Cut right here!

At 6:45 AM yesterday I went out and got into an Uber. At 9:45 AM I returned home in an Uber. In three hours I had gotten to the hospital, had hand surgery, and made it back home, bandaged up. When a finger won't bend, a steroid shot usually takes care of it. In this case, they don't want to give you too many repeat shots, because it can cause tendon damage. So, for the first time in my life other than dental surgery, I let them cut. Not a pianist's favorite thing (That would be whiskers on kittens or John Coltrane, or Coltrane playing that song).

I was amazed at how efficient the whole procedure was, and how attentive the doctor and nurses were. I almost cancelled the day before when I read a Facebook post by an organist who said "I almost died from hand surgery." Yeah, thanks a lot, pal. Trying to get me in the mood for surgery, right?

When I think of the suffering going on in the world today, right now, in so many places, I realize how lucky I am. This is nothing, or next to nothing, yet still a good lesson in "You don't know what you've got till you don't have it." Being a one-handed pianist even for a few days, is a wake-up call to the amazing opposable arms we generally have, and how they make music together. Also a good time to practice left hand, since only my left was left, right? Showering, washing dishes, etc., all a new experience. I don't know if two arms working together comes from Darwin or the Divine (or maybe that's the same thing) but the human body is impressive.

So here I sit, right arm bandaged up, attempting to type. Whew, I had to fix a lot of typos!