Even the simple luxuries we take for granted can turn against us. When that happens, they remind us that luxuries can transform into burdens. And they inform of us the emotional (and financial) costs they can bring to our lives. For example, the electric garage door opener is a simple luxury that has become almost a necessity. And the moment that near-necessity breaks or malfunctions to the point of inoperability, chaos takes the opportunity to wrap its wicked claws around our psyches. Coinciding with the recent snowstorm and cold weather, our 24-year-old garage door opener (designed to last 20 years) gave up the ghost—the door would go up and down, but would not stay down. A garage door mechanic discovered a broken gear and metal shavings. It could be “fixed” temporarily but other parts showed signs of impending despair, so we chose to spend a substantial part of our retirement savings on a new opener. The new opener is to be installed this morning. The degree to which something so simple as a broken garage door opener can disrupt one’s life is incredible. There was a time I would raise and lower my garage door by hand. That was a time when I was young and strong and energetic and had a bright future—long ago and far away.
There’s more. Last night, I discovered that a spot-style light bulb in a hallway has burned out. I may have to enter into a contract with the Light Bulb Replacement Company to remove the old bulb and replace it with a new one. There goes the remainder of our retirement savings.
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Mi novia is frustrated with the accompaniments to her advancing age. A recent visit to a cardiologist, for a routine check-up in response to the fact that she is—like the rest of us—aging, resulted in the doctor’s advice to have a cardiac stress test. Nothing obvious arose from the routine check-up, but it’s just time to have a look under the hood…an evaluation to catch anything that might not be apparent in a cursory exam. The very idea of a cardiac stress test disturbs her. I understand, of course. But it’s just a fact of the aging process; our bodies need more detailed and focused medical attention with each passing year.
As if the prospects of a cardiac stress test were not enough, she experienced significant pains she believed were related to kidney stones (she has experienced that in the past). A CT scan performed during her visit to the urologist revealed the presence of a very small—but potentially very painful—kidney stone. Presented with the option of taking a drug that “might” cause the stone to pass or undergoing a procedure that would laser-blast the rock into dust, she chose the latter (at my suggestion). Better to just get it out of the way than hope it will resolve itself with a little nudge.
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Next week—a week from today—I return to Little Rock to undergo a procedure to correct the epithelial basement membrane dystrophy (also known as map-dot-fingerprint-dystrophy) in my left eye. I will return sometime in the not-too-distant future to have the same procedure performed in my right eye. I’ve already cleared the procedures with my oncologist; as long as the timing does not conflict with my chemo-treatments (and a few days before and after), there should be no problem.
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There’s a pattern here, isn’t there? Our luxuries are wearing out, along with our bodies. Unlike our luxuries, though, our bodies cannot be easily repaired (or replaced) with new parts. Our bodies’ warranties can be extended just a touch by patching or filling in cracks and crevices in the worn out parts at just the right times. Like everything else around us though, there’s a limit.
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I don’t know if this New York Times opinion piece by David Brooks is accessible without a subscription…I hope so. If a subscription is necessary, I recommend spending the money. You don’t have to agree with all of Brooks’ political philosophies (I don’t) to appreciate his even-handed assessment of the world around us. At any rate, read the above-linked article, We Deserve Pete Hegseth, to understand that no one is asking the right questions…and to see clearly that Hegseth would be unable to answer them, even if they were presented to him. Doom is not too strong a word to use in considering the world with Trump in a position of power.
