Pain in the neck, Trumpo's fear and a little nostalgia

Short takes from a journey through a disorganized mind:

WISH I COULD BE MORE STOIC: I think most of us wish that. No one wants to think of himself as a whiner or someone who is always complaining, so when my wife said -- albeit sympathetically -- that I had been fussing about the lower back pain that keeps me from taking two steps without pain, I challenged her.

I don't complain, I said. I do sometimes cry out involuntarily when a misstep bumps up the pain-o-meter.

That's true, she said.

Bone spurs in my upper spine and my lower spine seem to be kicking my ass all the time. I also have periodic pains in both hands, both feet and one elbow.

I'm not a complainer.

I may, however, be a puss.

***

SPEAKING OF WHINERS: Donald Trump, aka Trumpo or Trumpo!, basically showed his 34-day government shutdown was for naught Friday when he agreed to reopen the government before discussing anything else.

Just like Nancy Pelosi demanded.

Trumpo showed how intimidated he is by Pelosi when he said, "Speaker Pelosi, or as I call her, Nancy ..."

Huh?

No Crooked Hillary, no Liddle Bob Corker, no Lyin' Ted Cruz ...

Just Nancy.

I have a feeling it's going to be a fascinating two years.

***

SUPER BOWL? REALLY? I was glancing through the long list of Super Bowls trying to remember the last time I watched one, and I realized it wasn't in this century.

It was 1999, good old SB XXXIII, when John Elway went out in a flourish of back-to-back wins for the Denver Broncos. 

Elway is my favorite athlete of all time, and when I look up from my computer screen, I see a framed and signed "ELWAY 7" jersey on my wall.

I covered the Broncos from 1986-88 when I was working in Greeley, Colorado, and it was completely amazing to see the things he could do on a football field. Some local radio guys put together a takeoff on Randy Newman's "I Love L.A.," and called it -- of course -- "I Love Elway."

A few years back, Sports Illustrated did a special issue of the top athlete to wear each uniform number from 00 to 99. My friend Mick Curran was outraged when they chose John Elway for No. 7. He said it should have been Mickey Mantle.

It's a reasonable choice, but I preferred Elway.

Still do.

Probably always will.

***

JUST FOR FUN: Here's that video from 1986. It's a goofy copy from a VHS tape, but it captures Colorado's love of their team in the 1980s. Near the end, different celebrities are saying "We love him." There's Denver Mayor Federico Pena, Colorado Governor Richard Lamm and Elway's first wife, Janet.