Gloomy Weather....and the back feels it

The winter, while mild compared to last year, and most others in recent memory, is still a bit "uncomfortable" to say the least....the past 24 hours is no exception.  Yesterday, while the temperature hovered around the freezing mark, I ventured out to the back yard to give the freeloading Sparrows and Squirrels their daily ration of seed and corn, at that time I noted, while not cold temperature-wise, the dampness of the morning went right through to your bones and inner body.  I also noted that for the first time in quite awhile, my back felt it as well.

Perhaps a combination of weather, and wear and tear from the area basketball courts, but none-the-less, I felt a noticeable soreness in the lower back...and that is never a good sign, as many of you who have visited this blog since it's early days of 2007 know. 

Shortly after starting this "daily rant" that Summer, I came up with a sever back problem that fall football season.  I had, for the most part, given up my other retirement gig of driving RVs across the country, and was settled in with good part time, post retirement, employment.  Officiating football as well as my usual baseball work, I had began driving to Greenville two or three times a week to do inventory for a company that supplied manufactured cardboard and boxes to the Honda affiliate down that way...the extra money was welcome, the walking was beneficial, and the hourly salary for waking, counting, and doing some computer math work, was excellent.  Anyway, about the same time, for some unknown reason, my back went "out".

Having two major motorcycle wrecks, one in 1975 and another in 1987, I am no stranger to back problems...this one however had my previous ones, one which lasted for about 5 years, beat all to Hell....it became almost unbearable.  From October of 2007 until just before Christmas, when I went to Fort Wayne Orthopedics,  I staggered up and down the football fields in major pain, and when home, I couldn't drink enough beer to ease the torment.  After a bout of high blood pressure set my procedure back, they finally set a date for an epidural the week before Christmas...once done, the back slowly improved, and by the time baseball season rolled around in late March, I was once again able to live a somewhat normal life. 

Over the past four years I have had some setbacks, but with the BP down and weight the same, they have been more mild and shorter in length.....hopefully this setback with be likewise.

Back to the Weird Weather_____

I have the Nitro this morning, taking it uptown in the next hour for an oil change...something that I was going to get done, but was sidetracked the day before the appointment, but the wreck in Van Wert.  So Patricia took the van, and I will have the SUV for the day, and tonight for the baseball meeting at Van Wert.  Before that trip however, I am back at Celina Middle School for a girls basketball double header...games at Spencerville tomorrow, and a rescheduled boys junior high tournament at Wayne Trace on Saturday morning.

Meanwhile the weather, which was supposed to be the major subject this morning anyway, continues to be strange.  The mixture of rain and snow started before dark yesterday, and continued through the night...finally changing to all rain before sunrise, well what sunrise, you could not tell by looking out the windows?  Most schools were delayed an hour or two, but not St Henry, so Patrica drove the van before daylight to her location.  The rest of the month looks to be normal or above temperature wise.....with no major storms on the horizon, but of course that can change...Mother Nature doesn't read the Weather Channel forecasts, it seems.

Football Changes_____

Over the past 6 or 7 years I have worked 40 or so football games per season, and usually a handful are varsity, filling in on crews from around the area....I was not really interested in being on a set schedule for Friday nights.  It appears that will change this coming fall.

One of the crews from our association was changing a couple of members out, and inquired if this old man would be willing to join them....since they have a set schedule, and I would be working the same position each week, I agreed...with the provision, that I will be 63 years old come March, and that I would work with the crew one year/season at a time...not wanting to commit myself or them, if the aging back and legs cannot keep up.  

Speaking of age, you would not believe the average age of Varsity Football Officials in Ohio, last I looked the crew members around the state average age was 56!  As I mentioned before on this site, the one crew I filled in for on 3 occasions last season was in total, with me as head linesman, 282 years old, and that included a 27 year old line judge....this new permanent crew will be much younger, with me being the "old man" at 63.  

Enough rambling...time to take the Nitro out and head uptown....

back later>>>>

Photos-The Nitro, shown here last Spring, now looks better than even then, thanks to the repairs, following the early winter icy wreck...back problems, off and on, have been a part of my life for over 35 years...I do not want to undergo another epidural, let alone surgery, so I will do what I can to rest it, when I can....and football officiating changes are in my future, but first there is basketball to finish, and baseball season looms ahead, so I won't be getting ahead of myself.