Last night Helma called and saved me from a potentially miserable evening of going through David’s things. I needed to do it, but I was probably in the wrong frame of mind to do it properly. I asked Helma if she wanted to run a few errands with me, and I picked her up and we talked on the way. I’d been meaning to phone her to see how she’s doing, but things have been rather hectic and I’ve been feeling more reluctant than ever to make phone calls that aren’t related to legal matters or specific tasks. Misery doesn’t always love company, if you know what I mean. Or maybe misery should select its company.
At any rate, I’m glad she called. I mentioned that I was reading the Kübler-Ross/Kessler* book and it was helpful, and suggested we stop by the bookstore so I could show her. They only had an expensive hardcover copy, but maybe Helma can find it at the local library.
When we returned to her house, Helma made me these fantastic spareribs. I think I’ve only ever had spareribs three times in my life and none were memorable, but these single-handedly resurrected my diminished appetite. Not only that, Helma even sewed a hole in my coat in the time that it took me to make a phone call! She’s amazing!
I brought my PowerBook along to show Helma photos and video of David from the past year or so. She hadn’t seen him for some time, and the man she visited in the hospice wasn’t the David she remembered. I thought it would be good for both of us to see images of David when he was healthy. (more…)