Wednesday, October 24, 2018

Time and Tide Wait for No One...

'The Boneyard Project: Return Trip' was created by Eric Firestone and used retired military aircraft from Tucson scrapyards as canvasses for contemporary artists. This ex US Navy C-117D Super Dakota became 'Time Flies By' by How & Nosm. US Navy serial 17102, c/n 43330. Converted from C-47A Skytrain '42-100804' c/n 11888. The exhibition is housed by the Pima Air & Space Museum. Tucson, Arizona, USA. 10-2-2014 (Source)
Backward, turn backward, O Time, in your flight,
Make me a child again just for tonight!*

Been out of sorts lately, maybe it's the eye tribulations, maybe it's the steroid drops for that eye, I'm not the patient type. I keep wondering when that eye is going to be "all better now." The Missus Herself, who pays attention to such things, told me that the Doc said that it could take up to a year before it's fully healed. Or it could happen sooner.

A year.

But it beats no vision at all, I'll take that. Prior to the surgery that eye really bugged me, some days I could see just fine, others, not so much. Still and all, the consulting Doc did say that in 20% of cases, the eye doesn't get better at all.

Argh! (Channeling my inner pirate. Or Popeye, if you will. Muesli indeed! Which I think should be The Chant battle cry. Juvat's mileage might vary. JMMV.)

Anyhoo. Had a wicked bad night of sleep Monday last. Yup, slept like a baby, woke up every couple of hours fussing and whining. Finally said "zum Teufel" and got up at 0530. Which these days is indeed the proverbial "butt crack of dawn," as The WSO would put it. So naturally the work day felt like 12 hours, but wasn't really. Time did not fly on Tuesday.

It's been a strange couple of weeks, bizarre dreams, such as driving to work and hitting every single car coming from the opposite direction (the direction the left eye is responsible for). Dreaming of people that I haven't seen in years, thinking of aging and what lies at the end of the road.

I don't so much worry about myself as I do about others. As I age so do my friends and my family, every time I hear The Missus Herself cough or sneeze I ask, "Are you okay?" Which I think she might find a tad annoying from time to time.

"Yes, I'm fine, quit asking."

Anyhoo.

Heard on Tuesday that Lex's little dog Gus crossed the Rainbow Bridge in the past few days. Oddly enough I had been thinking of that wee dachshund over the weekend. I knew that he must have been getting long in the tooth, it's been six years since Hizzoner passed through the veil. Time flies, I don't care what the theoretical physicists say.

Death, it's part of life, but it still sucks.

RIP Gus
I'm sure Lex is glad to see you little guy.






* From Rock Me to Sleep By Elizabeth Akers Allen
The lead in photo is apropos of "not much." But it's kinda cool, like something Tuna would find.
If this post seems somewhat incoherent, well, so am I.

38 comments:

  1. Good looking pup, they leave too soon. Three or four years ago I started having floaters in the eyes. The ophthalmologist told me that if they suddenly get worse get in pronto, do not wait. They've been a nuisance at times but not definitely what you're going through so fingers still crossed for ya Sarge.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. I developed floaters in my right eye when I was in Germany, drove me nuts until my brain started filtering them out. Now I really need to focus to see them.

      Thanks Nylon12, I'll soldier on. (Or should that be "airman on."?)

      Delete
  2. An art show at the Pima Air & Space Museum? Another reason to go back once again!

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  3. Out of sorts? Welcome to Fall and the beginning of Winter. Need some photos of snow-covered trees and Ho-Ho-ho to cheer you up :)

    /
    L.J.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That might work, L.J.

      All too soon it won't be pictures of snow covered trees, it will be actual snow covered trees. And driveways, and sidewalks, and roads...

      Man, I need to snap out of this funk!

      Delete
  4. The philosopher's question for the ages: if time flies like an arrow, what do fruit flies like?

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  5. Rode a C-117 from Cam Ranh to Sangley Point once. Most miserable 5 1/2 hours I have ever spent in an airplane, and I usually enjoy flying. I wonder if it was that one?


    That picture of Gus stirred up some dust in here, dang it. We lost our Dachshund Sahatzi 4 years ago and I miss her still. Dachshunds are short legged lions and fear nothing.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. I had one through grade school, high school, and college. Tough little dogs, stubborn as all get out, but loyal and brave to a fault.

      To borrow a quote:
      It's not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog.

      Delete
  6. Monday must’ve been a night for disrupted sleep.
    I seldom have to deal with that malady, but it happened.
    Worse, there were no dreams to help account for it, just the stray thoughts when I was awake.

