Friday, March 24, 2023

Three Beautiful Things 03-23-2023: Doc Watson's 100th Birthday, Intro to Psuedogout, Columbo Prevails Along with the Zags

 1.  I'm not sleeping well at night. Podcasts help me enjoy stretches of sleeplessness. As I lay in bed tonight, I once again turned to Fresh Air and listened to the March 3, 2023 broadcast commemorating Doc Watson's 100th birthday. Digging into their archives, Fresh Air replayed past interviews of Doc Watson and songs he had performed on the show in studio live. Doc Watson brought dignity to everything he did. He dignified the old tunes he played with his soulful singing and his virtuosity on his acoustic guitar. He dignified the memory of his son Merle, with whom he performed until Merle lost his life in a tractor accident in 1985, not only with his loving words about Merle, but by organizing, in 1988, the annual "traditional plus" April music festival called MerleFest. 

If you'd like to hear this broadcast, please be my guest. Just click here

2. I experienced stretches of time today, at home, when my left foot felt better than it has in the past week. It was bearing my weight pretty well and gave me confidence that I could safely stand in the shower. I took my improving foot for a test drive to Yoke's and while I shopped, walking up and down aisles, my foot didn't feel perfectly painless, but it felt pretty good. 

Back home, after my trip to the store, my foot regressed and was mildly painful. 

Debbie and I have done some reading online and we both wonder if I'm having an episode of Pseudogout, an arthritic malady that presents itself in ways similar to gout, but is different. Episodes can last a few or several days and is best treated with rest, icing, and anti-inflammatory medicine. I need to find out what kind of anti-inflammatory medicine I can take that is the least damaging to my kidneys. 

3. Wednesday and Thursday were intense days at work for Debbie. She met with many of her students' parents in conferences. Debbie arrived home tired -- in a good mood -- and welcomed the rye with orange juice and lemon juice cocktail I had ready for her when she walked in the door.

Debbie wound down with her drink while I watched the first half of the Gonzaga/UCLA Sweet 16 contest. At halftime, UCLA led the Zags by thirteen points and I was ready to see if Gonzaga could once again come back from a deficit and overtake their opponent. They've done this several time this season.

Unaware of what was happening with the Gonzaga game, Debbie wondered if I'd like to watch an episode of Columbo. Yes, I did want to. Watching Columbo together would help Debbie further wind down and I knew that I could keep tabs on the Zags game by checking in on the score online and by reading text messages Terry, Roger, Bruce, and Byrdman were exchanging. 

I thoroughly enjoyed watching Columbo zero in on the frat boys who killed their professor and do very nifty detective work that led to their arrest.

I also kept track of Gonzaga's collapse in the late stage of their game against UCLA, but just as Columbo had the frat boys handcuffed, Julian Strawther hit a 30+ foot bomb with about seven seconds left, helping lift the Zags to a 79-76 victory. 

The Zags won!

Columbo nailed the arrogant college students! 

What a night! 


No comments: