Arlo Gilbert Blog

Amy Does Disney

I hadn't intended to write a haiku, or even to complain for a while.  I changed my mind.  Actually, the pain in my back changed my mind.  In the process of downsizing my life and living situations, I have grumbled about ridding myself of such things as 9,900 nails, drill presses and tools, furniture, and many other material things.  In truth, a very large part of the "stuff" I moved to the apartment or into storage was paper.  It is easy to decide to discard five year old catalogs and outdated journals.  The real problem involved for me is the sorting of, and the appropriate disposition of, clinical records, papers kept from hospital days upon which client information might appear, and personal information which might make me an easier target for Identity Theft (although our government has already assisted me there by losing a hard drive with my personal and financial specifics on it.)

Sorting papers didn't seem too tough, just something that was time consuming, repetitive, and boring.  I recalled, (a little too late) that the last time I had caused a major flare-up of sciatic pain from degenerating discs in my lower back was when I sealed the deck at the house.  Neither of these tasks is physically demanding, but they have in common a repetitive bending forward and twisting to the left.  That sort of task sneaks up on me.  Warning pain, as when I try to lift something too heavy or incorrectly isn't there.  It irritates the lumbar and sacral areas "gently" until the inflammation really becomes noticeable in the middle of the night.

Lightning strike of pain

Streaks from disc to foot and brain

Won't do that again

Peace, Doc

Copyright © 2008, Thomas A. Blood, Ph.D.

“Wisdom is nothing more than healed pain.” - Robert Gary Lee

An Inspiring Futuristic Film

This evening, I think I'll briefly rate movies I've seen in recent weeks.  Ones I love will be rated 5, while ones I detested will be 1's. 

Many of you will learn more about my taste in motion pictures by ones I chose to watch.  Many may laugh at the age of some of the movies I'm including, but "Jimmy crack corn . . ."    

ANIMATED FILMS

Ratatouille- 4

Surf's Up- 3

ACTION FILMS

Batman Begins- 4.5

Layer Cake (w/ Daniel Craig, the newest James Bond)- 2

National Treasure: Book of Secrets- 4

DRAMAS

Lord of War- 3

The Cider House Rules- 4.5

There Will Be Blood- 4

V for Vendetta- 4.5

COMEDIES

National Lampoon's Van Wilder- 1.5

Keep McCain a Non-President !

Richard

Things...Places....

To begin, I have titled this post Six Idiosyncrasies Tag because I do not wish to publicly admit that I am in any way ... umm, ... odd.   My regular readers will immediately recognize this as a blatant and bald-faced lie, but some new visitors may be tricked.  I believe that with the current mini-feature thing, I should try to represent Microsoft Spaces Live in an appropriate manner.  To this end, there will be no mention of hemorrhoids, hairballs, or hemostats.

If any of you take the time now (or return later when you have a day or two to waste) to read over the past three years of posts, you will quite likely to be able to say, "Hah!  Caught him.  He repeated himself."  Probably so.  One can only contain a limited number of eccentricities before someone else (a psychologist, perhaps) starts calling them symptoms.  I can't have that happen, because I have found that I may not bill my insurance company for talking to myself, even if I feel much better afterward.

1.)  Cold food or drink must be cold!  Ice cream should be so hard that spoons are bent trying to get it out of the carton.  Milk is to be drunk with ice cubes in it.  Coffee and tea should be iced.

2.)  I believe in cleanliness and order in my life and in my living space.  I also believe in Santa Claus, the Tooth Faerie, the Easter Bunny, and ...

3.)  Almost all the books on the top two shelves of the living room bookcase were published prior to 1918.  One surgical dictionary was published in 1834.  I am not an intentional collector of antiquities.   These are family items that must not be parted with.  Firstborn got the complete works of Charles Dickens (and the handmade, glass front book case) when I moved.  Number One Son got a Winchester model 1896, octagonal barrel, pump action rifle.

4.)  When my time comes, (preferably 30-40 years from now) I wish to be buried in jeans, boots, and a flannel shirt.  I am considering buying a plain pine casket (pre-need) from a group of Trappist Monks in Iowa, to use as a coffee table or a book case in the interim, to ensure that my wishes are followed.

5.)  One of my huge cats (Bittle) expects to sleep under my right arm every night.  If I am able to get to bed and to sleep before he notices, he wakes me to "make room."  The other, even larger cat, (Stinky) "hides" in the bathtub and watches me.  He also expects me to find him, roll him over, sing to him, and rub his underside.  I do these things.

6.)  I always wear out the left elbow of any shirt before almost any other spot.  In looking back at number four, maybe I should make certain that I reserve a good one for "my time of need."  I had not considered this previously.

Peace, Doc

Copyright © 2008, Thomas A. Blood, Ph.D.

"The only success worth one's powder was success in the line of one's idiosyncrasy.  What was talent but the art of being completely whatever one happened to be?” - Henry James

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