Imagine you’re an elderly rehab patient, maybe trying to recover mobility after a stroke, and receiving treatment in a long-term care facility. Your therapist is a ferocious taskmaster, constantly...
I’m not going to Disneyland
By
Gary Tetz
Jul 09, 2024
Moment’s after each Super Bowl, a jubilant football player shouts, “I’m going to Disneyland!” Recently I had an opposite realization.
Don’t buy green bananas
By
Gary Tetz
Jun 27, 2024
I just bought a house. Yes, at this age. A common admonition to those on intimate terms with aging and mortality is to avoid buying green bananas. Well, I chose to laugh in the face of that bit of...
The saddle in the garage
By
Gary Tetz
Jun 07, 2024
For decades after his last ride, it rested on a sawhorse in a darkened corner of my father’s garage — his favorite Western saddle.
Getting your steps in
By
Gary Tetz
May 30, 2024
I and most other humans I know are obsessed with steps, and not just of the 12 variety. We wear tracking devices 24/7, like an entire society under house arrest, and monitor step counts with religious...
The smiling robot
By
Gary Tetz
May 16, 2024
When I was still a prepubescent boy with many questions, never once did my father take me aside and explain how smiles are made. As a result, I’ve always been a terrible smiler, simply because I never...
What to expect when you’re expecting a Canadian
By
Gary Tetz
May 02, 2024
Through a miracle of parentage, fate and dual citizenship, I stand astride both sides of the 5,525-mile border that divides the peace-seeking United States from war-happy Canada. Given that reality, I...
Knitting a team
By
Gary Tetz
Apr 18, 2024
I can still remember the clicking of needles and the feeling of chunky strands of cotton passing silently between my fingers. It was early in my elementary school epoch, and we tiny people sat cross-legged...
The clap-out
By
Gary Tetz
Apr 12, 2024
Among the circle of staff waiting in ambush in the facility lobby, anticipation had long been building. So when the unsuspecting patient walked into view, the buzz exploded into a level of deafening...
A beautiful noise
By
Gary Tetz
Apr 04, 2024
My first reaction was paralyzing shock, followed by bewildering bafflement, quickly replaced with intense feelings of personal revulsion. I must have stumbled across something truly horrible, right?...