Of This Whole Year

I was thinking today about what I'm most thankful for just in this past year.

It turns out that what seemed like the worst thing (Hudson [inadvertently] lighting himself on fire) developed into the best experience of the year for me. I had never spent that much time one-on-one with Mama. It was so wonderful.

A week-long trip. Huntington, West Virginia. Driving around, finding our way, lots of good discussions, being there for Hudson, worrying about lodging, having our particular travel rituals develop, enjoying our mutual guilty pleasures (only because what we looked forward to all day went against the Hospitality House regulations), laughing and having running jokes, reading aloud to each other. All of it, all of it. Just being together.

My love for Mama was a different and special love after that week. And that is what I am most thankful for this year.

How about you? An event or experience? Something you accomplished or gained? Something you overcame? A realization?

What To Do In Case Of Fire

My brother Hudson is a larger-than-life character. He is Lazarus Long and he is Hemingway and he is Byron. Brilliant, eccentric and, at times, self-destructive. It should go without saying that people like this do not have ordinary campfire experiences; They go up in flames.

And when they are convalescing, the nurses bring them beer.

The event took place last Saturday night after Hudson had worked a long week and pulled a couple no-sleepers. He lives in the hills of West Virginia where parties are held outdoors, far from running water and electricity. Hudson was with strangers and he was manic. Since I was not on the scene at the time, I cannot testify to what actually occurred, but the long and short of it is that Hudson was transported three hours away to the nearest Burn Intensive Care Unit. His right side was covered in burns, complicated by gasoline.

Mama and I drove up there on Sunday. A six hour drive to his home in Hinton and three more hours to Huntington. (You know, Marshall University as in We Are Marshall and Go Herd?) We had no idea how long we'd be gone, but it turned out to be an entire week!

Because of the high risk of infection (in what is surely the least sanitary hospital stateside), visiting hours are more or less rigid. We couldn't stay the night. A nurse referred us to a hospitality house about 20 minutes away. It proved to be a Godsend. Great accommodations (including a double kitchen and private room with bath), lovely old ladies preparing home-cooked meals every other day and a price that couldn't be beat.

The first few days, I took pictures and was all upbeat. Mama and I did our best to advocate for Hudson and make him comfortable, all the while becoming more weary ourselves. It started to drag. Thinking every day that the next day we'd be outta there, only to get our hopes raked down by the bowels of disappointed endeavors, I lost the will to carry my camera.

Our ritual sundowners each evening were the highlight of our days. (Did you know about this?)

Finally, on Sunday, he got his discharge orders and we made the trip back to Hinton. Hudson was awfully uncomfortable in the car. But I'd found a copy of Ender's Game in Huntington and read aloud to my captive audience for those three hours which made the time fly. While he recuperates, Hudson will stay with his employers. They and my cousin Andrew will help care for him.

Mama and I took turns driving and reading aloud all the way back to Greenville, SC. We got about 3 quarters of the way through the book. (We left off at that part where the older boys gang up on Ender in the showers.)

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Here is how Hudson looked when we got to him:

(That's a beer he's got! They brought him one with every meal, including breakfast.)

This is what we had to wear to be in his room:

This is our room at the Hospitality House: 

So, yeah. This should pretty well explain my absence.

B.I.C.U.

To all of my readers who do not follow my facebook feed, you may be interested to know that I spent the entirety of last week in the Burn ICU of the Rural Care Center of the main hospital in Huntington, West Virginia, a full 10 hours from my home and children. Details to come.

Consider the Ravens

One of the best things about this holiday season for me was getting to see Hudson, my brother who lives in the frozen north, West Virginia. He only comes to visit every few months and we write letters intermittently between his visits. 

Hudson lives on a mountain and works the land. He spends a considerable amount of time alone and I believe he must spend most of that time reading. His letters are laced with quotes and references. 

He left me feeling inspired to read more. Specifically my Bible, but generally everything. Classics and anything interesting. Because your mind is a palace and why fill it up with images from a bright, flashing screen when you can fill it with wonder and intrigue and complexity of thought? Hudson has a million references to make his own experience more historically resonant, by which I mean, he can see how what he sees and does echoes what has come before and parallels ideas that great minds from the past have expressed. 

It is a wonderful thing, a head full of thoughts.

image via pinterest

A Letter From Hudson

Hudson, you newer readers may be interested to know, is the eldest of my five younger brothers. He is one of a number of black sheep in our family. He roughs it up north in a green and wild place. We write letters. Long, almost indecipherable letters. 

(These excerpts were the best I could do. Hard to translate, ya.)

::::::::::::::::::::

Making coffee involves an ongoing mutiny among the ranks -- of a course colander, a fine screen and a scrap of t-shirt -- tastes great with condensed milk but makes a scalding mess first. Or can become so unless cap'n is severe (after aussie bad-boy Russell Crowe fashion, right?) yet patient. I wonder why I don't just buy a dag blamed french press... "This isn't Thailand" I often mutter around puddles of caffeinated, spilt mud. Shucks.

I now have Toby for going around and the like (my little red toyo-truck), a triple feature duo (one of each) Chuck Norris and Bill Murray, a portable chimbly, a dozen sundry splinters (for a while at least), some firewood, an egg (chkn) connection, no mustache, poison ivy (barely, at this point), a good solid though not windproof outdoor shower screen and three magnets.

I love you sisterwoman
Hudson
P.S. I can't read it either, sorry.

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I'm not sure what pleases me more here, that he got rid of his mustache or that his outdoor shower now has a privacy screen. Either way, a visit is more likely than before.

These are pictures taken by (most likely) Ali last summer. Used without permission. 

A New Red Chair

Growing up, my siblings and I always played on this particular chair that my folks always had. We would read stories in it, make tents, fight over it, etc. They actually still have it. It has been changed many times over, whether reupholstered or slip-covered.

I wanted our kids to have a similar experience and over the weekend we found the perfect chair! It is bright red. The kids love it as much as we do. (And I talked the seller down 20% on the sale price :)

It helps give structure to our living room and is more like a home with a comfy chair! Maybe it seems silly to you that I am so excited about this thing, but other than the couch, the only thing we've had in there was the chair Husdon pulled from the dumpster when we lived in those apartments in Charleston- although that was a really lucky find!

Something Very Exciting

Jeff Mangum is BACK.

If you only listen to one, let it be I Love The Living You. No listen to them all.

It's almost hard to for me to listen to though because I can't help really missing people I love. I shouldn't have to miss them. They are family and they are still alive so they should be here and we should all be drinking wine and making each other laugh and wearing funny clothes and singing. Like we used to.