I slowly walked into Ralphie's room, afraid that I would awake him from his sleep or interrupt him with his visitors, but he was awake and there was only one other person in the room (the man in the next bed).
Ralphie's face was thinner. I barely recognized him without his usual eyeglasses, hat, and cheerful smile. The blanket covered most of his frail body, exposing his bony feet and ankles. He was watching tv and hadn't touched the food in front of him.
When I used to work with Ralphie, he would always have bite-sized chocolate candy in his pocket and gave it to people in the office. That was his way of getting the ladies to fall for him, ha. So today I brought him these delicious milk chocolate squares, hoping they would bring a smile to his face the way he always brought a smile to our faces...but he couldn't eat them.
We chatted for awhile, with him asking me if I was busy chasing boys around in NY. No Ralphie, I don't chase boys...it's too much work...plus I would never catch any. Every now and then, he'd get quiet, his body tightened up, and he grimaced. But even then, he was able to joke around right after the pain subsided.
He wanted to speak to his wife so I called her from my phone and left the phone on speaker mode. He wanted to see how she was doing and what she had for dinner. She wanted to know if he was drinking his Ensure. He told her he misses her and will see her tomorrow. They tell each other they love each other. I couldn't help but smile while listening to their conversation.
Ralphie has been with his wife for 68 years. Their love for each other is incredible and inspiring, challenging cynics and hardened hearts to believe in the possibility of true love, everlasting love.
I left shortly thereafter. When I got into my car, I just sat there. And then tears starting flowing down for reasons I couldn't explain. My brain hadn't caught up with my emotions yet. On the drive back home from visiting a friend in LA, I thought about why I cried. Although I feel terribly bad for Ralphie's suffering, I think I felt sadder for his wife because she is the one who was going to lose her best friend. She is the one who has to live without the love of her life. It seems as though the dead is always at peace while the living will always be hurting.
3 comments:
OMG! I totally cried reading your blog. Poor Ralphie. I might go see him tomorrow with Carrie and some other people. I am afraid of going and crying though and upsetting him. I am glad that you went and visited him. Now come visit me! :)
Hi.
I was wondering if you have finished your school paper. I have a 2 year old adopted daughter from Vietnam and noticed that you had been looking for info on Vietnam orphanages. Please keep in mind that an orphanage in one province can be very different from an orphange in a nother province. Good luck with your paper.
To the Schwartz Family:
Thank you for your interest in my paper. I'm still working on it but so far, I've received very helpful information from over 50 adoptive parents and 9 ASPs. Many of the adoptive parents have mentioned the same thing that you told me about the orphanages varying from one province to another. If there's anything else that you'd like to comment on, please feel free to email me at apc288@nyu.edu
Thanks!
Agnes
Post a Comment