Islands In A Ravaged Time
This morning, I had been out and about and came home to discover that Carolyn and John were over at Billy's, the neighbor across the road. I met them when they stayed with Billy having evacuated from Hurricane Rita along with other family members.
Right after Hurricane Rita had blown through, we were without power. So Gene and I would go across the road in the evenings to play dominoes or cards by lantern light. It was nice to pass the time with one old and several new friends when there was no electricity for tv watching or reading. And with no fans or air conditioning, Billy's porch was a cooler place to be than our house anyway.
There was a rousing card game the night before he died. I remember some discussion came up about age and Gene was adamant about being only 49, NOT fifty! It was funny.
One Last Game
The next morning, Gene had his heart attack. John came up to the clinic and waited with me and was there when I got the official word that Gene hadn't made it. Kim, Gene's sister, made it there right about the time the doctor was talking to me.
Well, Gene got to be forty-nine forever, didn't he?
A hurricane shakes things up. Tosses things and people with the wind and water. People who were strangers became closer in mere days than people I've known for years. I'll always be grateful for the support they offered me. They let me cling to them when I felt like I was drowning in grief. Islands of comfort.
So anyway! It was great to see them again! They'd come up for Billy's birthday. We had a good visit. Got caught up on what was going on with each other. Even after hurricane repairs, sounds like they got a few home repair surprises such as the hot water heater going out. But I think there are a lot of things that got damaged and/or were just hanging on. Like refrigerators, microwaves, etc. Even though there was no hurricane damage to them, I had to replace my refrigerator, DVD, and VCR within just a few weeks after all the power outages and shortages.
So, the visit was good and got to eat birthday cake and drink good coffee, too!
Right after Hurricane Rita had blown through, we were without power. So Gene and I would go across the road in the evenings to play dominoes or cards by lantern light. It was nice to pass the time with one old and several new friends when there was no electricity for tv watching or reading. And with no fans or air conditioning, Billy's porch was a cooler place to be than our house anyway.
There was a rousing card game the night before he died. I remember some discussion came up about age and Gene was adamant about being only 49, NOT fifty! It was funny.
One Last Game
The next morning, Gene had his heart attack. John came up to the clinic and waited with me and was there when I got the official word that Gene hadn't made it. Kim, Gene's sister, made it there right about the time the doctor was talking to me.
Well, Gene got to be forty-nine forever, didn't he?
A hurricane shakes things up. Tosses things and people with the wind and water. People who were strangers became closer in mere days than people I've known for years. I'll always be grateful for the support they offered me. They let me cling to them when I felt like I was drowning in grief. Islands of comfort.
So anyway! It was great to see them again! They'd come up for Billy's birthday. We had a good visit. Got caught up on what was going on with each other. Even after hurricane repairs, sounds like they got a few home repair surprises such as the hot water heater going out. But I think there are a lot of things that got damaged and/or were just hanging on. Like refrigerators, microwaves, etc. Even though there was no hurricane damage to them, I had to replace my refrigerator, DVD, and VCR within just a few weeks after all the power outages and shortages.
So, the visit was good and got to eat birthday cake and drink good coffee, too!
posted by Ms. Judy at 5:06 PM
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