Woke up this morning with a "BIG HURT." My lower back has been aching a little all week, but this morning I could barely sit up straight, let alone stand. Acute pain - oh boy, I was in serious pain!!

I had a job to do, but lined up a visit to my chiropractor first. He got things straightened up again, after a painful session. I left his office feeling like a piece of raw hamburger, but went ahead to work anyway. At least I could walk upright, and move around again.

After a couple hours, I felt my lower back sieze up again, real bad. I called the chiro back and arranged to have a "redo" in a couple hours. Worked the next two hours in agony, then drove to see him. He readjusted my spine and commanded me not to twist or bend for forty-eight hours. (yeah, right!!)

When I left there, I decided that I totally needed a good massage. I haven't been able to find a good massage person in all the years I have lived here, but I was desperate so I opened the Yellow Pages and started calling.

I found someone who offered a reasonable price, and who was available at short notice on a Friday evening. Figured I would give him a shot (what did I have to lose?) and drove over there. He offered me a discount for an hour and a half, and that sounded just about right.

I had the best massage of my life!!!

That is really saying something, because I have had many, many, MANY massages during my life, from therapeutic massages to relaxing massages to those fancy, trendy treatments where they use reiki, hot rocks and other things - from Ontario, to Florida, to British Columbia, to Holland, to Bulgaria, to France. Given my experiences, I think I am a global connoisseur of massages and chiropractors.

This guy gave me the most awesome massage I have ever received. He turned my spine into a virtual "Slinky." He worked one muscle group at a time, slowly and thoroughly, and then started at the top (my skull) and pulled everything down to the bottom (my toes, literally) without breaking contact. My body felt like a rubber band in his hands. As he worked downwards, I felt my vertebrae separate, one at a time, and felt oxygen rush into the spaces between them (sweet release!) I felt my muscles tense briefly, then relax and rest as his hands moved on. The man is a master! He's been doing it for 30 years, and it shows.

He ended up spending two hours on me. He found every trigger point, every sore muscle and every tight spot, and patiently worked them all out. He even worked out the knot on the trapezius under my right shoulder blade that has defied treatment for 25 years. I tore that muscle years ago, working out with free weights in the gym. It has been a problem for me ever since. He just picked up that muscle and "talked to it" and it relaxed. Amazing!!!

Didn't tell me he was going past the agreed time - just kept working. Didn't charge me more than the price he had quoted me. Of course, I gave him a generous tip - it was appropriate.

I walked out of that clinic without a limp or a hitch, without pain and with a spring in my step. I felt physically reborn. Practically had my tongue hanging out, like a dog that has just had its ears well-scratched.

I'm gonna sleep like a baby tonight!