The Myth & The Majesty

Let's talk more about that stroke, shall we? To be perfectly frank, in a year that has had a lot of Very Bad Things happen (more to come -- be warned, there have been two funerals and I'm figuring out how to talk about them), the stroke has been a curious mix of "WTF is going on" and "Oh that explains a lot." And despite everything, I find deep satisfaction in having questions answered even when the answer kind of sucks. For instance, "Why do I feel so sluggish?" Anytime I look back over the last two years, I see the deceleration. Hiking got harder, to the point that I couldn't talk myself into it with any regularity. It was difficult to keep up with my nieces. And then stairs got to be a problem. However, I was born in the '80s and grew up assuming that such a slowdown was my own fault. I was just getting really out of shape. Clearly this was something I could control since it didn't seem I was gaining weight. Clearly I just needed to ...

It was a week to break out the winter sneakers, brave the grocery store due to poor planning, and do our best to enjoy each other's company. Happy Thanksgiving, all.

My eyesight had gone wacky. This didn't alert me the way it should have. I've worn glasses for thirty years; that prescription has changed a lot since 1995 and I'd grown used to getting it updated, so when things got extra blurry I realized it had been awhile since my last optometrist visit and I started looking for a new doctor. It did not register just how quickly this had happened. Or how bad it had gotten. In fact, it took entirely too long. Instead, my body threw out other hints -- hey look, this really boring walk is exhausting you. Hey look, you start coughing when you lay down. Hey look. Your feet are swollen. I had a smattering of sick days. I had a hard time reading. I couldn't concentrate at work. Then I finally googled my symptoms late one night. So at 1AM on a Tuesday in July, I woke up the Tall Guy. "Hey. I think I'm having a heart attack. I need you to take me to the ER." He didn't believe me at first, but inside a minute he was much mor...

Rapid City is now home to a Barnes & Noble. I've posted here over the years (yeah, okay, it's been awhile) about my bookstore love. And I spread that love as widely as I can -- cute independent stores like Mitzi's, used stores like Everybody's Bookstore, themed ones like the castle-y places I've visited in Wisconsin and (another B&N in) Rochester. Tiny neighborhood places or the big box franchises like B&N or Borders (may it rest in peace). Mall bookstores, airport newsstands, even simply the book section in a gift shop. I enjoy tripping over a small mom and pop store in towns I'm just passing through, or going on a road trip just to see Powell's City of Books. I love the hushed stores ad the big noisy ones. I love the wild stacks in used stores and the nearly cookie-cutter layouts in franchises. Despite my inner That Guy insisting that I shop local whenever I can (yes, I have one of those in my head), Barnes & Noble holds a special place in ...