Super Bowl Sunday

Today is Super Bowl Sunday. To me the Super Bowl exemplifies some of the worst things in American culture. The extreme and unrelenting hype. The extraordinary amounts of prestige and money showered over something that doesn't really contribute anything to anyone of any true importance. I mean - can you imagine how much good the money people throw away on this crappy day could do if it was spent on HIV education and prevention in Africa? If it were spent on taking care of orphans in Afghanistan? If it were spent on rebuilding our own crumbling roads and inner cities where so many people are cold and hungry? How many teachers could the money from the salaries of these football players and coaches pay? How many doctors and nurses could all of that money educate? How many coats and mittens could that money buy for cold little children?

And it is all thrown away on one stupid football game.

Yes - I know. I am a sports fan myself, and love my Red Wings and Tigers. So I am being something of a hypocrite here.

But still....how many meals for the poor could the advertising budget for the Super Bowl ads alone buy?

How can peoples' priorities (including my own) get so screwed up about sports - when so many people are living on the streets and jobs are lost everyday in this area? Granted, we are quite likely the most economically depressed area of the entire country right now, but still...

Now I am depressing myself.

It is really cold today. The kind of cold where the air is sucked out of your lungs when you stick your face out the door. Heart of the winter, baby!

Dan and Steven are up at a wrestling tournament in Hartland. Bill is doing his laundry. Dan took my Jeep rather than his old truck, so Bill will drop me off at work on his way back to Muncie, and Dan will pick me up at midnight.

I am faithfully doing my physical therapy exercises. In fact, I am holding them longer than what they told me, and am sneaking in extra repetitions. I want the pain to go away.

I have always heard that in the leg injuries to horses, you can find them by feeling up and down the hurt leg, and pinpointing the injury by finding the hot and puffy place. I did not know that the same is true about human leg injuries until yesterday morning. The general swelling in the knee must have gone down to the point where you can now feel only the injured area - a line on the inner side of the cap - and yes, it is hot to the touch!

And starting tonight I get to walk around on the bloody thing for eight hours a night for five nights in a row. Let us hope I do not end up really bad again!

I will be seeing the physical therapist again on Wednesday morning. Let us hope the knee looks better!