Isolated incident

Running outdoors, I stumbled on a crack, fell, and injured my hand. I'd do anything to avoid an ER or any hospital visit right now, so am taking care of it at home, which means resting that hand.

So, I'm watching lots of movies. Rachel, my dear friend who lives in Toronto, and I are watching together. We choose a movie— our first one will be "This is England" (2006), because we are both devoted Stephen Graham fans. We will set up our laptops or tv, make popcorn, pour ourselves a glass of wine, open Zoom and minimize the window so it's just  a thumbnail in the corner, and watch together. We can chat just as if we were side by side.

Among my friends newly attached to their screen-delivered entertainment, there are two camps.

Some persons seek the light: comedy, romance, Jane Austen, home-decorating shows. Dark psychological themes are avoided like, well, a sneezing bypasser. Others, as Leonard Cohen's lyric goes, "want it darker". We devoured Ken Loach's latest film, "Sorry We Missed You", and the Netflix series "The Valhalla Murders".  (Pretty much anything coming out of Northern Europe will be stripped of candy-coloured optimism.)

A third contingent download edifying lecture series such as "Understanding World Religions" or "Beginner Japanese" but actually watch "Tiger King".

One newspaper columnist said he deeply misses live hockey and basketball, and wailed, "I'd even watch golf." Friends have circulated links for live theatre, museum tours, BBC radio plays. Watching orchestras from the Berlin Philharmonic to I Musici play from their homes was amusing for a time or two and I appreciate their talent, but prefer the live-performance offerings, from jazz to rock, country to classics. Cnet provides a list by day.

This is all I can peck out for today, but by Thursday hope to return with more spring-infused musings.

Comments

Venasque said…
I'm sorry to hear you've hurt yourself. Hands and feet are the worst cause you feel so trapped. Nothing wrong with my hands and feet but am still feeling trapped. I'm trying to keep busy and am working on my pastry and bread making skills. After three tries I have mastered pâte feuilletée (have to say that's a lot of butter in the garbage), and it's fabulous.

I heard someone make the comment that Anne Frank and her family were trapped for more than 700 days and COULD NOT MAKE A SOUND. I try to remember in the grand scheme of things, this will pass, life will return and be grateful.




LauraH said…
Had my first zoom experience, a pilates class last night. Not bad. Love the idea of zooming a movie with a friend. I predict this will stay with us even after...

Hope your hand heals quickly, so frustrating.
Jane in London said…
Sending you very best wishes from London for a speedy recovery!

Jane in London
Leslie M said…
I have had Zoom meetings, a therapy session with the estranged husband, job interviews and happy hours with girlfriends. Not as good as the real thing, but it works very well at keeping us connected. Though, the therapy session in a separate room was fantastic!
The Valhalla Murders was very satisfying and dark. I’ll watch just about anything, except sports and Tiger King. Life is too short.
I am sorry about your injury, but bravo for running outdoors. I assume you were exercising, rather than escaping calamity. If, after skin and bones heal, and you still need pain relief, CBD cream in emu oil! I find it works well on small bones; hands and feet. Take care
Laura J said…
Hope the hand heals well. Doing a Crowdcast pilates class and knitting and embroidery work. Trying to avoid bread or sweets making as we don’t need the extra calories AND we have lovely neighbours who bake and share, lots of doggie walks
Duchesse, dearly hope that your hand (I presume you mean your dominant hand) heals quickly! Once, a couple of decades ago, I got my bicycle wheel caught in a crack and of course blocked the fall with my dominant (left) hand. No break but a messed-up shoulder.

Do you have any friends who are medical professionals and who could at least come by and give you more indications about the injury and possible therapies? Lesley, I'm very interested in CBD oil because I have (mild) arthritis and don't want to start taking the pharmaceutical medications that have many negative side-effects. Nothing against toking, but I think a bit of espresso rising and wine setting are more than enough.
Sam said…
Duchesse,
FWIW, I sustained a minor hairline fracture in a minor bone in my wrist a few years ago when I slipped on ice. Upshot of treatment by fancy orthopedic "sports doctor" (this is a thing in USA) was ice, a light removable brace to protect that wrist from movement, and time. Only the first week or so was actually painful; then there was about 3 months of inconvenience. Good wishes that you are equally fortunate...and without the surprisingly costly bill.
Like so many minor injuries, the healing period reminded me that we routinely use bits that we don't even realize we're using. Just now we are all focused on the power of a fairly simple virus, but I think we sometimes forget that we ourselves are also amazingly designed creatures.

Sam
Jen Lawrence said…
Sorry to hear you are injured. I hope you are on the mend quickly. I don't blame you for avoiding the hospital. Love the movie watching idea. My daughter is doing Netflix parties with her friends. I had to laugh with the Tiger King reference since I binged that last week! Stay safe. Xx

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