wild.....

I'm sitting here trying to remember the last time I had a cold, and either I have a really bad memory, or it has been so long ago it has just faded from my memory.  If it's been so long I have forgotten, I guess that is a good thing.  I have a number of friends right now who have been battling a cold for up to two weeks......Ernie back in Stuart, my mountain bike friend Paul back in Southern California, and my Newell friend, Tom, back in Arizona.  That seems like a long time to me, and I was really hoping mine would not have a similar duration.  If I go back to when the symptoms for my current condition first began to manifest themselves that would be last Friday.  I woke up with a "scratchy" throat, which eventually was replaced by minor nasal congestion, which was then superseded by a mild cough.  Eventually the cough became bad coughing spasms with the blowing of the nose quite frequently.  By Wednesday morning I felt like a limp dish rage after a night of fitful sleeping in the recliner.  I was only 6 days into this scourge, but it felt like it was getting worse and worse.  My chest felt tight, and every time I coughed my chest muscles hurt.....my nose was becoming raw from using a wood pulp product to remove the snot flowing freely from same.  As I greeted a new day Wednesday I was not optimistic about my near term health.

As I mentioned previously TLE got up around 5:30 yesterday after hearing me struggling with a spasm of coughing and made me a lemon-honey hot drink, which seemed to stop the coughing fits.  By this time I was down to 3, or 4 Ricola cough drops and was checking my Android phone for local stores and/or pharmacies where we could acquire more.  About this time I got an instant message from our host, Ann, advising she was heading over to the local Piggly Wiggly to do some shopping, and could she pick up anything for us.  I messaged her back that I needed some more Ricola, and maybe some Nyquil.  She came by the coach shortly thereafter with an unopened bottle of a Nyquil equivalent, and said she would pick up some more Ricola.  We sat and talked, and after a while I realized I hadn't coughed for a few hours.  Shortly thereafter Ann left on her mission of mercy, and I decided I would spend the day just reading, and taking at easy.  If we were on vacation, or had a rigid schedule to adhere to there is no way I would have taken a day off.  I would probably have pressed on, and then gotten sicker as a result.  The pressure to do, to see, to accomplish would be there in the back of my mind forbidding me to take time off.  But, since we are just "living" that pressure is just not present anymore....it's okay to take a day off.

During our sojourn in Cedar Key Debby (Bill and Debby's Wild Ride) was reading a book entitled "wild" by Cheryl Strayed.  The book revolves around Cheryl's partial hike of the Pacific Crest Trail which runs 2,663 miles from the Mexican border in California to Manning Park Canada, just over the Washington border.  The book chronicles her 1,100 mile SOLO long distance hike along this famous trail in 1995, and her struggle to detach herself from the memories of a failed marriage, bad childhood, and the death of her mother at 45.  I have been interested in the Pacific Crest Trail for years, and have read journals of people who have traversed its entire length, so when Debby asked me if I would be interested in reading I immediately said "yes".  Well, I finally cracked the cover of this book a few days ago, and yesterday just dove into it.....it is a good read, and I enjoyed it.  Any book of this nature that touches me deep inside as this one did I regard as a successfully written book.  If you read this book, and don't shed a few tears at its conclusion I will be surprised.  Should you choose to read this fine book, please read the entire prologue...it really sets the stage for what is to follow.  (Ann, I know you read my blog, so if you are interested in this book I will be more than happy to pass it along!)

Ann returned near Noon time with the last bag of Ricola cough drops from the local Piggly Wiggly, and some noodle soup she had made....it was supposed to be chicken noodle, but Piggly Wiggly had no chicken (what's up with that?), so she used pork.....it was hot, nicely seasoned, and delicious......thank you Ann!

All during the day I repeatedly became aware that I was not coughing.  I napped a few times, finally finishing my book around 9:30 pm.  The "no coughing" continued all day and into the night.  I went to bed around midnight still not coughing but decided to ingest some of the night time liquid cold medicine Ann had so graciously provided and slept soundly until nearly 8 am....at this writing I am still not coughing.......YAY!!!

Well, that was Wednesday........recuperating quickly south of Savannah, GA.

Thanks for stopping by!