I Walk The Line

I Walk The Line                            6783  (2743)

Wednesday, January 31, 2007-2:45 P.M.

Well, I have one more day with my father and mother down here in Florida, and so far, things are going well, except for the fact that Dad's in pain a lot more than I would like to see.  Mom's doing a great job of tending to his needs and she's very strong and the fact that she hasn't unraveled yet is a testimony to what she's been through, from years of tending to my father's mother who lived with us for years, and then her own parents' bout of failing health which eventually became terminal.

I've been doing what I can, fetching this and that to make Dad comfortable, telling him jokes (so far I'm an amazing 20 for 20....I guess I've got him pegged pretty good after all these years) and I wish laughter was the best medicine, but apparently this morphine/ether/heroin combo they've got him on is just a little bit better.  I think comedy clubs are missing the boat selling alcohol....they ought to be selling painkillers.  Hell, even open mike would be funny then.

Yesterday, we had two nurses visit, one in the morning and one in the afternoon.  The one in the morning was busting my balls about being a northerner and being used to the cold that is gripping Florida right now.  It's really only in the 30's, but that's damn brisk compared to what they're used to.  The woman identified herself as a true Floridian and I said "What are you, an orange?" and that got a little chuckle.  For the most part, no one here is actually from here....last night in Panera Bread as I (unsuccessfully) tried to check my e-mail using their wireless internet, a table of folks next to us were having a conversation and one of the guys mentioned he was from Rochester, and that got Mom's and my attention...we wound up chatting with them for a few minutes as they left the place.  Down in Florida, it's big fun when you meet someone from your neck of the woods, even though practically everyone down here is from Upstate New York, Chicago or Detroit, with smatterings of Pittsburgh and Philly thrown in for good measure.

We tried to get Dad to lay down on a bed today, and he was alright for a little while, and then the pain in his back from the tumor that's taken up residence on his spine started shouting at him, and he begged to go back to his sitting position on the couch with his heating pad.  He's been sitting there and sleeping there for the last three weeks or so, and last night I popped in a tape of "Walk The Line" for him to watch (he's always been a big Johnny Cash fan, and my lovely wife taped it for him from HBO) and he enjoyed it, but the music put him to sleep like a lullaby.  That was actually good, because he was able to get some sleep finally.  He slept somewhere between 8 and 10 hours, which is the most I've seen in the few days since I've been here.

Before I came down here, I got some great advice from folks who had gone down this road before, and they all said the same thing, which is basically enjoy my father's company, don't concentrate on saying "goodbye," just comfort him and be there for him.  Right now, I'm about to head home, I've picked up the smokes he asked for (no sense in quitting now) and I'll enjoy one more night with him before I take off tomorrow for Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

I'm scheduled to come back to Florida in May and I don't know if Dad will be around then, or if he is, what state he'll be in, so I guess I'm happy that I made the trip this week.  Pam sent me pictures of Harmony and Snax The Cat who he used to take care of for me when I was on the road.  I hope he'll enjoy them (I'm sure he will) and make him smile.  I fear I'm running out of jokes, so I need all the help I can get.

Thank you all for your prayers and best wishes.  On behalf of my father, I appreciate and accept them.

Ralph Tetta

Rochester, NY