THUMBS DOWN

Life is full of lessons, even at almost 60. One should not try to hand wash a very sharp thin blade fillet knife when one is tired and not wearing glasses. Reading glasses I may add, but they do help see those sharp thin blades clearly. Deep one and a half inch laceration in the "pulp" of my right thumb. Yes, RIGHT thumb nonetheless, not the left in a right-handed guy. Good thing the cut not on either side of the thumb; lots of blood vessels and tendons would have been history.
Stubborn physician I am, a trip into Rapid City to get it stitched was not high on the protity list. Two juicy rib eye steaks and red charcoals on the grill were. Good thing I have an excellent nurse nearby. Grab the first aid box, soak in iodine solution for a few minutes, wrap bandages and waterproof tape and elevate. I have suture material in the box, but how does one suture with one hand-I have not mastered the skill.  
The pain is better, Severed nerve fibers scream back at you for the first 24-36 hours. In the absence of stitches, the wound oozes healing bloody fluid into the bandage. It's healing.
I'm glad I had my prorities straight 2 nights ago! JIR