July 3, '09: 8.5 miles. Today was a journey of leisured errands. Kind of at the last minute I realized I could trike to this morning's chiro appt vs drive. So, I hurried to get my gear organized to head out the garage door. Triking takes far more time to organize than running. Running was wonderful - at any moment all I had to do was change shoes, throw on my running backpack (if "running errands"), and run out the front door. W/ triking, I have to put on the helmet, secure my baggage (for errands) to the trike, back the trike out of the garage, once the door is opened, get my coccyx pillow out of the Element, which means I had to grab keys to unlock the Element, close the garage door (garage opener battery is dead so I have to WALK back inside to the wall switch, then walk back out to the trike), and head off. Often, I cross my right hand over my left shoulder to locate the seat belt. Seems like I should secure myself into or onto the trike. Then I utter a "duh" and pedal away.



My chiropractor is the best! Typically we laugh about ourselves and talk about our fun plans. Today he told me that I look tired. I am tired. Not sleeping well, again. I wonder if my body builds a tolerance to my sleep Rx and then it's not effective. I'll discuss this w/ my neuropsych this coming week. July's an odd month. People go on vacations and aren't "in" for business. Of course, no one checks in w/ me to see if their week off fits into my schedule :-) If Martin isn't "in", then Amy will be, or Bob. Anna's always there and very eager to serve. I've tried not using it (sleep Rx) a few times; zero sleep is far worse than 3-5 hrs of sleep. And last night I got SIX hrs of sleep, yet I feel and look tired. When I woke up & saw my clock I wondered if I was okay b/c I'd slept so long. I wonder if this sleep deprivation (I truly sympathize w/ Michael Jackson re: inability to obtain adequate sleep - it makes one feel insane!) is a life-long malady. Another question to ask the right person....... Martin.



After leaving the chiro I mulled between taking the trail, which I love, or the streets to get to the bank: the next errand. I chose the streets b/c I haven't been on them for a while and the hills would provide a good workout in preparation for the 12th's 25K. I saw a yard sale and decided to stop. I haven't been to a yard sale in years. I don't have the patience for yard sales. Well, the organizer of this event arranged the tables and wares so that I could ride my trike around the displays. She (the organizer) said she deliberately arranges in this manner b/c many people attend who use walkers or motorized carts. And I was her 1st triker. Kudos to those who think of us alternatively-abled people. Someone ought to write a public article about that great lady. She's an un-sung hero. As I was triking away from the driveway, a lady was crossing the street in her electric cart. She had hip-replacement surgery recently. What a great world / country in which we live. Back in the day, people w/ physical restrictions had to remain in their houses. THANK YOU to whoever contributed to heightened awareness for the alternatively-abled. As I write this I think of a dear friend, N, who has a 24-ish year old son, who has abilities of a single digit month's old baby. She chooses to physically pick up this man-baby and take him out for errands, church, etc. Fortunately, there are many devices which assist w/ transporting him: adult-sized strollers, car seats, etc. Again, THANK YOU to whoever worked tirelessly to design devices and change policies so that most people can engage in enjoyable activities. If you know of any of the "whoevers" please inform me. I will personally thank them. Following is a picture of my $1 yard sale purchase today. I plan to invite people over to dunk foods into this chocolate pot. Kind of like a fondue. I've been considering re-igniting the fondue parties from the past, but haven't decided to make a splurge purchase. For one buck I can't lose. Even if it doesn't work (it looks brand new inside the box) I "donated" one dollar to someone who is desperate enough to part w/ this gadget. Times are tough. I guess people are willing to sell their cherished belongings to pay their bills. I've always wanted to have an open-house sale. Come in & buy whatever you want. Simplify. Really, if you die, what does it matter anyway? If your house burned down, what does it matter? Stuff. We, er I, surround myself w/TOO much. And I just purchased one more thing to add to my crowded cabinets. But, I will make some good memories (those cannot be sold or burned down) w/ this dollar treasure. Finally, here's the chocolate melting pot, "treat maker":

Oh, I didn't even have any cash on me, so "she" held the choco treat maker for me, while I triked on to my next errand: the credit union. There I did my deeds, including collecting a "free $100 bill" for my daughter who asked that I get one for her if they were being handed out today. I also collected some "ones" for me to return & claim my yard sale purchase and perhaps happen upon another yard sale.

