Harleys, Cars, Girls & Guitars

Relief at Last... Walk Like a Man

My friend, Danae, read my plea for relief from sciatica, and she sent me a link to this YouTube video:

The exercises brought me instantaneous relief. The pressure point at my coccyx disappeared immediately. For the first time in two weeks, I could straighten up and walk! Thank God. Thanks Danae.

Last Friday night, I was in so much pain that I was, literally, walking around my house on all fours like dog. Even that didn't really ease the pain. Now, I can walk with my back straight.

I'm not totally recovered. I'm struggling with residual pain in my leg from walking with a limp for two weeks. Tonight, I'll go to the gym for a full set of yoga to see if I can realign my body. But, at least, I can walk again like a man.

Yoga and Sciatica

The old man thing hit me with a thud over the past two weeks. Not entirely sure what caused it... combination of stress, an injury to my achilles tendon and just plain trying too hard to fight my way through the pain... but I've got sciatica... and I've got it bad.

The pain is just damned awful. Curling up in a fetal position is about the only thing that works. Apparently, this takes the pressure off the sciatic nerve. My bedroom stinks from Ben-Gay. I'm working my way through a bottle of Alleve.  I made two pilgrimmages to the hot tub yesterday. At least I felt some relief for the time I was in the tub and for a half hour afterward.

I've tried soft Yoga, and that does help for a while.

Now, I'm looking for specific Yoga poses that might help me to defeat this pain. Women's fitness offers a page on the Top 10 Yoga Exercises to relieve Sciatica.  At this point, I'm desperate and ready to try anything. The venerable Yoga Journal also has a page devoted to relieving sciatica pain. Some of these poses are within my repertoire, others not.

Pain has prevented me from performing my full Yoga routine, so I'm skeptical about my ability to withstand some of these poses.

Anybody out there have any remedies for sciatica? Please post them in the comments.

Yet Another Memorial to a Fallen Bicyclist... Ghost Bikes

Some months ago I ran across a monument to a fallen bicyclist in Chinatown.  Today, I walked past another monument at the intersection of Houston and LaGuardia.  

I thought that the monuments were individuals efforts. Was I wrong! An organization known as Ghost Bikes puts up these monuments.

Here's what Ghost Bikes hopes to accomplish with these displays:

We hope to create a space where those lost on dangerous streets can be remembered by their loved ones, members of their local communities, and others from around the world. We also hope to inspire more people to start installing ghost bikes in their communities and to initiate changes that will make us all safer on the streets.

48 Hour Film Festival... Another Leftist Indoctrination Seminar

Ever wondered why the arts are so overwhelming leftist? Here's your answer. The 48 Hour Film Project Goes Green!

The answer is remarkably simple. If you want to be an artist, you've got a gun to your head. Adhere to leftist dogma, or you won't be seen or heard. Just about all the film festivals are leftist indoctrination seminars, in one way or another. The 48 Hour folks are remarkably candid about this.

I don't know if this festival receives tax dollars. The Woodstock Film Festival, which is also a leftist indoctrination seminar, does.

The pressure to adhere to leftist dogma in artistic circles is fierce. I keep quiet about politics in my music business, although the leftists talk about little else. Several years ago, I actually participated in one of the 48 Hour events. I could see clearly that the first qualification for success was conformity to leftist dogma. That's one of the reasons I haven't participated again.

This insistent pressure to conform produces very bad art, and it drives artists to ever fiercer extremist views. This is one of the reasons why the left is so damned crazy. One of the ways to attract attention to your work is to be ever more strident and crazy in your leftism. It's a competition.

In the competition for grants, prizes and attention, you'd better be a leftist if you have any hopes of success. It's a professional requirement. And, oddly, the left is proud of using this form of intimidation.

Pulling Into Hoboken Rail Terminal

The railyard at New Jersey Transit's Hoboken Terminal is strewn with these gigantic steel towers. That's the skyline of Jersey City in the background.

These towers carry the overhead electrical wires for the huge locomotives that drive the commuter trains. Hoboken, hometown of Frank Sinatra, is the southern terminus of the New Jersey Transit rail system. The northern terminus is in Secaucus.

I'm not sure what function all those microwave dishes serve.

Thank God, the sun is up now during my commute to Manhattan. Today, we're expecting the temperature to hit 60 degrees! Perhaps this will give me some relief from the bout of arthritis I've been fighting. Every degree helps.

The PATH subway system connects with New Jersey transit in Hoboken. Once in the rail station, I transfer to PATH for the ride to Greenwich Village. After all these years in New York City, I still marvel at the immensity of the city.

In the immoral words of Link Wray: “When a country boy comes to the city, it's like going to the circus for a ride.”

As I hobbled toward the subway last night, I was thinking that the hard streets of New York City are just the right place for me to lay down and let my earthly burdens go. You've got to die somewhere. This is where I always wanted to be. I hope to spend my last moments in the concrete heart of the city.

And, then it's on to the next life, where I'll be reunited with Myrna.

Retirement and Pain

For the first time, I'm seriously considering retirement. The ten minute walk from the subway to my office has been sheer hell for the past week, as I've weathered a severe arthritis attack.

Now, I know why old guys become cranky farts. They're in pain. I've been trying to beat little old ladies to the empty seats on the subway. I can't stand for 20 minutes on a moving train. Everybody has to go around me on the subway stairs because I'm in the way. It's humbling.

