The phone rang. 4:30 AM

6/21/06 Wednesday
And we are off. The phone rang at 4:30 this morning but I didn’t feel like running for it so let it go. Figured that if it was important they would leave a message. They did. We checked the messages at 6:00 this morning and it was Wayne. His bowels have gotten so stuffed up he feels like he requires emergency room action so I will be leaving now to take him to the hospital. I’ll take this laptop with me.

8:30 - I’m at Toledo Hospital now. Love this Wi Fi stuff. Wayne is mostly stopped up. I have to wonder if he is experiencing anxiety attacks. He says he didn’t sleep all night long and was contemplating calling 911. I understand he had a “pressing” problem but don’t think it is as bad as he worked it up to be. Of course this is one of the problems that comes with MS and he had been given medication for it.

Wayne is seeing the doctor now. Don’t know how long it will be but when the doctor asked if I wanted to go to the examination room I said “No, I’ll stay out here in the waiting room”. On the drive to the hospital, Wayne started describing in detail his constipation and how he tried to fix his problem with his fingers. “That’s TOO MUCH INFORMATION, Wayne” I said to stop this conversation. It barely worked as Wayne was dying to share his misery. I checked him when he would start back up on this a couple of more times. No! I don’t want to go to the examination room, especially knowing he could well have to get an enema or two. I am not that close of a friend.

Cherie and I are not very organized regarding this trip to Texas. There is much to do and we need to make a list. After looking at the prices of renting a trailer much less a truck Cherie suggested buying a trailer. That is a great idea but we have to find one to buy. I have had more slow downs lately. This may be due to the added stress of this time. I am worried about how well I will do there. I have big visions and dreams for the farm but wonder what will actually get done.

Time to post this on the blog. Like I said, I love this Wi Fi stuff.
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11:38 – Just came back to the hospital after running out to grab breakfast. Before I left I went to Wayne’s room to let him know that I was going. They did give him an enema and he said it may be a half hour before he was out of there.

2:05 – OK, now I got something to write. My phone rang right when I was putting the period on the last sentence. It was Fred and he was semi frantic “Barb got left by the medical cab. They dropped her off but now won’t pick her up”. “Where’s she at Fred?” I asked and heard a convoluted explanation regarding MUO. OK, I know where MUO is at. I knew Fred wanted me to go right now when he asked if I was still with Wayne at the hospital. “Fred, I can’t go right now. I’ve got to wait till they’re done with Wayne” I explained but Fred let me know he understood that. He said he would try to get Cathy, upstairs, to pick her up. I told Fred I would call Barb’s phone when I got Wayne home. He said Barb’s phone wasn’t working so Barb would call him in fifteen minutes.

As soon as I hung up I see Wayne coming out. He seemed unable to tell me if he was free to go or not. I asked him four times before I got an answer that related to the subject. “Wayne, are they done with you? Do you have to get any paperwork?” I would ask. “Well they got things moving” Wayne would say as if that answered my question. Then it was “I can’t believe my ribs hurt” as a response which I countered with “Now your full of shit when it makes your ribs hurt”. There are just too many opportunities to make a joke for me to resist in this situation. We finally figured out that he was free to leave so leave we did.

I called Fred when I dropped Wayne off. He told me Barb had called and was still stuck at MUO. He began the list of those he tried to enlist to pick up Barb with despair so I cut him off. “I just dropped Wayne off Fred. I’m heading to pick up Barb now” I let him know. I asked again where Barb was and then after he gave an address had to cut him off as he began to go into something else.

I called Barb’s cell after that and talked with her and let her know I was coming. She said she would be waiting in the back of the building. I hurried to MUO and then drove around looking for the address I had been given. As I began to wonder if it existed my phone rang again. It was Barb telling me she had walked across the street to Arby’s. I tried to get her to tell me where this Arby’s was at but she didn’t quite get it. “It’s right across the street Bob. I walked over here it’s so close” Barb bubbled on. “Barb, I don’t know where your appointment was that you walked from so I have no idea what Arby’s you’re talking about” I tried to explain.

