Sunday, June 08, 2008

A Week's Worth of Blogging in One Post

We have arrived in Fairhaven (our usual stop either on the way up or back from Cape Cod, so that we can go eat Portuguese food in Fall River), and thankfully the Holiday Inn here has internet access, so I have been avidly catching up on blogs.

This past week at the Cape was a particularly bad one to be without the internet. The first three days were wonderful - sunny, warm and totally enjoyable - but then the rain came on Wednesday, along with a Northeast wind. Although the initial forecast was for just one day of rain, as soon as I heard it was a Northeast wind, my hopes sank, as Northeast winds bring three days of lousy weather exactly. Always three days. And that's what we got. Luckily it didn't actually pour rain for three days; we were able to go walking about on Thursday and Friday, and do some of the things we like to do while we're at the Cape. But it was cold. Not nice at all. And depressing. So having the internet would have been a nice diversion.

I kept thinking of things I wanted to blog about while I was sans blogging ability, so I'll try to compile them all into one post. It may seem a bit schizophrenic, but what the heck.

On the most serious note, I did start to write a post about the assassination of Robert Kennedy on June 5.

Here is how it went:

It isn't often that I can remember exactly how a certain day began, especially not one 40 years ago. In fact, I often can't remember what happened two days ago. But June 5, 1968 is as clear to me as if it happened yesterday.

I was 14 years old, a freshman in high school, at the time. My first year of school in a new town was nearing a close. I hadn't made that many friends yet, and brought up as an only child, was used to the company of adults. My parents, staunch Democrats, had always discussed politics around me, and I had already developed a strong interest in current events. I became addicted to listening to the recently-created all-news radio station, 880 WCBS AM, and had been following the political scene with avid attention. Every morning I awoke to CBS on my clock radio, to the comforting voice of a young radio announcer named Charles Osgood, who had the morning news shift at that time.

On that morning 40 years ago I awoke to hear a jumble of voices rather than the single voice of Charles Osgood. Yes, his voice was there, but so was the voice of seasoned newsman, Charles Collingwood, and other commentators.

As I listened in increasing horror to the conversation, it all became heartbreakingly clear. Robert Kennedy had been shot by Sirhan Sirhan after winning the California primary the night before.

I still had to go to school, and I remember that morning very clearly - a beautifully sunny, perfect June morning with a clear blue sky.

We all remember the rest of that year. The contentious convention in Chicago, the riots, the police, and the ultimate victory in November by Richard M. Nixon - by a margin so narrow that it wasn't clear until the following day that he had beaten Humphrey.

If not for what happened on June 5, 1968, it might have all been so different. But now we'll never know.

****

Of course, on a much happier note, on Tuesday Barack Obama finally became the official Democratic nominee for President. Hillary did not concede that night, to the consternation of some Obama supporters, but she made up for it with a very supportive speech endorsing him on Saturday. Let's hope that the wounds can heal and that the party can come together to defeat McCain in November. We don't want another 1968.

****

As for our vacation, it was filled with the usual activities we always enjoy - going to the beach, taking walks in the woods with our dog, relaxing and eating lots of fish, lobster and fried clams and oysters.

Diva had a wonderful time swimming in the lake at the cottages, chasing after her ball countless times and swimming back with it in her mouth, snorting loudly as the water went up her nose.

We also saw my mother's cousin and an old friend who runs the motel we used to stay at before discovering these cottages, which allow dogs. And Saturday dawned sunny and warm, so we spent some time on the beach after leaving our cottages, to make up for the three days of rain. So all in all, we had a very nice time.

Each year we go to the Cape, however, there is always at least one major change since the last visit. This time we discovered to our dismay that one of the restaurants I'd been going to since I was a kid (the Eastham Lobster Pool) had closed and is for sale. It had been sold to new owners last year and they had changed the menu and made it a little more trendy. I'm not sure that caused its demise but I do always believe in the old maxim, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." We'll see whether someone else buys it and reopens it by the time we come up to the Cape again.

The good news is, the Orleans Army Navy Store, which was closed last fall when we were at the Cape, has reopened under new ownership and is still, thankfully, the Army Navy Store. Some traditions just shouldn't die.

Whenever I'm at the Cape I feel surrounded by ghosts of my own past, since I've been going to the Cape since I was 2 years old, and it tends to make me nostalgic. This year was particularly poignant, as my mother, now 89, is no longer able to do as much as she used to, and it made me rather melancholy this week; or maybe it was the rain.

At any rate, my mother is getting less steady on her feet and this year for the first time I found she had to take my arm to walk just about anywhere we went, or else she would wobble and lose her balance. My mother was always the one who dragged me on all the nature walks at the National Seashore sites. Now she can barely walk from her cottage to ours.

But my mother and I never stand on false sentimentality. We tend to laugh about things like this rather than let them get us down.

My mother has a cane. It's sitting at home in a corner of her apartment, never used. It's not even hers; my aunt gave it to her because she wouldn't use it either. I have asked my mother why she won't use the cane. "Because it will make me look old." "Mom, you ARE old." "Well, I think it would make me look even older to have a cane." "Mom, it makes you look old to have to lean on my arm everywhere!"

