5/20/24

 Monday, May 20, 2024

Lights out around 9 p.m., up to let Lilly out at 2:45, turn slow cooked down to 'warm,' and lights back on to read the NYRB article "Big Germany, What Now" by Timothy Garton Ash, a copy of which I emailed to Sarah.  I did the NYT mini-crossword at 4:45 and opened the "Connections" puzzle which, coupled with the bowl of warm oatmeal I had just consumed, persuaded me to turn off the lights and get some more sleep, and woke up at 6:15 to let Lilly out again.  At 6:30, I managed to solve today's "Connections," i.e., 3 out of 4.

Prednisone, day 8.  At 6:15, I still have some pain in my shoulders and stiffness in both hands, but all seems better than yesterday.  Last night, my shoulders and hands seemed almost normal.  Is this because I sent the Secure Message to Dr. Ryzka?

    Why have I been so enormously hungry since taking the prednisone?  YES!

O frabjous day! Calloo! Callay!  A gorgeous Baltimore Oriole has flown onto my shepherd's crook and jumped, not onto the feeder tube, but onto the big ball of nesting cotton to load up.  It's time to put out some orange halves.

Major accomplishment:  (1) I mounted a pair of compression socks on my badly swollen feet and lower legs for the first time in weeks.  (2) I was mirabile dictu able to get my feet and socks into my old Brooks athletic shoes. (3) I drove to Sendik's to pick up fresh fruit, yogurt, and bread.  (4) I went to the ATM at BMO Harris for some cash and to McDonald's for 2 cheeseburgers, each requiring me successfully to extend my left arm out of the car to do my business.

Griffy the Cooper

The cooper should know about tubs.

But I learned about life as well,

And you who loiter around these graves

Think you know life.

You think your eye sweeps about a wide horizon, perhaps,

In truth you are only looking around the interior of your tub.

You cannot lift yourself to its rim

And see the outer world of things,

And at the same time see yourself.

You are submerged in the tub of yourself —

Taboos and rules and appearances,

Are the staves of your tub.

Break them and dispel the witchcraft

Of thinking your tub is life!

And that you know life!

Edgar Lee Masters, Spoon River Anthology (1914)

How modern this old poem seems in this age of people living in silos!