Raye Zaragoza - Bushwick Avenue

Tales of my father

I am recovering at a glacial pace. It is boring and I thought I would do a little writing.

As previously mentioned on this blog I spent some of my grade school years in a very small place up in northern British Columbia below the Yukon border.

My father worked for a company that had a contract to service the mines equipment, items such as dozers, scrapers, loaders, and the like. Dad was the head guy for the branch office. He previously operated out of an office trailer. Later the company built a nice new space with an equipment bay, parts bay, and an office area. The only people that were in the office full time were my father, the parts man, and a secretary. There were heavy duty mechanics and welders that worked full time at the mine site. They did not have a big operation.

If you needed staff the talent pool was small, sometimes nonexistent. Dad once hired, and fired, the same guy six times. The guy was a great mechanic and was also a great alcoholic. My father would at times have no choice but to fire him, the guy would go on the wagon, he would get hired back and the cycle would repeat. He did not want to take him back but he was good and there was no one else available. (As an aside, one memorable time I once saw him on my way to school, there was about six inches of snow on the ground from big fluffy snowflakes falling. He had a puppy in his hands - I later found out the dog was named Woofer - standing in the middle of the road wearing pants, no shirt, no socks or shoes. He asked me if I had never seen a barefoot Karate expert in the snow). Dad did have to fire one other guy and make it permanent because after multiple attempts he could not pass the tests for his job and dad ran out of ways to keep him on the books.

Dad needed a secretary. The last one moved out of town with her husband. Only one person showed up for an interview wearing a fur coat that had long seen better days and ballet slippers on her feet. Muriel got the job as no one else applied and it turned out she could type fast enough to jam the ball on an IBM Selectric typewriter. Dad was not big on a dress code since the town was in the middle of proverbial nowhere.

I liked Muriel, she was fluent in French and helped me a little with that subject in school. She was kind of a free spirit hippy type. I do not think she had a driver’s license as she did not have a vehicle. She did not seem to be the brightest at times. She was good at her job. Once as a joke someone sprayed her ratty fur coat with Raid “to kill the fleas”. She got her own back. That about as far as office antics got.

Dad was good friends with Butch the RCMP officer. There was a detachment of two. At one time it seemed every small town had an officer called Butch. I do not know why. There was not a lot for police to do in some small towns and this was one of them. Some of the directives they got were amusing. Once Butch showed my dad a memo he got from the higher ups suggesting more foot patrols. Never mind that the town was about one thousand people surrounded by hundreds of square miles of bush. Butch did have a good sense of humour about his job. I think he had to.

For some reason the police did driving tests (as I said, it was a small town). We had a Yamaha 125cc Enduro motorcycle and dad went for his road test. Butch told him to ride to the end of the gravel road in town, turn around, and drive back. Dad was awkward as hell on a bike and by the time dad got back Butch was laughing so hard he had tears in his eyes. He said to dad, “Here’s your license, I know you are only going to ride it in the bush, otherwise stay off the roads.” Thus dad got his motorcycle license that he never used.

In the months when we did not have snow Muriel rode her bike to work. One day she was riding her bike to work when she somehow hit a parked car hard enough that she ended up on the car. It was low speed and no damage since vehicles were tougher back then. No damage, no witnesses, however she was concerned that she should do the right thing. Therefore she went to the cop shop to report the accident. Butch listened to her and told her that in the interest of public safety he would impound her bike. She walked the rest of the way to work.

When she arrived at work she was late. Dad asked why she was late and she was miffed and filled him in on what happened. Dad told her not to worry about it. Dad phoned Butch and told him to quit picking on his secretary. Later that morning he drove to the RCMP detachment and told Butch he had his fun and to give her bike back. The cop just had to mention that when she was there he even had her fill out an accident report. They had a good laugh about it and Muriel got her bike back.

We eventually moved and lost track of people like Muriel. I hope she had a good life. Dad has been gone many years and I miss him. Lots of things I would like to talk to him about.

Life was more fun years ago.

Elise LeGrow - Anymore

Cpt Mo Wednesday

 

Minutiae

I went through stuff that was rescued from my car crash. I put it off for a while after getting home for various reasons. My camera survived unscathed thanks to being in a padded bag. My iPod made it with a few dings from the crash. I was happy about that, I prefer podcasts and downloaded music instead of radio in my area. Found my glasses. They were missing both lenses and the frames were broken. Getting hit in the face with an airbag will do that. Everything else seemed to survive okay.

