All About the Body in Everyday Ramblings

I have heard a couple of things about these public stairs I took this picture of Sunday morning. There are 203 of them. One story is that at one point there was a street here but it was too steep, and another says there was an elevator. At some point I will find out what the “real” story is. They are very steep and there are 13 landings. I suppose I could make up a story about them.

Sort of like Tracy Chevalier did about the Girl With a Pearl Earring, the painting by Vermeer. I heard an interview with her recently where she said that there are a number of people who believe that the story she made up about the painting is true. It is certainly plausible in some ways, which makes it more believable.

I could do the same thing with this hillside.

On that blog that the fellow at the top of the trail that didn’t go anywhere told me about I was able to find an aerial picture of the block I live on from 1938. It turns out that the area where the track I hang out on was a gulch and they filled it almost to street level. I need to investigate that. This sort of changes the picture I have had of the farm that was the first development in this area.

With this new fact I am thinking, well yeah, the track is in sort of a natural bowl geographically.

It is so interesting how our minds take a little snippet of information and build stories and with those stories come images that we create. And as we recall those images repeatedly they become more solid. This whole concept that neurons that fire together wire together and all that…

There is a huge magnolia tree right next to my place too. I bet it was here in 1938.

I am luxuriating today in the time to have these sorts of thoughts because I had the first part of my dental procedure this morning and cleared my calendar and took the day off. It was a time splurge. Normally I would have worked for a few hours and then signed off to go, but today I never clocked in. I was able to catch up on a few chores first so that it wouldn’t feel completely like a lost day.

After looking at the extensive set of x-rays I had done a few weeks ago the specialist thinks the situation in my mouth may not be quite as bleak as she originally thought, that some of the problems might be manageable. And my insurance is going to cover a chunk of this, which means I may be able to get a new computer in this lifetime. :)

That good news provides some solace while I heal.

Speaking of healing Dr. Bob left a message for me this morning while I was having the procedure checking in to tell me that like Diego he has only had one functional eye for some time now and that the retina detached recently on his good eye and while he was dealing with that he tripped on a piece on concrete he did not see and fell and broke his femur on his dominant leg up near the hip. Wow. It was a sweet message that said he wouldn’t be able to put weight on that leg for the period of time he needs to give a massage for at least three more weeks.

That sort of puts my dental work in perspective now doesn’t it?

Now I might be able to afford that massage.

I saw my dermatologist on Tuesday and yesterday I picked up the new lenses for my glasses. Saturday I am going to a research fair and charity walk near here for strides against and new treatments for Melanoma. I am one of 3.300 Melanoma survivors in the registry and anything I can do to help…

For an intellectual like me, May has been very much about the body.

Well, walking up to teach Caregivers on Tuesday I did listen to the 50th lecture on Philosophy in the audio course. I had no idea I had made it that far in the program. So it is kind of a mash-up of the mind body connection. I found out today I have earned my 100-hour pin for teaching that class and as it is really a challenge I am glad for that small recognition.

And speaking of challenges…I am still doing the plank challenge. I stopped doing the day’s challenge for the duration indicated with all this stuff going on but I am trying every listed exercise each day. I think I will start over and do it again in the fall.

Thanks for making it through this post. That was your challenge for the day. :)

Me, I have a date with a bunch of antibiotics.

Last updated May 29, 2015