Day +124 "Come Rain or Come Shine"

Rainy and dreary day here in Orlando. Heaven knows, we need all the rain we can get to refill the aquifer. In some areas, even here in Orlando, huge sink holes have appeared (sometimes swallowing houses!!!) where the limestone has collapsed because there was no water to hold it up.  I’m also alone this morning as Ruth Ann has left with Artha for a sewing thingee (I don’t ask). She left with her sewing machine and a tote bag full of stuff. This gives me a chance to do some writing and also to listen to Bizet (Maria Callas – “Carmen”).

A little medical update: I saw my doc in Tampa the other day. We had reduced the anti-rejection drug and the result was a little Graft vs. Host Disease (GVHD). It can manifest itself in many ways and in my case it’s muscle and joint pain… yesterday morning it was downright crippling. Better today, but I took half a pain pill. We’ll be looking for my body to adjust to the change in dosage over the next two weeks when I see the folks in Tampa again. Blood work was OK… with just the platelets down (another indication of GVHD). A little GVHD is good… stirring up some action in the new cells to attack the few “hot spots” left.

I’ve been out to lunch three times… what a challenge to get water with no ice or lemon… for gosh sakes just open the tap! Navigating the menus is challenging also… no fresh stuff – salads, L&T on a sandwich, etc. But as long as everything on my plate is cooked we’re safe… just yesterday at the Boston Fish Market, here in Orlando, I had baked scallops, fries, and corn on the cob. The scallops were absolutely dreamy… I could have stuck my face right in the dish! By the way, if you are ever in East Orlando, make a point of hitting this restaurant. There are however, Red Sox, Celtics and Patriots stuff hung all over! Next time I threatened to wear a Yankee hat.

I promised a couple more “Tony” stories, and I won’t disappoint: remember that Tony gets really obsessed with stuff… like the slices of ham, etc. Well, many years ago he really got into “Dallas” and the other show with the vineyard. These were the days before the VCR and DVR. We (Ruth Ann and I) would call him on Friday night’s right in the middle of Dallas and keep him on the phone for as long as we could…. We knew he was chomping at the bit to get off. What a pisser!

Speaking of phone calls: years ago, the Connecticut Posse would do New Year’s Eve together. There was always a party somewhere… churches, etc. (St Margaret’s Church had some of the best… music, great food and BYO… cheap, too). Anyway, one couple in our group had moved to Needham… Eddie and Mary Lou and didn’t want to come to Connecticut for the festivities. They went out with their friends in Massachusetts, but had to get a babysitter for Melissa.

We would call the baby sitter “collect” and the unsuspecting teenager would accept the charges! This was when it cost a bundle for a long distance call… especially a collect call!  We would keep her on the phone forever; leaving a long detailed message for Eddie and Mary Lou… making sure the spelling was correct for ALL of our names, checking grammar, punctuation, etc. Everyone got a chance to talk… Ruth Ann and I, Joe and Joanie, Tommy and Laurie, Pam and Russ! It was usually a 15 minute call and when Eddie got the bill he freaked! (Oh, did I mention that Eddie has short arms and deep pockets?). After a couple of years, he got smart and told the babysitter NOT to accept collect calls, and Eddie and Mary Lou started coming to Connecticut for New Year’s Eve. It was cheaper… he mooched a room from Joe and Joan and drank their booze… what could be better?