We Survived.

We at this newspaper are thankful and delighted that we survived coming down with COVID-19.

During a rolling three weeks of sickness and lockdown, followed by a week of snow storms, none of us went to the hospital, and enough of us showed up during the month of February to produce, print, mail out and deliver all of our newspapers on time during that four week period.

The way we figure it... gotta be better days ahead.

My compliments to our staff for stepping up and getting it done some way, some how. No doubt other businesses have similar stories to tell. We’re certainly not the only ones to go through these difficult times.

Life Goes On

After the 2020 national elections, it occurred to me that I can’t sway the course of world events by willing them toward my direction, no matter how hard I try to do so.

So...since that is the case, I decided I would focus on things I can change...namely my personal health and wellness program. If I was grading that over the past several years, I would give myself a solid F.

It occurs to me that I have a decided slant toward the “compulsive range” when it comes to eating. If I get a taste of it in my mouth, and it tastes good...I eat it all. Not good.

I can remember my dad telling me when I was a lean kid in high school wolfing down everything within my reach.... “You better watch that, it’s going to catch up to you.”

He was correct. It did. 60 pounds on the plus size following my high school graduation weight in the spring of 1978, it’s time to take control.

I’ve been blessed with very good genetics. So far, I am on no medication, and don’t have heart problems or diabetes. That will not be the case if I continue my current trajectory. When you turn 60, things begin falling apart.

The Move

For instance: We sold our house earlier this month, and I thought we could handle the moving chore with four 20-something year olds, wife Mary and me going at it hard over one weekend.

Our three sons, aged 30 through 23 are scattered across the nation...one is in Maryland...one in Arizona...and one is in California. We couldn’t call on them, but four of their buddies came to help us out.

First rattle out of the box: I came home from work Friday night three weeks ago, and went upstairs to break down one of our son’s beds, and when I reached back to pick up my drill to take some screws out, the screws on the side rail ripped out on their own and the headboard came crashing down on my lower leg, crushing a fairly sizable blood vessel beneath the skin.

10 years ago, I would have been aware and quick enough to dodge it. Five years ago, I would have only received a deep bruise.

This time around I was on several medicines recovering from COVID-19 and pneumonia.

Evidently there were some blood thinners involved, and a pineapple sized blob of blood collected beneath the skin on the side of my shin.

I went downstairs to take my pants off to assess the damage, and Mary’s response as she glanced at it was: “Really. You’re doing that to yourself right before we move tomorrow? Do you want to go to the emergency room?”

Can’t say I blame Mary. She’s seen the results of me tearing myself up many times over the past 37 years. Probably has something to do with that compulsive deal I referenced above.

I declined the emergency room trip.

Within a few hours, the skin above the hematoma became as tight as a drumhead, and the skin began splitting, creating a gooey, oozing mess.

My brother Mike’s son, Sean, is an MD, and I texted a photo and explanation to him. Next I did the same to my friends Cherie Myers, state champion basketball coach, and Jeff Myers, state champion football coach.

All three have experience in dealing with hematomas, and all three gave excellent advice: Put ice on it, elevate it and stay off it for 48 hours.

In my defense, I did exactly that for the next eight hours.

However, we had to get the move over with that weekend, as the new folks were moving in on the following Monday.

So...since it didn’t hurt, I spent the next 48 hours moving, lifting and shoving stuff around.

My friend Brent Henderson said it best: “Just an old man doing more than he should and paying the price.”

Sums it up very well.

Anyway...we completed the move, and now we reside in a little duplex on 13th Street, while we figure out the floor plans of the house we will soon begin building. I did go to my doctor, who forwarded photos to the orthopedic surgeons, who told us surgery was risky for infection, so just let it go down on its own.

Unfortunately, that will take about six months.

Perfect Opportunity To Contemplate

Our middle son Ben’s friend Trey Buckner lost a large amount weight through intermittent fasting after he finished playing football as an offensive lineman at Oklahoma Baptist University. He continues the diet today by eating reasonably between the hours of 12-noon and 6 p.m., and not at all after that window of time.

So...while I go about my business over these next six months (with a now baseball sized knot on the side of my leg), old yo-yo man is going to give that one a try.

Stay tuned. We’ll release the results as we go along. This is Day 6 of the diet and I haven’t blown it to smithereens yet.

We’ve been here before. Mary, who always was, and most assuredly always will be in better-than-average physical condition, quietly listened when I told her of my newest game-plan to win the weight war.

Her response now: “Don’t tell me about it. Just do it.” Hey, sounds like the old Nike commercial. I get that.

Challenge accepted.