Moving to a warmer climate solves one problem... easing the arthritic pain. But, it creates another problem. What in the hell would I do?

Where would I go? The Philippines? Florida? Arizona? You can buy a house for $70,000 in Panama City, Florida. But, it's a hick town of 36,000. Not much nightlife. No jobs.

I was hoping to work for another five to ten years, but my body is fading fast. How long until the mind starts to go?

I walk through Washington Square Park every day. I try to enjoy the walk as much as possible, because my days of walking through the Village are numbered. I pass by the college kids and I admire their young bodies. Sexy isn't that important to me anymore. Young and healthy... that's so amazing!

We're expecting warmer weather in New York City for the next few days. Maybe even 60 degrees on Friday! That will be some much needed relief. I can take off the long underwear. Tonight, it's back to the hot tub for another soak. Slowly, the arthritis is letting go. By next week, I might be able to walk again without pain.

The Big Dig Continues Outside My Office

The excavation project outside my office window has entered a new phase. I've posted a couple of other pictures of this project here and here.

First, the boys dug a big hole. Then, they cut up and pulled out a gigantic old oil tank. Now, they're building a platform out of huge iron girders. What's next? Will they replace the old oil tank with a new model?

I'm back at work after missing two days with a massive arthritis attack that made it almost impossible for me to stand up and walk. The trigger for the attack? Probably that horrible cold spell last week along with severe stress.

I'm enjoying watching the young construction workers climbing around the site like monkeys on a jungle gym. For the past few days, I've struggled just to pull up my socks and tie my shoe laces. Time to go on a 1500 calorie a day diet and lose 40 to 50 pounds to see if that will lessen the arthritis problems.

Cubs Open Spring Training! Wait Until Next Year!

Only 103 years and counting. That's how long since the Cubs won the World Series.

But, it's spring and hope springs eternal. The Cubs opened up spring training for pitchers and catchers yesterday in Mesa, Arizona. Above, a picture of Hohokam Park, the Cubs' home in Mesa.

My daddy, who passed away over a decade ago, wasn't even born the last time the Cubs won the World Series.

We've got a new manager, and it isn't Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg. No, it's Mike Quade who served as interim manager last year after Sweet Lou Piniella decided to pack it in.

We aren't expecting much from the Cubbies this year. It's a transition year. We are aiming to be competitive again, perhaps in the next decade. The team features some exciting young players in Starlin Castro, Andrew Cashner and Tyler Colvin.

I'd love to take a trip home to Chicago for a game at Wrigley Field, but it's tough to plan these things when you're working as a contractor. (I have an interview coming up for a full time job on Wall Street. Don't know if I can take the pace.  May be too old for that.) If the Cubs show some signs of life early in the season, I might sign up to get the games over the internet on mlb.com. About 20 bucks a month.

The big off season acquisition was pitcher Matt Garza, a fifteen game winner who pitched last year for the Tampa Bay Rays. Also acquired as a free agent, Carlos Pena, who hit a sterling .196 last year for the Rays. $10 million for a .196 hitter!

The good news... we've cleared out some bad contracts.  Next year, after the Cubs dump a few more bad contracts (like the one given to Kosuke Fudodome), we'll have the money to go after Albert Pujols when he becomes a free agent.  I'll bet he's always dreamed of playing for the Cubs!

So, it's already time to start waiting until next year. In the meantime, I'll try to enjoy the 2011 season for what it is.

iPhone Confession App

Believe me, I am a sinner. So, this app will certainly come in handy. Approved by the Catholic Church! And, a bargain only $1.99!

Went to a Super Bowl party, and a Jewish woman tried to strike up a conversation with me. I think she was looking for a date. As is common in New York City intellectual circles, she wanted to let me know that she was too hip to be religious. I never know what to say when this happens.

We got onto the religion discussion because I told her that I was looking for a job as a church organist and choir director. So, she demanded to know how I could be so backward as to be Catholic. The usual homosexuals and sex abuse stuff.

This started me to drinking. The more she talked to me, the more I drank. I must have gone through four glasses of wine while she argued with me. I wasn't moved to ask her for a date. Somewhere around the fourth glass of wine, she disappeared.

Two days later, I came up with the right answer. Don't you hate it when that happens? So, here's what I'm going to say from now on:

I'm Catholic because that was what my daddy wanted me to be.

That's the truth! And, it will stop this sort of woman from talking to me and driving me to drink. Because only backward hillbillies do things just because their father did those things the same way.

Meanwhile, I'm going to look over this confession app. God knows, I need some help.

Vehicular Oddities in the Village

Some tough guy rode his Honda cruiser into work yesterday. Ice and snow spots still linger in the streets a week after the brutal blizzard.

You've got to admire this guy for daring to risk his cruiser on these streets. You've also got to wonder whether he has any sense. Maybe this vehicle is the only ride he's got. In event event, he better be damned careful about applying the brakes and making sharp turns.

Now, this is a damned cute honey truck. And, you've got to love the name, Call-A-Head! They've got a pretty cool website.

This honey truck is servicing a construction site at NYU. Of course, the most famous port-a-potty in history served the Woodstock festival.

There's always a Woodstock angle, isn't there?