Story 18March2022: Friday

Friday was plagued with a shaking fatigued that made the day just hard. Sort of a flu-like feeling that any moment you will have the flu, but it never comes. This made me sort of bounce from one thing to the next without any purpose. I took a nap in the afternoon, but it was short as I would not fall asleep. It took me until 3AM to sleep, and getting going was harder this Saturday morning, and I am running late.

Spring weekend starts after this Friday. I am coughing and sneezing, and my eyes are burning a bit. The inhaler stops the wheezing to some degree. It is a typical pollen and mold-filled Oregon Spring.

I manage to write the blog, make breakfast of oatmeal with walnuts and dried cranberries, and read all the emails and news. The blog is not a chore today. The shaking fatigued does not prevent me from finding my writing voice, and I see on rereading that the writing is a bit muted and not as ironic as usual. The world has enough irony without me adding my own!

I watched a bit of Bloomberg. Of course, with Putin and his minions and sycophants threatening nuclear war and the US now American-explaining to China that it would be unwise to support Russia, the stock market is flying up. While Biden is chatting, the newish China aircraft carrier transitions through the Taiwan Straights. The yield-curve is immediately inverted when the Fed raises rates suggesting that a recession is now coming. Nike stock, deeply discounted by the chaos, is currently raising three to five bucks a session. The narrative is that the Fed’s math does not work, but maybe it will work anyway. Again, I am sure I need to add no new irony to this world.

It is Friday, and for me, just another day of getting to the next day, Saturday. I always notice Fridays, but as I am no longer working, it is strange to have another weekend show up, and my days are mostly the same now. My father told me that, after retirement, he had to get a clock that showed the day of the week as it got a bit strange to him not to know what day of the week it was. I am not quite there, but it is a peculiar feeling when Friday and Thursday seem the same. But, also unlike most people, my goal is to reach the next day with the new proviso of not visiting the ER that day. Or, as my father would say to me years ago, it is a good day to see the sun and not see the ER.

I go slow as again I am not quite all that well. I learn that it is essential to not lower my head below my heart level and stand up more deliberately. The anemia is back, but not as bad as when I had a tumor bleeding, but it requires an adjustment.

I manage to dress and shower and then drive to see Susie. Air Volvo has no problem with the slightly moist Oregon Spring, and I soon arrive with all my paint still on my Volvo at Forest Grove Rehab and Care Center at 3900 Pacific Highway, Room 44A. Road construction has started this spring, orange construction signs are nearly as familiar as daffodils here in the Pacific Northwest.

I am careful to stand slowly. For the first time, Susie and I cannot reach Susan’s mother as she is in a car traveling to Ann Arbor, Michigan, to have dinner with Emma, her granddaughter, who is impossibly twenty-six years old now. We record a short video and share that. I then call Zerioda and Peter Koper, and they both have a friendly chat with Susie. Susie can speak with some clarity today and seems to be more aware of her surroundings today.

I tired quickly and soon was taking Air Volvo home. Emma and her family recorded a video back to Susie, and I will play that for her on Saturday.

I manage a chicken sandwich from Popeyes and try to rest. But, again, sleep is not coming. I remember this change from last time. Days of exhaustion were suddenly followed by the need to walk and move to rest at night. One of the many transitions. The cold sensitivity is holding on this time, and my cheeks always feel like I am outside on a cold day in Michigan of my youth here in the 70F house.

More news, and I watch a few late-night routines and return to Batman: The Long Halloween. I am amazed, now knowing who is The Holiday Killer, how much I missed the first time, and how subtle the hints are. If you need more Batman, then I would recommend this one.

I finally give in to the nervous energy and start reading the book Americana again. The book passes through the 1929 Crash with a fascinating explanation of the mistakes made by the treasury. World War 2 is described not from the war point of view but as a change to how the government and people interact with the government. The author points out that people are now drafted and sent to war by the government, just a few hundred years from when that would be unthinkable.

The book is now clearly quoting the racism of housing and FHA regulations. The WW2 building boom is for whites is clearly being pointed out. I am happy to see that the narrative is finally returned to the issues still plaguing. I would say that I recommend this book which is really an essay about the American experience. I found the description of the 1929 Crash and government failures the clearest I have read.

I managed to sleep finally late.