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| This is a picture of my father, Isaac "Ike" Tipton, Sr. taken in August of 1990 at his three and a half acre home outside of Downingtown, Pennsylvania. This picture has nothing to do with this blog posting but I came across it while looking for another more appropriate picture for this posting but I found this one intriguing. We had a complicated relationship which I've written about often in this blog. I will write more about that relationship in future posts. I don't think he ever liked me and the feeling was mutual but he was my father. Ironically I am a lot like him much to my chagrin. I even look like him! |
Yesterday I had my long awaited appointment with my ENT (ear, nose and throat) specialist. Yes, I have all those problems.
Remember when I wrote about my left ear plugged up after my trip back from California? I thought I was going to be in that condition for the rest of my life. Well, thank goodness my ear is clear now. I can hear out of it, with the help of my hearing aids, perfectly now.
When I initially went to the doctor the ENT center, they discovered I had a dried blood in my inner ear which was causing the "plugged" sound. They scheduled a CAT-SCAN for me. Yesterday I got the results. Turns out the dried blood has dissipated. I was curious and asked "Where did it go?" thinking do I have dried blood flecks floating around in my brain. She (I forget her name) looked at me bemused and said "It just goes away." Oh, okay (I guess). The important thing is that I can hear now! I told her about my ear problem every time I fly in a plane. She said a blood vessel had probably burst because of the pressure, which prevented my ear drum from bursting. Well, when I heard that information I told her "That does it! I'm not flying anymore!"
In my life I've been very lucky in that I've never had an earache but I do have trouble with my ears when I have flown. I absolutely cannot fly in unpressurized planes which I have done several times in my younger days. Low flights are all right but higher up the pressure kills my ears. The pain is so intense. This last flight the pain was so bad I thought I was going to pass out. And now with all the problems with airport safety and delays, I have a final reason never to fly again. Remember my last flight when I missed the connection in Phoenix to Palm Springs? And the expense! It costs me almost a thousand dollars for all that aggravation just to be squeezed into an airplane seat next to who knows who. Twice now I've sat next to a Middle Eastern young man who reeked of sweat. I'm thinking "What am I going to do if this guy is a terrorist and springs into action to take over the plane with his cohorts?" All kinds of crazy things are going though my mind. I don't need that stress folks in addition to maneuvering around airports looking for my gate number.
Pat still wants to go to Palm Springs every year in February for Modernism Week. I told her we could drive (Pat's a good driver) but he's not too keen on that. For once I would like to experience Middle America. All my life I've lived and worked on the East Coast, including the three years I was in the Army (New Jersey, Massachusetts and Maryland). I was born and grew up in Pennsylvania and now am living my twilight years in Delaware. The only time I've been anyplace else is when I've visited California and one memorable weekend took a plane trip to Cleveland for a disastrous weekend with a buy named "Lenny" who I met in a bar in Philadelphia. That was in 1979. I don't think I've written about that weekend in this blog. Maybe I have. I've never forgotten that disaster. But I digress.
I told Pat that if he wants to fly to Palm Springs next year that he can go by himself. I'll share his experience vicariously via FaceTime. That's how we share our lives now anyway while we await the American Consulate in Montreal to interview him so he can get the final approval for us to get married. Long sentence there. Bottom line is I'm not flying anymore. So there.
Now it's time for my weeklong visit to the Restore Thrift Store, the highlight of my week these days.
P. S.
At this time of my life since I'm so near to my Final Exit, I often wondered will I see my father again? I know I'll see Bill because he's with me everyday in spirit. He often communicates to me by mental telepathy. Bill is waiting for me as are all my friends but will those that I wasn't so fond of be there? Something to wonder about.
4 comments:
I have not driven cross country - since I was about 6 years old. It is a very long drive. There is a train from Chicago to near San Francisco and then good train service down the west coast. I think it is three days by train from Chicago. There are YouTube videos about seating and room options. There is another route that goes across the northern tier of states, if you want to see as much of the country as possible. We think about it, maybe when we decide to stop flying. We just returned from a month long trip that included crossing the Atlantic by ship, from the US to Europe, I love the cruise and the time change is so much easier when it is 6 hours over 14 days. I loath overnight airline flights.
Maybe Bill is up there having a nice chat with your Dad.
David,
Pat and I tried an overnight flight just for the heck of it to see what it was like. I didn't like it at all. Actually didn't get any rest. Unless you're in a hurry to get somewhere, I don't see any reason ever to do an overnight flight. Of course I probably won't be flying anymore because of my ear pressure problem. Still up in the air whether or not we'll drive across the country. Maybe I'll just stay at home, says me now. Of course when the cold days of January and February roll around, I yearn for that California sunshine.
Ron
Ivy,
I bet he is! I am so looking forward to whatever happens after we die. Whether it be nothing (then at lease this pain I feel every day for not having Bill with me) or we are reunited with our spirits, it's all good. I am especially looking forward to reunited with my pets and old friends and other family members. So many have gone now. I am so alone.
Ron
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