The votes are in and the results are definitive. My readers say my articles are too depressing. In other words, my depression is showing! As I’ve become less mobile, I’ve become more depressed. I had to sell my convertible and Thursday will take delivery on a handicapped van. What a change!
I’m hopeful that being able to get out and travel some will brighten my days. Actually, just knowing that I’ll have the ability to take my electric wheelchair with me already brightens day.
I’ve decided that my moratorium on flying has been getting me down. My best buds leave for Ireland this coming week; and, for a multitude of reasons, I am not. I normally go to Paradise Village in October and have been bummed out by the idea of not being able to spend 2 weeks in my favorite place on earth.
One thing depression does to you is blunt your ability to problem solve. The airlines and Prospect really did a number on me. The abuse I took in Houston (United Airlines) and then again in Dallas (American Airlines) made me never want to step foot in an airport again. Knowing how I feel now about traveling by air, I can’t imagine how bad PTSD affects people. None-the-less, I spent a lifetime solving other people’s problems but couldn’t solve my own.
The answer was a simple one. I’m looking forward to going to Mexico in October of this year. I’ll travel to Dallas on day one and stay overnight, flying out the next morning. On the way back, I’ll stay overnight at my port of entry into the United States, flying out the next day. The stress of making the connecting flight will be gone. I’ll expect to be dumped in a holding area and just have to put up with a system that routinely ignores the rights of the handicapped. This time I’ll wear a diaper.
It’s a pity United and American no longer fly non-stop to Puerto Vallarta. It’s also maddening that they’ll charge me extra for the longer layover despite the fact that they can’t service their customers with shorter layovers.
The long and the short of it is I’m going to look forward to whatever life I have left. I’ll adapt to whatever changes are coming and use good old fashioned ingenuity and technology to mitigate my losses.
Thanks for your feedback on my journey to the darker side. Now I really want to hear from handicapped travelers who have been abused in our airports.
Here’s today’s joke:
A woman told her friend, “I feel like my body has gotten totally out of shape, so I got my doctor’s permission to join a fitness club and start exercising.” “So, I decided to take an aerobics class for seniors. I bent, twisted, gyrated, jumped up and down, and perspired for an hour. But, by the time I got my leotards on, the class was already over.” (Copied from scary mommy jokes)
Lousy service by airlines is in the cards for everyone these days, so I can only imagine how bad it is for someone with physical issues. I have some minor limitations relative to all the walking necessary in the airports and as a result I too hate to fly, to say nothing about the cramped seating and boarding issues of the plane itself.
I’ll drive places and take an extra night or two on the road to avoid the pain, aggravation and discomfort of the airlines and airports whenever I can. Hopefully your new van will be a great solution for you.
I understand your feelings of depression but they are reasonable and your writing is a good means of unburdening yourself. Keep writing.
A joke back at you: I heard that resistance training is a good form of exercise. Currently I am resisting going to the gym.
Sorry to hear your readers think your articles are too depressing. I guess they’ve never experienced depression that weighs on them day and night. No matter how hard a strong person can try to talk him or herself out of being depressed is impossible. Drugs do help but being able to talk through situations is a plus. No one can put themselves in someone else’s shoes and truly understand what they are going through. From someone who has gone through it…..I totally understand. So glad you were my doctor for years!
To Ron and I you will always always will be our hero and the best doctor in the world.
We are so happy to hear you are kicking butt and pushing on. Any of us who read this know you have true grit and get courage to keep our hopes up no matter what life throws at us.