How I spent spring break 3: Ceiling tiles

I had my eyes closed more often than not that first week, or at least that's how it seems. I would go through anything I had to go through, but that didn't mean I had to watch it.

I spent the first five days in the hospital. Nobody could figure out what had happened to me for two days, then a wonderful physical therapist saw me and had the notion that my quadriceps were what was (or was not) happening. Two MRIs later, the surgeon came to my room and told me that the surgery was scheduled for early the next morning.

On the way to surgery, I watched the tiles on the ceilings while I was being wheeled in. I thought that I might need that for a song someday.

I was put under. Surgery was performed. I woke up and was wheeled back to my room. I don't need to know the details. At times, denial can be your best friend. I don't remember if I looked at the ceiling tiles or not.

I don't remember what songs went through my mind or what I had for lunch. I remember having chips of ice and really enjoying them. I remember that the Grammy awards were on TV that night and being impressed with Kendrick Lamar and the opening number from Hamilton.

I remember that it wasn't like the first night, when my mind unconsciously replayed the moment of the fuckin' accident over and over.

The surgery was over. Now it was time for the recovery to begin, like it or not.

Animal rights, climate change, pad see eu

You know, man, I'm sorry I keep talking about this stupid accident. I feel like I'm a broken record, just playing the same song over and over.

This accident has been the focus of your life for the past four months, farmboy. What else are you going to talk about?

Well, there's the state of the world, a surrealistic election, art, music, sports and films. There's literature, the environment, the Middle East, Taylor Swift, the news media, the popularization of podcasting, my inner feelings about my family and friends, and skyscrapers.

There's the value of solitude, the need for socialization among homo sapiens, the fate of the family farms, noise pollution, water skiing, cable television, wild versus farm-raised salmon, the latest cooking trends, wine tasting, the future of fossil fuels, the fuckin' economy, and quinoa.

There's aircraft carriers, racial issues, used Kleenex, hubcaps, potable water, BASE jumping, floor sanding, pottery, barbecued brisket, universities in Calgary, Alberta, national anthems, electric guitars, wooden decks on tiny houses, fountain pens, biscuits and gravy...

Now I'm hungry...

...The absolute lack of nutrition in student lunches, animal rights, climate change, pad see eu, computer keyboards, recycling, wheelchair maintenance, dogs, skateboarding, chutes and ladders, electrical outlets, spinach scrambles as opposed to omelets, asphalt and gravel, cement driveways, and the question of will Hamilton change the general perception of the Broadway musical.

There's rearranging living room furniture, Judd Apatow movies, socialism, marijuana culture, French impressionism, untuned pianos, Native American history, chocolate cupcakes, grocery stores, Twitter, wet paint, little villages in Italy where entire families live, the drug cartels in Sinaloa, and milkshakes with local berries.

There's big-box department stores, Wi-Fi, women's issues, incorrect punctuation, speed-walking, frozen bananas, stale popcorn, bedroom slippers, heroin, sleazy sex, tossed salads and scrambled eggs, doorknobs, English-speaking foreigners, bathroom reading, mineral water with fresh lemon, window blinds, agriculture, steel rails, and old, forgotten daydreams.

Okay, farmboy, you've made your point.

Now about the fuckin' accident...