cc: file, Grandma Hafen via Tony Hafen, Pauline Nelson via mail, Sara and Des Penny, Claude and Katherine Warner, and Lloyd and Luana Warner.
"Because of three imbedded images, this week's Thoughtlet is more effective on-line. For those not on-line, the first attached image, hurt.jpg, shows an X-Ray of my ring finger with the two bones just past the first joint on my left hand ring finger going off at a forty-five degree angle towards my little finger. It not only looks like it hurts, and in fact it still does.
Monday morning as I drove into work I was listening to `The Oldies Station' and they played one of my memories, the only song The KeyNotes ever played on KSUB 91.9, the only local radio station in Cedar City when I was growing up. The song was `Red Rubber Ball,' and I was suprised when I got my old sheet music out to learn it was authored by Paul Simon (and Bruce Woodley). The words are:
I still remember how excited we were when we sat up all of our equipment on main street next to Barrett Music (where I bought my guitars and amplifers) and State Bank of Southern Utah and just across the street from Carlock School of Music where I started taking guitar lessons when I was in fifth grade. I remember how good we thought we sounded. I remember huddling around the radio in the kitchen to listen to us play, and how it wasn't until after 9:00 at night that we came on and the only song they broadcasted was Red Rubber Ball. I also remember how bad it sounded to hear all of my guitar picking mistakes broadcast to the whole universe on the radio.
In some ways, as I write out these Thoughtlets, I feel like I am again broadcasting my mistakes to the whole universe, even though the Thoughtlet web pages are not linked to any pages which could reference them. Maybe my reaction is because of how stupid what happend on Monday was. We were in a software design meeting in the conference room. The topic was about navigation, and I went across the hall to get some reference materials from HyperMedia days. I was looking at it as I came back in the room, and slid my chair back to sit down. The chair caught on the carpet and rotated back so it tipped over, and as I was sitting down I lost my balance and somehow caught my ring finger between the chair and the floor. Like most accidents it wasn't planned.
As I got up, I looked down at my hand and said, `Oh shit, I broke my finger.' There were six others in the room, and I thought they were all going to throw-up as they looked at my finger. One guy insisted that Rhonda drive me to the hospital. I was mostly disgusted with myself. I said I could drive myself. However, I gave in, and we took off on the tollroad towards Katy Freeway. About the time we got there I realized my insurance card was in my car, and so I got Rhonda to turn around and go back and this time I drove myself to the emergency room. It is a real new experience for a guitar player to drive a stick shift with the ring finger laying over the little finger. My biggest concern was that I wouldn't be able to play the guitar anymore. I was reminded of when your Mom fell and cut the tendon in her thumb when we were having a nice dinner at the house. When I walked into the Emergency Room at Katy Hospital I recalled some of the other accidents which had taken us there. When Rob got his thumb caught on a wooden gate. When Ben and Paul bashed heads playing football at Todd Staheli's. As I walked in, I turned to the doctor and said, `I have a problem.' He looked at my hand and said, `Yes, you do have a problem.' They checked me in, washed the hand off, put disinfectant on it, put it to sleep, and took a set of X-Rays (see the attached file dislocate.jpg). When they finally came back, they said it looks like there are no broken bones, a Doctor grabbed the finger and snapped it back in place, they took me back and took some more X-Rays, put it in a brace, and sent me to get some pain medicine.
I slept most of the afternoon. Rob didn't make it to Family Home Evening. Mike Reed has moved into the room Larry was in during the week, and he joined Larry and Paige, Mike and Janet and Trevor and Elisha, and myself for Family Home Evening.
Tuesday was another day of software design and planning meetings. I went to The Ale House on Alabama near Kirby to hear a presentation by Dave Ridyard, Continuum Resource's new Chief Operating Officer. He is good, and I enjoy working with him. Wednesday morning there were meetings with CGG, then lunch with the president of POSC, then presentations by potential partner's from the Bureau of Economic Geology. I took Rob out to dinner on Wednesday evening and talked briefly with Sara. Sara said, `Dad, why do you always do things like that to yourself?' I wished I had a good answer for her.
