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!
Tag Archives: Lyme Disease
flash by
The weekend runs right
On by, like raging river, or
Firelight flicker, until all that
Remains is a whisper of time,
Flown by, fluttering soft as the
Wings of time allow, echoes off
The soundless touch of winter’s
Kiss, brushing away summer’s
Warmth, until all that’s left
Is bright sunshine painting
Pristine blue, with chilled
Wind sending brisk messages too,
And in the end the weekend flies
Like a morning dream, Sunday
Afternoon sigh, the creaking of
Old young bones and joints,
Not yet used to the change in
Time, yet feeling the weather
All the same, so it is now, as
Weather promises winter’s bright
White light and cozy night, so
Joints delube as cold settles in,
And once pliant skin wrinkles,
Like a grandparent’s grin, so that
All we have to go on now, is the
Thought we will be young again,
Somehow, that as spring and
Summer break from winter’s thawed
Embrace, so too shall we return to the
Start of the race, although foolish to
Hope, too hopeful a fool, for this is the
Life we live but once, and once we live,
No repetition so cruel as weekend’s
Promise, of summer’s cycle coming to
An end, again, brushed by time’s butter-
Fly wings, and the last kiss of hot sun,
Sweat reminder’s walk through Windsor
Great park, now resting aching as old
Young must, the joints now creaking,
Now filled with rust.
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…