It was nice, the other day, to get a call from the Favorite Son, who was a bit worried because I hadn't posted since Sunday or sent him any nagging emails about my favorite worries about him. I told him I'd been waiting for readers to have a chance to read the sermon on Sunday before I posted about my friend in Colorado who is dealing with Parkinsons.
He was suitably sympathetic and concerned, though his experience of my friend was through the eyes of a teenager. I have vivid memories of the two of them wrestling on my kitchen floor---the symbolism of this is not lost on me either, though I don't want to read too much into it. My friend G had helped me pick out the FS's first car, a 70's era Plymouth Duster---a steel cage that didn't go very fast, to be blunt. G was definitely part of the FS's history as well.
But it's nice to have a son who thinks about me in that way, as I become increasingly aware of what it means to be almost 66 (my birthday is Sunday the 8th) and living alone with three cats, none of whom know how to call 911. He wanted the phone numbers of some of my friends and neighbors here on Whidbey, just in case, so I have given him a few numbers and email addresses to use if I fail to post or email for a worrisome piece of time.
It's certainly handy to have a blog, as a means of communication. But it also means that I want to be careful about what I say and about whom I write. I was reminded of how much security and privacy issues figure in our American life these days, as I applied for an Enhanced Driver's License yesterday at the DOL. I had to provide a birth certificate, my SSN, my old license, and proof of residence and then answer questions, have my birth certificate verified by the Health Department, and during this vetting maintain my composure.
All this for an enhanced ID/Driver's License which will enable me to cross the Canadian border without a passport. Mexico too, I think, but I'm not sure. We are so close to the border that it makes sense to do this. And I enjoy visiting Victoria BC particularly----high tea at the Empress! Yum!
I was supposed to go over to Port Townsend for a ministers' cluster meeting, but the wind is picking up and the small ferry they have covering that route across the Strait often gets cancelled because of the wind, so I've decided not to go. That gives me much more of the day to spend at home, which I'm glad to have.
So relax, FS, I'm not lying in a crumpled heap somewhere in the house. Life is good, even for this almost-66 semi-free-radical.
4 comments:
I laughed a little as I read this. Right now, I think my mom is worried more about me than vice versa. But we do have that conversation routinely. She had been emailing the four of us daily while my dad was ill, then planned on keeping that up just so we didn't worry she'd driven into a ditch or something. But she hasn't been as devotional in the practice as some of us would like. Weird ways we connect these days, huh?
Yes, who would have thought thirty some years ago that we'd be able to communicate by writing notes that didn't have to have a stamp on them, that the notes would be sent and received instantaneously, that it would cost less than long-distance (well, sort of), and that none of this would actually improve communication, that, in fact, it might impede it, since there is no tone of voice audible, only implied/inferred by the words and style used. Amazing indeed.
First of all, happy early birthday! 66, like the cross-country route! I should say that you're well-traveled and have many stories to share, eh? (As opposed to saying that you've been around. Baahaha! Naughty Pixie!)
My sister and I talk every day, whether by text message, email, instant message, blog, phone, something. It's good to have someone who'll call if they haven't heard from you in 48 hours without warning, because I think about all those people who die and don't get discovered for days or until it's too late to help them. It makes Kitty and me feel safe--if we go missing, someone will actually miss you and call the cops.
Thanks, Pixie, for the birthday wishes. Actually, it's kind of fun to admit that, like Route 66, I have been around!
Post a Comment