The Mayo /The Road Trip From My Journal
Hello Friends,
The appointment at the Mayo in April was a good one. The nodes in my lymphatic system have enlarged somewhat, but my blood levels had returned to levels of 6 months ago. My doctors actually seemed happy and relieved to see me. I guess the oncology department had a really bad day with patients who were progressing with their various cancers, and I waltz in with a good report and in good spirits after a long day of scans and blood tests, and waiting, waiting, and more waiting. I actually got a hug from Doctor R’s assistant and a big smile and relief on the faces of the staff. Not a bad day at all! I’d love to think my good report has to do with the grape seed extract that I’m taking, and it may well be, so will continue taking it. My doctor didn’t “say” grape extract works or is recommended for his patients, but he did say for me to continue whatever I was doing to keep my leukemia in check. He didn’t mention the scary words “chemo” this time. Break for me? YES!
Back home from the Mayo to pack and clean house and get ready for the upcoming road trip. The dogs are groomed, spiffed, and ready to go. They have as much luggage as Danny and I (their own suitcase) filled with doggie pads, various foods and treats, containers to eat and drink from, wash cloths and wipes, shot records, bug stuff, etc. etc. etc. Then they have another container filled with their pillows, toys, favorite blankets, and other junk they just might need. Danny and I can’t figure out where we’re supposed to fit our luggage into the covered bed of the pickup after water & food holding containers, as well as the “maybe we’ll need it emergency kits and tools” for all of us. Cubby Bear and Lady Bug have the back seat of the cab full already with a built-in thick foam mattress bed and down coverlet, as well as a watering hole area and favorite toys for each. (I want to ride with them.) Not much room for “my” blanket, over-sized purse, and pillow in the front, but it’s a must for me to travel and feel secure . . . much to Danny’s chagrin. Men, they just don’t get it! Duh?
From my Journal – April 15th.
April fifteenth and the first day of our road trip to the East coast has finally arrived. The Master Sergeant got all us sleepy pups up and at ’em around 6 a.m. The three of us are not the up and at ’em types in the morning. None . . . except of course . . . the Master Danny Bartlett dog. Fortunately, we were packed from the night before (except for the last minute little details) so we hit the road by 7 a.m. at the latest.
We were just outside of Flagstaff (maybe 200 miles from home) when we came upon a line of cars ahead of us stretching further than we could see with the naked eye and the binoculars. Nothing was moving! Come to find out from the travel channel on the radio, we were in a line of stopped traffic that was 18 plus miles long. A blinding sandstorm had closed down I-40 east and we couldn’t move. So we sat in the storm, and for three long hours we didn’t move forward at all, and we wondered what to hell we had done to deserve to be sitting so close to home on our first day out! At around three in the afternoon, we began moving at a slow turtle pace. Imagine how long it takes to get 18 miles of traffic revved and moving again? We didn’t stop at the first rest stop as it was over-flowing with vehicles, but we stopped at the first gas station and refueled and refreshed. Bad start for our road trip. Was the sandstorm a bad an omen? Nah!
We stayed at a nice clean hotel the first night out. We had come through a massive sandstorm, a furious hailstorm and miles of pounding rain . . . all in one day! All we needed to add to the weather forecast was snow. Alas, it was a dream waiting to come true. After checking in at the hotel, tired and weary, Danny and I both showered as we felt like sand specks were sticking to our skin and clothes. We hit the sack with neither of us saying much about the horrid beginnings of our trip. We awoke early in the a.m. to five inches of snow on the truck, and a flooded (non-workable) toilet and a bathtub that had backed up with sewerage. Joy to the traveling world . . . and all that crap-o-la stuff! The vocal gates opened to our dismayed horror of the past 24 hours. Danny voiced turning around and going back home. I simply shook my head in dismay. “That was it,” I kept repeating, “our luck has to change!” We packed quickly. Only the dogs got to pee on the snow pack and have a rollicking good time in the cold, wet, white gift. One positive side, the hotel didn’t charge for the room!
We headed on down the road to find a rest stop, and stopped at the first one we came to. Across the road was a casino with a large sign stating “Starbucks Coffee”. Danny wheeled on over to try and find a place to eat and entice me with fresh coffee to make my world better. After a hot meal, and a ton of “Starbucks” we decided to throw caution to the wind and play the slots. An hour later, I’d lost around a hundred dollars and Danny had lost around the same amount when we finally met up. I had around fifty or so fifty cent tokens left, so I told him, “I’ll play these, then we’ll head on down the road.” He agreed. I went back to the fifty-cent machines, and unbeknownst to me, he was playing a dollar machine right around the corner from where I was sitting. I ran out of money and stood to go find him, when I saw activity at the back of my machines. People were talking excitedly. Danny was sitting at his machine, looking stunned. I saddled up to him and he turned toward me and pointed at his machine. “Five hundred dollars,” I exclaimed. “Good job!” “Not five hundred,” he said. “Look again.” Yow!! The amount he had won stated, $5,000.00 dollars! Our trip was paid for! One day out and we had hit a jackpot! He collected his winnings and we stopped at a branch bank at the very next exit and deposited the money into our account. Yes! Our luck had changed!
