Homecoming (June Photos, Day 9)

 

 

  Today’s photo theme: your view today.  This is what I could see waiting in the cell phone lot for Brian’s plane to arrive this afternoon.  And, if I may digress a minute, I have to say that I love the convenience of a “cell phone lot”.  In the post-9/11 days, there’s no longer any short-term parking near the airport terminals, so picking up/dropping off passengers has become almost as much of a hassle as actually flying.  But, these little lots where you can sit and wait—without a parking fee—for your loved one to actually get off the plane and make it through the airport and out to the pick-up spot, they’re great.  I didn’t have to pay to park, didn’t have to circle the lot countless times, and didn’t have to risk loitering and being considered some sort of terrorist threat.  These lots are a wonderful invention.  Our airport in OKC doesn’t have one yet, at least not that I’m aware of.  But since I was up in Tulsa for the Barry concert anyway, Brian flew in there and we drove home together.  So kudos to Tulsa for having a lot for the drivers to await their incoming passengers.

Anyway, the point is, yes, I was picking Brian up from the airport.  He returned home from his visit back east to see his dad.  It was a stressful week for him, as the uncertainty surrounding most medical issues makes everyone a little crazy.  I wish there were better news to report on Pop’s condition, but at least he is hanging in.  He survived the surgery, and is battling down the pneumonia, but it just seems to be one complication after another.  Sadly, he is also so exhausted that he is rarely alert, and often totally non-responsive.  It’s hard for Brian (and his sisters) to see their father like that.  Thankfully, Pop had one really good day while Brian was home.  He was awake, and focused, and they got to have a father-son talk about the Phillies, and hospital food—but mostly the Phillies.  I pray that it won’t be the last time they can chat about pitching rosters and on-base percentages, but whether it is or isn’t, I think it made the whole trip worthwhile.

I’m glad Brian’s home (though I encouraged him to stay longer, maybe until his dad was at least a bit more recovered), but I am even more glad that he will have that memory of talking baseball with his dad.