December rambling: Ken Berry “Bush-wacked”

Here’s to the State of Mississippi –

Your Tax Dollars Help Starve Children in Yemen

The End of the American Order

America’s democracy problem

Self-dealing – of the money contributed to his 2020 campaign, $1.1 million has been spent at his businesses

“Witch hunts” explained

The Lame-Duck Power Grab

The Media isn’t “Polarized”, It Has a Right-Wing Cancer

Racism in America: Why Nothing Has Changed

Deconstructing a Genius Climate Change Argument

The Insect Apocalypse

On The Melian Dialogue

My car lost its hometown…

Understanding Rheumatoid Arthritis

How Restaurants Got So Loud

Graduate School Can Have Terrible Effects on People’s Mental Health

Everything That’s Ethical to Steal From Work—And Why We Do It in the First Place

Ken Berry, Star of ‘F Troop’ and ‘Mama’s Family’ has dieds at 85 and Dance like Ken Berry and Ken Berry’s been “Bush-wacked”

Did Ross Perot cost George HW Bush a second term as President? and The Dirty Secrets of George HW Bush and Why All the Bush Nostalgia?

This ’80s PBS Show Made It Cool To Love Math

The first installment of the Gasoline Alley newspaper strip appeared in newspapers 100 years ago, and it is still running

Toy Industry to Induct Three New Members into Esteemed Hall of Fame, including the late Stan Lee

Chuck Dixon is now the most prolific comic book writer of all time

The Chilling Killing Wind cover reveal

City Lights is the greatest silent film ever made

Now I Know: The International Dispute That Slowed Down Time and The Space Capsule That Crashed in Oklahoma and The Helium Balloon With a Magical Ending and Floating Away On a Raft of Disappointment and The Hockey Save that Started in the Stands

Cookie Monster: pays a visit to the popular vlog, Rocketboom and The Lord of the Crumbs and C is for Cookie and CM Nosh and Les Mousserables and Furry Potter and the Goblet of Cookies and the Cookie Ballet with superstar ballerina Misty Copeland and HashtagPBS with Martha Stewart

MUSIC

Here’s to the State of Mississippi – Phil Ochs

The Split – Cordell Jackson, the rockin’ granny

Coverville 1242: The Randy Newman Cover Story III

Franz Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody #2

K-Chuck Radio: I need a good Squeeze right now

Overture from Der Freischutz, composed by Carl Maria von Weber

Arthur’s Weekend Diversion: George Ezra and Hot Chocolate

Tightrope – Janelle Monáe

The Little Things – Chris Heron

Jump For My Love – Perpetuum Jazzile

Saturn (Sleeping at Last cover) – That Cello Guy

Help You Out – AlexSpacesOut

Hell No- Ingrid Michaelson, who attended Binghamton University

Hazel Scott Was Once the Biggest Star in Jazz. Here’s Why You’ve Never Heard of Her

Once was smooth jazz

Deadpool defends Nickelback

As My Grandmother Used to Call It, Arthuritis

I had the meniscus removed. Since then, I’ve been able to tell when bad weather is on the horizon.


Very early on Memorial Day, I was sleeping alone in our bed; the Wife was sleeping in the guest room with the Daughter, because of the latter’s hacking cough. So when I woke in incredible pain, in my left knee, at least I didn’t disturb anyone else. How to describe the sensation: if you ever were dehydrated and woke up a cramp in your calf, except in the knee, and far more intense pain. I had a difficult time finding a comfortable position in which to sleep; anything involving the straightening of my left leg was contraindicated.

I hobbled to the office and actually wrote three blog posts. I really had nothing better to do; I couldn’t sleep, and I was afraid that if I went downstairs to watch TV, I’d never make it back up to the bedroom. The Wife wakes up, asks me how I am, and I tell her that she needs to take me either to the emergency ward or the urgent care place.

Ultimately, after breakfast, we discover the urgent care place is indeed open – my primary care physician’s office is not – and Carol drives me there. The X-ray reveals that I have a severe amount of arthritis in my left knee. This is not surprising.

In 1994, I went to a conference in Snowbird, Utah, outside of Salt Lake City. There was a mountain just behind the hotel, and having some free time, decided to start walking up it. I didn’t plan on climbing to the top, which turned out to be 3000 feet above the 8000 feet at which I started out, but I did. Going down, though, proved to be trickier. I started sliding down the mountain. My left leg got caught in a hole, while the rest of my body was still sliding downward. I tore my meniscus and ended up crawling down the mountain. Don’t know how I got to my hotel room, but I got someone to take me to an urgent care place to get my knee X-rayed.

Back in Albany, I had the meniscus removed. Since then, I’ve been able to tell when bad weather is on the horizon. Apparently, that is a common occurrence with joint injuries.

Present time: the next day, I get around on crutches I still had from the 1994 incident. After retrieving my X-ray from the urgent care place, I get a ride to the bone & joint place, which drains liquid from the knee; they will have it evaluated, to see if I have gout, if they’ll recommend knee surgery, or what. I also got a cortisone shot, which was helpful. Still, it’s easier to ride the bike than walking, and running, I’ve discovered, is contraindicated.

Strangely, my wife has developed similar ailments in the past couple of days; it really isn’t contagious.

Still achy, and the pain reliever makes me loopy, so I take it only at night. So if you see me with a cane or crutch, or just a little gimpy, you’ll know why.

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