Wednesday, October 17, 2018

Every cloud





I spent an hour before sunrise this morning writing a post. I intended to tangentially mention our local Farmers' Day celebration which occurred on the day after my last post. I started to 'splain the history of the event and to touch on some of the differences between the 1922 (first) edition and the 2018 version.











Before I knew it, and without half trying, I spewed forth a dozen fat paragraphs dripping with sarcasm and negativity. Where the heck did that come from? My basic theme appears to have been that the olden days were golden days and these modern times are worthless and completely filled with suckage. Again, where did that come from? Sheesh!

The experience left me feeling all mean and grumpy, despite the fact that it was a beautiful morning -- warm and sunny and calm -- following hard on the heels of our first winter storm and cold snap which was chilly (8 degrees) and snowy and blustery. This morning was the kind of morning you want to cherish, but I'd twisted myself into a seething mess.

Fortunately, there's an app for that. I went out and exercised, and though it was a struggle at first, the beauty of the day and the efforts of my not-yet-dead body eventually worked their magic. I did five miles -- including running (for certain values of running) 100 flights of underpass/viaduct stairs, in just under an hour.



The combination blew most of the yuck out of my system and reminded me just how fortunate and blessed I am.









Why does this strike my funny bone?


As I was running steps I got a text from my Dad, saying that as long as I was wasting time exercising I might as well pick up a Kimball newspaper for him.

As you may recall, Dad is battling liver disease and doesn't exactly have a happy prognosis or an easy path forward. But he can still crack a good joke and take the piss out of young whipersnappers and their silly exercise rituals. That's a very good thing indeed.

The day after Farmers' Day, things weren't looking so good for him. On Sunday morning, September 30, he took a tumble down the basement stairs. How he survived that fall has us all scratching our heads. It was a severe shock to his disease-weakened body. Lots of scrapes and bruising, though thankfully no broken bones. Nevertheless it put him in a hospital bed overnight and recovering from that fall has been a trial and a challenge. But he's doing it. Seem's he's tougher and stronger than any of us -- including the doctors -- believed. He's still very sick, but his future may not be quite as dark as predicted or feared.
In the ER


Skin tears

Hospital coffee


From the top
To the bottom

It's been a very busy time since September 30, a very hard time, but also a very good time.

14 comments:

  1. Seems the co-owner of the convenience store shares some of your feelings about Farmers Days past and present. Heck of a detour to get my caffeine fix on the way to DIA.

    Connections are sometimes strange. A grandson of Cookie Lockhart, Steamboat Springs Auctioneer, lives in Kimball (regal name). I worked at Lockhart auctions as a helper back in High School days.

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    1. It really does disrupt the traffic!

      I agree, connections can be very interesting.

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  2. Hope your Dad recovers Shaun, someone needs to keep you grounded. ;)

    Great photos, fall on the Great Plains. In many ways I miss that.

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    1. Thanks Sarge. He's hanging in there. Going in to have fluid drained from his abdomen in an hour or so. He's the master at keeping me grounded.

      It's a beautiful time of the year.

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    2. I also would like to say that I also hope your Dad gets better. Dads are important! So are good sons, and you seem to have that covered.

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  3. Thanks for the news from the heartland. The photos are great, except Dad's scrapes, they gotta hurt! Best wishes for his coping with his problems, and the family supporting him.

    100 stair runs in an hour? That's hustling!
    John Blackshow

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  4. Thanks John. It's an adventure we're living. Dad's hanging tough and teaching good lessons. Pretty much like he always has.

    I'm kind of like a kud with a new toy since I started working out. Just amazed at what I can still do.

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  5. My earlier comment vanished into where ever it is that stolen comments go.

    My best wishes and hopes for your father's rapid recovery.

    Small town parades, I love them.

    That's the short version of what I wrote before. I'll go back to saving everything before I hit the ' Publish ' or ' Preview ' button.

    Thanks for the post.
    Paul L. Quandt

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Scott. Bloogle is a bit of a kludgy train wreck. At the end of the day though, I guess you get what you pay for.

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  6. You don't see many Crosley pickups these days!

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    Replies
    1. So that's what that is! Thanks for stopping by and double thanks for the pickup ID.

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  7. My hope, as I write today, is that your father has enjoyed as full a recovery as is possible.

    May life go well enough for you and your family that you find time to post as soon as you may.

    Paul

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  8. Best wishes for a swift, full recovery for your Dad.
    Thank you very much for the photos of America and Americans. That means a lot to me.

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  9. while you can, walk away from dementia and prolonged life as an idiot. I don't mean to go down thtat road.

    my very bes wishes to you. it is a hard time in life.

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