Today was ‘flu shot’ day. We roused out of bed at an unusually early hour and made it to the doctor’s office just a little after 8:00 AM. I was not really surprised by the success of getting up and out the door, but the overall picture was one I would have thought of as being late for the time we had targetted for. We were late for the 8:00 AM opening of the office, although we were late enough to dodge the lineup that had formed up on the opening of the doctor’s office. Imagine all of the fuss that went on about a silly flu shot, eh?
Getting past the nurse was easy enough of a task. Simply bare a shoulder and let fly with the needle at the bare skin, a little pin prick, and it was all over. We were still smiling with sleep in our eyes as we ducked out of the door on our way back home. I was still thinking that there should have been a lineup instead of merely five people in the entire doctor’s office waiting room. And somehow, we were able to go in just as soon as we got there, jumping the line of a few who were already there as far as I was concerned.
The doctor’s receptionist smiled at me and complimented me on looking so good. She knew me for the last three years. I had gone from being a 98 pound walking skeleton, hardly able to stand up, and ready to die at any moment. Now, I weigh in at 142 pounds and am much stronger physically and mentally. I have improved considerably since moving into this home and settling down to a good life.
As far back as I can remember, I seem to have had a good home, or at least a job. Ok, so I wasn’t perfect all of the time, but it was as close as you can get as far as I am concerned. Anyone would have been happy to have lived in my higher than the average sort of life. But, all the while, I was afraid and on the run for my life.
I can’t say that I am a paranoid sort of person. I do know the reality of my circumstances and the fact that there are differences in what to fear or not. There isn’t much that I would be afraid of. I was terrified one time when my rig slipped sideways on a frozen highway as it tobogganed down a four mile slope of highway. I was terrified another time when I drove past a mile wide tornado with an Ohio State Highway Patrol car and officer driving right up behind my trailer. The winds literally threw my 86,000 lb rig around as if it was a toy. I held onto the steering wheel and drove for my life, as did the State Highway Patrol officer behind me. I was terrified, for good reason, at other times in my life. But, for the most part, I am a pretty brave and intelligent sort of person. Yet, I knew that I was literally on the run for my life at certain times.
It is very hard to anticipate what the future has in store. Sometimes, I have felt the compulsion to do certain things for certain reasons. It seems reasonable and on the surface would make sense if you knew what I was thinking and what I was anticipating at the time. Somehow I have been very lucky in many instances of bad luck or just outright trouble. We always try to do our best to avoid trouble, if we can. We can’t always stay ahead of bills or trouble no matter how hard we try. It is just a fact of human life, I think. We aren’t perfect, and we do make mistakes.
