My, what a God-beautiful day it was yesterday! Crystal clear air, warm sun after a frosty morning and skies that invite one to head out hiking to no particular place. For autumn-philes like me, it was just glorious, even if all I could do was look out the window every now and then and think, “What a God-beautiful day!”

 I woke up Tuesday morning with enough dizziness to make me wobble and weave my wave down the hallway. Optimistic that it was only an ear infection, I rode with Randa to work. That was not so much noble devotion to duty as it was pragmatism; there is a medical clinic in Highland, no more than a block from my office and I knew I was in no shape to drive myself anywhere. I alerted my colleagues in Irvin Hall that absent any smell of alcohol on my breath, they might attribute my condition to less voluntary affliction. They were sympathetic, understanding and helpful, even offering to go over and get my mail on the off chance that I actually had some.

 So, I slogged through my day in typical manly fashioning, whining and moaning to anyone who would listen. By mid-afternoon, I’d gotten one injection each of antibiotics and steroids (to fight the inflammation in the inner ear) and prescriptions for more of each plus something to help me through the dizziness. There was also something for the nausea, but I won’t mention that.

 By Wednesday night, I began to feel better. It’s Thursday morning now and I’m still not ready to roller skate my way through a buffalo herd, but at least I can walk in the general direction of where I’m aiming. And so, I begin another day, grateful for the speedy intervention of medical science and technology and optimistic that we may have yet another splendid autumn day. It is a good thing to confess and appreciate the splendor of things even when we are not able to fully enjoy them. Good, too, to give thanks, even when we could find ready excuse to be less than grateful.

 H. Arnett

10/21/10