I had an eye appointment last Friday. Thankfully my eyes are healthy. My prescription will increase.

On my last physiotherapy appointment I had my third encounter with the anti-gravity treadmill. I doubled my previous time from ten to twenty minutes with a small increase in speed.

I had bought running shoes online. I have shoes, due to my feet swelling I cannot wear them. I usually wear a 10-11 depending on the manufacturer. The shoes I bought online did not fit when I ordered bigger sizes. I did not want to go into a shoe store as I do not have a lot of stamina yet to walk around a store. I had to break down and have someone take me to a shoe store so I could try on shoes in person. I had to walk from the parking lot into a mall which was not easy. I ended up with size 13 sneakers. Hopefully the swelling resolves itself over time.

Elevator Friday

Somewhere near Wakaw, Saskatchewan from Dale Redekopp.

Oak Tree

Fall is here.

A handsome oak tree in Saint Francis Cemetery near Vogar, Manitoba.

Michael Truman

Past Presence Website

Just for fun

This is an excerpt from my hospital physiotherapist on my discharge on September 11, 2024.

“From the motor vehicle collision, patient was admitted to hospital for the following orthopedic injuries and subsequent surgeries: Fracture of distal end of left ulna; nerve palsy of left lower extremity; bilateral open femoral fractures, fracture of right tibial plateau; Left rib fractures, ribs 8-10; fracture of the manubrium with conservative management; Right L5 pedicle fracture.

He underwent irrigation and debridement open fracture of left femur, and right tibia; Closed reduction and application of external fixator to bilateral femur and right tibia; Left elbow irrigation and debridement and closure; left ulna closed reduction and application of fiberglass slab, on Feb 16, 2024. Removal of external fixator; open reduction internal fixation, fracture, right distal femur; open reduction internal fixation, fracture, tibia, plateau (right); meniscal repair right knee; removal of external fixator, open reduction internal fixation distal left femur, irrigation and debridement on February 26, 2024.”

Fun stuff.

Walking the halls

Recently had another session on the anti-gravity treadmill. I managed to run it for a little more time and a little faster. Building up strength is a slow process.

I have more appreciation for those with disabilities. I have a family member with cerebral palsy and has used a walker and a wheelchair. I have always stopped and asked if anyone needed help if they were in a wheelchair or had some other disability or injury. It really hits home when it is you and you are struggling with basic things. Crossing a parking lot with minimal strength using a walker over uneven ground will scare you. So will using one of those ramps to get onto a sidewalk. You get very anxious that you might fall. I have fought hard not to fall and so far I have succeeded. 

I pushed myself today. My previous best walking the hallway outside my condo was 1,400ft over the course of the day. Today I pushed it to 2,000ft. I seem to be suffering more discomfort and stiffness than pain. I will tone down the walking for a day or two and get back at.

Elevator Friday - Gronlid, Saskatchewan

Courtesy of Dale Redekopp.

 

Cpt Mo Wednesday

 

Random fall

Last weekend a friend picked me up for a drive. I got out for a few hours in the country and got out for lunch at a restaurant. After seven months I got my ribeye steak and I savoured it. I probably could have ordered a second one.

I got in and out of the vehicle with a little bit of trouble. My left knee does not bend as much as my right at this time. It was a good day. I got out and had the camera with me and took a couple of photos. I am looking forward to eventually getting my life back.

Elevator Friday - Andrew, Alberta

Thank you Dale Redekopp.

Something new

My days seem to be a little less painful. My legs are more stiff.

I started physiotherapy as an outpatient on September 30 and had my second session on October 2. The first appointment was just an interview and assessment. The second one they put me on an anti-gravity treadmill, the hospital I was in did not have that. You get zipped into a harness that gets inflated and lifts you up so that you are not supporting your full body weight. I was set for twenty percent of my weight and then set to walking on the treadmill for seven minutes. I was nervous trying it out. I am looking forward to doing it again. I think it helps. I signed up for twice a week physio appointments.

I am still using a four wheel walker. Using a walker to walk down my building hallway, elevator to the parkade, then into a vehicle to have a friend drive me to an appointment is a bit of a workout. I know it is over one hundred feet in one direction. I am getting a little better at getting in and out of a vehicle. Getting out of a car, grabbing the walker, and getting up on a sidewalk is a bit scary. I think, I am not sure, but I think I am slowly getting some more range in my knees. I am finally starting to sleep a little better.

I am still trying to build up my upper leg strength. I can now get out of a chair using one arm to help me get up. As always, progress is slow.