OperaTenor

[OperaTenor]

Hi Owlet,<P>I got your last card, and thank you so much for all of the smiles! Here are some for you! <P> <p>[ 04-07-2003: Message edited by: operatenor ]

[owlet]

Dear OT,<BR>Thanks for the smilies. <BR>Rightbackatya.<BR> Hahaha- I like smilies. hahaha<P>I hope you're feeling better. <P>Smile!

[OperaTenor]

Hey Owlet,<P>I do and I am!<P>Thanks!<P>

[OperaTenor]

Hi All,<P>I got some fantastic news yesterday, and can now WALK!!! (well, okay, maybe it's more of a lurch right now) Feels great! I should be able to go home by the end of the month. I know this wouldn't have been possible so quickly without your prayers and support. Thank you all again! <P>Donna, they took us out on an outing to Pauma Valley Wednesday and we came back through Valley Center. It looked like Fat Ivor's had their trailer grills set up and were selling ribs in the parking lot?!! I've also heard that they promise to rebuild, so maybe there is hope for ribs in the future...

[dkm32]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by barfle:<BR><STRONG>Jim, it's good to see you're back on the boards here. I hope you're back on the bike before the snow flies (oh, yeah. Not much of that in San Diego - OK, before the leaves turn...OK, before the rainy season!).</STRONG><HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>Too late. It snowed (7 inches at Palomar, Julian and Cuyamaca) and rained (3.5 inches) his past weekend. Rainy season is about over <p>[ 04-18-2003: Message edited by: dkm32 ]

[dkm32]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by operatenor:<BR><STRONG>Donna, they took us out on an outing to Pauma Valley Wednesday and we came back through Valley Center. It looked like Fat Ivor's had their trailer grills set up and were selling ribs in the parking lot?!! I've also heard that they promise to rebuild, so maybe there is hope for ribs in the future...</STRONG><HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P><BR>Well-l-l-l-l, Jim. Not quite. Every major holiday, (Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter) the local Optimists smoke and sell turkeys and hams. They set up a booth at Fat Ivors and you can pick them up there.<P>Oh, I think FI will re-open. There are signs that say "If you re-open, we will come". (Dagone slobber is going to ruin this keyboard!)<P>Is your e-mail working yet?????<p>[ 04-18-2003: Message edited by: dkm32 ]

[shostakovich]

Hi O.T. I'm happy for your progress. Are you walking with a cane, crutches, 2 cute nurses? Maybe you won't want to leave at the end of the month???<BR>Well, that's my dream for you. Shos

[OperaTenor]

Hi Donna,<P>Oh, so <I>that's</I> what was going on. Oh well, one always hopes.<P>Hi Shos,<P>No walker, crutches, cane, or pretty nurses (not that I didn't try on that one), just lurching along with no extra support.

[OperaTenor]

An update for those of you who are curious:<P>I've tentatively set the 29th to move home as I'm walking now & I think I can hack it at home. It'll be nice to be home to my computer and it's high speed connection. <p>[ 04-22-2003: Message edited by: operatenor ]

[dkm32]

Glad you're on your way home. Home is always a better place to mend.<P>Sorry I haven't stopped by or called...been up to my ears in a mess of stuff. Nothing exciting of course, just a mess. Tomorrow it's off to a Microsoft Convention downtown...that's how exciting it isn't! <BR> <P>Take care!

[monkeymd2b]

Yea! now you don't have to worry about disturbing others with the lovely music from b.com. It's kind of odd because I know people who can study while listening to normal radio yet they find it odd that I can concentrate with classical music (I play it at low levels so I can hear myself think). And today I was studying in one of the basement rooms of the med school and since I was there alone, I decided to listen to b.com. One of the guys in my class came in later and studied (or crammed I guess since we were between the parasitology and pharmacology exams). Well, someone else came in and after only a couple minutes, left. I can only imagine it was because the music. And it was a nice mozart piano sonata too! I figured that since I was there first I had the right to continue to listen to my music. If anything, I could also claim I was trying to exploit the mozart effect in the waning moments (i do feel really good about that exam). The fact that there was someone else there kept me from humming along. I guess I just don't understand why more people don't like it. There are so many different styles within this one genre that there's got to be one style that appeals to even the most picky person.<P>OT did you get to see all your xray films and CT scans from the accident yet? Those have got to be impressive! I'm glad that you're a quick healer! Any plans to get back on a bike when all is completely better? I only ask because it sounded like you loved to ride and I'd hate to hear that you gave something up because of one idiot kid.

