After spending a night out...
KInd of....
I have to be honest, the way that my health is and the way that the world is I have to be a little more cautious than I did when I was in my twenties.
Back then I didn't so much think that I was invincible.
It was just that, all through my youth I thought I was going to be an Army Ranger. So I pushed myself to be.
And with that sort of mentality comes a certain acceptance that age is a luxery and reality can be a harsh mistress.
As has been stated elswhere in many other writings I was unable to serve because of the "Don't ask, Don't Tell policies." And anyone that has met me knows that when I choose to talk on a topic or offer my opinion on something I can be rather...abrupt...about it.
Anyway.
So I started off stargazing at the playground, then as the cold started to set into my bones I realized I needed to warm up a bit so I set off looking to see what the pandemic night life had to offer.
Not much in the way sights and sounds where I was. At least until I passed through one of the regular gatherring points on the bike path. I called for services to check on a guy that was either tweaking hard or trying to get someones attention. Regardless, it was nighttime and it seemed like there were more people with him than appeared so I mosied. Which was the right call, because on my way back through the area to try and find a quiet star gazing point again folks started coming out of the wood works and populating the areas I had previously passed through.
Regardless of their intentions towards me I was tired after having been up and on a survey run for most of the day and then hiking all over the parks area in the in between.
Feeling more than a little on edge and realizing that an issue that had started the other day wasn't getting any better I turned to the only medical services at the hour and went to the emergency room.
To be honest, Ifelt bad for it. I just got approved for the insurance and walking into an Emergency room to get parts of myself my eyes couldn't see looked at seemed selfish. But the truth is that it really had me concerrned and I didn't want to plop my ass down somewhere just to have it cause me more issues than I could handle.
I went through the non emergency doors and tried to explain that it wasn't an emergency but that it was urgent.
The folks at the ER were kind and professional.
They checked me out, took some blood, gave me a shot to help keep me on my feet and sent me on my way. Luckily the issue I had not being an infection....just a hernia.
That's what I thought when it happened, but...It's not really a place I could properly examine myself and if it had been something else I didn't want to put myself beyond help on my first night actually out under the stars.
From there I took the long way back round to where I had started the evening, picked up a sandwich and a soda for later and then looked for a place to sit down and have a cup of coffee and my first proper meal in a couple of days.
Aso here I am, reflecting on the evening.
Questioning everything that happened and trying to take the night view of the greenway plan I've been slowly outlining over the past few years.
The greenway is beautiful and I've had some thoughts as to ways to make it a destination taht would, with enough support, not get rid of the homeless population of the area (though that is always the goal isn't it, to get everyone into a home of some sort?) but to better manage the impacts of homlessness on the surrounding community while creating another draw for tourism and community involvment.
More on that later...
