"All The Luxuries"

What a long, strange bike ride it's been.

Walt returned home on Saturday (June 30) for the first time since setting out for a spririted bike ride on that warm, spring day of March 13. Albeit a day visit from St. Mary's, it still marks a milestone in his recovery.

We picked him up Saturday morning. He was more than ready to go. A bit nervous in the stomach - he's often told me that as a kid, he would puke before some big event like Christmas Eve etc - and the "game face" on Walt was ready to go.

Tip did an extraordinary job helping his brother from wheelchair to car seat to walker. I think that Tip has a new career waiting for him after he finishes making the beer.

Once in the door Walt was ambling down the hallway, turning right past the kitchen table and stepping down into the living room. And on the right, what d'ya know, the couch is still there, and so is his spot on it! As swiftly as the eage flies - but not quite with the grace yet - our hero man-handled his walker over to the couch, set himself down, reached down to his left and yanked the recline lever. With the muted "thud" which accompanies the machinations of this mechanical marvel of modern mankind, Walt quite plainly and deliberately said "All the luxuries".

Having given him the remote control, and resigned to the fact that some things never change, I sat quietly as Walt flipped through the channels, ensconsed in the world of five hundred and something channels with pause, rewind, and fast forward.

The day went very well and I'm sure Patty will want to say a whole lot more so I won't steal any of her thunder.

On the way back to St. Mary's as Tip drove the minivan and Brian, Walt and I rode shotgun listening to the radio, I kept thinking that the only thing missing from this picture is the skis, boots and poles.

Cousin Rick