[OperaTenor]

Hi mmd2b,<P>I've seen a few of the x-rays, although none of the MRI films. What I saw was quite impressive. The films of my pelvis with the external fixator installed showed a bunch of broken pelvic bones pointed in different directions. By comparison, the films I saw post repair were remarkable in that, save for the presence of the hardware, my pelvis looked normal (I expected to see some bumps and/or cracks in the bone, I guess).<P>As for riding, I've already done the paperwork on the new bike (had to to get a good interest rate and program where BMW's picking up the first five payments). Thank you for being supportive, & I share your perspective of the situation. Several of my well-meaning friends (and I love them dearly) are shocked that I'm going to continue riding. My response has always been: "If it happened while I was driving a car, does that mean I should quit driving?" I can't give up my passions that easily.

[Selma in Sandy Eggo]

Maybe we can take up a collection for a teflonized skid suit. With a matching skull bucket. Just in case, don't you know.<P>Don't suppose you'd consider christmas tree lights on the bike? I saw a purple truck with about ten thousand of them, and it was impossible to NOT see that there truck on the freeway. Just in case there are more distracted teenagers in Escondido, the kind that don't see bikes.

[monkeymd2b]

Yeah so instead of hitting OT on the bike, they get distracted and hit the car in front of them. He'll have rubber neckers wherever he may go! <BR> Here's a stupid question: Do bikes have radios on them? They always seem so loud that hearing a radio would be difficult but I would think that any method of transportation requires tunes. Oh and in heavy stop and go traffic, is it more cost efficient (fuel wise) to just turn it off and use foot power to roll along? SIlly yes, but keep in mind that my only experiences with bikes are the couple times my uncle picked me up from school when I was ill on his bike and asked me not to puke on the bike. Oh and then when I was first learning how to drive a car, a bunch of bikers passed me and I swear they were laughing at me.

[barfle]

Jim, any passion that can be killed by one accident isn't a passion! Donna has said several times that you are a cautions biker, taking all the normal precautions, and there really isn't much more you can do than that.<P>I had a 10-speed wreck once, and as soon as I got my insurance money, I got a new bike and was back on it almost immediately (although I wasn't hurt as badly as you were - a mild concussion and about 2 square feet of road rash on my shoulder). If you avoid all danger and excitement, you might as well be dead. I'm glad you're still a fan of bugs on your teeth.<BR> (That's how you can tell a happy motorcycle rider from an unhapy one, for those who haven't heard the joke)

[Nicole Marie]

Hey monkeymd2b-<P>Some bikes do have radios. But the best are the helmets that have radios in them! My husband and I have the helmets with the walkie talkie in it, so when we're crusin along we can chat to each other. Kinda nice! <P>Hey Operatenor, what ever happend with the kid? Take him to court is my vote! Teach the little bastard a lesson. Carry coins next time you get on a bike. If you get to close to me when I'm riding, I'll happily flip a coin at your car. Car drivers get the point real fast.

[OperaTenor]

Y.R.H.,<P>The kid came out of this pretty much unscathed, with the exception of the damage done to Mommy & Daddy's car when he hit me. I am seeking a settlement, unfortunately their insurance policy liability limit is so low I won't even be able to cover my out-of-pocket medical expenses, and they don't have any assets I can sue for. Call it the misfortune of not being hit by a rich person.<P>Do you & your husband use Chatterboxes? We use them out here in our little riding group. If you ever have any problems with them, I'm able to warranty anything to do with them.<P>Barfle, I agree with you about passion.<P>Mmd2b, there are bikes that come equipped with am/fm radios, cassette decks and/or CD changers, and even GPS navigation systems. IMHO, those are all distractions that take away from my concentration on the ride. Besides, when it comes to listening to music, I'm too much of an active listener and too much of an aggressive rider to try to concentrate on listening and riding at the same time.

[monkeymd2b]

Flipping coins at cars? Hmmm...I knew there was a better reason not to follow bikers too close than what they told us in driver's ed. If you ever come for a ride in new orleans, be careful with your coins...never know which driver has the gun in the glovebox. Okay, I'm not sure how true that is but a friend of mine accidentally cut someone off and at the light the guy rolled down his window and with gun in hand, told my friend that he was lucky that he, the gun wielding man, was having a good day.

[dkm32]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by operatenor:<BR><STRONG>Hi mmd2b,<BR>Several of my well-meaning friends (and I love them dearly) are shocked that I'm going to continue riding. My response has always been: "If it happened while I was driving a car, does that mean I should quit driving?" I can't give up my passions that easily. </STRONG><HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>Ya gotta get back on whatever threw ya!<P>I had a very serious horse riding "accident". Some kids thought it would be real cute to put firecrackers under a horse and see what happened. What happened was Donna landed on her head and then in the hospital. Basically, I (barely) survived nearly the same thing that Christopher Reeves went through. But, after the body and mind heals, its back up on the horse. If you don't you'll always doubt yourself.

[bignaf]

I (IMMHAIO) agree.<BR>what's the probability of children lighting firecrackers under your horse again.