Posted by Jim Crandall (204.95.48.203) on August 12, 1999 at 10:03:12:
I had a really bad day yesterday. I am between clusters but I live in Shadowland and my constant pain had been slowly increasing day by day. Yesterday with very strong pain I even had some spikes that got to about 9 on the open-ended Kip scale. (Notice how a few years back the Richter scale became open-ended and the press always say "open-ended Richter scale" now).
I called in sick and slept as much as I could to regain energy. Late in the afternoon I went to my neighborhood outdoor cafe for coffee and a pastry (always helps my head!).
An acquaintance who I haven't seen for a while came by and started chatting. He asked, quite sincerely, "How are you?" Usually a dangerous question for me. I gave him my usual answer, "Well, I have a neurological condition that causes constant pain in my head." I don't tell the uninitiated that I have a headache. Even with my standard line many people decode it into "I have a headache" and say things like, "I know, my allergies are really bad now, too." or "Do you have a sinus infection?"
But...this guy, without skipping a beat, said, quite convincingly, "Alien implants." This gave me a good chuckle and actually brightened my day a bit. Later I remember that this guy had been interviewed by Barbara Walters because he believed that he had been abducted by aliens.
And then I thought, I'm in pain and sometimes I'm depressed because my life seems really hard; but as near as I can tell, I'm not crazy!
Laughing really helps,
Jim