Denver bound

Just a couple of days until we leave for Denver. I am in the midst of my usual anxiety about packing. I’m always terrified that I will forget something important, like medication. Or that I won’t have enough. This must be related to the memory loss that I have experienced since the stroke last year. Not that I had a perfect memory before that. But now, the more anxious I get, the worse my memory is. Sigh…

I also have a problem about travelling to the USA. I have a strong anti-American bias. It’s not about the American people. I have relatives in the US, so does Beatrix. But the domestic and foreign policies of the nation give me great annoyance and fear. As a conglomerate, the USA appears to me to be arrogant and totally self centred. I avoid going there as often as I can. Visiting Beatrix’ sister’s family is a command performance, however. And I like them all. I’m sure I’ll enjoy the time with them. But standing in a US customs line gives me the willies. The personnel always seem to be paranoid and hostile to anyone who looks or acts different. I’m always concerned that they will read my mind and have me on the floor with my hands in cuffs in a flash. Stupid, I know…but real to me.

In some ways, going to the USA is part of my recovery. It’s a new thing for me to do, a kind of ‘stepping out’ from my usual avoidance. I haven’t been in Denver since 1969, when I was living in Kansas, and drove across to Denver for a conference. I remember how bracing the air was, with snow flying in October. And I have the ‘good feeling’ knowing that Colorado has legalized marijuana, an enlightened act for sure. Not that I have ever used pot, but it appears to be a lot less dangerous than alcohol. Our government is so stupid about pot. I say, ‘legalize it, control it, and make tax money from it!’

It seems that I am drawing near to the end of my involvement in the Cardiac Rehab program in Wetaskiwin. I’m progressing in the activities, and my heart rate and blood pressure are lower each time. The upper body exercises are really helpful. I need to find a way to continue them after the program is finished. I’ll need the improved strength if I intend to swim. And I do intend to swim!

My walking regime continues, and I’m getting up to 55 minutes. I’m walking differently, so my knees don’t get sore. I take a tablespoon of lemon juice each day in water, as recommended by a friend. Amazingly, my knees seem to be less painful. Or maybe it’s that my sleep has improved. Who knows? Less pain is better, whatever the reason.

My News column on King James homosexual lifestyle drew two hostile letters to the editor, as I had hoped. One was a long and rambling diatribe attempting to disprove my thesis that homosexuality was “legitimate.” Of course, I wasn’t trying to prove that at all. I simply put some facts before the conservative community, so they would understand where their King James Bible came from. I was annoyed that the writer of the letter missed my point and blasted me for something I wasn’t doing. So I gave in t my urge, and wrote a brief letter to the editor stating that the author of the letter had missed my point completely. It gave me a chance to scold him mildly, and restate my points again! I can hardly wait for my letter to appear, and see if there are any further responses. The pleasures of the old and useless!