Okay, Everyone, I’ll be starting a new one today. It, too, will be short, because it was another short trip.
But, another thing that will be different about this particular series, it will be a little sad. That’s because our goal was to visit Martha’s friend-qua-sister, Judy, and we were afraid she might have some serious health problems. Fortunately, she didn’t.
However, while we were on the trip, I learned that an old friend of mine was ill. Very ill.
Let’s get started.
About the photos: First, a couple of shots of downtown Winfield, Kansas. It’s actually a cool little town. Second, Martha having lunch at one of the local restaurants.
Our trip to Winfield, Kansas, actually had its start in San Antonio. You’ll recall that we had been there to see our favorite Finnish comedian (okay, our *only* Finnish comedian) Ismo, whose humor frequently has to do with words and language, which is our cup of tea, obviously. And while we were there, we’d learned that Judy had taken a fall, and had to be rushed to the hospital.
Spoiler alert. She was just fine. But, we were concerned, as you are when friends are hurt, so we decided we’d run up to Kansas to check on her. Martha made reservations at a very nice AirBnB we’ve used frequently whenever we’d gone to visit Judy. Plus, we had some milage points to expend, so she got a couple of plane tickets to Wichita. Usually we drive...it takes seven to eight hours...but this time we thought would take it easy on ourselves and fly out.
Soon, everything was ready, and it was only a day or so before departure. I had some time to kill, so I checked my email, my text messages, and ...my Facebook messages.
I looked at the messages in queue. Oh, hello, I thought, there was a note from my friend “Fred.” Actually, that wasn’t really his name, but I want to protect his family’s privacy.
I’d known Fred for decades. Actually, over half a century. I don’t suppose we were really the best of friends. It wasn’t like we saw each other a whole lot. It was more a question of endurance than intensity. We simply remained in touch...year in and year out.
We met in junior high. What’s called middle school these days. And, we got closer in High School. After we graduated, he went into the military. I’d gone the college route. We had, albeit infrequently, kept in touch along the way. A phone call here. A visit there.
We exchanged news about our lives. He’d left the service. Then, he re-upped. Then, for a long time, he worked for railway companies, on freight trains. It sounded rather romantic.(1)
Time passed. David went off to graduate school. My parents fell ill, and Martha and I moved to New Mexico to look after them. And, one day I got a call from Fred. Could we meet for lunch? he asked. He didn’t live in Albuquerque any longer, but he did have family there, and he was visiting them over Christmas. Sure, I said, let’s do it.
After that, it became a kind of thing for us. He’d come out each holiday season, and I would pick him up at his hotel. He liked a restaurant that I’d found on Central, the Double Rainbow, and so we went there. We’d eat and have one of those awkward chats you have when you try to talk to someone who you knew but don’t know any more...if you know what I mean. So very much had happened in both our lives.
But, as you do in such situations, because we were friends, and had been for a long, long time, we kept at it.
Then, my parents were gone. Martha and I moved to Texas “to be near the kids.” Fred and I continued to be in communication, but increasingly it was via the Web. Facebook was his preferred social media. And he loved Facebook messenger, which let him keep in contact with his friends all over the world. Ergo, that’s what we used.
So I wasn’t surprised to see the note from him. Indeed, I was pleased. It would be interesting to find out what he was up to.
And then I saw the letters...
ALS...
“Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease...” (2)
Which is when it all made sense...
In such a horrible way.
More to come.
Footnotes:
1. But maybe I’ve just heard “City of New Orleans” too many times. “... don't you know me, I'm your native son.” See “The City of New Orleans,” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_of_New_Orleans_(song).
2. “Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS),” National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, https://www.ninds.nih.gov/health-information/disorders/amyotrophic-lateral-sclerosis-als
Copyright©2025 Michael Jay Tucker
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