Friday night. Oh my God how I'd like a "do over" for Friday night. It all seemed like it was going just swimmingly, then it hit. I was trying to clear my tube, Then I couldn't draw in a breath from either my nose/mouth, or my trach either one. I rushed to the bathroom, and along the way I shut the damn door. Muscle memory. Over the last seven or so months, I've trained myself to head for the bathroom so as not to throw up or to keep from shooting a mucus/blood plug, out of the tube, so I can go hang out and watch everyone else dabble in the water. I cough enough to clear everything, usually. Friday night was one of the nights I couldn't get anything to clear up, shy of vomiting. That, much to my chagrin, happened. I feel my only saving grace was the fact that I was able to get to the bathroom in time. I had so much crap in my throat, and it was too far back to suction without making me gag, which also will make me vomit. It's a terrible, vicious circle that does that to a kindly fella such as my self. Liz can vouch for that as I grow increasingly close to Terminal Velocity. Once I hit that, it won't be long before I'm at Critical Mass. I'll be Albert is spinning like a Whirling Dervish in their home town. While Liz and I sweat out the matters of getting to Critical Mass, it has gotten stronger. Which is how this entire perverted bastard has worked. Another two months of having to dig around the road blocks Baxter has added to his bag of goodies. Okay, this was the bad shit that sets up the really, incredibly stunning, things that happened on Saturday. As far as personal impact goes, the Family knocked Baxter's dick in the dirt for more than just a day.
I'd planned on making a redneck twist on Eggs Benedict. Big assed Buttermilk biscuits, sausage patties, poached eggs (which I still fuck up and can't make a nice poached egg in a pan), and a nice Hollandaise Sauce using Lime juice and a bit of Jalapeño juice add some kick. Sadly, I was so sick the night before that I still had the shakes and honest to God there wasn't a muscle in my body that didn't hurt so bad that I didn't need the morphine. I'm sitting in my recliner, trying to get my shit together so I can make a brunch, instead of breakfast that I slept through. Tired, very sore muscle wise, and near mentally worn out, knowing that if I just get up and start feeding and getting on with my day two things may happen. One, I may have a heart attack. Two, I'll have a stroke. BP and Pulse rate were still high, according to the machine at Albertson's. It has a warning, even, so that people with larger than 18" biceps be allowed to use it at all. Liz says she has to go get propane for the grill since she is grilling pork spare ribs for a mid afternoon supper. Snacks if you get hungry later in the evening. Sounded good to me. It was turning out to be a beautiful morning, and I'd not minded at all if Liz and I sat in the backyard and enjoyed the warm day. It's January for shit sake, it's not supposed to be nearly 70. Or at least it felt that way.
I'm waiting for her to get home, when my oldest son Chance comes walking in with a propane bottle in each hand. I think to myself "whaaaaaaaat?". Looked at Liz and said (on paper) Why is Chance here? "I don't know why he's here. I just pulled in and he walked up and said 'Let me carry those'. How would I know?". I was so surprised I nearly boo hooed. My eyeballs got all watery and shit, but that was just the prelude to what came next.
Chance came up and sat next to me on the couch, took my hand in his, leaned in and said "You know Stephanie and I are engaged. We talked about it, setting a date in September. That was so far away, and there was no way we were getting married without you, so we are having a small ceremony here, so you can see us get married." I was so shocked, I really had trouble taking a breath. Once again, my family has found a way to just knock me flat with kindness. I didn't know what to say, and I was afraid if I did, the water works would have started and I'm not certain I could have stopped them. In order to maintain my own cool.
I spent a lot of time in the garage wiping the wet spots off my cheeks, and mopping up my we eyes, they seemed to leak a lot. It seems that my loving wife, oldest son, in fact the entire famn damily knew but me. I didn't think they could keep a secret, let alone one of that magnitude. Good gravy. I asked Liz just this morning if she wasn't a little nervous on Friday evening that I'd be well enough for the wedding. She said, "Yes, then Saturday morning you were making plans for lunch and everything, I was nervous then, too." I called everyone bad names, but only in jest. The kicker, to me, is that I'd been fine with any date they picked. I may not have been there physically, but I'd be there in spirit. I text my friend John Moye, he'd asked "Hey Amigo, what's up?". I responded not too much, getting ready for a wedding. The rat, he sent, "Really?, When?". He was almost here, he and his main squeeze drove in from El Paso.
