Ouch

Well this has just sucked. And I mean that quite sincerely. I'm not a happy camper here, folks.
I was cleaning my house; minding my own business and the next thing ya know; OUCH.
I either pulled something, decided to play with a kidney stone; or pinched a nerve. Whatever I did I regret it, apologize for it and I'll mea culpa all day long. If it'll make it go away.
This all went down about one or so, Friday by the way. It's Monday now and still twinging. Better; but twinging. And I'm flipping tired of it.
Not that that's gonna make it better.
But ranting and raving gets a lot off my chest. Which is not helping the twinge. Or whatever it may be.
So here's the deal; when you decide to move walls and rearrange furniture; get on your hands and knees to brush off the rugs; and scrub baseboards, etc.; watch out; it could hurt.
It started off with a pain in the left side that got steadily worse. Finally walking on the tiptoes of the left foot. Had to tilt myself up on one side. Didn't go out Friday night.
Yup, stayed in and sat; leaning over to the right. Wasn't the happiest of campers. Even took some meds. And all the freakin' pills did were make me lightheaded.
So there I sat; unhappy and too zopped to do anything about it and still hurtin' like a sumbitch.
Saturday, no change. And now I'm a whimpering puppy. But quietly. And just working on paperwork for the kids at school. Gotta keep on keepin' on.
Then out to dinner to celebrate friend's birthday, Saturday night. I refused to missed THAT. Finally got SOME respite; Rum. Had a few drinks and everything eased off. Didn't last but for a few hours, but hey, take what you can get; right?
So there you are. I now have the cure for hip pain. Liquor.
Of course, you can't live off that and work. Or I can't. Or I won't.
Sunday, better. Yippee. But then I made the mistake of getting out of bed. But by now, I had a secret weapon. On the way to the birthday party, we bought me a little heating pad. And I spent the day on it. hahahahaha.
Now I've got ammo to fight back. Watch me now. Heat; gentle as a carass; all day long.
And so we have today.
I feel a bit more human. Not a twisted piece of ouchy stuff.
And now I know what it's like to be one of my patient's that lives with a chronic pain.
Mine isn't chronic, but I've gotten a dose of 3 days of good; can't escape; always there and doesn't respond to anything pain/ache/hurt.
It hasn't gone away, but it's better. And by golly, I'll take it. At least I'm walking like normal. Still not smiling about the situation, but haven't quit with life.
Skip's all about just laying around and doing nothing. I'm all about getting things done so I don't get further behind.
I have 4 classes this quarter. Smallest population is 19 students. So...
But I ouch a bit if I get too rambunctious.
Oh, well, life goes on and here I sit. Straight up at least.
So until the next post; I'll just sulk about this left hip/flank twinge deal. It'll get better or I'll give in and see Doc Amy and get her to wave her magic wand or something.
No needles.
In the meantime.
Ouch. And your move. I'm staying put.
OnceAgain

