Sunday, September 25, 2002

 Sunday, September 25, 2002  

  After lying on my side for most of the night, I felt pain in my left ear and the left side of my face. I checked with the dentist. He asked if I grind my teeth. No, I don't. Then, he had no idea what could be causing the problem. That pain is accompanied by pressure on the left side of my head. This had been going on for a while. I was becoming concerned. The pain wasn't bad; all I had to do was turn onto my right side. The pressure on the left subsided, and I fell back asleep. I would feel better if I knew what the cause was. It could be inflamed sinuses. It could be a rising abscess the dentist hadn't detected yet. It could be a brain tumor.

 On my morning walk, a fellow walker and I introduced ourselves. She wore an Ironman shirt. The Ironman is an international competition held in Kona. The competition will be from October 6 through the 8th. However, many of the athletes had arrived already, getting used to the terrain and altitude. The town posts signs, "Caution: Athletes Training." When I first saw those signs, I sent the picture to my buddies in Ohio. "We have athletes here instead of deer." This year there will be two days of competition, one for the men and one for the women. They opened the competition to more people to compensate for the years missed due to Covid.

    I asked Tina if she was involved with the Ironmen event. Locals volunteer. It used to be a local event, but a corporation got involved. Rather than local people competing, some world-class athletes are here for the money. Tina said that's what the corporations are here for, too. The locals aren't so crazy about the event. Everything gets shut down; whole shopping centers are shut down on the event days because the athletes use our roadways for the biking and running events. This is not a financial win for our community.

  I had a burning sensation in my chest in the evening. This was new. I was concerned. Acid reflux or a heart attack. I was sure it wasn't the latter- not enough symptoms. I put off eating dinner because I didn't feel well. The burning sensation had diminished before I ate and disappeared when I did eat. I concluded that I hadn't taken enough water when I swallowed my Vit. C pill. It got stuck in my esophagus, dissolving there. Vit. C is ascorbic acid; acid burns.

    I spent much of the day reading Raisin in the Sun. It was performed on Broadway in 1959 and made into a movie in 1961. It was considered the best play when first performed in 1959 and is still considered one of the best plays ever written. I remember seeing the movie. I knew most of the points she made. I found the play depressing. It is - terribly. I knew what it was like to be black, Negro, then, in the USA. What I didn't realize was what an incredible play it was. She seamlessly wove every problem black families faced at the time. At no point does she lecture; each point is made through the characters' interactions. I would love to go through and list all the points.