“When he was nearly thirteen, my brother Jem got his arm badly broken at the elbow.” You may not remember this, but the whole story of To Kill a Mockingbird is Scout Finch’s account of how and why Jem broke his arm.
At best I type with two fingers. I’m now down to one. With the help of a malevolent rocking chair that I foolishly reached for while doing a mundane chore (taking off my socks), I was hurtled backward through space in a spinning freefall. I landed smack on my right elbow with a passing head bounce on the bookshelf. ( No books were hurt). In other words, I fell over.
Upshot of this breaking news is that I spent many hours in the emergency department and emerged with two staples in my head and my arm in a splint.
For the medically minded, X-rays and CAT scan indicated surgery for
Displaced fracture of olecranon process with intraarticular
extension of right ulna – an acute traumatic, comminuted, mildly displaced
fracture of the right olecranon with intra-articular involvement.
There is a cortical disruption of the radial head which may reflect a
nondisplaced traumatic fracture. No periosteal reaction or osseous destruction.
There is a small elbow joint effusion.
I had the surgery last week and am now in the long-haul recovery phase, arm-in-sling mode. It’s amazing what you can’t do with one hand. If I were a writer then my ten hours in the ER would have provided material for a whole anthology of short stories. I remember reading an interview with Ruth Prawer Jhabvala who said something like one dinner party gives me the material for a whole book of short stories.
Tadeusz Dąbrowski had a poem about his broken arm in the New Yorker
The arm I shattered on a bike, meticulously reassembled by surgeons, is now healing up in pain, and so it will be for long weeks to come.
The poem then spins to
” …Over the eastern border of my country there’s a war on,…”
Published in the print edition of the April 17, 2023, issue.
Bad Taste and Vulgarity
In the low humor department, I found this British seaside postcard from c. 1950. They are called ‘seaside’ because they were a feature of newsagents and souvenir shops in British coastal resorts of the last century.
George Orwell wrote an essay about them – “The Art of Donald McGill” first published in Horizon in September 1941. Orwell sees this kind of humour as a rebellion against imposed virtue and social convention and says that, despite the vulgarity, he would be sorry to see the postcards vanish.
Online access is a mindsaver. Scrolling with one hand is easy but holding a book and turning pages is a struggle. Here’s the epigraph to Bell’s book.
I have also started Len Deighton’s The Ipcress File. Dont know yet whether I will stick with it.
What a terrible consequence from a heretofore innocuous rocking chair. I think you are wise to try to figure out critical race theory from the actual theorists as well as from the ensuing discussions. At the moment it is a dog whistle in the U.S.
Thanks, Elizabeth –
You are right in terms of the CRT now under fire from those who would cheerfully return to the days of segregation. Like most things, the meaning shifts over time and what begins as one thing becomes another.
Wishing you a speedy recovery.
Two hours wouldn’t have even got you an ambulance in the UK. Then the wait in the ambulance queue before being treated in a hospital corridor. What would Nye have thought?
Bizarrely, I read Ipcress File recently.
Nye would have been appalled.
My experience was that no space was left unfilled with those triaged and waiting. But , overworked and overcrowded, it was not disorderly or chaotic. And with one three-hour exception, basically reasonable. And all hunam life was there in all its messy disarray. I could see why doctor friends chose to specialise in emergency medicine.
Thanks for the good wishes, Keith.
Oh my goodness, this is no way to take on the holidays or any days really – with only one good arm. I could picture the accident, the ER and the nightmares associated with rehab. All I can say is bless your heart, and I am so very sorry for the struggles. If I could, I would send Pretty to help you, but alas, I can’t spare her!!
“half victims, half accomplices, just like everyone else.” Best quote of the 2023 year.
Good for you for Critical Race Theory work.
Keep in touch with your one good hand. Sheila Morris´s last blog post ..the provenance of my mid-century modern Christmas letter
Sorry to hear about the accident – hope you are not too uncomfortable. It sounds like an example of Terry Pratchett’s “malignancy of inanimate objects”. Perfectly ordinary things (in this case a sock, a rocking chair and a bookcase) which conspire to attack unwary humans…. The only way to avoid the problem is to sit quietly and not try to do anything – which is what we’re doing as we have both just tested positive for covid. Merry Christmas! Tx
Thanks Teena. Both testing positive for Christmas! Now that is some ambitious Bah! Humbug!
Wishing you both a speedy recovery and you and all the assorted creatures the best possible Chistmas.
Oh Josie, I’m sorry to hear about your mishap. Just in time for the festive season, too. I hope you mend quickly. Sending lots of positive thoughts and virtual hugs. 🤗 xx
An excellent quote from Orwell. In all the hoohah about him lately (Anna Funder’s book Wifedom) one forgets what a good writer he could be. I’ve always had a liking for those postcards.
As for racism in the US .. It can’t get any worse than the words of the aspiring president reported in the media here yesterhttps://gertloveday.wordpress.comday.
Big Orwell fan here. And yes, what a writer. And his choice of subjects from the quotidian to the momentous. Flawed? Of course.
American politics -like everywhere – is stuffed with absurdity bordering on the unspeakable.
Oh no! Not sure what’s worse, the injury or the hours in the ER. For both you have my sympathy. Being temporarily one-handed is an inconvenience only appreciated when it happens to oneself. I have been one-footed twice, when I had bi-lateral bunions attended to (they’ve come back) but I think hands are much more needed. I did have both hands wrapped in large bandages once after trigger-finger surgery but I had the tips of fingers to work with and it was very temporary. The medical diagnosis makes impressive reading. I think now that one can look things up for oneself that they deliberately use terms that are misleading. They probably have a code book. Bastards, all of them! Well almost all. I have a small number who are not. I hope you will be able to have a nice Christmas in spite of all this.
