A Hopeless Case & a Fairy Tale

It's been a busy day. Rho left the house at 9:30 bringing her car into Firestone for an oil change...about $19, right? Just you wait! I followed her at 10am and then we went to Dr. Motta, the vascular surgeon who performed my angiogram on Aug. 1. We waited about 45 minutes before he got to see us with a report. Problem is that he had laryngitis and couldn't speak above a whisper. I had my hearing aids turned to the max and still couln't hear him. So he ran out of the room and came back with a nurse who translated (?) for him. The bottom line is that he said he could do nothing for me to fix the pain in my legs, except some medication which he said had a 90% chance of not working. So, instead of kissing us goodbye, he said that I should do some exercise each day that would strengthen my legs and also to help me lose some weight. I knew he was going down that road. The fact is that in order to lose weight at my age and disappearing metabolism, along with a strict diet, you have to do some aggressive exercise every day for at least an hour. Now, I'm not about to go down and walk in the pool everyday; I've been there, done that, and I don't want to do it anymore. I could go to the clubhouse and swim laps; I used to swim 80 laps (one mile) 5 times a week until I blew out my shoulder. So, I've been there, too, done that, and I don't want to do that anymore. He said I could go on a stationary bike, but after 10 minutes the pain begins. Anyway I've been there and done that, and I don't want to do it anymore. I used to pump iron and it's max boring; I've been there, also...done that, and I don't want to do it anymore.

Now, it's hard to make some people understand where I'm at now relative to this problem.
I've "exercised" all my life. Soccer, track and swimming in high school. Boot camp in the Navy, marching, running, climbing, jumping, pushups, crunches, rope climbs, swimming and whatever else the Chief wanted us to do for torture. I played soccer in college; as a coach I trained with my teams; after my world tour, I ran 5-10 miles every day; I ran two marathons when I was 57 years old. I believe it was Mortimer Adler (maybe not) from the University of Chicago who once said, "When I feel the urge to exercise, I lie down until the feeling passes." So, I've been there, done that, and I just do not want to do it anymore! In the time I have left to me I would just like to take it easy. Read, write, go malling, do x-word puzzles, work on the computer, watch TV. I just want to relax and please let me alone, and don't bug me about exercise. I would just like to be able to play golf. I'll live with the pain until I need a wheelchair...and that's my story, like it or not.

But that's not the end of our day. We went to see an adult fairy tale of a movie, "Stardust".It was completely entertaining as long as you knew it was an ADULT fairy tale. I enjoyed it and so did Rhoda. Now, about Rho's car; the mechanic said she needed new tires and an alignment; so since her tires carried her for 25K miles, we Ok'd it. Instead of the $19 for the oil change, the bill came to $340.99. Tonite, we'll go to Duffy's for dinner, and that's my/our day. Oh, yes, I mailed a copy of Memoirs to Thelma (my ex) to share with her sisters.