Learned something new today.

Visited my chiropractor today. I call this magic-maker Dr. CrackyBacky, alhtough he has a different name for Muggles. At any rate, visited him today for my monthly adjustment. I have a monthly visit ever since December 2008, when I pulled out my back, midback all the way down to my coccyx, when I made the unfortunate decision to wrap Christmas gifts while sitting on the hardwood floor. Part of my wrapping activities included stretching way over to the right in a rather gymnastic fashion for a spool of ribbon. Then approximately half an hour later, I picked up my dainty beaglette, a mere 19 lb. dog. But my back was already compromised, so something blew, popped, went kaflooey -- I yanked my crank, experiencing the worst imaginable pain for days. Since then, I have a delicate midback, which I add to this list of spinal maladies: an always crunchy neck (from a rear-end car accident almost 30 years ago. And WRITING), and a crazy coccyx, made all the crazier from the time I landed smack on it while performing in a production of "The Nerd" back in the early 90s. It was the "Jump real fast on just one leg!!" part of Act II. They had waxed the floor but didn't bother to tell us actors.

So. What I learned today is that if you have a delicate back, you should not think about taking a ride in a power boat anytime soon or ever. As Dr. CrackyBacky put it, "Imagine you go to sit down and someone pulls the chair out from under you. Now imagine you land on a pillow. But imagine this chair gets pulled out again and again and again. That's riding in a power boat on the ocean." So when we do go on our cruise, I'll be hiking, Ben will be skipping merrily on the ocean like James Bond on that power boat.

Before we go or on our cruise, we'll visit Silver Springs Park in Ocala, FL. They have a glass bottom boat ride that I'm really excited about trying. Since I possess my very own glass bottom (of sorts), rides with a little less bump and jostle suit me just fine (another reason, a practical one, for not writing a book that's primarily about rollercoasters. Plus there are enough adrenaline junkies out there to do it for me).

Now pardon me while I crunch my neck from side to side, alarming the people sitting nearby at the coffeehouse. Maybe I should start carrying around pretzels to mask the sound...