The next errand on my list was to go to the medical aids store in town and exchange one of my compression stockings for another color. Weeks ago I purchased two pair of "natural" colored stockings. Well, they made my legs look "Asian" - more yellow toned. I don't mind that Asian tone, but it just does not work for the olive pigment color of my flesh. My lower legs looked jaundiced in those stockings. I had to wait several weeks for the store to obtain "suntan" colored compression stockings in my size. Well, these make my legs look kind of "Jamaican". I don't mind that Jamaican tone, but it looks a bit odd when it says "suntan". I guess I was thinking Caucasian "suntan", not Jamaican "suntan". So, exchanging the pair I haven't worn yet was on my list of errands for today. By the time I finished the bank and yard sale (an Anatomy/Physiology co-student was at the yard sale, too. We visited a while. Then when I zoomed out of the driveway a van stopped in front of me - turned out to be another friend from town, so we visited for a few mins), I was hungry and it was close to 1 pm. I left home at 9:40 am for the chiro appt :-)

Triking brings an aura of leisure that running never provided for me. GOD is so good to me by allowing me the opportunity to take up triking. My body shape is not what it was when I was running, but I'm working on it. After lunch and chatting for nearly an hour w/a cousin during my chomping on a salad in her ear, I headed to the post office for the 3rd errand on the list. As I headed down the street to steer me in the direction of the medical supply place, I saw this van going another direction:

Ready Ride was my transportation for one year. I decided I could trike fast enough to track it down given that it was going through traffic lights downtown. So, off I chased it. I found it here, in this parking lot, w/o a driver. Knowing that this company assists "medical patients", there were a few options of places to investigate. I was hoping for a gleeful reunion w/one of my former drivers. Not finding the driver in the nearby medical offices, I became fascinated w/ this:

Apologies for the poor camera quality. Being so low to the ground on the trike, the bright red against the white and green caught my attention. If I'd been running, I'd never have seen this ladybug nor taken the time to watch her on a mission to go from one place to another. I thought about picking her up and bringing her home as a pet, but didn't.

Back to the van..... I heard a door slam nearby and peeked around the corner to see a human in the van driver seat. I hurried onto my trike and went over to the driver side. I recognized the driver as one of original drivers. Bottom line is: I fired her. IMHO she was not a safe driver for me being so new out of the hospital from a near-fatal-auto-accident (nor a safe driver for anyone really). Several times I told her that I was fully alright w/ being late to an appointment if she would back off the car bumper traveling in front of us. Essentially, she told me I needed to get over my concerns b/c she had driven so many years and thousands of miles w/o ever having an accident. I responded that prior to January 22, 2008, I could have bragged about the same thing, but than a (jerk) crossed the center line and hit me head-on resulting in my need for her to provide safe transportation for me now. When I arrived at that day's medical appt I called her office and fired her. I put all that aside today when I triked up to the driver's window and offered a warm and friendly greeting to this lady. I thought maybe she didn't recognize me since I was wearing a helmet, so I offered her my name. She merely acknowledged, " I know," then said "hello", rolled her window back up and turned back to what she was doing. Well, now. Affirmation that my gut was right about her character. Sad. Hurts. My firing her did not reduce her work (she's related to the boss). I guess she just likes things to go her way. Oh well. And another thing: if Mr. (Jerk) had been following a safe distance from the vehicle in front of him, he would not have, as he claims, not been able to stop from hitting the vehicle in front of him, thereby losing control of his vehicle on ice and hitting me. Now, I'm not an accident recreation engineer, but (I know that contradicts what I just said, "but" I'm really NOT an accident recreation engineer, if that's even a title) if what he claims is true, then why did his vehicle "full head-on" collide w/ mine? Why didn't the side of his vehicle hit me? Why head-on? Would the results have been any different? My endearing term of "Mr. (Jerk)" does not intend to indict his nationality, as I'm sure, at some point, may become another whine of his. Yep, I'm angry right now. And very, very sad. My life is only getting better. In the midst of that, many people who love & support me have had to suffer too. I wish my suffering did not have to cause them to suffer.

