Henry remains in the hospital after a grand mal seizure. The downside of this is that he's in and out of consciousness and only vaguely aware of his surroundings. The upside is that this hospital is just 3 miles away from their new home in Fort Lauderdale. No more air lifting Henry out of Key West to get him decent medical care.
I wish they were each nearer to me so I could help more. But they both chose to leave Chicagoland -- with its jobs and world-class hospitals and, of course, The Gal Herself -- to struggle emotionally, physically and financially in SoCal and Florida respectively. Why? Snow. And it gets dark so early! It's so flat (my oldest friend). They were "done" with Chicago and wanted "something new" (Henry and Reg).
The Bible says, "bloom where you are planted." On M*A*S*H, Col. Potter said, "If you aren't where you are, you're no place." Do I ever fantasize about leaving and starting over? Sometimes. Property taxes and crime are high here and I'd be lying if I said I enjoyed either.
But my life is here. My friends are here. The Cubs are here. I am, by and large, happy here.
Maybe that's the lesson my oldest friend and Henry are here to teach me with their example: I'm lucky I like my life.
