Stealing Our Children

 

As I hurriedly wrote at the conclusion of yesterday's post, my younger brother had shown up here at home just after 7 p.m. ─ at least two hours earlier than is normal for him.

He was drunk.

We did not communicate, for I was upstairs here at my computer which I keep in my bedroom. Nevertheless, I became aware that he had tuned in a CFL game ─ probably featuring our BC Lions ─ so that relieved me of feeling obligated to put our Android TV Box into play for us to watch any of our usual shows. 

I intended one of my early a.m. walks, so I wanted to be in bed reasonably early in order to make rising at 2 a.m. bearable ─ I try to leave home by 2:15 a.m. Regardless, it was far too early for bedtime, and I had yet to sup, so I ventured downstairs to round up some comestibles to serve as my meal.

My brother was already passed out.

He was to possibly revive some time later, for I heard an old episode of The Big Bang Theory playing. Even so, it is equally possible that the game had ended and this episode was then brought forth to air, for when I eventually went downstairs to the kitchen, my brother was seemingly still passed out. 

Still? Or did he merely resume that state after tuning in the comedy?

Ultimately I was to bed possibly around 9:30 p.m., but I never sleep for any duration. Once I rose three-quarters of the way through the midnight hour in order to use the bathroom, and the house was in darkness, although my brother's en suite toilet and shower room was lit as he evidently readied for bed ─ he habitually shaves before retiring for the night.

Also, my wife's bedroom door was closed, so she had apparently come home and gone to bed. She was scheduled with another full workday today at the Thai restaurant where she has part-time employment ─ the restaurant opens at 11 a.m.

She had said that she would replace funds that she removed from our chequing account the previous evening (Wednesday) ─ the account only ever contains my monthly pension, and any occasional extras that I might come by. She no longer deposits her paycheques there ... but she will freely help herself to what I have.

That replacement had not yet been done when I had retired last evening.

When my 2 a.m. cellphone alarm sounded, I was not especially keen about getting up ─ particularly since I was into a bit of sleep. But I did get up, and then saw the replaced $200 just inside my bedroom door (my wife and I have separate bedrooms). It was likely there when I rose to use the bathroom, for I did not turn on my bedroom light at the time.

Now for an update on something that happened to me Monday evening, my birthday ─ I wrote about it in Tuesday's (October 12) post.

I had been sitting in a fairly low comfort chair while watching some T.V. Whenever I rise, I tend to do so with absolute deliberateness, for my knees are in poor condition. I try not to use my hands to aid me in rising ─ I make my legs do all of the work.

Well, as I was doing so, I felt a sudden burning sensation flooding in the vicinity of my inner left ankle ─ perhaps just above. If you have ever broken a blood vessel in a finger, you may recall how that does burn and seems to suffuse the area.

This was on a far greater scale, so I adjudged that a major blood vessel must have burst. I had no idea if such a thing might be dangerous, so I opted to hope that it was not.

That diagnosis maintained the remainder of that Monday evening ─ quite a 73rd birthday gift, huh?

I had one of my walks scheduled for early Tuesday, and was uncertain if I would be able to undertake it. But I managed ─ all 5¾ or so miles. Once I got going, I did not even limp. And had I felt less listless, I might even have tried a short bit of jogging; but I did not wish to jeopardize anything.

Well, this a.m. was utterly different.

I was not able to set off as if all was well ─ the debility was too severe. Since earlier in the week, my left foot has swollen; and the region above and below my ankle is also very swollen. The area above my ankle for about halfway along the inside of my entire shin is both swollen and reddish / purplish.

Even so, I hobbled slowly along the closed-to-traffic alleyway beside our home (we live in a cul-de-sac) that provides pedestrians with access to the main nearby avenue, but there was some vast roadway project underway. I saw at least a dozen trucks and machines, but the full work was beyond my range of vision, for it topped a hill and extended out of sight.

I know that at least a quarter mile was involved, and there were probably 20 or more people in the work crew. 

My usual walk would require me to cut across that avenue, but with all of the bustle, I had no desire to expose my lame state to one and all. The whole reason I go on these nighttime walks is so that I can avoid as much traffic and people as is possible around here.

So I turned back. Despite that, I was not giving up ─ I intended at least a partial walk. Instead of the nearly six miles that I generally do, I would settle on maybe two miles. As well, I would be going to a credit union ATM that is not my membership institution where I would be depositing $100 of the $200 my wife left me, for the account had less than $39 in it. 

