One Week Later - My Index Finger Bionic Joint

One week ago - the Tallahassee Orthopedic Clinic installed an artificial joint in my right index finger. For 20 years I had arthritis in both my index fingers - I was tired of the pain and lack of use. It was getting harder to do heavy work because of the pain and lack of motion. I had bone to bone contact - all the time. Cortisone shots helped but I wanted more range of motion.

Last Tuesday - I was in the clinic for about 2 hours. They put me to sleep - and later I walked out with the new hinge. Since then - I have had it in a padded "holster." This morning I removed the dressings to see the work. I am impressed how clean it is - also the nice sewing work of 7 stitches. It is not swolen and there is no pain.

I am not taking any drugs for it except an aspirin now and then.

I will not bend it until the stitches are removed and the physical therapy starts. I am not putting any pressure on it yet. We will keep a bandage on it during the day for padding.

I plan on having the left index finger done as soon as we get home.

Monday - Our Drive From Phoenix - Thru Tucson - Thru Tombstone - to Bisbee

Our Copper Queen Hotel in Bisbee AZ

Monday we left Phoenix and drove to Brisbee AZ - a small former copper mining town in the southeastern corner of the state. On the way we stopped near Tucson for lunch at Eeggies - then walked the streets of Tombstone - and finally checking into the Copper Queen Hotel at 4 PM for the night. 

The Arizona desert in the spring is beautiful and greener than expected. There are plenty of spaces of just dirt and scrub bushes - but the spring blooms in stark contrast are wonderful. We experienced 100 degrees in Phoenix - but by 5 PM it was 70s in Brisbee - and even reached high 40s at night. We slept with windows open - but closed them in the middle of the night. 

The Copper Queen is still the flagship of the town - but since the mine closed in 1974 - it has diminished. We paid $130 for the night. It included a flowery wall papered room - king bed - and early attic furniture. Our room is over the bar - but Monday night was not busy. All we heard was the romantic activity of pigeons on the roof. 

We are 5000 feet above sea level - they boast the best year round climate in the world. We are 10 miles north of Mexico - and yet experienced 80s and 40s in the same place on the same day. 

We had a supper of meat loaf - mashed potatoes - and Thai salad at The Table. Today we will tour the mine - see the mine museum on our hotel premises - and tour a cavern at the state park. 

Bisbee is a haven for Bohemians. There are lots of tiny hotels and rooming houses. There are plenty of store fronts featuring all kinds of art. The old local high school prides itself on having street entrances on 5 levels. It seems everything up hill here. 

The open pit just outside of towns amazing. It is 850 feet deep - 5000 miles long - 4000 miles wide. 

Our hotel in downtown Bisbee

Near Tucson we stopped at Eegie's for lunch.
We loved eating here when Lulu worked at UA.
It is frozen ice with fruit in it - only
in Arizona.

The famous Bird Cage Theatre in Tombstone 

A really neat train store

The court house in Tombstone where
Wyatt Earp was found not guilty of
murder at OK Corral.

Stagecoach ride around Tombstone.

Ike Clanton was one of the guys shot at
OK Corral. 

These guys were looking for trouble.

Fortunately cooler heads prevailed. Then they
went into OK Corral - and all crap flew. 

Bisbee was a booming copper town.

It reminds you a bit like Jim Thorpe - but more hotels -
stores - a much longer main street -
and a giant hole just outside town

The Lavender Pit was named after Harrison Lavender -
the founder of a better way to extract copper.

The Dodge - Phelps copper company pulled so much
 copper out of here. This is where your pennies came from
copper pipes - copper wire - computers.

The pool at our hotel.

The Bisbee Library. Very nice - very old.

Bisbee Library reading room

Old wooden steps up to the stacks

Lulu in the stacks with the town out the windows.

At 6 PM - Monday - the streets sidewalks were
rolled up.

Almost all the store fronts have something in.

The climate sign says it all. 

The main street  is long and weaves like
Jim Thorpe.

Joint Replacement In Finger

Lulu rode me home in these stockings and sling.

For the last 20 years I have been dealing with arthritis in each of my index fingers. I have dealt with it with a lot of aspirin and cortisone shots. Last week I decided to replace the middle knuckle in each of my index fingers. There was bone to bone contact that caused pain and loss of the use of the index fingers. It really hit home over Christmas in playing basketball with my grandson.

