Jumping into the Garbage Can

I woke up last Friday with a bad case of vertigo. I was so dizzy I couldn't walk without holding on to something. Gagging from the nausea I just sat still and looked straight ahead. Katy stayed home to take me to the doctor. When the clinic opened I called to make an appointment with our family doctor. He had broken his ankle the week before and had to have surgery to have it pinned back together. We went to the walk in clinic instead.

I assumed that Mark, our doctor, had broken his ankle skiing. Hmmm... Okay, Mark likes to ski but still I wondered if maybe he had injured himself doing something else. Having fished together a couple times I have gotten to know Mark outside of the doctor/patient relationship and I guess that made me wonder.

Because of the vertigo and my age (good grief, do that they have to say that?...) the doctor in the walk-in clinic had me get an ultra sound of my main arteries to see if I had the beginnings of a stroke. Swell... I'm thankful for modern medicine; I just don't want modern medicne finding bad things. I have to go for a follow up appointment with Mark, my doctor, on Monday to go over the test results. (The ultra sound technician said my results were "squeaky clean".)

In the process of making the appointment to see Mark next week I asked the nurse how he had injured his ankle. "Was he skiing," I said, "Or was he doing something crazy like cleaning the gutters and walking around on a slippery roof?"

"Better than that," she said, "He was doing some clean up in his yard and had a garbage can filled with weeds and trimmings. He was pressing it down with his hands to make more room but it wasn't going down so he climbed up on his ladder and jumped into the garbage can to really press things down."

Since she was laughing when she told me I felt it was okay for me to laugh too. I still think its funny. His ankle will heal and I imagine his pride will too. Then again, I'm not sure about his pride needing to heal. I just have to go the the appointment on Monday not to confirm the good results of the ultra-sound or to get my perscription renewed but I have to hear Mark tell me about what happened. This man is highly educated, very successful, and he is 58 years old. And he climbed up to the top of his ladder to jump in his garbage can to press down weeds and clippings. When he landed he must have broken his ankle immediately. Did he climb out on his own? Was he stuck in the garbage can and did he have to call his wife Lori? Did he tip the garbage can over to get out? These and other important questions will be part of my appointment on Monday. His pride may not actually need to heal; knowing him he just may be proud of jumping off a ladder into a garbage can. After hearing all about Mark's ankle I hope during my appointment there is time to talk about my test results.

Laugh at yourself. That's good advice. Just don't climb to the top of your ladder to jump in your garbage can so that you can laugh at yourself. Be careful; that's good advice too. But still laugh at yourself.

It is the weekend. Please be good. Drive your cars carefully. Ride with people who drive carefully. Treat yourself with respect. Spend time with people who treat you with respect. Treat other people with respect. Talk nice to yourself; you deserve it. I look forward to hearing from you or seeing you. Keep yourself whole physically and emotionally. Enjoy your weekend.

P

Proud to be an American: Part IV

This week Frank Woodruff Buckles died. Frank was born on February 1, 1901 making him 110 years old when he died. He was the last surviving American to have fought in World War I. He was also one of the oldest military veterans in the world. Is that possible? Someone who fought in World War I was still alive last Sunday.

He had to lie about his age when he enlisted. The first few places he went he told the recruiter that he was 18 but since he looked his age which was 16, they sent him away. Finally he went into one recruiter and told him he was 21 and they took him. He served from 1917-1920 in both England and France.

During World War II Frank spent 3 1/2 years as a Japanese POW.

In the seventies and even the eighties when we did Veteran's Day Assemblies at the high school we would have veterans stand and be recognized. Even then it seemed incredible to me that World War I Veterans were still alive. In time there were no more who came.

At this time I have almost finised reading "A People's History of the United States: 1492-Present" by Howard Zinn. I don't know what else to say except that this book is staggering. Before and after World War I there were way more strikes and riots in our country than I ever realized. It makes the sacrifices that people made in the past even more impressive.

I am free, I live under the rule of law, I reap the rewards of my work, and I have almost complete freedom of expression. Thank you Frank Buckles and all those who went before you.

It is the weekend. Please be good. Drive your cars carefully. Ride with people who drive carefully. Treat yourself with respect. Spend time with people who treat you with respect. Treat other people with respect. Talk nice to yourself; you deserve it. I look forward to hearing from you or seeing you. Enjoy your weekend.

P