Recently I wrote about upcoming surgery in my post titled Not Necessarily Cancer (it was). The surgery has been performed, and I am left with a scar and resulting pain in my neck and throat-lots of it. Having a number of age lines dominating my almost 6 decade old neck, I was anticipating that the doctor would utilize one of them when he made his cut. That was not the case, however, and a 4 inch wide scar is adjacent to my age lines, their appearance subsequently resembling the lines on a city map. A dense map. Like a New York City map. Never having been one to wear scarves all that often, I am now planning to invest in about a dozen, something I probably should have done anyway. My neck is actually pretty scary looking now, as what was once smooth is now, in addition to being lined, crater like, and I am able to see everything moving within. I know-I probably shouldn't look, but I am in the habit of scrutinizing my neck, after having discovered its mysterious bump recently.
Since the surgery was performed, I now protect my neck with my hand gracing my throat, similar to the manner in which a baseball player protects the ball with his glove. Everything is sore, from the flesh that has been carved like an Easter ham, to the muscles that have been manipulated and rearranged to dissect my troublesome thyroid. That being said, I now am recuperating at home, still barely eating, and sleeping as much as possible. I never realized how much I actually used my neck muscles, until they were violated by my surgeon, resulting in restriction of movement. I am also keenly aware of how slowly I have bounced back, as compared to when I was younger. Anyway, enough of bellyaching. I am indebted to my surgeon, who has provided me with a new lease on life. I was skeptical about him initially, but I was pleasantly surprised by his skill and his kindness, and would gladly, and gratefully, recommend him to anyone who asked.
I have had to miss class these couple of weeks. I must admit, I like writing my own absentee notes. When I return, it will be to my first exam of the semester. I am not worried, however, as I am prepared, despite not having been in class. In my previous semester, having taken American Government & Politics, I was constantly remarking about the extraordinary volume of information that we were compelled to absorb. I have now discovered why. The professor of my current class, American National Government, who assigned the same text book, has indicated that the former class was to cover the first ten chapters, and that he would cover the remaining eight. We previously covered seventeen chapters! No wonder I was feeling overwhelmed! It didn't stop me from earning an A, however. Also, the first professor did me a favor, because I am entering the current class with a greater understanding than if he had only covered the requisite ten chapters.
Surprisingly, to me at least, I am really enjoying the study of our Government. Having always ignored government and politics as much as possible, I was always silently critical of it, a common characteristic of the ignorant. Now however, I have a much greater appreciation for the framing of our government, as well as the mechanics of it. Brilliant! Of course there are some bad eggs within our government, but they are in the minority. Besides, isn't that true of any group, that there are always good and bad within, but that generally the bad are not the majority?
While recently watching the opening credits of my favorite show, Downton Abbey, I realized that I recognize most of the actors' and actresses' names and am able to equate them with their corresponding roles. I can only hope that I am as familiar with the names of our government officials and their titles for the upcoming exam.
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