I. Organ Recital
Ok, ok, I do not want to hear from you A+P folks about little details such as the back and its relationship to an organ. The term organ recital comes from my father and his friends. When they get together they allow only 15 minutes for discussion of personal ailments and then they have to move on to better topics. I shall allow less time, but those of you are not in the mood should skip this paragraph. I will tell you all that your comments have helped enormously. Kevin and mb have been checking several times a day and reading them to me. I feel much cheered and loved. Thank you. This started Monday. Tuesday morning I woke up and was lying quietly, trying to be in a relaxing position when all hell broke out. My legs started flailing uncontrollably, jerking, twitching, and yes, I have to say that I have now experienced a whole new level of pain. I had absolutely no control over my body, I suppose a bit like a seizure, but fully conscious. Yikes! This was accompanied by nausea and prodigious sweating. Now, aren’t you glad there is a cap on organ recitals? I must say that it was so scary and painful that I tuned into a panicked whimpering little animal whispering help me help me. This I hope I never experience again. Kevin has been absolutely fantastic. He managed to get me muscle relaxers but no narcotics for the pain as they are difficult to get here without a doctor’s prescription. The pharmacist told him where to find a doctor but only a nurse practitioner was there so it was no go. So any of you with Percocets, send them on to me in Albuquerque. Although by then I expect to be much better. Each day has been a bit better, and I even went out yesterday to lunch. The cab we took was driven by a very bad driver in his late seventies. Wow. Talk about jerky. He would floor, then stomp the gas. Great for whiplash, He drove not in the lanes but over the lane markers so he could decide which lane would move fastest. He also drove about 5 mm from the bumpers of the cars in front of him. I thought that mb was going to either clock him on the noggin and commandeer the cab or simply jump out. This may be why I am worse today. So I shall stay in, be quiet and try to find one comfortable position. This has evaded me since last night.
Kevin has been a rock as has mb. They have spent much time fetching, carrying, and entertaining me. And Edie always brings a smile to my face. I am a bit depressed today at the lack of progress, but their good cheer and entertaining nursing keeps me going. I did consider the hospital, but there was no way that I could climb down 35 steps to get to an ambulance. We also thought about going home early, but geez o pete, a 20 hour travel day chills my heart. And anyway, I might as well be in bed here as in Albuquerque. I do not expect anymore uncontrollable muscle spasms, so here I shall stay.
II. Miscellaneous Notes That May Repeat Comments by Kevin
I loved traveling to Salt Lake City so we could go from snowy winter to lovely blue-sky summer.
As we waited to clear customs MB had a great conversation with 2 young (21?) women from Tokyo. They had flown from Tokyo to Atlanta then to Buenos Aires. They had a 4 hour or so layover in Buenos Aires, and then would be on their way to Paraguay to do missionary work. The hours of travel time was mind boggling, but they were young and very excited by their trip. They did not speak English, but MB is pretty fluent in Japanese, much to their surprise. Now, a note about mb and languages. While she does not speak much Spanish, when she does speak it is with a Japanese accent. And that REALLY confounds people. I love it.
My first impression of Buenos Aires was a big assault. Noisy, dirty, teeming with people, very alive, but an assault on all the senses.
Let me tell you about the stairs in this place. The second floor is mb and Edie’s bedroom and bathroom, the third floor is our bedroom and bathroom, and the fourth floor is the roof top terrace. There are 21 skinny, twisty (2 turns) squeaky old dark wood stair steps to the second floor. There are 14 more steps to our room, but these are skinny concrete steps without a banister. Then 14 more concrete, banister less steps to the roof. 49 steps. It is the house of stairs. I was thinking that I would end up with buns o steel, but instead I ended up with back spasms. When I get home I am going to start climbing more stairs.
A few Edie notes. I find myself turning into my very fabulous Uncle John Peter Paul Kelly who was always fearful of danger around those he loved. I find my self fearful of Edie falling down the stairs, falling off the roof, getting kidnapped etc. I do believe that I can relax now since she does not seem to be doing any of these things. What she does do, as Kevin mentioned, is open up a whole world to us. Watching people plaster Edie with smiles is a wonderful experience. Suddenly people passing by are not just people but individuals and a connection has been made between us. I love this connection. Edie has been invited into many of the apartments in this wonderful little village where we stay. Everywhere she goes she uses what Spanish she knows, mostly polite greetings and thanks. People’s faces really light up when she says gracias or olla. Very nice.
III. Comments Returned
Ok, I know that I should probably return comments where you made them, but this is me being efficient. Or something
Mike: I loved hearing from you. I was going to spin you a story about how the roof top tub was some special decorator kind of thing, but you are right, it is a water trough, although it does have hot and cold running water and a light. It is pretty fun to use in the evenings but you do have to wear clothes. Just in case you were wondering. About 5 floors of a big apartment complex overlook the terrace. This building is flat concrete, not much charm, and most of the windows just open with no protection what so ever from falling objects or people. Some of the windows have cages on the outside, but I think this is more to keep the pigeons from flying in the apartments than anything else. Sure would not be up to code in the US. Are you all in Atlanta yet? I will try to call on Christmas if I can. It will be with Skype, so it will be less than perfect, but very cheap.
