Mad Macedonian

It Snowed in Houston! Writing Will Resume, I Promise!

And so March begins...On Friday I turn all of 61 years old.

Good afternoon, Houston!

Are we all thawed out, yet?

There I was getting all in a new creative groove for the start of the new year when the whole damn state gets snowed on in the middle of the month.

Because of my work schedule, then being pre-occupied with the possibility of 4 inches of snow, followed by surviving the storm, followed by several days without power and water, then a return to work...writing was the last thing on my mind.

This means 20 days of the February Flash Fiction Challenge to catch up with. :-D

We DID get some snow, but not the promised 4 inches, and a follow-up storm was a bust.

Temps got down to 10, or so, and the cats and I huddled under the covers for warmth.

I went out, and about, to explore the neighborhood, and to grocery shop.

By the end of the week I was able to return to work.

All, in all, an interesting week, or so.

 

 

 

 

 

Unfinished Business and Returning to Work

 Good evening Houston! The Mad Houstonian, here.

The past 10 days have been eventful.

I went to my doctor for exams that helped get me approved for a return to work later this week.

While my insurance covered most of my February surgery I was recently approved for a Memorial Hermann Financial Aid Program that covered the remainder, something that I am grateful to them and to God for the blessing.

As I have been getting out and about to appointments, grocery shopping, and exercise walks, I have been walking 2 to 7 miles a day.

I had planned on my quarterly bald cut for my 60th birthday, March 5, but fate had other plans, so the deed was put off until a few days ago.

 

I bought new shoes that were 3 times more expensive than I traditionally have bought, but a lot more comfortable, as well as compression socks, and I had 3 bandanas made, for use as masks, and as a way to promote this blog in public.

This afternoon I went to my work for the first time since early March to turn in paperwork, and retrieve clothes from my locker.

While there I reconnected with some of my Walmart front register co-workers, people who had not seen me since I first began using a walker after my surgery.

To say they were glad to see me would be an understatement.

 

One excited lady walked up to me for a welcome back hug, social distancing be damned! It made me smile and we laughed as others came up for elbow bumps & fist bumps.

Finding My Footing in the Aftermath of Injury

 Good evening Houston and beyond, The Mad Houstonian, here.

Last December I wrote an essay about finding one's "Footing", as part of my month-long Everwalk Nation Inspirational Word of the Day Series...

As I head down the stretch in my recovery from my February injury to my left leg, my physical therapy has allowed me to return to walking on both feet, with no walker, and to put on, and take off, my shoe and sock on the left foot.

Next week I see my doctor again, and am set to return to work in just over 2 weeks.

Yesterday was a big day...I took the huge step of buying a new pair of shoes....not just the latest of my usual, but something new and different.

As I wrote in December...

When I think of "Footing" several things come to mind: Shoes, health, and creativity.
I walk everywhere. I have done so all my life.

Right from the start, from my earliest days of standing on my own two feet and moving about to explore the world around me, shoes have been important to me.

I still have the little pair of shoes I must have been wearing when, as a toddler, a year, or 2 old, my parents took me with them on a visit to historic Chinatown, in Los Angeles...and I soon wandered off to explore the place on my own.
How, exactly, they lost me was never explained, neither was how long I went missing before they found me.
All I know about this event is that I was found sitting on the lap of some grizzled old Chinaman, all smiles and giggles.

As I grew older my feet grew, too.

Eventually I grew into size 12 shoes. Tennis shoes of the right size and comfort level were hard to find, and I moved on to sneakers of various types, good for walking.

Again, size and comfort level varied as models and brands came and went.

9 years ago I discovered New Balance shoes, and when I moved to Houston, in 2012, I discovered that I could get them in Wide 4E.

I've worn a couple of different models and found them comfortable.

The condition of my feet, and legs, have always been important to me, especially since the Summer of 2011 when I broke my right ankle investigating a black cat in a drainage ditch, and then when I stubbed my toes on both feet, a couple years ago, causing some numbness apparently associated with Plantar Faciitis.

Then my latest leg injury happened giving me one more problem down below.

When Turning 60 Doesn't Happen the Way You Plan: Finale

 Good afternoon Houston! The Mad Houstonian, here!
If you came in late and are wondering what the...?
Start here, and I hope you are sitting down.

