‘Take Care of Your Back, Mike’

My dad was a good man… fairly reserved… conservative… a silent thinker. When he did say something folks tended to pause and listen.

We did a few projects around our place when I was growing up… physical stuff. I tended to use these occasions to show off a little… anxious to reveal to him just how sturdy and strong his son was. You know… guy stuff. One day when I picked up a sheet of ¾ plywood he said, “Wait a minute… let me help you with that,” at which time I assured him I had it — no problem. That day during our lunch break he looked at me and said, “Take care of your back, Mike.”

“What do ya mean?”

He had been a pre-med student in college when he found himself married with my older sister on the way and thought he had better just get a job. But he always remained a student of the natural and biological sciences.

He said: “Our species are all runnin’ around on their hind legs… a very recent development within the geologic history of mammals and, unfortunately, our backs haven’t had time to catch up. Look at all the others: cows, horses, deer. They’re on all fours… their backs are horizontal like the cable of a bridge and, as a result, their organs, bones and muscles are supported laterally — never forming too much pressure on any one point.

“Our backs are basically built the same way, but are vertical so the vertebrae in our spine are prone to become compressed like a stack of pancakes. Nerves come out from in between the vertebrae to other parts of our body and, when they get squeezed because of gravity or a load of some kind, it can hurt.”

Many years have gone by since that day.

I also developed an interest in the sciences and became a teacher. The summers, however, found me building decks, rebuilding docks on Priest Lake, pretty much bein’ a dude with a truck full of tools.

Well I’d better sign off here or I’m liable to be late for my chiropractic appointment.