BEING FAIR-SKINNED HAS ITS DRAWBACKS.  Those who look at people like us and deride us for “white privilege” haven’t a clue.

All my life I’ve had issues with my skin.  I inherited it from my mother, who almost as far back as I can remember had to wear long sleeves, sun hats, and would periodically have to have skin lesions removed with nitrogen “burning.” I needed some of the same at my last dermatologist appointment.  I sunburn easily in summer and in the winter I get cracked hands due to lack of humidity in the air.

In my thirties, I was diagnosed with a condition known as pityriasis rosea, a harmless but irritating rash that required me to shower with a salicylic acid-based soap, applied by scrubbing with a “Buf-Puf” sponge.  Today, a soap like Aveeno or similar cream is recommended.

My last dermatologist appointment was to address my dry skin and itchiness.  I came away with a prescription for Alclometasone Dipropionate, a low-potency skin cream used to treat various skin rashes, eczema, psoriasis and some allergic reactions.  I have found it no more effective than over-the-counter colloidal oatmeal creams, such as Eucerin or Cetaphil.

When winter sets in, another uncomfortable skin condition sets in:  Dry, cracked skin.  I get it mostly on my hands, probably since they are exposed to the air all the time.  I also find my lower legs and feet some time get dry and itchy, but only my hands crack.  Not only are the cracks painful, but as a guitarist, they interfere with my playing.  This has caused me to try a number of remedies.  Hand lotions help, but I can’t always apply a lotion after washing my hands, so I’ve taken to carrying small tubes of ointments specifically formulated for cracked skin.  Gold Bond Cracked Skin Fill & Protect I find works extremely well.

Gold Bond Cracked Skin Fill & Protect

My introduction to cracked skin relief came a number of years ago when I was informed of a product called Zim’s Crack Creme.  It stung when it was applied, and its smell wasn’t the most pleasant, but it has been discontinued.  The company still offers Zim’s Max Crack Creme, but I don’t find it quite as effective.  I do use the creme as a complete hand lotion though, and not for spot repairs.

Bag Balm and Udder Cream were both developed by farmers whose livestock (cows, mostly) suffered similar effects during the winter months.  At some point, they realized humans could benefit from these ointments, and the public reception has been mostly positive.  I have also purchased shea butter-based creams such as the Out of Africa vanilla scent.  I hesitate to use it however, as it’s thick, and as one who uses a keyboard throughout the day, I can only suggest it as a night time treatment.

The next time you cast aspersions on a white person simply because of their skin color (which is not acceptable for a person of any color) just consider that we may have issues that folks with hardier skin don’t.

Two and a half years after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, I have now contracted the disease.  I’ve believed for nearly the entire time as more became known about the disease, that it would become endemic rather than pandemic, and that sooner or later, everyone would catch it.  I guess my time is now.

Far be it for me to pretend I’m a scientist knowledgeable about these things, but evidence I’ve read indicates that the “common cold” is a form of coronavirus, and that the SARS-CoV 2 strain was known to scientists some eight years before the recent pandemic (see link, above).

Perhaps I’m just lucky, of maybe the two vaccines and one booster have reduced the impact, but the fact remains that I, and everyone else, am not immune.  In a change of process then, I am going to use this post as a daily journal to track the progress of my journey with COVID-19.

Monday, September 26, 2022 was the morning I woke up to a slight cough and a bit of a scratchy throat.  As the beginning of a week I was to conduct training, I felt good enough to continue (I do this remotely from home) and vowed to keep my finger close to the mute button should I feel a cough coming on.

Tuesday, the sniffles began to be felt.  I opened a box of tissues to keep on my desk.  They, and the mute button kept me from being too disruptive to my students.  After the day was done, I ordered a jar of Vicks VapoRub.  I’ve used this product in the past, but since its main efficacy is gained through the camphor vapors it emits, have eschewed its use when in public.  I’m now working (and isolating) at home, so I have no care about wafting airs.  While waiting for the order to be filled, I decided to give myself an in-home Rapid Antigen Test, which then gave me a positive result.  I went to the drive-through at the pharmacy to pick up my potion so as to eliminate the possibility of person-to-person contact. Body aches began to develop and became more frequent.

