5 Hours after I left the apartment to go and see brother Frank, I’ve returned at 5:00 exactly. Not an major accomplishment, just a fact. I wasn’t sure if Frank would be in the hospital or in a rehab unit in Saddle Brook, so I called and found that he was indeed still in the hospital and that he may have had some smaller strokes post operation. He is also off his anti-depressants so that accounts for a lot, his demeanor and his depression. A withdrawal of sorts. He will not be heading back to work anytime soon if he goes back at all.
And the wedding planning is in full gear. Last night were the bachelor and bachelorette parties. Rob and his mates went to a Yankee game and then a posh dinner, Meghan and her friends hit a bar in Hoboken. I received a text message from my niece Cory who said that she’d be coming over to my apartment if she couldn’t get into any bars with her older sister. She never came over, having gotten into a bar and staying there until closing. They all got home at 4:30, the girls that is. The guys were home by midnight from what I’ve heard.
Since I didn’t go out I stayed in and watched the telly until I felt tired enough to go to sleep which was difficult due to a really good nap that I took earlier in the afternoon. Finally I did sleep and woke up at 7:00 thinking it was later than that. It wasn’t it was earlier than I wanted. I got out of bed with a headache and took two gel caps and went back to bed, sleeping to and waking up with various bird calls seemingly right outside of my window.
I left the apartment after bagels, papers and coffee and waited for a bus on Washington Street to take me to Union City. Soon enough I was on a really slow bus that felt like I was taking a tour of Washington Street storefronts and brownstones. I got off the bus on New York Avenue and waited for the 163 bus to take me to Hackensack. That arrived and I got on and sat in an air conditioned bus, getting out at Summit and Essex Streets. Frank was in the same room so it was easy to find once you figured out which way to go.
Frank, Elaine and Cory were walking around a little bit outside the room when I showed up. We sat in Frank’s room and sat around and chatted about this and that, Cory telling me about her night out with the bachelorette party, Elaine telling me about her dinner at the racetrack, and Frank not saying too much. A dietitian came in and talked about what Frank should and should not eat and a doctor came by and checked his lungs, which were ok and his heart which was still beating.
Meghan’s fiance’s parents came by and talked for a bit though it seemed that Frank was getting tired with all the visitors. That was our signal to go so he could get some rest. We all rode down the elevator on the way out, everyone going to their cars, me going to the bathroom and then to the bus stop where I waited and listened to the English Beat. Walked home down Palisades Avenue to the viaduct and finally down into Hoboken where I am at right now, in case you haven’t figured that out.