Yesterday evening I had a couple of beers while on the computer and then I went over to the pool area to read some of the Jim Thompson novel. I had one beer and I was very tired. When I got ready to leave, I had forgotten that the door catch was high up on the gate, and I could NOT figure out how to get out. I was like I had caught a dose of dementia that seems to be running wild on Paradise Lane.
I probably had another beer and ate the salad, cheese puffs and tortillas.
Today I was up at 530am and at the keyboard. Down to the free breakfast by six, and had a couple of bowls or cereal and liberated three bagels for this evening. More computer to determine where I would do the outdoor run- her or around LA Fitness. I decided to check in, and then go north on 55th, east on Union Hills, then south on 51st to Bell. And, this is what I did, more or less. 44".
When I checked in, the girl said that I didn't qualify for towel service, but that she would give me one today. In the future she said it would be two bucks a pop. Not in this lifetime, sister...
45" Cross by Matrix (Reverse). Nice action, but not quite as good as Octane model. 45" Upright bike with a tractor seat. What a joy! The machine actually has armrests and ideal for reading! 45" Tread. 4.2pace. This is the same model at all of the clubs. 30" Matrix Cross. Although I took Dr. Zhivago,I I didn't do much reading, but I have the Sport Clip loaded with tunes. Listened to Joe Ely's first and Tom Verlaine's 'Songs From The Front'. The steam room could easily seat seven or eight people, and nobody was in the pool. The only negative rating I could give the place was that they don't have a swimsuit dryer. But, it's still one of the best health clubs that I've ever visited.
What follows is the email that I sent to Janny at the end of the afternoon with 'Our Father Who Art In Phoenix'.......
Just in from a four hour encounter, and it might have been the spooky best time that I've spent with him- Ever!
I got to Elsie's House just before noon and I suggested that we visit the cemetery and then hit McDonald's. Rosie said that he was easily up for the task as long as he had his walker and wheelchair. After I took a mini-course on wheelchair operation, we stuffed the items into the Camry and off we went.
We exited Paradise Lane to 43rd south, and then took Thunderbird Blvd to 99th. I was under the false impression that Sun Land Memorial Park was on 99th, but it's the next major street east, Del Webb Blvd. I pulled into the Sun City Information Area (in the same building where I donated his books), and there was actually a woman standing at the curb (with a nametag) who knew immediately where I needed to go. So, we took Hutton to the the next major artery, and south passed the cathedral, and we were in business! Once we got around back, I told him to wait in the car to make sure that we had the right place, but we were right on the money.
He was not down or depressed, although I don't think that he fully remembered where we were, but when he got to the gravesite he read the name over and over again, and he kept saying, "And, this was your mother and my wife"? But, the biggest hit was when he learned that the stone next to her was HIS! He lit up like a roman candle and started in on what a fabulous place this was and how remarkable it was that I had taken him to so nice a place. Wheeling him around on the chair was a snap, and he's actually in much better physical condition than the last time that I visited him.
At McD;s he seemed a little bit reflective, but I think it was just the food. Although he completely forgot about the cookies and his sundae. When we got back to Elsie's House I brought it up that he didn't order his desert and he acted like this was my fault, and said not to let it happen again.
But overall, it was night and day compared to yesterday. After Tuesday's meal he was more or less down for the count, but today he was yelling (in a nice way) about how fabulous Sun Land Memorial Park was, and he insisted that I write down the name and how many miles it was from Elsie's Place. I used Google Maps to determine that it was 8.5 miles to the cemetery, and he demanded that I write this down in letters big enough for him to read. Of course, the first attempt wasn't satisfactory, but I finally got it to where he thought that he could read it with his magnifying glass. I asked him why this was so important, and he acted like I was some kind of a dunce. He said, "So that Lannie will know where I'm going after I leave here". He was in a hypomanic state, and he was practically bouncing off the walls thanking me for taking him and so happy that his son would do such a wonderful thing.
He practically insisted that Rosie would immediately get in contact with Lannie so that she would learn of his immense good fortune. We finally got him to accept the fact that she was working and he said, "That's right, she's a school teacher".
When I was leaving I said that we could easily go back to the cemetery before I returned to Illinois, and he that was a fantastic idea. I also said that we could stop in to see his old house, and he said, "Where my wife Jennieve lived, and you were born?"
An emotional day; somewhere between oddly macabre and weirdly upbeat.
PS I paid a visit to the LA Fitness on Bell and it is still one of my all time favorite health clubs.....seeya...kw
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