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Created in 2008, Phoenix Rising is the largest and oldest forum dedicated to furthering the understanding of, and finding treatments for, complex chronic illnesses such as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), fibromyalgia, long COVID, postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS), and allied diseases.
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Blog entries by Howard
Sunday Morning -
It seems there's a sense of urgency, as Todd is making a beeline for the porta potty (the orange one). He's barefoot. But now he's run out of grassy real estate, thus, slowing his pace considerably across the uneven parking lot (strewn with loose pebbles and other debris)...
New Song: Get Outta This Place
There's this woman here, a staff member … and she and I have engaged interactions every now and again. So she approaches me as I'm playing guitar in the back corner area of the building (where I am hiding out). Then words come out.
"Are you going to serenade...
There's a guy here at the nursing home who is unhappy - probably many guys here who are unhappy. But this one in particular, was (apparently) suicidal. So what do they do? They let him go outside in the front of the building unattended. And guess what happened, the suicidal guy tries to hang...
Note: this is a "per request" adventure -
Collision
Decaying thunderstorms from the north (up near Sunset Point) sent out a gust front, moving in a southerly direction at 30 knots. A decaying line of storm cells near Picacho Peak (and points east) sent out a more impressive gust front in the...
String Slinger
Three weeks ago I was thinking about things. And that's not unusual. But for me, thinking about things (the way I do, in excess) is often counterproductive. And overthinking can lead to unfortunate mental and physical states. Like Delaware.
Anyways…
My guitar - that's the thing...
Appearances
I played it cool, but Beeswax surprised the hell out of me - coming up from behind the way he did, angling up the steep concrete incline. I wasn't expecting to see him. And really, I wasn't expect to see anybody else either.
More on him later.
Friday Night Lights
It's been a...
Note: I believe this was a July 1st experience - coinciding with the onset of the current heatwave.
"Thank you for calling Phoenix Dial-A-Ride…" … the prerecorded message says. Yep, if you hadn't guessed already, our ride was late.
We were marooned on 5th Street and McDowell on a Saturday...
Youthful Exuberance
A car load of manic girls courses through and around the city park at breakneck speed. As they do so, three female individuals climb partially outside the vehicle, eventually coming to a sidesaddle seated position (legs inside the vehicle / arms flailing away in the wind)...
Right now I'm on the road, approximately two miles out (having escaped the home base pre-dawn). And the observable scene is peculiarly lit by nature's momentary incompleteness. The pre-sunrise lack of light being shed leaves my imagination to fill in the gaps. And within soft tones and a vaguely...
The sprinklers have ceased scattering droplets of water across the grassy expanse. I am now amongst birds in the morning dampness - they, being the ones who dwell in and about the park. Whereas I am merely a frequent visitor - one who trespasses.
And then suddenly, there he is. Orange Julius...
Resistance is _________
I'm fully latching onto and into the Vitamin D Resistance realm. It just makes too much damn sense. Each of you already knows the details, as incessant exposure to direct sunlight improves my physical energy state (whereas a lack of sunlight severely detracts from my...
The night sky is especially black right now, but I cannot say why. Blacker than a black ink pen? Perhaps it is.
I shouldn't be awake right now. And really, nobody should. But I am contending with a particular kind of pain. An old familiar. The Bile Flesh Burn. It's a deep skin erosion trauma...
Differences Measured in Units
It's been a month since I moved back into unit number two, so here is a brief synopsis / evaluation / review (interesting or not)
Wait Times
or
The Fast and the Superfluous
On average, it takes an hour for someone to respond after one of us has pushed the...
Somewhat surprisingly, I'd never actually been to the Music Instrument Museum - despite having collected, played, and recorded a wide variety of musical instruments for my own music-making purposes. So of course, I was just about due. And again, now that I'm capable of experiencing "out there" I...
It's 11:07 a.m. and she's not there. Who is she? And why is she important? Well, the idea was that someone would come along with me, a person to assist out and about and around downtown Phoenix and vicinity. Could I have gotten away without the assistance? Probably. Maybe. But things would have...
A rotten streak of 18 consecutive days and nights has unceremoniously reached its end. Hooray for that. Now instead of debilitating awfulness, I am simply contending with a new roommate who snores louder than loud for periods no less than 12 hours at a time. But that's something I can contend...
Crime and Punishment
Back when I could read for enjoyment, Dostoyevsky placed near the top on my short list of favorite authors (Also belonging in that group were Jack Kerouac, Hunter Thompson, Kurt Vonnegut, Chuck Palahniuk, and of course, the best of the bunch, William Burroughs - but that...
Dateline: Sunday Evening (I forgot to post in a timely fashion)
For nearly three hours today I was de-bloated. Flat stomach. Flat abdomen. Flat everything. And the strangest thing happening involved movement and noises, unfamiliar sounds pinging back and forth within my abdominal cavity. Gross...
I guess I'm not sleeping. Literally. My friend and neighbor Dora keeps waking me up by shouting out loud into the night. Okay then, it's not night time anymore, but the sun has not yet risen, however - I do see a pale blue hue beyond my window pane.
Speaking of pain, I'll choose not to go on...
Please keep in mind that I missed the brunt of everything - but this is exactly what was happening at 3:03 p.m. (Mountain Standard Arizona Pacific Daylight Savings Time) during the brief 22 minutes that I spent in-house.
My neighbor and friend (Dora) was borderline hysterical, calling out my...