Made It Back With No Time To Waste
PROTECTED CONTENT
If you’re a current subscriber, log in below. If you would like to subscribe, please click the subscribe tab above.
Username and Password Help
Please enter your email and we will send you a password reset link.
DAVE’S WORLD
By David Howell
I set a record this week during my almost 20 years of publishing the Herald, the most days out of the office. After covering the election last Tuesday night and delivering the papers Wednesday morning, I headed to New Orleans where my parents live and did not return to the office until Tuesday morning – press day for this week’s edition.
Dad had a knee replacement surgery Thursday morning, and the trip to the Crescent City was to help my mom in the days that followed. His surgery went great, and we were back at their house by 5 p.m. Thursday afternoon. It’s hard believe that a knee replacement is an outpatient surgery, but as soon as the anesthesia wore off they had him up on a walker. The hospital’s physical therapist helped him walk down the hall and up a small set of stairs, practice for the four steps to get back in his house when we got home.
We left the hospital with lots of instructions for the days ahead – it seemed like there was more to do than hours in the day. I think mom and I spent almost as much time figuring out all the instructions as he did following them. Dad had a fancy ice machine that circulated cool water to his knee, breathing treatments, leg exercises three times a day and four hours on a CPM machine that slowly works the leg up and down. Out of all the instructions, it was those tight fitting stockings that help with circulation that gave us the most trouble. He has to wear them for two weeks, taking them off an hour each day, and those suckers are tight.
There wasn’t a lot of time to get a taste of the fine New Orleans cuisine nor an opportunity to ride the New Orleans street car on St. Charles Street. A fun trip to the city typically includes walking from my parents’ house over to St. Charles Street and catching the street car down to Canal Street. From there you can go the Riverwalk Mall that overlooks the Mississippi River or take a walk through the French Quarter. There was restaurant a couple of blocks from their house that makes a good shrimp poboy that I enjoyed.
What little down-time I had was occupied with the work I brought with me to ensure I wouldn’t panic when I got back to the office Tuesday morning. Thankfully Mel was working hard in my absence to make sure we made the print deadline, but I still needed to generate some news. I finished the long story on the hearing for the principal and a few other stories. I am not sure if anyone is interested in all those details from the school hearing, but I felt like I set a precedent when I covered the last two employment hearings for ousted principals.
My New Orleans “office” was their second floor bedroom, and I left the door to the upstairs patio open to take in the fresh air. Looking out there were rooftops as far as you could see.
The good news is that it seems like Dad’s recovery is textbook, and I feel like he is going to bounce back fast. Almost as fast as my return trip home – cities are good for visiting but I was ready to head north. Deer season opens Saturday, and my tree stand perch is going to look a lot different than that upstairs bedroom office.
