Conversations on El Camino

I've received lots of very nice messages regarding my recent kidney donation, lauding a sense of courage, an attitude of selflessness, and a spirit of giving. But I consider these to be misdirected. I took the easy road. I laid on tables for exams, proffered limbs for blood draws, took medicated naps, and bared my…

Och-la-reeeeee! Red-winged Blackbirds trill their delight in morning sunshine, joined by a chorus of warblers, wrens, and other bird cousins. I'm on my daily recuperation walk, and I'm humming my appreciation of morning sunlight, too. Four weeks have passed since my donor nephrectomy, and it's remarkable to contemplate all that has – and has not…

Gurgle, gurgle, groannnn. The laxative-laced Gatorade had offered an insistent though delayed effect, kickstarting the thematic soundtrack of gastrointestinal clicks, groans and glugs that would accompany my positional changes for the next four days. This evening’s guttural performance was punctuated by the soundless stickiness of pajamas on skin made tacky by the antiseptic-wipe birdbath the…