The hours in the ER were really interesting actually. Obviously, I would rather not have been there in pain, but a big city hospital ER is quite the scene. All human life is there and on the occasion of my extended visit, every available space was taken with patients waiting to be seen or get the next stage of attention. So much to observe and listen to.
Oh dear, sounds awful! I hope your arm is mended soon, Josie, and thanks very much for subscribing to my new Substack. Take care, Ann Ann Kennedy Smith´s last blog post ..Gwen Raverat’s House by the River
George Orwell wrote an essay about them – “The Art of Donald McGill” first published in Horizon in September 1941. Orwell sees this kind of humour as a rebellion against imposed virtue and social convention and says that, despite the vulgarity, he would be sorry to see the postcards vanish.
I hope your arm is slowly getting better. The piece taken from D Bell’s book is so piercing in its truth. It makes for very sad reading.
Gwen.
Thanks Gwen. Doing much better.
Like! For some reason, clicking “Like” doesn’t work).
What a terrible consequence from a heretofore innocuous rocking chair. I think you are wise to try to figure out critical race theory from the actual theorists as well as from the ensuing discussions. At the moment it is a dog whistle in the U.S.
Thanks, Elizabeth –
You are right in terms of the CRT now under fire from those who would cheerfully return to the days of segregation. Like most things, the meaning shifts over time and what begins as one thing becomes another.
I agree waiting rooms are fascinating places, lots to watch and listen to! Hope you start to feel more comfortable soon though. . .
Thanks, Jane. Onwards and upwards everyday!
“Like won’t “take” no matter how much I try,
And I know not what to comment except goodby
(until next time).
Wishing you a speedy recovery.
Two hours wouldn’t have even got you an ambulance in the UK. Then the wait in the ambulance queue before being treated in a hospital corridor. What would Nye have thought?
Bizarrely, I read Ipcress File recently.
Nye would have been appalled.
My experience was that no space was left unfilled with those triaged and waiting. But , overworked and overcrowded, it was not disorderly or chaotic. And with one three-hour exception, basically reasonable. And all hunam life was there in all its messy disarray. I could see why doctor friends chose to specialise in emergency medicine.
Thanks for the good wishes, Keith.
Oh my goodness, this is no way to take on the holidays or any days really – with only one good arm. I could picture the accident, the ER and the nightmares associated with rehab. All I can say is bless your heart, and I am so very sorry for the struggles. If I could, I would send Pretty to help you, but alas, I can’t spare her!!
“half victims, half accomplices, just like everyone else.” Best quote of the 2023 year.
Good for you for Critical Race Theory work.
Keep in touch with your one good hand.
Sheila Morris´s last blog post ..the provenance of my mid-century modern Christmas letter
Thanks Sheila.
Sorry to hear about the accident – hope you are not too uncomfortable. It sounds like an example of Terry Pratchett’s “malignancy of inanimate objects”. Perfectly ordinary things (in this case a sock, a rocking chair and a bookcase) which conspire to attack unwary humans…. The only way to avoid the problem is to sit quietly and not try to do anything – which is what we’re doing as we have both just tested positive for covid. Merry Christmas! Tx
Thanks Teena. Both testing positive for Christmas! Now that is some ambitious Bah! Humbug!
Wishing you both a speedy recovery and you and all the assorted creatures the best possible Chistmas.
Oh Josie, I’m sorry to hear about your mishap. Just in time for the festive season, too. I hope you mend quickly. Sending lots of positive thoughts and virtual hugs. 🤗 xx
Kind of you Paula. Thank you, Fortunately, I can still read.
An excellent quote from Orwell. In all the hoohah about him lately (Anna Funder’s book Wifedom) one forgets what a good writer he could be. I’ve always had a liking for those postcards.
As for racism in the US .. It can’t get any worse than the words of the aspiring president reported in the media here yesterhttps://gertloveday.wordpress.comday.
Big Orwell fan here. And yes, what a writer. And his choice of subjects from the quotidian to the momentous. Flawed? Of course.
American politics -like everywhere – is stuffed with absurdity bordering on the unspeakable.
Thanks, Ann.
Oh no! Not sure what’s worse, the injury or the hours in the ER. For both you have my sympathy. Being temporarily one-handed is an inconvenience only appreciated when it happens to oneself. I have been one-footed twice, when I had bi-lateral bunions attended to (they’ve come back) but I think hands are much more needed. I did have both hands wrapped in large bandages once after trigger-finger surgery but I had the tips of fingers to work with and it was very temporary. The medical diagnosis makes impressive reading. I think now that one can look things up for oneself that they deliberately use terms that are misleading. They probably have a code book. Bastards, all of them! Well almost all. I have a small number who are not. I hope you will be able to have a nice Christmas in spite of all this.
The hours in the ER were really interesting actually. Obviously, I would rather not have been there in pain, but a big city hospital ER is quite the scene. All human life is there and on the occasion of my extended visit, every available space was taken with patients waiting to be seen or get the next stage of attention. So much to observe and listen to.
Oh dear, sounds awful! I hope your arm is mended soon, Josie, and thanks very much for subscribing to my new Substack. Take care, Ann
Ann Kennedy Smith´s last blog post ..Gwen Raverat’s House by the River