Post #20

Thought for the day:


It is impossible for any man to despair when he remembers that his Helper is omnipotent.

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I always look forward to Tuesdays. They are special to me for several strange reasons: (1) Grandma and I seldom have doctor appointments on that day. I don’t know why that is but it seems to work out that way…which is good! (2) If we need anything from Cosco, Tuesday is a good day to go get it because that has proven to be the least crowded day of the week. Besides that, I love the Polish sausage sandwich-and-soft drink luncheon they offer at the snack bar. (3) The TV lineup is especially good on Tuesday evenings—at least as far as Grandma and I are concerned. I wouldn’t call our TV watching on that particular day a habit; I like to think of it more as a routine. We start with Jeopardy, of course, then Wheel of Fortune, followed by NCIS, The Mentalist, and, if I’m still awake, Without a Trace. In between programs—and at every commercial—we (that is to say, I) switch channels back and forth to pick up the ballgame if the Giants are in town. That sounds like a lot of TV and a lot of sitting, but the truth is that much of those 4 hours or so is spent in moving around doing other things (especially Grandma, who inherently (and genetically, I believe) has to keep busy doing something productive). How she manages to read a book, fold clothes, crochet a sweater, and bake a batch of brownies while “watching” TV—and apparently having a feel for the plot—is something I’ve never been able understand. It must be a “female thing,” it’s certainly not a male trait.
At any rate, kids, be aware that these activities are performed by professionals and should not be attempted at home.

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We went to the audiologist this morning for a checkup to make sure my hearing aids are still working as they should. (I just got out my trusty old Webster’s College Dictionary and looked up the definition of the word “audiologist.” It confirmed my suspicion that basically it means, “ear doctor”). What a revelation of how the science of audiology (I love to use that word) has progressed since I bought a pair of hearing aids from Cosco way back in 1992. Finally realizing that those old aids were no longer helping Grandma communicate with me, we bought the aids I have now three years ago. They were state of the art at that time, and are still terrific. Every three months or so I go back for any fine tuning that needs to be done to compensate for any hearing loss I might be having. That fine-tuning consists of the audiologist (there! I’ve said it again!) connecting the two aids with his computer, and I sit there watching on the monitor while he and his computer software make incremental adjustments with the flick of a finger and the click of a mouse. The special software he uses is fascinating; it charts every little sound level and adjusts the individual pieces wherever necessary, and you can see it all happening right there before your eyes—or ears, as the case may be. The results are amazing. I wouldn’t say it’s so good that I can hear a pin drop—unless it’s a pin in the bowling alley—but it is a remarkable improvement over what I used to experience. Our next step is to talk Grandma into getting fitted with some aids of her own. They and are hardly visible, especially when the wearer has longish hair, and they come in a great selection of colors. Who knows, maybe we’ll need to get several sets so she can coordinate colors with her finger nail polish. Then again, buying nail polish to match the hearing aids might make more sense (at least that way we wouldn’t have to take out a third mortgage on the old homestead to pay for the aids).

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