K444 Preface

(Growing Up In The Shadow Of A Rusty Boat)

Deep sea waits,flexing its’ fingers
as it looks skyward
Logs glisten in the sun,
freshly rained on – hopeful
Pebbles wait softly sighing, in the wake of the tide – mournful
If I stand on tiptoe I can see the sea
And in my dreams feel the wet thunder
rolling deep.
I look back to my desk 3000 miles away,
renewed
The salt air fresh across the years
and friendships

-ml’23

This project was begun, in large part to combat depression. How boring is that?

During the summer of 2022 I began to feel a lot less than my usual self. As June became July the feeling of not being quite right only got stronger; I found myself wanting to nap by 10 in the morning, and reading my usual 10 – 15 online newspapers every day became more difficult, eventually being reduced to CBC, Sportsnet and on occasion the Aviation Herald and The Tyee. I was literally worn out, with a constant cough and headache.

Finally my wife had had enough and popped me into Emergency, family doctors being like unicorns here in Ottawa. I spent the night, literally, in the ER, tested for this, poked for that.

You know what comes next…

The long and short of it was that I had had Covid all this time, possibly from the one time I had forgotten my mask when slipping into Bridgehead for a French Roast!

July became August and the symptoms lingered. I went on medical leave and told to ‘Rest Dammit!’ by the lovely (and good looking!) lady doctor in the Covid clinic. I tried, but who wants to put their feet up and watch TV in the middle of a glorious Summer?

But I rested, not much choice since I didn’t have much more energy than to climb down the stairs to my office a couple times a day! In time the symptoms subsided (note that I NEVER tested positive for Covid!) and by the beginning of October I was able to return to work. Three months of my life shot to hell by this damned bug!

The effects of long-Covid last for up to 12 months they tell me, lingering brain fog and general tiredness still my companions on this journey. Each day gets better and I am holding the docs to that 12 month time limit.

Two of the effects of Covid they don’t mention much are a sense of paranoia and general depression. My wife can attest to both and I am sure my friends are wondering what happened to the mad punster of just a few months ago!

Along with the lingering depression of Covid I find myself longing for my home on the West Coast, with its stormy southeasters in the Winter and long, Mediterranean style Summers. Some days I can even hear the surf in my ears and the scree of gulls overhead.

Mark W. Law
Ottawa, Canada
June 2023