I know, I know. You think that Christmas has come and gone and about a month ago. Well, we’ve still got Christmas stories playing out here. I’ve told you about working with my Aunt Marilyn to put her Christmas villages back into storage on Monday and Tuesday and today we get to help Fred, her husband and my uncle, with a few things.
But, I better start at the beginning. The plan was to stop off at the opticians to pick up my glasses on the way to Fred’s house in Coronado. As we were driving I took a big swig of my coffee and found a big blot on my polo shirt. Oops. This day is not starting out well. At the opticians I asked if I could use some of her water to wash it off. She then gave me a jug of some yellow stuff that she said took out every spot she’s ever had - like wine on her silk blouse. I believe in using plain old water and worked with that for a minute or two. Then thought I’d try the yellow stuff. I dabbed it on the towel I was using then dabbed it on my shirt. Holy cow. Where once I had a coffee stain that was mostly erased using the water, I now had a bright yellow 3” in diameter stain that wouldn’t come out. This day is not continuing well.
Then she asked to have my glasses so that she could put on a new ear piece to replace the one I had broken. Uh, uh, I had forgotten to bring it. What was I thinking? This answer is clear: I was NOT thinking. Oh, well. We need to come this way again next week anyway. Meanwhile, I dabbed and dabbed and dabbed with more water and had mostly removed the yellow stain. Of course I had a wet blouse but used the optician’s hair dryer to dry it a bit before we took off.
And, on to Fred’s. Fred is my half-, step-uncle. Or maybe he’s my step-, half-uncle. I can’t get the ‘steps’ and ‘halfs’ straight. Let me explain. My grandmother and grandfather on my mother’s side, had moved from Colfax, IA to Hollywood, CA soon after they married. Here my mother was born (in Hollywood, how exciting) and my grandmother took her back to Colfax at the age of one to meet her grandparents. While in Colfax, my grandmother took ill and died, sadly before my grandfather could get back to Iowa. That left my grandfather alone with a 1-yr old, my mother. When my mother was 7, he remarried and had two more children, Marilyn and Chuck. Thus Marilyn, my aunt is really my step-aunt.
Marilyn’s first husband, Bob, died before his time about 15 years ago. Along came Fred, with whom my aunt had worked and who, with his wife, Jo, was a friend of Marilyn and Bob. Unfortunately, Jo had also died and Fred was left alone also. Well, I”m sure you’re way ahead of the story here and know that Fred comforted Marilyn when Bob died. Of course, when Marilyn told me about Fred on the phone, he was just a ‘friend’. However, when they visited us in St Paul, MN, where we were living, Fred put his hand on Marilyn’s knee once and I could see where this was heading. Sure enough, at the age of 82 Fred married Marilyn who was 76. And, they’ve been married 12 years.
Interestingly, they each have kept their home: Marilyn in La Jolla where she has her groups and clubs and friends, and Fred in Coronado where he has lived for 55 years. But, they are together most of the time.
Isn’t that a neat story? Thus Fred is really my step-uncle and half-uncle combined. Now, don’t tell me that I’ve got my ‘steps’ and my ‘halfs’ mixed up - I know. (Don't even ask me what 'twice-removed' means in genealogy.) I don’t care. Does this matter? Nope, He’s my uncle and a great guy to boot.
And, so we were off to see Fred at his home in Coronado for lunch. Last time we saw him, in January of 2013, he was in the hospital right after some hip surgery. Later in the year a long-standing problem with one of his feet (not connected at all to the hip problem) developed into an ulcer, and it has been extremely slow to improve. So Fred has to get around his house mostly in a motorized scooter, and also needs help getting groceries since, sitting in a grocery scooter, he cannot pick products off high shelves or inside tall freezers, let alone load everything in his car or carry it from car to his house. So today we visited Fred and had lunch,
where he admitted he could use some help with grocery shopping. Gary got to drive the cart out of the store for Fred. (He almost got a ticket for speeding.)
So we helped him shopping and, boy, did he ever stock up: 2 of everything, especially the heavy things. He knew he had help and wanted to buy the store. Then back at his house, we helped take down his Christmas tree and some other things. So, after helping both Aunt Marilyn and Uncle Fred take down Christmas, I guess that makes Gary and me sort of reverse-Christmas elves?
After being with Fred in the grocery store, I realize how difficult it is for people in those neat motorized carts to reach what they want on the shelves and, if I ever see a person in one of those motorized carts in the grocery store, I am going to help them.
So there you have it, our day with Fred. It might have begun a bit poorly but ended up great.
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