When all else fails, read…

Cagney & Lacy

Sometimes I have to wonder about myself. Last week I found a topic about the use of magnets for pain. Since my lower back pain has been worse the last couple of weeks, I decided to give it a try and ordered some magnets from eBay.

They arrived today, and I was so anxious to try them out, I thought the mid-day nap would be a good opportunity. So, I quickly scanned the magnet thread, pulled out my surgical tape and ace bandage, and went to work on my first attempt at using magnets. And, I do mean Work! After 15 minutes I was so exhausted, I fell into bed sans magnets.

Let’s start with the fact that the magnets came in a roll, like a roll of nickels. Of course they were magnetized together, and my fingers just didn’t want to rise to the challenge of prying them apart. And, when I would finally get one pried loose from the roll, it would snap right back. It only took my brain about 20 attempts (may be an exaggeration) to realize that I had to place the newly freed magnet about 5” from the roll to lessen its strong desire to return.

All this, Cagney & Lacy found extremely fascinating. They would creep closer for a better look, only to jump back again when the magnet snapped back to the roll.

Once I got the hang of prying the magnets apart, I started to place them on the tape. This is where actually reading the thread carefully would have come in handy.

I laid out one long strip of tape, and attempted to place the magnets on the tape side by side. But, they kept escaping the tape and snapping together. I finally figured out that if I placed them an inch apart, it curbed their desire for companionship. When I had finally succeeded in getting 5 magnets placed on the tape, I was ready to tape the strip to my back.

I picked up one end of the strip, and snap, snap, snap. The tape folded accordion-style between the roll of magnets. My attempt to straighten the tape back out, was what finally ended today’s experiment. I took hold of each end of the strip and pulled. The magnets flew off the tape, clattering against towel bar, commode and sink. Thank god one didn’t venture near the window.

If the bathroom door had been open, Cagney & Lacy would have bolted through in their mad scramble to escape flying magnets. Instead, they both took to the bathtub, where they found one of the errant magnets had landed. I left them trying to pry it loose from the tub drain, while I recovered with a nap. Their success was no better than mine had been with the roll. The darn thing kept snapping back to the drain. They were still playing with it when I woke.

If nothing else, I have found a great way to keep them entertained.

Read Full Post »