V.R. Orthos
Recreational Orthopedics Resort
Installment 2

The Tour

Six months ago my wife Sue and I responded to this ad "Have you ever had fantasies that were unfulfilled in real life? Of course you have. Be it sensual pleasure, recreational orthopedics, adventure or anything else you can imagine, I can help make it come true. My name is Vernon Roger Orthos and I can help you fulfill your fantasy. How you ask? A very good question. And one that I am more than willing to answer. Call VR Orthos and Co. at (xxx)xxx-xxxx" It took us on an amazing adventure of discovery and a great deal of fun. It also resulted in a new employment opportunity.

My name is Tom Johnson and my wife's name, as already mentioned, is Sue. Our time previous to going to work for V.R. Orthos at the Recreational Orthopedics Resort, to be referred to in the future as the ROR, is covered in a previous story. At the end of that dissertation I mentioned the possibility of future stories. Well, the response has been enough to encourage me to regale you with another tale and others will follow based on interest(believe me this gives me a chance to improve my writing skills for the Great American Novel I'm writing, yea, right). So I figured to keep people's interest by giving you a tour of the ROR from my and my wife's points of view.

As I said of our first visit we were given a short tour, told of the other opportunities(IE. horseback riding, hiking and other outdoor stuff) but without much in the way of detail. You're not going to get a great deal on exactly where the ROR is located because it is a private resort and invitation requires the approval of Mr. Vernon Roger Orthos and his wife Margaret. On our first visit we did not understand Margaret's input into the "invitation".

Margaret is an absolute sweetheart. Had she been able to be a mother, I'd have liked her to have been mine. Since she couldn't she just seems to love and care about anyone and everyone. And I cannot even once have argued about her judgement of people. She treats everyone with respect and always on first meeting someone treats them fairly. The trail this new person follows is their own choice, fair and honest and up front with her and you earn her love and respect. Follow the other trail and she is still polite but you feel like you need a rock to crawl under. This trait, I believe, has kept the clientele at the ROR of a certain level or caliber. I have yet to meet anyone at the resort that I did not personally like and I believe it has to do with Margaret's uncanny abilities to ascertain a persons "qualities". I feel like I've been moved to higher plane or status because of her acceptance. And, she fits in well at the resort. At work and even in public she wears long leg braces, KAFOs, just about all the time.. What would she think if someone should find out she really doesn't need them? I don't think it would make any difference to her. She is very secure in who she is and I don't think I can say more about my respect for this woman who is kind of the "mother" at the ROR.

V.R. is much like his wife in his thinking. His recreational orthopedic thing is leg casts. He will only wear them at the resort. He says "they have a way of slowing someone down". You'd never know it when he's at the resort. I've seen him horseback riding with two long leg casts and ride better than I could without the casts. But then, I don't ride well anyway. The only real changes he required for riding included some supports for the casts attached to an Australian stock saddle which has a deeper seat and is a little more secure. V.R. is much like is wife when it comes to deducing whether a person is of the "type" that would fit in at the resort.

Between the pair, the screening process for the ROR's clientele is as good as, if not better than, a high level security clearance check. So much for the mom and pop of the ROR. Not many argue with their decisions as they are always thinking of the resort and the guests.

The resort is located up a canyon at an elevation of maybe 5 or 6000 feet. (Since I said it is located up a canyon and the elevation, that would kind of narrow it down to the Rockies and west. Unless it is in Canada. Good luck on your guessing.) High enough for a decent snow fall, required for the sleigh rides and snowmobiling, but not so much that they get isolated. The drive takes about an hour and a half from the city. The people in town know the resort's there and that is a private resort and so, do not disturb the resort or it's guests. It is really located in a great area of the country. The drive itself wanders up a canyon with pines on the hillside and aspen trees and the usual brush and grasses. I'm no botanist. I love the feel, it seems as if your, well, how to explain it properly is hard. It's almost like going home or at least to a place you love to be. The scents, the mountains, it feels as if they're welcoming you. Anyway, there's a turnoff about 40 miles out of town and up the main canyon you go. You can tell you're getting higher because the country changes. Things get a little more rugged and the air gets cleaner, sharper. There are mountain jays, hawks and even occasional eagles viewed among the peaks along with the sparrows, crows and other birds. Wildlife is abundant. Dear, squirrels and quite an assortment of animals are all in the area.

