It's Valentines Day

I guess this is the first Covid Valentines Day. Last year we were all believing Covid would not afffect us and it was just a thing that had gotten loose in China and some in Europe and wouldn't bother us. Opps, I guess we were wrong. I waited until Saturday before going out to purchase stuff for Valentines Day. I really hate forced purchasing day masquerading as holidays. I guess I'm just getting older, not old. With age comes wisdom (took me two trys to spell wisdom and I'm not sure I spelt it correctly, I guess I need to get a little older) to start becoming a grinch about all the holidays.I just enjoy being with people. I miss the days past where we would invite people over for a BBQ (long time ago) or just for dinner (real long time ago) Before Covid family gatherings had become less and less. I scheduled a BBQ about two years ago for between Eric and Lynn's house and my mom's. I think it was my mom's idea to move it there. We all had a real nice time. Over the last few years before Covid, Teri and I have only had two gathering and they were when the girls graduated High School. I told my mom last month, when Covid is over this year we need to have a BBQ. She thought it was a great idea. Problem with when Covid is gone. We will not wake up one day and it will be gone, it will fade away slowly and when we do have a BBQ, we'll be having it hoping it is safe to have, maybe some of us still wearing masks. It will be good, but will it ever be like it used to be. Covid Valentines Day with both of my daughters 'in love'(come on they are still in their early twenties and yes maybe Elena has found her one and only, but Nastia is in love with being in love and that is real sweet, but many heart breaks can come first) Elena worked Saturday and Sunday, the fourteenth. And Teri took me to City MD to have an x-ray. Nothing says 'love you' like an x-ray. More on that later. Elena and Teri text back and forth about Elena going over to Matt's house on Monday. I wish I could screen shot the whole thing. She starts out with How's Dad's knee? Then she proceeds, in a seperate bubble, "So can I go Monday? The weather is clear til 12, plus Matt is picking me and we are heading stright to his house and will be staying there all day." Of course after last Wednesday I ask "are hickies included in your day over at Matts?" I get a "NO", then a second "NO*" I wonder what the * means is that a short hand curse? I'll have to ask her? Come on not you all have to see the humor in teasing her some more about hickies. Not daunted she soldiers on, "If I don't go over to his house, it's really not fair cause we were going to do it on Tuesday but it's bad waether, it's the only reason why I changed it to Monday." Teri replys,"I will say it one more time and if I need to repeat it again the answer will be no. IFTHE WEATHER IS BAD TOMORROW YOU'RE NOT GOING ANYWHERE. I DON'T CARE IF MATHEW IS DRIVING NO AMOUNT OF EXPERIENCE IS GOOD ON ICE." Elena, "There is not going to be any ice, the forecast says it's clear. If I don't see him on valentines I won't see him until March" Teri, "why is that?" Elena, "Cause that's when his other break is, where he doesn't have to worry about achy," next bubble, "School**" ( I'm really thinking those * are curses, because after all of that to misspell school as achy, I'd be pissed)opp, Teri just replied, " Yes you can go but if the roads are bad you cannot" Elena, "Okay, thank you" Elena repeats, "Okay thank you" Teri, "I've said that all along" next bubble, "As long as the roads are good" next bubble, "It's for everyones safety" Elena, "I understand" Teri, "Then why'd you keep asking me? I said that all along" end of conversation, I guess finger cramps set in. I bet that conversation takes you all back to when you were younger, but doing it face to face without a written transcript that can be keep so you will maybe be reading it sometime in the future declaring how you hate your father and how could he go and publish this. Or just do a Donald Trump and call it fake new and it never happened. As an FYI: it's Monday afternoon and so far the roads are clear and Elena did leave bright and early to go over Matt's house. As far as what is happening over there I don't wish to discuss that. Now Nastia saw Brandon on Wednesday just like Elena saw Matt. Nastia also saw Brandon on Friday or Saturday. She told me she was going to see him on Sunday and I didn't connect the fact that Teri wanted to have a family dinner that night. It had been put off from Saturday when Nastia went out with Brandon. So it was not like Teri was being unreasonable. Elena was home I believe on Saturday and Sunday because she worked those days until eight. Nastia relucantly tells Brandon that she is staying home on Valentines day. We had a nice family dinner of stuffed peppers. Ever since Teri's mom has passed Teri has always said and to be truthful,it's true " Junie L's are better then mine. How did she always get the peppers so soft?" I think the way she did it was she didn't crowd the pan and maybe she warmed the sauce before she put it in with the peppers. I could be wrong having never seen Teri's mom make stuffed peppers. My Valentines day starts just after I'd finished going out and getting little gifts for the three girls. I put all the gifts on the dinning room table and headed down stairs to the basement. I'm not in a hurry, I don't even remember why I was going. About half way down on my leisurely stroll down stairs, I get a quick sharp pain in my left knee. I've had problems with this knee for years and when we had good insurance I had someone look at it. I was also waiting this time around for the bowling league to end. Nastia, Elena and I were making our move into contention and the three of us were enjoying it. Well I didn't know it and I wasn't even thinking about it but at the bottom of the stairs in the cellar, I think my season, or at least the next Wednesday bowling night has been put on hold. At first it didn't feel bad. Sharp pain, recovery and back to walking and whatever else soon afterwards. By the night I knew I was in trouble. I could only find one position to sleep in and I snoored so badly that I think if I tried to go another day without medical attention Teri would smother me in my snooring sleep. So the next day Teri and I go to City MD. During Covid I am the only one allowed in the offices. She says she'll wait, I tell her to go home and I'll call. She waits not wanting to waste the gas. She will go over to some store and spend a little money on a shirt or something but that's different and I agree, sorta. After a little while I'm asked to go inside an exam roon. A pretty brunette, named Jessica, somewhere in her early twenties asks me to follow her. She tells me to sit down and she takes my vitals. She is sweet and I know I'm a sexist bastard, but she is nice to look at too. Soon the Doctor comes and we talk for a bit and then he asks me to remove my pants. I look over at twenty something Jessica for a moment before deciding well if she wants to see this who am I to stop her. That is when the doctor hands me a paper gown to cover up with. I drop my pants and he looks at my knee, feeling all aroound and of course during his examination it barely hurts. He then says some x-rays are in order and he calls in the x-ray tech another twenty something brunette named Brianna, who is even more beautiful then Jessica. For a moment I'm thinking I must have wandered onto the

