March 22, 2010

BTK reaching out. It has been a bit since we got together ... a lot has happened. By now, BW is home, healthy and getting settled and has left Madison behind for now. It was hard for him to leave. I know that. It was his home for five years with all his favorite places and his friends. But, without funding changes were inevitable. We will work to get him back there, if we can, when the employment picture changes. His remaining PhD requirements can be taken care of remotely.

That said. We move on. As Tennyson said in Ulysses " that which we are, we are, one equal temper of heroic hearts, Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will. To strive, to seek, to find and not to yield".

So, rewind to Saturday, March 20th, 5:30am CDT. BTK and PB rollout of the rack and prepare for the road trip. The night before, BP had packed every conceivable tool or hardware item that we might need. There were boxes, packing tape, storage bags, razor blade scrapers, hand tools, power tools and an assortment of nails, screws and fasteners. Even a small bucket of spackle and a putty knife. We were prepared to fix or repair anything in that apartment so that BW and his stuff could leave with us that day.

We walked out of the house and knew, immediately, that the weather was not going to cooperate out of Chicago. We drove straight into the ice and snow mix that was predicted as it came from the northwest (i.e. Madison) moving southeast. Only PB's cool demeanor behind the wheel kept us moving. We had to stop at the Belvedere Oasis. BP had to chip half-inch ice out of the wiper wells and off the wiper blades so they would function again. Thankfully, as we moved northwest, we could see the snow on the trees and parkways. But, the payment was dry and the current precipitation conditions stabilized and eventually stopped when we arrived in Madison.

We picked up our U-Haul trailer in Madison right on schedule at 9:00am CDT. BP loves to be on time and hates to be late. We arrived at BW's place and with some inventive driving and manual labor PB and BW got the trailer right next to the back door. PB attempted to build a plywood ramp. But, could not fashion it safely. He scrapped the idea and they dealt with the two steep, concrete stairs.

BW had all of his stuff packed despite the fact that he had been without glasses for the best part of the past two weeks. Just to give you some perspective, in order to read and answer e-mails during that time, he had hold the laptop 6 inches from his face. The fact that he got anything packed is a credit to his courage and fortitude.

Those boys loaded that trailer and "final" cleaned the apartment in under two hours. Even BTK got on the business end of a vacuum cleaner. I am not scared of those tasks. I just have limited mobility these days and take a lot of breaks. The boys didn't seem to care about the breaks. So I just kept on strokin'...doing what I could.

Coming home the weather doesn't cooperate either. There are stretches that are treacherous with limited mobility for 15 to 20 miles. Now, we are towing a full trailer which is dancing all over the road. Once again, BP and his cool demeanor behind the wheel gets it done.

Once home, by BW's choice, his clothes came to the house and everything else went into storage. Remembering the conditions under which he packed, he wanted to sort things out in his own time and decide what he needed at home. Good thinking.

Sunday... domestic tasks. laundry, paperwork put off too long and well-deserved rest for all. BW spent the evening with his girlfriend in the city. They needed that time together .... now that we're all together, again.

Today... Work for PB, AP and me. BW hooking up with Depaul resources for library privileges at the Newberry. His Masters degree in history is from De Paul in 2005. So, he just needed to upgrade his credentials.

Tomorrow ... tune in next time.

Thanks for reading ... until next time