Stuck Inside of Joplin with the .....

I have the dubious situation of being stuck in Joplin for a few days. Driving through eastern Oklahoma and Kansas, my back became more and more painful. Long since familiar with the signs, I looked for a decent motel in which to hole up. There are none in the dwindling and run-down small agricultural towns of the southeastern corner of Kansas, hence Joplin, the local metropolis. It is all for the best because there was a thunderstorm last night and it is raining today, so I would not have been enthusiastic about driving anyway. Also I am ensconced in a very nice Hilton hotel so I am not unhappy. I can barely walk but I am going to try walking outside this afternoon to see if that helps. And aspirin -- I am going to try aspirin.

It is also an opportunity to explore a whole new dimension in my no-longer-young life -- reading glasses. I am still exploring how many diopters of correction is best. I am toying with 2.00, 2.25, and 2.50. They are cheap and readily available so it is easy to experiment. Having tried them in New Orleans and finding them remarkably clarifying, I am rediscovering the printed page. As always I brought along tons of books, none of which I have heretofore so much as touched. Now I am touching them. Another reason not to be uncontrollably distraught about my sojourn in Missouri.