I’m hurting today – a lot. Yesterday’s drive and activities in the city hit me harder because I was already only operating at ~60%, and I didn’t sleep well because of the pain. I probably should have taken a painkiller last night to sleep better but I really try to avoid taking those if I can. Something about hindsight and 20/20 vision and all that.
It’s especially frustrating to me because I’m finally to the point in life I had dreamed about – rural property with acreage, with many places to hike and explore – and I can’t enjoy it the way I had planned in my head because of my new-ish physical limitations. I can still get around for the most part, but I won’t be backpacking anytime soon. But since my injury has eliminated several activities I have enjoyed in the past, we now have to look at making alternatives more accessible.
That’s one reason I picked a Jeep Wrangler for my current vehicle. While it doesn’t help me hike up narrow trails, I can still drive places other vehicles can’t and use it to camp. I’ve been converting it to an “overlander” and while I could use it in it’s current state to camp in, I still need to get a rack tent for it and a few other things. Ultimately I hope to have it set up with solar chargers and a small refrigerator so I can take my wife on trips without forcing her to lose the creature comforts of civilization. But I digress…
The point of all this is that even if you are faced with challenges and physical limitations, there are usually at least some options that can be used as work-arounds. Sure, it is certainly frustrating to be reliant on technology to enjoy things I once was able to just “do.” (There were many times in my youth that I would just decide to get away for a bit and I’d drive off somewhere and backpack in several miles to have some peace.) It is also quite maddening (and exhausting) to have a pain signal constantly being sent up a side of my body, but I certainly could be worse off. While I’m still waiting to see if the nerves heal (I was told 7-9 years for nerves to heal and I am currently in year 5) another surgery may be necessary – though I’m not sure I would want to risk additional injury if that doesn’t go well.
It all comes down to choices – risk vs reward. I might not be able to hike in to a place to camp, but I could drive in somewhere else – the risk/reward is pretty low on risk and high on reward in that scenario. Others will obviously vary (additional surgery for instance) but as time passes, technology also increases which can lower the risk factor in the equation. So don’t give up – whatever is your challenge, assess your situation and see if the risk is worth it, and if not, give it some time and check again.
Interesting Tidbits
MÖTLEY CRÜE Recruits Country Music Icon DOLLY PARTON For ‘Reimagined’ Version Of ‘Home Sweet Home’ – “Dolly Parton offered, ‘It was an honor and a joy working in the studio on MÖTLEY CRÜE‘s 40th Anniversary re-release of ‘Home Sweet Home’. I was so pleased that they would ask me to sing on such a classic.'” I’m not sure about this…
Scot Pollard, NBA Player and Survivor Alum, Gets Emotional After Heart Transplant – Remember “Samurai” Scot, my favorite Kings player? “The Survivor alum—who competed on the CBS show from 2015 to 2016—shared that he received a heart transplant in February 2024 and was recently able to meet his donor’s family to thank them in person as part of an emotional ESPN documentary Heart of Pearl. “
Ancient ‘Dragon Man’ skull from China isn’t what we thought – “Scientists have determined that a giant skull from an ancient human relative named the ‘Dragon Man’ is actually Denisovan.”
No Charges for Cops Who Executed Innocent Grandpa on His Own Property—With a Bullet in His Back – “Despite the nine bullet holes in the windshield of the officers’ unmarked truck, originally spun as proof Cueli had fired on them, it turns out those shots were fired from inside the truck. The cops fired through their own windshield. They were in unmarked vehicles with tinted windows and, according to the family, never announced themselves.”
Cellphone data to help WSP nab speeders – “Baldwin said the commission used state funding to purchase telematic data gathered by Michelin Mobility Intelligence to show when and where drivers were speeding, braking, and talking and texting while driving.”
Detachment 201: The Merger Of Big Tech And The U.S. Army – “The new Army Reserve lieutenant colonels are Shyam Sankar, chief technology officer for Palantir; Andrew Bosworth, chief technology officer for Meta; Kevin Weil, chief product officer for OpenAI; and Bob McGrew, advisor at Thinking Machines Lab and former chief research officer for OpenAI.”
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