I did two really smart things today, an unusually high number for me. First, I went to Albany to see the Wish List gifts the Army Of Good has been sending to the RISSE after school program for refugee and immigrant children.

It was such a lift to see how happy they are, and how many people are moving to support them. All day, I felt exhausted in a new and different way. I just couldn’t stop being tired, unusual for me. Since I don’t do old talk, it did not occur to me that this was because I am getting older.

I have been coughing for days, making it hard to sleep, and today I was coughing non-stop. I went to the doctor a week ago, he said I had a cold and it would get better shortly. If it didn’t, he said, I should call Karen.  I think I know this script, I knew I would ended up with Karen.

Instead of old talk, I got an appointment with Karen at 5:30 and I sped up my meeting in Albany and headed home. Along the way, I pulled over to rest, something I rarely, if ever, do.

I got in to see the very tough and competent Nurse-Practitioner Karen Bruce, who is shortly leaving my local health center and moving to the Adirondacks to work and live. Good for her, she is brave and strong.

What’s up?, she asked. I can’t stop coughing, I said, and it’s getting worse. And I can’t sleep either.

Karen took a look at me, checked out my heart and lungs. She didn’t like what she was hearing. She said I had bronchitis for sure, and she believed I was at the beginning state of pneumonia.

Frankly, I was relieved. I was afraid there might be something wrong with my heart, I felt so drained. This, she said, was a clear symptom of pneumonia. Pneumonia is not that big a deal these days, even for older people with heart disease.

She put me on antibiotics, prescribed cough medicine and some prednisone to reduce the inflammation in my throat and chest. She said I needed to get some sleep and rest. Can I write, I asked? Of course, she said, it’s just pneumonia. Karen has no time for whiners.

I am very fond of Karen.

We had a good argument about whether or not the Adirondacks is gloomy, which I think it is. Little sunlight, lots of huge pine trees and thick forest.  I find it a bit spooky.

She was somewhat incensed by this, and pulled out her cell phone and showed me a dozen photos of the house she and her husband are building up there, it is quite beautiful and i admit (not to her) that the sky was very open and the setting bright.

Then we got into a disagreement about smart phones, i told her that her old Samsung was cheap and outdated and I tried to show off my new Iphone X, which did not in any way impress her. To the delight of the nurses in the hallway, our battle continued out into the hallway and the reception sign-out area.

I got all of my pills and new medicine, and sat down happily to write about the trip to Albany. It was dumb of me to go to Albany, I do realize, (and Maria tactlessly emphasized) but i just thought I had a cold. Now I know I just have pneumonia, and Karen said it would be gone in a few days if I do what I am told and took my medicine.

I will and I did. I told Maria she was being unfair. I took good care of myself, and called and got an appointment right away. Tomorrow, I will be prepared to help with the rain and snow here from the Weather Channel’s latest Frankenstein Monster, Tropical Storm Riley.

I feel for people close to the ocean, if what I am hearing is so.

I will miss Karen when she leaves in May, and so will so many other people. The is a Truth Teller with a big heart and a direct manner.  I wish everyone might have access to a caretaker like her, and I think what she is doing with her life is wonderful. She is getting a psych degree and will treat the mind and bodies of people who need her badly.

I wish the people along the coast well tomorrow, it seems there will be some serious flooding, the worse trouble we face is a power outage. I intend to devote much of my day to not coughing and napping. And writing. If you don’t hear from me, it will be because the power lines are down.

I sent Karen a bunch of Talking emoji messages from the new phone. She won’t admit it, but she will love them.

My cough medicine is kicking in. Time for sleep.