Wednesday, July 22, 2015 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Of a certain age...
By Diane Goble
Columnist
Sometimes my body
just has to quit working to
get me to slow down long
enough to readjust my com-
pass. A severe bout with sci-
atica this past month left me
barely able to do much of
anything but the bare neces-
sities, giving me plenty of
rest and time to rethink my
priorities.
I am a retired person.
Why the heck am I still
“working” 8 to 10 hours
a day seven days a week,
mostly not for pay? I really
can’t afford to give away the
time I need to accomplish
the few projects I have left
on my bucket list before
I am no longer capable of
completing them— and I’ll
be really ticked off if I die
before I do. As I’m writ-
ing this, today is the 44th
anniversary of the first
time I died suddenly so I’m
more aware than most how
quickly that can happen.
I’ve decided to let go of
the things I don’t find fulfill-
ing or that don’t contribute
to my well-being and peace
of mind or pay my bills.
While it’s been a trip explor-
ing the goings on at city hall,
I really don’t need that stress
or those conflicts in my life.
A good stress management
technique is to stop doing
what causes distress.
The sciatica attack
stopped me from attending
city meetings because the
pain in my hip joint was so
excruciating that I couldn’t
stand upright, much less
walk, after sitting for any
amount of time. Just get-
ting around at home was
a painful enough struggle.
MMJ edibles helped me deal
with the pain of just getting
through the day and helped
me sleep at night. I did have
to resort to a week on ste-
roids to get the inflammation
down and the wonderful
therapists at Green Ridge
Physical Therapy have got-
ten me upright and mobile
again. Not quite pain-free
yet.
Over the weeks of not
attending city meetings, I
realized I didn’t miss them
and now that we can lis-
ten to meeting recordings
on the City’s website, if I
really feel a need to know
who said what about which
issue and the other folderol
that goes on there, I can do
it at my convenience. I’m
tired of trying to make the
world a better place. You’re
on your own.
But now, to keep this sci-
atica at bay, I can’t sit at my
computer for any length of
time any more. As a writer
and a photographer that’s
about all I do, pretty much
every day. Just as well... I’ve
read headlines lately saying
all this sitting at comput-
ers is shaving years off our
lives. I’m like a canary in
the coal mine. I find myself
warning my grandsons about
their constant gaming. The
brain, as well as the butt,
needs more frequent breaks
— or they breakdown.
Part of getting older
is learning to adapt to the
changes our bodies and
brains go through and how
it changes our lifestyle. I
thought I was going to have
to install a rail in the bathtub
because it was tricky getting
in and out not being able to
put any weight on my right
leg. I never knew when it
would give out. Sometimes
it was fine, other times it
would pinch and send a
shooting pain down my leg
to my foot sending me to
my knees. I got a walker
from the ReStore to help me
get around inside but it was
too difficult to maneuver on
the carpet. A cane wasn’t
enough support. Finally a
friend loaned me her ski
poles and that really helped.
While pondering what
it means to grow older, I
got back to thinking about
where I was on my Bucket
List. I’ve already been
everywhere I care to go
and have pretty much seen
everything I really wanted
to see and done everything
I wanted to do. No regrets.
Well, except for going to
the moon. My father was
an entrepreneur in the early
days of commercial avia-
tion. I was in high school
when space exploration
began. I was hoping I would
get there in this life, but it
looks like I’ll have to wait
for my next incarnation.
In this life I’ve been
very, very rich and I’ve been
homeless and destitute, and
everything in between. I’ve
moved all over the coun-
try, had over 40 different
addresses before coming to
Sisters, and driven through
all but six states. I’ve had
friends from all over the
world of all colors, all gen-
ders, all religions, all politi-
cal parties, many nationali-
ties, all walks of life, both
sane and insane. I was mar-
ried once and realized that
wasn’t for me. Like Shirley
MacLaine, I had an awful lot
of lovers and a lot of awful
lovers, and now I’d rather
have a funny, loyal dog than
a human for a roommate.
So I really haven’t
missed much, have done my
gratitude and forgiveness
work, my end of life paper-
work is complete, and I’m
at peace with my life so I’m
going back into hibernation
to concentrate on download-
ing my memories about my
very interesting life journey,
which my kids don’t even
know the half of — not to
publish but to leave to my
children as a computer file
they, and future generations,
can add to and keep the nar-
rative going.
Sisters business at a glance
• Bronco Billy’s Ranch
Grill and Saloon closed its
doors suddenly last week.
Current owner Tammy
Falconer did not return calls
or emails seeking comment.
Rumors that the landmark
Sisters eatery would revert to
previous long-time owners
John Tehan and John Keenan
are unfounded.
Previous owner John
Tehan told The Nugget, “We
don’t have any involvement.
We don’t have any plans to go
back in there.”
photo by Jim cornelius
19