Eh?

Tomorrow I go to an ear, nose and throat specialist for a hearing test, because a few weeks ago I failed a hearing test in my left ear at my primary care doctor's office. I've had some ringing in that ear for some time, which, according to my doctor, is perfectly normal as we grow older, but I don't really know why I had such a hard time hearing the tones in the test. I had a great deal of wax removed and the inner ear was badly irritated, but for a few days prior to the appointment and even a day or so afterward, the hearing in that ear sounded like it was coming from a cave or something. It seems to have calmed down since then but that ear is very sensitive to loud sounds, more so than my right ear. I haven't a clue as to why this is, and I guess I will find out more tomorrow, but I sure hope that I will not require any sort of hearing aid, because that is yet another thing that insurance will not pay for, unfortunately. I don't foresee that happening because for the most part, my hearing is quite normal and if anything, I've probably lost a wee bit of hearing in that ear, but nothing to write home about. Probably nothing more than what can be expected of a 52 year old, that's all I am hoping I will be told tomorrow. I've had problems for many years with excess wax build up because my ear canals are too small and I have to have regular treatments to cope with this problem, and it's never fun to endure, but it feels great when it is finally done and overwith. So hopefully the problem a few weeks ago was nothing more than a bad case of irritation caused by wax that, once removed, allowed it all to heal up nicely. Guess I'll know a whole lot more tomorrow afternoon.......

MY FAVORITE TIME OF THE YEAR

May is just about my favorite month of the year, because that is when the lilacs finally bloom, and there is no scent that says "spring" like that of lilacs. I have a hardy little bush in my driveway underneath an aging pear tree that seems to have endured a lot of abuse in recent years, having been damaged by wind storms and a truck that re-gravelled our driveway some years ago, but that little lilac refuses to go away. This year, unfortunately, it seems to have only a few bunches of blossoms and they are too far up to smell, but there is a pathway on the KSU campus lined with lilac bushes that is most pleasant to walk along this time of year and to take in the heady scent of the blossoms. Sadly, their life is all too short and they wither and die only a few short weeks after blooming, so you have to enjoy it while you can. The daffodils have already come and gone, so now it's the lilacs time to shine and to fill the air with their unmistakeable perfume. They are by far my single favorite flower, even though I love roses, tulips and daffodils a great deal. If I had the room, I'd plant a few more lilac bushes at my house, but we're already becoming a bit of a miniature forest on the north side of the house, and the south side has the driveway on it. The front part of our lot is very small and populated by some trees and we have no back yard because that's the parking lot, so there isn't really anywhere to put in a garden, my fondest desire. So I have to settle for what we have and walk to the places where lilacs bloom so I can bury my face in their perfumed flowers and take in that scent that so lifts my spirits. I am forever reminded of the Whitman poem, "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd" when I smell these wonderful flowers, despite the sorrowful tone of that poem, which commemorates the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln about the time that the lilacs came into bloom in Washington, DC. It is said that for years afterward, residents couldn't smell the lilacs without remembering that awful time, but I still love that poem and always will, because of a special memory of a friend who read that poem to a Civil War round table gathering while in the midst of a lilac garden in the month of May. The blossoms bring back that magical night each year for me and probably always will.