Daily Walking -- Part 2

[BonzaiDuck]

NEWS FROM THE HILL

The neighbors who are my age but healthier all refer to our hillside street as a bitch to climb. I finally got out today -- it was about 74F degrees, overcast -- just the way you'd want.

And I was "steppin' it out" going up the steepest portion. There are certain stubby brick walls setting off the various townhouse units up here, and it seems I use the same places as rest stops. Three going up the hill. None coming down to the bottom, except a pause there, and then back up to my front door with two pauses -- to the point right where the shallower part of the road gets abruptly steeper. Having measured it, my front door is about halfway from the entrance of the community to the cul-de-sac circle at the top.

I'm getting better at walking this hill. In fact, having done it just around lunch, I'll wait until midnight and do it again!

And before that, some sit-ups and push-ups and some squats.

With all the unhappy shit going through my brain this morning, I feel pretty damn good now at 6PM. Endorphins! It's the endorphins!

 

[Greenman]

NEWS FROM THE HILL

The neighbors who are my age but healthier all refer to our hillside street as a bitch to climb. I finally got out today -- it was about 74F degrees, overcast -- just the way you'd want.

And I was "steppin' it out" going up the steepest portion. There are certain stubby brick walls setting off the various townhouse units up here, and it seems I use the same places as rest stops. Three going up the hill. None coming down to the bottom, except a pause there, and then back up to my front door with two pauses -- to the point right where the shallower part of the road gets abruptly steeper. Having measured it, my front door is about halfway from the entrance of the community to the cul-de-sac circle at the top.

I'm getting better at walking this hill. In fact, having done it just around lunch, I'll wait until midnight and do it again!

And before that, some sit-ups and push-ups and some squats.

With all the unhappy shit going through my brain this morning, I feel pretty damn good now at 6PM. Endorphins! It's the endorphins!

Or the gummies.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

Or the gummies.

Actually, to my experience, if you feel depressed when you're sober, the feeling continues when you're stoned. It could even make it worse. But I can tell you a single Xanax / Alprazolam does the trick. I got a prescription during my visit with my PC doctor, just after my Moms died Oct. '23. There's still enough of them left -- if I took one every three months, they would not be too soon depleted.

These days it just seems that life is hard even if your age is an excuse to avoid heavy lifting or reporting for work every day.

 

[Greenman]

Actually, to my experience, if you feel depressed when you're sober, the feeling continues when you're stoned. It could even make it worse. But I can tell you a single Xanax / Alprazolam does the trick. I got a prescription during my visit with my PC doctor, just after my Moms died Oct. '23. There's still enough of them left -- if I took one every three months, they would not be too soon depleted.

These days it just seems that life is hard even if your age is an excuse to avoid heavy lifting or reporting for work every day.

You're mobile, have money, a nice place to live, and not in constant pain. Life is pretty good.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

You're mobile, have money, a nice place to live, and not in constant pain. Life is pretty good.

I have a vague kind of superstition. After the inauguration in 2017, the health of everyone who lived under this roof went south: my brother was diagnosed with his circulatory problem and risk of losing a foot or a leg; my Moms fell, sent to the hospital with a hip fracture, and I had to seek PoA status because of her dementia; and I was diagnosed with high-blood pressure and had to take my COPD seriously.

Now, as I watch all the stress and trouble on the news, my friend's wife needs special treatment for long-COVID with steroid shots and she just fell in the bathtub and hurt her neck. My surviving brother complains of pain and thinks its a gall stone. My housemate is having car trouble, when I was without transport for 2 weeks to get my own ride repaired. Suddenly, my friend the dentist has back pain, and as soon as I heard about it a filling came out of my molar. I have to make an appointment at my friend's office today.

Some sort of Evil Spirit is out to damage me, my family and friends!

But -- Life Is GOOD! I'm just apprehensive about even leaving this room, because something bad may happen! 🙄

I DID complete my walk yesterday -- in the drizzling rain. The rain is welcome, until you start to feel soaked.

And I still agree with your observation. So far. heh-heh.

 

[Greenman]

I have a vague kind of superstition. After the inauguration in 2017, the health of everyone who lived under this roof went south: my brother was diagnosed with his circulatory problem and risk of losing a foot or a leg; my Moms fell, sent to the hospital with a hip fracture, and I had to seek PoA status because of her dementia; and I was diagnosed with high-blood pressure and had to take my COPD seriously.

Now, as I watch all the stress and trouble on the news, my friend's wife needs special treatment for long-COVID with steroid shots and she just fell in the bathtub and hurt her neck. My surviving brother complains of pain and thinks its a gall stone. My housemate is having car trouble, when I was without transport for 2 weeks to get my own ride repaired. Suddenly, my friend the dentist has back pain, and as soon as I heard about it a filling came out of my molar. I have to make an appointment at my friend's office today.

Some sort of Evil Spirit is out to damage me, my family and friends!

But -- Life Is GOOD! I'm just apprehensive about even leaving this room, because something bad may happen! 🙄

I DID complete my walk yesterday -- in the drizzling rain. The rain is welcome, until you start to feel soaked.

And I still agree with your observation. So far. heh-heh.

You've successfully described old age. It ain't pleasant, but it beats the other option.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

You've successfully described old age. It ain't pleasant, but it beats the other option.

I can appreciate that my dentist is my friend, and that his office staff have known me for 25 years.

I went out at 8AM to consult with my car repair-shop over work done, and take them donuts. I always take them donuts. Then I thought I'd drop by the dentist office to schedule an appointment about the filling that came loose.

Paul the dentist hadn't yet arrived. A hygienist who knew me beckoned me toward the familiar chair to take X-Rays -- IM-MED-iately! Next thing I know, Paul has arrived, sticks his fingers in my mouth to repair the tooth and filling, sending me on my way with a note about meeting for lunch.

So -- yeah -- being old with minor medical problems (so far) beats the alternative of punching out early, as I would say.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

AN UPDATE ON WALKING WITH COPD

They'd transported my surviving brother to an ICU in a Reno hospital. Biopsies showed no cancer cells on his liver. Instead, an abscess that had turned septic. He'll eventually return home totally -- or almost totally restored.

I went up there to visit him almost every day during Christmas week. Reno is at 4, 500 feet, while my brother's house is at 4,700 feet. I needed my oxygen concentrator to walk the length of the hospital to my brother's room. The return road trip was pleasant and uneventful.

I really couldn't walk a mile every day in Nevada under those circumstances. I resumed walking on Monday before New Year's Day. Elevation here is just short of 1,000 feet.

After a 10-day hiatus, I was stunned. I can knock out a mile every morning now without much strain. I still must pause and catch my breath when I feel like it, but only for a minute or two each -- about every eighth of a mile. Compared to my stamina and endurance when I first started walking after Mom's death in October 2013, I have really recovered.

I'm just wondering how long before it stops improving.

Well -- time to fill my pill boxes -- a chore occurring every four weeks because I prepare four pill boxes at a time.