I began the chore day by reinstalling the rear wheel well liners

They are pretty big, but unlike the GM units, these are a lot thinner and floppier. I trimmed four big inside flaps away that were obscuring the part of the overload spring that I like to view to see if they are in contact with my revised pads. Once I did that the liners were easier to handle.

Oh, and the airbags are holding air just fine now. It was the Pac-Air flexible inlet fittings that were the culprit.

‭1 Peter 5:7 ESV‬
[7] casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.

‭Psalm 139:11-12 ESV‬
[11] If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,” [12]  even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you.

Don, I'm a firm believer that the key to mobility is staying mobile. Glad you're fighting through this!

That is a simple fact and wisdom learned from many who came before us
Motion is lotion and all that

So I had another crazy thought.

With this RA, you never really know if, for example, you need a knee replacement or it is just an RA attack. It was my shoulders last summer/fall, but now it's my knees. Believing I may be on the mend from a direct RA attack, I began thinking about knee replacements. I have had surgeries on both. No meniscus remains in either knee, and I have a good diagnosis of severe Arthritis in both knees.

So, has anyone heard of that Chicken based grease that is injected to fill the joint's inner cavities?

I know here comes the jokes..."Man, you get that stuff injected and you'll be able and willing to chicken out in a fight and run away..."
Heard all of em
But if you have a good one, please share

Back to my reasonin'

I was thinking I could convince a doctor to inject me with the stuff for the summer's upcoming trips. Then as the effects wore off toward the fall, I could opt for one or two replacements and heal over the Christmas holidays. I could avoid all the festivities I don't like anyway and heal up during the nasty cold/wet months.
Be back in the saddle sporting shiny new metal parts for the Alaska trip in 25!

Just some thoughts at the moment, but there just may be some late summer sweet corn there...

Great update 

I was diagnosed after much agony in my early 30’s with gout. Unlike most it’s not in my big toe but was in my knees and elbows. The knees were the worst, crippling me for a week at a time. Thankfully preventative meds keep it at bay almost 100%, sucks getting older.

I feel you! When I have a gout flare-up, it hits my knees as well. Luckily, better living through chemistry has resulted in no issues in the past 15 years.