When you enter the meadow where the resort is located you wonder how they found this place. The meadow occupies about 100 acres of ground. Most of it hasn't been disturbed very much. The main lodge, garages, stables and utility buildings are all located near the entrance to the meadow with only a fire road running through and out of the other end. Naturally a stream runs through and keeps everything green and lush. A bridge must be crossed to get to the buildings. Other than that the stream is undisturbed. Looking up the meadow you can see what looks like a dam. Beaver built it at some time in the past and it has been built up over the years to create a small lake, that if people want to, they can fish for the native trout or just canoe around on. The previous owners admitted that the original beaver dam was there even before they bought the property and that really the dam is as natural to the area as the trees. Since the property line is up against a designated primitive area, it's doubtful that the place will ever change much.

The lodge is built of logs. When, we're not absolutely sure. The original was probably build in the early '20s but there have been plenty of additions and improvements over the years by previous owners. The Orthos made additional changes and enhancements geared specifically for our clientele. There are a total of 25 guest rooms so the place never really gets overly crowded. All doors are double to allow for the guests ease of movement. All hallways are 5 feet wide, minimum. The lodge has two floors and the only really modern convenience is the elevator, and even that is one bought from an old building so it fits right in. There are also ramps to all decks at all levels, even the second floor. The place is built sturdily and safety is the number one priority since the guest are, shall we say, vulnerable. There is a main deck out front that is probably a good 20 feet deep and 60 feet wide and covered. There is one in the back even bigger for gatherings etc. There are also permanent quarters for the regular staff and quarters for the visiting staff.

The kitchen is huge and could probably make enough food to keep an army company well fed. Charles "Charlie" Bailey learned his trade first in the military. Fortunately he overcame his military training and actually attended several schools of cuisine preparation. That's just a fancy name for cooking schools. I think I've put on 20 pounds since coming here and everyone of them was delicious. Charlie can prepare everything from SOS(chipped beef on toast for you civilians) to Beef Wellington with the same ease and care that most people do to making toast and jam. It's the best.

The staff consists of Dr. Fred James and various assistants who come and go. Fred is a an orthopedic surgeon by trade and training. He also knows and has training as an orthotist. So this makes him a perfect fit for the ROR. He enjoys his job and really isn't into the recreational therapy like most of us here. He will, once in a while, let his hair down and join a party with some kind of brace or cast but he has no real preference on types. Oh well, nobody's perfect.

Annie Ridahl, what can be said of her? She literally keeps it all running. Her boss, Ron Abernathy, would never admit it, except to some of us, but he says he could probably leave for a year and everything would still be running fine when he returned. I don't know about that, but Annie is one of the best. She is constantly checking on the guests, accommodations and everything that the guests and staff need to be comfortable. She likes to show up at parties in her own custom Milwaukee brace or maybe just a two or four post neck brace. She has a nice neck to show off such jewelry.

Ron Abernathy, the best. Handles all the logistics such as food, laundry and etc.. Takes care of reservations, procurement, maintenance and all the little things needed to run a resort. He likes his job and it shows. He happens to own a pair of leg braces attached to a back brace. Although he does like upper body casts as well.

Joe Arnold is the maintenance man and chief grounds keeper and outdoor activities director. Again a man of conscience. He handles outings for the guests. This covers anything from canoeing to horseback riding to hay rides. It may not sound like much, but suppose you want to go out in a canoe and you're in a cast from armpit to toes, double leg braces or some other restrictive type of cast or brace? You'd be glad Joe handled the arrangements. He seems to miss nothing to make the client comfortable and feel safe no matter what the activity. His other job is maintenance of the facilities, electrical, plumbing, whatever. Joe handles it all and loves doing it. He, believe it or not for someone as active as humanly possible is, likes to be completely immobile. I mean a cast from toes to the top of his head to his fingers. Total stoppage. He doesn't do it often but he has never had to worry about some lovely young lady who's willing to take care of him through his "troubled time". Yea, right.

Of course you are probably all interested at least a little bit in the clinical side of the ROR. In other words where you can get plastered, glassed and/or braced to your hearts content. The clinic is attached to the main lodge. It consists of two casting/brace rooms, a waiting room, dressing rooms, a supply room(where most of the goodies are) and a machine shop. A MACHINE SHOP!!!! So, you think maybe braces and orthosis grow out of the ground. They are made from raw steel, leather, plastic and other materials. The place manages to keep several orthotists-in-training around and they have a ball building something to suit a persons needs, wants and desires.. They are all very conscientious about the fit of the final product. This is their career they're training for. The same goes for the casting room staff. All very professional. Get plastered here and you've been plastered by the best. Each casting/bracing room has a casting table and a casting frame. Which is used depending on the type of cast being put on and for brace fittings. For legs, arms and most upper body work the table is used. For things like full body casts or leg to hip spica type casts then the frame is used. The frame gives support but allows the casting crew more access without having to move the victim, ah patient, ah guest that is. Also on hand is a good selection of off-the-shelf orthotics. From foam cervical collars to HKAFOs, they've probably got it somewhere. But why go for off-the shelf when custom is so affordable. AND, what you pay for you can take with you or make arrangements for it to be stored at the ROR for your next visit.

