Summer Monsoon Moon
Incidentally, you have aortic atherosclerosis. But, no arthritis in the sacroiliac joints. Oh, well, thanks. X-ray results. Learning to flinch a bit when I get x-ray reports since the last two have had incidental findings. They’re not just a BTW, but a, hey, look at this! My usual position is knowledge is better. In this case though it comes unexpectedly, sort of out of left field. It can, and has, shocked me.
Neither this finding nor the one earlier are exactly surprises. I’m 71. I’m an American Midwesterner raised on meat and potatoes. I still eat red meat, including bacon and wienies. I get a certain transgressive pleasure from them. But, I know they have consequences. I also know, and this is an upfront reality for those of us past 70, that we’re in the death zone. Maybe not now, maybe not tomorrow, but life no longer stretches out beyond the horizon. Which feels appropriate and natural to me.
The third phase of life is anomalous in many ways from the first two. It’s happier, less tense. It encourages self-expression and downplays, if not eliminates, striving. At the same time the slow insults of age begin to accumulate kidney disease, prostate cancer, high blood pressure, atherosclerosis, arthritis severe enough to require a new knee in my case. Each of these is a mortality signal. Still flashing yellow, but evidence that the light’s gonna change at some point. To red. As it has and does, for 100% of us.
Anyhow, have a good day!
