Sciatica Versus Cognitive Stimuli

This photo is of me in front of my padook teaching board. I hope to use this in a church program to reach out to indigent boys (and some girls, those who are interested in this sort of cognitive challenge).

Amtrak seems to be the best way for my family to travel. I have some sciatica trouble in my left buttock and do not expect that to lessen with age. A trip this past weekend to Hickory, with me driving the whole way, has left me in much pain. For two days, I have not been able to sit or stand in any position which is comfortable. It seems that driving long distances is out for me henceforth.

I had the same problem back in 2009, when I was teaching fairly many hours in my home, plus sitting fairly much while completing the homework for a computer programming course with NCSU, that feisty, intrepid, little "high-tech'er" university lying not thirty minutes South of us. She tenders great service to the local community, to be sure. You couldn't ask for a better high-tech university to help the citizenry stay abreast of the latest technological trends, as it were.

So, as it was, I availed myself of their sterling pedagogical services and seemed to come out a winner in every way save that insufferable, ailing left buttock, which all too often had me on the verge of throwing in the proverbial towel, hanging up my spikes and seeking another avenue for adult education, cognitive stimuli, staying off dementia.

Padook is a great cognitive challenge, and for my children seems to instill invaluable qualities of humility, as well as equanimity regarding victory or defeat. Playing padook is good in that one is forced to think at super high levels of cognitive intensity (that is, if he wants to win ... my daughter beat me yesterday by 31 stones, and I was proud ... of her), but each game lasts no more than an hour or so, usually just 20 to 30 minutes, given how lackadaisically we play in our family.

I have an older sister in New York. I would like to take my children there to perform as jugglers on the street and witness to the Lord. I need to get them up to speed as jugglers and performers first, but that should not be too much of a problem, considering all that I have done in that way in the past. Plus, the experience would be very good for my children.

For one adult, it costs only 189 dollars one way, double that for a two-way, round tripper. It looks like a 10 hour 18 minute trip, which would be fabulous, chock-full of adventure and whatnot. Perhaps I could go up there with two children at a time beginning a few years in the future, after my wife and I are gainfully employed. That would cost double the rate for a single adult, as children are half price. I could take the two older ones first, then on another trip, bring the two younger ones. There is a limit of two children per supervising adult for passage.

We could kill two birds with one stone by doing some witnessing far from home, as well as visiting my sister, their auntie. It could even be three birds if you count the drama skills development for my children from the street performing they do.

Love, Nathaniel