Crackity Jones

We had a lovely weekend in Minnesota, visiting with relatives we don't see nearly as often as we'd like. For me, things took a literal bad turn a little after 6pm on the 4th, when I stepped off a porch deck and rolled my ankle.

If you're going to break your leg, I recommend you do it in Marine-on-St-Croix, Minnesota. The EMTs were terrific and cheerful, even though I'd interrupted their dinner reservations, and I was well cared for in the Lake View Hospital in Stillwater. There, I got a fiberglass splint as a temporary cast until the swelling abated, and then convalesced for a bit at cousin Tara's house in White Bear Lake.



On the 5th, my wife's birthday, we made the drive back to Milwaukee with me in the very back of our mini-van and my leg between the two kids in the middle seats. (The Lake View folks were a bit concerned about clotting on this drive, and recommended that a frequently flex my "butt muscles" -- hokay fine.) To cap off what was already a kind of a bummer birthday for Kirsten, she was assaulted by bird poop while getting out of the car in front of our house.

On Monday, I saw an orthopedic doctor here in Milwaukee who was helpful and explained a lot about what was happening with my ankle, though he won't be able to say for certain that I don't need surgery until next week, when much of the swelling has subsided. He did prescribe a walking boot, which we promptly picked up and which I currently covet above all other earthly things:



This boot allows me to put a little bit of weight on my heel, which means that I can get around without having to crawl up stairs or scooch down them, and makes using the crutches a whole lot easier. Thank you, space age polymers!