After two long, hurried, and exhausting nights on the road, we pulled into Nashville, Tennessee at around eight in the evening. The dogs and I had had it with the Big Boy! (Both Big Boys) It was time for a two-day stay in something nice and comfy and some time out! We rented a hotel suite with comfortable beds, living room, kitchen, and hook ups for my computer. The dogs had pee trees and tons of green grass and a place to roam. I was in hog heaven. The weather was perfect in Tennessee and the change of large green trees and a bounty of flowers warmed my heart. It was nearly perfect.
Danny had recently reconnected to a buddy from his high school days that had become a Chiropractor in Nashville, so he set out to meet and greet his old friend. They had a golf game the following day. Me and . . . you know who . . . (Shih Tzus) would get to sleep in! I was determined to stay in my pajamas ’til noon at the very least, and I did.
The reunion and golfing between Danny and Kenny went exceptionally well. Ken hit a 487-yard eagle, and the “boys” were ecstatic about the rare achievement! The guys were like two peas in a pod when they returned to the apartment. They were two really good friends having a great time reminiscing and joking together. I truly loved observing Dan reconnecting with Chiro Ken. Ken is the type of guy that feels like he should be forever in Dan’s life. One of those easygoing type of guys . . . smart, funny, sensitive . . . and all wrapped up in a manly package. It will be sad not to have him around all the time.
Danny and I also visited Dan’s Uncle and Aunt who live in the Hermitage. It was a nice, comfortable visit, with old memories from the Uncle and Nephew stirring around the flames of time. Jim and Carla are southern to the core, and I adore them. Jim’s wife, Carla, is ill with cancer and it was good to see her and for her to see me. We also got to visit with their two daughters, Ivy and Barb, and catch up on their lives.
In retrospect, the highlight of our Nashville visit for me was watching the two grown up buddies- “Doc & Dan” hit it off like they hadn’t been separated for forty plus years. They couldn’t stop talking and comparing and talking and talking . . . They both have the “Big Boy” trucks, and to listen to them go on about their big shiny boy toys, felt like something akin to evesdropping on two little toddlers playing in a sandbox.
On our last night in Nashville, we all went out to dinner in downtown Nashville’s Music Row. It was fun to revisit our old hot spots again in Nashville. Ken and his ex wife, Danny and I, along with some of Ken’s lifelong Nashville friend’s hit the cowboy town with a vengeance, drinking in the night lights and sounds. We behaved like the Maine country bumpkins we all are. It was a blast! I loved every moment of it all.
Back on the road in the big ol’ Truck headed toward the East Coast and Connecticut, rested and ready for the next leg of our journey of memories. A few days of long driving (for us) and we arrived in Connecticut late in the evening. We immediately found a hotel with outside Suites to park ourselves for a few nights. The suite we rented had a grassy area for the dogs, a dog run, and a convenient backdoor for them to go out from. Also, a doggy “can” and doggy “bags” placed here and there for owners on the lawns. Now that’s a place that “knows” owners of pets. We were supposed to stay at our son’s down by the Southern Shore, but we wanted to rest our weary bodies for a few days first. The suite available had two bedrooms, and two baths with kitchen, dining room, and Internet service, etc. What a luxury.
The next afternoon after twelve glorious hours of sleep for us all, we drove down to our son’s home. Their home is beautiful and pristine with grassy knolls and three acres of big old Yankee trees. The weather was cooperating with sunny skies and not a lot of humidity. Perfect for an outside BBQ to be followed by a Little League ballgame with our grandson, Jordan (the pitcher).
While at the house, we explored the possibility of all of us staying there, and decided against it. The stairs going up to the guest bedroom are steep, and the bed is one of those old fashioned high beds, that I can’t for the life of me figure out how I would get into bed, much less, get out! My son pointed out a set of matching stairs to be used to make the climb, but then I thought of Danny getting into bed on his side, and the stairs over on his side, and me trying to exit to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night or go outside with the dogs. Do I slip over the edge? It wasn’t a workable plan. Beautiful room. Not practical for a lame couple with two dogs. If the dogs needed to go downstairs in the middle of the night, it would wake everyone. So we decided a piece of the gift from the casino was to be used for our suite for the 7 days in Connecticut. After all, I had my own bedroom, and the dogs were comfortable as could be.