set of of Russell Myers' movie or I'm dreaming. Either way I'm having fun. The Doctor asks if she want me to have my pants on or off. She says "off" I'm really not making this up. The doctor hands me a second gown and says to take my pants off and follow Brianna. I go down a hallway past some half open doors. past some girls working on this or that and yeah, none of them look up. By the time I reach the x-ray machine I'm feeling like I'm twelve. In the x-ray room Brianna moves my leg positions my knee and when she is done, she flips me on my side to take a picture of the side of my knee. I flash my bright red underwear at her having given up trying to cover up and she apologizes. Trying to be brave, I say, "I'm sure you've seen worse." hoping anyway. It's done and over I go

back down the hallway into the room struggle to put on my pants because, yes, now it hurts. The Doctor returns telling me he is going to give me a brace for my knee and he calls in another girl to help me hold up my leg. The magic of the day is gone because into my room walks Brunhilde. I know I'm being unfair, a sexist pig and all that, but it is my story and I can write it any way I want to remember it. She holds my leg and the brace goes on. I thank everybody and limp out. Leaving I notice every women working there is brunette. Someone should call HR. Ever faithful Teri is waiting for me as I leave my own personal Russ Myers movie or maybe it's more like those Italian films I'd watch during the 80 by Lena Wortmuller or just maybe some sad fantasy by a sixty-three year old. No, I can't end on such a depressing note as that let's do some George Carlyn jokes, what I've done this before?????? /