My August contribution to Storytellers Unplugged is called Writing in My Head, and it’s now live.
I’ve been suffering with lower back pain for a couple of years. I say “pain,” because that’s the standard term, but it’s really a nagging pressure, like a belt that’s pulled to tight or someone has his knee pressed into my lower spine. Discomfort is probably the more accurate term. I’ve made some adjustments. Bought Kangaroo attachments for my desks at home and at work so I can stand or sit at my computer. Got a more comfortable easy chair for the living room. My nurse wife suggested recently that I explore steroid injections. I don’t know why I didn’t before. Perhaps because my doctor called it a “surgical procedure,” which meant I had to make another appointment and it couldn’t be done in his office.
I finally decided to give it a try after physical therapy did nothing. I even tried acupuncture after one of my coworkers had some success. Nothing. I guess if I could subject myself to dozens of needles in my back, a few more couldn’t hurt. A week ago I had the first treatment, a caudal epidural injection at the base of my spine. They warned me the pain might get worse before it got better, but I noticed improvement the next day. Whereas before I had a lateral muscle discomfort on top of the knee-in-the-spine pressure, after a day or so, most of the lateral discomfort had dissipated. Yesterday I had the second treatment. Two more injections at the spinal facets near the problem disk. Less than 24 hours later, I’m noticing even more improvement. I go back to see the doctor in two weeks to evaluate the overall effect of the treatment, but if I remain like this for several months, I’ll be a happy camper. I couldn’t however, see myself getting this done every couple of months.
We watched the season finale of Longmire last night. When the third arrow missed all its targets, I guessed that the shooter was misleading the cops, and I was right. Charles Dutton’s character was funny when he arrived in town. “Where are all the black people?” Then he turned into a bulldog. There have been hints that Longmire and Henry were up to something in Denver in the past, but now there are more indications of what that was. The revelation that his wife was murdered came as a surprise—to his daughter, too. I can’t see how the daughter could be kept in the dark like that. There must have been a homicide investigation. When the case wasn’t solved, you’d think they would question other family members. And how could he pass off her death as being cancer-related? Raises a lot of questions, which will only be answered in Season 2. I’m glad to hear the series has been renewed.
We also finished off season 1 of Justified. I’ve seen it all before, but my wife hasn’t. That last episode is brutal, with Boyd getting pummeled by Johnny and then all of his followers getting wiped out by his father, and the shootout at the cabin. Raylan’s final moment, gun pointed at Boyd, who’s tearing off after the last surviving Miami thug, is classic. Making the sound of a gunshot without actually firing.
Rizzoli and Isles went on a break until November. I was a little disappointed with the revelation at the end of this week’s episode because it was so obvious. I was hoping they were misleading us, but, no, they weren’t. What to make of the delivery to Jane’s door at the end of the episode? That could either be a good development or a deadly one.
I liked Covert Affairs this week. I generally do. The chemistry between Annie and the Israeli spy is terrific, and their case was fascinating, too. Poor guy, conned by a spy into betraying technological secrets. I wonder what she’ll find in the file about her “love interest” target. I liked Augie’s scenes with the psychologist, too.
I was strongly reminded of Larry Underwood in The Stand by this week’s episode of The LA Complex. The rapper finally got tired of the ongoing party at his house, where he didn’t know most of the people, and sent everyone away. Raquel sure has been on a downward spiral this season. Getting fired from a low-budget creature features and taking a role on a celebrity rehab reality show. I’m glad the two comics are putting their differences aside (or are they?), and the threesome subplot involving actors on a religious-themed TV show is funny.
After watching the series finale of The Closer, I decided to go back and catch up on the first season episodes I’d missed. I was impressed by how well-formed the familiar characters already were and by the dynamics around the major case squad, newly formed (though it was called Priority Murder Squad until Brenda pointed out the acronym) in the pilot . Brenda had her trademark bag from day one and her penchant for those foil-wrapped chocolate hockey pucks, too. One of Brenda’s earliest cases was resolved exactly the same as the Terrell Baylor case that haunted her in the final season. She exposed the son of a Russian mobster as an FBI informer and released him to be killed by his family. Pope shrugged it off after she showed him pictures of the two girls he killed. Good to see Stana Katic from Castle in that episode, too, along with discovering how Brenda ended up with the house she lived in. Flynn and Taylor were major asses in that first season. At least Flynn got better.
