Friends Old and New: October 7, 2009
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Lots of 1988 Memories Today
At 7:30 am I met up with Beverly Theisen, Mike Parmer, the medical director for McLaren Hospice and Chris Chesney.
Chris had given me a place to stay in Bay City back in 1988. My lasting memory of that visit was of sitting down in the bathroom, thinking the door was locked, and then having Chris' 2 year old son open the door, as the lock didn't work. Strangely that was what Chris could remember, too.
It was great to meet Chris again and we talked over breakfast. Chris was now on the board for a hospice in Midland in Michigan.
I gave my presentation to the staff and it was well received. One of the hospice nurses said one problem they had was with doctors not making referrals in time for patients to receive sufficient hospice care. Mike Parmer said that it may take a generation for doctors to be trained more fully and to understand palliative care, but he thought they would get there.
A Good Route of Bay City
With all the commitments complete it was back to Young's Ditch Road. Mike Parmer had planned a route out of Bay City that took me through a State Park and then on to Route 13. Going straight up Route 13 would have been quicker, but I decided to try the State Park route.
Route 15 had construction work on it, but I could still walk on it to reach the Independence Bridge.
Just after I had crossed the Saginaw River I stopped and phoned up Catherine Nickell-Simpson up in Tawas. Catherine was working on volunteer recruitment at the Pamida Store in Standish, which was about 30 miles away. I asked Catherine to come and pick me up from Route 13 when she finished at the store at 4 pm.
The route that Mike Parmer had planned was good. The State Park Road was quiet and took me out to Lake Huron.
By 2 pm I was on to Route 13. Mike Parmer had given me a detailed street map of Bay City and I watched the streets pass by.
I was expecting Catherine to meet me on the road, and up ahead a van pulled on to the gravel at the side of the road. A woman climbed out of the van. I had the feeling that I should know her. The lady's name was Deb Gerger. She had an envelope with her with pictures of me from back in 1988. Deb was also in the pictures...but with long permed hair. Deb had worked as the volunteer coordinator for the Bay City Hospice. Deb's husband Tom was inside the van and it was good to meet them again. We arranged for them to come to the Hospice of Michigan in Tawas, as that was where they now lived.
At about 4.30 a dark van pulled off the road and Catherine was there. She drove me to the Pamida Store to introduce me to the manager L'Dean Nichols. We posed for photos and then Catherine drove me to Eat Tawas.
A Good Night with the Weavers
That night I stayed with Virgil “Buck” Weaver and his wife Kathy. Buck had been a school teacher and coach at high schools. He had also been in Detroit during in the 1960s. Buck told me of how the first black family had moved into their area of Detroit. The father of the family had been a minister and the children went to the same school as Buck's children. Buck had done what we could to look after the children and the family. Buck was now 86, but still did volunteer work for the hospital in Tawas. My stay with the Weavers was wonderful.
Kathy cooked a roast dinner. It was good to have vegetables and roast beef with gravy. After dinner and a shower I watched the Jay Leno show and talked with Buck about U.S. politics and the upcoming health reforms.
My schedule meant that I was due to talk in Tawas on Thursday morning, and Saturday I was due to be a guest at a benefit dinner for the Hospice of Michigan in Rogers City. It was time to get creative with my schedule.
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