Tuesday, October 12th, 2010

Trying to Cure

Markham, Ontario

I pulled off the sock of my right foot when out came,

“Sock fuzz!” said the dermatologist.

Some clumps of sock material fell to the floor. With foot exposed I explained my dilemma, “I acquired my first plantor’s wart in ’96. A doctor froze it. We thought it might die but it came back. And as of the last three years more warts have been sprouting up,” I told him of my predicament.

Dr. Gupta, a young specialist, had greeted me with a “Hare Krishna” with palms held together. He spoke perfect English and verified it by saying he was raised here. He observed about 10 nasty guys. I told him about the different techniques I used to combat them but they weren’t going away. Hence, I decided to see a specialist with the skin issues.

“There are two methods I can apply right now – a gel or this liquid nitrogen,” he said and warned that the latter could mean that it may be hard to walk for the day.

I took a serious eye to him saying I wanted the warrior method. So he consented. Nitrogen it was. It hurt. I had to brace with both hands that aggravated right foot. I gripped my teeth and took the tough stance which is supposed to go with the monk territory. I actually felt good being given the attention. These feet deserved it. They have done some hard walking. Flashbacks came of the romanticized free life on the road.

And as I did walk part way to the clinic before meeting Dr. Gupta – a good 8 km stretch I became reminded of the theme song from a TV show aired when I was a kid. It was about a roaming German Sheppard and the heroic adventures he experienced. The words for the show “The Littlest Hobo” went like this:

There's a voice that keeps on calling me
Down the road, that's where I'll always be.
Every stop I make, I make a new friend,
Can't stay for long, just turn around and I'm gone again

Maybe tomorrow, I'll want to settle down,

Until tomorrow, I'll just keep moving on.

Down this road that never seems to end,
Where new adventure lies just around the bend

So if you want to join me for a while,
Just grab your hat, come travel light, that's hobo style.

Maybe tomorrow I’ll want to settle down

Until tomorrow, the whole world is my home.

There's a world that's waiting to unfold,
A brand new tale no-one has ever told.
We've journeyed far and now it wont be long;
We're almost there, and we've paid our fare with our hobo song.

So if you want to join me for a while,
Just grab your hat, come travel light, that's hobo style.

Maybe tomorrow, I'll want to settle down,

Until tomorrow, I'll just keep moving on.

Maybe tomorrow, I'll find what I call home.

9KM