I attended Land Of I business meetings in the mornings during my Connecticut stay, and since Jordan was still in school during our visit, we attended his ballgames in the afternoons. My grandson is quite the ball player. He’s just fourteen, but pitches left handed, and can bat left or right. He’s a gift in the leagues. He’s a very fast pitcher, and is being fostered for the future of baseball. He’s a 4.0 student, plays baseball and football, is handsome like his parents, and can sing like an angel. The God’s blessed this child with tons of gifts, which he utilizes with humility and grace and a sense of humor that’s really funny. I have to give his parents a lot of credit. He’s an exceptional child. His pet gerbil had died before we arrived and he had buried him with reverence, placing a special small cross above his gravesite, which he straightens and weeds daily. My grandmotherly pride . . . hit a new high, recognizing what a sensitive, and wondrous child this kid is. He isn’t in competition with anyone in this world but himself. What a rarity!
We left Connecticut one fine morning, early in the morning, and headed for Maine to visit both my Mom and Danny’s Mom and the rest of our combination relatives and friends. (We’re from the same hometown.) My Mom lives in a small home by herself, shovels snow, still drives, etc., and basically takes care of herself with vigor at 85. We would be staying at her home for a week, and Mom wanted to have a combination birthday party for both me, and her brother, Uncle Bubbie. My birthday is on May 5th and his on May 8th. Danny’s mom is 90 and has been in a nursing home with Alzheimer’s for many years, and he had wanted to visit her and deal with the pain of seeing her in that condition for a long time. He and his sister Sharon planned to go down to Houlton, Maine and visit her for a day. Make it a brother and sister day.
On the way up to Maine, we decided to stay overnight just outside of Bangor. Since we have gotten used to staying at hotels on our trip, we now case the hotels before we bunk down for the night. Outside entrances and green grass are mandatory for the animals. Clean air conditioning units beneath the windows and newly painted doors usually tell the tale of the inside of a hotel being clean or not so clean. Our choices were limited north of Bangor but we had missed the Bangor exits. We thought the city was bigger than it was, and once we got past the hotel exits, we knew we had boo-booed. We pulled off around twelve miles or so beyond Bangor, Maine . . . in a countryside location filled with trees and not much else going on from the looks of it. We had hit the jackpot and found our perfect location and hotel. The place was lovely from the outside, with a row of inviting looking units with doors leading to some massive grassy areas and tree shrubs. The air conditioning units were pristine, and the doors painted a bright green. Danny checked in and came back with the keys dangling from his fingers. He had acquired a two-bedroom suite for around ninety dollars. He was so proud! Wellll . . . Geepers, Creepers! The two-bedroom suite had two bedrooms all right! One in the front with a regular bed, a small fridge and a microwave at the foot of the bed. The back bedroom had another bed, nothing else, and no windows at all. The back bedroom was as black as the inside of a cave. The décor and the beds were from the sixties. The grass and small trees for the dogs was a good thing. They aren’t as picky as me.
I took the back bedroom as Cubby usually sleeps at the foot of Dan’s bed, and Lady Bug snuggles with me. Cubby is afraid of the dark. Lady isn’t! After showering in the very small bathroom, I hit the sack with my little girl, and Cub and Dan stayed up in the outer room to watch CNN.
It was close to two in the morning when I was awoken with a rough hand, urgently shaking my shoulder. “Wake up, Hon, wake up,” I heard from a sleep-deprived distance. I groaned, rolled over and went back to sleep. “Hon,” (more urgent) “Wake Up!” I moaned, coming to a light awareness that a voice was speaking to me in absolute blackness. It sounded like Danny. I snapped on the light above my head on the wall. “What is it,” I commanded. I was astounded to find Danny at the side of my bed, Cubby clutched in his arms, a look of terror on his face. “Something’s under my bed,” he choked out. “Yeh right,” I snapped back, “Good night, guys.” “No!” he half screamed, “I’m not lying. There’s something beneath my bed. Every time I move, it pokes at the underside of the bed.” “And what do you want me to do?” I asked skeptically. “I’m going to lift the mattress up,” he announced, and I want you to look underneath.” “OK, I replied,” getting to my feet (thinking) these guys had a baddddd dream. Danny plopped Cubby onto my bed with Lady Bug, both of them bug-eyed at the drama unfolding, and I followed my leader out to his bedroom so I could peek beneath his bed. He lifted up the mattress on his bed with one big heave, and I looked. Really looked! It was empty. “It’s empty, I laughed. You had a dream.” “Honest to God, I didn’t,” he shakily laughed, “I felt thumps.” In the meantime, the mattress was falling gently downward, guided by my bogeyman husband. As it leveled out on the slats, I heard and saw movement on the bed. Thunk! Whap! Creak! The mattress settled onto a railing system that was obviously old and decrepit. The bed slats had bent and jumped around, bending and bolting the mattress each time his weight had shifted. I groaned, and headed back to my dark as a pit room. “Honestly, he yelled at my retreating back, it felt like there was something under there!”
More later . . . .