The Addie Files

I'm back on the bicycle again, what with the rains being less than steady. It's proven easy to find myself riding fifty miles in a day, if I have several errands around town. Labor Day Weekend I spent in Seattle, for Folklife during the day and dancing with the Israeli group at night. I pulled something in the afternoon, doing a Hombo with a young woman who had recently injured her hip - she was light enough that I could provide all the support and continued dancing through the evening, but after such vigorous dancing the cartilage aches severely for days! I chose not to over-medicate, so I was pretty much incapacitated for the week (although I did pop enough vicodin and motrin to get out of bed for Tuesday dance class.)

 

This past Saturday, I got over to Bob Culpepper's for gaming, but I used the Max to get there. I took my bike on Max for the first time; it's pretty easy, and I ride just over two miles to get the 14 miles to Bob's. The board game went past midnight, so I had to ride all the way home from Gateway on the bike... about ten miles. It's really beautiful riding that time of night, and it's pretty much downhill all the way, but I wasn't able to get out Sunday or today. Tomorow, I'll get up to go out for my mail and do the other errands that have come up. Tuesdays, I get out no matter how much painkiller it takes! Last week it took 3200mg motrin and 4000mg vicodin, and I had to drive to dance class. Unless it's pouring rain, tomorrow I'll be on the bicycle: with a limit of 1600motrin and 1600mg vicodin!

Today’s traffic Court was flabbergasting. I was stopped at 12:28 AM on July 8, after flying back from two weeks vacation in Washington DC, for a “California stop”. The young Officer who cited me sat there in Court and blatantly lied about what I’d said to him during the traffic stop: if he wasn’t lying, then he has something terribly wrong with how he hears what suspects are saying! Officer Steven Wilbon’s testimony said I had cussed him out during the stop, using foul language as part of the way I talk.

 

When I use cuss words, it is only ever to discuss their inapplicability to effective communication. Under much more stressful conditions than a traffic stop, I have not been a cusser since going through naval training. Addie was forever telling folks how I’d picked up swearing during boot camp in 1974, and then stopped when I was assigned to a Sea Command in 1976. Even when Addie was dying, I didn’t cuss out the doctors who were improperly treating her; it’s just not how I handle stress or get things done. Anyone who’s seen me get stressed knows how I become cold and fiery eyed, sometimes getting tearful and silent. My voice becomes a whip, rising but becoming a steady beat to get my position across. As it happens, I didn’t even become angry enough for that to happen that night. The cross Country flight home from DC had been too tiring for me to want anything but to get inside to bed. I decided almost at once that I’d take up my arguments at Trial, rather than waste time on a young fellow who was appeared at first to just be repeating phrases that he’d learned in training, completely recalcitrant. Even so, I had to write up the incident for my defense before I could get to sleep, and extending to incident was far from my mind!

 

The Judge today found against me, saying that neither he nor I could be absolutely certain that my car wasn’t creeping during the several seconds while I was stopped and reaching down to pick up and stow my umbrella off the passenger side floor. I don’t know how that logic balances with the concept of “preponderance of evidence,” but it is how Portland judges found in every case I’ve watched at the PortlandCourthouse. The false statements by Officer Wilbon were wholly unnecessary, and surprising to say the least, but ignored by the Judge. At least I got my day in Court!

 

I spoke with Officer Wilbon after the Trial. He appears to be unrelenting as to the accuracy of his statements in Court. If he has such a slanted view, he is a danger to the public. He apparently took the statements from an affidavit he’d sworn out on the day of the incident. He had been concerned that I demanded his name and a contact number for his Precinct, as I’ve been trained to expect of a suspect. He also converted my statement that ,”that’s not how I was trained to approach a suspect,” that he put in the affidavit that I’d said “you should let me off, as a fellow officer;” which is clearly not what I’ve been trained to EVER say!

 

I left him today after asking him how I should file a complaint that he made false statements in court. He said to make the same contact, his immediate Supervisor, as he’d provided when I demanded it after the incident. I asked him to speak with his Pastor as well as his Supervisor about what he’s done, but his response was an energetic denial and claims to be a God fearing and honest person. Before we parted, I took and shook his hand, and said “Good luck, son.”

  

March 20 was the fourth anniversary of Addie's passing to a better place. All the peacenik stuff going on was a grim reminder that the television we were watching as she went to sleep that night of March 19, 2003 was the "shock and awe" in Iraq. Maybe it urged her on her way...

 

This week was also the last for Jasper Cat. He was finally starting to lose fur in little clumps, and the tumer was interfering with the operation of his shoulders to climb onto the bed... he'd already been unable to climb to his favorite perches on my books and the computer monitor for several months. He was a trooper to the end, though, as cats usually are. He growled about going to the doctor, but was cooperative once there, just as always. He didn't have any spasms due to the injection, and just relaxed finally as he hadn't been able for so long. I'm sleeping alone now for the first time since 1971... it's lonely, and I feel odd not having someone to go home to. Jasper got me through Addie's death, and my crippling.

 

I started a monthly alotment to Muscular Dystrophy Association in memory of Addie. I am still taking dontaions for MDA at the Addie memorial website, http://addielee.aiprojects.net, anything that goes into that account is transfered to MDA the next time I log on to PayPal.

 

For those sailors out there, you can find Addie's gravesite by visiting http://addielee.aiprojects.net/hypertext/venturaroute.html, where you'll find a map showing the spot between Oxnard, CA, and Anacapa Is, where she and her mother were buried at sea.

 

In other news: I finally convinced the doctors to prescribe something for my difficulties "down south" - even though i don't have an enlarged prostrate, my decision to take viagra along with the stool softeners, successfully treeting the CES residual to my spinal cord damage, has resulted in a prescription for Cardura... Cardura is a drug that does the same thing as Viagra, but in smaller doses, including the lowering of blood pressure - with the same concerns about interactions with other drugs. Since the viagra was working, the Cardura just slipped right in with no noticable change from my perspective. --- I still don't know if either one helps with erectile disfunction, since I' still a lonely heart!

 

I'm heading for Newport, OR for Spring Break... it may be difficult to use it as a getaway, but both Joe and I can work it into our schedules. The week I get back, I'll be ushering at Profile Theater, and visiting a shut-in to let him "pick my brain" about something; he hasn't told me about what yet!

Well, it finally got here. One year after the lumbar surgery, and I have been graduated from PT - even for my neck. I'd say it's a seventy percent improvement from a year ago, even for the neck. Now, I have to figure out how to maintain this condition with Medicare questioning every visit's "improvement." They don't believe in "maintenance" - so my Therapist, Andrea, agrees I might see a therapeutic masseuse, who gets paid out of my pocket instead of by Blue Cross. Speaking with Blue Cross, they don't see why I can't continue with PT as long as I have visits left, but I probably need to find a Therapist who doesn't care what Medicare thinks. Andrea does say that if I do deteriorate due to lack of massage funds, I should get a doctor to refer me back to her for more "improvement."

 

Even though my wonderful bicycle got stolen from the lobby of my building the last Sunday in October, I have gotten a cheep new one. I got it $45 at Fred Meyer, because they couldn't sell it for full price... it's an old fashioned one speed pedal brake bike! I haven't gotten another helmet, but I have gotten a lock and wrench; it'll be another $45 or thereabouts to get lights, helmet, and gloves for this weather >;-)

Bob's photos of selected days aboard Stephen Tabor ar now a slideshow at his Google site http://picasaweb.google.com/robertnicolscribe 

 

Once you're there you click to download Picaso, which is the slideshow program. Picaso is amazing, compared to what we have for free here at MSN Spaces!