Felicitations From Fairhope #14
20 January 2022
Hello there… Rodger French here.
It’s been a strange three months since the last posting, that being about our wonderful trip to New England. Since then, Anne and I have traveled exactly nowhere further than Mobile. Like most oldish folks who are vaxxed, boosted and have a lick of sense, we decided to stay out of airports and off the roads during the Holidaze, especially with The Omicron running amok and roughly 1/3 of the country (so many assholes) still refusing to get jabbed. So, we opted for quiet and safety, thank you very much.
There was, however… one small problem. File this under “No good deed goes unpunished.”
On the Saturday after Thanksgiving, while setting up our Christmas tree (and a splendid one at that), I suffered a herniated disc in my back. This set off a cycle of pain, visits to doctors, pain, tests, pain, drugs, somewhat less pain, and – six long weeks later – surgery. Which went well, I am told. I weaned myself off the pain meds after four days and have a follow-up appointment with the surgeon in a couple of weeks, and then rehab.
The worst part of all this mess is that I cannot sit for long periods nor lift anything heavy, such as an accordion. It’s been weeks since I’ve practiced and it’s making me a bit crazy.
But I do realize my good fortune. A.J. is looking after me, my insurance has me covered, and we’re just taking it day-to-day, poco a poco. We have a couple of small trips scheduled in February (FL) and April (the ATL). Who knows, maybe we’ll even get in a really big trip later this year, Covid willing.
[Convalescence Amusement Sidebar – While necessarily spending mucho tiempo in a more-or-less prone position, I have had the opportunity to read more books than usual. FWIW…]
Backstage Passes & Backstabbing Bastards – Memoirs of A Rock ‘N’ Roll Survivor (Al Kooper). Enormously entertaining reflections from a great musician and one of my personal faves.
Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher - The Epic Life and Immortal Photographs of Edward Curtis (Timothy Egan). Fascinating and appalling American history about one man’s obsession to photograph vanishing indigenous culture.
Taste - My Life Through Food (Stanley Tucci). A charming, delicious, and surprisingly poignant book by one of my favorite actors. The guy’s a real mensch, too.
The 1619 Project – A New Origin Story (Created by Nikole Hannah-Jones and The New York Times Magazine). Excellent. Every high school student in the United States, especially the White ones, should read this. I wish I could have.
Tango Masters – Anibal Trolio (Michael Lavocah). A deep dive into the musical history, including analysis of recordings, of Argentina’s most revered bandoneonista.
[Warning: Rant Alert Sidebar – Apologies in advance]
I also watch more TV than I should, and I find my patience wearing a bit thin with news programs. Never mind FOX and the other vandals on the right. Nine months out, it seems that the “mainstream” media election year narrative has been set:
President Biden is answerable for… well, everything that has gone wrong: Covid, inflation, supply shortages, you name it. The congressional GOP, which has zero inclination to govern, gets a pass. This leaves Biden and the Dems totally responsible for solving these problems - which they must do in a “bipartisan” fashion, by the way - or face certain Armageddon in November.
And that would be just fine, since it would generate truckloads of money and support their ongoing business model based on lazy, irresponsible, but “savvy” journalism.
All of this is as predictable as it is depressing. But we know how to thwart the template: Work hard, spend the money, and get out the vote in numbers too big to ignore or falsify. As per frickin’ usual. End of rant.
Finally, in local news, construction has begun of a new house on our south side. Weather permitting, the jobsite is occupied by a very good Mexican (American) framing crew. I don’t mean to stereotype, but estos hombres (a) look Mexican, (b) speak Spanish, and (c) play Mexican music while working. The good stuff, too, con mucho acordeon. Sometimes I’ll find a reason to putter around the front yard just to listen.
As always, thanks for being there. Be well, stay safe, and let’s get ready to rumble.
Onward.
Rodger
