More Frequently Avoided Questions...or Not

Well, friends, I apologize for neglecting you these many days since our last one-sided chat.

It turns out that my head really wasn't screwed on straight. And as you might expect, it was causing all manner of problems beyond those you've observed over the years.

I had neck-adjusting surgical repair in early March, complete with brand new screws to hold the wire staple in place (or something very like it if the x-rays are being honest). So there I was - slooooowly adjusting to my corrected perspective and having celebrated Independence Day with family and friend (hope you're not jealous) - driving my back-comforting, brand new, hardly-ever-been-used, 2002 Lexus and proceeding dutifully to my first post-op, professionally guided neck stretching (also known as physical therapy). And I was caught by surprise between an inattentive driver to the rear and stopped traffic in front.

Talk about irony. Good thing it's my favorite form of humor, n'est-ce pas?

The good news is that the surgical repair held, which is really good news because everything else is going to pot (and not the fun, unencumbered-by-ambition kind). The rest of the backbone is jumbled, collapsed, or otherwise extremely irritated. The muscle systems want to hold tight and scrunch everything up in anticipation of the next attack, which is a natural reaction for them but not really what the backbone needs. And the gut has found a weak spot in the muscle wall and is making a run for it. Who wouldn't?

Health care advisers assure me that the muscles need to firm up and relax, the spinal bones need to distance themselves from each other, and the gut needs to be put in its place. Isn't that just like the establishment, contradicting itself while telling us all to settle down, stop bellyaching, and get back in our places? Only, in this case, all the other body parts do need to stop being so obstreperous so the brain can take that job back. Once again, an uneasy compromise is the order of the day.

In any case, rest assured that some of the kink in the spine is still there and it's likely to be impervious to surgical or therapeutic assault.

And we haven't even gotten to the political won't yet.

Oh well.

I hope you can fend for yourselves for the next little while, and I'll get back to you with Frequently Avoided Questions as soon as I can.

Meanwhile, a guest post was kindly prepared by Matt Phillips, who has been waiting patiently, lo, these many months, to see it posted. So look up there at the top of the screen...