One of the reasons that the casting/bracing rooms have two setups is so that couples can be there to see each other get done up or if arrangements have been made, you can encase your partner yourself. Of course you will be supervised because of the liabilities possible and you will also have as much assistance as you need. If you have a significant other who enjoys the same entertainment you do, like I'm so fortunate to have, you'll understand.

Well, there you've got it in a nut shell. You really have to see it to believe it. So when you see the V.R. Orthos ad, give it a try. You won't be disappointed.

OK, now that I've done my PR work Sue said she wanted to take over. Alrighty, my love, the floor, or keyboard, is yours.

As Tom has mentioned in passing, my name is Sue, how do you do. Silly intro, but what the heck. I'm the sceptic of the two and had the most concern about going to the ROR in the first place. But after meeting everyone and going through the absolute horror of anticipation of fulfilling a desire like I had. Wow, it was worth it. After I'd been placed in the body cast with my left arm in spica and watching Tom enjoying his double hip spica cast and the following week we spent. Woof, I'll never ever forget it.

I'd like to spend some time talking about some of the guests we've had at the ROR and I'd like to start with the two couples who actually helped get the resort on it's feet, so to say.

As was mentioned in the first story we met the Smiths and I'd like to tell you what I know of them. At one point we mentioned that it appeared that V.R. Orthos and Co. did not have many clients and at the lodge we saw quite a few. Well, the truth is that the clientele is limited, over the last six months we've worked here we seen maybe 200 different clients. That doesn't sound like much but consider that most stay 1 to 2 weeks and that there are only 25 rooms available which means maximum over six months could not exceed 1 week times 25 rooms(occupancy at 2) times 26 weeks and you get 1300 which sounds big but allowing that some people show up more than once during the time and stay for as long as a month and 200 is pretty steady business because most is repeat. Long sentence, huh.

The lodge actually only started about a year before we started and has been building up slowly to get the type of people they want. It seems to be working out just fine.

The Smiths, Ellen and Ray, like most of the ROR's guests, are simply the best. They're in their late fifties but you wouldn't believe it to see them. These are grandparents that act like newly weds. Hope Tom and I are like that when we hit our late fifties. They got started in this partly because they are good friends of V.R. and Margaret. Good enough that Margaret actually told her secret desire to Ellen and hoped she wouldn't alienate a good friend. Well, surprise, surprise but didn't Ellen have fantasies along the same lines, but Ray, no way at all could she tell him. Well V.R. kind on confided his fantasy to Ray and Ray confided to V.R. and pretty soon the four of them were sitting around talking about their fantasies to each other! It was actually the Smiths that convinced V.R. to look into the resort. On a vacation the Smiths heard about some resort property available up in the mountains and so the problem of a location was solved. Now, how does one get the professional staff for such a place. Margaret, because of her past working as a nurse, sent out some feelers. One thing led to another and Dr. Fred James somehow found out and made inquires and the rest is history. Ellen and Ray were still quite closet recreational orthopedic types as were the Orthos. How to get it going? Both couples were bashful. They wanted to get into the game but were hesitant. It took Dr. James to break the ice. A meeting was planned for how the lodge would handle such things a "patients". Ellen, Fred, Margaret and V.R. just about dropped their jaws on the floor when Fred James, their eminent medical reference shows up with a cast on one arm and a combination back and neck brace.

Dumbfounded, V.R. said "Fred, what in God's name happened to you."

"Nothing." Fred said.

"Then what..." started Ray.

"Somebody had to get it started and since I'm the medico, I figured why not? I told my colleague who did the cast and bracing that I wanted to surprise some close friends. Tell me, do you think it worked?"

"Why you sneaking..., I'd say it worked just fine." said V.R. chuckling.
There was so much excitement in the air that they just had to embarrass him by making him remove his shirt so they could see the full cast and braces and examine them. Fred said later that he felt like a prime Holstein on the auction block.