By now my frustration level is rising. I get to Arby’s and park where I can see Barb through the window. I watch patiently as she got her order and dipped around getting condiments. I called her and let her know I was outside. She never answered the phone or even looked at it. I let it ring till it cut off four times and was just getting ready to go in when I saw her going out the door on the opposite side of the building. I called her again and this time she answered. By this time the frustration level is getting worse and it wasn’t hard for Barb to figure out. I got her in the car and headed to her apartment. I was going to take her to the grocery store today but she said she didn’t need to go because she knew I was frustrated.

Cherie calls as I drive to let me know that the new neighbor, you know, the one that I think is selling dope downstairs, was in Fred’s face about something. She felt bad that she had to go to work because she wanted to protect Fred. She wanted to make sure I checked in on him when I got home.

Fred called me right when Barb went in and closed her door. “Did you get Barb?” he asked. When hearing that I had gotten her home he said “There’s a couple of police cars here. They’re here because of that guy down the hall”. Now I have something to come home to so hurry it up.

Pulling into the parking lot I see no police but I do see Kathy and her parents out in the parking lot. I park and getting out can see the angst on Kathy’s face and at first thought there were bruises on her face. “Oh no” I said on that observation but as I got closer could tell they were more like old burns or something like that.

I have to go through the last days to see if I made note of the police being called regarding his kids.
Didn’t find any after a quick glance so figure I’ll tell it now. First of all this guy came in bringing attention to himself. He is very gang banger in his dress and mannerisms. There was a constant flow of telephone calls and visitors that started with his arrival. Friends would be in and out at three in the morning and I started to find the tell tell signs of crack cocaine. There would be the torn pieces of baggies that crack is often packaged in showing up in the hallway and the lawn outside. Kathy comes home from work at midnight. There was a crowd in the hallway and she saw the dad (The guy in question) usher his children inside and leave. An hour later he was still gone and Kathy knocked on the door when she heard the kids running around.

When Kathy discovered they were indeed unattended at 1:00 in the morning she called TPD (Toledo Police Dept). That caused a fracas, especially when the dad got home. He got belligerent and called Kathy a racist when nothing else worked. It’s like a wild card in the deck that he could pull out anytime he needed. Didn’t work here, especially with two uniformed officers there.

So that was a day or five ago. Kathy started telling me what happened as soon as I got within range. The noise the bad guy (I don’t know his name) while he was yelling at Fred got Kathy’s attention. She had just gotten out of the shower and hurried out to see what was going on. The bad guy found an eviction notice on his door when he came home and had knocked on Fred’s door, accusing him of causing the eviction. When Kathy came down the stairs he went off, putting his face inches from hers as he screamed at her “Bitch, You Did This” along with a stream other profanities.

Fred started to come out, telling the guy “That’s not right. You can’t talk to her like that”. Kathy told him to get inside, close the door, and dial 911. She had been on the phone with Linda, the manager from Gerdinich Realty who had put the eviction notice on the door. Linda called 911 also and it wasn’t long till the police showed up. They found a felony warrant on him so handcuffed him and took him away. Kathy had run his sheet at the sheriffs department after the children incident and had not found the warrant, but she was able to see he was someone the police are familiar with.

This had all been a shock for Kathy. She said she was scared to death while the guy was screaming at her. She was still shaking. Kathy had just told Cherie and I yesterday that she had found another apartment to live in. She told me now that she was going right over to sign up for it. We talked about Fred and his need to get out of here into a place where his needs could be met.

There were two guys in the apartment cleaning up from the furniture they had just moved in this morning. Kathy said that the police gave them five minutes to vacate the property but they were still here. “I’m not going in till they leave” she said and asked if I could check on them. That’s not a problem for me. I went up to the open door and asked the guy I saw “You about out of here?”. “We’re almost done” he said quietly with an undecipherable look on his face. “Good. You need to get out of here” I brusquely informed him and went back outside. “They’ll be gone soon” I let Kathy know.

