Day 143 (13 Days until surgery) First Day Home

Going backward, as I have not done that in a while, last night late, I popped a US Quarter-sized blister on my right foot big toe. It all but exploded, and, due to chemotherapy and diabetes and a hammer-toe issue on that foot, it is somewhat numb; the pain was little. I took some painkillers, the normal off-the-shelf versions, and covered the wound with ointment to stop an infection. Next, I put a bandaid and a piece of medical tape to keep it all in place. I managed to sleep until about 4 when the pain returned, and I was doing the diabetic electrical shock thing. This is when the pain comes and goes. It makes it impossible to sleep as it keeps waking you. The jetlag did not improve this, and I started my data at about 4:30, which is not unusual with jetlag anyway.

This misery will continue for about a day before the healing takes over. I do not expect difficulties, as my feet are not mushy or show poor circulation. It’s just the shocks for a while.

Moving backward, I returned on 5 May 2024 not so much for the Mexican food as to play Dungeons and Dragons one more time before my surgery. I was at Matt V’s house before 5:30 and brought him the London maps from the game 1879, which are independent of the game and are just excellent and newly drawn maps to recreate 1879 London streets. We often play in 1926 for Call of Cthulhu role playing game (RPG), and I suspect the maps will work just as well. I also brought him the spices from Casablanca, and we put some of the burgers in it. The spice did not work as well as a rub, but still, it was cool to try some on burgers. Matt V makes meat and non-meat burgers when we play at his house.

I told stories about my Morocco trip and recommended a multi-city tour to my friends. We also went over the events of my surgery and Susie’s concert in Michigan. Both are less than two weeks away. But, mostly, we played Dungeons and Dragons, Spell Jamming, and 5E.

I play a lawful evil cleric of the concept of war. This ties my hands as I have to play evil, as the debate was a war or an attempt to negotiate with a dark power. My vote should be obvious. The vote went for peace and a scouting mission–being lawful, I accepted the results. We took our space-flying ship (yes, SciFi mixed with fantasy–Tolkien goes Space Battleship Yamato) to investigate after a diplomatic conference we attended went pair-shaped with various blasting rays after an internal dispute exploded (literally). I was drinking coffee, with extra coffee, and still had some trouble keeping it clear in my head. It was fun.

Before this, I rested for a bit and redid some laundry as my permanent press items got wrinkled last night. I managed to get all the laundry done and put it away. Most of my travel items are put away. I cannot find my leather passport holder; I might have lost it. It contains all my inoculation records. Puke!

I had lunch with the Weld-Martins at the newish OG Mexican place near the corner of 185th and TV Highway. I had to park a block away as it was popular today, Cinco de Mayo. I had the chili relleno plate, and Anne had the shrimp, which looked good. Wayne was very unhappy as his meal was late; he had crab-stuffed items. I had my first Diet Coke in weeks with ice. It was great. My food was a bit plain, and I was in Morocco a few days ago, so it is not time to make comparisons! Anne suggests the seafood. Next time!

Before this, I was at church, having risen at 7ish and sleeping well my first night (it is always like that for the first night). I wrote the blog and finished in time to clean up, dress, and make it to church. I had a striped dress shirt under my now-baggy sweater and put, yikes, a stripped pride tie that clashed, and I changed it. I went with a 1980s Structures tie with triangles that matched the color of the shirt and the sweater. This was not a vertigo-inducing combination; better.

Dondrea announced to claps that the inconsistent approach to gay rights had ended in the United Methodist Church, and we are now open to gay marriage, gay ministers, and all of the pride community. Later, we learned that the far-right Christian media is attacking the UMC as having gone hedonist (their word). If you have ever been to a UMC, our idea of going wild is singing hymns that are less than a hundred years old, not serving green jello with shredded carrots, and requiring ingredient lists at a potluck to stop food emergencies. We are still who we were last week.

Aside: I know that some disagree with this, but we, as the members of UMC, have gone this way to be more open, not become hedonists or worse. We are still the same mostly harmless (thanks, Douglas Adams, for those words) version of American Protestants. Please don’t believe the lies; we are still the same boring folks.

Really aside, I love the idea of Hedonist Methodist. So many jokes. It is so Douglas Adams or Steve Martin.

I arrived before the service and gave Dondrea their new scarves from Casablanca and some packets of cooking seasonings. They loved the scarves. I spent much of the service standing in the back, drinking lots of coffee. Sitting was not welcome after my flights the day before.

Pastor Ken gave the sermon today, focusing on the Book of James, just the start. This is the first letter of the New Testament I taught in Sunday school, and I know it well. It is also one of the books used to practice translating Greek to English, as it is well composed in native Common Greek, so I am quite familiar with it. I have also heard from another Methodist preacher that the Book of James is the model of a sermon and preaching. Ken, always the scholar, points out that Martin Luther considered it of less value and put it in an appendix in his translation of Greek to German.

Pastor Ken explores the beginning, which tells folks to expect trials and to have joy from them—a near-self-conflicting statement. Ken explained that he sees this as a promise that God will be with you and help you survive and grow from the experiences—that God actually promises this. And while Pastor Ken went down many paths and expanded on this more, my jetlagged self could only remember the large bullet points.

The morning was wet, grey, and slightly windy. The temperatures did not rise above the low 60s (16-20C). My China rose had flowers, but they were soaked and not standing up yet. There was no local flooding, but some puddles appeared on the roads.

I was doing well until the toe issue. It should clear up soon. I should get to normal sleep when I am headed to Michigan next week!

Be well! Thanks for reading!