MOVING AHEAD... changes (Part 96h)


It was getting late and I needed to get the boat back to the club to get enough help to get it out of the water and up the beach to the storage area. I hailed Karl and we headed out. As we sailed off I saw Elle, Jeannette and Norma all talking. I could only hope that they were talking about something other than me.

At the club I found what could best be described as a large (and loud) discussion taking place. There was a group up on the porch and another on the beach and Karl and I could hear some of it while still at the water’s edge. It only took a minute to know it concerned the new class boat that a faction of the membership wanted. I was able to get a few people to leave the group and help Karl and I with my boat. From them I was able to learn that the ”regular“ club members who normally sailed the same class boat as I did concluded after their ”test“ that it (the Windmill sailboat) was not a good choice, especially for younger, inexperienced sailors. Those who wanted the boat were yelling that the guys who were talking the new boat down didn’t know what they were talking about. I laughed when I heard that because two of the ”regulars“ who had done the test had been winning regattas way back when I first joined the racing part of the club. To me, it didn’t portend well for the club as a whole.

I introduced Karl to Frank and an instant friendship was created. The trouble was the two of them got talking about cameras, something I knew little to nothing about. I felt bad about breaking them up but I had to do it as I had to get back to my parents house, pack all the kids stuff up and get back home. Monday was a work day for me.

Monday was also the day Elle had to let the doctor know what she wanted to do. We’d been told that since the procedure was an elective we’d have to wait to get scheduled into the operating room. Actually, Elle had to decide if Dolly was capable of handling the baby and kids while she was recovering. We’d avoided discussing it while at my parents house even though Dolly was certainly  aware she was on a ”trial run“. From what I’d seen she was more than capable and, to me, more importantly, she wanted to do it.

I won’t go into the machinations of the decision making process but they did get rather ”warm” before Elle approved of Dolly. It was understood that she would be there daily, Monday through Friday, and I’d “take care of the weekends”. The last part is in quotes as it does become and item of discussion in the not too distant future. Elle was to call the doctor to schedule the procedure that Monday and once the date was set we’d make final plans. It seemed so simple. Simple it wasn’t!

When at the doctor’s office we’d been told that it would probably be the middle of July before she could be scheduled in. With approximately six weeks recovery time that date would still work for Elle because she’d be OK to go to work when school opened. We went to bed with that rough date in mind. Elle called that Monday morning to get a date and received a call back by noon. She was told because that Saturday was the 4th of July there were any number of openings during the week. That shook Elle up as her mind wasn’t quite prepared to do it that quickly and begged off. Then she got a tentative date for the following Monday and although that was still quicker than she wanted was afraid to turn it down.

The news put a lot of “wheels” in motion. Transportation was primary because Dolly didn’t have a car or license but all of a sudden it dawned on us (me) that someone had to do the cooking. A quick call to my mother confirmed that Dolly hadn’t even boiled water. Fortunately I remembered that the doctor had explained what Elle’s requirements were for her recovery period and one of the things was to get up and walk for five to ten minutes every hour after the first week had passed. In my mind, if I or Dolly was there to get what she needed, Elle should be able to do the cooking. The two things that she was definitely not to do were to bend over or to pick anything up. Elle wasn’t so sure so I called the doctor myself. I was right! (for a change...) Problem solved.


Planning on getting Dolly to our place and then back to my parents was a lot more difficult. After any number of phone conversations it was agreed that the bus was the best way to handle it. In the mornings the bus from out East arrived at the County Center a little after 8:30am. It would take me approximately 20 minutes to do the round trip. In the afternoon the departure time was 5:15pm. I was sure I could get off a little early to get home and pick Dolly up and then back in time to catch the bus. However, Elle was concerned about the 20 or so minutes on each end of the transfer. I recognized that it wasn’t my body that was being sliced open but I’d really hoped that Elle would recognize that certain compromises had to be made. But it wasn’t to be. She contacted Marge, our neighbor, and a few others to see if they could come over during those periods of time. I was a bit embarrassed when facing Marge but she assured me that if she could, she would. I had a strong feeling that the week would be a very long one.


To be continued...