trip's start

Daniel's IM

SFO to LAX

LAX to EWR

Saturday

Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

Sunday 22 May 2005

00:01

I'm in the Time to Eat Diner, near the Somerville Circle. Almost nothing is open late around here, but the diner is always an adequate stand-by. The coffee is tasty and hot, the waitresses solicitious, and the food served in big portions.

Just as I'm leaving several big groups of "young adults" comes in. It's a hopping Saturday night in the suburbs.

01:26

As Felicia says, "I'm all blogged out." After a bit of Tony Hillerman's A Thief of Time I'm ready for bed.

09:30

Woken up. It's time to head over to the town of Pluckemin, to visit the catering department of Kings (a high-end grocery shop). First we stop off at a coffee-shop for breakfast: in my case bialys with cream cheese! I haven't had those in years!

The caterer is very helpful, giving a broad selection of things. Felicia is happy with her choices. Adam and Ziggy help to pick out two dessert cakes, both of which you'll see tomorrow.

11:30

We're back in the car, heading the wrong way on 287. One exit, U-turn, head towards the New Jersey - New York border, near the Palisades Parkway. Over an hour, and many twists and turns later, we arrive.

Felicia is in the back seat, making more phone calls. I do the ones she assigns to me, chatting with very distant cousins.

13:00

Our computer-generated directions are pedantically right (but conceptially wrong) until a half-mile before Piermont, NY. But we can see the landing, where the destination restaurant is, and we fly by eye until we stop on the main street, just across from the restaurant.

Here's Adam's extended family, all with kind words for us, at Pasta Amoré. One is also dealing with chemotherapy. We have some good conversations. The food is very American Italian, with absolutely huge portions.

Here's the main street of Piermont, NY. After the meal it was raining, so we were the only ones to take a stroll. We stopped in a thrift shop, where I picked up two perfectly-fitting dress shirts for $4 each. You see, when I took off I was planning on doing medical and laundry duties for the duration of my trip, and packed two tee-shirts, shorts, and pants. Now that we've been doing funeral duties, and are hosting a celebration of Mom's life, I feel underdressed in a Hamura's Saimin tee-shirt. Both shirts have been laundered and pressed, so that's one less thing about which to think.

17:00

What? The Tappan Zee Bridge? That's the wrong direction! True, so true.

19:30

On the way back home we get a phone call from long-time ski friends of Mom's, Liz and Larry Schick. They've driven down from Burlington, Vermont, to take a hotel room nearby so they can be at the celebration tomorrow. We decide to meet them for dinner at the Marriott by the Bridgewater Commons (Mall), right near the house.

The strangeness of having my mother gone is exacerbated by being with Liz and Larry, with whom I (growing up, and in later years with Rose) have spent time on ski trips to upstate New York and to Italy. More than anytime since I was with my mother's body, hearing Liz speak gives me the feeling that Mom will be coming back to the table from the bathroom any moment now. It's comforting spending time with Liz and Larry. (Dinner was pretty good, too, but the service was very, very slow.)

21:30

I drive Felicia, Adam, Ziggy, and Emil home, and return to Liz and Larry. (I haven't felt much like sleeping lately.) We talk about Mom, and Omi Marga (who also had ovarian cancer but didn't tell Mom until she got diagnosed).

22:30

After more conversation, and dessert, I'm given croissants brought from Vermont for our breakfast. I head home myself. I'm exhausted, both from being the driver for three hours, and from all the running around, and of course from the emotional sadness of Mom being gone and relief at the end of her end-of-life difficulties.

23:58

All my evening chores are done, things are ready for tomorrow, and I'm tucked in. Now I'm ready to sleep.

previous

next