Now it’s Wednesday morning.  I woke up early, likely due to the body aches, but with still a cough and sniffles, but not feeling any worse than I did the day before.  So, since I don’t want to make multiple posts on this topic, this will be my journal, and I’ll update it every day to track the progress of what for currently feels just like another “common cold.”

Thursday has come and gone, and several times I thought my condition had actually improved!  All of my symptoms seem to have abated a bit.  I spent the day conducting training, but found I did not have to hit the ‘mute’ button as often, and the Vicks helped keep my cough under control.

I slept well and woke up Friday thinking that I felt quite a bit better.  Still congested, with a cough and some aches, but perhaps the overnight rest brought with it some clearing of the affects.  Nothing so far has convinced me that I have anything other than a seasonal transition cold.  Still, I’m being cautious and staying out of public.

There were several times during the day when I thought to myself that I was actually feeling much better!  It’s now evening, the training week is over, and the rain from Hurricane Ian is moving in.  Two days ago I would have welcomed the opportunity to stay in all weekend, but now I’ve gotten more energy and less sniffling and coughing, and I’m afraid I’ll grow restless.  Since I’m wanting to do the right thing, self-quarantine is putting me away from contact.  I did find a potential temporary solution:  I went through the drive-in window at Popeye’s this evening.  That’s about as non-contact as it gets!

Having just celebrated my 30th year without drugs or alcohol,

Fancy 30 Year Medallion

and with my 70th birthday fast approaching, I’ve decided I am not prepared to go gentle into that good night.  With my blood sugar now an issue, the best treatment I’ve found, according to experts, is diet and exercise.  Well, I refuse to completely omit some foods from my diet (after all, I don’t want to live forever, and I don’t want it to feel like I am, either), but exercise is something I can do something about.

When I was a teenager I was a passenger in a car that hydroplaned into a tree at about 45 mph and as a result, suffered a compression fracture in my spine.  Six weeks in a body cast during the August-September time frame was no picnic, let me assure you!  Doctors told me I would likely have arthritis and rheumatism by the time I was in my mid-twenties.

There were a few setbacks, but overall, my back didn’t hinder me at all.  In my forties, after having shaken the alcohol demon, I started running.  I thought it was easy and cheap (all you need are some shoes and shorts, right?).  Traveling a lot on business meant I could go for a run outside my hotel, and it became a way of sightseeing, too!

I ran my first marathon when I was 54.  The next year (2006) I ran my best marathon, in 4:32:56.  Not an earth-shaking time, but that’s a 10:25 minute-per-mile pace, and I’m quite happy with it.

Over time, my hip (and knee) began to slow me down.  Before COVID-19 shut down the world, I was having issues completing even a 5K distance without pain.  I stopped trying during the lockdown.

But I’m back at it.  I went out today for the second time this week.  OK, I know a layoff takes a while to come back from, so I’m perfectly fine with being slow and having to take walk breaks.  I finished a 5K distance today in 47:26, for an average of 14:42/mile.  Which I actually find a bit surprising.  I thought i’d be slower!

During the run, I started a checklist of things I have attempted to remedy my hip/back/knee problem.  Here’s a partial list (there may be others I haven’t yet remembered):

• Physical therapy.  Several times, with different therapists
• Chiropractic
• Yoga
• Trans-dermal Electronic Stimulation (TENS)
• Theragun massage gun
• Shoe inserts
• Adjusting pace/shoes

I do not have the time or money to dedicate to treatment such as professional athletes receive.  I have gone to a physical therapist who trains many (shout out to Dr. Keri Webb and Resurgent Sports!), though.

Ten years ago, I took a distance training course through the Potomac River Running store chain.  During one of our training runs, I remember my coach Caitlyn telling me to hold up and end my run.  She had seen a “hitch in my giddy-up,” as she put it.  Yes, it’s been an issue for quite a while.  When I was younger, I could tough it out and run through it.

But the plain truth of the matter is that as I’ve gotten older, the injury of my youth has finally caught up to me.

I’m still going to try.  I need the exercise and I just like being out on the trails and paths.  I just won’t be setting any records.  Still.