Sunday, September 30, 2018

VERY high, VERY low!

At 50 years of living with fits of rage and denial, I was diagnosed with BI-POLAR disease. It was 10 more years till I realised the other symptions I was carrying. Since the time of my youngest memories, it hurt in my joints to do everyday activities. I did not know it was a disease, I just thought everyone had this problem, and they were stronger willed than I was.

My mom and dad always complained about hurting, that reinforced the feeling other people were infected, but better at handling the problem. The Doctor we used did not help my problems. He was more interested in seeing us a lot, it was needed to pay for his camp in the mountains. I had a lot of ear infections, different Doc, ripped out the skin in ear canal that was hanging from infection. He was on vacation one year, we sent to another Doc, he said whenever water in ear canal dip q-tips in campho phenique, clean ear canal. After a lot of bad years that stopped my ear problems. Another Doc using unnecessary appointments.

In my DNA from both parents, a lot of alcohol  problems, smoking, caffeine, junk food, and risk takers. Mary has been trying to change my bad habits the last 47 years. She is slowly breaking my bad habits. I always wanted to marry a nurse. That's another story!

My brother Dick, when we talk every couple of weeks, we comment we do not have good genes to pass on. And today is a great day, neither of us were in the obituary page this morning. Seems all Caldwell's are sarcastic!

The gym teacher 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th grades rode me hard because I would not climb the rope to top and touch the steel beam it was hooked to. About 6 feet was as high as I would go. Four years of harassment, I was scared of heights. I did not jump off the high board in swimming till the last year of school. Anything over 6 feet high was my limit. No ladders, no climbing trees, other guys climbed wire fences to break into places we were not allowed. NOT ME!

In gym, I did not do good in cross country running, crab walks up hill, track, soccer, basketball, any time running, jumping just hurt too much. He flunked me in 11th grade. My senior year I had two gym periods every day. He degraded me, encourage others to do it too. I just took it.

Again I thought everyone had this pain, I was not strong enough to work through it. I was not good enough. It did not scar me. Later I would be stronger because of it. I never hated the teacher. I felt sorry for him and those that harassed me.

After graduating, I worked 3 years as a maintenance helper, at a cardboard plant one block from home. I went to post office to pick up the mail, last half hour I took outgoing mail to post office. Nine hour days, five hours every Saturday. Saturday the last hour I had to get orders from the five maintenance guys for lunch, they worked all day. I drove and picked up their lunch. went for parts, and help fix machinery.

When I lost my license 6 months they had an office guy do the mail. Saturdays the maintenance guys took turns getting  their lunch. They liked me and did what was necessary so I did not lose my job. I always did what told as well as I  could.

At Christmas we got frozen turkeys from the company. We had 4 sales offices between Lancaster and Philly, I took their Turkeys there. I liked my job, but knew I should learn a trade. My dad was a Great mechanic. When a place shut down, he always had a new job in days. After 3 years I got a job as electrician helper. This would change my life. A guy afraid of heights, working off scaffolds, ladders, walking cement block walls 25 feet in the air. Stay tuned, more to come!

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