The Myth & The Majesty

 (aka The First Bad Thing) It was March. Things had gotten wacky at work (long story, that) but personally, it wasn't really a crisis year just yet. Heck, up to that point it had even been a pretty great year -- there had been a bachelor party of great renown and a spectacular wedding that finally happened after thirteen years of waiting. A week before, I'd gained a truly beautiful niece. Life was generally quite good. Which is, of course, when that phone call happened. "I have terrible news. Tony died this morning." * I'd first met Tony when I started my new job at The Unnamed Bike Place (TUBP from now on). He had been scheduled for my interview panel but was out for a family emergency that particular week; when I started the job, others warned me that he was a bit of a wild card and occasionally overwhelming. And they weren't wrong. This whirlwind human sat across the room from me and he was ... a lot. He started sentences mid-thought and seemed frustrated w...

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...