Many pains

Today was spent in considerable pain. No, not from the tick bite, which is largely healed, and I am showing no apparent signs of Lyme Disease.

This one was completely my fault. I had been down in DC the other night, doing a demo of Segway to a bunch of college students at the Reagan Building (jeez, I wish they'd rename it back to whatever it used to be, like the Canaveral Building). I had my little p-Series Segway in the back of the Saab Thursday and Friday, and Friday night I decided to bring it in the house.

The road in front of the house was wet, and somebody had left a piece of broken plastic crap in the road. I hit it in the dark, the Segway kicked out from underneath me, and I landed heavily on my left side, shoving my elbow up into my ribs. Pain, lots of pain. Got back on the Segway and brought it inside, then went looking for damage.

I don't think I broke any ribs, but I think I either cracked a couple or messed up the cartilage. It hurt. The cats, of course, helped out by trying to walk on me and soften my ribs. I politely asked them to get their cat asses the hell away from me.

It wasn't the end of the pain, though. Remember Marie, with whom I've stayed friends since our episode last April at the airport? She'd known I'd chosen Melody as the person I wanted to be with. She called me last night, because she knew I'd been feeling bad. I was glad to talk to her, but toward the end of the call, she revealed one of those things you should probably never reveal: all those months I was with Melody, Marie really was being friends with me because she was holding out hope I'd leave Melody and try things with her.

She'd been waiting for me.

A week ago, she stopped waiting. She met a guy she thinks she's going to marry. They had known each other years ago, when they were both married. Spent an apparently-terrific weekend in Hilton Head, and she came back from that realizing that waiting for me would be fruitless.

I never even knew.

Sometimes I am rather unaware.

I am going to miss talking to her. Sometimes I can still feel her touch.