Coming home from church, Richard saw it too during a red light and exclaimed, “That’s a big one!” The sun shone through its feathers enough to verify that our Zone-tailed hawk was back, the one with the eight-octave wings.
Only, instead of soaring at a leisurely pace towards the decimation of its frantic prey like before, a crow that was losing distance fast, this time, a robin-size bird was attacking it. It was cartoonish: the littler bird was I think less than the size of the feet of the monstrous other, but it veered at the intruder again and again (not quite making contact), You leave my babies ALONE! Get OUT!
A good natured, Well all right, then. And it Zoned out.
Later in the evening, there was a reception held by old friends of Karen Bentley Pollick while she was in town and she had invited me to come. I felt a little the intruder compared to her childhood friends she would be seeing but I was looking forward to it.
Before I ever got in the door there, I saw an elderly couple talking to someone outside, she in a motorized chair unable to go up the front steps, he standing, and in delight I exclaimed, That’s got to be Doris!
I stepped to where she could see me, with ohmygoshwhatareYOUdoing here! on both sides.
Doris was the first lupus patient I ever met after my own diagnosis, the one who took me under her wing and helped me get used to the idea of facing a major disease for the rest of my life. Thank you Karen for making it so I got to see her again! Doris has survived postpolio syndrome, lupus, and breast cancer, and at 81 she’s still going and ready to party. Her Don is a peach and I have no doubt his support has had a great deal to do with it.
We reminisced a bit and they couldn’t believe my babies were so grown up. Three graduating from grad school this Spring? How! Wow.
I got a moment to talk to him inside and thanked him for looking after her all these years–and the sudden, nakedly grateful look on his face surprised me. Someone knew.
He asked how I was doing. I said, I’m doing well enough now to be able to say that this is what I waited twenty-two years since my diagnosis to get to. It is nice to be at this point.
And I wished silently that Doris’s progressive postpolio syndrome could have had that as an option.
Don is one of the best, with an easy laugh that sees the two of them through much.
I’ve got me a good one, too. And today he looked up with me and we enjoyed the show in the sky together.