Doctor, Doctor

Doctor, Doctor                                  3486

Monday, February 13, 2006-8:43 P.M.

Greetings from the frozen tundra of Rochester, New York....we barely escaped the Nor'easter that is currently burying or has buried a great number of the capitals of the East, with only a few inches of snow accumulating, but with great cold and significant wind chill.  It's days like these that I question the wisdom of my grandmother, who, upon arriving in this fair country from sunny Italy, landed on Ellis Island, started on her way via the New York State Thruway, and got as far as Rochester, and declared, "This is it."

I drove home from Toledo on Sunday, and didn't have any car trouble, thank you Lord.  I'm taking her in to get checked out tomorrow, and I think a trasmission power-flush may be what the doctor ordered for my precious  Toyota Corolla, now teetering over the halfway mark between 286,000 and 287,000 miles.  I'm getting an oil change tomorrow as well...I use Quaker State Synthetic oil in the car exclusively, and Jiffy Lube does the work every time, and I was rewarded for my loyalty with a $10.00 rebate check in the mail while I was away, so that's nice.  The synthetic oil really helps alleviate engine wear and I credit it with the good condition of my engine despite the high mileage.

Today was a day spent taking care of myself, which is why the car isn't getting checked out until tomorrow.  I had my three-month checkup with my personal physician, Dr. Megan Terwilliger, and while I'm not exactly the picture of health, my overall physical condition is improving.  I took my lovely wife and daughter with me, as Pamela is considering switching physicians and thought it might be nice if we both had the same doctor, plus, I've talked Dr. Terwilliger up as being very good, and Pamela met her today and liked her and felt comfortable talking to her.  Dr. Terwilliger is impressed with the condition of my feet, which based on my job (standing and driving) and propensity towards diabetes (the enemy of all feet) should mean that my peds would have a number done on them, but I'm very fastidious about my podiatric care, washing, keeping nails trimmed, checking for athlete's foot and any dermal breakdown.  I guess the first time I heard that someone lost their feet due to diabetes, it put a pretty bad scare into me, and I decided long ago that that wasn't going to happen to me.  One bad habit that I will confess to is that I usually walk around barefoot like some sort of monkey or hillbilly because I just don't like slippers, and socks make my feet sweat.

Today, we picked up lunch for Pamela's grandmother at Arby's (yes, we had a coupon) and we enjoyed a delicious lunch of roast beef sandwiches, with Pamela taking advantage of the limited time offer of the fine Arby's fish sandwiches (not being a consumer of beef or beef by-products).  Harmony brightened Great-Grandma Ciuffini's day, and we had a nice afternoon watching Harmony run around the house and pick up everything that wasn't nailed down, when she wasn't enjoying her "fwies."  I regaled Mrs. Ciuffini with my tales of the road, and made her laugh, which is the best medicine, although at 92 years of age, she wasn't willing to give up the medications that her doctor prescribed for her.....ha ha.  I'm a stitch.

This week I'm on the way to West Virginia and Kentucky, and I'm looking forward to returning to West Virgina after a hiatus of over a year.  I'd much rather work West Virginia and Tennessee than South Carolina and Alabama....I think those states are different because they actually have some light industry rather than just depending on a farm economy...the folks seem a little more enlightened, or at least less encumbered by singular viewpoints.

Now Kentucky is another case entirely....it's moonshine, hillbilly, shit-kicking time.  As soon as they hear "New York," it's bring out the bare knuckles and the brown liquor.  Last time I was there, it was a clinic in heckler-killing and crowd control....no subtelty, just bash 'em over the head.

Let the games begin.

Ralph Tetta

Rochester, NY