My thinking was that anything above $199 is too tempting for my wife when the gambling need kicks in. I would keep the other $100, and add it to a small stash that I began this month.

My limp was essentially insurmountable, and kept my pace very slow and nearly of a halting nature.

Just down our street, I had to detour off the sidewalk and onto the road in order to get by a skunk that was rooting in someone's lawn, and which had raised its tail threateningly. 

I had no intention of neglecting the pull-ups I engage on my walks, but the elementary school playground I was having to access did not have the gymnastics-style rings that I have been using for months.

I was to discover that I am pathetic at normal pull-ups and chin-ups that require me to use bars and not rings!

I see now that in limiting myself to the rings, I was never required to pull myself up high enough so as to get my chin over some bar I might be hanging from ─ this is a whole new exercise!

I shall not forget this lesson, and will adapt myself accordingly.

I got my deposit done; and after the first half mile of my walk, I was mostly able to walk such that I may not have presented myself as being lame. But the pain is undeniable.

What I think may have happened is that in rising from my chair that Monday evening, the focused strain I employed resulted in the snapping of either some muscle or tendon lying longitudinally along the inside my shin.

If so, I have no idea what this portends. Will I heal with no aftereffects? Or is the muscle or tendon structurally key, and really should be surgically reattached?

I haven't a damned clue.

As I often lament in this blog, I only seem to accrue impediment upon impediment, and seldom recover from one ere one or more others beset me. As I have also alluded, these 'straws' are mounting to the degree that I am afraid that this camel's back is going to break. 

That is to say, I cannot continue living with naught but mounting affliction that steadily robs me of my physical wherewithal. The point is coming where I am just going to choose to give it all up.

Enough is enough.

It had been 2:16 a.m when I was unlocking the front door to leave on my walk; and it was something like 3:13 a.m. once I was back outside the locked front door. 

I spent a little time watering some front yard garden plants before coming into the house.

And I hope that I was back to bed by maybe 4 a.m. or soon enough thereafter.

My morning officially began shortly after 8 a.m. And when I joined my younger brother downstairs for some T.V. and he offered its control over to me, I put our Android TV Box into play and we finished the final nearly half hour of the long (three hours) interview we left off from yesterday: Jesse Hal interview with Dallas Hills Oct 12th.

Dallas Hills is something of a Natural Law (as opposed to Common Law) expert.

Then I tuned in two videos uploaded yesterday to Rumble by Christopher James (A Warrior Calls).

Christoper almost always opens and closes his videos with some corny sequence that might be alright to watch once or twice, but no more ─ I now advance past the boring opening sequence, and quit the videos when the closing sequence starts.

Thus, even though the first video is indicated as exceeding an hour, for my brother and I it was not even an hour after paring off what has come to me to seem to be drivel: Stealing Our Children People Rise Up.

Christoper covered quite a lot ─ too much for me to detail.

I do not believe that the second video had the time-wasteful opening sequence, but it did include the closing sequence ─ so the actual watchable portion of the video may only have been 35 minutes at most: Massive Evidence Against Trudeau Family.

Guest: David Hawkins, Artificial Intelligence Specialist Reverse CSI
www.reversecsiscripts.com
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCT2iskH0Fkxe3WTLMZsyTZw/videos

Poor Christopher! At one point maybe midway through the interview, he started to actually drop asleep and nearly slumped to his desk ─ David Hawkins had to call out to him that he was drooping and needed to wake up.

I was surprised that Christopher left that portion in. He's an honest guy ─ I will give him that, for sure.

This brought us to the noon hour, so my brother broke off to have some bed rest before heading away for the day ─ he had a rendezvous for some pool with a drinking buddy. 

My wife did get away for work today, and rose about 45 minutes earlier than usual ─ that is, she was up around 9 a.m. Since I had promised her that I would print out some Thai documents for her today, I got that done for her. She rose as early as she did in order to cook and leave us a pasta dish. 

I had my usual early afternoon nap. And then since we had yet another sunny day, I sat out in the backyard for at least 70 minutes beginning near 2:40 p.m.

I was barefooted and had on a tee-shirt and cutoffs, but I think that we may have passed the point where I will be topless throughout the whole of any such session. It is becoming a wee cool out there now. 

I will be sitting up this evening to watch some T.V. with my brother once he is home ... and to have a couple of the strong (8% alcohol) malts that I keep in stock.