What'd He Say?

Thankfully it looks to be a slow week this week and that is a good thing. Went to the orthopedic surgeon yesterday about the pain I have been having in both my Achilles tendons especially the right. He took one look at the swollen ankle and shook his head. Achilles tendinitis for which you can do little but rest. So my daily walk is out for who knows how long as is my bicycle. Evidently if you don't treat it and just try and work through the pain you can rupture the tendon and then there is nothing left but surgery. It is probably going to be a chronic problem that I am just going to have to learn to live with. I already struggle with my weight and not being able to walk is going to make that a tougher battle for sure. This getting old stuff is for the birds!

While I am whining...I finally succumbed to the relentless pressure from someone who shall remain nameless and had my hearing checked last Thursday. Not good news on the hearing front either...65-75% hearing loss at the high end of the normal human hearing range but only 10-20% loss on the low end. I can hear but the high frequencies are what give you clarity and the ability to sort out and focus on specific sounds like speech in a noisy room. All those years working in the paper industry have evidently taken their toll. I wore ear protection when needed but it probably only slowed the damage. I am sure the loud music of my youth had nothing to do with it. Anyhow... my hearing aids should be here Thursday.

BTW, If you ever have to buy hearing aids and want the "state of the art" but want them to be discrete and "completely in the canal" instead of those big "behind the ear"things be prepared for a heavy hit to the pocket book...as in thousands apiece. The good news is that with these digital/programmable devices I will have completely normal hearing again. As my Dad used to say about his hearing aid "He could hear a gnat pee on cotton!" and his were the old analog ones that suffered from feedback and all sorts of other problems. We shall see.

The hard of hearing thing reminds me of an old joke...
A man and his hard of hearing wife were pulled over by a policeman. As the cop came up to the driver's window he said "Do you know your were doing 55 in a 45 zone?". The wife piped up and screeched "What'd he say? "He says I was speeding." says the man. "You know you also have a tail light out." says the cop. "What'd he say? " the wife screeched again. "I have a tail light out." he says as he hands the cop his license. "I see you're from Arkansas" says the cop "I had the worst sex of my life there once." "What'd he say? " shrills the woman. "He says he thinks he knows you."