1. He must have thought we were easy marks. After knocking at the door and stepping back, the salesman started pitching his pest control. “We’re not interested,” I said, turning to close the door. “But,” he said, looking and pointing at the two wasp nests under the eaves. “I know about them,” I said. “We’re […]
Yearly Archives: 2020
Tutoring and More
Mon, 13 Jul 2020, 08:29 AM (-06:00)
1. The End of Dreaming Years ago, something happened in my brain. I stopped remembering my dreams. Stopped remembering so completely that I wake up every day with a blank slate, as if nothing happened all night. Sometimes there’s an echo of a dream. Once or twice, I have recognized where the dream took place […]
Vertigo
Mon, 6 Jul 2020, 08:24 PM (-06:00)
So the end of the massive disk herniation story is this: the back injection worked. Except… that’s not quite the end. Although within days the pain had substantially receded, the fact is that I had been on my back for almost two weeks. And in the process, the crystals in my ear had migrated to […]
Lost and Found Songs
Sun, 5 Jul 2020, 06:56 PM (-06:00)
1. Jotting Down Songs There was a time when I would jot down a song or singer whenever I heard something I liked. Sometimes it was on the last page of the journals I used to keep. Sometimes it was a quickly scribbled note on a notepad. Sometimes it was on the outside of the […]
While Mozart Plays
Sat, 4 Jul 2020, 09:50 PM (-06:00)
We play Mozart to mask the explosions of fireworks in an effort to settle Izzy down. The industrious Trudy having returned from a walk with Izzy just as dusk was settling and only a few firecrackers were popping, we thought Izzy might be worn out enough to not care about the noise. But she cared. She […]
How I Leaned On Khan Academy
Tue, 16 Jun 2020, 03:51 PM (-06:00)
As I already said, days and events are jumbled up, but that’s not significant. Let me tell you one more thing about the lessons, and then next time I’ll wrap up this pain-in-the-back story. 1. Grace Over Grades Our grading philosophy for the last ten weeks of the school year was grace over grades. I […]
About The Procedure
Sun, 7 Jun 2020, 11:40 AM (-06:00)
How do I tell this further? I have the timeline jumbled. The details of doctors and Xray and MRI are not essential. So let’s just skip all that. 1. Doctor Ben First of all, about my brother… He was always there. He called. He texted. He asked how I felt. He gave advice based on […]
Pain in the Time of COVID-19
Fri, 5 Jun 2020, 12:07 PM (-06:00)
I tell this (ok, with a sigh) from what seems ages and ages hence… 1. The Pain The slightest movement triggered the pain. The. Slightest. Movement. So I lay in bed and didn’t budge. The only exception was when the Fair and Industrious Trudy came in with Ibuprofen and a glass of water. Just lifting my head to […]
Something Was Not Right
Fri, 5 Jun 2020, 10:15 AM (-06:00)
I can tell you this now, as I think back on what happened from the vantage point of someone who has recovered… 1. Going Jogging It seemed like a good idea at the time: go for a short jog on Monday/Wednesday/Friday while we were all locked down at home. A lame substitute perhaps for the […]