Friday, October 3, 2014

Old Friends

There have been no posts for the past few days because Carol and I had some traveling to do. We left on Tuesday morning after dropping Lily off at the Vet's office for her yearly tune up and shots. Our trip took us to Crossville, Tennessee to visit our friends Joyce and Danny. Joyce worked with Carol at St. Mary's Hospital back in the 70's and we became friends way back then. Our kids were about the same age and played together while we talked and drank coffee. The talking and coffee drinking continue but the kids are all grown up now. Life took Joyce and Danny to Las Vegas for a number of years. So when we visited Las Vegas we would visit them. When they were in Illinois they would visit us. We try to make it a point whenever we are in Tennessee to stop and have a visit and a pot or two of coffee. I hope everyone out there has friends like Joyce and Danny. It doesn't matter where life takes us. How long it has been since we last visited. What has happened in our lives. We get together and sit down and talk and it is like we saw each other yesterday. The conversations flow easily. No one is worried about saying something offensive or being offended. It was like that again when we visited this week. Time melted away and a conversation that started some 40 years ago picked up again as if it had never paused. Joyce got some tough news this spring. The doctors told her she had stage four cancer. The first doctor told her nothing could be done and she had 3 to 6 months. He told her to go enjoy the time she had left. He clearly did not understand who he was talking to that day. They went to another doctor and have been working on a treatment plan that is showing some positive results. We had been waiting for her to finish a round of chemotherapy and get a little strength back before we went for a visit. She is asking how long a drive it is to get to Tybee Island to see us. We are hoping sometime in the near future she is up to the trip.

Joyce and Danny live off the beaten path in Tennessee. I had an interesting experience about a mile from their house. We had made a turn and about a quarter mile from the corner where we turned I looked to my right and saw a midget pushing a lawnmower. He was out mowing his yard, The handle on the mower was about even with the top of his head. When we got to Joyce and Danny's I mentioned that we had seen a midget and Danny said in the several years they have lived there he has only seen him about 3 times. The next morning when we drove by his midget mother was standing out by the car. I don't think either one of them is tall enough to come up to my waist. Joyce relayed a story about them. The family also includes a daughter who is normal height. She took her mother and brother to WalMart and because of their physical limitations dropped them off near the doors. They walked behind the car and she couldn't see them and backed over them. The story goes that neither one was seriously injured. It was just a strange experience for us as we never expected to see a midget out in that area. I really wanted to stop and take a picture but Carol felt, correctly, that is would be very rude. I mean really will I ever see a midget mowing the lawn again? I think not. I waited 60 years for this opportunity. It doesn't happen every day. He didn't seem like a happy midget either. Wasn't pushing that lawnmower singing "Hi Ho Hi Ho it's off to work I go." like the dwarves in Snow White. Maybe dwarves are happy and midgets aren't. Not sure I know the difference between the two groups other than attitude. The bottom line is no picture. Sorry folks, nothing to see here.

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