Everyone is just fine

First I would like a definition of the word Fine and as it pertains to the human race. Then I would like to know how everyone can be Fine in the wake of some really awful things. I wanted to continue my post today with a real patriotic act of writing. But yesterday a few things came into play most of them ending in the term that "So, n, So is just fine." And that made me slightly irate. First off, Sue had a doctor's appointment that she has been putting off. This was for a stress test. Ok. FINE. The stress test revealed that she has recently had a Heart Attack. Not so FINE anymore. But if you ask her she will tell you that she is tired but feels fine. There is that damn word again. The word of the day, the month, the year, and of my generation is Fine. Maybe I am the only one not down with this.

I recorded this blog on my micro recorder but my headphones are in the car and everyone is in bed. So, I am winging this. The next stage of fine came while Sue was telling me about the heart attack that she was unaware that she had. My cousin Robin called. Her husband had been in a car accident over the weekend and broke both his shoulders and his pelvic bone. He was discharged from the hospital and home, feeling kind of sore but he was fine. *)(($$#@@@@^!

Let me pause here to tell you about Craig (Robin's husband). Craig is the person that everyone wants in their family. And really all the people in our family have done a really great job of picking out spouses, none of the married in members of our family would I ever speak ill of or believe ill words about. I must reiterate that Craig is a fantastic person. He works for the local Police Department in the town that they live in. He is a dedicated father and husband. He is very original. He has a sense of humor, likes strange restaurants, never complains (that I have ever heard) and is a Pittsburgh Steelers fan. OK, well I guess just the one football flaw, but a well rounded wholesome and honest person. He is a token to our family. A few years ago he got injured on a foot pursuit and upon returning to work was given a different rank and a desk position on the force. When Robin called I was trying to put two and one together about Sue and I half heard what Sue was repeating that Robin was saying. The jist of what happened is this; he was in pursuit of someone and lost control of the cruiser. In the moment of decision that we sometimes have in an accident situation, he was given the option of hitting a sign or running into the creek. The creek in that area is very deep and has a very strong current. He hit the sign and then the cruiser went down an embankment. It is unknown how long he sat there. A doctor on his way to work happened to see the cruiser lights and stopped to investigate. He called 911 and went to Craig's aid. He was in the right place at the right time doing the right thing and that doctor should be recognized. Not many people would have stopped. Even fewer would have chanced walking down an embankment and into the scene of an accident to save someone. Craig was truly trapped. He couldn't move his arms to radio in for help.

I pause here to thank that doctor. You don't know the high quality of a person you saved that day and I hope one day that someone repays you. I repay you by giving you your badge and making you an official member of the human race. There are few people that deserve that honor. You do. You took the time to do the right thing and acted with no regard for your own safety. You saw someone in imminent danger and went to help. Thank you.

Although banged up, Craig was feeling fine. When Sue got off the phone, she said to me that Harry had asked her to call all the girls and my mother and pass on that she had a Heart Attack. She really didn't want to. Sue is like that. She didn't want to call Carol because Carol is just finishing up her Chemo treatments from her breast cancer. The sight of the Chemo treatment is raw and there is a lot of execrating pain that goes with that but she is just fine. Carol is a trouper. I don't know if I am a strong enough person to look down the barrel of cancer and be fine. I know I'm not. Sue doesn't want to call her sister Mary because Mary's husband just finished up with treatment for prostate cancer but he is also doing fine. Sue don't want to call my mother (her other sister) because my mother is battling diabetes (life style related, all them beers) and despite two knee replacements and an unstable mental demeanor, she is also doing fine. And the list goes on. Those are the critical cases of FINE. But I am not fine with any of this. We have a good family. We are A respectful family. We are A family that is genetically strong and has basically gone through generations in grace and honor. We don't deserve this ration of bad things that we are being dealt. Sue doesn't deserve to be worrying about a heart problem at 66 years old.

Mentally I am stable right now. A little tired. A little worried. But all in all I am in fact just fine.

After I wrote this post on my micro-recorder I got a call from my school friend Eva. She was on her way to see an oncologist about a female problem her doctor caught and she needed to chat. I asked how her grandchild with CP is doing. She said that the little girl is going in December to have all of her teeth removed. I realized that I have a lot to be grateful for. I got to thinking about Eva and her family and the hardships they will be going through this holiday season and my best wishes go out to them. I got to thinking about Mal and her baby that is blind and what a horrible thing that must be to go through. But both of these women are fine. And those made me stop and think about my own morality. Am I really fine or am I just lucky? I am honored to be here, I am honored to be sharing this, and I am flattered beyond reasonable doubt about the blessings in my life.