Derry, Northern Ireland

Derry, Northern Ireland
A book I'm working on is set in this town.

Sunday, August 6, 2023

Old man...

 This trip was rough. Not just tiring, physically, but painful. I wound up repacking 4 bulk containers with cartons, all on my own. The guy who was to help me had a dental emergency and no one else was available. So...if I wanted it done, I had to do it. 120 cartons, a mix of Gaylord boxes, Paige Bankers boxes, outsized boxes and something wrapped in bubble that felt weird so I left it alone.

Got it done by 3:30 so returned to the hotel, feeling tired, mainly, and set myself up for the Mark Twain House, the next morning. It was a pleasant if meandering tour of his house and history which entailed going up and down stairs, which gave me my first hint of problems. But overall it was worth it.

A Leggo Mark Twain greets you in the lobby.

Across from that is him sitting under a photo of his house.

Mark Twain's house, built specially for him by his wife's wealthy father.

The room where he wrote Huckleberry Finn and Connecticut Yankee, at the desk in the corner.

Some of Mark Twain's notes

Dueling portraits made the same year by different artists.

Where he traveled, at a time when travel was anything but easy.

After this, I drove home. Made it fine since I stopped several times along the way for a breather so didn't have any sleepy spells. Slept hard...and wok up aching all over. Joints. Back. Neck. Head. Legs. Feet. It's like I'd run a marathon.

Downed a lot of Tylenol and ran a few errands, then vegged. Yesterday was only a little better. Mainly hips and neck aching, by that point. Today was fine enough. Still achy in my hips but a lot better.

Guess I'm finally falling apart....but this gives you an idea of what I did on the job. 30 lbs each.

Can't do this, no more. Too old and creaky...

No comments: