Remarkable Grace

It’s 8:00 a.m. Friday and I’ve already been crying. In the wee hours of the morning I get to hear/see old episodes of JAG, a military courtroom drama. Not all the drama takes place in chambers, of course, and what made me cry was seeing one of the major (actually a lieutenant!) players return from Afghanistan minus a part of his leg. Today’s episode had his wife seeing it for the first time and she showed remarkable grace in handling the situation. In essence, she told her husband she’d have a much tougher time looking at his casket than a bandaged leg. Yesterday’s show was just as emotional, with the normally non-plussed Cmdr. Rabb shedding tears of relief when the surgeons managed to save this same man’s life, even having him come back to life after having been declared dead.

Something really strange happened here yesterday—the dredger machine in the basin and its matching barge just up and sailed down the river toward Jacksonville. Just like that! I’d only a few days earlier commented about them still working out there and now it’s gone! The larger of the barges remains beyond the basin but I see no activity out there, no little boat scooting around like before. The water level is high yet this a.m. but no wave action at all, the grasses below my window barely showing above the surface. One thing about living on the lake, it was mostly calm waters with many, many more mullet jumping, sometimes making the only “noise” audible. At least, before the boats and jet skis woke up.

When Justin and I first moved to the lake, Mom and Lynn came down to see the place. We hadn’t completely settled in but we still could make them comfortable. Lynn and I walked out to the end of the dock one morning, and, fortunately, had the camera in hand. Again, it was fairly quiet, but then, we heard this sort of snorting sound from a few docks down. At one point water spewed into the air and it was then I realized what was coming our way---a herd of sea cows! At least seven or so passed right under my dock where we stood, and I was snapping and laughing at the same time. Unbelievable! This was August and not really manatee season but no one evidently told them about it! They just seemed to be passing through, amusing folks as they went.

Well, last evening I watched the end of the movie I recommended yesterday. It is so much better without commercial interruptions. In speaking with Martie about it, I decided “The Story of Us” would be good purchase for my permanent collection. Normally I don’t care to purchase movies as I don’t watch them over and over (okay, okay----so I know a few of them by heart---sue me!!!!), but only buy the ones which I will watch again and again. “Phantom” comes immediately to mind, “Under the Tuscan Sun” and “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” are favorites. Also, “As Good As It Gets” is repeat-worthy. And, I don’t have to tell you about “The Bucket List”…..”like smoke through a key hole…..”: Edward Cole’s description about how quickly time passes. I am going to Middleburg today to have myself groomed so might stop at the world-class Wal Mart to see if they have “The Story of Us” on their shelves and to also look for the book Judy R. recommended. The Shack synopsis tells the story of a man in mid-life crisis is mourning the loss of his daughter who’d died a couple years earlier on a camping trip. Yes, Judy, I will hang on for this double whammy!

I’ve decided to have Lisa Woodruff do my finger nails as well as my toes (I usually have her do the nails I can’t reach!!!) because my nails are peeling and need that grinder tool used on them to smooth the ridges. When it gets later in the morning, I’ll call Brenda W. or Christine to see if they are available for lunch.

Martie and I went to a health fair at the Thrasher-Horne last night when she was done working. We toured the displays and even got to see my former general practitioner doctor Boyd. He remembered me!!! He was the doctor I saw before my current one, but he’d left to sail around the world. Last night he said he’d gotten it out of his system, and I have to wonder if he didn’t leave just to get away from that rotten insurance stuff like my lady doctor did. Deborah is on a medical sabbatical to Qatar, and when we hugged each other “good-bye”, I thanked her for going to do mission/medical work there. Deborah told me that was only part of the reason, that she was sick and tired of having the insurance companies calling the shots and not allowing her to practice medicine ethically or as necessary because they held the money purse! So there! I can see how frustrating it must be, to have hands tied because someone else is paying the bill. Because of third-person-payers, first-person-payers can’t afford to pay out of pocket anymore!

I can’t help but relate the story of Justin’s first visit to see Deborah after Dr. Boyd left. I’d been going there for a bit before Justin needed to see a doctor so I’d already formed a bond with her. She’d purchased the stackable washer and dryer from the lake house from me to use in her office, before I met her. I got treatment-in-kind to pay for the machines, works for me! Anyway, when she walked into the exam room expecting to see only a teen-aged boy, she saw me sitting in the chair next to Justin. We hugged each other as usual and then she stuck out her hand to Justin saying, “I’m Dr. Harter, a devotee of your mother.” That’s all he had to hear, the deck was stacked against him from that point on!!!! When she tried to poke and prod him as he lay on the table, he kept giggling because of being terribly ticklish. Try as he might, he couldn’t help but draw up and try to get away. He kept saying, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry” all the while giggling. My big boy!

Just when I’ve about decided to keep Comcast as my Internet provider, they mess up and cause me to have no connection—AGAIN! I’m truly torn as to what to do because someone else cautioned me about Bellsouth/ATT being less than trustworthy. I did notice yesterday that the TV was out of whack as well, so perhaps work was being done on a company-wide level which affected both the Internet and TV service. Late afternoon I sat down to watch some episodes and have some on there since before Christmas. Many of them are Frasier programs and I’ll guess that they didn’t get watched because Justin got me the first four seasons on DVD. Those can be played on my computer, which allows me to stay in place here at the window instead of shutting down and going to sit idly in the family room. He’s also shown me how to connect to Internet floating through the air in my family room so even if I’m in there vegging out, I can still be “working” on something while I view. Carol Douglas hates this word but I like it—multi-tasking! Speaking of which, I am sweating as I write, since the sun is beating on me at present. So, I can write and perspire at the same time! What a talent!