To My Pride and Joy

I admire my daughter’s persistence. Besieged with back pain for almost two weeks now, she still presses on. A day long trip to the ER followed by a middle of the night trek to the same institution left her with no definitive answer to the cause. Pain medication, the panacea for what ails you, graciously prescribed with admonishment to follow up with the family physician. Kind of like the car dealership telling you to take your leaking radiator to the corner mechanic. After all the hospital has all the state of the art diagnostic paraphernalia at it’s disposal. Why bother? What a shame we all can’t seek out Dr. House or that famed ER.

But she hangs in there, even attempting a painful trip to work, although she was summarily dismissed by her boss a few hours later for not being much help in her condition. But she gave it the old college try. One for the Gipper.

So now she sits at home on bed rest with a possible disc problem - even the family physician is not sure although he has already espoused the possibility of surgical procedure. Beside her, on a make shift table that is actually a folding chair (?), sit countless number of vials filled with various pain medications of varying potency. The mind boggles at the cocktail at hand. She claims to have hallucinatory effects and I am not the least bit surprised. I told her she should have her word processor at the ready for I had visions of Gracie Slick and “White Rabbit” or Iron Butterfly and “In The Garden of Eden” ( you ex-stoners will catch the drift there). Oh, how they could write while under the influence back then.

Through it all, she remains optimistic. She doesn’t let on, but I see it in her eye - the one not glazed over. She will overcome the adversity and move on to glorious heights - those where only eagles dare to soar. She has that courage and tenacity.

At the same time, I have to also admit to my admiration for another woman. We know her as Hillary. Having lost her bid for a chance at the Presidency, she now stands at the front to unite behind her former opponent. Many would have simply distanced themselves from the front runner after defeat, but I think Hillary is a class act. Her pain may not be physical, but surely she suffers emotionally.

My mind wanders at this juncture. Hillary and the Babygirl. What a ticket. What a class act.