A Gordian Knot

I was supposed to play golf today, but when Rhoda woke me at 8am, I told her I just wasn't up to it. This summer I've only been playing once a week rather than 3-4 times for two reasons: The weather and my body. I can no longer tolerate the heat of the day, and secondly, walking from golf cart to the fairways or the greens and back again begins to take its toll on my body after 9 or 10 holes, and then the rest of the way is a struggle. It's not so much fun anymore. Besides, I don't play as well as I did say 3 or 4 years ago. I was a 7 handicap...which means I broke 80 most of the time. Now, I'm happy if I can break 90. It's not so much fun anymore. (Oh, did I mention that?)

Speaking of the body, we are scheduled for a Caribbean cruise in December, and since it's a bloody long walk from the bus to registration and then the ship, my wife has decided to request a wheelchair for me...otherwise it would take me an hour to get there! Now, at this point sitting in a wheelchair is not an option that I'm crazy about. Since I've seen both my parents in wheelchairs, it has become anathema to me. I just can't picture me--a marathoner--in a wheelchair. But at the same time, pain in my legs is also anathema to me...so how do I untie this Gordian Knot?

(The "Gordian Knot" is a legend associated with Alexander the Great. It is often used all over the world as a metaphor for an intractable problem. How the Knot got to be a knot is too long a story to retell here. Googleize it if you are curious. But the bottom line is that cutting the knot is solved by a bold stroke. Alexander the Great did it and became a King,)

Now since I am not as Great as Alexander, perhaps someone out there is...and so can tell me how to "cut the Gordian Knot"-- Walk to the ship or Wheelchair?