Friday, December 10, 2021

Friday, December 10, 2021

 

    As I started my morning walk, I saw Darby, at a distance, stooped down, pulling weeds from the strip between the sidewalk and the street.  Darby is more sensitive to chemicals than I am. She picked weeds so the town wouldn't have to spray them with a weedkiller. 

   Darby told me her Internet was still down.  Huh! I've been up and going since Monday afternoon.  Isaac, who lives just up the next street, never lost either electricity or the Internet.  Julie never lost electricity but has been out of the Internet since Sunday's storm knocked out the service.  Darby asked if she could use my Internet. Patrick needed a teleconference with the medical team on Oahu.  They found another questionable area in his armpit.  They operated on it. Then they sent him home and told him he could shower but not get wound wet.  They provided a bandage that only partially covered the wound.  I had a PT appointment coming up. I gave Darby detailed directions as to the tablet's location, how to wake it up, and the password. Later in the day, she called to say they took care of it with a telephone call. They didn't need the computer.   

       When I got home from my PT appointment, I was exhausted.  Actually, I felt a wave of exhaustion as I pulled into the parking lot. Who knows why?  Katie worked on helping me relax the muscles in my left leg, notably the adductors.  I have an exercise to engage those muscles.  They are frozen. I hadn't realized I could improve the situation by strengthening them.  Katie gave me an exercise. I had volunteered to drive B to the airport at noon. As I got out of the car for my PT appointment, he called to say he got a ride from someone else. Good thing he did.  I was exhausted. But not so exhausted, I couldn't stop at the little café outside Club Rehab to get another Greek salad open sandwich on this incredible bread. I have to find out where they get it.  When I got home, I was too tired to do anything other than take a two-hour nap.

   Shortly after I woke up, Judy called. Great timing.  I told her I had an appointment with the optometrist at 1:50 and an hours tutoring appointment at 4 pm with the M &W sisters, and I was still exhausted.  Judy recommended I cancel my eye appointment. I hated to do that at the 11th hour.  I know it's important to keep them.  Canceled appointments mean lost time and, in most cases, lost money. That's not true in my case. Mike had the service for free because he was a deacon in the Catholic.  He had several free services around town because of his work with the church. I got my eye service and glasses at half price.  After Mike died, Sandor and Meali'inani committed to giving me the service for free.  On Judy's advice, I called and spoke to their assistants.  Would I screw up their schedule if I canceled?  No, it would be fine. Ah, thank God.  I was so tired.

    Since I had the time, I went to Kaiser to pick up my blood pressure meds. I pressed the wrong button last night when I ordered them over the phone and got stuck on the pickup option.  The pickup line went very quickly. As I walked out of the pharmacy, someone ran after me. I had left my walking stick behind. While I always take it as I go for my walks on the street, I never use it when I go about town. However, today, my ankle was bothering me. 

     Kaiser had a big sign advertising the flu shot and the Covid vaccine.  I would remember I had to get the flu shot, forget it, remember it again, etc. I found the room where they were giving it. It took all of two minutes. Done!

      One of the books I'm reading is Gladwell's David and Goliath. He wrote that a very high percentage of people who make significant contributions have lost a parent as a child,  a quarter before the age of 10, 34.5 percent before the age of fifteen,  and forty-five percent before 20. (Those statistics are impressive; they also add up to 104.5 %.)  Aside from that mathematic glitch, the point is these people are survivors and feel invincible.  They tend not to be people pleasers; therefore, they can be innovators, challenging the norms. They have a high tolerance for making fools of themselves.

    This was an extension of a discussion of people who appear heroic.  London had the hell bombed out of it in WWII. Leaders were concerned about panic and mental breakdowns. Instead, Londoners went about their business. The population divided into three groups: the dead, the near survivors, and the remote survivors.  Remote survivors are the ones who conclude they're invincible. They are the ones who went about their business as the sirens went off and the bombs fell.  Crazy- well, good crazy.  

   As a child who lost a parent shortly after fifteen, I can attest it had a significant impact. I guess I can classify myself as a remote survivor.  My mom, an amazing woman, made sure everything stayed in place for us.  There were only two major changes in our lives, not counting my father's absence.  First, my grandmother moved in, and second, my mom went to work.  I believe that had a significant negative impact on my sister. It impacted me too. I didn't have to worry about my mom being around when I came home from school. I had some respite from her attacks. Ah!  See, things do have a silver lining.

     Two minutes before our scheduled time, W & M's mother texted to say they were canceling for the day, basketball practice.  I texted Mom, asking for earlier announcements. It sounded like she didn't get her announcement until the last minute.    

   I ran into Isaac, Lutz, and Lutz's son, Brian, walking together. I joined them briefly. Isaac lagged behind with me to check, "Was I okay?" He wanted to catch up to the other two. Don't you hate it when people render you helpless or in trouble when they want to give you less attention? Brian, Lutz's son, is a few years older than Isaac.  This is Isaac's first friend, who's even close to his age here on the island.