Booth is a verb--chapter 13--Saying goodbye

From September, 2009

A gospel of friendship on a deathbed

Chapter 13

"The Four's trip north to the Wichita hospital, as the sun rose, was quiet, except for a few memories of The Illidge. They remembered his love for music, especially jazz, which he would often discuss with another graduate of "The Old School," The Woody. But he knew and enjoyed much for an old geezer, including Stevie Nicks and Fleetwood Mac. On his bulletin board, he had an autographed photo of Martina McBride.

"At the hospital, they found The Illidge flat on his back but alert, Sweet Pea and daughter Fran, and the conversation was light and enjoyable, and a smile crossed The Illidge's face. The Clark mentioned that he'd smuggled some spirits into the hospital with him and proposed a toast, in the spirit of The Booth. Sweet Pea asked if he wanted it, and he readily agreed. Then it was that the spirits were poured into several glasses used previously as Fleet phosphate doses for cleaning out digestive systems, and the toasts were made.

"The talk turned to many things, including air conditioning, and the anecdote, in the midst of unsaid goodbyes, that comes next is still told in every Booth with great relish and laughter, and tears. 

"After air conditioning, someone mentioned preferring attic fans, which all agreed were wonderful inventions. And then The Illidge commented on the one in his and Sweet Pea's manse.

"To Bob," tales and toasts of humor on his deathbed

"'Turn that baby on, and it's so powerful it'll suck the grandchildren right up into the attic.'  Still the tales are told in the Booth even today, of The Illidge, his Catholic faith, and ability to joke on his deathbed.

"The joviality couldn't last, and it came time to say goodbye, with hugs and wet eyes and many words to him and his wife and daughter.

"The Clark waited till all had left, and sat down briefly on the bed by his friend. They looked at each other and shook hands. The Clark can't remember what The Illidge said. All The Clark could say, was to mumble, 'I love you.'

"Nobody talked on the way home to Oklahoma.

"The next Booth, later that week, and all the rest since, begin with a toast, 'To Bob.' Those Boothing knew The Call would be coming, and another trip north soon."

And so it came to pass."

To be continued

Booth chapter 10--The afflictions of Job, redux

From August, 2009

A gospel of friendship and affliction

Chapter 10

"Forthwith that fall, The Illidge returned to teach his classes, to regale his colleagues with stories, to Booth with his buddies, to win and lose at cribbage; the Gospel of The Booth spread throughout the land. Even Sweet Pea and son Andy drove down to indulge in The Illidge's redoubt.

"Little did they know that Boothing would change drastically within two years.

"That fall, The Illidge, who had been suffering from mild shingles even before the heart problems, due to a weakened immune system, encountered another foe as the leukemia worsened. His shingles became permanent, a painful disease known as post-hepatic neuralgia. It attacked him ferociously and kept him awake at night, and hurting in the daytime. Every cure was tried, from medical to hypnotism to 'blue stuff.' Nothing worked.

"Yea though, The Illidge would not complain, though he wore loose clothes and winced often. If you heard him lecturing in the classrooms, with vim and vigor, you would not of know of what vicissitudes and vagaries were vexing him. Some days were better than others, and some were worse than others. Sitting in the Queen Bee's nest early in the mornings with The Clark, or later in the day, he'd have his right hand up under the left armpit, almost constantly, trying to ease the pain. In the classrooms, he always stood, and most students never knew how much he hurt, his hand under his arm.

"Let's 'Booth' today," was good medicine

"One medicine did seem to help...'Let's Booth today,' The Clark would say, about 11 in the morning.

"'When? 4?'" The Illidge would answer, a twinkle back in his eyes.
'Sure.'

"But by 3 p.m. The Clark needed respite, and so did the Illidge. The Brunette would sometimes say, 'It's early yet.'

"'It's five o'clock somewhere,' quipped The Illidge, sometimes between pain-clinched teeth.

"Off they would go to that special Booth, medicating his afflictions with vodka, Irish whiskey, appetizers, banter, stories, and countless cribbage games, until latecomers would arrive to add joviality. The Illidge could hold his liquor, and only twice in those years did either The Clark or The German Complainer drive him 'to his very own apartment' where he could 'have some gruel.'

"His humor never ceased. Some poorly performing students in beginning advertising questioned him from time to time about their grades.

"'Go into dry-cleaning,' was his answer. Increasingly poor performance by students on tests vexed him more and more. The Clark repeatedly advised him to curve grades so at least 50 percent could pass. When The Clark, the patient man that he is, would be upset with lazy students, as would others on the faculty, especially The German Complainer, he would advise, gesturing with his free hand, 'Breathe deeply. In...and out...in and out. Ommmmm.'

The banter was like a tennis match

"He thought about retirement, as the pain and semester droned on, but decided for one more year. In between, The Clark did visit the Illidge and Sweet Pea in The Manse on Quentin in Wichita, to play cribbage, to lose scrabble games to Sweet Pea. To watch the continual banter between The Illidge and The Sweet Pea was like witnessing a championship tennis match, the lobbies of words and gestures and rolled eyes and humor bouncing back and forth. The Clark's neck got tired turning from one speaker to the other.