The operation was last Tuesday - 6 days ago. It was done as an outpatient at the Tallahassee Orthopedic Clinic. They work on the FSU Sports teams. Recovery has been very good. I took oxycodone for 3 days - then quit cold turkey because it was making me loopy. I am in no pain - just taking aspirin.

I am excited with the results. I can't wait to schedule the other hand when I get home on Sunday. I am thankful for having Lulu take care of me. She has taken me to the Arizona Desert to recover. With a little luck - the old chain saw will be humming in June.

It took 2 hours from walk-in to recovery

I am wearing a padded bandage. The worst part is
showering and keeping it dry. 

Visiting Jan - Dick - and The Desert in Spring

Our guest house and rental car in Arizona

Saturday morning we flew to Arizona. The jets went from Tallahassee to Atlanta to Phoenix. Our rental car took us the 30 miles south to Maricopa. We are staying in a retirement home of a friend - just across the street. Maricopa is a booming town just south of Phoenix. We are just off I-10 - the highway running east and west from Florida to California.

The temperatures are already up to 100 - and the desert flowers are in bloom. It is a nice adjustment from the humid subtropical climate of Tallahassee.

Last fall Dick and Jan came to Tallahassee for a football game. After a few days together at our home - we spent some time in Panama City together. We threatened to get a camper and drive the 1800 miles -   but a 4 hour flight on a 2 for 1 jet ticket prevailed over the camper purchase and 27 hours of driving.



Dick retired two years ago at 65 - only to run into a bout with cancer that he is still gallantly fighting. He could not have a better partner than Jan. I admire them both immensely.

Dick resumed treatment today - so we plan to go down state to visit some tourist destinations. We will return to Maricopa for the weekend - then fly home Sunday. It is a shame to leave this lovely guest house behind for 4 nights.

During the summers of 1992 and 1993 - Lulu taught at the University of Arizona. We lived there a month each summer - when our sons were in junior high. We plan to re-visit Tucson - Tombstone - Bisbee - and Fort Huachuca.

Nothing Better Than Old Coal Cracker Friends Visiting After Surgery. Meet Jimmy - Cathy - and Shannon Welsh

Harry - Lulu - Jimmy - Cathy - Shannon.
The Welsh's

Lulu loves to show guests Dodd Hall -
an old FSU library

On Tuesday I had a joint replaced in my index finger. There is nothing better than having two coal cracker nurses here to take care of me and keep my mind off the recovery.

Jimmy and his brother Matt lived right down the street from me on Catawissa St in Tamaqua PA. For years we prowled the streets of North Ward and the Bungalow Park together. Of course we all grew up and went our separate ways. Jim worked for Asplunt - a national tree surgeon business. He worked all over the USA. He is retired now - but when I saw him on Facebook - we had to have them over. 

Jimmy has 3 pretty daughters in their 20s now. His wife Cathy also works as a nurse administrator. When I found Jim - he was touring around Florida in a motor home. They went to the Parma Maria for supper. We invited them up to our section of Florida - they arrived Wednesday. We took them to the usual haunts - the museums - FSU stuff - and we ate at Harry's - my restaurant downtown. 

We spent 3 days at our house - going over the history of everyone from Tamaqua. we laughed and laughed - and were sad about friends that have died. 

They were in our house and helped celebrate as Lulu taught her last class before her 16 month sabbatical at FSU. This morning they pulled out in the camper as they headed west for Panama City Beach - Destin - Fort Walton - and Pensacola. They have a Ford camper made by Thor. It sleeps 6  people. They are towing a Toyota Scion - safety car - just in case. While here - they stayed in the house with us. Lulu made some coal region treats like red beet eggs -  they pleased her by making a fuss over them. 

Tomorrow - we are flying to Phoenix to see Dick and Jan Davis - two other coal cracker friends that live in Maricopa AZ. It is the start of Lulu's Grand Sabbatical Tour. 

We hope they all come back for a football game in the winter. Nothing is better than coal cracker guests!