Karen: keep up the Spanish. Do you want me to try to find a Spanish book for practice? When Kevin was learning Spanish, he would read Harry Potter books in Spanish. And for Italian, it was Pinocchio. Kid’s books are great for learning languages.
Susan and Terry: Ummm. Keep Terry’s pants where they are. Maybe keep them hidden. I still cannot figure out why Terry bought the huge pants in the first place, let alone take them to Spain.
Folks, these pants were so big, and had such a low crotch, that Terry could (and did) pull the waist band up over his shoulder. He looked like a giant sausage or something. And he did this in PUBLIC! He and Susan both got in Terry’s pants and waltzed there way around the room. Lovely. As for the women’s short shorts, no thanks again.
Tokyorosa: Such a pleasure to hear from you. Did you take photos of the snow? Did Lewie play in the snow? If you did take photos, could you email one or two to us? I heard it was pretty beautiful. As for tango, I may have an out due to the back, but now that I cannot, perversely, I really want to. Maybe next week. And believe me; I am so trying to get well
Pam: We did go to Plaza de Mayo and I think I did see the mothers. We did not speak with them because there were stadium-sized speakers cranked up so loud that the concrete vibrated. They were announcing a demonstration at 4:00 that afternoon - A continuous wall of noise. There were squadrons of police and soldiers in bullet-proof vests, some with shields and helmets, and everything was partially barricaded. There was a big artillery tank creepy in shape and a pretty big, even creepier, weapon on the roof. Most amazing was the sight of 3 soldiers inside the tank, seated around a gas cook stove making tea. It was not possible to stay, between the noise and the impending demonstration it seemed smart to find something else to do. How are you feeling? Did your voice return? Last time we spoke, I had no voice and you had a cold. Hope you are feeling better.
Judith: Enjoying being out of school? It has got to be a big relief. Keep your emails/posts coming because you always make me laugh.
Susan J and Colleen: It was fabulous to hear from you both. Thanks for not having new princess glasses. That was a very kind thing to do. Colleen, your email was the first we had heard about the snow. - sounds lovely. Here it is about 90, humid, with beautiful blue skies. Very weird.
Later all.
Ok, ok, I do not want to hear from you A+P folks about little details such as the back and its relationship to an organ. The term organ recital comes from my father and his friends. When they get together they allow only 15 minutes for discussion of personal ailments and then they have to move on to better topics. I shall allow less time, but those of you are not in the mood should skip this paragraph. I will tell you all that your comments have helped enormously. Kevin and mb have been checking several times a day and reading them to me. I feel much cheered and loved. Thank you. This started Monday. Tuesday morning I woke up and was lying quietly, trying to be in a relaxing position when all hell broke out. My legs started flailing uncontrollably, jerking, twitching, and yes, I have to say that I have now experienced a whole new level of pain. I had absolutely no control over my body, I suppose a bit like a seizure, but fully conscious. Yikes! This was accompanied by nausea and prodigious sweating. Now, aren’t you glad there is a cap on organ recitals? I must say that it was so scary and painful that I tuned into a panicked whimpering little animal whispering help me help me. This I hope I never experience again. Kevin has been absolutely fantastic. He managed to get me muscle relaxers but no narcotics for the pain as they are difficult to get here without a doctor’s prescription. The pharmacist told him where to find a doctor but only a nurse practitioner was there so it was no go. So any of you with Percocets, send them on to me in Albuquerque. Although by then I expect to be much better. Each day has been a bit better, and I even went out yesterday to lunch. The cab we took was driven by a very bad driver in his late seventies. Wow. Talk about jerky. He would floor, then stomp the gas. Great for whiplash, He drove not in the lanes but over the lane markers so he could decide which lane would move fastest. He also drove about 5 mm from the bumpers of the cars in front of him. I thought that mb was going to either clock him on the noggin and commandeer the cab or simply jump out. This may be why I am worse today. So I shall stay in, be quiet and try to find one comfortable position. This has evaded me since last night.
Kevin has been a rock as has mb. They have spent much time fetching, carrying, and entertaining me. And Edie always brings a smile to my face. I am a bit depressed today at the lack of progress, but their good cheer and entertaining nursing keeps me going. I did consider the hospital, but there was no way that I could climb down 35 steps to get to an ambulance. We also thought about going home early, but geez o pete, a 20 hour travel day chills my heart. And anyway, I might as well be in bed here as in Albuquerque. I do not expect anymore uncontrollable muscle spasms, so here I shall stay.
II. Miscellaneous Notes That May Repeat Comments by Kevin
I loved traveling to Salt Lake City so we could go from snowy winter to lovely blue-sky summer.
