Gearing up for Badwater

I'm hoping that we have as uneventful crossing this year as we did back in 2001, when Hannah and I were Scott's only crew. That will be forever one of my favorite memories of time with my daughter. This was Scott's fastest crossing to date and one of the best times I've had with Hannah. After this picture was taken, we slept a few hours and then climbed Mount Whitney, singing songs from "The Sound of Music". Wonderful stuff.

An interesting comparison

" such primitives as frontiersmen, Indians, and professional athletes, whose essential courage and honesty are implicitly contrasted with the brutality of civilized society." From the Oxford Companion to American Literature, in an article about Hemingway.

Changes in plans

Before I hurt myself, I had asked for three days off to do a 12 hour run in Oakland. This was to be symbolic of my return to health. However, this had to be put off, obviously. Instead, I have been reading short stories, walking the dogs with Scott (2 miles, very gingerly), and cooking. I made the most wonderful Southwestern yellow split pea soup, with lots of chili pepper, cumin, rotel, corn, green peppers, and Mexican oregano. It was delicious with some crusty sourdough bread. This morning, I made Scott's and my favorite pumpkin muffins; we sat around for hours and drank coffee and talked about his upcoming Badwater. We're very excited, because Jesse Doggett, who crewed the year that Ben and Evan came out, is going to crew again. He is an engineer, very organized and calm, who has done a crossing, and will be wonderful. Things seem to be shaping up for a nice, friendly, no-frills (and no drama) race...which will be perfect.

I have fallen in love with short stories. I guess I was always a member of the "if it is longer, it must be better" camp, but no more. Yesterday, my favorite was "A Jury of Her Peers", about the life of farm women before the right to vote. I also liked "A Garden Party", about class distinctions. I'm sure that anyone who took literature in college has read a bunch of these, but I missed out. The wonderful thing about the internet is that you can spend 50 dollars for a year of access to commentary, full e-texts, and essentially buy a college education in literature. COOL!

My ribs still hurt, but I expect them to for the next 2-3 more weeks. I hope to gradually ramp up my miles so that I can be in some sort of shape to pace Scott for part of his race. It's a completely different experience to be walking alongside him, generally in the cool-ish dark, being quiet and focused, rather than driving, waiting, preparing bottles, and keeping a log. I like both aspects, but a mix is perfect.

Happy Birthday to sweet Ellen. I enjoyed the DVD of her dances. Scott says that he can tell that she is a little athlete.

Healing

My ribs are starting to feel better. I am able to sleep lying down now, and am starting to look forward to getting outside again. Scott went on one of our favorite hikes the other day...Deadfall Meadows. It's always nice to get to the point in the year when you can drive to the trailhead without having to hike through the one last bit of snow on the road. We hope to camp at Deadfall Lake once it starts to warm up some more. The wildflowers will be stunning in another month or so.
Scott is gearing up for our upcoming Badwater adventure. This should be his 13th official finish and my tenth year crewing. Each year, my appreciation for the desert grows. My goal as crew chief for this year is to keep things simple and happy. We've done this event enough times that it really should flow smoothly. Scott has trained so hard, in spite of such a difficult year. He amazes me with his discipline and drive. He deserves a good crossing.

Back to work

I finished my first shift in the ER after my unfortunate equestrian accident. It felt good to get back to real life again after a week of weird hours of sleeping in the recliner, getting up to pet the dogs or talk to Scott, then trying once again to get comfortable. I'm still not feeling great...I guess that these things take four to six weeks to heal completely, but I'm doing much, much better. I went to see the horses this morning after my shift, just petting their soft noses and talking to them. I offered to just give them back to Shirley, and she's considering it. But, she also made up fliers with their pictures, as well as their Daddy's (who she wants to sell after being tossed off his back twice and breaking the same ribs I did, as well as sustaining two concussions). She's talking about just getting an old rescue horse to pet. That sounds pretty good to me.

Apparently, after being found unconscious by Shirley's husband, Dan, I got up, unsaddled Buddy, asked about Dan's health (he was apparently knocked down by Buddy, who was spooked by me being down), and was trying to calculate how long I had been there. I have no recollection of any of that. We also apparently went into the house, had a drink of water, and discussed whether or not I should go to the hospital. The guys in the ER also said that I made perfect sense, but again, I have no recollection of any of that. The brain is so strange.

My boss in the ER says that I am restricted to hiking from now on. Holly wants me to take up nerf knitting. I'm just sick of being either hurt or sick. Nerf knitting may be just my speed.

Childish things

Well, my middle-aged horseriding career has come to a screeching halt. I was riding Buddy in the paddock yesterday, when the next thing I knew, I was in the ER. Two fractured ribs and a concussion have taught me that 50 year olds don't bounce when they land. And he was doing so well, too.
The radiologist commented that I have the brain (on CT, I imagine) of a 20 year old, but a neck of a 50 year old.
I'm okay, but Scott was petrified and has quite appropriately read me the riot act.
So, those sweethearts will have to go to greener pastures sometime.

Miscellany

1) It's kind of weird to be getting older. I still haven't transitioned to being nocturnal, in spite of being back about a week. I think I'm getting closer, but still a bit on the draggy side. Work has been pretty chaotic, what with the Memorial Day drinking and excess testosterone. I wonder about my fatigue, but my partner in the ER related that sometimes he has to just come home, sit in the back yard and listen to the wind on his day off. Something about needing to reduce stimuli, which I can relate to. I spent my night off last night napping and doing crosswords. I didn't really even have the inclination to eat. But, this morning, I feel a little more normal. I even made some vegetable soup from scratch, moved my lettuce from the greenhouse to the deck, and paid some bills. I might even get out and put some mileage on my feet today, before heading back to the ER at 8 pm. " You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave...."
2) My horses, Buddy and Bella, have been doing very well. We've gone out for extended walks on the jeep roads behind their house (me leading them, one at a time), and they have been very interested in everything without freaking out. They will make wonderful trail horses.
3) Scott and I actually drank coffee together this morning, which was quite a treat. I miss him when I'm on a string of nights.