Jim's Obituary

A good man passed from this world last month. He went to join his parents and forbearers of whom he was so proud. Those of whose legacy, he strove to be worthy.
The date of his death doesn't matter, nor of his birth at this juncture.  What does matter was his life.  The life he lived and those he left behind in this world he loved so dearly.
Jim left 2 sons.  They were his sun, moon, and stars.  He was a man not afraid to tell these 2 young men he loved them.  And it was readily evident that he did.  He shone with pride when ever they were mentioned or he spoke their names.  They were the 2 people most dear in his heart.
He left Family; the ones he spoke of often were his Sisters.  Though like many modern families, they were scattered across the world.  When they all came together during his last weeks; I have it from a most reliable source he stated, "This is NICE."
For old grumpy pants to say that; well; it meant tons.  Tons.
He had a career in the Military. The Army to be specific.  He serve honorably and well.  He accomplished every task given and every mission assigned.  He was a pilot and soldier.  He was a Veteran and Patriot.  If you cut the man, he bled red, white and blue.  Literally, I believe.  He retired and went on to continue to serve in yet another capacity.
Jim worked as a Contractor continuing to serve the "Kids" as he called those still in Uniform.  And he was a quiet warrior for them.  He knew the nuances of Government workings.  His was not the manner of bluster or force.  It was finesse and tactic and campaign.  Whether he wore them down or out, I do not know; but he protected the Kids and worked for them to the best of his abilities.  "We have to look out for them," he once said to me.
He was a giver.  Quietly without fanfare or publicity, he gave to Charities and to those in need.  He especially supported Foundations set up to assist the homeless Veterans.  He gave without expecting anything in return; not even a thank you.  This was the measure of the man.
There were those who took advantage of his generosity.  But, it mattered not to him.  He wanted to help; to assist; to aid.  Did he make mistakes?  Oh, yeah.  Did he give when he shouldn't in those cases.  Definitely.  Was he taken advantage of?  Yep.  But he shook it off and went on.  Lesson learned and muster forward.  Don't dwell on it.  Another day, another Heineken.
That was our Jim.
Stubborn old coot.
Speaking of which.
He was obstinate, hard headed, set in his ways, fastidious to a fault, and could be downright prissy.  Yeah, you heard me right, people.  Prissy.  I told him once he probably starched his boxers.  He got a twinkle in his eyes and leaned forward and said, "Nah, I just iron them."  And I started laughing. It was he who gave Janis and I the names, "Thelma and Louise." He could tease and pick like a second grader. But, he could take it, too.  So, I suppose that part was okay.  That part.
He didn't play fair sometimes.  If I got in a snit with him, he made me laugh and I got "unsnitted."  That's cheating.  He cheated a lot that way with his friends. He made you laugh, really laugh.  He liked to regale his friends with jokes and stories.
He had a lot of friends.  You liked him.  He could drive you crazy with his story renditions and the way he wandered from the subject, but you just liked the guy.  And it was there he was most, most blessed.
You see, as the life of this man wound down, 2 of those friends "angeled" to him.  They had that special bond with him that sometimes the luckiest of us get.  The luckiest.
His angels were Janis and Matt.  One a saucy lady of dubious redhair and one a man in battle fatigues.  It was they who spent those last hours together with this gentle man.  It was they who gently led him from this world to the next.  It was they who performed that most selfless act of love in letting go; in telling the one who struggles to disconnect from life, "you've done well; it's okay now."
And so he let go.
And now here I am with this group of words that try in vain to give you a gist of the worth and feeling of this man. And I am not sure how to sum up his life.
Perhaps this will tell you best.
Shortly after Jim passed, my daughter call with good news.  As I congratulated her and rejoiced with her, she caught the hint of sorrow in me.  And she ask what was wrong.  And so I told her, "Jim died."
She had a bit of trouble remembering exactly who he was as she had only met him a few times.  So I jogged her memory.  Then she exclaimed, "Oh no, Mama.  Not the nice man."
And that is it that says it best. 
He was a NICE man.
OnceAgain

Jim

We will attend a viewing; this afternoon. A long time in coming.
Remember I told you of my friend,Jim, who passed back in December? On the 22nd?
It will be for him.
The memorial mass will be tomorrow.
Yesterday his obituary finally appeared in the local paper. Finally.
It was the driest, barest, coldest, least representative narrative of an individual I've read in a long time.
Oh, all the proper people were mentioned. The sons; the sisters - who he loved but rarely saw; the nieces; nephews - who were rarely part of his life; the wife - from whom he'd been separated for 18 YEARS.
His military career was brushed over. No real mention of his many, many accomplishments.
His work as a Contractor after his retirement was a gloss. Nada. Nothing.
The man was awarded the Order of St. Michael's, for gosh sake. He supported the homeless veterans; quietly, but consistently. He always made sure that we had a place to celebrate the 4th of July.
Nothing was made of the fact this man was a Patriot; a Soldier who revered and loved his Country.
Last, but never, never least; no mention was made of his friends. Jim had tons of friends. But especially Janis and Matt. They had grown so very close these last few years. Those two were tirelessly devoted to him in his last weeks; last days.
It was they who were at his bedside as he drew his last breath. It was they who gave him the "okay" to stop the painful battle with life and ease into Heaven. It was they who best demonstrated that selfless, selfless last act of purest love.
For all that he could be; aggravating, exasperating, stubborn, mischievous, and prissy (yes, I said prissy); Jim was loyal, true, fun, mischievous (it works both ways people), and just a darn good guy.
And THAT was what should have been written.
All of it.
Janis and Matt deserved more; Jim would have wanted it.
Jim deserved more; he earned it.
So I've written this. It doesn't matter the year of birth or death; it matters what a person WAS.
JIM TORNEY was a damn fine man.
And we loved him.
God speed, old friend.
OnceAgain