Sidney signed up for arthritis water class 3 times a week, which was overly ambitious. After the 1st pool session he was exhausted, telling his nurse case manager that “those little old ladies kicked my macho butt.”
My cousin and I flew down to San Diego to hold a massive estate sale at his old house. Spanish-speaking families swarmed the place, delighted over the bargains. Everyone received a light bulb for coming. The giant TV was offered for free to the first guy who could lift it. My parents’ ancient bed was carted off in a truck. The sale was a huge success. I delivered $300 cash to Sid, expecting he would chuckle and tell me to keep the money for my hard work. No, he stashed all the bills in his wallet and said “good job!”
We got his fancy retirement clock cleaned and repaired; it stopped working 20 years ago. The clock now chimes every 15 minutes, which would drive me nuts, however he’s thrilled. Of course it still doesn’t keep time accurately, usually 3 minutes off - we’re going to get that fixed. Maybe.
I shipped home the one piece of furniture I have always liked, a cherry-mahogany secretary desk with cubbyholes and a drop down shelf. It turns out that it belonged to my great grandmother and it’s been in the family since the early days of Brooklyn. I almost carted it off to Goodwill, who knew. The desk arrived with no damage, and fits into my house like it’s been here forever. I’m restoring it to its former grandeur and I’m happy every time I walk by.
Dad is a writer (it runs in the family). I asked him to update his life story, which to my knowledge he last completed 18 years ago. I brought him a tape recorder since his fingers are gnarled with arthritis; it’s hard for him to type or write. When I asked him what he would like to share, he handed me 3 “addenda”, the most recent one written a few days ago. He had already summarized his current situation, with no self-pity, on his new laptop using Windows 8. I was speechless. It’s the best gift he has ever given me. It softens the chaos and pain of the past year. I’m so proud of him.
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