Cliff got up before dawn today; he's practicing for retirement.
He asked me if I could find a website for Dr. Gallion, the man who did his CABG surgery four-and-a-half years ago.
I did find a website HERE (scroll down to see the doctor's picture) but it wasn't very impressive, considering Dr. Gallion walks on water. He went to school at Baylor, in Texas. If you go to his office, you'll see classy ladies in high heels, dressed to the nines. Funny stuff, really. Cliff still smiles when he thinks about the ladies who work for the man who walks on water.
This is how I remember the good doctor: he was telling us that Cliff's surgery was successful.
Keep in mind that Cliff went to see a nurse-practitioner on Tuesday with what he though was indigestion; was referred to a cardiologist, Dr. Nager, the next day; and was scheduled for surgery on Thursday, with doctors who usually require an appointment months in advance.
But they squeezed Cliff in.
Oh, Dr. Nager's group is on a website too. You'll find him HERE.
This is how I remember Dr. Nager, explaining to Cliff the results of his angiogram. He didn't make a big impression on us, our first meeting. But it took him to get us to that man who walks on water. So I've learned to love him. He's the one Cliff sees when he needs to check in with a cardiologist.
Cliff thinks I should write a letter to Dr. Gallion to express our appreciation, and to let him know about the wonderful results of yesterdays stress test. I did write him a letter of appreciation shortly after Cliff's surgery, and I probably will do so again. Do you suppose doctors read such letters?
Here's where it all starts to sound like that old story, "The house that Jack built".
Cliff would never have seen Dr. Nager had he not gone to our regular clinic to see a nurse practitioner about what he thought was indigestion. I don't have any pictures of that nurse-practitioner.
I wouldn't have set up an appointment with that nurse-practitioner if my friend from the outskirts of Washington, DC, had not visited. I do have pictures of Joanna.
It was cold when she was here, and Cliff didn't really take her for a ride. They just posed, and I took the picture.
See, I mentioned to Joanna that Cliff was having indigestion; she said we should have that checked out, because her brother-in-law went to a doctor for "indigestion", and was sent directly to the hospital for heart surgery.
Which is exactly what happened to Cliff.
And that's the house that Joanna built.
So perhaps I need to write four letters.
My friend Joanna has visited Missouri twice now, both times in April. Both times, the weather has been atrocious.
April is not reliable in these parts: You might get sunny, verdant days with trees blossoming; or you might experience below-freezing temperatures, tornadoes, rain and mud.
We got the rain again. The only sunshine Joanna saw here was on Friday afternoon. I kidded her Saturday about sleeping in a trailer house during tornado season; I don't think she slept too well that night for wondering whether the wind she heard outside was just a harmless wind, or perhaps a tornado.
It was wet and cold; that pretty well describes the whole weekend. But we enjoyed one another's company, as well as that of the others who gathered here.
Joanna and I could not be more opposite: She's a "girlie girl" who loves to shop, watches a lot of QVC, and enjoys nice clothes and jewelry. We all know that isn't me. Normally the two of us probably have never given one another a second thought, had we met in the real world. But we connected in a chat room.
Yesterday Joanna mentioned the time her cat, Jake, fell off her second-story deck.
"I remember that," I interjected. "Didn't that happen one morning before you went to work?"
"Yes, it did."
"We were in the chat room when that happened!"
Many of us from that chat room have gone through similar things together. I recall Joanna's years working for an employer who thought he was master of the universe; Jo called him "the twit". I was in the chat room to hear the good news that she had found a better employment opportunity, and she took the job she still has today. She could have retired some time ago, but why stop working if you're enjoying what you do?
I remember Joanna's sister getting cancer and steadily going downhill. Jo and the others were there for me when my mother died.
Several ladies in that chat room became widows during those years, and we all shared in their grief.
We shared recipes and jokes and family stories; we sent songs and silly sound bites to one another to play in the chat room. It was like a sort of cyber back fence where we could visit and share our lives, laugh and cry together.
We could have these friends over for a visit (by way of the chat room) and not have to clean up the house for them, or get out of our pajamas, or even comb our hair.
When we visited one another "in real life", we discussed the situations going on in the chat room, and checked in once in awhile to say hello, and see how chat was going without us.
The hands you see here are those of Sue, another friend from Virginia. On the screen is the famous chat room. I happened to be visiting Sue when that crazy shooter was taking potshots at people; In fact, we were in the Spotsylvania Towne Centre shortly before he killed a lady there. This did not do much to endear Cliff to my new habit of flying around the country to meet people he'd never seen with names like "Bnana" and "Joyjoy" and "Sprkl and "Havok". Yes, we mostly addressed one another by our AOL screen names.
Back to Joanna: She always comes bearing gifts, souvenirs of Washington, DC this time; as well as matching Gold Wing T-shirts for me and Cliff. When we were at the winery for breakfast, she shopped in their gift shop for something to take back to her friends in Virginia. She's thoughtful like that.
So I just have to be thankful that a loner like me who doesn't even look at people's faces in the grocery store got to meet a whole realm of faithful friends from California to Texas, from Virginia to New England; friends I don't hesitate to hug when I see them in person.
It's probably the best thing about the Internet. Even better than Google.
Easter dinner with family members here was very nice. Now I'm sitting at the computer watching birds outside my window at the feeder and birdbath. Cardinals, Tufted Titmouse, house finches, goldfinches, and robins. Life is good.
If the ten-day forecast is right, Cliff and I may do some long-distance motorcycle riding next weekend. But of course, we all know how inaccurate the ten-day forecast can be.
I have two local blogging friends, a mother and her daughter, whom I've invited to come and hunt morel mushrooms on my place. Hey, all the neighbors help themselves; why not give some people I like an invitation, and my approval? I have warned them about the hills and deep valleys, but I imagine they're still going to be surprised. I'll let you know. I will be sure to get my picture with them.
In less than three weeks, my friend Joanna is coming to visit. Several years ago, I spent a few days at her home near Washington, DC, and got to see some Smithsonian exhibits and other historic sites.
Last time she visited here, she talked me into getting Cliff to the doctor for what he and I assumed was heartburn. Just as Joanna thought, it wasn't heartburn: it was angina. And less than a week after her visit, Cliff was having open heart surgery. We will be eternally grateful; we believe God sent her here at that time.
Anyhow, this month holds promise. So do the months ahead. It could be an interesting and enjoyable summer.
