The Hits...

...Just Keep On Comin'

Sometime in early January, I took a fall off the bottom of the steps between my parking space and the yard.  It was dark, I was tired and grumpy, fussing with my backpack and a package all at the same time I was descending said stairs.  Scuffed up my left knee pretty well, and twised my right ankle enough so that I had to hobble a bit into the house.  All in all, not a major deal.  So I thought.

That night, the whole right foot, from the ankle to the sole was a throbbing, painful ache.  I had visions of a visit to a podiatrist the next day, or at least setting up an appointment with one.  Didn't get to sleep until after 4 am.  And yet, then next morning, the foot was just fine.  No indication that it had ever been so insomnia producingly painful.

And then I started to notice a bit of a 'blinch' when I moved in just the right way.  (Blinch, n., a sudden jolt of electric-like pain down a nerve path, coupled with a desire to unload the blinched appendage as quickly as possible.  See also, "Doctor, it hurts when I do that... .")  I figured I'd go see Dr. Fritz when I was a bit more solvent that I was at the time.  He is a chiropractor I met in one of my classes at the library.  As big a bear, if not bigger, than I am.

And so it went, until Saturday before last, when the lower back took an express hand basket to hell, taking my ability to stand upright and walk normally with it.  Fortunately, I was able to get in to see Dr. Fritz last Monday.  The plan was 3 visits per week for two weeks, the re-evaluate.  Which was going along fine until I mentioned that I noticed my left foot "dropping".  He asked me to stand on tip-toes, then on my heels.  I went 1 and 0.  I don't remember the medical terms, but I have no roll or yaw control, and only downward pitch control in my left foot.  No heel-walking.

Dr. Fritz' take is that I have a disk impinging on my spinal cord, causing the weakness in my left leg and foot.  Based on where I told him the ice pick was being stuck in my left shin, he said the impingement was at the L-5 vertebra.  And that I needed to get my M.D. to evaluate it, pronto.  (My word, not Dr. Fritz'.)   The "pronto" part is to get it treated before the damage becomes permanent.  Which could involve diapers.  The evaluation probably means another MRI.  Which I can't afford.

Meanwhile, entropy is slowly taking over the house, as I have little energy for hauling stuff up and down stairs.  I haven't walked the dogs since a week ago Thursday.  I did make use of Sam's "click and pull", so my groceries were waiting for my at the customer service counter.  And I used a cart as a walker when I went through Wal-Mart.

So, prayer in any denomination is welcome and solicited.  I don't know what I'll do if I'm unable to navigate this three story house and, more importantly, walk the dogs.

Interesting.

(Posted over at Leelu's Place blog, too.)

Day of Resistance

What started out as the morning dog walk tuned into a peaceful assembly/protest.  Who knew??

I didn't know anything about it until I turned the corner onto Main St. and saw this:

We cut  the walk short, and went home.  I swapped my Breakers cap for my NRA cap, and went over to join in and get some photos:

The crowd across the intersection.

Two speeches were given.  Acoustics were crap, but I caught quotations from the Declaration of Independence.  We were exhorted to read and know the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.  He said (I paraphrase) "The Second Amendment is the gun law for this country."  We recited the Pledge of Allegiance.

A couple of folks came bearing arms.

Nifty signs

I haven't been to a demonstration since the 80s.  This one seemed to me to be important to participate in.  The direction President Obama is taking this country is wrong.  No government should have as much control of peoples' live has his assumed, from health care to unconstitutional laws trying to disarm the citizenry.

I have not been this afraid since the early 60s, when I wondered every day if  the Russians would push the button down.  I do not want the sheriff coming to my door to inspect my guns.  I want to afford to shoot  them, which means nothing but sales tax on ammo.  I don't need expensive liability insurance because I own guns.
The people I met today seemed decent, rational, and patriotic.  Several people recommended a particular gun club to me, and I plan on joining.  I don't want to be alone in this mess.

Main and Broadway is a busy intersection, PA routes 24 and 74, from the MD state line, up to York and Carlisle.  We got a lot of support from passers-by, honking horns, waving, and giving thumbs-up.  I'm happy be where the kind of government intrusion Obama seems bent on will be resisted.  I am glad I wound up here.

Odd...

I happened to peruse my blog stats the other day.

In the last month, I've gotten 106 hits from Belarus.

Qua??

My only guess is the "Red" in "Red Lion".

If any of you pop by again, please leave a comment and say "Zdravstvujtye" (or for the less formal, "Privyet")?

Spasiba!

And, pazhalusta!!

This is What Happens...

...when the PVC pipe (that wasn't shut off like I thought it was), cracks and starts a wondefully fine mist spray going for a few hours overnight.

And it's freezing outside.

The common walkway

My neighbor's side

The culprit

Dining area wall w/ A/C

A/C and electric meter

A/C

Garden of icy nubbles

This was My Birthday

When my aunt passed away in 1990, my cousin found an envelope addressed to me among her things and sent it off to me.  It was what I call a "Time Bomb", one that exploded in my face some forty years after the original events.

It's all below the fold.

 

Mom and Dad at MGM Studios, late 1940s

PA House BIll 521

House Bill 521 (2013) would require all persons holding a License to Carry hold liability insurance in the amount of $1,000,000.  When I heard about this, I immediately wrote to Rep. Stan Saylor (who is, it turns out, my across-the-parking lot neighbor).

<Rep Saylor>

This is what I refer to as a "nibble"... a "feel-good" means of nibbling away at citizen's rights.  It is an underhanded attempt to make it more difficult (in this case, expensive) for citizens to exercise their Constitutional right to own and carry firearms.

Please vote "No".

Thank you,
<leelu>

What I've Been Doing Lately

...for the "extra" denero.

 

 

 

EducationPortal.com

The classes are all free.  Take as many as you want, whenever you want.

I'm currently writing the section on "Introduction to Programming".

If you have any feedback, I'd love to hear it!