Sunday, August 15, 2021

 Sunday, August 15, 2021

 

     I was in pain in the early hours of this morning. I tried the tennis ball first on my hip and back. Then I used the acupuncture pen on my abdominal muscles. They tense up and cause pain in other areas of my body. Then I felt relief. I chose to believe that this new wave of pain and discomfort was caused by the shift I was making with my left heel. That would throw everything off. It's always a question: is the pain a sign of something terrible that can only surgery can deal with., or is it part of the healing process?

     I had a weird dream this morning. Mike and I were at a mass with a deacon I didn't know on the alter. That deacon suddenly up and walked out. A woman got up to take over his job. However, she didn't know the drill and quit herself. I got up to take over. I had no idea what I was doing either. I mumbled something unintelligible when I had to say words, hoping the attendees would know the words and fill in the blanks. I turned toward the alter toward the end of the mass, holding a carafe of wine in one hand and a plate of consecrated wafers in the other. I was faced with a set of stairs to climb. There was no way I was going to pull this off. The stairs alone were bad enough, no less, there was no handrail, and I had my hands full. I was afraid I would drop the host. It was a nightmare.

       Another rainy day. By noon I had 0% on my solar power wall. We were already pulling electricity from the grid. If our choice is poor solar performance versus dry grass susceptible to fire, I'll choose the former every time. 

       My friend Melissa called to warn me that only one ICU bed was left open on the island. The island will likely shut down in the foreseeable future. Everyone is rushing out to buy food. The shutdowns interrupt our supply lines. I called Yvette to tell her. She had heard the same from her boss at Island Health Care. She said the shelves were already bare.

       I headed down to Safeway to pick up some frozen main meal items. The parking lot was half empty, hardly a rush. I found the freezer fully stocked and picked up several items. 

      Damon called. We spoke for about an hour as he walked in the park, and I got my steps in going up and down the street. We had plenty to talk about. We shared stories. I told him when his dad got fired, and I was overjoyed. He told me about when he had a boss committed to making his life hell and getting fired. Her efforts resulted in Damon being promoted to the position he really wanted. He only found out about his boss's intentions afterward. He got into trouble with her because he expressed distress that he and his friend were passed over for a promotion to the position the woman got. She took it personally and set out to sabotage Damon. Guess what! When there was a turnover in management, it was she who got bounced. 

      Mike's story: He worked as the CEO of an NJ state mental hospital. The central office folks planned to shut down the large hospitals and open community centers. Great idea, but the centers never happened while the hospitals were minimalized. Mike was instructed to fire hospital employees but required to tell them it was all his idea. I was terrified that someone would try to kill him.

     One day he came home, looking downhearted. He asked me to sit with him; he had something to tell me. He had been fired. To his surprise, I jumped for joy. He had plans of retiring anyway. This was in March, and he was all set to start on his second Ph.D. at Catholic university in September. Even better, the sleaze who did this to Mike told him he had to tell people he was retiring and couldn't tell them he was fired. Mike would get all his sick pay and vacation days. Wonderul1

     The 'state' threw him a retirement party.   At the end of the celebration, as people were milling about before leaving, I grabbed a mic and announced Mike's plans to attend Catholic in the fall. The sleaze who fired him was walking across the room right in front of me. He heard what I said and realized what had happened. He stopped in his tracks and stared at me. I gave him a big smile. Of course, he realized that Mike must have been planning his departure. He could never have gotten into a Ph.D. program that quickly otherwise. Such a sweet moment!

     I finally recorded another segment for the YouTube video of my reading method. I am hoping that Tommy can splice it into the already completed video. I sent what I did to Judy and Dorothy to check if it's acceptable. I'm so done with this. I must still record a Phase II video of the Phonics Discovery System.