page by page 03122000

Sunday, March 12, 2000

Roll the Dice

Our good neighbor Gracie (see The Christmas Grapes) has suffered a series of heart attacks this week. The first came early in the week and was not serious. She was soon home feeding her birds, inside and outside of the house. On Friday morning, she suffered a second attack that was very serious. She was wearing an emergency button and so alerted the emergency people immediately. Another neighbor, "B" who lives in the house next to Gracie had been given a house key for just such an emergency. He was summoned in the wee hours of Friday morning.

Yesterday I did a quick search on the Internet for the telephone number of the hospital where Gracie is staying. I called the switchboard and was pleasantly surprised to be speaking with Gracie herself within seconds. It was wonderful to hear her voice.

Today I drove across "The City" to the hospital. Visiting hours began at 11:30 a.m. and I arrived just in time to watch Gracie eat lunch. She is looking pink, pert, and pretty, very trendy with wires poking out from her sleeves and various parts of her nightgown. Techno-chic. The look in her eye told me that although her heart may be weak her spirit is not. We chatted about the goings on in the neighborhood and made plans to have tea when she comes home.

Gracie's sister, her best friend, and her daughter arrived and the rest of the visit was a flutter of girl talk and banter. We had fun. We laughed. We teased. A very good time was had by all.

Gracie is very ill; it is true. It seems though that she will continue to engage life on her own terms until the game has played out. Like any game of chance, it all hangs on the roll of the dice. Like any good player she is giving those dice a good shake and rattle and a few incantations before throwing them on the table. Let 'em roll Gracie!