"V" is for Valium

Hey kids! Here I am back at Tully's Coffee House after 24 hours of medical maneuvers - mostly involving the 10 yard dash from Mother Harrigan's couch to the throne. Swilled two liters of something that tasted like salted lemonade designed to clean-out the plumbing and it seems to have worked as billed.

This morning at 6:50 AM I took the Harrigan Taxi to Virginia Mason and they moved me through the process like clockwork. Terry collected me - dazed and drooling - about 10 AM and I was back in bed to sleep off the valium drip by 11 AM. The doc found and excised three little polyps - which she did not regard as sufficient to warrant any concern on my part; but which I trust will be sufficient for Blue Cross to foot the bill. Poifect.

I just finished a big greasy burger with fries and a shake and it appears that my colon harbors no hard feelings regarding the whole adventure. Indeed, I feel quite chipper. The only downer is that I cannot undertake any serious exercise for the rest of the day or drink any alcohol - so my plan for a good workout followed by some serious tippling at the Old Peculiar and supper at Lombardi's has been thwarted. Guess I could still do Lombardi's sans the customary grape; but it's just not the same - so we'll see.

Yesterday's shopping spree was largely successful insofar as I cadged a winter wardrobe of shirts and pants at the Nordstrom Rack at a very reasonable price. I spent some time querying the hapless clerk at Radioshack about GPS car navigation aids; but he seemed clueless and was unable to convince me to buy a Tom Tom. I'll order the Garmin device I want online when I get home.

I also bought a couple of travel books at Borders: a guide to Virginia and a Fodor's guide to Charleston, Savannah, and vicinities. I had a lot of throne time last evening and used it productively to begin to formulate a travel itinerary for my trip back East. I'm really looking forward to my time in Virginia - Mount Vernon, Colonial Williamsburg, Yorktown, and Monticello have DEFINITELY made the first cut. And I obtained the biography of Thomas Jefferson I was looking for...

Tomorrow I'm going to run a few errands for Marian and, if the weather is decent, do a little driving around. Tomorrow night I am escorting the Ladies Harrigan to Palisades, a real nice restaurant overlooking the marina in Magnolia.

Will probably post tomorrow; but, if not, will do so from the cozy confines of my humble Juneau abode. I'm on AS 75 to Juneau on Thursday. Can't believe I've been gone for three weeks. Time does indeed fly when you're having fun.

Cheers!