Hipster....again...

 Many of you may remember when I was in Carthage in the 70's and 80's I could be seen running on Grand and Main streets after work. I did this for several reasons....one was to stay at a lower wieght and still be able to drink beer, the other was to cycle through the day in my head to get everything into perspective, and the other was because I enjoyed the running effort. I only ran once with other people and that was in 1980 in the Cossville to Carthage run which covered 15 miles. I photographed the Sarcoxie prom that night and Sunday when I went to get out of bed....my legs said, "PARTIES OVER DUFFUS".....and that was the last day I ran.  I finished in the middle of the pack....

However, being a glutton for punishment I started playing racquetball and continued to do so through 2002, until we moved down here to Tulsa. While in Joplin/Carthage had both knees scoped to remove meniscus that I had rearranged while running and playing raquetball, had a short stint with cracked ribs from hitting the wall with my right shoulder, and generally started to notice my knees were headed south. Cutting the whining story short I have had both knees replaced totally with steel and plastic and I followed that with a total right hip replacement several years ago. The recovery on the knees took a good 30 days and was a struggle as I was on a machine 6 hours a day bending  my legs up and down. 

I hated mowing our backyard which was a ski slope until we pit in the two decks and koi pond, getting rid of the grass and replacing it with raised gardens, planting areas, stone walls, and two patio areas. Knowing I could do it myself, and being too cheap to pay to have it done, I put down 4000 pounds of river rock, built 4 raised beds and filled them with good dirt, put in one walled garden area, and laid down two walkways to the "Hidden Garden" and the East Side Sanctuary. Activity that was followed by left hip replacement several years ago. I'm only 16......

The first of the year I had several vertebra's fused at the base of the spine due to a bit of pain and I have now begun to experience a very bad pain in my right hip and have developed a limp that necessitates  my using an Old Man Walker. It's pretty good looking as it is a candy green with metal flakes........but it is a pain to use. This has led me to curtail all photographic efforts and has gotten me concerned that I may be this way the rest of my life....concerning to say the least....

I had an appointment with a new Doctor Tuesday and he is soon to be my Hero. An extremely nice guy with a great patient/Doctor attitude and he is going to schedule me in for a hip replacement. Looking at the X-Ray you can see there is nothing but bone on bone on my right side hip and as a result my right leg is 1/2 inch shorter than my left. I suddenly can relate to the Leaning Tower of Pizza. 

All of this is because of my skipping over several chapters in the book of Getting Old. I'll keep you posted. By the way.....tomatoes are producing !!!