2 weeks after I came home I had a visit with my primary care physician, who was happy with my progress.

A few days later my 60th birthday came and went, quietly, with lots of well wishes from friends and family on Facebook, with  home delivery of Papa John's Pizza, and with well wishes and a $50 gift and card, sent from the eldest daughter of my Godparents, a woman who was a teen when I was born, and possibly changed my diapers and wiped my ass more than a few times during my first couple of years on this earth, hee, hee!

My Mother, born on 3/21, made it a few months past her own 61st, my Father, born on 3/18, made it a few months past 65.

I intend, with God's blessing, to go well beyond them both, and make a mark on the world more substantial than I have so far.

More substantial than a slight dent in the pavement of a Houston crosswalk, and some dudes vehicle, hee, hee!

Thanks to him I am unable to be at work today, working hard, next to my fellow Walmart associates, during these difficult days for our nation and the world. 

 

A few days after my birthday I had my follow-up with the surgeon, and all went well, as they are happy with my progress, as well.

The stitches were removed and some little strips were set in place for 10 days.

Uber rides may be cheaper than a taxi but, aside from the Doctor visits, I have kept trips to a minimum, only going to my nearby Walmart for a few things a couple of times.

It felt good to get the wrap off the leg.

Having that off made the exercises much more comfortable.

Yes, there is pain in the leg, and hip (a bruise from the accident), and a little twisting and turning to get comfy for sleep, but things could be a lot worse....like my not being here to feel that pain, hee, hee!

 

When Turning 60 Doesn't Happen the Way You Plan: Part 3

Good afternoon Houston! The Mad Houstonian, here!
If you came in late and are wondering what the...?
Start here, and I hope you are sitting down.

The one thing I wanted to take care of as soon as I could, once home, was getting a new pair of prescription glasses.

With vision care insurance, thru work at Walmart, I was able to order new glasses at the Vision Center at my store.

I am grateful to my store manager who took care of my out of pocket cost, after insurance.

Another reason I wanted to visit the store was to personally thank my co-workers for their support, and let them know I was still here, on the way to recovery, and would be back eventually...so hold down the fort until my return.

Before the accident I had bought a shirt that I had intended to wear to work on my birthday, on March 5, but since I would not be in to work...I wore it when I visited the store.

As I tooled around the store, to see co-workers, my shirt, cheerfulness and sense of humor brought smiles not just to their faces, but the faces of many customers shopping during what must be stressful times for many.

I spent 3 hours there, including eating lunch at the store McDonald's, until the Vision Center Manager was finally free to take me home with a few groceries I bought with some $ donated by co-workers.

I found myself in tears a few times as the support and encouragement of associates, glad to see me, touched me deeply.

 

Speaking of food, a friend  kindly made sure I had sandwich meat to last a while, even as I have some microwaveable meals, not to mention pasta and canned veggies, in reserve from before the accident, for when I can eventually safely use the stove and move hot pots over to the sink for drainage.

With bread, lettuce, tomatoes and cheese slices, this bounty means I am able to make healthy sandwich meals every day.

 

 

When Turning 60 Doesn't Happen the Way You Plan: Part 2

Houston is not exactly pedestrian friendly...something that, after 7+ years, I finally learned the hard way, and was lucky enough to live to write about it.

Good evening Houston! The Mad Houstonian, here!

If you came in late and are wondering what the...?

Start here, and I hope you are sitting down.

As a pedestrian anyone traversing the streets of Houston on foot absolutely MUST pay attention to everything around them, from traffic entering and leaving driveways, to right and left turn traffic at every intersection, whether it has lights governing the movements of all users, or not.

Even then you are at the mercy of the attention span of the motorists...just because the pedestrian light turned green it does not always mean it is safe for you to step into the crosswalk...trust me.

Thanks to an inattentive driver I spent a week in the hospital, last month, and was now finally coming home.

A co-worker, at the Walmart where I work, brought me home and when I opened the door I did not know what to expect...

Having been alone, with no food, for a week, would the 3 feline ladies of my life be alive? Would they be glad to see me, if they were....or seriously pissed off?

