Wilson Mesa Diary (1976)

July 16 1976

Guess what, i busted up the DKW, cut open my head, and pulled a muscle deep in my groin / groan

This happened after hurtling all around the pastures, exuberant and over-confident.

Meanwhile the combine is working almost 100% perfect and getting more grain than ever / so Dick left for town / it is their anniversary / on the way out he saw me, picked me out of the ditch and brought me back to the homestead.

I cant walk on my right leg / the DKW has a busted front end / the frame is bent / Tom marvels over the impact of hitting the ditch head on / well, i just cannot make sharp left turns

Next day / cloudy, evening now, soon to rain, i think.

i sat in Tom's chair all day

I managed to "walk" to the doorway using the folding chair as a walker so i could pee and this morning went all the way to the poo poo box

Yesterday considerable rain in Moab, maybe even more up here, some wind too but all plant and wheat surviving. Down to the 50's last night, Dick said.

Just after the rain at dusk the chorus of a coyote family. A huge water dog came out from under the porch. Red caught a big rabbit for her and Baby Cat. We got the cats stoned under the covers. Now Baby Cat sleeps on my lap as i patch my green fatigues.

91' in Moab / the first time in two weeks the temperature was below 100'

Following days : still laid up, now with a yellow sock tied tight around my upper inner thigh. Feels good. i laid on the Nile Barge , soaked up the sun, did slow yoga stretches. Cry a lot.

I hate being this dependent. Tom again suggested doctor or hospital. (that always makes me cry) All i need is to heal at my own pace. No one can speed you up. it's good for me to learn to Be Slow - a lesson turned aside at the time i broke my foot.

Having pain is like fasting in that you are on your own with it, a sense of isolation pervades you. But where fasting can increase or heighten your feeling of independence, an injury does the opposite. You feel stuck in a trap, only partially of your own doing.

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Today July 16, 2004 / Tom with whom i lived on Wilson Mesa, has Lou Gehrig's disease (ALS)