On The Road Again

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Grumpy at the VVSD car wash now washed away in the tide of reconstruction. 2006

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We have to take Grumpy today. Not only are we driving Grumpy an hour up to Escondido to pick up an exercise bike, we are taking up our old Webber BBQ up for daughter Marie. No room for either in a car.

All I can say is that this is what we own a truck for all the while mourning the 30 mpg he used to get vs. the 17 he gets now.

Yesterday I drove Grumpy downtown. Despite the fact that I had a 5th Avenue address clearly marked in my appointment book, I parked early at the 1st avenue Imaging Center. I had felt grateful for the parking place I found after a wait. Yes, I felt the fool when they told me I was at the wrong place.

At the right place, I struggled to park Grumpy in the very tiny, horizontal parking slots. Short wait. I was able to watch the procedure on the screen as they did it, only later wishing I too had a lead vest for the parts they were not working on. If there’s a next time, I will ask for one. The assistant and doc explained the procedure well, there was no pain for either shot tho there was great pressure after the second one, and the final directions were clear.

I should feel no pain at all for the rest of the day, he told me. That was from part one of the first shot. Later that that would wear off, and for the next two days, I would feel more or less like I did before. The second part of the shot would kick in then….if it was going to work. Don’t swim. Don’t soak in a tub. Shower. Nice guys.

They assisted me off the table. I still hurt. The doc asked how I felt, and I told him.

I confess to politely dropping into instant depression. Grumpy and I stopped by the peace and green of Balboa Park to finish the well written, new Randy Wayne White mystery before going home and eating. By then the front tendon pain had vanished. I was really pleased. By dinner I could get out of a chair….not crawl. I was jazzed. More than jazzed, I was excited.

Yes, I slept terribly. Not because I was in pain. Probably in reaction to the shot. Very hyperactive all night. Still so this morning. Even panting when I talk. Reaction indeed. Probably by the time we get home, I will be in crash and burn mode, but for the moment, I will thoroly enjoy the hyperactivity and more so the little pain.

I really enjoyed leaping out of my big old white chair this morning.