Another blessing from GOD is daisies. I smile when I see daisies. (subject change JIC you're wondering) Maybe it takes me back to the childhood days (beginning sound of dai-sies - HA) when I really believed the magical power in "he loves me, he loves me not". Even when I picked a "he loves me not" daisy, I just selected another one until I found a "he loves me" one. I never settled for "he loves me not". Daisies are planted in my front yard in one spot. I think deer may have enjoyed them this year - I haven't seen them. Fortunately, these and many others abound around town (deer & daisies).

I hope they make you smile, too!

Right around the location of the daisies I saw another yard sale sign. Recall, I'm on my way to the medical supply store to exchange my Jamaican suntan stocking for Caucasian suntan ones. Assuming the yard sale was nearby I took off on another rabbit chase. About a mile later I found the "yard" sale. There were 3 tables, mostly cleared (good for their business), w/ remaining baby items. That phase is so very history for me. While briefly chatting w/ the two ladies sitting in the driveway a man leapt over the back deck to check out my trike. Not sure where he came from or to whom he belonged. The women didn't seem too bothered by his sudden presence. One of them said, "No, you are not getting one". I guess he belonged to her. I offered him a spin on my trike. He quickly assented to just sitting on it. He couldn't sit still so I suggested he just go to the end of their driveway and back. He went out into the street. This thing is addictive. Now I know what I'm addicted to (A friend recently asked me this question. I thought of oreos, self-help books, and not much more, that I'm aware of anyway. Now I can add my trike to that list!) People came from nowhere to check out the trike. I was the only person in the driveway when I arrived and then suddenly there were 15 more. I handed out terra trike cards like candy in a parade. TERRA TRIKE - add me as a commissioned employee!!! I'll settle for a tune-up / year for all the advertising I'm giving you. I left this out of the way, way out of the way, yard sale and headed back to the medical supply store.

We've had rain all week so no rain today was a treat. Air temp was a little cool, sky was fully overcast. But, it was great to be able to be outdoors on my trike w/ no agenda driving me to hurry on, except that the store likely had a closing time (Jamaican suntan, Asian yellow, or African black are my only options). I looked up to the sky as I felt sun penetrating my Caucasian skin. BLUE SKY! I pulled out my camera and without looking for the "perfect" position, just made a picture:

Do you see IT? Immediately, in addition to the sun's warmth I felt embraced by the SON's warmth. All that love (heart) for ME. GOD blesses me way more than I deserve. Honestly, I think I do deserve some blessings b/c I'm honest, loyal, faithful, committed, perseverant, etc. I'm more than satisfied w/ the blessings of shelter, food, air, ability to purchase clothing of my choice. That's quite enough for me. But GOD continues to overwhelm me w/ WAY MORE than the "simple" things for basic needs. I'm not talking about material things. I'm talking about the joy of engaging w/ the "shes" and "hes" in life, the sheer beauty of ladybugs and daisies, pictures in the clouds that appear just at the exact right moment I click my cheap little digital camera. You can see the grey overcast cloud in the background. That's what we had all day until the "heart" suddenly appeared. Nah, I don't believe in Jesus or Mary showing up on toast. But, I do believe in the transformation that can take place in a person's heart when they believe that GOD is real in their lives. That's grace. That's overwhelming blessing. I've lived a life that easily became too busy for me to openly cry out "thanks" to GOD for simple, yet magnificent, and transformative blessings. I don't want to return to that life. I want to move at a trike's pace and see the ladybugs in the grass.

Blessings Abound and Abound!

~A~