You Can't Always Get What You Want

Posted at 12:51 PM, Aug. 7, 2008

Please forgive the long delay since my last post. A small disappointment put me off my game for several days. Like many Baby Boomers, I learned that back problems are often a byproduct of aging. I have degenerative issues caused both by heredity and cumulative wear and tear. In February, I herniated a couple of discs while rough  housing with a young, very strong Bull Terrier who proved to be "rougher" than me.Very painful and debilitating for a couple of months.And one bulging disc impinged on the Sciatic nerve, causing some weakness and lack of articulation in the toes of my right foot.

 A very good chiropractor and some epidural injections had me almost pain free by mid April. But the nerve damage remained. In most ways, it is inconsequential. I walk without  limping, and can still do 99% of everything I could before. Unfortunately, the 1% of activities that is  adversely affected includes my favorite sport and lifetime passion..... surfing. Just visualize a person surfing, and you see that the only way a surfer steers his board is with his feet. And for normal stance surfers like me, the right foot does about 75% of the work. I soon discovered that except for the slowest, boring waves, my right foot no longer has the strength necessary to effectively surf.

My Doctor told me that nerve damage like mine sometimes heals. Unfortunately, I am now at the far end of the window in time where he predicted that might occur. And there has been no improvement. So barring a surprisingly delayed recovery, I am facing the reality that my stand up surfing days are over. Not  that big a deal for someone who lives in Arizona. Nevertheless, I have spent at least three weeks at the beach each year since we moved here from the coast,  in 1996, and this activity has always been a very big part of my life. So, I spent about a week in low grade mourning. But I'm over it. Have decided to take up body boarding and kayak surfing, which don't require the same foot strength. They are less fun than stand up surfing, but infinitely better than staying out of the ocean.

I think that many middle class  Americans  find themselves coping with  similar kinds of disappointment. Our homes have stopped appreciating while everything else seems to be getting much more expensive.Rising gas prices have impinged on the freedom of mobility we have taken as our birthright. Inflation, plus corporate and political malfeasance place our retirement funds at risk. We know that although we still have many things to be grateful for, some of  the pleasures of our lifestyle have temporarily or permanently vanished.

Now considering the alternative, I  cannot get angry about the inevitable consequences of age. But the losses experienced by middle class Americans were not  so "inevitable." And their disappointment may change to anger. We live in interesting times.

Regular "RealtyIntuition" updates have resumed. You can look  for my next update on Monday.