sixth day sufferings

Day Six and still suffering! I'm back to Dad-sitting; Mom is still recovering from a nasty case of food poisoning on the weekend and took the day off work. She IS however, taking advantage of the fact that since I'm already here, she might as well head out for some "her" time.

On the last Dr. visit for Dad, they informed Mom that his cane was a bit too short for his height. I can relate; I've known for quite some time that my own cane is a bit too short for my height; I've just been a bit too lazy to actually go out and find something different. Well, it was a good opportunity, and so now Dad and I both have new canes! Dad is a little less than thrilled about his, but I'm sure he'll warm up to it once he uses it a bit more.

Honestly, the one that I got isn't a HUGE improvement in anything but aesthetics; it does LOOK better than my ultra-basic wooden "old man" cane though.

I get a lot of mileage out of my "story" with canes. When my doc first told me that I would be doing myself a HUGE favor to get a cane, it was a bit hard to deal with (especially at only 37 yrs of age). My initial response was to get something "cool" ...and I chose one with a "hide a sword." For those of you who have a) never seen one, or b) saw one, but didn't pay much attention; the things aren't really all they are cracked up to be. First of all ...aesthetically speaking; 1) they're kinda ugly, and 2) they aren't really designed to actually be USED (well, it doesn't hurt that they are against the law in many states, including Texas); the blade makes a godawful racket whapping around in the "sleeve" if you actually walk with them.

I actually had a cop stop me once in the grocery store and "inquire" about it. Hell, I knew they were against the law ...and just figured it best to merely be totally honest with the cop about it. He was kinda cool about it ...didn't even tell me to get something different; he merely pointed out they were against the law, and left it at that. Kinda wish I had run into that same cop a month or so later...

It was about a week later when I had one of "those moments" that have gotten pretty ho-hum for me anymore. It often amazes me how well I've adapted to the diminished sense of balance; I lose my balance all the time ...but as long as I don't panic, I very seldom can't get it back before I fall (except in those extreme cases, like when I'm moving, or trying to squeeze a couch through an opening that really shouldn't be large enough). That wasn't the case in that first year; when I started to pitch, and my brain was telling me something different than what my body was doing, I'd panic! lol ...so the very first time I had to REALLY throw my weight on the cane ...guess what?!

yup ...handle snapped right off and I went over on my ass in front of gods know how many people. SLIGHTLY embarrassing!!! It's a good thing we have our public trained so nicely about how it isn't nice to laugh at cripples (hell, I'd have been laughing with them had they been though)! ...the next day, I bought a pretty basic wooden "old man" cane, and I've used it ever since. The one I bought today is actually the same height, but it has a prettier ergonomic handgrip ...and best of all, it folds up! ...I can't tell you what a pain in the ass a non-folding cane can be in restaurants at times. If I'm at a table with regular chairs, it can be a real pain to try to stash away where it either won't keep falling, or won't trip the waiter or somebody else up. I may go ahead and get my dremel after the thing and add one more notch for height. I think I can add one more notch and get it about 1/2" higher, which is all I really need. My fear is that it might compromise the structural durability though.

I'd prefer to never repeat that *snap* ...ass over teakettle business in this lifetime for some odd reason.

I seem to recall expressing a bit of disappointment last night about how my "Elmer" post had only had a meager 5 viewings last night. I got up this morning, and it was up to an entire 6. I got to Mom & Pops, then it was over 30! I about crapped, but then I noticed one of my regular readers pimped me out on that blog! I was over 40 views on last look ...we'll see what happens from here! I guess we'll see if I can come up with something else new and creative before the day is out.

My cravings have been pretty bad this morning/afternoon ...but I'm making it. I actually did a little bit of house and kitchen cleaning last night; I broke down and made some sloppy joes for dinner (first time to use my oven surface units and/or the new cookware) and watched "Live Free or Die Hard." Then I actually cleaned up the kitchen, and had everything washed and put away so I wouldn't have to fool with it when I got back. I think I need to find a Sears and buy a new belt for my vacuum cleaner; I really need to get the floor vacuumed really well. It seems to be getting a bit "crunchy," and when I use it, I smell the rubber from the belt burning ...lol! (at least it's easy to change out)

Well, I'm off for a bit. Probably try to write a bit more later ...we'll see if I can get away with a nap or not first.