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The angle of the light is different, the colors of nature seem more vibrant, more alive, as if knowing that soon the earth would be frozen and gray, so let's live it up now.
I feel much the same way.
Anyhoo ...
Knee is much, much better. I can go up the stairs with great agility, going down is still something of an adventure. Nothing hurts but my brain keeps reminding me of that day when the damned thing wouldn't bear any weight at all.
So I go down the stairs with a great deal of caution. I have no desire for The Missus Herself to come home to my lifeless carcass lying at the bottom of the stairs because I threw caution to the winds and faceplanted.
Did that once not that long ago going into the basement from the backyard. Going from bright sunlight into a darker space. What's worse is that I had changed to progressive lenses in my spectacles after having been assured, "oh, don't worry, they change much faster than they did back in the day!"
Lying bastards. "Faster" is a relative term, back in the day it would take them a minute or two to "undarken." Nowadays it only takes maybe fifteen seconds. When I need to be able to see "right fire trucking now," that ain't good enough.
Next pair of eyeglasses will NOT have that feature.
Oh yeah, going into the basement to get something as The Missus Herself and I were doing something in the backyard and we needed something from the basement. Bulkhead was open, light was on at the foot of the stairs, but truly I couldn't see squat once I left the sunlight.
As I stepped I realized that I was NOT on the last step but on the penultimate step. As I went into freefall I had one thought, "Well, this sucks."
Fortunately, I learned how to fall when I studied martial arts in Korea. Not that I was a great student, but learning how to properly fall so as not to let gravity kick one's ass, I got pretty good at that one thing. Okay in others, but in falling, I was a freaking ninja.
Anyhoo, I hit the basement floor and rolled, taking the brunt of the landing on my not insubstantial derriere. Yes, I was butt hurt after that fall. But nothing was broken, nothing was bleeding and I wasn't even sore the next day.
Of course, I was in my 60s back then ...
I remember when my Dad hit his 70s, I was kind of amazed at how much he had slowed down. Now?
Right there with ya Dad!
Yes, I'm slower but I'm still formidable! (Using the French there, it sounds cooler. You know how I am with languages.)
But yes, Mondays used to suck (unless it was a holiday). Now?
Well, they ain't too bad at all. I do what I want, when I want.
Been working my whole life towards that. It's nice to be there at last.
Ciao!


ReplyDeleteIt was a Monday the 13th that I snapped a blade on a forklift. I'm always wary of Mondays ever since
Friday is the worst day of the usual work week. It's closest to the next Monday. Which makes Monday the best day because the next Monday is a whole week away.
Snapped a blade on a forklift? That must have been exciting!
DeleteIt was....
DeleteInteresting.
3,000 pound lift, I was picking up a 1,600# coil of metal on a flatbed. Now, theoretically each blade should be able to take 3,000# by itself.
Went into it with the single blade, got it about 6" up and SNAP!
When we looked at it, there was a hairline crack on the inside of the bend, and a void inside the metal, probably about 40% of the cross-section.
A rather odd way to view Mondays.
DeleteFall has settled in Sarge, more yellowed leaves racing down the street and driveway, thin wispy clouds scudding up high in a brilliant blue sky, the evenings cool off quickly. Yep....traversing stairs nowadays requires holding onto the handrails, both up and down. Aaaaand there's always a flashlight in a pant's pocket, something like a Streamlight, long, light, with a clip to hold it in a pocket....nice to reduce the darkness. Adaptability is survival maybe.........:)
ReplyDeleteCarrying a flashlight? Useful I suppose.
DeleteMondays were awful when I worked shifts. We were on a four week rotation of a week of nights followed by two lates and yes you have spotted the cunning plan whereby you finished work at 6am and were back in at 2pm. The eight hours were to get home, rest and get back in. You then had two days off followed by three early shifts over a weekend, another two days off then lates from wed-sun and earlies mon-thursday. Yes, you guessed it, off at 10.00pm on Sunday, back in at 6am Monday. A three day weekend, that is if it 'exigencies of the service' didn't require you to work. Despite being young and relatively fit I always felt I was operating at 70%.
ReplyDeleteRetired
I often wondered about the mentality of structuring shift work in such a fashion. In my experience it seemed to produce tired minds and disgruntled employees.
DeleteSarge, I have to admit every Monday morning I look at A the Cat and J the Rabbit and think "Why am I not spending the day home with them?" It seems to get a little worse every Monday.
ReplyDeleteI have the same issues with progressive lenses in terms of them "coming back" when I come inside. Originally I liked the self-darkening feature; not a fan now.
Learning to fall in martial arts has also saved me from more than one worse injury.
I think it's important in life to learn how to fall and how to fail. One can learn from mistakes.
Delete