Home Alone!

by Bob Sparrow

walker

My companion, Al Walker

First I’d like to thank all of those who have wished me well and a speedy recovery; I am truly blessed to have so many great and caring friends!

No ifs, ands or even butts about it . . . rehab sucks! I know many of you readers have gone through what I’m going through now, but no one told me how frustrating, boring and mind-numbing this was going to be.

I was homebound for two weeks after surgery with just me and my aluminum walker, which in my desperate search for company, I named Al Walker. I actually named it Allie Walker, but Linda didn’t like the fact that I was spending so much time alone with this strange woman. She did admit that the walker had ‘nice wheels’, but she also pointed out that it had two balls. My argument that in today’s world that didn’t necessarily define the gender, didn’t get much traction.

I have over 125 TV channels, not counting subscription or pay-per-view options and still find that there is NOTHINGDays of our Lives on TV! I did find out that a few shows that were on when I was growing up ARE STILL ON!!! Days of Our Lives, General Hospital and The Bold and the Beautiful are still making housewives sit down for an hour and listen to organ music and detergent ads while hoping that their favorite character doesn’t get mysteriously killed in the next episode. Not to worry, they will just as mysteriously reappear when their contract gets renegotiated, if they didn’t actually die.

Going into my post-surgery rehab, I thought I was fortunate to have the Olympics as well as the always-entertaining election year battles to fill my long sedentary days.

buffett for prez

Are we just ‘wasting away again’?

As far as politics go, it is clear that the agenda of each candidate, rather than telling us what their plans are for a better America, is to be totally focused on degrading their opponent. I’m calling this one the ‘Pinocchio Election’ – the one with the longest nose wins!  A sad state of affairs.  Recent statistics show that a large percentage of voters are not voting for a candidate, but rather they’re voting to try to keep the other candidate out. I even tuned into several interviews with Libertarian candidate, Gary Johnson, who doesn’t appear to even be the smartest person in the room when his running mate, William Weld is present, which is most of the time. I’m leaning towards writing in Jimmy Buffett, whose campaign slogan is, “Keep a song in your heart and a margarita in your hand.” That’s more positive than anything else I’ve heard from a candidate!

As for the Olympics, I love the athlete’s stories about their dedication and their overcoming adversity to become the ‘best in the world’. I enjoyed most of the telecasts, but how much volleyball and water polo can one watch? The answer is not as much as they televised. Additionally, by mid-Olympics I was a little embarrassed by the medal count that was constantly put in front of us; I was OK until we just got so far ahead that it was a little embarrassing and perhaps a bit jingoistic. If I’m the other countries, I’m calling us the ‘dumb jocks’ and pointing out that the U.S. is ranked 14th in the world in education, 17th in happiness, 23rd in gender equality, 24th in literacy and#1 115th in linguistic diversity. But we are still #1 in number of prisoners, wine consumption and breast augmentations.

OK, I just re-read this and it’s clear I need to find a mountain to climb and get some fresh air, but in the mean time if anyone needs any medical or mental help, I’m all caught up on Dr. Oz and Dr. Phil, and I may also be able to help with your legal problems with the knowledge I’ve garnered from Judge Judy.

Get me outta here!

 

17 comments on “Home Alone!

  1. GEEZE BOB SPARROW……I’m glad I can’t say “I feel your pain”. Keep up the good spirits and keep writing……..!!!!!!!

  2. Al Walker, pretty funny! I get his cousin tomorrow, Geri Walker! I had a friend paint it purple so she wouldn’t get lost in the crowd.

  3. Love your blog, Bob!
    With humor, you pointed out what our priorities are in this country and it’s pretty disgusting.
    Will you miss Al Walker, or keep him around in case anything else needs to be replaced?
    Sending healing thoughts your way.

    • Thank you Janet for your comments and your healing thoughts! Al Walker was borrowed from a friend who just had both knees replaced, so I’ve given it back to him. Hopefully I won’t need him . . . at least for the foreseeable future.

  4. This is the tuffest part but it too passes. I have been enjoying the HBO series Night Of and TNT’s Animal Kingdom (not about animals but a super corrupt family in , ta da, California!) Of course there are some great BOOKS out there too. You might enjoy Washington by Ron Chernow who wrote the hit Hamilton Book and tons of others. You will be out and about soon. My doc wanted me to take slow walks outside on the walker with a buddy…hopefully that will be ok for you to do…just take it easy and heal well. Keep us posted!!! Fran

  5. Just too funny. I am not capable to write a bog as you and Susan do so well, however this one is exactly what I would have written. I am going through PT and tv addiction due to shattered humerus and shoulder. This happened July 13, great summer!!! Yes, if I could, I would swim across Lake Michigan for diversion, Joe would prefer it!!!! He is very tired of caregiving. He claims after 55 years that is all he has done. I simply missed a step going out for dinner. Sadly, the wonderful eve with friends was spent in the ER. Bless you and happy laboring😪😪😪👎👎👎👎

    • Thanks for the comments and so sorry to hear about your misfortune – hope all gets back to normal for you soon and you get to re-do your dinner engagement with a healthy arm.

  6. Bob,

    Hope all continues to go well. When you get to be your age, you need to remember to be careful…

    Best wishes for a good recovery. The alternative is not pleasant…

    Skip

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