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Random thoughts, or trying to start a conversation
The only complete blog I could put up here would be more of Pete trys to get better, and we're just not going to do that tonight. Is it just me, or is the Republican party a completely empty shell? What Peyton Manning is attempting is nothing short of miraculous. Why all the fuss about his press overshadowing the Super Bowl? We'll never know what his actions or inactions truly were in the PSU scandal. But I wish Joe Paterno godspeed. Watching the 49ers give their trip to the Super Bowl away was painful. The player that fumbled the punt received death threats. There's something very wrong with that. Can Eli lead the Giants past the Patriots? I have no dog left in the fight and hope for a good game. Planet Pete in random orbit, hitting on more than are missing.
Appliance free
Today marks the beginning of a new phase in my rehab. As of today, no more walker, no more cane, no mechanical assistance of any kind except for the splints on my ring fingers. The splints are there to keep those fingers from curling up into my palm; those guys are pretty much in business for themselves. This morning I waited until C was off to class and Doc was at work. I put my cell in my shirt pocket, and told my daughter I was going walking. She was okay with that, but she made me take off my ankle weights. Using those has not been approved by my PT. Neither was I allowed to take Pearl. For some reason daughter felt that dealing with a puppy was a little outside my current capabilities. Since resistance was futile, off came the weights and off came Pearl's leash. Life jacked by women; that would be me. I finally made it out the door and down the road I went. I had a modest goal in mind. There's a little mom and pop store about a mile down the mountain. I was going to buy myself a bottle of water at that store and use it to hydrate on the way home. At first it was like walking after having a few too many drinks. Sort of a controlled stumble. But after a few minutes I got into a good rhythm and, except for being slow, was pushing off strongly with both feet. There and back again. Another tiny victory. The water tasted great.
Full Metal Jacket
Watched Kubrick's take on the Vietnam era Marines tonight. Not a trip in the Wayback machine by any means, a lot of the movie leaves reality as far behind as Alice did when she fell down the bunny hole. But it does have several things dead on. Not so much the facts of the situation but more the feel. The boot camp scenes are actually more accurate, at least in my memory and humble opinion, when they are at their most surreal. The flashes of life in Saigon are pretty good too. My biggest disappointment with the movie is that it continues the fable that the Tet offensive was a military victory for the North Vietnamese. It was a victory, but not on the battlefield. It was the turning point, but only because our country turned away. The movie works. It evokes a response; it communicates. I don't think it's Kubrick's best work, but it is a movie I would watch again. Even with all the things they just plain got wrong. Semper Fi.
Happy New Year
The first day of the New Year draws to a close. It's been a quiet day. Herself was out with daughter and Doc most of it, so things to watch and listen for were at a rare ebb. C and I did, in fact, have the run of the house. That made not one whit of difference in my daily trip back to Parris Island. It was a new regimen today. The therapist folks put their heads together and came up with circuit training and combined exercises. While I was doing this hand evolution I was also doing this leg or core evolution. Basically move around like normal folks do in an aerobics class. Muscles that had been minding their own business woke up screaming. Actual sweat ran off me like the good old days. There were several things I couldn't do yet, but I went through the motions as best I could. Things hit the floor when they shouldn't. I was not one of them. It surprises me the amount of interest C has developed in the therapy sessions. She and daughter talk to them much more than I do. When we go to the medical center C, daughter, and myself all go through the exercises I'm supposed to concentrate on until the next appointment. While I'm working with the assistant on balance, the girls are over talking form and reps with the therapist. The result is I have two DI's. They are the most softly and politely spoken DI's in history. But they know how to get a job done and what tools to apply. Left to my own devices, it's entirely plausible I would have just said screw it this time and not really have made any attempt at rehab. What was the point? Every time I got up I just got knocked back down again. Where was the logic in setting yourself up for another fall? Fortunately, I am not in charge. I just have to work like hell like the good marine boot I was. Can't let the girls down. I have been life jacked by women. And the cutest one just ran in to share with me whatever she has all over her face. Luck hasn't always been my traveling companion. But if there was any luck in what happened to me, it was because it happened to me here. C loved her kitten. I left that hanging in a previous blog. Happy New Year.
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