Thread: Thumbs Gone Kerplunk

It appears I'm in good stead here. For me, it's knee and back issues owing to 23 years as a police officer in the fair County of Los Angeles. Every couple of months, it's back spasms or sciatic issues, which makes just standing ( and therefore shaving) a real pleasure,,,,or not. I have knee surgery scheduled for the end of this month, so how I'm going to shave is going to be a big question, since standing without crutches will be a real challenge.

All the best with the upcoming knee surgery. And Obie I hope the rough seas settle a bit somehow.

Originally Posted by easyace

...At the age of only 53 I remain disgustingly fit and able...

Oh! Rub it in why don't you! Bastard! Don't worry, Obie, he'll get old sooner or later like the rest of us...And THEN who's going to be winning the sack races at the work picnics!!! My guess he'll me making the tea!

Having a bad neck from a car accident and elbows that can flare with tendinitis at the drop of a hat I feel your pain! I've found that for bad flare ups a 20 min Epsom salts bath several time a week does wonders. Maybe a hand soak would help.

Originally Posted by Obie

How right you are, my dear friend. Things could be worse.

My grandmother used to watch me jump around like fire cracker, happy-go-lucky, bounce here and there, and do everything she was unable to do. One day she said, "Obelit, my boy, I wish I were a hair on your butt." It's an odd statement in English, but in Assyrian, the language of my people, it's a statement of envy, as in "I envy all that running around that you do." Now I say the same thing to my grandson Max.

Stay well.

Interestingly i just read about Assyria the other day. Talk about a tough go over in the middle east. When did your family come over the the US? I'll bet that is a story in itself..

Obie, my friend, my heart broke when I read this. I know the passion you hold for this old art. Isn't there some arthritis or joint medicine that works?

No one can make the decision for surgery but you, but I can tell you my experience. I had sciatica down my left leg so bad that I had to lay on the floor to put my socks and shoes on, and it was excruciating. Walking around was ok... but even getting into my truck was painful. I was also limited to about 4 hours driving before I had to get out and stretch. When my doctor said that back surgery was an option, I asked him if HE would have surgery. He said no... that he would only get the surgery if it affected his quality of life so much so that he didn't feel there were any other options. I opted to have the surgery, and now I'm about 95%. I do not have pain anymore... some days when I lay down in bed, I get a little uncomfortable, and getting up and down is uncomfortable, but the pain is minimal. I can't do sit-ups, and that's about my only limitation other than standing for very long periods. Looking back, I would do it again, but I think I was lucky... I know a lot of people who had back surgery that did not fair so well... some even say it increased their pain level. My advise is consider the risk of surgery and weigh that with the quality of life that will benefit.

Myles

Hi Obie,

You and I have never interacted on a personal level. I know very little about your personal life but I, like everyone else here, know who you are and what an icon, so to speak, you are in the straight razor shaving community. I know you have touched a lot of lives here with your charm, wit, and wisdom, and that you are a magician with the written word. Like Lynn, you are a pillar of advocacy for the straight razor shaver and other traditional, righteous pursuits. You are also the unchallenged expert on soaps and creams.

I, and others, may never learn and know what makes you the man you are; we only get to see the tip of the iceberg here; but what you have made available to us lets us know you're a kind-hearted and gentle man. It's never good to hear that anyone is having a problem, but when I opened this thread and read what you were going through I was surprisingly moved.

I wish I had advice to help but all I can do is wish you, and all those others here who have shared their own experiences, well.

-Mark

Originally Posted by Wintchase

Interestingly i just read about Assyria the other day. Talk about a tough go over in the middle east. When did your family come over the the US? I'll bet that is a story in itself..

Hello Wintchase,

The Assyrian empire flourished in Mesopotamia, the present-day Iraq. The empire fell in 612 B.C., when the capitol Nineveh was sacked and burned by the Medes and the Babylonians. The Assyrian people remained in the area, maintaining their nationality, and later converted to Christianity.

Ethnic and religious prejudices have been a nightmare for the Assyrians, who as I said are Christian, made even worse by the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Since the invasion thousands of Assyrians have fled to the neighboring countries, struggling for survival, where some of our young women have turned to prostitution because the family has no way of making a living. That is a sore subject with me, my dear friend, so I'll stop there.

I was named after King Ashur-Uballit I (1363-1328 B.C.). I was born in Baghdad, but spent my early teens in Tehran, Iran, and later my older brother and I immigrated to the U.S. I didn't know English when I arrived — and that was difficult — but I wasn't about to sit on my establishment and blow bubbles in the air. So I learned English.

Oh, yes, it's a long story, bitter-sweet, and maybe someday I'll write it.

Stay well.

Sooner, rather than later, good Obie. I have a feeling I would enjoy the read, as would many other of our brethren.

Obie, we've never met, but I always take the time to read your posts and have enjoyed and benefited from them. Having already had both knees replaced, cataract surgery for both eyes, and sundry other ailments, I keep hoping there's not much else to go wrong, but of course that's wishful thinking. My problem started before I began straight shaving and almost persuaded me not to try. I'm 65 and had developed a motor function problem in my hands. They would periodically shake involuntarily, and if I tried to hold something between my thumb and forefinger such as a pencil, it would roll slightly and my fingers would try to compensate, which is normal, but then like a pendulum the opposite finger would then try to compensate for the other one and it would exaggerate and progress until I dropped the object. I would try to mentally control it, but it had no effect. I decided I would try straights anyway, and had some problems and nicks and cuts and once dropped my razor because of the lack of control with my fingers. I even had trouble honing and found that I had to use 8x3 or similar size hones to keep the blade flat. The point of this post: Over the past several weeks I've noticed that I don't have the shakes like before, only very slight, and much less exaggerated. I've not dropped anything and all of a sudden I can hone with one hand and I am able to make shaving passes, especially on the neck, that I wouldn't attempt before. It seems that the increased use of my hands from shaving and honing, which I do quite bit of, and rubbing and sanding restrores has been therapeutic and has really raised the quality of life for me. Probably wouldn't, no, it wouldn't have happened without going to straight razors, and that wouldn't have happened without this forum and all the great members here that gave advice and helped.

I pray you get better and can return to something you love and that the pain will regress and quality of life will be restored as it seems it has for me. My thanks to you and all the great members of this forum. I hope we are all around here and healthy for a long time. Best Regards, Howard