Last of the Foot News

I had my last doctor's visit today, in regard to the bunion removal. I had gotten a call on Friday that my sweet doctor was not going to be available for a while, so I looked forward to meeting his son. He didn't look a thing like his dad, but he sure did have his bedside manner...attentive and kind. They x-rayed my foot and I could hardly see where the break was, even though the two pins they inserted were quite apparent. My foot looks all flaky and great. They both look like twins again, albeit fraternal ones. Dr. M., Jr. said I could go into a real tennis shoe on Friday. He suggested a good brand, and off I went to Dick's for a proper shoe. (By the way, everyone needs an arch, so invest in a podiatrist's opinion if you are having any foot pain. You won't regret it.)

I told him my other foot had hurt far more than the surgeried one ever did, and pointed to where I thought the tumor must be. I even went so far as to tell him that a quick zap with a laser would pulverize it and I didn't care if the minuscule pieces found their homes in my surrounding tissue. One difference between he and his dad...he didn't appear to have the same sense of humor Dad had. He suggested a shot instead, but quickly assured me that I wouldn't feel a thing, as he was going to cool it down first. He did, and after he had leaned my chair back so I couldn't watch, he s l o w l y injected the medication into my heel, and found out more than he wanted to know about our children. (He asked, mind you. I didn't just start talking about our kids!)

The good thing is I really had some good stuff to tell him...Matthew's appointment to the Student Government Association as a Justice (Seat # 4) at University of Central Florida, and Leah's just-hot-off-the-press announcement that she will be leaving for Singapore in early December to help open the new Universal Studios there. She'll be there through the end of March and we are all quite excited about it. I guess I am probably most excited about the fact that we will all get to spend Thanksgiving up in GA this year; something we haven't done in a long time. We will celebrate Christmas early and exchange phone calls probably A LOT!

To change the subject, it's cold in Winston Salem now that the darkness has come. We are expecting a frost here tonight; therefore I had to bring in orchids, and a variety of other tropical plants that I have placed all over the yard. We are expecting it to get down to 34 degrees tonight, but you wouldn't have known that on the walk I took with Mollie just 2 hours ago. The best way to describe the weather is it feels exactly equidistant from winter, into fall and spring. Do you know what I'm talking about? In the fall it feels like the beginning of winter, and at the epicenter of winter, this day is equidistant from spring. If you don't get it, I could explain it, but if you don't get it then it doesn't really matter. It does to me. I remember doing my water aerobics into late September down in Florida. Every early fall prior to our last fall there, I would sense a time where the thermostat had changed from the day/week before. The very last year we lived there, I remember sitting in the pool and saying out loud, "I just felt the thermostat change!" It was a marvelous experience and one I will never forget. Truly a flick of the switch. The light dims just a little, like a film has been placed over what we see, and the temperature lowers and dark and light grapple for who is going to win just a bit earlier. Check it out as spring approaches if you want to see for yourself. There are all kinds of things to look for, but I'd rather you discover them for yourself.

Randy's out in Branson, Missouri re-acquainting with old friends from all over the U.S., and beyond. He and a few others are receiving recognition for their part in starting food service theme-park yearly meetings years ago, that changed the face of how themeparks went from just hamburger and hotdog fare to hiring chefs and utilizing the culinary arts in their food service departments. I am very proud of him. They helped a lot of the small parks provide good food and effective managerial skills.

Speaking of which, one of our news channels suggested we "Shop the Triad," the name for our three adjacent cities: Winston Salem, Greensboro & Highpoint. (I hope.)Randy and I have felt more than ever that we need to support our local businesses. I want to challenge you to go offline between now and Christmas and shop locally if you can. I try to use every coupon that comes to this house that represents a small business, if I am in need of that business's services. I went to a small town store yesterday,with my coupon in hand, and the owner told me she was just trying to hold on to get through this quarter. I made my purchase, and promised to get the word out to shop at her establishment. If everyone just buys something small or recommends the business to another, it helps. The newscaster pointed out that it wasn't our large department stores that support our silent auctions, etc., that help profit our local charities, so we need to be cognizant of that. I know it's a Catch 22, but do your best, OK?

Phrase for the blog for the day: "Catch-22" (Taken from Widipedia) "a common idimoatic usage meaning 'a no-win situation" or a 'double bind' of any type. Read Joseph Heller's book of the same title for more examples and a good read.