I was going to send you a photo showing my arm – with the stitches out! But it looks: well, ugly. Still kind of swollen. Who wants to see that?

For me: I can finally get that area wet. So good things are ahead. And it also seems like – wow, it’s moving along. Even though time definitely has taken on another dimension with this challenge.

I was on the drive back from seeing the doctor, in the car with this kind 22 year old who has been willing to drive me to various appointments. He happens to be a surfer. Here in Maine. He grew up surfing off Popham Beach. He has an app on his phone where it signals when there is a shift in the ocean activity around Florida. And then he knows ahead to watch for how the repercussions ride up the east coast. And then when to plan: for surfing. He goes out any season.

And he uses all that wave/ocean/surfing knowledge in the summer. As a lifeguard to save people off his “home” beach, Popham, a hugely popular sandy stretch. His stories are harrowing. He knows how to read water. And people fooling around in it. And the rush of adrenalin.

I didn’t get art done today. I got to know a little more about this amazing young man who lives nearby. A little more about this area …