Physical Terrorists And Riding The Short Bus

Linda Lou has started outside physical therapy. And the Doc has her on "water therapy" which means she has to go a lot further than she otherwise would, the nearest PT place with one of those small pools is all the way to the county seat in Greenville. That's the bad news, if we just had to go to the little town of Quinlan it would be no problem, but we're out of gas, nor is the van at it's best these days.

So we're riding the little bus that the county has, actually several little buses. The county has this service (that I thought we'd never need) where they send a bus around for anyone below a certain income, and take them anywhere in the county. So, the good news is a trip to the physical terrorist (or, for that matter, the supermarket) is free to the rider. I am afraid to think of what it costs to the taxpayer.

The good news is that we get there, the bad news is that we have yet to get there on time. The bus has yet to find it's way there when they said it would, then it takes forever and a day to get the wheelchair up the lift and secured according to the rules, then they ride all around Lake Tawakonie and Robin's bard looking for other passengers who may or may actually be there, or ready when the bus gets there.

Then, of course, we must wait for the bus when we're ready to leave. The fun part, though, is between our finally arriving and when it's time to go. First Linda Lou puts on her shorts and T shirt, gets on the lift chair and they put her in the pool, she gets out of the chair and starts walking in (not on!) the water. After X number of walking laps they make her do some other exercises, they call me back in and we get her out of the water, in to the little bath and she gets dry and into fresh clothes. From there we're done, except for waiting for the bus for the ride home.

Eventually we'll be doing some dry land work, also, just not yet. Probably this week or the next. The goal is walking by summer, either with the walker or a cane. We all are pretty well reconciled that she will always need a little support. Oh well, with the cane she'll be able to wave it and holler stuff like "Get off the lawn!" real loud once in a while. If it's the walker, well she's got this fancy four wheeled walker with both a basket and a seat. I'm not quite sure how she's supposed to wave it and holler, though.

I haven't tried to take the laptop with me yet, maybe in a couple more weeks. Anyhow, between riding the short bus to school and then everything else, I'll be scarce 'round here. I'm thinking that in another month or so, all I'll have to do is help her on and off the bus here, and up and down the ramp.

I'll be working on the end of the story of The Three Guardsmen, when I finish that I'll think of someone else to discuss. There are a lot of really interesting men and women littering our history in this part of the country, on both sides of the law. Many who worked both sides their own selves. Between the public library and the Internet, research is a lot easier than when I was a kid.

This is not really how I intended to spend my retirement, we didn't really plan on having what was, a decade ago, a decent income become poverty. It's what we have, though. The travel we planned is gone. If only those idiots in Washington don't kill the Internet.