When Turning 60 Doesn't Happen the Way You Plan: Part 1

 Good evening Houston! The Mad Houstonian, here! Anyone miss me?

After a gang buster month of writing on this blog in December (Inspirational Word of the Day - 31 entries) and a January essay on the topic of "City Bathing", I was planning for a vacation in March to celebrate my 60th birthday.

Late February was gonna see a return to more regular blogging as I planned to blog about walks taken while on vacation.

Well, so much for that idea, hee, hee!

As regular readers, here, know I am an avid walker and an advocate for pedestrian safety, having bought shirts on the subject, and made my own Pedestrian Alert shirts to help spread the word.

Wouldn't you know it, on a morning I was not wearing one of my shirts, Feb 19th, disaster strikes.

I had went to the nearby HEB for a few groceries and was returning home a few hours before heading to work.

I was using a crosswalk, at a T-intersection, that shares a green light with left turning vehicles...

THIS time the lead motorist was traveling too fast for me to react by raising my hand and yelling "slow down!", or move out of the way.

The driver fled the scene, and we have nothing to go on in a search for him, even though I got a brief look at him when he stopped for a second.

I was in pain, but also seriously pissed...my glasses were broke and my groceries were strewn about!

Eventually help arrived and I was carted off to the hospital for repairs.

BEATING THE ODDS: An Eye Cancer Update

For those who may not know, in early 2013, just 6-8 months after moving to Houston, I had a Vitrectomy, to fix a busted blood vessel in the left eye, and then Brachytherapy, a plaque insertion/internal radiation procedure, to battle what is called an intraocular mass in the eye, a medium malignant melanoma, a typical lesion of its type (Mine was a small).

This afternoon I had a 7 month follow-up with my Eye Specialist who my new primary eye doc asked me to see...I would have gone last month but didn't have the $75 to spare...

She had asked me to locate some very specific records regarding some gene tests that were supposedly sent out to be done on me by MD Anderson at the time of my Cancer Surgery in 2013.

When we talked today, after my check-up, she told me that what she learned surprised and impressed her....surprised me, too, as I had no idea about any of what she learned.

I should not even be here....I repeat...I SHOULD NOT EVEN BE HERE.

 

A Moment in the Life of a Walmart Cashier

 

 

Working in retail most of my working life, since 1984, I have a ton of stories I've shared of experiences, good and bad, funny and sad...even life-threatening.

 

Reading Mr. Sam's wonderful, enlightening, book, MADE IN AMERICA: My Story, as well as THE WALMART WAY: The Inside Story of the Success of the World's Largest Company by Don Soderquist one reads many similar stories going back to the 50's and you realize how being friendly, outgoing and humorous was a part of the make-up of Sam Walton, as well as many of those who worked for him, from ordinary associates to corporate.

 

In my 5 years at Walmart, just recently celebrated last month, I have made it a point to continue doing what I have always done, from my days as a cashier and store manager at Newsboy, in the Inland Empire of SoCal, to my days as a cashier at Targets in Eagle Rock, Chino, and Costa Mesa...be fast, and helpful and interact with the customers in friendly, often humorous, ways...

6 YRS. IN HOUSTON: Exploring The World Around You Not Just Something You Need a Car or Plane to Do

 

 

 

Since I was a 12 yr old, in the 70's, I used the bus to take me places, mostly bookstores, then, Lakers and Kings games, the movies and more in the 70's and 80's.

 

When I got my first serious point and shoot camera and 1st mountain bike, in the early 90's, my exploring went beyond just shopping and sports trips, but venues of all types and long bike rides. An ever-growing bus and commuter rail system connecting 5 counties, helped.

 

In 1998 I got a road bike and my 1st computer and my life changed in huge new ways...

 

By the end of 2001, I had taken my first plane trips and spent 4 days each in Phoenix and Chicago.

 

In 2002 I became a blogger and discovered talents as a creative writer, poet, essayist, and journalist, to go with my interest in photography and love of cats and bicycling.

 

Before I left SoCal in 2012 I had taken many long bike rides (20 to 66 miles), though no centuries, and nice walks, visited an Uncle and cousins in Va., spent some time in DC, after an Amtrak train ride to get there, returned to Va. for a pet convention in Roanoke, and more.

 

I wish I had been able to do so much more.