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    Replies
    1. Perhaps it's El Niño?

      Or some other randomness which afflicted us both on the same night, It happens from time to time.

      Delete
  7. Between allergies and other issues I am short on good sleep, which means I am even more grouchy and zombiefied than normal, which considering the political climate in Florida right now (we are on the brink of going full California or Massachusetts - never go full California or Massachusetts) makes me even less tolerant of my 'fellow man' and more tolerant of hiding in a concrete bunker or some cave in Tennessee.

    And, yes, when I am tired and grumpy I tend to bug Mrs. Andrew by interpreting pretty much every non-word sound out of her body as a precursor to calling medevac or something.

    Back in my working days I finally got one bunch of people to finally leave me alone on days like this by posting signs, turning out the lights so only the combonculator lights illuminated the room and growling a lot. Then, if they were stupid enough to turn the lights on, well, they had to see me with runny eyes, nose, ears. Served them right. Blegh. Will crawl back down into my anti-PLQ spider hole and pull the cover over the top.

    (anti-PLQ because it's so hidden he won't even find it. Muhahahahaha cough-cough-blarg…)

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  8. Got a good chuckle out of the "slept like a baby joke." Probably an old one, but first time hearing it for me. I know you don't like pharmaceutical help at night, but I function much better during the day with the sleep it offers. I was reluctant for over 10 years, but I'm in better health because of it. Sorry you're still struggling with the eye.

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    1. Well, I did talk to my doctor about that whole pharmaceutically assisted sleep thing. After discussion, the problem is intermittent and she was VERY reluctant to prescribe anything. I had no problem with that, the issue is rare enough.

      Delete
    2. +1 on good sleep. Very important to get that REM sleep and let the kidneys do their thing. If I gotta pee, it's a sign I slept well.

      There was a stressful period in my early 40's when I tried the pharmaceutical route. Once. That doc had no problem prescribing me something. I night of psychedelic dreams and that stuff got heaved over the backyard fence. Would have heaved the dock too had she been there. (Actually, it went down the disposal, but you get my drift).

      So, I solved it myself. I take 10mg of Melatonin and 500mg of Tylenol. Some nights I chase them with a half glass of Chardonnay. Works great for me and no side effects.

      Hang in there, Sarge. Sometimes you just have to outlast the bastids. Folks with stripes on their sleeves are good at that.

      Delete
    3. Ignium durare nothi!

      Or as some might say, Illegitimi non carborundum.

      Delete
  9. Oh, and Mary, if you're reading this, sorry to hear about Gus. They claw their way into your heart and it hurts when they're gone.

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  10. Thinking of aging and what lies at the end of the road....

    Oh, boy.......that one's been creeping around here a lot lately, too. And thinking of mistakes made, chances missed or not taken, friends who aren't any longer for various reasons, and a whole metric ton load of other 'stuff'.

    Oh, well....playing with the grandson and his cousins gives me hope for the future.

    ReplyDelete
  11. "Super Dakota" gotta love the term.
    Got my first ride in such a beast as a part of an AFROTC indoctrination (actually, none was needed). They let us in the right seat for a while, each one, some wanted to stay others touched it and that was it. It was a heavy beast as I recall. That was in 1957, out of Scott AFB Illinois. We used C-119's for most of our field trips.

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    1. Wow! You actually got to sit in the right seat! Awesome!

      Delete
  12. Hate to see an honest workhorse ending up looking like that.

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    1. Better than ending up as razor blades I suppose.

      Still, I know what you mean, WSF.

      Delete
  13. "...anti-PLQ because it's so hidden he won't even find it." Well AW, don't bet anything you can't afford to lose on that.

    As to Gus, it is always a sad time when one of one's four-legged friends goes.

    In regards to the lack of sleep, cheer up...

    Thanks for the post.
    Paul L. Quandt

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    Replies
    1. Heh, watch out Beans, I knew Paul would take that as a challenge!

      Roger that on losing the four legged members of the tribe.

      As to sleep, I'll survive. I'm just going through a periodic phase.

      Delete
    2. Ha. Multiple levels of maskrova, curtains behind curtains, doors leading nowhere, nowhere leading to doors. It is a wacky twisted fun-house of hidden. Muhahahaha.

      Delete
    3. So basically it's a corporation...

      Delete
  14. "...maskrova..." I don't care what kind of fancy Russian drinks you consume Andrew, they will do you no good.

    Paul

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    Replies
    1. You can run, but you'll just die tired. Amiright?

      Delete

Just be polite... that's all I ask. (For Buck)
Can't be nice, go somewhere else...

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