1st week back to work.

I've got no pictures for you this week, and if I did they would be boring anyway. I started back to work Tuesday, going to Montgomery early every morning and holding the office down. Luckily Al has an "extra" vehicle we could borrow, so Deb has been driving his Explorer and I've been taking the gas hog Charger. Actually, I've kept my foot out of it and been getting 20 mpg so I guess I won't complain to much, but it's a 90 mile trip one way, so the gas bill does add up. I use crutches while I'm up there and still hate them but have gotten somewhat used to them now.

I'll be happy to get back to normal and I'm sure Deb will be glad too because she's been getting up at 5 am fixing my lunch and getting me out the door every morning.

I go to my first physical therapy appt. this Tuesday. Also my school starts back up this week, so it looks like this will be a busy week.

Doctor visit...latest.

Well, the doc is happy with progress. He was really happy with the amount of extension I have with my knee already. I didn't tell him it's because I haven't worn the brace much in the past week and a half. Then he suprised me by saying I don't have to wear the damn thing anymore. By his timeline I've got another month with no weight bearing, then I start 25% per week 'til the fourth week and I should be walking.

Soooo...if you break your leg like I did basically write off three months.

I going to work in the morning in Montgomery and will be doing that for a while. It's better than not making money sitting at home.

Thanks mom and dad for the "extra".

Call from a President.

Me: "Hello"

President Carter (Pres.):"James? This is Jimmy Carter, how are you?"

Me: "Not bad considering I'm laid up on the couch with a broken leg."

Pres.:"Did you fall off a ladder or something?"

Me: "No sir, motorcycle accident."

Pres.: "Oh, um, your not to old for that sort of thing?"

LMAO...and so went my latest conversation with Jimmy Carter.  I was really happy he called because since I'd talked to him last I seen a special on Discovery Channel about 3 mile Island and his part in it. To say it impressed me would be an understatement, and I had been hoping I'd get to talk to him about it. The funniest thing was when he told me, "Before I got back into farming that was my field, Nuclear Submarines." I knew that, but what a drastic jump in careers. Farmer, Nuclear Physicist (no joke), leader of the free world, then back to farming. Yikes.

Anyway, we got his DVR problem fixed over the phone, and had a nice conversation.

That's pretty cool.

Staples removed.

Deb's mom came by Saturday so I put her to work taking staples out of my leg. It was three days early, but it was obvious that it was past time, the wound is completely closed. The leg pictures look a little gross because she had me put ointment on it after taking the staples out.

It was a pretty slow weekend around here. Since there wasn't anyone here on Saturday to watch me fall down, I didn't do a damn thing. Yesterday we put together a new bike for Lyndsay, then didn't do much else. I did get to screw around in the shed a little bit. We also went out to eat, then visited at a friends house until damn near midnight.

Starting to move around here.

Well, things are looking a little better here each day. I think my ass bone is finally getting better. I'm able to move around quite a bit and not turn white and scare everyone into thinking I"m going to pass out at any minute.

We got the car back from the body shop Tuesday, so since yesterday was Deb's day off we spent most of it waxing it. It's quite a pain to hop around, but it's better than sitting still all day. I'm using a new wax system that takes several steps, but when it was done it was worth the trouble. I did find a couple of spots of orange peal (hidden) and a spot of overspray that isn't hidden at all. I hope they can do something about it. It looks as if the tape wasn't stuck in one spot to the paper, and quite a bit of paint got through. We'll see what they say.

Anyway, I won't complain today. I think things are turning to the better for a change.

A couple pictures.

We had a pretty good fathers day here. The Formula 1 race was in the US this weekend, so I had better coverage than usuall. F1 is the most popular motorsport in the world, but as is normal, here in the states it takes a back seat to racing series that go in circles. I mean really, who would even think of turning left in a race, right?

Anyway, Deb built a nice BBQ and had most of the gang over. I had my brace off most of the day. Debs mom said the more it is exposed to air, the sooner the wound will heal. I'm not bending it or putting pressure on it, so don't worry. My ass has yet to quit hurting, but I've sort of just learned to ignore it for as long as possible. All medication is done, so no more giving myself blood thinner shots...YYEEAAAA!

I'm not as depressed now either. There really isn't any point in it after all. I think Lyndsay is having a better summer vacation actually because she gets to stay here and swim and play with her stuff rather than stay with her mom at work or grandma and be bored. She does a fine job of fetching things for me too.

I've started doing a couple of my normal weekly reports to take the pressure off right hand man Al. He did the same for me while he was out, and I can sit at the computer for short lengths of time now.

Ok, that's enough for now. I'll just sit and wait for pictures of Dads new garden tractor.

All gear, all the time.

About two weeks before my accident, Deb and I had a conversation about motorcycle gear, and did it need to be worn all the time. I think I started it by bitching about how hot it was at stoplights with my jacket on. Anyway, I went on to tell her that when you didn't think you needed it is when you would need it. Truthfully I was as much trying to set an example for all these boys with their bikes as anything. Of course, I'd had the "$50 helmet for your $50 head" conversation with all of them several times as well. (For the record, my helmet lists for around $500, but I got a deal on ebay.)

Anyway, for some reason after that conversation I did take a couple rides without my jacket. Usually just down to get cigs, and short runs. I wasn't wearing it for the accident. Lost quite a bit of skin on my right arm too. You can bet I'll be wearing it from now on.

What brings this up was a comment that buddy Greg made the day he came to visit me in the hospital. "You should have been wearing Alpinestars bubba." Yep, I should have been. I'm not absolutely sure it would have saved my bones, but I'd about bet on it. These are Alpinestars:

Now there are a lot of company's that make sport riding boots, so it's almost like a "velcro" thing to call them Alpinestars. They were the first, and are still at the top of the heep when it comes to motorcycle gear. Also, it's one of those things....they are not comfortable to walk around in, they are sort of "geeky" looking, but you can bet that when this is over I'll be wearing the damn things, and my jacket, and probably the kevlar riding jeans as well. This hasn't scared me off of the bike, but it has made me painfully aware of the saying from one of the web sites I frequent: All Gear, All The Time.