I dual-purposed my Sunday solitary stroll yesterday, adding in a detour to the ATM in Subic-town to restock my funds. It’s December, and that brings about a slew of additional expenses. For example, they have a tradition here known as “the 13th month,” in which employees receive a year-end bonus equal to one month’s salary. Being the generous employer that I am, I’m rewarding my full-time and part-time domestic helpers and my driver with the gift of extra pay.
The bank is just a tad further up the road. I took a trike back home. You can see how it looked from above here:
With the walk out of the way and my funds restored, I set about preparing for my evening. I baked up a batch of cupcakes for the Hideaway girls, then headed over to John’s place for some bulgogi and Korean-style chicken wings to feed Joy and the crew.
A quick update on John. He was sleeping in his recliner when I arrived. He was awake when I was leaving and said he had changed doctors and meds and was starting to feel better. It didn’t look like it to me. I asked if he needed anything, and he shrugged it off. I’m trying to respect his privacy, but if he needs funds for dialysis or other treatments, I’d be happy to help organize some donations. I don’t know what else I can do at this point.
After finishing my duties at Hideaway, I decided to drop in at Snackbar. It’s a little over a kilometer between the two bars.
The scary thing is that during that 1K walk, I experienced some breathing difficulties. Not as bad as I used to suffer before I got diagnosed in Korea, but if I had had to walk much further or, god forbid, climb a hill, I’d have been in trouble. I took a couple of squirts from my inhaler, and once I arrived at Snackbar and sat down, I was fine. For what it is worth, I didn’t have any trouble on my 7K morning walk. The only difference being several beers, but I’m not sure why that would affect my lungs. Hopefully just a one-off.
A couple more beers (and lady drinks, of course), and I was ready to hit the road for home.
This morning, Facebook shared the memory of a time when my family was all together.
And then there is this:
I think that is how I see myself in my mind’s eye, which makes it easier to flirt with all the young honeys that surround me. It also explains why I hate mirrors so much!
So, the old Gordon Lightfoot song “For Lovin’ Me” popped up in my Spotify playlist while I was out walking.
That's what you get for lovin' me That's what you get for lovin' me Ev'ry thing you had is gone As you can see That's what you get for lovin' me I ain't the kind to hang around With any new love that I found 'Cause movin' is my stock in trade I'm movin' on I won't think of you when I'm gone. So don't you shed a tear for me B'cause I ain't the love you thought I'd be I got a hundred more like you So don't be blue I'll have a thousand 'fore I'm through Now there you go you're cryin' again Now there you go you're cryin' again But then someday when your poor heart Is on the mend Well I just might pass this way again That's what you get for lovin' me That's what you get for lovin' me Everything you had is gone As you can see That's what you get for lovin' me That's what you get for lovin' me
It occurred to me that the sentiment expressed cuts both ways. By which I mean I could have sung that song to some of the women I’ve known over this lifetime. But an equal number could have sung it to me as well. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. And maybe you eventually learn to live the way you want to be seen.
I prefer the Peter, Paul, and Mary version of the song, so here you go:
I’m sure your employees appreciate your largesse. The whole “one year’s work plus one month’s pay” arrangement is standard with labor contracts in Korea. The extra month of pay is part of your severance package. Work three years for a company, get three extra months’ pay on your way out the door.
The mile-by-mile shots show a more or less nice walk, except maybe for those highway stretches.
John still sounds as though he really needs to go to the hospital. A good hospital. I’m just wondering how he got into this mess to begin with. He didn’t look particularly unhealthy in any of the photos of him that you’ve shown us.
And please keep on top of your own pulmonary situation. It seems that, compared to last year, the frequency of these episodes has gone up.
Yeah, I’m using my nebulizer two or three times a day instead of a couple of times a week lately. I’ll plan another consult with the doctors to see if I can get back to where I was. The lung damage is permanent, but I can’t think of any lifestyle choices that are making it worse–I haven’t even vaped for a couple of years now. Unless it’s the beer which doesn’t make any sense to me at all.
My concern is maybe John isn’t getting the care he needs because of financial reasons. That’s what someone told me, anyway. If he’s not doing dialysis, for example, that’s a killer. I’m sure he is smart enough to know that. Again, when I asked him if he needed help, he waved me off and said he was doing better. I just know him as a customer, and I don’t feel comfortable pushing the issue.
The younger you looks like someone who was into CB radio, the kind of person who hadn’t quite arrived at an opinion on where they stood vis-a-vis Burt Reynolds. You looked like a kind of anti-Dixiecrat who nevertheless took on some of the coloring of their more homesteadier beliefs. I’m guessing that the more all-American-trucker look you became, the more desperate a cosmopolitan part of you was to get out and do Asia. You must miss proper brick and glazing. If only that shirt fit you now. You could still use the belt for other things.
Well, I knew some folks with CBs but my big ol’ 8-track player took all my under-the-dash space. And I was going for the Tom Selleck look, not Reynolds. The picture was taken in Idaho, and I was living in Arizona at the time; that’s a long way from Dixie. Although, Dixie wasn’t too far ahead in my future. Back then and there, shirts with snaps instead of buttons were a thing. But all I knew about Korea is what I saw in MASH.