So as my mother and I shuffled along from place to place this week, my refrain was, "Mom, you are SO going to use that cane when we get home!"

I think she may actually try it. I hope so, because after walking along at a snail's pace trying to match my steps to hers all week, I am the one who feels old now!

11 comments:

Dorothy said...

Glad you are having a good time. My fear the walker or the chair...and even worse the one we see advertised on tv...free...Please God don't let me need that for at least 20 more years.

Enjoy your mom, sounds like your living life....and your values are in the right place.....

Dorothy from grammology
remember to call gram
www.grammology.com

Mauigirl said...

Hi Dorothy, thanks - I know what you mean, I guess no one wants to need a cane or a walker. I have a feeling I won't even be in as good shape as my mother is by the time I'm her age - I already have problems with my feet and ankles! Personally I would prefer to have a cane than to have to depend on someone else to help me. But I wouldn't get one of those medicinal looking ones you get from the surgical supply store. I'd get something cool at an antique store, a walking stick with a silver handle or something like that. If I ever need a cane I'll make it be an attractive accessory!

Fran said...

I loved reading about you and your mom Mauigirl.

Sorry about the rain, but I am thinking an internet free week, while anxiety provoking at one level, could be a gift.

Since I am not going anywhere and I can still pay my Time Warner bill (at least for now) I won't find out.

Good to see you back. I had stopped by last night as I was missing you!

Cosa Nostradamus said...

.
Hey, MG, good to have you back again. Sorry for the weather, but thats NE on the ocean, hunh?

As to the Internet, have you considered getting a WiFi card & wireless broadband access for your laptop? Verizon, Sprint & AT&T claim they cover the Cape & the Adirondacks. Might wanna check with the locals on that. Runs about $60/mo, I think.

I have ClearWire, at $34/mo. Instead of a card, I have a big clunky modem which receives broadband over the air, like a cellphone. Then I plug my laptop into it to surf the 'Net. It's relatively cheap & it works well. I don't drag the trade-paperback-sized modem (included w/service) outside much, but it would be ideal for moving from house to house. They don't have ClearWire in the Northeast yet, but watch for it, or similar services. Then you can blog CONSTANTLY!!!

; )
.

The Future Was Yesterday said...

""Because it will make me look old." "Mom, you ARE old.""
A few years ago, my Mom, who lives in Michigan, went for "a refreshing walk on my birthday" per her, when I called to wish her happy birthday. Never mind her birthday is early February and the snow was butt deep!
"Were you sure to use your walker, Mom?" "Now how am I supposed to walk thru snow drifts with that stupid thing!" It was her 95th. She's legally blind. She's 98 now...and just as stubborn! My Sister has to keep an eye on her all the time....and she doesn't suffer from Dementia!

Or so her Doctor and she claims!:) When I'm able to get up there and see her, I just shake my head in awe. "Mom, I'm old...what's that make you????" She just laughs and says, "mind your manners, young man!"

Anonymous said...

Welcome back from vacation. Despite the rain, it sounds like you had a wonderful time at the Cape. But I could not help but be touched by the exchange between you and your mom. Nice post.

Mauigirl said...

Fran, you're right of course, it didn't kill me to be away from the internet for a week. I actually read two books!

Thanks, Cosa, good suggestion. I was thinking it might be necessary if we get that place in the Adirondacks, as I'm sure some of those houses don't have cable access. One place we were interested in buying had satellite TV and Internet access. I guess where there's a will there's a way!

KGMom said...

Your comments on remembering RFK and hearing the news of his death--oh yes. I am a tad older than you, and I had slept in, since I was teaching & the semester had just ended. I awoke to the morning TV news, and utter shock.

Mauigirl said...

Future and Spartacus, for some reason your posts weren't showing up yet when I first posted my reply to Fran and Cosa!

Future, that's a great story about your mom - I'm so glad she is still stubborn as ever at 98! She also reminds me of our neighbor, who is probably turning 99 this year if my calculations are correct. She too is nearly blind now and lives alone in her house - she said they have to take her out feet first. About a year or two ago she repainted her entire front porch by herself. It turned out well!

Spartacus, thanks, and you are right, it was a good week despite the rain. I just wish for my mom's sake that it had been nice all week!

KGMom, I know - it was probably a similar story for all of us who remember that terrible day. People probably had all gone to bed thinking he had just won California and there was nothing else to watch after that, and then awoke to the terrible news.

enigma4ever said...

good to hear from you....there is something special about such a tradition...and being there , connecting to your past..and thanks for sharing the RFK memories...take care...

( I had a cane once when I was sick- and we decorated it...made it beautiful...that made it so much easier...)

Liz said...

I just returned from the Cape myself: http://www.urbanaddiction.com/archives/001506.html

My Mother and I went and had a great time. At her age we don't know how many more vacations we will get together and this one was so lovely.

BTW-Let's here it for the staunch Democrats. ;)