Slowing down.

October 16, Elsberry.

My bad knee forces me to slow down, to walk slowly, and so the proverbial silver lining: I walk mindfully, carefully minding each of my steps, slowly, each step fully lived, like a Buddhist walking meditation, and I stop to think about that, and enjoy it.

Practice (Fridman.)

October 16, Eslberry.

Backstage.

October 16, Eslberry.

Fall.

 October 16, Eslberry.

A trailer with a view.

October 16, Elsberry, Missouri (39 miles, Page Branch park.)

A trailer with a view.

October 15, Warrenton, Missouri (29 miles, athletic complex.)

Double take (Jacob.)

October 14, Washington.

Off road.

October 14, Washington.

We got a little lost on the jump this morning. 
I figure we added about ten miles to the distance, but then again we got to see the rest of the construction around the St Louis freeways, which, like the ones in the Rio Grande valley, seem to be in a state of perpetual reconstruction.
We went to the St Louis City Museum last night with John Moss' family, and met Rebecca's family and Tavana's family there.  No need to say the kids just adored it (but maybe not as much as we did.)

A trailer with a view.

October 14, Washington, Missouri (84 miles, fairgrounds.)

Double take (Arwen, Danny and Tavana.)

October 13, Troy.

Double take (Ryan.)

October 12, Troy.

Practice.

October 12, Troy.

Rehearsals for next year's production have been going on all week, and Fridman's new act is coming together nicely, hours of daily practice paying off.  The kids are still practicing too, and Nicolas is an inch away from doing the split.

A trailer with a view.

October 12, Troy, Illinois (32 miles, across form RP Lumber.)

Bad news in latin.

October 11, Bendl.

So I have osteochondritis dissecans.
It's latin for "Sorry but your bones are dying off."
Or, my left knee started hurting badly last night and today I can't walk without limping.
It feels just like ten years ago, when my other knee was diagnosed with a rare disease that involves a list of scary phenomenons like reduced blood flow to the knee bone and detached cartilage and bone fragments.  I had surgery and it didn't work.  My right knee has been bothering me on and off all this time, and now it's the left, too.
Mulling this tonight as I try not to panic, and if I'm right in my self-diagnosis, it occurs to me that the first outburst of the disease happened as I was getting ready to move to California from Jacksonville and start a new job at a newspaper there, and that now is exactly one of these times again, a time of change and stress and its cohort of personal upheaval and emotional roller-coaster.  If I am right and this is a recurrence of the disease then all my plans once again are up in the air, as I'll need surgery right away if I am not to walk through life not only being in excruciating pain at every step, but also not being able to work or care for the kids by myself.

A trailer with a view.

October 11, Bendl, Illinois (39 miles, Bendl city park.)

A trailer with a view.

October 10, Greenfield, Illinois (28 miles, Rives Lake park.)

Jacksonville again.

October 9, Jacksonville.

Annual visit to my former home town and "where Fridman and I met" town of Jacksonville, and a pumpkin and garden fresh tomatoes-filled day with our friends Steve and Tiffany.  We stopped at Liliana's house and I almost gave her a heart attack; I thought she knew we were in town and it turned out she didn't: her face when she opened her front door.
Dear friends, dear memories.

A trailer with a view.

October 9, Jacksonville, Illinois (50 miles, Prairieland Museum grounds.)

Double take (Armando's family.)

October 8, Sherman.

A trailer with a view.

October 8, Sherman, Illinois (29 miles, Athletic Club grounds.)