An old song by Burl Ives is streaming through my mind. I love the lyrics because they are melancholy, and with a slight change of lyrics the song fits my current mood. The song is a Little Bitty Tear. . .
It has been eight days since I tested positive for Covid, and this is the first day I feel well enough to write anything. Mostly I feel nothing but exhaustion. Most likely I will tire myself into a nap by the time i finish this short post. Yes, I am double vaccinated but not boosted. Not that the boost would matter any. All I can believe is that life would be much more miserable if I were unvaxxed.
Looking back on the past days I have come to remember that I have had flu that hit me harder than this thing, and recovered. The Asian flu of 1957 in particular, put me down long enough to have to drop a physics class, and to interrupt my pursuit of an engineering degree. That bout cost me a full year extra of college. The biological difference between Asian and Covid is about sixty-five years. I can truly say that I feel the age effect dragging me down a rabbit hole into another universe.
Covid beat me up and stopped all the projects I had in the fire. In fact, today is the first time in a week that my exercise consisted of walking down the stairs to inspect the “house in a house” project to see where I left off. No doubt, I had worn myself down by pushing hard to complete the job, thus opening the door for the virus to take over. If I out live this event I may even finish the house in a house dream.
Meanwhile, looking out my kitchen window at the 2022 Monet’s Vision I see only unwanted natives overtaking the orderliness of a once manicured garden.
I’ll miss you. You granted me some really nice weather, warm and sunny days, the kind I enjoy. You gave me activities that kept me imbibed in red wine which I really loved. You goaded me into starting the Second Annual Lions Winter Coat Drive. I stood outside on the one cold day, and shook my bucket for dollars and cents so my Lions Club could buy Thanksgiving dinners for some people who are down and out. Although I came home frigid I had fun greeting people with a warm smile and a quick quip.
I especially liked the three days when I got to send my kids birthday cards, although it is hard to believe they are adults on the verge of retirement and not toddlers. The visits with my only daughter turned into fun when she and her husband related the activities of their children. I especially love it when they tell me about my grandkids activities and I remember myself doing the same things. My wish is that they are having as much fun doing them as I did.
All month my lovely and I have become more acquainted with specialists who relieve pain by the barbaric method of twisting and crunching the body into conformance, and then treating the same places with electro-stimulation and light therapy. The amazing thing is that it works. This not curing the body, but it is reducing, and/or eliminating pain. This is one type of treatment that I never believed in and put into the same category as Chinese herbs and teas.
Another joy to behold was attending the funeral of a very good Lion friend. He was my mentor. His personality was a little gruff, but underneath he was all mush and kindness. When I asked him about the history of the club, so I might lead them in a traditional way he spent hours explaining how it was when he was President. He was a member of the old guys section and often they became boisterous and obnoxious in their comments about the new guys and their dumb ways. He helped me understand so I was able to steer the ship through troubled waters safely.
Every year I set a goal to read fifty-two books, and every year I get to forty when time runs out. This year, I am currently reading number fifty-one and have two more novels parked on my desk ready to be read. The book I’m reading is the history of Asian immigrants coming into America, and now I can see why the Liberals think we are a racist country, because we were. Their problem is that they believe we are still racist, and they are dead wrong.
Cute smart preschool girl reading books in library or at home. Kids early learning and home education concept.
There were some days when the mere thought of going outside to clean up the garden incited my body into extreme laziness and spasms of muscular pain. Thankfully, I counted to five, took the step, and went outside to dredge the pond, clear the leaves, and cut back all the tall stuff growing around the water’s edge. As I did those things I remembered back thirty years when a much younger Joe loved working in a much larger yard when it was cloudy, grey and forty degrees out. Those days energized me and nourished my soul. This year though, after two hours I came in drenched in sweat, and so tired I never moved another muscle for the remainder, but I still decided I loved doing the work.
Another November project was the annual Christmas Card design. In years past I went to my art file and pulled a drawing that I could work into a card. This year “I had a dream” that my message should involve Morty Angel my cartoon character. The concept involved all new art work so I wound up drawing pictures which took way too long only because I am out of practice and my hands don’t move as fluidly as they did when I drew last. Then, I had to relearn software that I use once a year and which is no longer supported by Microsoft because it is too old.
Tomorrow, I welcome December 1, 2021 with a to-do list a mile long, and even though December has thirty-one days they will pass in a flash and I will be toasting my lovely on New Year’s Eve at 12:00:01 A.M. on the first of January 2022.
