One Month Medical Update

What a glorious day it is to be alive! The sun is out here in Seattle, even if the temperature remains in the low- to mid-50s. This is the first day since my accident in mid-March that I’ve sat down in front of my office computer intending to write anything of substance. I even have a cup of coffee at hand—something I usually love, but that I haven’t drunk since I experienced my concussion.

Let me begin here my thanking all of the Rap Sheet readers who wished me well after my painful mishap. You should know that things have improved greatly over the last month. Following my brief hospitalization and subsequent weeklong semi-hibernation (during which my body demanded quiet only, even though that convinced my wife I wasn’t improving in the least), I finally rediscovered my appetite, then began an almost daily regimen of sitting out on my front porch for hours, listening to one jazz CD after the next; it’s astounding how medicinal the singing of Tony Bennett, Frank Sinatra, Natalie Cole, and especially Steve Tyrell can be! While I initially found reading difficult, and couldn’t stare at a computer screen for long, I was able to watch television. The complexities of crime dramas gave me headaches, but my brain had fewer objections to science fiction. This led me to take in the newest season of Star Trek: Discovery, as well as the sophomore season of Patrick Stewart’s Star Trek: Picard, and to re-watch my favorite Chris Pine Star Trek film (Star Trek Beyond) and assorted episodes of the original Star Trek. (If you didn’t already know I am a longtime Trekkie, well, surprise!)

Just a fortnight ago did I resume reading books. Though as a rule I steer clear of short stories (preferring longer, more consuming yarns), my introductory post-concussion pick was Lyndsay Faye’s Observations by Gaslight: Stories from the World of Sherlock Holmes (Mysterious Press). Released late last year, it proved to be an ideal selection. Treading closely on the heels of Faye’s The Whole Art of Detection: Lost Mysteries of Sherlock Holmes, her outstanding 2017 collection of Watsonian tales, Observations features half a dozen original adventures starring Arthur Conan Doyle’s consulting detective, but told from viewpoints other than that of Doctor John Watson. The narrators include wily singer and actress Irene Adler, former Baker Street Irregular Henry Wiggins, and sub-librarian A. Davenport Lomax (a minor player from 1924’s “The Adventure of the Illustrious Client”). My favorite among this bunch was “Our Common Correspondent,” in which a peevish Inspector Geoffrey Lestrade helps the private sleuths get to the bottom of a letter-writing scam. Each of these stories does much to expand on the depths of Holmes’ character and foibles. I recommend the book highly to Holmes fans.

So pleased was I to have swiftly polished off Observations by Gaslight, that I then dove hungrily into a couple of first novels released this month, W.H. Flint’s Hot Time and Josh Weiss’ Beat the Devils, both of which I shall endeavor to say more about in the near future.

Tomorrow marks a full month since my head injury. I can’t say I’m fully back to normal yet (I still tire out rather easily), but I feel as if I have already achieved a 90-percent recovery. My inclination is to push myself harder, to prove that I can succeed at more challenging tasks. However, my doctors say I should take it easy, let my body rest and rejuvenate. Fine. I’m just happy to have come this far.

I’ve missed The Rap Sheet.