Ears

I had a friend in college who, though kind of funny looking, had great success with girls. More than once I heard other guys ask how he did it. "I listen to them," he said. "They find it irresistible."

Today my best friend listened to me.

I had gone to see an orthopedic/sports medicine doctor--the second of the breed I have seen on top of my regular doc, physical therapists and a deep tissue masseur I affectionately call the Witch Doctor. All of them were meant to heal the chronic pain I have experienced in my calves for four years. None of them has actually diagnosed the problem. So my legs keep on hurting, day and night.

Don't get me wrong. I know my pain does not compare to the suffering of those who starve in Somalia or cannot find a job in northern Michigan. But it keeps me from running much. I love to run. Running rewards me like nothing else, not even seriously intense cycling. I have run for 35+ years. I grieve mentally and--more importantly--emotionally.

The doctor today gave me a best-case scenario and a worst. She thinks the good news is much more likely. The bad news is scary. It would mean I have an incurable, regressive syndrome that would lead to things I have no desire to contemplate. So add fear to frustration for me.

My best friend and I did not have an especially great start to today. I mistreated her yesterday and the tension lasted right through to this evening. But when I told her I really needed to tell her what the doctor had to say, she gave me her full and undivided attention. It mattered. It did not solve my problem but it mattered. I got my fear and frustration out on the table. She started to help me carry my burden.

Thank the Lord for my best friend, my wife Linda.