The decision was made that the resort would get the materials it needed for the casting/bracing rooms and the machine shop first. Margaret stated that she was definitely first on the list for Fred to make something for and it would be the Christening that the ROR deserved. Ellen wanted to be second. They planned a week visit during which time Fred would cast, measure and manufacture the toys that both Margaret and Ellen wanted. Ellen graciously conceded that Margaret must be done first.

The major staff components had also been filled by this time and the basics of the ROR were up and running. The kitchen was in operation, housekeeping and all the basics of the resort were in operation.

The big week finally arrived and both Margaret and Ellen dressed appropriately for the occasion by wearing shorts and "T" shirts. V.R. and Ray also seemed in the holiday spirit. Fred hadn't let them in on just how the casting rooms would be set up. On arrival they got set up in their rooms and hurried down to the casting room. Dr. Fred was there waiting and smiling and making little comments about getting a couple of old ladies plastered.

The decision had been made that both ladies would be fitted with long leg braces. He separated the couples one to each room, casted Margaret and then Ellen, removed the casts and everyone went to lunch to allow the casts to dry. No big fanfare, just a lot of fun and comments on how things had progressed and how, when the ladies had the casts on how their husbands teased them, staying out of reach naturally.

After lunch Fred took his leave and said he had some tinkering to do down in the shop.

Both couples went out on the main deck, sat down and just enjoyed the afternoon sun. There was a breeze bringing them scents of pine mixed with sage and all of the outdoors that their senses could absorb. Around 4:00 in the afternoon The Smiths and Orthos were requested to return to rooms again. Way to soon for anything to be done so they must have messed up the casts and needed to do it over. Well, at least the afternoon had been enjoyable.

On arrival, Fred asked Margaret to climb up on the table. He then left the room and returned with a pair of long leg braces, unfinished of course but ready for a fitting before finishing. Margaret was enthralled. As Fred strapped the braces to her legs Margaret uttered a deep sigh of contentment and enjoyment. More was said with that one sigh than could have been spoken in hours. After the measurements were adjusted and the fittings finalized the braces were removed and taken back into the shop. When Fred returned saying that Ellen's fitting would be tomorrow and that Margaret's would also be done tomorrow he noted the somewhat disappointed look in Margaret's eyes.

"Anything I can do to make the night a little more tolerable? " he asked.

"I don't know, but I've been waiting so long and it's so close..." she said.

He looked at V.R. and company and said "Well, maybe we should just do something so you will be better prepared for the bracing and make the evening a little more interesting."

"What are you going to do, put my legs back in casts for the night?" she said laughing.

V.R. said "Why not?".

"But..." Margaret stammered.

"Come on Fred, do your thing. Two long leg casts for the lady. How about you Ellen? Then Margaret won't be alone in her captivity."

"I'm game." Ellen said.

So, while the two ladies received nice new fiberglass appendages, the men went out and found two wheelchairs to roll them about in. Margaret decided yellow was her color and Ellen settled for light blue.

"Very colorful." Ray said as both ladies were helped into their chairs.

"I think this is fun." Ellen said. "Now the boys have to cater to our needs."

Everyone laughed about that.

The evening was a big success and next morning Margaret had her braces. They started with a pair of shoes to which the braces were attached. The shoes could also be changed as needed or desired for a fashion statement. The ankle was hinged and could either be locked or left free. Ankle straps were also a part of them to add stability. Up the leg to the calf support which included a support strap around the leg. Knee hinges, a double hinge type, which also had automatic locks. The knee pads were of a soft leather, as were all the straps used on the braces. There were two thigh bands and an ischial ring. The ischial ring was a padded ring which rested against Margaret's buttocks and was attached at the top of the brace. Fred had told her that the rings weren't necessary but Margaret jokingly said she needed the support for a sagging fanny. Didn't I tell you she had a sense of humor? Margaret also required all straps use buckles and no velcro. The were rather Spartan things, but they were what she wanted and so she got them. She was almost in tears when she first stood up in them and heard the knee locks click in. It was also decided that the ankles be locked at first. A few more final adjustments and Fred said she could relax while he worked on Ellen's.

Ellen 's were done that afternoon. Her's did not include the ischial rings but other than that were pretty much the same design. Ellen's color of choice was a dark chocolate leather while Margaret chose soft doe skin color.

Both women used standard crutches at first, but after a few days of practice forearm crutches were introduced and quickly assimilated.

All to soon the vacation was over and both couples prepared to depart. Ellen sighed deeply as she put her leg braces and crutches in a storage locker to keep safe till her next visit.