Harry and Jimmy at Doak Campbell Stadium

Shannon just graduated with her nursing degree

Bobby Bowden was recruiting Jimmy

We went up to the top of the
Florida Capitol

Jimmy lives with 4 women. Cathy his wife
of 30 years - Shannon his daughter

At the Florida Supreme Court Jimmy
applied for a job. 

Cathy will work here as the new Judge Judy

Lulu's Easter Bunny

Flying In A 600 HP Bentley Up Monroe Street With Jim

Here is a 69 year old guy experiencing
600 horsepower up Monroe St

2012 Bentley V12 Twin turbo

Lulu's brother Jack introduced us to Jim a long time ago. Jim is an FSU alum and comes to town for football games. A long time ago - we met at the Gator Bowl for a game - Lulu catered a big party - and Jim offered us Plantation Shutters. Jim gave us some for our old house. 

When it came time to built the new house - we built it to accept 28 sets of Jim's shutters. On the web look up - "The Louvre Shoppe." Jim's firm installed the shutters for us. He even used a video of us and the house for his web page. 

Jim's business is doing well. This time - Jim arrived in a Bentley Convertible. It has 619 HP and two turbos in that V12 engine. The first owner of the car was Kobe Bryant's wife. It cost $260k new. 

Jim used to stay with us for Seminole football games - but he bought a house in town just for games. 

Big tires - big brakes - big wheels - almost 6000 pounds

The V12 is only 6 liters

As we were driving the Bentley -
the Ford Tri-Motor passed overhead.

Dale - Jim - Lulu enjoying a beautiful sunny day

I doubt a Bentley will ever live at that house

 \

Cruising Over Tallahassee in A Ford Tri-Motor

Today we flew in this Ford Tri-Motor

We woke up early this morning. Lulu wanted to go and visit some yard sales. I stayed home and read the morning newspaper. As I was reading - although I am hard of hearing - I heard an unmistakable sound outside. In the paper was a story about a Ford Tri-Motor visiting town for the weekend and giving rides. I ran outside just in time to catch a glimpse of this flying piece of history zooming overhead at the leisurely pace of 100 MPH.

When Lulu came home I told her about it. We called the airport and they said rides we $75 and $50 for kids. Lulu told me to take I ride - I insisted she go along. We got dressed - and in minutes we could see the plane on the ground. We went into the hangar - signed on the dotted line - and paid $150 in tens.

The planes was beautiful and there were very few people there - maybe two dozen. After a little safety talk - we hopped in with 9 passengers - 2 crew. The pilot started the 3 Pratt and Whitney 500 HP engines one at a time. They chugged to life and we taxied down to the end of runway 36.. We were going to be taking off due north. It was cool feeling the tail come up first - this is a tail dragging aircraft

The sky was a perfect dark blue dome. There may have been a 10 MPG wind from the north - buffeting the plane just a bit.

The Ford Tri-Motor was build by Henry Ford in Detroit for 1928 to 1933. 199 were made - Ford lost money on it. He copied it from the famous corrugated aluminum Junkers of Nazi fame. When Ford tried to market it in Europe he was sued and he lost to Junker from copyright infringement. The planes cruises at 105 MPH. It was the first plane used for commercial passenger service. Pan Am used this very plane to fly from Key West to Havana Cuba. This plane worked for Cubana Airlines for 20 years. As late as the 1970's the Ford Tri-Motor was used as a "school bus" to haul kids every day from an island in Lake Erie to the shore school.

Our flight took about ½ hour. We circled the town and the big windows and slow speed allowed for great picture taking. When we got back - another group was waiting. We hopped in our car and went to the FSU spring football game. When we got inside the stadium (free VIP parking - free tickets) we asked the fans if they saw the old plane go over. They said yes - and we said "that was us."

Built in 1928 - a piece of flying history

Three 450 HP engines

Rides $75

This turned into Eastern Airlines

cables moving controls on outside of aircraft

9 seats - everyone a window seat

Corrugated aluminum

Airplanes use roster

Doak Campbell Stadium

FSU red roofs

Right before spring football game

The band was there

White Florida Department of Education -
brown civic center arena where we play basketball

Stewart Pond behind our old house

Our house - the two plain black roofs

Our white driveway to Seminole Drive

More FSU pix 

Landing on North-South runway 

Tower at Tallahassee

One of three engines