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Cristoffa's avatar

Hi Reena, and another so cool short story from you; but wondering if some dis -embellished also.Joke.

I will have to say that your age reveal surprised me ; not in the forefront of my mind before when reading your posts, but thinking as about 15 yrs earlier or more gen to me.

Loved the Vespa part, except for the accident and consequences etc.

My mum' s younger brother had a Vespa which he rode to the Gold Coast in 1950s for the weekend; about 200km round trip on a not then v good or safe road. He also had a nice small yacht; stored in a shed that he and grandfather built.

His wife to be, my Auntie Claudie (think short for Claudine), said, No Bike and the boat goes to our house deposit. The boat was sold, but the Vespa remained in the shed, and I can remember riding in the 70s around Ascot/Clayfield.

And know about Subscriber Trunk Dialing, or the lack of. We had a system called Party Lines out of metro; so an open line for multiple users; an interesting social experience.

And do you know the phone box scene from quaint Scottish movie called Local Hero with massively good sound track by Mark Knopfler. I had a similar experience with bag of 20p coins from the Isle of Barra to here in Brizvegas to join a friends wedding. It did work; they put the phone up to a mike when I spoke.And snail mail was faster then locally but not internationally.

Could reply to more of your statements.

And continue to love your knee and don't give up on it until the last gasp. And only then.

Yes, depending on where your tibial fracture was (like tibial plateau) and angulation of it afterwards if lower; could be relevant historically.

There is a big TKR Industry out there; a lot of money for orthopods and device manufacturers, but evidence based outcome is less certain, except maybe for very severe damage. So be canny, a Scottish term.

Also a long term fan of Christopher Hitchens and recall reading Mortality about 10 yrs after my dad's death.

And your Substacker response is so good to read.

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Reena Kapoor's avatar

Aww thanks SO much, Cristoffa! Love that wonderfully engaged and thoughtful comment. I enjoyed every word.

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Raj Sharma's avatar

Reena, it was such a heartwarming pleasure to read your knee story...set me thinking back to IIT days (sorry if I was one of the guys to poke fun at your predicament and pass by without a shred of assistance...). The trauma of meeting your future in-laws for the first time with your gash-filled "nangi latt" was precious...sorry to be entertained by your plight but then self-deprecating pose is soooo much more enjoyable...

much love and best wishes for more entertaining writing...

Raj

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Reena Kapoor's avatar

Aww Raj! THANK you for reading and for your lovely comment! Haha! I don't think you were ever mean to me :-) Yes it's a funny story esp. now in retrospect but my FIL being ever the gentleman never made me feel bad for it even then. We've always laughed about it so carry on. BIG thanks for reading my words.

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Priya Iyer's avatar

What a story and so full of love- for that young girl, for the boyfriend, and for the gallant knee. The words touched my heart,

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Reena Kapoor's avatar

Thank you dear Priya! So happy to hear you enjoyed it.

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Neil Barker's avatar

I can only imagine the pain of that accident. Props to your boyfriend for facing your Army father as well.

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Reena Kapoor's avatar

Thank you Neil! Yes he continues to be the other gallant one 😃

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Good Humor by CK Steefel's avatar

Great story. I lovely tribute to an important bone that helps us walk and holds us up.

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Reena Kapoor's avatar

Thank you so much Carissa! Isn’t that the case for most of our parts that serve us? Thanks for your comment.

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Lalitha Vatturi's avatar

I love your writing Reena . Love how you take the story from frivolous to serious. Giggles in the beginning to retrospect later.

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Reena Kapoor's avatar

Aww than you Lalitha! Appreciate you reading — and your thoughtful reaction means the world.

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E Sawyer's avatar

Loved this story - as a fellow bad knee sufferer (from a ski accident long ago and likely bad genetics), I appreciated the story behind the actuality. And I really enjoy your writing - thank you!

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Reena Kapoor's avatar

Thanks you Erin! Appreciate that so much. All the best to our knees. 😃

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Anjali Sawhney's avatar

Love.

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Reena Kapoor's avatar

Thank you dear Anjali.

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Balaji Iyengar's avatar

Nice write-up. Now, you know why I refuse to be in/on a vehicle being driven by your husband - if you had inquired back in college I would have advised you -shrug emoji-

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Reena Kapoor's avatar

Haha!! Thanks for reading Bala. And I didn't know you back then so missed out on your sage advice. No regrets though. ;-)

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Tim Flood's avatar

Reena, as a going-on 81-year-old (right knee replacement, left hip replacement, recurring kidney stones, and more), I can assure you that your relationship to your body will deepen with time’s advance. You may become almost obsessed with each other’s shared history. I wouldn’t go so far as to say I AM my body either, but my body and I seem to be in constant conversation.

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Reena Kapoor's avatar

Thank you Tim!!! I hear you. And I am taking notes from your wise words. Thank you for reading.

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Laura Barr's avatar

I love this! I giggled (and gasped) all the way through! As someone who is also 58-I dare not mention at the beginning of yoga class that my feet hurt, my back aches and I will be modifying throughout the class-it's too much attention for me! I love the idea of stopping the class and actually saying: My back hurts because I carried 4 babies in a sling, My feet hurt because I am continue to run when everyone tells me I should slow down etc. etc. Love your stories!

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Reena Kapoor's avatar

Haha!! Thank you Laura. So glad you enjoyed it and I totally hear ya'. Love that this resonated.

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