When I took this picture on my way to work, I took it because it made me laugh. It's the infamous Roadrunner that hauls people between Manhattan and Kansas City International Airport. It spends almost as much time broken down by the side of the road as it does actually moving.
I was driving behind this Roadrunner van, watching it belch black smoke and it just tickled me. When something tickles me, I reach for my camera!
That would have been the end of it. Except that it wasn't.
It wasn't because I had lunch with some really special people.
Background: Jim and Lois are dear friends. Such good friends that Jim was sworn in as a judge pro tem in order to perform our wedding ceremony (and my "our", I mean CB and me. Just trying to keep things clear.) A year or so ago, Lois was diagnosed with cancer and had chemo and radiation treatment. She's doing really well now and has the greatest new hair (and by "new", I mean new as in brand new, just grown, sort of like bunny fur. Oh, it's okay that I call it that, Lois did.)
Marjorie is a dear friend as well. She and I share the same birthday...a few years apart, but the same day. She's is the best person to share a birthday with! She never forgets me! We've had some fun birthday parties and we even had a Birthday Box that travels between the two of us, complete with decorations, party hats, favors, candles, Whoopie cushions, 2 birthday tiaras. It's quite a box!
Earlier this summer, Marjorie was diagnosed with cancer. She gets chemo for 5 hours every third Wednesday.
Today is one of those Wednesdays.
Jim picked up sandwiches and me and we went to the oncology center. Soon Lois arrived with drinks and we had a party!
While the conversation could have been maudlin and focused on illness and treatments, it wasn't. Those topics were mentioned, but not dwelt on. We talked about our kids. We talked about past parties. We talked about why I haven't planned a fall bar association party. We talked about everything.
Marjorie shared that her dear father (who is in his mid 90s and has packed a whole lot of living into those years) was moved to a hospice unit in Florida yesterday. She knows that a trip to Florida is in her near future.
That's where Roadrunner comes in.
Marjorie said she would just take the Roadrunner to KCI to catch a flight to Florida. I started laughing and explained my Photo of the Day was a black smoke belching Roadrunner and that there was NO WAY IN HELL I was going to let her take the Roadrunner, especially right after getting chemo when she could be more susceptible to germs. I promised to drive her and pick her up in a vehicle where the only thing belching would be me (and by "vehicle" I do NOT mean the car that was shoveled out on Saturday but still full of who knows what kind of germs).
I was in the presence of greatness for the hour and half we were together. The warrior and the victor. Marjorie and Lois. Women who have fought and are fighting the good fight. Their strength strengthened me today. My attitude was adjusted. My perspective was put back into focus.
Life is good. My life is good. Lois' hair is good. Marjorie's hair is good (and by "hair" I mean her new wig that looks perfect for her. Per. Fect. Quick story: Marjorie said that she has to take her wig off when she bakes because she's afraid that if she opens the oven to check on what's inside, her wig will melt to her head! "You can't get that much acrylic close to a heat source without asking for trouble!")
This isn't what I thought I'd be writing about. Lois and Marjorie changed that.
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