As we waited to clear customs MB had a great conversation with 2 young (21?) women from Tokyo. They had flown from Tokyo to Atlanta then to Buenos Aires. They had a 4 hour or so layover in Buenos Aires, and then would be on their way to Paraguay to do missionary work. The hours of travel time was mind boggling, but they were young and very excited by their trip. They did not speak English, but MB is pretty fluent in Japanese, much to their surprise. Now, a note about mb and languages. While she does not speak much Spanish, when she does speak it is with a Japanese accent. And that REALLY confounds people. I love it.
My first impression of Buenos Aires was a big assault. Noisy, dirty, teeming with people, very alive, but an assault on all the senses.
Let me tell you about the stairs in this place. The second floor is mb and Edie’s bedroom and bathroom, the third floor is our bedroom and bathroom, and the fourth floor is the roof top terrace. There are 21 skinny, twisty (2 turns) squeaky old dark wood stair steps to the second floor. There are 14 more steps to our room, but these are skinny concrete steps without a banister. Then 14 more concrete, banister less steps to the roof. 49 steps. It is the house of stairs. I was thinking that I would end up with buns o steel, but instead I ended up with back spasms. When I get home I am going to start climbing more stairs.
A few Edie notes. I find myself turning into my very fabulous Uncle John Peter Paul Kelly who was always fearful of danger around those he loved. I find my self fearful of Edie falling down the stairs, falling off the roof, getting kidnapped etc. I do believe that I can relax now since she does not seem to be doing any of these things. What she does do, as Kevin mentioned, is open up a whole world to us. Watching people plaster Edie with smiles is a wonderful experience. Suddenly people passing by are not just people but individuals and a connection has been made between us. I love this connection. Edie has been invited into many of the apartments in this wonderful little village where we stay. Everywhere she goes she uses what Spanish she knows, mostly polite greetings and thanks. People’s faces really light up when she says gracias or olla. Very nice.
III. Comments Returned
Ok, I know that I should probably return comments where you made them, but this is me being efficient. Or something
Mike: I loved hearing from you. I was going to spin you a story about how the roof top tub was some special decorator kind of thing, but you are right, it is a water trough, although it does have hot and cold running water and a light. It is pretty fun to use in the evenings but you do have to wear clothes. Just in case you were wondering. About 5 floors of a big apartment complex overlook the terrace. This building is flat concrete, not much charm, and most of the windows just open with no protection what so ever from falling objects or people. Some of the windows have cages on the outside, but I think this is more to keep the pigeons from flying in the apartments than anything else. Sure would not be up to code in the US. Are you all in Atlanta yet? I will try to call on Christmas if I can. It will be with Skype, so it will be less than perfect, but very cheap.
Karen: keep up the Spanish. Do you want me to try to find a Spanish book for practice? When Kevin was learning Spanish, he would read Harry Potter books in Spanish. And for Italian, it was Pinocchio. Kid’s books are great for learning languages.
Susan and Terry: Ummm. Keep Terry’s pants where they are. Maybe keep them hidden. I still cannot figure out why Terry bought the huge pants in the first place, let alone take them to Spain.
Folks, these pants were so big, and had such a low crotch, that Terry could (and did) pull the waist band up over his shoulder. He looked like a giant sausage or something. And he did this in PUBLIC! He and Susan both got in Terry’s pants and waltzed there way around the room. Lovely. As for the women’s short shorts, no thanks again.Tokyorosa: Such a pleasure to hear from you. Did you take photos of the snow? Did Lewie play in the snow? If you did take photos, could you email one or two to us? I heard it was pretty beautiful. As for tango, I may have an out due to the back, but now that I cannot, perversely, I really want to. Maybe next week. And believe me; I am so trying to get well
Pam: We did go to Plaza de Mayo and I think I did see the mothers. We did not speak with them because there were stadium-sized speakers cranked up so loud that the concrete vibrated. They were announcing a demonstration at 4:00 that afternoon - A continuous wall of noise. There were squadrons of police and soldiers in bullet-proof vests, some with shields and helmets, and everything was partially barricaded. There was a big artillery tank creepy in shape and a pretty big, even creepier, weapon on the roof. Most amazing was the sight of 3 soldiers inside the tank, seated around a gas cook stove making tea. It was not possible to stay, between the noise and the impending demonstration it seemed smart to find something else to do. How are you feeling? Did your voice return? Last time we spoke, I had no voice and you had a cold. Hope you are feeling better.
Judith: Enjoying being out of school? It has got to be a big relief. Keep your emails/posts coming because you always make me laugh.
Susan J and Colleen: It was fabulous to hear from you both. Thanks for not having new princess glasses. That was a very kind thing to do. Colleen, your email was the first we had heard about the snow. - sounds lovely. Here it is about 90, humid, with beautiful blue skies. Very weird.
Later all.
1 comment:
randomly:
kelly, i hope you continue to feel better!
how much do i love the use of "organ recital" in your post? very much.
i took not a single picture of the snow, but lewie did take great pleasure in running around in it. (too cold for yours truly.) it really was beautiful.
going salsa dancing in tokyo, i used to meet a lot of japanese who spoke only japanese and spanish--and i once danced with a man who looked brazilian but only spoke japanese...
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