No Pain, No Gain?

Wow. It’s been really beautiful outside, even though the temperature has headed up to the 90-some degrees.

The humidity, however, doesn’t seem to be all that horrible. That’s what gets me, and many, many others; the humidity. When my hands start to hurt is the time I complain about the weather. When they don’t hurt, I’m fine.

In fact, I’ll share a little secret with you, that’s the subject of my next tattoo. 

“Sometimes I think it’s a shame when I’m feeling better, when I’m feeling no pain.”

It’s a line from “Sundown” by Gordon Lightfoot; Yes, the guy who sings “The Wreck of the Edmond Fitzgerald.”

It’s been a long and difficult time deciding on my next tattoo, of which I will be getting at our local tattoo parlor, Homeward Bound. The last time I was there was when they were still in their previous place — when I got my firebird tattoo, featured in .

Not only is Homeward Bound local, they are good. If you should stop in at Smith Brothers Coffee shop, ask Caravaugh to take a glance at her sleeve tattoos. They are amazing. 

Though, I cannot hope to get something that delicate (I leave those to the young!) I will continue to get the tattoos that mean something to me. Some of my other tattoos are just tattoos. The firebird was the one that meant the most to me, and this new one is more personal. It will remind me of me, what the things I have gone through, medically speaking, and how it has lead me to where I am now. 

It also has a literary reference which I will share with you. 

Hunter S. Thompson is one of my favorite authors. I contemplated getting a tattoo of one of his quotes, but it seems that every HST fan has one. I like to be different. After his death, many magazine articles reprinted interviews with him or articles that he had recently written. 

One such article in Rolling Stone, a frequent employer of the writer, ran an interview in which HST was talking about his own health issues. He mentioned a line to a song, that song — which at the time I couldn’t place, but it sounded familiar. 

It was 6 am. I was driving to work, shifting in my seat, trying to take the pressure off my back so I could at least drive to work before the pain became too severe for me to carry out the day. It was then that I heard the song on the radio and realized the connection. 

A favorite song of mine in the past, I cursed myself for not recognizing it sooner. But there it was, and there it will forever stay in my mind. 

On the days I have pain, I don’t think of this song. It’s not until the pain subsides is when it creeps in, reminding me of how true it is.

HST had constant pain even through multiple surgeries. His pain never alleviated. Mine subsided, though other things have crept up since my back surgery. I won’t bore you with that history, but just to say, I feel better when I feel no pain. 

What a shame. 

Stop by the library to check out some of HST’s writing. I highly recommend "The Rum Diary." Read it before the Johnny Depp movie comes out next year!