You Don''t Know What You You've Got Till Its Gone

 I hobble out to the garage filled with motorcycles and bicycles, golf clubs and hiking packs, and now knee and electric scooters.  Life was so full of fun and adventure when it all came to a screeching halt with a simple tendon tear.  Now I either mount my knee scooter and push around the block or unplug the sitting electric scooter and to tool around the neighborhood for endless, mindless miles at a time.  You don't know what you've got till its gone.

I can ride to my PT appointments around the corner and I can even take the dog with me for off road tours of the washes, drainages and bike paths.  She pulls like a sled dog, extending my battery range and gaining a new kind of strength every day   She has one goal in mind; to catch frisbees to her unending delight and to my unending puerile.  

Arizona is not a dog friendly state with rampant, random leash laws, especially in the retirement communities.  Every patch of grass has a 'No Dogs' sign prominently displayed along with pooping dog icons and a fun loving dog icon with a strike out over it.  There are steep fines and people police it like their lives depend upon it.  Its such a negative vibe and bad Karma but we comply reluctantly.

There are countless sour puss, mal-contents stalking the streets, towed by untrained and undisciplined fi-fi dogs tugging mindlessly on sequined chains.  These protective owners vociferously insist that my highly trained work/show dog be tied down like a wild untamed beast.  I silently comply when busted but not before showing Eva's effortless come and heal commands and flashing them my evil-stink eye.  

Eva hates Arizona because of this chain rule and the fact that everything is gravel and thorns, cactus and prickly pears. We routinely pull thorns out of her nose and feet while she patiently rolls the whites of her eyes at us in disappointment and disgust.  She cant wait to get back to the land of snow banks and endless grass fields or sandy beaches with soft waves for swimming.  Me too.