Back in West, By God ,Virgina

November 14, 2017

After twenty-four hundred miles, twenty-five days, three extra pounds for each of us, and a few days of not so wonderful driving, we have returned to Charles Town.  We are so happy to be home but even happier that we were able to be with Megan for her treatments. Cindy did most of the heavy lifting while we were there.  After three days of my wearing surgical gloves to sanitize the bathroom, my hands broke out and the nurse said I was allergic to the non-latex gloves. Cindy then had to do all the glove-related cleaning, convinced that I had somehow managed to will my outbreaks.  (From CCE - I mean, really, can you believe this?  Allergic to non-latex gloves?  Gotta admire his cleverness.  HA.)

I did take responsibility for shopping and cooking and I’m proud to say that Megan might be the only cancer patient at Moffitt to have gained a few pounds while going through all the treatments. There were nights when she just had to force herself to eat, but eat she did. They wanted her to have lots of rest, exercise, and protein and she willed herself to do it all and the results have been spectacular.

It was hard to leave her but we know she is in excellent hands with her family. Our first day on the road didn’t start until noon so we only drove about four hours, but it was a very interesting drive. We went northeast and through some very interesting “old Florida” towns.  We were amazed at one point when the area we were passing seemed to look more like the wealthy horse country of Northern Virginia.  Large parcels of land with lots of horses and what looked like actual hills in Florida. Snug up to these estates were tracts of trailer parks and acres of manufactured houses. Lots of contrast to be sure. 

We stopped in Brunswick, Georgia for the night and there was a really wonderful restaurant in our hotel, which made us doubly happy since it was raining. I had the best piece of fish on the whole trip. The next day we decided to be tourists for an hour and drove over to St. Simons Island, which is well known in the area and a bastion of enclaved wealth and gated communities. There are large marinas right on the Atlantic Inland Waterway and they were filled with really, really large vessels. We drove around a while but didn’t see anything since all the cool stuff is behind gates and on private roads, so we headed north.

Interstate 95 continues to be a road that I detest, but we had very little choice.  It is only two lanes through Georgia and South Carolina and the traffic was horrible. We thought that the trip would get easier once we were off 95, but approaching Charlotte it became a parking lot. Our trusty but ancient GPS found a way around a horrible accident and we only lost about an hour before getting to our hotel. The last day of travel was a breeze for which we were deeply grateful. 

Megan continues to get stronger by the day and is so very happy to be in her own home. It is cold here, but I actually turned on the fireplace and it is warm and comfortable in the living room. Cindy has a concert this weekend and is up to her neck with practice and rehearsals. I’m happy as a clam getting everything ‘winterized’ and doing mundane chores, shopping and cooking. All is well.   Best to all, Cindy and Wm

Ode to Joy, Part Two

Dearest Friends,

You by now know that we are in a state of bliss.  Megan has received a clean bill of health and was discharged this afternoon, one week earlier than anyone ever expected.  She is in good health, good spirits and ever so positive, which is what got her through all of this.  We thank all of you for your prayers, positive energy, thoughtful cards and mindfulness. It has been a roller coaster six months and now we all look to the future with great hope and appreciation for all that we have as family and extended family.

Megan and David get to go home tomorrow and she will be in the bosom of her sisters and their families. We begin our journey home tomorrow with far more energy and joy than the trip down last month.

Cindy and I shall be eternally grateful to all of you!  With love, Cindy and Wm

Ode to Joy

Dearest Friends,

There are times when even I am at a loss for words!  I’ll invoke the talents of Herr Beethoven to assist me.  Please turn your volume UP!!  Please click here.

With much love, Cindy and Wm

Urban Wildlife

In an effort to stay to a schedule, which includes some exercise, we have been getting up earlier than normal to go to Megan’s apartment to clean and organize, and from there we go on our walk/run.  Cindy normally stays within the gates of the apartment complex until the sheets that she washed can be put in the dryer and then we go back later to fold and tidy again. My walks have taken me to some marvelous little pockets of unspoiled scrub, ponds, and rivers. Not too far away is a large park, Lettuce Lake Wildlife Park, that is hard up against the Hillsbrough River which meanders for about fifty miles before dumping its water into Tampa Bay. We had a picnic there last week with all the Florida kids, and it was a marvelous time, but we only saw a snake and someone saw a gator. On my walks thus far I’ve seen a family of ducks - mom and dad had red on their beaks and the ten little ones were all dull brown and mottled for protection. There was another fowl family, wild turkeys this time, mom and dad and eight young ones, wandering around the grounds of the regional office of Verizon. There are two donkeys and one bull and three cows in a field near the fire station and there are birds everywhere. We’ve seen three types of cranes, one large white stork, at least 3 kinds of herons, a pileated woodpecker or two, a pair of Sandhill Cranes, many ducks and swans, a flock of 5 parrots, and tons of songbirds who must winter over here in Tampa.

The absolute best viewing of wildlife however has been only a few feet away from the entrance to Megan’s apartment complex. We came across what we think is a Gulf Coast Box Turtle who was preparing a nest to deposit her eggs. She had come from a pond that is about two hundred yards from where she was digging (we figured out later). We assume that she has been doing this for decades since they can live to be a hundred, and we think it used to be a direct shot from the pond to the high ground that she chose for her nest. In the intervening years housing has been built that blocks her direct path so she decided to take the sidewalk and drop the eggs. We watched her for about an hour while she dug a nest. She would dig a little with her left hind leg using her webbing as a shovel, and then swing her butt over and use her right hind leg and dig a little more. After about eight of these sessions she would urine in the hole to make it easier to dig. When she had a nest about four inches deep, she began to deposit her eggs, a total of 22. If you have any interest you can click on this link to see my video.  When she was done, she buried the eggs, cleaned the area and then took off down the road and back to the pond as we followed to make sure she didn’t get hit by a car. It was spellbinding for us. We check every day to make sure no one has tampered with our nest!

Best wishes,  Cindy and Wm