RAK Day 2--is this week over yet?

I just got home from my latest RAK task. My great uncle is in the hospital. My aunt (his niece, not his wife) goes up to see him at least once every day. I called her up today to ask if I could go with her this afternoon. She picked me up at five and we headed to the St. Boniface.

I have not had the pleasure of spending much time in any of Winnipeg's hospitals. I was born in the Victoria and I've visited my grandma, grandpa and great-grandma there, but that's about the extent of my hospital experience so far. The Vic seems like a nice enough place for a hospital. The Saint B on the other hand is the saddest institution I've ever seen. The walls are the colour of cold oatmeal and the floor nearly matches. Walking through the halls I thought I was in the basement. I followed my aunt to my uncle's wing all the while looking for an "under construction" sign as an excuse for the cold decorating.

"Oh, there he is," she said. I looked around the hall and all I saw was this tired old man slumped over in his chair. We walked over to him and he looked up. Wow. That was him. I knew it had been a while since I last saw him but it was all I could do to hold back the shock at how much he had declined. I still remember him as a barrel chested man with strong arms covered in dark hair. I remember watching him smoke cigars on the patio at his house. I remember how he was always smartly dressed in shirts and sweaters. Now here he was, smaller, slouched, and wearing a dull and drab blue hospital gown.

We took him to his room and sat him in a chair in time for his dinner to arrive. My aunt chatted away while I perched on the edge of the bed. I didn't say much. My uncle mostly responded with "yes", "no", "hmph" and I think he got more words in than I did. He recognized me although he couldn't remember what he had for lunch that day. His mind is all there but his spirit is weak.

After he finished eating my aunt asked if he would like to see what I brought to show him.

"Yeah," he answered and looked over at me. I reached into my purse and pulled out the die cast nearly exact model of Truck, same colour and everything. Amara had given Baby Truck to me for Christmas as my Secret Santa. I brought it to show my uncle because in the summer time he said he wanted me to take him for a ride. This was the best I could do for him today.

I set Baby Truck on the table and my uncle examined it.

"Same colour?" he asked.

"Yeah, but my tailgate doesn't fall open like that."

He studied it from all angles, turned it upside down and asked me how many doors mine had.

"Four, just like that one. It's an extended cab too. They open suicide style."

I asked him if he ever had a truck.

"Ford F150. Green," he told me. "Mine had a cap on the back."

"Yeah, that's an old man's truck," I said. I always swore my baby would never wear a cap. My uncle laughed.

"You don't see too many girls driving trucks," he said.

"I know, it's different. It's fun. One day it's going to move me out too."

By 6:30 he was getting tired so my aunt helped him into bed, tucked him in, and turned out the light. My act there was done.

"I'm really glad you brought that truck," my aunt said as we walked to the parking lot. "I think he really liked it. He'll probably talk about your visit for days."

I guess I did a good thing, but it seemed so small and like something I should have done anyway. That was kind of the theme for today it seemed. Either the act seemed not very special or I wasn't sure just how much effect it had made. When I decided to commit to this challenge I wanted to see results. Today it seems that I didn't quite see results, but upon reflection, I see how at least I did make a conscious effort when I could have done nothing. I think that's all that really matters. I made a difference to at least one person today. I can't ask for much else.

Here's a summary of the other things I did today.



Cookies

Joanna and I hiked it into the village to deliver a plate of cookies to the fire hall. The guys seemed to be confused by gesture and perhaps thought that we made the whole thing up just so we could check out some firemen. They happily accepted the cookies anyway.


Random Valentine greetings

Finally, Vince got one of my cards. Apparently he was having a gloomy day today so the card cheered him up. That made me feel a little better. Please think some sunny thoughts for my buddy Vince.


New efforts

I sent a note to someone in the office today who always makes the place a little happier for me. She is such a warm and caring person. I told her that some days I get so busy buzzing around and just trying to do what needs doing but I end up feeling kind of invisible. Whenever she stops me and says, "hey Jilly, how's it going?" it just makes everything better. One day she just looked at me and asked, "Do you need a hug, Jilly?" I don't remember feeling particularly blue at the time but it sure felt nice to know that someone was looking out for me. So I thanked her for making my day whenever she is around. She wrote back and was really appreciative of the note.

I also e-mailed a friend of mine who works for a radio station in Fargo, ND. I had to send her a note because I met her in a random way through blogs. We have had two failed attempts at meeting up so far but I'm sure we'll get together soon. I owe her a pretty martini for a huge favour she did for me on my birthday. I asked her to mention RAK Week on her show. I'm pretty confident she'll come through.


Near the end of the day I e-mailed Kasia to ask for an update on the Vancouver RAK efforts as I was in need of some good news. She sent me an encouraging note in an e-card that had me laughing out loud. Thanks Kasia!