I haven’t written much recently because I haven’t had much to say lately. At least not in mixed company.

Actually I’ve had a lot of doctor appointments, tests, and a even a procedure done in the past couple weeks and I’ve been tired! Today I was at the dentist’s office sitting in another one of those waiting rooms with one other gentleman sitting across the way. You know how some people will go to extremes not to speak with another person in a small space, even so far as to not even make eye contact? This guy was not one of them! He would probably start a conversation with the driver of the car in the neighboring lane at a red light. I wasn’t sure if he intended on speaking with me or just talked all the time, but with an occasional “uh huh” or “umm” and a “oh yeah” or two he kept up enough conversation for the both of us. It was almost like being married again. (I’m sorry ladies, I just couldn’t resist.) (Yes, maybe that is one of the reasons.) One thing he brought up in his remarks is how as we age we pick up more spare parts as he pointed to various body parts.

It’s not something we might think about and if we do that we’d admit to ourselves, but it is quite true. Even at my tender age I have a variety of pieces that are not original equipment. And they don’t all have to be as dramatic as replacements of major internal organs. Or even minor internal organs. I would wager almost everybody reading this is helped along in some daily activity with something that was not there on Day One.

Those spare parts could be something obvious and visible like a pair of glasses or a hearing aid. It might be something not quite so obvious but still visible if you look hard enough like a dental crown or implant. If you’re looking that hard it should be at a person you know pretty well, certainly better than a random waiting room partner. You also shouldn’t stare at somebody with a larger spare part such as a prosthetic limb.

Some spare parts are less obvious and often invisible. Artificial lenses often reside in post cataract surgery eyes correcting clearer but weaker vision; pacemakers and implanted defibrillators keep weak hearts working stronger. A friend’s father was an early recipient of an early implanted defibrillator. It worked dandily, even way back then. Except whenever someone triggered the garage door opener they also triggered a mild shock to his heart. They fixed that by replacing the opener. Easier than replacing the father. And some spare parts are outright replacements like a swapped out heart, lung, pancreas, liver, even a kidney.

Spare parts. They may not add up to what became the 1970s version of the Six Million Dollar Man, but to the person with a new heart or not blurred vision they are priceless.