Woke up at 3:30

because my right hip and leg felt funny and running in my head “Trained to live off nature’s land, trained in combat hand-to-hand.” I hate when that happens. Even had the trumpet – Ta-tut-ta-ta – after the comma. My hip and leg didn’t hurt (which is the first time in more than four years), but had that “You have to move or you’ll go crazy” feeling. If you’ve never had that, I can’t explain it. I’ve had that feeling now and then since before the first restless leg syndrome TV commercial. Yesterday was my third physical therapy session. Next week I go from twice a week to three times. Courtney the therapist has given me three stretching exercises (three reps of 10, two times a day, each) and five strength exercises (same reps). If this keeps up, I’ll do nothing but exercise, all day.

For more than four years, twice a year, I told VA docs about the pain, generally a 7 or 8 on the pain chart. I told them of the Army neurologist’s 1989 diagnosis of right side focal dystonia and my thinking that might be cause of the pain. I asked for examination for physical therapy. I got Yeah, yeah, sure, we’ll look into that. Then in May I got pi$$ed at my new VA doc and talked rather sternly when she pi$$ed me off and I got not only physical therapy, but also dermatology (after several years of asking), a neurological consult (but I only wasted the neurologist’s time) an EKG, an EEG and a brain CT scan. Who knew all I had to do was get pi$$ed off and respond accordingly?

So I got up and while fixing a cup of breakfast tea, got to thinking about cadence stuff, for some reason ‘”If I die on the Russian front,” probably because Staff Sgt. Barry Sadler mentioned “silver wings upon my chest,” and that reminded me of a day in July 1966 when the troop marched to a gym at Fort Meade to hear a speech by I think Col. Cobb and afterwards marching back to the troop area and Sgt. (I can’t remember his name) started to call cadence … “I know a girl who lives on a hill …” but he stopped because a woman was walking on the sidewalk, so he cadenced “If I die on the Russian front …” and we all started laughing. Sgt. --- was SOL on cadence rated G for General Audiences. In January, during a perimeter probe, as books on tactics put it, Sgt. --- went all goofy nuts when the VC crawled into the grass on the other side of the road and he was on the field phone – “The gooks are in front of my bunker! They’re in the wire!” – and then he was throwing grenades and his M60 firing and grenades going “KA-WHUMP! KA-WHUMP! KA-WHUMP!” Sgt. --- was throwing so fast. He was pullpinthrow, pullpinthrow and then every other bunker opened up, one through last, in sequence.

I let the dogs out and then in. Warm and humid outside. Temperature at 10 last night was 88.