Daughter

Daughter                                           3621

Thursday, February 22, 2006-10:15 P.M.

Reporting to you live from my little command center at the AmeriHost Inn in Lansing, Michigan, this is Ralph Tetta.  Good evening.

I'm here and in one piece after unusual circumstances.  I scheduled an overnight sleep study at the Sleep Disorder Clinic of Rochester, the second appointment in a three-visit treatment of my sleep apnea.

After my first overnight visit, in which I was monitored as I slept, it was determined that I have mild sleep apnea.  Simply put, sleep apnea means you stop breathing as you sleep, and "choke" yourself away several times during the night.  During my study, it was determined that I stopped breathing eight times in a six-hour period.  No wonder I was always waking up tired and disoriented.  I'd been choked while I slept.

Another problem was that my oxygen levels were dropping below 85%...that doesn't sound too bad, but apparently it's of some concern to doctors and people who actually paid attention in biology class.

So last night, I went back to the clinic for an overnight sleep study.  They fitted me with a small oxygen mask that fit over my nose, sending continuous air down my windpipe.  Then they glued sensors to my head, legs and chest and told me to sleep normally.  Sure, I always sleep like Neo from "The Matrix" before he swallowed the pill and got unhooked.

I woke up around 5:45 this morning, and went home to get ready for my big trip to Central Michigan.  When I got home, Pam and Harmony were up, which I was hoping against.  I didn't want to wake them, as Pam's been sick and Harmony's just a bear to get back to sleep once she wakes up.

I showered, got the glue out of my hair, packed my luggage, and got ready to get on the road.  At one point, Harmony realized where I was going, and for the first time since she was born, motioned to me not to leave.   I've been spending as much time as I can with her when I'm home, playing with her and feeding her and reading to her, as much as my patience will allow.  I hate to say it, but it's hard relating to her because I don't understand what she wants, but when I can figure out what she's getting at, I try as hard as I can to get it for her.  Yesterday we played catch for about ten minutes, which was actually more like "fetch" because she hasn't gotten the hang of catching the ball just yet.

As I was hugging her and kissing her goodbye, she reached up and said "Eat" which is Harmony talk for "Please take me to the kitchen and feed me.  I'll sit in my chair and eat my carrots, green beans, boiled eggs, cheese ravioli, cheddar cheese or whatever you want me to have, and you'll sing to me and wiggle Pinkie Bear at me and do the voice and work her like a puppet and I'll giggle and be your baby daughter forever."  And because I had the car loaded, and it was 9:00 and I had to hit the road, the answer had to be "I'm sorry, honey, but I can't do that right now," which just means "No" and is unacceptable to both of us.  The only difference is that she cried right away, and I cried about five hours into the trip, when I was tired of being in the car, and tired of being away from home, and I paid for gas at the Speedway gas station and when I took out my wallet, and the picture of my little baby daughter looked up at me and twisted my heart like a piece of Silly Putty.

My car's still a mess, but it got me through Canada and across to Michigan, and when I checked into the AmeriHost, I grabbed a two-hour nap.  I thought I slept better without all the sensors and wires, but I woke up disoriented and groggy.  I set three alarms for 6:15, and two of them went off before I could respond.  I don't know what happened to the third one, either it didn't go off, or I didn't set it right, but that's why I set three alarms...I'm not gonna dog-leg it across two countries to get to the gig, and then oversleep...it's unacceptable.

I got to the gig, where I worked again with Bert "Chili" Challis for the second time in four weeks.  We were treated to a grand total of 30 guests in the showroom, but Wednesdays and Thursdays at Connxtions aren't the "money" shows, they're basically just practice.  Still, the folks were good and I actually sold a CD to someone after the show, which I think is good, because I think everyone should hear what my show sounds like when there's actually people in the room.

Tomorrow I think I'm going to sleep in, and maybe later go out and do a little mall walking, or maybe I'll just use the excercise room here.  I think the mall's going to win out because even though I don't feel like using the car any more than I have to, I hate the drudgery of the treadmill....I brought sweat pants, so it's an option, and I'll probably make a game-time decision.

More to report tomorrow.  Sleep well.

Ralph Tetta

Rochester, NY