"And, the trio did visit the 24-hour greasy spoon, The Beacon, right next to the downtown newspaper,The Wichita Eagle. Pictures and photos of lighthouses lined the walls of the smoke-filled eatery, and the breakfasts were bountiful. In those years, so also did The Clark and The Brunette visit, sitting on the porch swing and enjoying the evening and banter, and going out to a smokey neighborhood bar--the kind that don't exist in Oklahoma.

Illidge was a beacon to all who knew him

"It occurred to The Clark years later that The Illidge was a beacon to all who knew him.

"The last year at UCO, the beacon began to falter. It was the hope of The Clark, The German Complainer, The Queen Bee and others that they could raise enough money to send him to Ireland. That didn't happen and remains a regret to this day. Many Booths occurred...probably twice a week.

"What was held was a retirement party, with all his family present, his granddaughter dancing to the music of an Irish band, and the day closing with 'Oh Danny boy.'

"Ever since, The Clark tears up when he hears the words, and he would hear them often in the coming year."

To be continued...

Booth chapter 9--The Heart of the department, Redux

(Present tense interlude, all these years later. At a gathering of faculty celebrating graduation last night, The Clark and a friend, lifted a glass, clinked them, and toasted, "To Bob." Such is the lasting power of friendship.)

From, August, 2009

Chapter 9

"As the semesters rolled by, so did the gatherings at The Booth, much as pegs moving sporatically around the cribbage board, the tales multiplied. But so did the woes of The Illidge.

"'I think I'm having a heart attack,' he told The Clark one spring morning. The Clark thought he was kidding because of his low key, dry wit. He was not.

When the Queen Bee arrived, he commented that his left arm was bothering him, and she told him that was a classic sign of a heart attack. She ordered him to go to the hospital. Instead, he taught his first class, and returned to her nest, saying the arm still hurt and he was feeling worse. Then, instead of calling an ambulance, he drove himself to a nearby hospital where he lay for hours essentially unattended before being transferred to a healthy hospital. 

“'Heart attack' turned into a requirement for heart bypass surgery, and it was accomplished, with much worry and prayer from his family and his colleagues. Sweet Pea, Elizabeth the Strong, was there throughout. When the The Clark and faculty did gather in The Booth, it was somber, and initiated with toasts, 'To Bob.'

"It seemed as though the heart and humor of the department was in jeopardy. He convalesced through the summer, and returned in fall to his classes and more joviality in The Booth. But that joviality was soon tempered with yet more health problems. The effect on his colleagues was of wonder and admiration and disbelief and a desire to enjoy each day, for yea, they had nothing to complain about in comparison. And The Illidge did not complain."

To be continued…

Booth becomes a verb, chapter 5 redux

From August, 2009

Because  friends matter, a gospel by The Clark

Chapter 5

"The weeks and the seasons and the semesters slipped away, changing with the bartenders, from the bosomy beginning to other students seeking to stay in school by serving spirits, all of whom greeted the growing group at The Booth with enthusiasm because there they knew there was joviality and fun and tips, larger than usually came from professors and poverty.

"And in the fullness of time, The Clark became as competent at cribbage as The Illidge. Oft they arrived earlier than the others so they could see what cards fate had dealt them. Thus it was that when The Clark built a huge lead, he would hold forth with astounding and magnificent quotations, as in, 'Mama, open the gate cause the cows are coming home and Daddy is hungry,' or 'Bring in the laundry and pluck a goose, 'cause we’re gonna celebrate tonight.'

"Bring in the laundry and pluck a goose..."

"Such wisdom did oft seem to irritate The Illidge, and when in turn, he would manage to eke out victories, and yeah, even perchance rarely skunk The Clark, he would also hold forth, mocking with his own wisdom, as in, 'Light the candles Mother, the stars are shining tonight and we’ve got to skin a hog.' That their utterances were less than sophisticated never dawned on them, thanks to friendship and Stolys and Bushmills on the rocks. However by this time of the day, booth buddies began arriving and they made mockery of the misery of the day’s loser and the mentality of the day’s winner.

"And lo, when he did win, the next morning The Illidge would regale the Queen Bee with stories of his victories, usually by asking her, 'Ask Himself if the cows came home last night,' and thus the laughter was verily contagious from one day to the next. 

"Cards dealt by fate are not always winners"

"Alas, it was not till years later that The Clark would realize, in an epiphany to be explained later, the significance of the way The Illidge used the word 'Himself,' and it brought The Clark to tears, matching those that began to offset the laughter of The Booth, because the cards dealt by fate are not always winners. "

"Thus it was that The Booth was soon ordained officially, and slipped from being a noun to a verb, as The Illidge slipped from health to illness that would eventually match Job’s."

To be continued…