Sept. 03, 2003 - 20:56 MDT

THE WONDERING JEW

Contemporary Comparisons

A meeting or a visit between old folks sometimes presents a scheduling problem. And even though a time is set, occasionally some more or less emergency occurs hitching the sked again.

Finally though we had a day or two with no doctors appointments or other things on a must do basis and so it was with my cousin, remarkably. He came over to visit and spent a goodly amount of time with us. Something that had been in the mill and pending for quite awhile.

We are roughly the same age and share many memories of our earlier life. Our paths changed as we approached adulthood. He went to college in Washington State, then to California to go to school learning aircraft work, thence to North Africa where he worked for awhile. Then he went to the Merchant Marine school and shipped out to sea. He spent the rest of the War years aboard ships. I stayed in town, worked for the railroad during the war years, married and the children appeared for us. Somewhere along the line he met a girl, fell in love, they married, she had his child and eventually divorced him because she did not want to live alone.

Not too long after he returned to shore and went to work in the Denver area Heather and I went to Florida for ten years.

During that time he met and married a girl back east, a lovely person who died after she gave birth to his son. Being devastated he was hard to find and connect with for some number of years. Our contacts were such as this, his sister's eightieth birthday, his eightieth birthday and my eightieth birthday. Each time we would tell each other, we must have a good visit sometime.

Today was that "sometime." And quite a visit it was. Lasted several hours wherein I learned things about his Dad I never knew and vice versa. There was a lot of catch-up on the years we were apart. Childhood memories came to the front of course. It was nice that many of our memories were remembered the same way.

After quite a long visit we ended up talking about old folks stuff, ailments etc. We each have ailments, differing in nature, each as bad as the other I guess.

I just recently went on Helios oxygen system. Big tank of LOX and an easily carrying unit that I can belt on or carry on a sling around my shoulder. His is a LOX type unit too, different in structure but, like mine, operates on demand. I like mine better as his seems a bit cumbersome. Breathe in and you get oxygen, don't breathe there is none coming out of the tube. Thereby the supply lasts long hours before running out. So we spent quite a bit of time discussing the various merits of each.

As we were talking he noticed as did I that it was getting darker in our apartment and remembered that rain was forcast for this afternoon. As he had some distance to walk from the garage of his condo to his living quarters, all outside, he bid us good bye so that he wouldn't have to walk wet to his place.

We continued talking as I walked him to his car and parted saying, "We must do this soon again," and a mutual wave as he drove off.

Naturally it didn't rain, Heather and I made a run to Costco, had a bite and still didn't get rained on. Luck of the Irish I guess.

One thing discussed was Heather and i bringing his sister to this side of town so the three of us can visit and him taking her home. His energy level is about like mine and too much running around is tiring. We discussed the possibility of bringing his sister to a common meeting place and having a meal and visit too. With a bit of cooperation I think it could work. His sister has Rheumatoid Arthritis and is in quite poor state. The last time we visited her we took her out to eat and she has quite a time getting around, but is such good company. A year or two ago he would to visit her, take her grocery shopping and visit as well, but that is in the ago now.

Two old men who once again today visited times of our childhood and many other things in our Contemporary Comparisons . . . . . . . . .

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