Tuesday, September 4, 2007

Getting a massage in South Carolina

I went to get a massage the other day from my massage therapist but she was busy so her dad took me in. They work as a family in cohorts with a chiropractor, and the patients get great deals on hour long massages but shhh, it's a secret. So Billy the dad is a down to earth and cheerful character. Perhaps he's about 55, and I'd say he's obese.

Immediately, when he put his hands on my neck he said, "did you have a headache this morning?" I did.
"How can you tell?" I asked.
"I can feel pain," he replied as he continued pulling my head one way and my shoulders the other. "I've got very sensitive fingers. You know, I was a carpenter before I was a massage therapist, before the accident. But I'm thankful for the accident. It helped me find my children. You know, I was mom for about 7 years."
"O-oh, that's nice," I said. A few moments of silence rolled by.
"Guess what?" he said.
"What?"
"I was healed! Have I told you about that?"
"Really, you were healed?"
"Oh yeah. A preacher came from Australia to a church about 45 minutes outside of Columbia, and the doc told me about it. So I went. I had given 5 massages that day, and I was in a lot of pain. You know, I've had chronic pain for about 15 years now, ever since the accident."
"Could you tell when you were healed?" I asked.
"Oh yeah. I fell over."
"Really?!"
"Oh yeah. It happened three times. The first time he came over and healed me and I fell over, and when I came to, I only had 70% of the pain. Then, the next time he came around, I fell over again, and then I only had 50% of the pain. I said, 'preacher I only have 50% of the pain,' and he said, 'well run around the church then.' I haven't run after the accident but I did it. I ran laps around the church I felt so good. Then, he healed me one more time and I fell over, and I came to with only 30% of the pain, and by the time I got home, I had 0% of the pain. And that was on the 19th and I haven't felt any pain since." It was the 24th. "But he did cough on me and now I have a terrible cold."
"Wow," I said.
"So I decided to read the Bible but I don't read real well because I have ADD so I got the Bible on CD, and I've been listening to it in my car on my commute. I've already finished the New Testament, and now I'm on the old. There sure are a lot of people killed and born and everything's recorded."
"I think I might have ADD too," I said, watching his feet making bee circles as he went around putting hot stones on my back.
"It's real common," he said. "My son has it, and my daughter has a touch of it. I know I have it cause I can't spell, and that has always been so frustrating. What's your line of work?"
"I'm a drama teacher."
"Oh that's fun. I used to be a pot smoking hippie, and I loved drama but mainly art. You know, I'm an artist?"
"That makes sense," I said, "if you're good with your hands. You feel and express through your hands."
"Oh yeah. Do you like these hot stones? I like to use these but Kelly and her mama get mad at me cause they say I spoil the patients. I like spoiling the patients."

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