Tonight's picture was taken in June of 2008, a month before Mattie was diagnosed with cancer. We took Mattie to Roosevelt Island to walk around and in usual Mattie fashion he acquired something along our journey. Mattie loved to collect sticks and branches and bring them home with us. For the longest time we had an amazing stick and branch collection in our common space. In fact it looked like a sculpture area composed of found wood.
Quote of the day: ...You can go your whole life collecting days, and none will outweigh the one you wish you had back. ~ Mitch Albom
Today I was headed to an appointment in Foggy Bottom, DC. While walking, a young teenager approached me. He was very polite and called me Ma'am. So I immediately deduced he wasn't from around here! I was correct, he is a tourist and wanted to know where the plaque commemorating the 1972 break in of the Democratic National Committee headquarters was located. He told me he is a history buff and asked me for specifics about where this bugging actually took place. I am not sure how old this fellow thought I was, but I HAVE NO IDEA where specifically this took place. I have lived in Foggy Bottom for almost two decades and I can tell you I did not know a plaque even existed and NO ONE has ever asked me about it!!! So naturally out of curiosity, when I got home today I had to Google this plaque to figure this out for myself! Why this young fellow did not do this himself, is beyond me!!! Any case if this kind of trivia interests you, the answer to his question is the plaque is located at 2600 Virginia Avenue on the 6th floor of the Watergate Office Building. Why the 6th floor? Because that is where the DNC headquarters were located in 1972. It takes a tourist for me to learn a piece of trivia about my neighborhood. Isn't that always the way!?
After my appointment, I had the opportunity to run into Peter's barber. A lovely man born and raised in Italy. This man feels sympatico (a mental connection) with me because he grew up in the same region of Italy that my father's family is from! Every time he sees me, he asks me about my dad! The irony is, Peter sees his barber on a regular basis, and Peter did not know his barber is a caregiver. This was something he shared with me today. I have no idea why he told me, all I can say is since I was in grade school people have told me their concerns and problems. Needless to say, you never really know what burdens people are carrying with them, unless you scratch the surface. Caregiving for an older adult is something I know a great deal about both from a professional and personal standpoint. So I understood his fears, concerns, and also what his day to day worries must be like. I remember when I was growing up my grandmother used to say, "when you have your health, you have everything." As a kid, I thought...... how odd, is she for real?! Clearly there have to be better gifts than just your health!!! The naivety of being a child. Now that I am an adult, I understand this wise sentiment all too well.
This evening, Peter and I are going to see the musical revival of Anything Goes. This will be our third Friday going to hear live music. It is something both of us enjoy and it does make us temporarily forget our troubles!
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