They planned a small wedding and when the day arrived it was to be even smaller than planned. September 11, 1954 was the day hurricane Edna made landfall in Massachusetts. My parents were in Dover, NH which is near the coast in southern New Hampshire. Some of the guests weren't not going to be able to travel to the wedding. Hurricane Carol had struck the area just 11 days before Edna. It was an active hurricane season in 1954! Despite the weather, my parents were married on schedule and left for their honeymoon in Niagara Falls.
Forty seven years later they decided to take an anniversary road trip to Burlington, VT. They left on the morning of September 11, popped some CD's into the cars player, and off they went. When they arrived in Burlington they wanted to walk around town and visit the shops and galleries. They were surprised to find most of them closed and very few people out and about. They were perplexed to read a sign on one of the shop doors, "Due to the tragic events of the day, we have closed early." Having not listened to the radio during the trip, they were clueless as to what had happened. They decided to check into their hotel. It was then, that the hotel clerk apprised them of the chaos that was happening in the United States.
Since 2001, I have never forgotten my parents anniversary.
Fast forward to 2016. If Mom were still with us, my parents would be celebrating 62 years today. Yesterday my Dad was not feeling well and my sister Anita took him to the emergency room. His heart rate was very low and they had a hard time regulating it. At the end of the day they decided to admit him. He may need a pacemaker. Before Anita left for the night they needed to clarify his advance directives with the hospital. Dad then said, "Maybe I'll die on my anniversary." It was heartbreaking to hear that he said that. After all he went through in the last two years, I hope that he won't have to have another surgery. We will know more today.
It's times like these that living 800 miles away sucks.
Oh my! SOrry to hear about your dad's health issues, and on his anniversary too! Hope he ends up alright for another ___years. These days, us elders may not want to live many more years, especially if it means being incapacitated or a burden to our loved ones.Most of us wish to just go in our sleep, after many healthy, loving, happy years. Too bad that isn't always the way it is.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry to hear about his health too, but what a story!
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