MRI AND FERAL HOGS

Tuesday I had an MRI of my lumbar area and today they called with the results. Seems that I am collapsing in my lower spine as happens with aging. They mentioned disk problems, some spinal stenosis, and nerve damage. I have an appointment with a spinal doctor in Abilene for next Tuesdaymorning. He is located next to Rehab Center and uses their equipment. I looked him up before making the appointment. Dr. Munton teaches SS and has a good bio. I am certain that with proper stretching exercises I can regain my mobility. I have started exercising with the ones that my PA gave me when she reported on the Xrays.

This afternoon I saw some movement past the pond and saw a small pig and one larger one. They wandered back off into the woods. I am going to have to get a bigger gun than my 410

At church last Sunday Eddie Walt the retired Dallas police captain told me he had published his book on the largest shootout in Dallas history. I looked it up on Xlibris. Named The Hall Street Shootout it describes is an excellent well written true story that sounds like a Clancey novel. I bought an ebooks copy and tried to download directly to Kindle, had to download to the computer and transfered it to Kindle but still haven't been able to read it on Kindle.

I scheduled Ed to give a book review for the Library on March 15. He and his wife, Carol, are having a book signing at Art Walk in Abilene February 10 and he is selling copies of his book at the Library and Barber Shop.

This is a photo of the Centennial Play cast. I am in the white hat in the back. They told me I couldn't wear a cowboy hat, but I argued that John Stetson was making hats in 1911 so they let me and Bob Golson in the black hat wear ours while the others wore the little beanie hats.



I am in the spotlight on stage during the play. Photo courtesy of Nancy.


NANCY IS GREAT NURSE

During Nancy's three operations I helped her put on her shoes and now she has been helping me. My right leg has been hurting like mad when I try to bend it so putting on a shoe is impossible. She has been doing that for a couple of weeks. She has been chauffeuring me. I missed my appointments this week. Tuesday I spent the day in bed trying to rest what was diagnosed as bursitis, and missed my Kiwanis meeting. Wednesday I spent the day in the recliner and got some relief and missed the Methodist Administrative Council meeting where I usually take the minutes.

Thursday I went to the doctor's office to get the report on X-rays. They said that the lower spine disk looked a little collapsed and think it is a nerve problem rather than bursitis. She had injected the hip bursis with a steroid last week and it didn't help. She ordered an MRI for next Tuesday. And she gave me a prescription for the steroid pill that was the only thing that has helped. None of the pain medicines did anything for me except constipate me. I started the prescription last night and feel better today.

I am posting photos of the Centennial Play at the top of the blog. I still haven't figured out how to get them where I want them.

FULL DAY

We have had a full week with normal activities including Sunday School and praying for our friend Teresa who was thrown from her horse and suffer extreme damage to her spine and rib cage that punctured her lungs. She has been operated on and is doing better but facing months of rehabilitation. Her prognosis is that she will have full recovery.

Today was full. We got up at 6 dressed, I drank a glass of orange juice, we read our devotionals and left at 7:15 to make my 8:15 doctor's appoinment because my bursitis was really hurting my right leg for the last couple of days. She gave me a steroid shot in the hip bursitis and sent a prescription to Walgreens and ordered X-rays of my hip and spine. I then made my 9:15 appoinment with my dermatologist who for the first time since I have been in his office did not spray me with liquid nitrogen. That gave me time to go back for four X-rays. I was out by 10 and Nancy drove us to Walgreens. They said they hadn't gotten the prescription. We stopped for breakfast at Subway and went back to Walgreens. Still no prescription so we asked them to send it on to Walgreens in Granbury and headed for the house.

I called Arlene on my cell phone to tell her I would be a few minutes late for the Centennial Play where I had a part. I got home and quickly changed into the new Western suit and vest that I bought on Monday when we went to Abilene for my Dental appointment. We ate at Olive Garden and bought the suit at Farm and Ranch Western Wear. They couldn't hem the pants so Nancy had to use her sewing skills to get the suit ready for the full dress rehearsal Tuesday night. I presided at Kiwanis Tuesday noon.

Back to today I got to the rehearsal at 12:08 and wasn't too late to run through our skit. Then at 1 the program started with the School Band playing three tunes. Then the mayor read his proclamation of the Centennial Year followed by our skit. We had about 20 people participate in a reenactment of the selling of the lots to start construction in Cross Plains on January 12, 1911. My role was one of the Directors of the Township Company formed by the railroad who owned the property and had built roads and a water system. Our local auctioneer acted as the land auctioneer with an assortment of costumed citizens doing the bidding. Then at a Freeze Frame I summarized the process of the bidding and what businesses came from the start. After the unfreeze I completed the program encouraging the citizens of Cross Plains to support the effort to make the town more than a small town but a center of commerce.

The program then had a performance by the Centennial Singers to complete the program. It was now 2. Nancy drove us to Granbury where we had the second meal of the day at the new Hoffbrau House in Granbury. She had a sirloin and I had a small ribeye. Very good and not too expensive.

I called Walgreens when we sat down to eat at 4. They assured me the prescription was being filled. At 5 I got to the store. The prescription was not ready. While waiting I used their photo service to print a couple of photos that Nancy made of me in a President Lincoln high hat that I borrowed from Rev. Ron White who wore it in the skit. I have posted one of the high hat photos. I had to wait until 6 to get the prescription filled. It was a mad house. The woman in front of me demanded that they give her all of her prescriptions so she could take them to another pharmacy and stormed out when they told her the prescriptions were sent in by the doctors and would have to come from them.

We got to Nancy's home in time to watch the memorial session on TV and are looking forward to a night of rest after one full day.

NEW YEAR ANOTHER BOOK

I finally finished Beck's BROKE. My contribution to his plan is to work on a resolution to my church to get out of encouraging the government to spend money and let the church take responsibility for helping the poor. Our church has offices in Washington to lobby the congress and President and offices in New York to lobby the United Nations. Our social creed asks that the government provide jobs and union membership for all. And then they announce that they support legislation that our members are against. I downloaded the Discipline on my Kindle and have been reading and book marking it. It is a long book. I have also started reading the second book in Chuck Etheridge's trilogy about living in El Paso. It is called Desert after Rain. I think he is a good writer. Nancy lived in El Paso and I gave her his first novel to see what she thinks of it, but she is reading Laura Bush's autobiography. I have loaded several things to my Kindle. I check the Abilene Reporter-News every day. I bought Sir Isaac Newton's commentary on the prophesies of Daniel for the Kindle.

We saw wildlife in Nancy's back yard. The white-tail deer here are a lot smaller than at my house. You may be able to see the buck and the doe to his left. Then this morning two doves came in to feed under the bird feeder. They were about half the size of my doves in West Texas.