Song Stuck on the Brain: In the Air Tonight by Phil Collins
I promised a rundown on our visit with
Granny Boo, so today I'll fill you in. In retrospect I'm wondering if the forces of Nature weren't trying to tell me to stay home, but I'll leave that for you to decide.
Angel and I decided to spend the last half of our Vacation week visiting family, so Thursday morning we packed up and headed for Springfield, Mo. Unfortunately, I'd been sick the night before and only got about 4 hours of sleep. I napped off and on during the 3 hour drive, but was still filling kind of icky when we got to Granny's.
When we arrived it was 90+ outside and Granny's air conditioner was broken. Not a great start. Lucky for us, Uncle Jim was there to fix it and by the time we'd returned from our lunch at Western Sizzlin' (ugh!) the air was up and running. So was our Canasta marathon. We spent the next 4 hours card slinging. Man, my butt was so tired of sitting. We managed to avoid card playing after dinner and by 10:30 I was ready to crash.
The bed I sleep in when I visit Granny, is what some would call extra firm. It's also known as Rock Hard and Brick Wall. Usually, this isn't too big of a deal, cuz I like a firm mattress, but Thursday night I was still achy from being sick and then sitting for so long. I woke up at 4:30 am with an incoming Migraine and the realization there would be no more sleep for me. Granny woke up at 5 a.m., so she kept me company talking (read shouting, Granny refuses to get a hearing aide.) to me until it was time for breakfast. Angel was especially appreciative of our early morning conversation. It kept waking her up.
By 9 a.m. the Canasta Tournament was off and running again. Usually Angel and I have to cheat in order for Granny to win. To show you how bad things were, Granny was throwing me cards left and right and trying to help ME win. We played six hands of Canasta and I won once - because Granny gave me every pot and card she could. It was humiliating. I felt like I was six again. Sometimes, the cards just aren't your friend.
By lunchtime Friday, we were ready to head off for lunch before packing up to hit the road. Sleep deprived and groggy from two short nights of sleep and a marathon of cards, I missed the step up into Angel's Intrepid. ( I know, I know, it's like six inches off the ground.) Anyway, I ended up jamming my sandal covered foot into the door frame instead. Rather than stubbing my toe, however, I nearly sliced it off due to a rusted hole in the underbelly. Stumbling back I see that the deep gash has nearly sliced the side of my toe off. I throw my hand out to catch myself on the side of the car (the one that had been broiling in the sun all morning...) and I burned the palm of my hand. Granny is flipping out. "Have you had a tetanus shot? Do you need stitches? Should we go to the hospital? You might get Lock Jaw!" Bless her heart, she really was worried, but I was NOT going to do a hospital trip. I bled like a stuck pig, so we figured the rust was gone. After cleaning it and bandaging myself up, we hit the road.
Not 20 min on the road, and I dropped the cap to Angel's tea bottle between the seat and the console. In the process of retrieving it, I managed to smash my index finger on the same hand I burned. Now, I'm so tired I'm ready to pass out, but can't because Angel needs me to read the map. We've never driven to Bonne Terre, Mo and the directions have us winding all over the place. So instead of napping, my big toe is going, th-thump, th-thump, my palm is red and smarting, my finger is throbbing and I'm shaking my head every 30 seconds in an effort to wake up. We even played NSync's No Strings Attached toward the end of the 3 hour drive. I know all the words so it should have been easy to sing along with, instead I was slurring my words.
The hotel was a Super 8. Not bad, but no elevators, so I trudged up the stairs with my lame foot and crashed. We were up early the next morning, so we could be at the prison visitation room by 9 am. We spent 4 and 1/2 hours visiting with my brother. Great visit, but we weren't allowed to get up and walk around, so again, we sat on hard chairs for hours on end.
You know, if you have to live your life with a hiney the size of China, it really should be worth it's weight in padding. It's only fair right? It should be of some value. However, it's NOT. It is of NO use as padding. Your butt hurts just the same as any one else's.
Following our visit, we drove another 4 hours to get home. I've never been so glad to get out of a car.
Despite the sitting marathon (with ill-proportioned butt to chair ratio), and the numerous injuries, and lack of sleep... we actually had a decent trip. We had a good time visiting with our family.
Sunday night ended on a sad note however. My parents dog, Taz, died. He was 10 years old and had suffered a stroke recently that left him blind and weak. My parents don't have a fenced in yard, so he goes out on a rope. No one realized he was outside Sunday evening, we're not even sure who let him out, but about 10:30 Dad went looking for him. He found that Taz had fallen off the retaining wall into the drive way and hung himself. A younger or healthier dog, probably would have been fine. There was room for the rope to stretch if he was standing, but he wasn't. I don't know if he had a stroke and fell, or just got confused and stumbled. I don't know if the fall broke his neck, or if he struggled. But the poor boy was gone. Angel and I got a frantic call to come help. We arrived in time to help them cover him in a black tarp for transportation the next morning.
Taz with his bone
It was horrifically sad. Taz had been a part of the family for 7 years. He was the most affectionate, sweet, loving dogs around. His favorite toy was a stuffed Lamb that he loved to sleep with. He was good with the kids and loved his treats. It was a very sad ending to our vacation.
Taz w/Chloe at her birthday party
Now, I'm back in the rat race, with
Jack as the only remaining Canine family member. We've lost too many recently. The downside of having elderly pets. In the last few years we've said good bye to Max,
Raquel, Bear and now Taz.
My boy Jack
Jack's getting extra hugs every night from now on.
A.
