film. But on this boring afternoon as I try and figure out which of the 3 new meds are causing my throat to close up; I needed a diversion. I went back to my bookcases and couldn't decide on a DVD so bravely dug deeper into the leftover VHS cassette tapes sitting all nice and dusty on a bottom shelf. This one came complete with a little spider so I took it as a sign and popped it into the machine. "Demolition Man" came out in 1993 as a Philip K. Dick wannabe story of the future. The satire in the story line is at times funny (people are singing the top hits on the "oldies" station, which are tv commercials), ironic (Taco Bell is the only restaurant left after the "franchise wars"), and even possibly prophetic (Arnold is elected president of the US in the 21st century!). Oh, and did I mention there is a pre-Speed Sandra Bullock in this as well? She even earned a nomination for "Worst Supporting Actress" at the Razzies. I'm sure she's quite proud of her work in this one. Or not. July 3, 2006 |
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"There's no
crying in baseball!" and So we're in the middle of the World Cup for 2006 and I'm enjoying the matches even though I watch 90% of them in Spanish. International soccer and their fans are quite different than what we are used to here in the U.S. They are much more fanatic about their teams than we tend to be. During any given match, you can hear the roar of fans singing out the team's national song at the tops of their lungs. What you won't hear is any hint of a high pitch. Don't the women ever get into the act? Aren't any of the men tenors? Don't know why this is anything worth noting; but it struck me as odd after about the 30th match and now I notice it in every game.
Another thing I've learned is that soccer players have no equals when it comes to sports entertainment acting. I think its safe to say that they outclass even the professional wrestlers of today in this area. We all know how wrestlers will exaggerate every "thump and bump" to give the impression of more action than is really happening. We've all seen them argue with the referees in the middle of the ring waving their arms about to let everyone know what he's alluding to in the discussion. You see the same thing in soccer. Now, the intent may be different to perhaps give the players a short rest during a grueling match. Or a player might completely overreact to a bump to try and get a foul called on another team's player. Whatever the reason, it is funny to me to watch men get hit with a "feather" and drop like their body just collided with a brick wall. Can soccer be a painful sport? Sure. Do players get seriously hurt during a match? Of course. But to see a player writhing on the ground in agony and then moments later he's up and running down the field again simply makes me giggle. At that moment, I can only think of Thurston Howell III explaining his pain to the other castaways. I suppose, in the end, we all have our own "karate pinkies" which we use to try and gain advantage in life. Pretty cool how I made that into a "deep" thought, eh? Or not.. The point, though, is to discover the quirky and then have a fun day. Maybe I read that in a fortune cookie once. June 26, 2006 |
How
could I not feel blessed to be under the covering of family? The love we
have for each other, well, it helps to forget the pain if only for a
moment. The smiles in the photo cause a reflex smile on any who look at us
here. And this simple picture of 5 brothers and sisters comforts me even
on these desperate evenings. Thanks for the gift, sis. It arrived right on
schedule.
The
"Dog-Gone" Truth
A
little later in the same establishment, it appeared. With the sound of an
angelic chorus in my head, I knew I had to have it! It sat alone on a
shelf out of place. It made no sense. I don't think it ever will. But for
a man who owns a "belly button brush", I felt a connection with it and had
to bring it home.
can
I say about him? Well, he's part Dalmatian and was 30% off when we bought
him (in fact he still is!). You will see him often on the PoCam but never
as bare as he is in this last image.
A
Diamonique in the Rough
"I
hurt my karate pinky"