I found out by happenstance on facebook,
so they had to include me in part of the plans, yes?
Yes, indeed they did!
But what to do? I had special Office Hours from
1:30 to 3:30 for several of my students,
to help them prepare for their first test.
(That was held on Monday and the three did well!)
We decided on brunch at Loc's in Sandfly -
good call, Smitty!
Mary was able to join us, too, that morning.
How wonderful to all be together!
Tony even said the blessing for the meal!
(smile!)
I picked him up at 10 this morning.
First, he needed to go wash clothes -
straight to Nami's laundrette we went!
While the clothes were washing, we bopped over
to Wal-Mart, where he bought the egg-crate mattress pad that he wanted, a lovely set of soft sheets in "multicolor chevron", and a colorful comforter -
all for only $36.
Ah, the makings of a new life!
Within twenty-five minutes, off to my house.
There, wildly overgrown cherry trees
and squirrel-planted scrub oaks and
dead lantana galore awaited his attention,
armed with a saws-all and a hatchet.
I left him to it.
I know very well the value of solitude
and had decided to allow him that rare wealth.
While he worked out in the yard, I finished up some writing, then began cooking.
Time to make us a meal to share!
Diced apples and onions, sauteed in olive oil - ooooh, always smells so good!
Sliced medallions of turkey kielbasa, to satisfy his sausage craving, went in next.
Then, some generous additions of dijon mustard, followed by sauerkraut to steam -
he walked in and immediately said how good it all smelled!
I had heated the rest of the KFC potato wedges, too - what a treat for both of us!
Then apple pazcki for him and raspberry for me for dessert - yum!
As I stepped out of the car to lend him a hand,
I caught a shimmer out of the corner of my eye
and looked down... and there was this penny!
I plucked it up immediately, of course,
looking heavenward and giving thanks -
not just for the coppery token of love,
but for this day shared on home turf.
i thank You, God!
1 comment:
I told Tony about my pleasant encounter with the ex-con yesterday.
He shared with me the encounter he had with a woman at International Paper... who turns out to have been trained by Mama to take her place. As soon as he said "Sybil", she exclaimed "Sybil Barry?! She was fabulous! Everyone here loved her!"
Here's the amazing part of that: Mama retired in 2000. She's been dead since 2001. That means no one at IP has seen her for almost twenty years... and yet, Caren had reacted as if she had recently seen her.
Wow.
Is it any wonder that I still miss her?
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