Now I am a bit overwhelmed. The loving wife's eyes kept getting damp and runny. I was choked up so tight I didn't know if I was afoot or horseback. I couldn't sit in one place very long because I was so overwhelmed emotionally that I didn't want to be the old dude who cries at the drop of a hat. I excuse myself for a bit, and head out the front door. (skipped the part where I put the kilt and my Jacobite shirt on). So, what do I see? My future Daughter In Law talking to Liz and a couple of our friends. I thought this would be a safe haven for a minute. WRONG!!!!! The minute Stephanie saw me her water works started, that almost made mine start, and they would have if she hadn't held out her arms for a hug. She really sobbed, and hung onto me pretty tightly. Apparently she thought this was a good thing too. It was very tough for me to keep it all wound up in one place, so I'd go to the garage, look at Fat Girl run a little water, then go back to the guests. All of it's getting pretty cool, I sat outside thinking how great it was to have so many friends, and the greatest family on the planet. It's because they alter their plans, their lives, and in a lot of cases, their own peace of mind. My buddy Bill Nall and his wife Angie had set up an account for Liz to replace the motor in the Dodge pick up. They and their son Brandon came to the wedding. We've know each other a long time. Since Brandon was in kindergarten. Bill and I shared a lot a really good times, and more than a few not so good at work. He's truly one of the good guys. Well, shit, I'm surrounded by The Good Guys and that makes me the wealthiest man I know.
Off into the back yard we go, all ready for the wedding. Liz had contacted my Hospice nurse a couple of weeks ago and got the Hospice Chaplain to officiate. He's a nice man with a good heart, one of the few that lives what he believes. A rarity in today's ME first attitude. I like him as well. So, I go stand next to my wife and hold her hand. (that's a little something I need to do more of) Then, as Stephanie and Chance step up, the Chaplain asks Steph who is giving her away. I couldn't hear, then the Chaplain looks right at me and asks me to come up. "Take Stephanie's hand. Charles, do you and Elizabeth give this woman away in Holy Matrimony?'. I'm slow, I didn't realize that I had been given such a precious honor. They are bound and determined to make the old man cry in public. Fooled them, by God. I'd had a bit of an acid burn in my throat from Friday nights fun and games of throwing up. I took a couple of deep breaths, so I was sure I had enough to make some volume. "We do", I squeaked. OMG did that little phrase hurt!!! But I was so happy and heart filled that I didn't care. I paid that piper with a little bleeding later on. It was a little thing, compared to how happy and surprised I was from 1000hrs, until 2130hrs that evening. I'm still pretty stoked from all of the goings on yesterday. I hope this feeling holds in for another week or so. It's kind of hard to beat when your oldest son takes your hand and whispers "Stephanie and I thought about it, and we couldn't stand that you might not be at the wedding, we decided to do it here." I still can't come up with an answer other than "sniff, sniff, thank you". What a very cool, very cool indeed, day that was. For as long as I've got left, this is going to top my list of things where I got to be a part of the festivities.
(BTW, Liz spare ribs where out of the park home run chow, along with the stuff other people brought along, damn good eats for me to live vicariously)
This Sunday, at this time, I'd been in Houston a week, and Liz showed up for some "Mom and Dad" time. No nerves yet, but we did go to Joe's Crab Shack and dropped $95 on food, drinks, dessert, and drinks. We laughed, cried, (mostly laughed) and we're getting ready for surgery in two days.
Bill and Angie Nall have family in Mississippi, near Hattiesburg (Bill went to college there) in Pearl as well as a town south of there "Poplar". Bill wanted to borrow my truck, put in separate fuel tanks, MRE's, snack food, lots of water, chain saws, and a generator to go try and dig his and Angie's relatives out. Five days after, when the Governor of Louisiana still wouldn't let FEMA in because it was unsafe, Bill was going to Mississippi to help his family. Not alone he wasn't. Loaning the him the truck, that would be no big deal, I was glad to do that. I caught Bill and our head honcho around the old welding shop of Anadarko's at Notrees Tx. I told him that I'd take two weeks vacation so I could go help Bill. Well, actually I only had one week of vacation left, but over the last couple of months I'd saved up to comp out a bit at a go. I got some peace and quiet that way, and it saved our field by not having overtime expense. The Honcho told us that he'd take care of the time sheets and to get loaded up and go.
Off we went, loaded up with stuff that was stacked up even with the roof of my truck. Poor Baby was so heavy, she was setting on the rear overloads. We burned up some road, buddy. Got to Pearl. (heavily armed, I might add) Went straight to Angie's sister's home. They were getting water and food, the Governor of Mississippi had the National Guard out immediately after Katrina blew through. (one fatality. A National Guard soldier was killed when a tree fell and wiped out his Humvee). Things in Pearl looked pretty good. There was a Burger King open selling sausage biscuits, Nectar of the Guards I'm pretty sure, since a hot burger was becoming a thing of the past. We spent the night in Pearl. Deathly quiet. No bugs, no mosquitoes, no birds. I pile down in the back of the truck on top of some water and MRE packs. Did anyone out there ever get that feeling that somethings watching you REALLY closely? I got that. I slowly sat up on the tailgate of the truck. Look down the drive to the street. Man, no moon, no light pollution, makes it so dark, you couldn't see your hand in front of your face. I got all spooky because as dark as it was, there was something darker standing in front of the driveway. I do know it wasn't a person, but it was certainly something. I got up, walked about 10 steps, and decided whatever that was, I was going to leave it alone.