"Margaret dear,"Ellen called "it's time to put the braces away till next time."

"I don't think so." Margaret said. "I do believe that I will take them with me. I do believe that I shall even wear them to work and other places. I do believe that I enjoy these braces far more than I ever thought that I would. I feel as if I will not be a complete person without them. Therefore, they are going with, and on, me."

"Well, I believe that you have found something out about yourself that you've been denying for some time, I do believe." Said Ellen.

"You know, I do believe that you are correct Ellen." said V.R. "This is something that I hadn't expected. So, Margaret, does this mean that you fall into the WANNABE category?"

"Oh my goodness no." Margaret replied. "A pretender is as far as I believe I want to go but I find nothing wrong with my using my braces as often and as I choose. It seems to me that everyone has something that they enjoy more than any other, like a pair of shoes, a piece of jewelry or a comfortable shirt or jacket. Well, I've found mine and I will use them often and when I please!"

She was rewarded with a unified cheer of support for her decision and was using them when Tom and I first met her. I doubt if we've seen her more than maybe a couple of weeks out of the last six months when she wasn't wearing them. Usually it's when she goes swimming or on an occasional hike. Do we think it's strange? Well, maybe a little at first, but then we tuned in on her way of thinking and had to agree. I mean, I've got friends that have a favorite jacket that should have been tossed years ago and is ugly as ugly can get for a jacket. But still they keep wearing it. Why? Comfort, security, familiarity? Who's to say they're wrong? Not me, I'm still waiting for Tom's and my next weekend off. I get to plan the entire thing. From what he wears to how he wears it. I've got it all planned.

Margaret is the only one who wears here "jewelry" away from the ROR. The rest of us do occasionally but not full time like she does.

Ellen now is a different story. At first she wouldn't wear her jewelry away from the ROR but over the last year she has accumulated a lot of hardware for use at the resort.

As mentioned when Tom and I first met her, she was in and electric wheelchair chasing down her husband, Ray. She was braced to the max with leg, arm and back. A really unique neck brace, which she designed, caught our eyes, but we didn't talk to her about it till later.

She said she had always wanted to wear braces of any and all kinds. The leg braces finally did go home with her. Her excuse for having them? She used her age and degenerative knees sometimes required assistance. Pretty good reason, huh? Anyway she next wondered if a back brace would be something to try. She talked to Margaret about doing it together but Margaret assured her that she had found what she wanted. So Ellen was left on her own. A few conferences with Fred and a custom TLSO was fabricated. Full clamshell body brace. Ellen loved it and it didn't interfere with her wearing her leg braces except for a little while as she was getting her balance adjusted since her back wouldn't move. She first wore it in the spring, nice cool weather and it was very comfortable. But then in July she about melted down. It was decided to do a sort of modified Milwaukee brace that would not include a neck support. The brace involved a strap that went under her arms and met with shoulder pads tied to the straight bars from the hip piece. It was much cooler and still very comfortable. It did take a while to get the straps under her arms to stop chafing but the solution to that was a rigid shoulder strap from mid back that was custom fitted to the piece that sat at the top of her chest and was tied again to the back by shoulder straps. Isn't technology wonderful. Since she now had lost some use of her hips she decided that the leg braces should have a way to be attached to the back brace. An auxiliary piece was designed that could be attached from the leg braces to a hinge and up and onto the hip piece of the back brace. By being a separate piece it allowed her to be able to use the leg braces without the back brace and vice versa. Then she wanted something for her arms. At this point a wheelchair was strongly recommended. I mean, really, could you see a person in a brace from their feet to the top of their chests, arms in braces, using crutches? Good luck. So, an electric model that didn't require the use of her hands has introduced. These arm braces consisted of a wrist and forearm brace which also went across the palm of her hand and around the thumb also immobilizing the wrist. This is turn was connector to an upper arm brace by a hinge that could be set to different angles or unlocked completely. This allowed her to adjust her arm so it would be comfortable when placed on the chairs armrest. The wrist piece was also adjusted so her hand would be in the right position to run the controls without having to move the wrist. And so, hips unlocked, legs on the chair's rests, arms locked, hands at the control and she was off. She loved it.

But her neck? Of course she wanted the entire banana. What a gal, you had to love the way she got into this. Well, you see, a standard neck brace has a chin support and one at the base of the skull in back. Result...neck doesn't move, mouth is held shut. Oops, did we mention she had trouble breathing through her nose. When very young she managed to break it and at the time her parents didn't have insurance and so the nose mended very, very poorly. The result was a conference with Dr. Fred and a group of orthotics students. The result was a different kind of brace, and this style still does not exist anywhere else that we know of.

