While it was not as wonderful as the original film, the Wet Hot American Summer TV series had some great bits. The most quoted line (for Morgan and me) is Paul Rudd’s “Your bones are all jacked up,” line he uses as an excuse to rub “Katie’s” shoulders. (I feel like Earl’s brother on My Name is Earl when I start interchanging real names with character names. Ack!! But, it’s true to who I am, because Morgan has always said that I view the movie Taps as a biography of Tom Cruise. That movie ruined him for me, and I’m OK with that.)
Anywho, if I had a $1 for every time Morgan has told me that my bones are jacked up, I could at least treat the two of us to a fancy night out.
And, in a recent Spontaneanation episode Paul F. Tompkins used the line “My Judas of a body.” I think that’s a great line. Most recently it’s been my hands and arms that have betrayed me. The metal shears I used to cut up the tins last weekend put some unwelcome pressure on my hand, and my right thumb has been grumbling at me ever since.
I know that what I do sometimes causes my hands to hurt. I’m sure the long hours in an Alaska fish cannery years ago didn’t help any. But, I’m not ready to put down beading and/or knitting needles. Morgan suggested a week or so of not engaging in activities that require fine motor skills, and just thinking about it makes me antsy. But I do wonder if I could use that time to read. Or, do paper mache. I’ve long thought that paper mache might have to be the craft I turn to when my hands are little more than crumpled balls at the end of my arms.
Being in too much pain to do what I love is the scariest aspect, for me, of getting older. The answer is to take breaks. And to take care of myself. It’s just so much easier said than done. But tonight I am following my advice. I am going to read for a bit. The pressure of an author interview next week is at least as good of motivation as giving my hands a break. And don’t be surprised if it’s a book of fiction that I’ll be addressing later this week.
