What is Hip?

I grew up in Oakland, CA home of the funkiest band ever, Tower of Power:

This video is from 1973. I was 13, learning to play the drums and wishing I could play like Dave Garibaldi some day. Well, that day never came, but 40 years later I still love their music and they're still at it. It makes me very happy that our kids are also fans of the band. Maybe it's because the first concert we ever took them to was Tower of Power in Lake Tahoe when they were very young. There would always be plenty of TOP in the music rotation on family road trips. If you get the chance, go see them live and don't forget your dancing shoes because you won't be able to sit still.

This is also hip:

My right hip, to be exact. A normal hip has a dark gray area between the ball and socket of the hip joint. The dark stuff is cartilage which provides lubrication of the joint. The x-ray shows that mine is completely gone in my right hip - bone on bone. As I've mentioned before, I've been dealing with painful arthritis that was first diagnosed in 2008. It has slowly gotten worse over time and over the last year things have gone downhill quite a bit. I wanted to put it off as long as possible, because artificial hips only last so long and it's likely I'll need a revision before I'm done with my time Here. I'm at the stage now where the pain is constant, I am having to use a walking stick most of the time and am very limited in what I can do. I've finally had enough and am now on the path to get a full hip replacement on April 25. I'm expecting to be off work for about two months while I go through healing and rehabilitation after this major carpentry project. I'm having the surgery here in Placerville at Marshall Hospital by a relatively young surgeon I'll call Dr. H (for hip, get it?) I first saw him about my hip about a year and a half ago. At the time he said he'd be happy to do it then, but I should try to hang in there for a while for the reason I mentioned above. I can't say I'm looking forward to being sawed, hammered, routed and stitched up, but I am looking forward to being able to walk, sit, drive, photograph and live without constant pain. Maybe I'll even be able to play the drums again and pretend I'm Dave Garibaldi with Tower of Power cranked way up LOUD on the stereo.

Wish me luck. This isn't going to be fun, but like my friend David says who is fighting brain cancer, "getting old is not for pussies".

Peace and good health to you all.

-Kerik