Instead of just a couple of bars, like a two or four post neck brace. to hold the piece at the back of the head, a custom piece was molded from plastic, reinforced and padded that fitted from the top of the back of the back brace tight against the neck, it then runs up the neck and along the sides up to and around the ears to about an inch above the ears. This a then attached to a rigid strap, or halter that went around her forehead. It's kind of along the lines of the halo but without the pins and also that is tight against the head. The entire object of a neck brace is to keep the neck from moving right? Well, with the tight fitted piece at the back of the neck pushing the head up and the side supports on the neck keeping any tipping from side to side along with the forehead piece it seemed the ideal situation. The top chest piece of the back brace along with the shoulder straps holding her chest and lower neck in and the fitted piece around her forehead, well there didn't appear to be any way she could move anything on her head and neck except for her jaw. Well, almost. There was just enough space to allow her to jut her chin out and her head would tilt back some. For 99.9999999 percent of the cases where something like this would be called for, like say, someone with a neck injury, jutting out your chin to force your head to move would not have been something that would be tried. But, then there's Ellen. So, a special piece that actually went into her mouth was developed. It was removable so she could eat with no problem and it caused no breathing problems. It actually joined to the back of the head portion of the brace at four points. Two at the neck which is what kept her from moving her head when she jutted out her chin and another above the ears that helped hold the piece in her mouth. It consisted of a custom fit piece that fit the roof of her mouth with another piece which joined that which went up between the gums and lips. There were two heavy, and I mean heavy, wires that came out on each side of her mouth and attached to straps that attached, as said earlier, above the ears and on the back of the neck. To eat, she would unstrap the device at 4 places and it basically fell out. Sounds loose doesn't it. But when it's put back in, the piece that goes between the gums and the lips is, well spring loaded. This way when the upper straps are attached it does a kind of cam action (Don't expect an in detail report from me, ask the guys who designed it.) that pulls the piece between her lips and gums in towards the piece in the roof of her mouth. The wires attached to the straps act like a spring and this helps to keep her from tilting her head and also keeps the lip/gum piece from pressing overly hard against her gums. Also when the upper ones are attached there is a cam action that locks the outer piece to the inner piece and actually lifts her head a little like a traction unit would do. I don't understand all the mechanical stuff and so I just kind of summarized what was told to me the way I, and I hope you, will understand it. It works great. Other than her jaw, she doesn't seem to be able to move her head or neck if she really wanted to, and believe me, after she was through trying to move she really needed it because her neck muscles were worn out. And besides, It really doesn't look any stranger than a complicated headgear on an orthodontics patient. Except for the leg braces and crutches she usually leaves all her other toys at the ROR.

So that's the story of the Ladies of the V.R. Orthos Recreational Orthopedics Resort. I'll let Tom tell the rest of the story of the Men, V.R. and Ray because it's boring and it's a guy thing. As ladies, we show a little more interest, ingenuity and talent in our jewelry.

Thanks a lot Sue, you get all the good stuff. Oh well, share and share alike. The men, and unfortunately I really have to include most of us, are boring. Ray will do pretty much anything Ellen tells him to. He just has a lot of fun wearing the things and pleasing his wife. What a character. He told me though that the upper body arm and neck cast he was wearing when we first met was just about his undoing. I mean the assistance he needed to go potty just about embarrassed him to the point of constipation. But, he survived and has since set down a few, and I mean very few, rules of entrapment. He's having a great time though and never misses a chance to come up.

V.R. likes two long leg casts made from either plaster or fiberglass. He says the plaster seems to mold to him better and feels more comfortable but the fiberglass will take more abuse, like when he goes riding. Occasionally he will have a spica cast with both legs. He prefers to keep his hands and arms free for use.

Like I said, the men are BORING. It takes, and I hate to admit it but, the ladies here seem to come with the most imaginative ideas on what to do. They are what makes it fun for us guys. I wouldn't change the arrangement for the world.

Well, work calls and I must answer. I am still wondering what Sue has in mind for our next weekend off. She's been consulting with Fred and his students and has been having powwows with both Annie Ridahl and Charlie, our Chief chef . The stories of subterfuge and planning, all in fun of course, that I could tell... But this latest planning phase Sue is going through... I could be in for real trouble or on the other hand....

Like I've said in the past this type of writing is fun and I've enjoyed the feedback from the first story of the ROR. So keep letting me know how you like it and I'll try to keep it going.