Dearest Tony,
That's funny that you wrote me about your money situation the day after I had put money in your account. Your prayers must have preceded that note!
[His letter was dated March 5th. I received it yesterday.]
I'm sorry to hear about your broken tooth, but I'm glad y'all have a dentist there. Hopefully, that situation will soon be resolved for you.
[That letter had been dated February 24th.]
My health is good, but my hands have been bothering me. Ever since December, I've had cramping and tingling and numbness in both hands, but mostly in my left hand. I had thought it was arthritis, but I now believe it's carpal tunnel syndrome. Remember when Mama had surgery for hers? I think she was about my age, maybe a few years younger.
I have an appointment in April with my doctor. Meanwhile, I have to avoid holding my hand in curled positions for long periods of time - like, anything more than a few minutes.
Yikes! That means any letters from me will have to be much shorter. Hahaha!
Actually, I'm most concerned about grading papers. I spend hours doing that. Maybe some can wait until the woman I'm teaching for comes to help me in April. We'll see.
Today, I'm going to visit Ronnie. He's been in jail since February 16. I had heard it was for hitchhiking, but maybe not. I hope to find out more when I see him.
Nice to know he's been getting fed regularly for a month now. Sad, too.
Okay, I guess that does it for now.
Love you, Dood!
***** ***** ***** ***** *****
True to my word to my youngest brother, I ventured out to the Chatham County Sheriffs Complex to see my middle brother. It's been a couple of years since I last went there, and the place has really changed.
The building for visitation, for example, is no longer where it used to be.
I eventually found it, though, and eventually found him, too.
We had a very nice twenty-minute visit, via videophone.
No more walking down seemingly endless halls and seeing each other through scratched and cross-hatched glass. We still talked on a handheld phone, but we had good views of each other.
He has been in jail since February 16th.
He looks good.
Color is back in his cheeks and his skin has shrugged off its yellow cast. Being sober for this past month has given his body a chance to heal. Having three meals a day has been very beneficial to that healing process, too.
Why was he picked up this last time?
Well, I had heard from his girlfriend that he had been soliciting rides.
That was incorrect.
He had been panhandling.
He was arrested for illegal collection of funds.
All he had garnered was four dollars.
Sigh.
He and I had a very nice chat, short though it was. You may recall that the last time he and I spent any time together was in September. I was able to spend part of two days with him then! I left him well-fed and with a phone again.
(Two weeks later, he had lost the phone. I then unsuccessfully played tag with him and his friends for three weeks, trying to get yet another phone to him. As luck would have it, my oldest younger brother saw him and contacted me. That led to Ronnie finally having a phone again by the end of October. He "lost" it right after Thanksgiving. I was too broke - and frustrated - to buy him another.)
As the allotted time ticked down on our visit, I asked if he knew the significance of today's date.
Yes, he did. "It's Christina's birthday," he said. "Tell her I said happy birthday."
I assured him I would.
I then told him his son would be getting married on April 2nd. Was he interested in going with me to the wedding?
Yes, he was. Providing, of course, that he is out by then.
I truly love him when he is sober and we can have lucid conversations. Why can't it always be that way???
***** ***** ***** ***** *****
When I returned home, I retrieved my phone and called Smitty.
I talked to him about my visit with Ronnie and told him all I know about that situation.
Like me, he was relieved to know Ronnie is safely sheltered, with easy access to food and showers.
Both of us prefer knowing that Ronnie is in jail than thinking of him living in the woods, scrounging for food and living for his next cold beer.
Tomorrow, Smitty and I will meet to take care of his monthly sales tax report and payment. That'll come due by the 20th, so it's good that we'll not be rushed with it this time.
Tomorrow, maybe I'll visit Ronnie again and put a few dollars more into his account at the jail.
Tomorrow, Smitty probably will, too.
And we'll both sleep a little easier knowing Ronnie is safe.
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