I became insane with long intervals of horrible sanity.
Edgar Allen Poe

The trouble with fighting for human freedom is that one spends most of one's time defending scoundrels. For it is against scoundrels that oppressive laws are first aimed, and oppression must be stopped at the beginning if it is to be stopped at all.
- H. L. Mencken

Many people would sooner die than think; In fact, they do so
-Bertrand Russell

What I have been telling you, from alpha to omega, what is the one great thing the sigil taught me — that everything in life is miraculous. For the sigil taught me that it rests within the power of each of us to awaken at will from a dragging nightmare of life made up of unimportant tasks and tedious useless little habits, to see life as it really is, and to rejoice in its exquisite wonderfulness. If the sigil were proved to be the top of a tomato-can, it would not alter that big fact, nor my fixed faith. No Harrowby, the common names we call things by do not matter — except to show how very dull we are ...
-James Branch Cabell

January 06, 2017 - 10:47 a.m.

The Crohn's Wars

I'm having trouble seeing this morning so if this is filled with typos that's why. It isn't really why, but I thought you might buy that.

I'm sure all My Gentle Readers are awaiting my report on the Scott Wolfson and Other Heroes show last night. I know I was looking forward to going the show. One of my favorite bands at one of my haunts, Rockwood Music Hall, and a gathering of the tribe. Too bad I couldn't go; I was sick

Around four o'clock I started to fold my laundry and put it away; laundry that I did a week ago. I got through most of it; there wasn't much left but the hardest job, matching the socks. And then all of a sudden it hit me, pain in my belly. I was having a Crohn's attack. Nowadays that means food is stuck in a constriction of my small intestine. I could the obstruction with my hands, I always can. It's not terrible pain but it also weakens me. I dropped everything and lay down. More accurately I went on the couch with my feet up on the chair I use as an ottoman. I'm not sure where my prednisone is. I haven't needed it in ages. It's been so long that it's outdated. That never seems to stop it from working. If I pop 20 mg the intestines clear up. This didn't feel like a bad attack and my Crohn's has been quiescent for so long that I decided to try and wait it out. I started feeling better quickly but I knew it would be stupid to go out so I missed the concert. I was improved but the attack still wasn't over. I needed move as little as possible till it did.

Around 8 I felt well enough to eat. I got up. I walked to the bathroom and my belly immediately tightened up again. Yes, it was still in the process of clearing up. At 10 I tried again. This time I was able to eat a half-baked roll with peanut butter. I didn't push it. As soon as I was finished I went back on the couch. I wasn't officially better till right before I went to bed at 1 AM. My digestive system was finally flowing freely. I will eat breakfast this morning. The entire episode lasted only 9 hours. The worst part was missing the concert.

Not being able to move restricts what I can do. For the most part I binge watched Arrow. I finished the third season. That show is dark. Even when he thwarts the bad guy lots of people die, just far fewer than would have died without him. It also has some nice throwaways for people like me. When Felicity is going through the list why someone should be the prefect man for her one item was, "He can name every Doctor for all 32 seasons." I find the geeks more like the geeks I know than on most shows.

I took a break to talk to Brianne on Facebook messenger. I used to spend hours talking online to friends. I used AIM, Yahoo, Frümessage (the Fruhead dot com messenger) and finally Facebook. Now I rarely have full real time conversations on messenger.

I even did something useful. I started compiling a list of friends that host house concerts. I'm not posting the list. Musicians often ask me, "do you know someone who does house concerts in _______ " This way I'll be able to look at my list and if I think they are a good fit suggest them to the host. If I get ambitious I'll make a map with each house concert marked.

My mind would like to go out today but it might be best to stay in as I have nothing special planned. I'll enter the Hamilton Lottery. If I win that will get me out. the problem is I have nothing planned for tomorrow. The concert I want to go, The Boxcar Lilies and Low Lily are playing at the Folk Music Society of Huntington. Getting there means the hour and a half trip to Penn Station then the hour trip on the train to Huntington Station, and then getting a ride to the church. I would do all that if I could get a ride back. I asked on the Facebook event if anyone was coming from around here but I knew that was unlikely.

Then on Sunday there are so many musicians I love playing at the same time. I'm going to see Kate Copeland at River Spirit Music in Hastings. I'm going there with Dan. I can only remember two of the other shows, they are in Rockwood 1 & 2, Anthony da Costa on 2 and Kaia Kater, Kristin Andreassen with Critter, and Anna and Elizabeth on stage 1. There's someone else in either Brooklyn or Long Island I very much want to see but I'm blanking. That's good, I'll feel less bad about missing it.

I'm feeling good enough to eat breakfast. My immediate future involves Eggs Horvendile.


I signed the Pro-Truth Pledge:
please hold me accountable.





Memories: Not that Horrid Song - May 29, 2018
Wise Madness is Now In Session - May 28, 2018
The NFL and the First Amendment - May 27, 2018
On The Road Again - May 26, 2018
Oliver the Three-Eyed Crow - May 25, 2018



creative commons
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License.
Horvendile January 06, 2017
site search by freefind advanced


Follow on Feedly



about me - read my profile! read other DiaryLand diaries! recommend my diary to a friend! Get your own fun + free diary at DiaryLand.com!