The wind is blowing steadily outside. It has something to do with a tropical storm and a cold front confronting other near here. By "near here" I simply mean this particular war of nature's gods is happening in this small area of the world. The rest of the world is having it's own struggles. I'm having my own struggles.
I went to the VA yesterday to get a bone density test. I didn't have a clue how that was done. I assumed it was sort of like the metal or mineral tests where they drive a spring-loaded point down into whatever they're testing to measure the hardness. It won't nothing like that. They just had me lay down on a table and had this movable arm make a bunch of passes over my body. Then, they told me to get up, put my clothes back on, and leave.
I was able to find out what's going on with them sending me to the Durham VA. That particular hospital has a special rheumatology clinic. My doctor was able to see that I have an appointment there next month, but I still haven't gotten an appointment letter from them with the exact date yet. They're supposed to send me a letter. That's how bureaucracy works.
I've been sort of stupid about whether I get travel pay to go to the Fayetteville VA. They have a window in the same room as the pharmacy. I was there to refill my ibuprofen prescription. I finally got up the nerve to go up to the travel window and ask if I rated any money to help me pay for gas. The disgruntled government worker just looked at me like I was an idiot and told me to give him my VA ID card. All those windows in the pharmacy room have bullet-proof glass with a slot at the bottom of them in order to conduct their business.
I slid my ID card through that slot to him and he started punching in my info into his computer, and then punched Enter. He handed me the printout and told me to take it over to the Cashier's window in the same waiting room. I did, and a much cheerier government worker gave me $5.50. It wasn't enough to pay for the gas it took, especially these days, but every little bit helps. I could have been getting this money every time I've gone over. Working this VA gig can be a hit and miss proposition, but I'm not complaining. It doesn't cost me anything, and just yesterday would have cost thousands.
It got cool just in time for the Autumnal Equinox. It's the opposite of Spring, but just as surprising. It's not unusual to get a couple of cool days during the long summer months, but when the nights cool down into the fifties (10-15 C) and stays there for at least a week, it's a warning that more cool weather is on the way. Just like the Spring announces the coming of the green, Fall announces the brown colors of the next Winter to be.
Around my house a more reliable indicator of the coming of the even shorter days is my fig tree. It may not be for true the earliest deciduous tree to shed it's leaves, but it's one of the first, and the closest tree to my house anyway. It's too close. That's why I'm trying to get another fig tree growing out toward the edge of the woods.
A strange thing happened to the commercial cutting I bought at Lowes. It's leaves started shrinking, and I thought it might die. I had already put as much fertilizer on it as I dared. I put some bamboo stakes around it and beat them into the ground. Afterward, I would go hit the stakes with my hammer to vibrate the ground around the new cutting in order to drive away any moles by the vibration.
I was only just so much dedicated to my mole defense program. I stopped beating those bamboo stobs after a few weeks. I was surprised when I noticed some new green buds on the smaller limbs a week or so ago, and this new fig bush has now got new leaves on it. I'll probably have to wait until next Spring to find out if it's gonna live.
This arthritis has gotten me to remembering some stuff I read about the Swedes up in Minnesota had a tendency to live longer than any other group of people in the United States. I'm thinking the article might have mentioned that was largely due to the cooler weather up there. The connection with arthritis is that it's caused by inflammation. More recently I've been made aware that inflammation is the root cause for lots of diseases.
If I add these memories to my present experience of sitting here barefooted, and think about how cold it has to get before I'm willing to start wearing it shoes, I wonder if the cool weather helps the body resist inflammation, and thus prevents disease. After all, this current arthritis bout started with inflammation in my feet. Maybe I oughta see if I can sleep with fewer blankets this winter, and allow my body to get as cold as I can and still sleep.
I do not attempt to tell the God's own truth here because I don't know what the truth is or hardly ever. I try to capture the drifting thoughts that randomly appear in my imagination for reasons I may not understand. I don't know if the content I capture with these words is true or false. The Comments settings are turned off to prevent me from having to defend what amounts to little more than fanciful, sometime crude speculation. Great moments in our lives never return.
