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| St. Rose's in Roseville Stained Glass in Afternoon Sunnlight |
I am committed to factual reporting on this journey. I
would be less than diligent therefore if I failed to report the following:
I recently flew across this nation to NJ for a fantastic wedding. I
planned every item for every hour. It wasn’t just a trip it was a strategic
deployment. I checked the weather forecasts, I brought only what was
absolutely required. I had packs and packs of anti-bacterial wipes.
I had several pairs of gloves. I was prepared! I have to count my wheelchair as a checked bag, so I pack as little
as possible. I had thought I was prepared for any imaginable
possibility, but once again, I was literally and figuratively blindsided by an
unforeseen event. I was having my hair cut when my stylist customarily
asked, “Are we doing your eyebrows today?” She usually did them, I can no
longer see my eyebrows and it’s cheap so I figured, “Why not?”
Since my brain surgery she had waxed my eyebrows many times. So what
happened next was a fluke, an unfortunate accident. In an effort to have
one less thing to be bothered with, one less detail to manage, I got burned!
Literally! She burned my eyelids! I would have laughed (it was
actually pretty funny) but it really hurt! Because I have an unusually
high pain tolerance, I didn’t feel the burn until the next day! And it hurt!
What really “burns” me (besides wax) is that this was an unforced error –
totally self-induced, like North Korea. ( I hadn’t thought of NK in ages and
now we’re all gonna die) I am at my maximum capacity for disasters of any
kind. No floods or earthquakes or a bad, facial burn (insert joke here)
was nothing I needed. Proving once again that you have to be ready for
anything! And almost everything is funny!
The real tragedy waiting for me in California was the
passing of Father Mike McKeon. The PS and I went to St. Rose’s on
Thursday for Fr. Mike’s memorial. The church was packed! I only
managed to get seated because I’m in a wheelchair. We had seen him
recently in Woodland, not looking like anything other than a man who needed
some TLC and a lot of rehab. Mike died while I was in NY. We had
planned on seeing him again. I thought he was recovering. I had a
new stress ball (a little rubber ball for increasing hand strength) to give
him. I asked the PS to take a lot of family photos at the wedding
to show him. I adored the “sisters”(actual siblings) caring for
him. I don’t know much about God or Roseville but I do know a
thing or two about brain surgery and I know A LOT about physical
rehabilitation. I felt like there was a unique opportunity for me to
help. Even if you’re confined to bed, there are things you can do. I had
plans for him! Rehab plans! Exercise is always possible. I was
therefore uncharacteristically sad leaving NJ, as Albert Brooks said in
“Finding Nemo”, “Good feeling, gone.”
On the flight back to San Francisco I watched a very sad
movie. Lovely! Thank You, Rooney Mara! Again, I
wasn’t looking for drama! I was freaking bereft already! Is it too
much to ask for “A Ghost Story” to be just a stupid horror film?
But noooo, it starred Casey Affleck and was a soul-crushing tale about undying
love and death. I was riveted! I thought a lot about Mike on the
flight. No! Too sad. Too soon. Did he know what was
happening? Did he feel loved? Was he scared? Did he know how much
he meant to so many? I hope so! My PS said he entered an overflowing
St. Rose’s for his retirement like a rock star! I believe it. I
felt that quality. Mike gave a speech at my father-in-law’s 90th
birthday where he said someone should write about the folks who “came over”
from Ireland. He probably wasn’t addressing me, but I heard him
nonetheless.
While I consider that challenge, I will continue my search
for answers. I miss Mike.
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