While we were talking a disheveled woman, who looked much older and worn than her years, came up. “Where’s Mark? I want to get something from him” she asked Kathy. Kathy was blunt (I loved it) and said “He’s not here anymore. Why don’t you leave with those guys”, referring to the two who were cleaning out his stuff. “Hee’s not here?” she said as her addled brain tried to grasp such a simple concept. “No, and he’s not coming back so just leave” was Kathy’s way of ending this conversation.

The two guys kept dipping around, obviously waiting for something. I went in again and that spurred them to leave the apartment but they stayed out in the parking lot pretending to clean out their truck. I don’t have much patience for crap so I said “You waiting for something?” to get their attention. They are running around in a strange manner, with one person going around the building so he was out of sight, possibly entering the building from the other side. Up to something though I can’t tell what. Now he pulls his truck out and we think he is leaving but he runs around the corner and stops, parking on the street. This is too weird so I walk in to make sure they had not returned to the apartment. They hadn’t so I walk out the front door and around the building where the guy was parked. “You need to go” I said and he did.

So that’s the day so far. Fred asked if I could take him to the store now so might as well. Not going to get much else done.


Texas is looking real good to me now. It looked great before but escaping this stuff enhances that. While I was at the hospital with Wayne I looked at the Google satellite image of our farm. You can see this bus on it.
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Never did get Fred to the store. Got caught up into writing this journal and forgot. Looking up I saw the time so called up Fred. “Hey Fred, you ready to go to the store?” I asked. He said “Oh well, I guess I can just plug this old answering machine back in so I won’t miss Barb’s call”. Oh Yeah!! Damn, the answering machine. When did he buy that? Don’t have a clue, that’s why I have a journal. Just know I said I would install it.

Just got Fred’s new answering machine hooked up. We talked as I figured things out. I read the instructions twice yesterday but don’t remember a thing so I work through it now step by step. It has features I told Fred I wouldn’t bother him with because he didn’t need things like three mailboxes. Cherie and I were concerned as we looked at this machine yesterday because the buttons are small and hard to read. Fred can barely see the four inch square machine as it is so being able to identify black buttons on a black background would be next to impossible for him. Fortunately there is a green light that is right in the middle, on the button you press to hear the message. He can see that fine. The other buttons I tried to show him how to find by touch. That will have to be done several times so he can remember it. Just like me but I’m only fifty. It’s better for him and he’s happy. I got the volume turned up as far as it will go so he can hear it.

I brought up again my greatest concern. “Fred, this neighborhood is changing. When those apartments open it’s going to get bad. There’s three or four hundred section 8 apartments that are opening up. This is the stuff gang wars are made of. Those people are money to the dope man, hundreds of thousands of dollars. They’re moving in already (referring to the guy they just arrested here). Fred you need to see about someplace better” I told him. Fred protested “I want to stay here as long as I can”. “Fred, your nearly ninety. Enjoy your last years and make it easier for yourself. Find a place where things are taken care of” I preached. It’s sinking in. Fred said he was having his niece look into the Masonic home. That was good to hear and will make me feel easier about leaving.
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It’s tornado warning time. We’re getting a street by street blow of the storm. I flip from station to station, enjoying the technologies each have acquired in their rush to be dominant in the weather departments. These guys can show where the wind is rotating and where the “Shears” are, whatever those are. I don’t know but I sure as hell know where it is. Right now it is at Holland Sylvania Rd. I got my clothes on and had Cherie grab her shoes just in case. We have discussed what to do with Carman Kitty in case of evacuation. The reality is Carman would be hard to catch and put in a carrier, especially if the walls were flying apart.

The reporters are all running towards each hot spot and calling their reports in by cell phone because a mast in the air is a lightning rod in a lightning storm. We’ve got all the shades open, watching the show. Got the computers unhooked. Took a couple of pictures out the window.

It is kind of surreal to watch lightning flash on the live camera feed as we watch the news and have the same lightning flash outside our window at the same instant. Cool. Got to watch the storm. Be back

That was great. Ton’s of lightning. It’s 10:25 right now. I am tired but Cherie is still going. I will go online for a moment now but will then disconnect the phone line again for fear of lightning.