As old ocean
Grumbles, deep down joints
Are scanning for movement
Not the way it used to be,
When all was young and new,
And lateral movement a daily joy,
Untainted by fear of damage, break-
Age, or flipped wrong-side-up ligaments,
Tendons squeak tensional protest, as
Old edges to a young body complain,
The gym a place of self mutilation and
Torture, eagerly and easily signed up for,
We pay for the privilege of suffering
In company, misery does not want to be
Alone, and so it is, I push my aching muscles and
Protesting joints to their limit, knowing
That body beautiful is not important
Yet being healthy is. Bow down to the
Shrine of self-flagellation that is called
Fitness, bow down and be counted
Head-low, for this is the new age of
Old timers getting into the swing of
Things, oldtimers no longer rule the
World, but we sure as hell can crowd
The gym!
Category Archives: Lyme Disease
Scent of winter
The scent of winter settles
Calmly, gently, slowly, over
Un-tensed shoulders, a word
Remembered from childhood
Humour, Fridays spent at Synagogue
Dinner with the community,
Friends together sharing family time,
Good food, good company, good
Humour, good times, the echo of the
Core principle that warmed my heart
Still rings true today, through a life-
Time of ups and downs, a quarter
Century as a stranger in a strange land
Not quite one of the crowd, yet fitting in
At least somewhat, before a moment’s blurt
The feeling burst through the dam of self-
Preserve, reserve lost in a moment of passion,
Weary of too much control too much of the time
Let loose reality, so that is how I feel, good!
Now dealing with the emotional remit re-
Percussions pounding deep, soul crevasse,
So be it, abeegazunt, that is just the way, just so,
Just so. Still the summer’s tease of tomorrow heat
Sunshine frozen in a memory of glowing warmth,
Until all that is left is the dull ache of an old-young spine,
Joints de-lubed by Lyme Disease, impact and time, the real
Me coming through in many flavours, today, tomorrow, more
Hereafter, until all that is left to note, is the
Scent of winter’s bite in the wind, promise
Of summer dead and gone, ghost of a
Memory, now teasing winter out of
The woodwork, summer may be
Over, yet, abeegazunt, I am
Still standing, still here
Another year parted,
One more promised
Better still to come,
Still I stand here,
No longer alone,
Happy, two as
One.
Living with Lyme Disease – 30 years and counting…
(The recording above is the radio program “Lyme Disease Controversy Comes to the Capitol“, broadcast on New Hampshire Public Radio by Elaine Grant on Monday, February 01, 2010.)
I have Lyme Disease. I caught it when I was around five years old.
You get it from the ‘deer tick’ (aka the ‘baby tick). Fundamentally, Lyme disease is a bacterial infection.
Where did this all begin? Well, let me tell you…
I was about five years old (my memory of precisely when is obviously not perfect). I held no fear of ticks or insects, having grown up barefoot and wild in the forests and swamps around Chappequa, New York. As most young children are, I was impervious to any fear of nature, insects or animals.
Ticks do not crawl across the skin like many other parasites, nor do they hop around as 6 legged jumping beans like fleas (yech!). They find a nice, sometimes shaded, piece of skin (mine was behind my ear) and begin to make a home for themselves.
Continue reading Living with Lyme Disease – 30 years and counting…