Thursday Dave and I went to Plano for meetings with Arco. Arco Research is laying off half of their employees. Ten years ago they had 380 researchers. After this next layoff they will have 37 to do the same work. It is a positive statement for technology and outsourcing, and that's about all. We also learned by phone that Shell is shutting down Shell Bellaire Research Laboratory. Amoco is talking about laying off 80% of their employees in Houston as a result of the merger with BP. Each of these facts certianly bring President' Hinkley's call to get out of debt a ring of truth and urgency. Thursday evening I had dinner with Charlie Rego in Dallas. It was the first time I've seen him in a couple of years, and it was good to catch up on his kids, and to be able to brag about each of you. Charlie worked with me at HyperMedia for several years.
Friday was spent with Dave Ridyard and Blaine Taylor mapping out a plan for the work in Knowledge Management. Friday evening I was looking forward to taking Sara and Rob out to dinner. I left the office at about 5:30 and headed west on Westheimer. I was still listening to `The Oldies Station' and they played another memory from my youth: `As Tears Go By' by Mick Jagger, Keith Richard, and Andrew Loog Oldham of `The Rolling Stones.' The KeyNotes mostly played music that could be played on a piano and waltzed to, and this was one song we played for many dances. In addition, I remember sitting in my room and playing it, and singing the words to myself many, many times. The words are:
Maybe I was remembering the future as I sat on the blonde oak rollout bed and played the guitar and sang these words. I actually don't cry as much nor as often as I did a year or two years ago. However, it did hurt when Sara and Rob didn't make it over, and I spent another evening alone in a big house full of memories.
Saturday I got up and went for a run around the block. As I was running down Greenwind Chase Brother Hagen came by and I ran along his car and we talked for a while. Sister Hagen ran in the St. George Marathon the first of October and when I told him I was orignially from that part of the world he said, `Why do you live here?' I wish I had a good answer for that question also. I only made it to Baker and Kingsland before I started walking. Having an office to go to and the travel have also distracted me from my exercise the last month or so. It is amazing how fast my body looses it's stamina when it is not exercised. I waved to Linda Burgerner who was running down Kingsland and Dan Jones stopped and talked to me for a little while. When I got back to the house I read the paper and caught up a week's worth of comics (I'm still a month of chuckles behind because of all of the travel). Joe Roberts came by to talk to me about stuff. He is excited about how Ken Turner is doing. He is going to get me a `good deal' on re-roofing the house next February. Paul, I'm not sure how long you will be here before you head off for school, and between cleaning the garage, trimming the oak trees, helping me sort boxes, and little jobs like reroofing the house, I expect I could keep you busy for a year.
Speaking of Paul, there was another letter from Siberia on Saturday. He reports:
Paul's new address is:
or at: http://www.walden3d.com/thoughtlets/addresses.html.
I took off the brace on my finger, and it is sure swollen and black and
blue. The fingers next to it are also colored. It doesn't move real
well, but it moves, and I'm sure it is going to be just fine. I went
out to Katy and picked up the X-Rays for my appointment on Monday. Then
I went into Kwik Kopy and scanned them. The last attached image is
fixed.jpg, and it shows how the finger looks after the dislocation was
put back together. Amazing how well our body will recover from accidents.
Saturday evening I went on another date with another of Rhonda's single girlfriends. Lynda's husband of 20 years was a Baptist Preacher and is now a Christian marriage counselor. He had made choices similar to those President Clinton made, and finally left and divorced her a year and a half ago. Lynda is very Baptist, and I took her to a Stake High Priest's fireside. It was quite a different experience for her, and provided a lot to talk about over a bite to eat. I was wiped out by the time I got home last night. All of this social life is very tiring (although yesterday, it is more likely because of going for a run earlier in the day). We do tend to have accidents when we let our bodies get too tired. I hope you will each pace yourselves, take care of your bodies, and then when accidents do occur, I hope that you too will quickly recover."
