1/18/2011

Summary: Peggy and Mike are with Tank and Terry in Morro Bay, at the house. Tank is tired, but happy and appreciative.

First, I'll mention that Tank called me this morning! What a surprise! From the hospital, not Bayside. We chatted for a few minutes. "Gibbs." He said the surgery went well, he's still very tired, neuropathy is a bitch (not his exact words), and he's excited to see Peggy and Mike. He seemed weak, and I was delighted that he'd made the effort to call.

Also, Norma and Andy are thinking about a road trip to Morro Bay in late February with son Don. Good news!

Peggy (such a cutie) called, and I typed what she said. I might have typed some of it imperfectly ('cause we also we talked about things I didn't type). Here's what she had to say:

"We got in to San Luis Obispo at about 7:30 last night, and Terry came and got us at the airport. We were going to rent a car, but she said there was no need. We went to Del Monte in San Luis Obispo for dinner. I had an amazing French dip...the only good thing I'd had all day. The $9 airport hot dog didn't sit so well. You'd think for $9 it would, but it did not.

"We went to Terry and Dad's house and went to bed, 'cause we were pretty tired. We got up this morning thinking we had some time before Dad would be ready to be picked up, but he called from the hospital quite early. 'Hello...I'm ready.' So Terry said chop-chop, and we all got ready quickly, and went to the hospital and got him.

"He couldn't decide what he wanted for breakfast, but he finally decided on Dorn's. We didn't have a wheelchair with us, so we got the food to go. I've never had such a fancy meal in a to-go box. Even their to-go boxes are fancy! Dad was very specific: he wanted eggs, ham, toast, and hashbrowns. We went to the Rock to eat and--you know--see the seagulls. Tank was alert and happy, but tired. He seemed to enjoy it, to be happy to be there, to be out.

"While we were getting the food at Dorn's, Terry came in and said 'Your dad wants to go home for the day.' We swung by Bayside and got a wheelchair, and--after eating--we went to the house. I ran in and prepared the bedroom, and Mike and Terry brought Dad into the house in the wheelchair. It was a bit of an ordeal, but Mike finally finessed Dad into the bedroom and then into the bed.

"On the way home, Dad made a request. He wanted to stop at the store for Tin Roof Sundae ice cream. They didn't have it, so I got vanilla, with caramel topping and whipped cream. Once we got home, he had a bowl of it, and loved it.

"Before he got too tired, we went through some of the memorabilia, and then talked about it. It was very sweet. He was sleepy, so I left him alone, so he could rest. Later, I went into the room to get something, and he asked me to turn on the TV so he could watch a football game. I turned it to a football channel, and he was hoping that a football game would come on.

"It's hot here!

"He's going to stay home to watch 'NCIS' tonight, and then we're going to take him back to Bayside. He said to me, 'How long are you going to be here?' and I said 'We'll be here until Sunday morning.' 'That's good,' he said. 'I think Polly and Kelly are coming after that,' I said. 'That's good, too,' he said.

"Oh! On the way home from breakfast, we stopped and got scratchers at Del Mar liquor store. Dad won a free ticket and $5!

"Also, Dad sometimes used his walker to get around, with Mike standing behind him to make sure he didn't fall. It wore Dad out, but he did it."

Nice, huh? :)

She's going to call later, with more information. I'm so glad they're there. Kelly and I are going to overlap their visit by 1/2 day, and then we'll stay three more days.