The next day, we headed over to Bill's uncle's home in Poplar. They had a lot of limbs down, fortunately none of the trees had fallen and the had minimal damage to any of their buildings. We set off to working on the drive, and got it cleared up in pretty short order. Limbs down in the front yard, though, and that was proving to be a pretty big task.While working away, Bill and Angie were helping his Aunt do something, a cop came by. Drove off, came back, drove off, came back, like some kind of damned yo yo. He finally called me over to his truck, asked where I was from, and if I had a work permit. Texas and no I don't have a permit. I'm helping a friend of mine get his Uncle's yard and drive way. He asked how much I was charging. Nothing, what part of helping a friend did not come out clearly? (yes, I was tired, hot and my blood sugar was getting low). That seemed to upset him a bit. I really didn't want to spend the night in the crossbar hotel, or have a knot on my head from a billy club. Fortunately Bill's Uncle came to my rescue. The policeman asked if Bill's Uncle knew who we were.(ya know, chemo brain tells me Angie was with me, dammit, I hate when I leave shit out or get wrong) Yes, this is my niece and a friend of hers, they are cleaning up this damage. You know they can't charge you without a permit, the cop asked. Bill's Uncle replied (picture, if you will, what a Southern Gentleman sounds like when he speaks, and you've got Bill's Uncle to a tee) Of course I know, that sir, I wrote the ordinance for the city. They are not charging me anything, and I believe this young man has already told you they weren't charging. Isn't there someplace you have more pressing duties to attend?
Fuckin A sweet. Bill's Uncle is one smooth dude. He told the cop to go to hell, but made it sound like he should be happy to go! Gotta love that. A bit later I was setting on the porch steps taking a break, havin a smoke and a bottle of water. Bill's Uncle was there as well, (burns my ass I can't recall his name) "You know, sir, what sounds really good to me right now?", I asked. No sir, what sounds good? he said. "An ice cold beer, in a frozen mug, so cold it makes ice on the mug, and sticks it to your hand". He tapped his cane a couple of times on the step "You're absolutely right, that does sound very good, doesn't it?" Yeah, it did. I wish I'd had time to have a cold one with him. He was one very cool fellow.
We went over to Bill's cousin's home to help clean up there as well. He had a yard full of very tall pine trees, and nearly that many in his back yard. He had three boys he got custody of when he divorced. They were doing a damn good job of helping dad, but everyone was running shy of clean clothes. Power hadn't made it back to his part of town just yet. Bill and his Cousin set up the generator to run a washer and dryer. Angie caught up the clothes while the rest of us got the back yard safely cleaned up. The front yard, while it had more room was a jumble of limbs all it's own. If you looked up, some of the pines had been chopped off about 15' from the tops, and others had no damage. That was damn weird but we didn't have time to stop. We worked some long days in hot, humid weather. While Mississippi it's humidity is enough to melt me into a tiny puddle of water. We got his Cousin all cleared up. A couple of cool stories from that time. Our last day there, while we were piling wood into the burn pile, a helicopter came hauling in over the tree line. Outside of our Line of Sight, but shortly back into view, turned travelled a short distance, then did a touch and go. It was Air Force 2. President Bush was going to give a speech at Poplar's High School on the day we planned to leave. And that, girls and boys, is the difference in leadership between Mississippi and Louisiana. Six days into Katrina blew itself out along the Gulf and inland states, Mississippi had nearly all the power back on and as close to normal as one can get after a hurricane. Louisiana, though, was still struggling with whether or not to let FEMA into New Orleans. I believe they were in before the end of the week, and people had been being pulled from roof tops and other places. But it seemed more willy nilly than anything prepared. You know, like trying to arrest a fifteen year old kid that picked up a load of people and was headed to Texas to get out of the city. Yes, he took the bus, but he showed some initiative and was trying to get something done. That'll teach you to be a socially away person, and to live up to being a responsible member of society. Geez. At any rate, we hauled ass out, got to Shreveport, the Nall's rented us a couple of rooms at a casino, took me to eat at Cooper's (I didn't bring even a button up shirt) where the food and drinks were wonderful, and I felt terribly underdressed. That showed up on the Black Jack table as well. I burned off what little I had (only $30, I had to have some cash for snack em's, right?) and I crashed in a bed. After the second shower I'd had in 5 or six days. We made it home safely, and as is my want when I travel anywhere, home sure looked good to me.
All in all, that trip to help out Bill and Angie's families was one of the most rewarding things I'd done in my life. Physically tiring, but so much of a boost just hearing the thank you's that I didn't feel so tired. Thanks Bill, for allowing me to tag along to help, and for introducing me to your family. I'd like to get well (I know, not happening) and do it all over again. Only this time with a bit more time, and a lot less work.
Hugs and all the stuff that goes with them
