This is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus to use an image from my favorite sport, golf.  Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all of my professional positions, including as press secretary in Washington, D.C. for a Democrat Congressman from Oregon (Les AuCoin), as an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, as press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and as a private sector lobbyist.  This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.  I could have called this blog “Middle Ground,” for that is what I long for in both politics and golf.  The middle ground is often where the best public policy decisions lie.  And it is where you want to be on a golf course.

No big news to hear that life contains highs and lows.

So, for me, there have been both lately.

ONE LOW:  I have been absorbing a lot of information lately about a new malady – vertigo.

I have no idea where I’d be without the Internet.  I was struck again about how simple it is to obtain information these days.  A couple of key strokes and you’re there.

Twenty years ago, I would have checked our set of encyclopedias.  Today, I use “google” – and I’m sure that makes the company, Google, happy.

The other night I experienced something that apparently happens to about 40 per cent of the country’s population at some point in their lives — vertigo.

For me, it was startling to have the room spinning out of control for almost 20 seconds.  I wasn’t counting.  I am estimating.

Here’s the definition of the term:  “Vertigo is a sensation of feeling off balance.  If you have these dizzy spells, you might feel like you are spinning or that the world around you is spinning.  Vertigo is often caused by an inner ear problem.”

Further, vertigo is often triggered by a change in the position of your head.  People with vertigo typically describe it as feeling like they are spinning, tilting, swaying, unbalanced, pulled in one direction, feeling nauseated, or vomiting.

My next step is to get professional help for the condition.

ONE HIGH:  Speaking of professional help, here is the California desert, I was able to obtain appointments quickly with medical practitioners despite what I had heard, which is that wait time for appointments could be very long.

But I booked an appointment quickly with a primary care doctor, now “my primary care doctor” here in California.

Same with a physical therapist.

Why the latter?

It has been interesting to note that one suggested treatment for vertigo, both from my physician and in on-line information, was advice I never would have predicted – physical therapy.

The treatment is called “vestibular rehabilitation,”a type of therapy aimed at helping strengthen the vestibular system.  The function of the vestibular system is to send signals to the brain about head and body movements relative to gravity, so a therapist aims to change that system.

I have not had physical therapy yet, but have booked an appointment for Wednesday, March 16.  I also was told it would be one appointment, not a series, which is good in that the treatment is not like what happens in some cases – an ongoing and expensive series.

Hope this works – so my friends will know that, when I act out-of-balance, it is because of vertigo, not my normal self.

ANOTHER HIGH:  Perhaps it’s inaccurate to term this a “high.”  But I noted a column in the Washington Post this morning which cited polling statistics indicating growing support for President Joe Biden.

One reason is how he is handling the Ukraine crisis, which requires a deft touch.  Just imagine if Donald Trump was in the Oval Office.  No deft touch.  We’d have to listen to him fawning over Vladimir Putin, even as Putin wreaks havoc in Ukraine.

In a column on the perception that Biden’s ratings are improving, Washington Post writer Jennifer Rubin included this paragraph:

“Since President Biden took office, Republicans dedicated to his failure and the obstruction of virtually all his initiatives have hypocritically criticized his failure to achieve ‘unity.’”

This illustrates an unfortunate growing reality of politics these days.  It is the trait of those not in charge to win plaudits by opposing those in charge, then criticizing them for failing to achieve bi-partisanship or unity.

It’s one of the reasons I am glad to be out of politics as a lobbyist these days. 

And, is this a real “high” in the spirit of this blog?  I say yes!