The Rock Wall

From Claudine James Lolla Pope: Jim Pope always recited this at first of October, one of his teachers taught it a long time ago. It was a favorite of Mom’s because she always mentioned October’s bright blue weather: Poem: October’s Bright Blue Weather:

O Sun and skies and clouds of June,

And flowers of June together,

Ye cannot rival for one hour October’s bright blue weather,

• Well, I have a new set of friends. Finally got the doctors’ approval and started cardiac rehab Friday. Brooke, the head of the unit, feels like she has always known me because I’ve been at the Sun paper all of her life. I already scared Jennifer half to death Friday because I let go of the hand hold to try to increase the speed of the treadmill. Jacquie (Jackie) is there on Mondays.

• I rode the city taxi for the first time Monday so Kimball didn’t have to come pick me up from cardiac rehab on deadline day. On the way to the office, I mentioned that Everett Smith was the only taxi driver I knew personally. Everybody on the taxi knew Everett and had something good to say about him.

• Cardiac Rehab is not what I expected. It’s just controlled exercise under watchful, knowledgeable eyes. Monday I was on the treadmill where they kept wanting me to keep my backside over my feet or my feet under my backside, on an exercise bike where my feet kept falling off the pedals, on a leg exercise device lifting weights with the front and back of my legs and on what I call a coffee grinder. And I don’t drink coffee. Just water, milk, lemonade and Glucerna. The Cardiac Rehab people make serious business fun. I’m going to enjoy that part of my recovery.

• When they want me to try something, I tell them I am here to get better.

• Found out that Brooke, the head of Cardiac Recovery, was the Homecoming Queen when she was an EHS senior and married the Homecoming King. How’s that for romance?  She said I took the coronation photo.

They really don’t want anybody to fall. I told them I’ve had lot of practice at getting up which is the reason I can stand up so apparently effortlessly – practice.

Brooke had a least five bracelets on her left arm Monday. Hope she’s not prone to backhanding unruly patients.

• Kimball is definitely the cat momma.  Jack and Diane run to the door when they hear her drive up. They must understand when she tells each one they are the best ever. The demon kitten has graduated to the spot on Kimball’s legs where Bella used to sleep. Bella was gone before Diane, that’s what Kimball named her, was born so the secret did not get passed on. She sleeps through a lot of TV on Kimball’s lap.

• Gotta transcribe Bobby Dains’ fishing report. All the other bait shops have stopped answering the phone.       KL