By Bill Stokes
Kickass, the doorstop dog, is working with the keeper to define just what improving the infrastructure has meant over the years: a hard surface for the gravel road leading to the one-room country school that is long gone; no more muddy ruts on the way to visit Uncle Ralph, who is also long gone; a concrete bridge across the Yellow River where one spring dozens of big pine snakes crawled into the vine-stuffed steel railing of the old bridge, and where a neighbor boy nearly killed himself after he fell asleep coming home from a late date and crashed into the railing. He also is long gone.
So it seems to the keeper that meaningful infrastructure improvement would have to include him personally before he too is “long gone;” and such a project is, in fact, in place with a therapy program through the VA to preserve balance capabilities and stave off the need for canes and walkers.
There is a set of exercises that includes one of putting one foot exactly in front of the other, something the keeper thought he had been doing for lo these many years, but, according to the therapy plan, he had not been doing it in a way that would exercise his balance capacity, which may explain a lot of things.
Putting one foot in front of the other is something the keeper hopes to continue to do for some time, as is the ability to get up out of a chair. So he will do the VA exercises, and then join Phyllis at the Coventry exercise class where cheerful Jean participates at the age of 102 and Bob opens the class with a brief impromptu piano performance at the age of 95.
Bring on the personal infrastructure improvements: there simply can be no place for the pine snakes to gather in the bridges yet to be crossed!
