This morning, I looked outside. Lots of sunshine.
And I thought to myself … this would be a great time for me to take my modified Nikon Df – the one that now shoots in infrared – and go up to Saratoga Springs and capture a few images for Competition Season. Maybe something at Congress Park. Or perhaps a capture of the Saratoga, Corinth & Hudson Railroad as it passes over the Beaver Creek Bridge.
I’m still feeling good after yesterday – I helped the girlfriend put some boxes up in her attic’s crawlspace, and we had a nice luncheon from Jumpin’ Jack’s Drive-In in Scotia. Little tip – Jumpin’ Jack’s now offers gluten-free buns if that’s something that benefits your dietary needs. It was a great Saturday. Heck, any time spent with my girlfriend is a great day.
I thought about going to Saratoga Springs again. I’d have to return quickly; there’s an Albany Patroons game at 2pm today. Albany’s facing the Tri-State Admirals in a game where every victory gets the Pats closer to the postseason tournament. And after a few games of battling the 24-second shot clock (I’m working the shot clock controls this season for the team), the shot clock decided it wanted to “play nice” for the past two games. So essentially – any screw-ups from the shot clock in the past two games weren’t the shot clock’s fault – they were mine. 😀
Junior’s racing this week at the harness track. My “$20 Junior Challenge” hasn’t produced results in the last few weeks, and he’s scheduled to race as the #8 horse in the sixth race today. Kinda wish he had a better post position, but I’m committed to this challenge, so $20 on his nose whether he’s racing in position #1 or position #10.
And it was at this point … after all this chatter about what I did yesterday and what today looks like …
I realized … I’m on the other side of the surgeries.
I made it up and back to the Northern Kingdom of Vermont without any problems. I was able to get there, set up, take the eclipse photos, and come home without worry.
Six months after the first of what became four surgeries on my left foot and leg … I’m back to more mundane topics on this blog post. Photography. Betting on a harness horse. Trying to calculate if Lauren Boebert’s and Marjorie Taylor Greene’s and Matt Gaetz’s combined IQ’s were dynamite, they wouldn’t have enough to light up a firefly’s taint.
It’s in this moment that I realize … thanks are necessary. Thanks to the doctors, surgeons, nurses and support staff who helped me get through this event – getting through it both physically and emotionally. Thanks to the friends who stopped by and helped me with shopping or whatever post-surgery recovery would help. Thanks to those who sent cards and candy and reading materials and other emotionally supporting lifelines.
And thanks also to you, my wonderful blog readers. This digital dialogue we go through every day, and have gone through since August of 2009, is tremendously important. You’ve picked me up when I’ve fallen, you’ve kicked my ass when I was stupid, and you’ve cheered me on when, in those small moments when I get things right … it all comes together.
Thank you, all of you.
Now I’m not at 100% normalcy yet – there’s still a couple of skin grafts in my future – but I might be back to wearing matching footwear (without one being medically necessary) by May.
You know … just in time for Competition Season 2024. Because I’ve got photos … and I’ve got ideas … and now I have more motivation than ever to achieve those goals, win or lose.
Thank you.
Chuck The Writer 