Wednesday, April 20, 2005

Dear ones all,

As you know, the ceremonial crown and bullet-proof vest have been removed, having been replaced by a neck collar or two. Mr Jamil, the ward’s consultant who is in Brazil for a conference and some undoubted touristing (no conference lasts three weeks!), prefers the Aspen collar while Mr Raza, who is overseeing the ward while Jamil is away, prefers the Philadelphia version. I’ve tried both and I prefer having no collar at all! However, it seems that option is not open at present and I may have to endure one or the other at one time or another for up to six weeks. Aside from the feeling constricted on my throat, each one generates obsessive itching one place or another so that I am tormented by trying to move my head in such a way to scratch the spot(s) in question while raging at myself “stop, Graham, stop!!”

You’ve heard a lot about my rehabilitation from me, Linda, and Airasa so I will limit myself in this communiqué to saying things proceed as slowly as usual. The basic problem with the physiotherapy is that my functioning muscles are so weak and that I tire easily. I am regularly admonished (calmly) that the more I work, the stronger I’ll get. Doing my best to be a good, trusting, and faithful patient, I keep plugging away a little bit each day beyond what I feel I am up to doing.

Occupational therapy is going much better. Although not a pretty sight, I have reached the point where I can largely feed myself as long as I have the assurance of someone with me who will rescue me at some critical moment, usually at the beginning when I am trying to scoop up some food in my modified spoon (no clue yet about working with a fork). A bit more exciting is that I have gotten rather good at maneuvering the computer cursor in small spaces and removing my hand to left click without moving the cursor at the same time. I can’t type, but talk about voice activated programs increases; the ward uses Dragon. Mondays and Wednesdays at present are my computer days, so I practice my hand skills by checking out various newspapers online, such as LAT and NYT, and various topics. For example, now that we have Pope Benedict XVI, I Googled Benedict XV and learned that he was pope during WWI, and issued a peace manifesto that Woodrow Wilson rejected at the time but largely incorporated after the war in his Versailles positions.

As far as the new Pope goes, he strikes me as a transitional figure, in that his role as John Paul II’s doctrinal enforcer honors and carries on his legacy but his age almost certainly ensures a papacy of less than ten years. Even so, I think the selection was a mistake because the Church, while unlikely to select anyone close to being liberal, needs to address the problems of the centers of the church today, which lie in Africa and South America, not Europe (St. Benedict is the patron saint of Europe, a pretty strong indication of where Ratzinger wants to focus his energies).

The election here mercifully draws to a swift close as the Brit politicians’ campaigns are a spittin’ image of America’s despite their parties’ issuance of lengthy manifestos whose points are attacked and defended with much vigor. The other big issue, although it will be in the background for a while now that an investigative commission has been appointed, is the collapse of MG Rover, the last British car maker. Clearly, both the Phoenix Group and the Chinese looted the company, but it remains to be seen if the British robbers did anything prosecutable. The Chinese, of course, are having a great laugh over those gullible Westerners.

One thing I haven’t talked about regarding my stay in Pinders is how noisy the ward is through much of the day and well into the evening. When I get in bed, usually by 8 p.m., I seek refuge under the headphones of my CD player. Even if I could use my hands to read, I suspect I would do the same. It is not uncommon for there to be 2, 3, or even 5 televisions going on at the same time. For the dead time during the day, I am finding myself watching some telly, doing my best anthropologically – you know, when among the Bugga Bugga, watch what the Bugga Bugga watch! Among the many differences between UK and US television programming, the one that strikes me strongest is the plethora of property shows on the telly here – Ian calls them “property porn”. For example, one show takes a couple looking for a new home and shows them three places. If they guess the price of their choice within 500 pounds they get the keys to the house. It is not hard to understand how infrequently the couple wins, given that the homes range in price from 70,000 to 150,000 pounds. Another difference is that the Brits bunch up their ads more than we do so that, while there are fewer interruptions, the ad breaks seem longer (editor’s note: long enough to boil the kettle and make a cuppa!). A last curiosity I’ll mention is that the television guides’ listings are by channel and not by time of day. OK, another difference: the starting/stopping times of the programming is often not on the hour or half hour (e.g., 8:40 or 9:05)!

Dinner soon, so I’ll close by saying that I continue to be overwhelmed by everyone’s communications, support, prayers, and love. The surprise package from “GPC Friends” was a real mind-blower. Have bits of the story, but would appreciate a GPC friend giving me the full skinny (editorial query: what is the origin of ‘skinny’?).

Now it really is time to go.

As usual, all my love,
Graham

PS Photos show Graham watching the Easter service sent on video. There is no need to change the format as his little TV/video combo plays both UK and US videos.