Daily Drama

Twenty-four hours can make a big difference sometimes.

Monday: Helene and I are getting ready to head back to Michigan for the holidays with my family. Although she still has a bad cough, her bronchial infection is much better. She can talk and has energy for the first time in almost two weeks. I find Oberon is being served at Moto right down the street from my house.

Tuesday: At 2:00am Helene has gone into anaphylactic shock. Her body is covered in hives that look like welts and her eyes are swollen shut. She takes copious amounts of Benadryl. We lay on our backs on the bed holding hands and just breath. In my mind I am calculating just how fast I can get her to the hospital if her breathing stops. I can feel the beginnings and endings of all things intertwined like our fingers. By 5:00am she is out of danger. Her breathing is regular, and she finally goes to sleep. At 7:00am I am on the phone with Northwest Airlines to see what I can do about rescheduling our flights. For two hours the call goes directly to a message that says that due to the bad weather they are too busy to take my call but are sorry for the inconvenience. I too am having issue with the weather. Outside it is cold, cloudy and rainy. At around 9:00am I finally get through and am told that if I do not get on the plane today I will have to pay a $150 dollar penalty and buy another ticket at current market value. This essentially means I will not be able to fly home for Christmas. They also tell me that my return flight will be canceled if I don't fly out today but that I can re-buy the flight for over $300 more than I paid for it in the first place. The call ends with the line, “Sorry for any inconvenience, happy holidays.” Indeed. After calling all my family to tell them the news, I collapse into bed next to my sick little Sabel cat. We wake around 7:00pm and watch A Christmas Carol (1984) with George C. Scott. Helene goes back to bed around 10:00pm and sleeps for fourteen hours.

Wednesday: The sunshine has returned. On a whim, I call Northwest Airlines to see if I can work anything out with them in terms of reschedule a flight. “Good news!” My operator replies, “You qualify for the Midwest Winter Weather Waiver. Your reschedule is covered without penalty or any other additional coasts to you. Merry Christmas, Mr. Hull.” Looks like I will be able to fly out on Friday to see my family for Christmas after all. Although still coughing, the swelling around Sabel cat’s eyes had gone down to a reasonable level. She is curled up on the couch watching old movies on TCM. Tristan texts me the message, “Write Forest Write!” I make a new ZenCowboy video and spend the afternoon writing as I listen to Butter by Hudson Mohawke.

Thursday: To be continued . . .