it's been a week
A vibrant and funny man from my town died of lung cancer yesterday. It wasn't too long ago we saw him at the gym working out vigorously. Life changes pretty fast some times.
This morning, we had breakfast with good friends. Sharon and I have known each other since the early 70s. You can do the math. We went through breast cancer treatment about the same time and even though we didn't see each other for 30 years, we reconnected like it had been two weeks.
Tomorrow, Sharon leaves for Rochester for her reconstructive surgery while her dad is dying in the hospital in Mankato. Such a tough time for her whole family in so many ways.
Today is the 17th anniversary of the F3 tornado we experienced in St. Peter and towns surrounding. Here is what Wikipedia has to say about it. Back then, we didn't take digital photos but some are available on the web. It's still hard to look at them. This picture was taken just as the storm came into town.
I started thinking about that era and all the men I knew...some who went and suffered terribly, some who didn't go and suffered terribly for that. I remember watching television with my family in 1969 when the death of a young Minnesota man was announced, Victor Rabel. He was the older brother of John, my former classmate from Herman, Minnesota.
The way the world is now, it wasn't hard to find out that John lives in Bemidji. This picture is the two of us probably around the age of 5. I have had it in a tiny frame for years. Who knows why. When I saw John's face on Facebook, I knew it had to be the same person. More than fifty years later. I can't remember what I did yesterday but I can remember this friend from so long ago. Maybe we will be able to reconnect.
Beyond those sad and poignant things, I have had a good week that included lots of good coffee from my River Rock mug, a sausage and pepper frittata, a new bird feeder, and four new chairs for the patio in the colors of the Easter bunny!
Today, I am planning my Easter menu, checking the grocery list, thinking about the cooking week and the work week, and trying to avoid the sound of the wind. We don't need 40-50 mph winds today, my friends.
Comments