Well, the back is out again.  Fortunately it has been awhile since it last fell apart.  See back when I was a kid (16) I was helping winterize the Red Cross building on West street.  I was helping remove the window air conditioners when the guy on the inside let it go.  It fell on top of me and injured my back.  I spent Christmas that year in the hospital.  Not fun.  Turns out that what was injured was actually a disc or 2 in my lower back.  For some number of years after that I was mostly fine but as I aged I frequently had issues with my back.

The "beginning of the end" occurred about 6-7 years ago.  I was walking back from a client who is about a block from my office.  About 50 fee away from my office I felt a sharp pain / cramp / weakness in my back.  It hurt like hell.  I felt like I should collapse but worried it might be too painful to just collapse.  However, it was also too painful to stand.  I couldn't do the "fall on your face and catch yourself with your hands" because I knew it would wrench my back even more.  Couldn't sit down as I couldn't bend.  So I just stood there.  It must have looked ridiculous and I'm thankful no cars wanted to come through the parking lot because I couldn't move.  After about 5 minutes I was able to shuffle over to the sidewalk and kind of lay myself down sideways.  At this point a car did come through the parking lot and I attempted a hasty "cool" look by propping myself up on one elbow.  It was about 40 degrees so I'm not sure how effective it was but it did keep the folks in the car from calling EMS.

At this point, I contemplated my options.  I didn't think I could walk the 50 feet to the office.  Frankly, the office might as well have been in a different state.  I noodled through what crawling to the office would entail and didn't think I would make it that way either.  Too much gravel involved.  So, I pulled the only option I had that would preserve my dignity:  I called my wife!  She happened to be in the office.  Naturally that involved 20 questions that further irritate me.  I cut her short and asked her to come over to the church.  She approached.  "it's cold, why are you sitting on the ground?"  

"I can't move"

"What?  Why?"

"Back is out"  

"Out of what?"  

"Out of whack.  I'm in a lot of pain"  

"OK, let's get you to the doctor"  

"no, just get me home"

"nope, I'm driving you to the doctor or leaving you here"

"ok, let's go"  

And that's how it started.  Since then, I've had to do physical therapy and embark on an endless program of core strength.  This normally keeps the back happy but every couple of years things just go to hell and once it starts, there isn't any heading it off.  It's kind of like the flu.  You might take some drugs to help it out but there isn't any getting around the suffering.  You have to do the time.  Biking doesn't seem to bother my back if it's settled.  Most weightlifting doesn't bother it either but I have to be careful.  Squats and deadlifts are great core exercises but I have to keep the weight low and move carefully.  Running is kinda outta the question but elliptical works pretty well.

The one exercise that I have avoided since the first is swimming.  One might reasonably ask, "Why?"  It's the exercise perfectly tailored to people that have back problems.  Look, I'm a fat guy.  What fat guy wants to be wandering around at the pool with 20 year old kids that have spent the last 5 years on the pool?  None.  That's how many.  However, over at LA fitness, they have a very under-used lap pool.  I figured I'd give it a try.  I didn't do swim team when I was a kid but I can do 3 or 4 different kinds of strokes so……why not.

Initial reports from the pool are mixed.  First of all, swimming is hard work.  I can do one lap at a time.  It's a relatively brutal affair.  I was swimming about 10 days before my back went out and just went back this morning.  I've lost a little traction but not much.  I do 30 laps for each workout.  Mainly freestyle but I'll mix in some breast stroke to keep things moving.  I think the weakest part of my game is my kick.

Second, while my form is passable I still think my swimming form is closer to "not drowning" than it is to "swimming".  I continue to think that I may need to get some help with my form but before I spend any money on that I want to see if I'm willing to stick with it.  I've watched a fair number of videos and have made some changes.  The changes help but I think the main problem is that I just need some time in the pool to get better fit.

Third, when I was just lifting, I'd come to the gym, do my workout and roll home to get cleaned up.  Didn't really even go into the locker room.  Now that I'm swimming I've got to change, dry off, etc, etc. Changing or showering in front of others really doesn't bother me but I'm circumspect about it.  I'll put a towel on.  I really don't get the dudes who wander around naked for what sees like forever.  Walk through the locker room with their towel over their shoulder….wander back to the bathroom.  Whatever but it's kinda strange.  I imagine it happens in the womens locker room as well but have elected to simply assume that this is the case and forgo any confirmation.  

I'll report back in a month or so.  Hopefully I'll be able to swim a couple of laps consecutively by then….

Well, the day is drawing nigh where I'll no longer be able to actively pursue the ruination of our fair city.  At least not from the inside.  To celebrate this the City staff put together a retirement party for Mr. Randolph and myself.  It was a brief if poignant affair.  The City Manager, Mr. Pate, was running the show along with the Mayor.  It was one of those events that you dread to attend but once it is underway it is a lot of fun.  The City Clerk's office really outdid themselves and the department heads for the City were very generous.  Thanks to all of the staff.  There really isn't much that I could do without their help.  I believe all of the Council members, except Mr. Aveni were in attendance as were Senator Colgan, Del. Miller, Mayor Waldron, Mayor Weber and many of the School Board members.  Thanks to those guys for taking the time to attend. 

I was struck by how often people asked the following:

1.  Will you miss it?  This really requires a nuanced answer but I most often just blurt out "no".  Truth is, I miss crafting legislation and getting things done.  I wanted for the Council to pursue big picture strategy planning and then craft legislation to make it happen.  It's necessary for us to thrive.  We did some of that early in my tenure but little since.  Certainly the economy had a hand in some of that but it shouldn't have stopped strategic planning.  What I won't miss is the drain of mental energy necessary to deal with people who really aren't interested or are more interested in playing politics.  There's far too much of that recently.

2.  Will you run for Mayor / Council / Whatever in a year or two?  First off, I'm gratified that people believe I can do good things for the City.  That's cool.  However, the current answer is no.  Could that change?  Sure.  But it isn't as though those jobs will go unfilled if I don't seek them.  I can also tell you that if I ever decide to run for office in the future it will be a well considered move and not a rash declaration.  Sitting through a raft of personal attacks and then getting your ass kicked in a convention will do that to you.  

What I will miss least is politics and being a "politician."  I'm not sure I ever was a politician and, in the current political environment, being a politician is akin to being a liar, thief, cheat and a scumbag.  I'm not those things.  The overwhelming majority of local government electeds are just guys who got involved.  Dealing with personal attacks and single-agenda crap isn't what most signed up for.  I know it isn't what I signed up for and when I ran into that, it took a lot of mental energy to deal with.  Too many nights laying awake in bed.  There was much more of this as things moved along.  The Council spent more and more time on agenda items that really had very little to do with City business and more to do with political agendas.  That got pretty frustrating.  In the final analysis, most local government guys aren't politicians.  The ones that are politicians move up the ladder.  That isn't bad, it just is.

I'm humbled that the staff thought enough of me to put on the event and that many of my neighbors attended.  I'm humbled to have served and possibly contributed to the success of our City.  Continue to watch this space, I'll continue to blog and I'm going to be involved in some pretty interesting things.  The real momentum in Manassas is currently with the Schools.  If the Council spent the past few years winding our collective watches, the schools have assembled a unified board, a great executive and are thinking long-term big picture.  Things are starting to happen and that's maybe a place where I can help make more stuff happen.

Thanks to my family for putting up with all of this and supporting me. It takes alot.