When my friend had a triple bypass in 2023, he didn't have a lot of family nearby. However, he did have an aunt that lived 45 minutes away. She was short and feisty, and I liked her.
Since Joe was recovering from having his chest sliced open, he needed to get a bunch of stuff out of his house and his yard to make it easier to get around. To make that happen, he needed some friends to help.
It was Ron Smith's birthday, and when I asked him what he wanted to do, he said he wanted to go help Joe. I was so proud of him.
When we arrived an empty dumpster was there and we got to work. The aunt, Dale (a great singer who i had not met), and I got to work hauling stuff and tossing it into the dumpster. Ron started out with some enthusiasm but quickly wanted to do a lot of talking and not a lot of lifting. Much of what was there was heavy and dirty. It was not fun to lift, move, and toss in the dumpster.
Ron kept asking me questions and sharing his thoughts on what Joe should do. I eventually said, "if you are done helping, just take a seat somewhere. I'll get you home as quick as I can but there is more to do."
Ron kept talking more until Joe's aunt said, "shut up and let the man get back to work. He's getting stuff out of here that needs to go."
Joe was living with her at the time. I visited once to deliver a chair with Matt. We chatted on the back porch and her ankle high dog came out to investigate us and waddle around. She was a blessing to the man when he really needed someone.
She just died. It is shortly after the death of Billy Buchanan, someone that he had known for a long time.
I feel bad for him.
He also had one of his outdoor cats die recently, shortly after birthing 7 kittens. His plan to take them in has rapidly turned into a plan to just have 7 more cats.
That brings the grand total to 13,
which is far too many cats.
