The Sweet with the Sour..
And so life goes these days....
I called my father this afternoon. For the last 2 years or so he's had trouble with the nerves in his back, as well as a degenerative condition with his right hip joint. After 32 years in the military as a pilot flying high performance jets, and all the other abuse he's put himself through its no wonder he has problems at 71 years old.. He's tried painful injections into the hip joint via his groin area ( ouch!!! ) and nothing has really helped. The only real alternative to relieve the pain and correct the condition is to have a hip replacement performed.
Which he has flatly, and utterly refused to consider, period. Its just fear that it will make him worse and not better. I can completely understand that concern, but the condition is degenerative and will ultimately lead to either a hip replacement, or a walker, and then a wheelchair..
My mother worries that he's eventually going to fall and break it, as am I. But even broaching the subject gets his defensive "hackles" up like I've never seen. The sad thing is, that if he just would have the procedure it would improve the quality of his life greatly, and I believe extend the years of his life.
Imagine my surprise when the first thing he says on the phone today is " I scheduled a hip replacement with my doctor today for October 26th.." ..
You could have knocked me over with a bar napkin... Really....
To say I was thrilled would be an understatement. I'm sure my mother probably started to cry tears of joy when he told her. It's going to be a huge improvement in their lives. He's stubborn as hell, but eventually he comes around. ( I'm just like him, go figure.. )
And for the sour:
The brakes on my jeep almost caught fire yesterday... I was driving home at around 6 pm and the Miami traffic was just fucking miserable like it always is. Stop and go ALL the way home for 17 miles. I Noticed that the jeep was pulling to one side when I would brake, and that it seemed to be taking more throttle to accelerate and decelerate.. Luckily this was only a couple of miles from my apartment. There was no way in hell I was going to pull off the interstate to check it out because i wouldn't have been able to get back on for an hour with traffic conditions the way they were.
So, I pull into my parking space and shut off the engine. I get out and can smell the distinct smell of burnt brakes!! Oh Shit... I lift the hood and don't see anything other than the brake fluid is low.. I look at the left front wheel well and see just the faintest wisp of smoke coming from it.
Great..... I go in my apartment and look on the Internet for causes and cures and found a million of them, but nothing that really helped too much. I called my boss and told him I needed the day off because of car trouble. It was cool, but I was really trying to save that vacation time.. Oh well. I went and checked the jeep and the brakes had cooled down and released so I was able to drive to the auto parts store for brake fluid.
Instead of taking the jeep into the Stealership I decided to wait until I get off my midnight shift tonight as there won't be any traffic when I get off work, and If I had tried to drive there today I could have found myself in stop and go traffic, and I was worried that the brakes would do it again.
If it isn't covered under warranty, it will likely cost a fucking bundle of money I just don't have. It just so damn frustrating...
I've got to get out of this filthy city and back home where the cost of living is lower. I'd be doing pretty good back home, but it's just a big scam here. Why people want to live here is beyond me.
I called my father this afternoon. For the last 2 years or so he's had trouble with the nerves in his back, as well as a degenerative condition with his right hip joint. After 32 years in the military as a pilot flying high performance jets, and all the other abuse he's put himself through its no wonder he has problems at 71 years old.. He's tried painful injections into the hip joint via his groin area ( ouch!!! ) and nothing has really helped. The only real alternative to relieve the pain and correct the condition is to have a hip replacement performed.
Which he has flatly, and utterly refused to consider, period. Its just fear that it will make him worse and not better. I can completely understand that concern, but the condition is degenerative and will ultimately lead to either a hip replacement, or a walker, and then a wheelchair..
My mother worries that he's eventually going to fall and break it, as am I. But even broaching the subject gets his defensive "hackles" up like I've never seen. The sad thing is, that if he just would have the procedure it would improve the quality of his life greatly, and I believe extend the years of his life.
Imagine my surprise when the first thing he says on the phone today is " I scheduled a hip replacement with my doctor today for October 26th.." ..
You could have knocked me over with a bar napkin... Really....
To say I was thrilled would be an understatement. I'm sure my mother probably started to cry tears of joy when he told her. It's going to be a huge improvement in their lives. He's stubborn as hell, but eventually he comes around. ( I'm just like him, go figure.. )
And for the sour:
The brakes on my jeep almost caught fire yesterday... I was driving home at around 6 pm and the Miami traffic was just fucking miserable like it always is. Stop and go ALL the way home for 17 miles. I Noticed that the jeep was pulling to one side when I would brake, and that it seemed to be taking more throttle to accelerate and decelerate.. Luckily this was only a couple of miles from my apartment. There was no way in hell I was going to pull off the interstate to check it out because i wouldn't have been able to get back on for an hour with traffic conditions the way they were.
So, I pull into my parking space and shut off the engine. I get out and can smell the distinct smell of burnt brakes!! Oh Shit... I lift the hood and don't see anything other than the brake fluid is low.. I look at the left front wheel well and see just the faintest wisp of smoke coming from it.
Great..... I go in my apartment and look on the Internet for causes and cures and found a million of them, but nothing that really helped too much. I called my boss and told him I needed the day off because of car trouble. It was cool, but I was really trying to save that vacation time.. Oh well. I went and checked the jeep and the brakes had cooled down and released so I was able to drive to the auto parts store for brake fluid.
Instead of taking the jeep into the Stealership I decided to wait until I get off my midnight shift tonight as there won't be any traffic when I get off work, and If I had tried to drive there today I could have found myself in stop and go traffic, and I was worried that the brakes would do it again.
If it isn't covered under warranty, it will likely cost a fucking bundle of money I just don't have. It just so damn frustrating...
I've got to get out of this filthy city and back home where the cost of living is lower. I'd be doing pretty good back home, but it's just a big scam here. Why people want to live here is beyond me.
Comments