At 7:30, Tony and I pulled up to the Lodge, and Kinky was standing outside—waiting for us. Tony parked Buttermilk, and then the three of us climbed into Kinky’s dark green truck—Mr. Green Jeans, and then we took off—headed for Kerrville—the hospital to be exact!
The reason that we were headed to Kerrville was not an emergency. Part of Kinky’s yearly physical, requires a procedure, where he must be sedated, and he is not allowed to drive after the procedure, so that is where Tone and I come into the picture.
Kinky drove Mr. Green Jeans, Tony rode shotgun in the front seat, and I sat in the back seat—trying to join in on the conversation, that I could not hear real well, because of the sudden blasts of cold wind, that Kinky kept creating! He kept rolling his and Tony’s window up and down—because he was smoking a cigar. It was 32 degrees outside, as I froze and watched a beautiful Texas sunrise!
When we arrived at the hospital—we were fifteen minutes early, so we sat outside in Mr. Green Jeans and had a business meeting. At ten minutes past eight, we climbed out of the truck, Kinky handed over his keys to Tony, and the three of us marched into the hospital. Two different, friendly people, in the lobby, stopped Kinky to shake his hand and to tell him that they had voted for him.
After Kinky registered at the check in desk, we were asked to go down the hall, and hang a right. We did as we were told. In the waiting room, Kinky went up to the counter and signed in again—Tony and I went and sat down by a giant fish tank, and then he and I pulled out our iPod Touches—we came prepared. After Kinky filled out a few forms, he came over to where we were sitting and sat down. “Kink,” I said. “Would you like to play the slots on my iPod?” Kinky nodded, and I handed him my iPod to help him pass the time.
As Kinky fiddled with the slots game, that Sandy Wolfmueller had recommended to Tony and me to get. Tony fiddled around on the internet, and I fiddled my thumbs, before I remembered my Emoto book about water and crystals—that I had stashed inside my purse. We passed the time.
“Mr. Friedman,” a friendly nurse said. “We are ready for you to come back now. Do you have anyone to come back here with you?”
Tony shook his head, no—Kinky looked over at me. “I’ll go, Kinky,” I said, and we followed the nurse, as Tony stayed behind fiddling. Kinky and I ended up in a small curtained off room, about half of the size of my Space Ship. The nice nurse asked Kinky some questions, as she filled out some forms, and then she told him that it was time for him to undress and let her hook him up with drips, etc.
“Are you his wife?” She asked, with a smile. “No,” Kinky and I answered in unison, and then we both started laughing. “I’m his friend,” I said. “I’m Cousin Nancy.”
“Cousin Nancy isn’t my cousin,” Kinky said, as the nurse raised an eyebrow. “She runs the Utopia Animal Rescue Ranch.”
“I see,” She said, probably thinking we were both doing drugs, as she continued filling out some paperwork. Then it was time for Kinky to change outfits, so I stood outside as he went from cowboy to a good looking man in a hospital dress! After he had climbed into the bed and was covered up with blankets, I was invited back into the room.
Then this really young, pretty nurse knocked on our curtain. “Excuse me, Cousin Nancy, you probably don’t remember me, but my husband and I adopted a dog from you several years ago—Wayne Newton. We first adopted Patsy Cline, but we had to return her after a month, and then we adopted Wayne Newton!”
A smile came on my face, I looked at the nurse’s name tag, and said, “Yes Melissa! Wayne Newton! Oh my gosh! I loved that dog so much! Kinky, Melissa adopted Wayne Newton!” Kinky, who was covered up with so many blankets, and with the pain pills kicking in—looked like a wannabe King Tut, fixin’ to be placed into a newly built pyramid—nodded his head and smiled—he was out of it. “Yes, I remember you, Melissa!” I said. “How is Wayne doing?” I asked. Melissa filled me in on Wayno and then she took off for a minute and then she returned with her cell phone.
“Wayne is one giant dog, now,” Melissa explained, and then she showed me a recent picture of Wayne! He was a giant, happy looking dog, and so beautiful! “We love him so much! When my husband and I adopted him, and took him home, he sat in my lap—he was three months old then. And, you’re not going to believe this, but everytime I sit down—he still sits on my lap!” We laughed, because Melissa is a small petite person.
“I’ve got a picture of Wayne, too,” I said, as I pulled out my other iPod and turned it on. I quickly scrolled to Wayne Newton’s picture. As I showed her the picture, I said, “Guess what? Wayne Newton is in our new 2009 calendar, too and you can buy it at Wolfmuellers Books! He is in the month of February!” My news delighted Melissa, so she wrote down her e-mail address and asked me to send her a copy of my picture of Wayne as a puppy, and said she would buy a calendar or two!
Kinky, who had drifted off into La La Land—said nothing. Then the nurses showed up and rolled Kinky away. I left the cloth room, and went and found Tony. Knowing that the procedure would take over an hour, Tony and I took Mr. Green Jeans to the post office and then to Albertsons for some groceries.
When we returned to the hospital, we found chairs next to each other, beside the huge fish tank. Tony pulled out his iPod Touch, and I picked up a decorating magazine about cottages, for ideas on decorating the Space Ship. When I turned the page to sixty-three, a nice, smiling woman doctor, walked up to me and stuck out her hand and said, “You’re Cousin Nancy! I’m Dee D.! I listen to you on Harley’s show—every week!”
I stuck out my hand and shook hers. “Well Dee,” I said. “It is sure nice to meet you.”
“I can’t believe it! Cousin Nancy, you sound exactly like you sound on Harley’s radio show!” Dee said. “Can I have your autograph?” Then she started laughing, and then told me about wanting to adopt a Doberman Pinscher, because she had to put her old, Chops, down a few months back, because of old age. She gave me her card, and I told her to check the pound and call the veterinarians and that I would add her to our list. Then Dee had to return to work—I really liked her—she had good vibes. In fact, everyone in that hospital had good vibes. It was the happiest hospital that I have ever been in! And, if I get sick—that is definitely where I want to go!
Around noon, another smiling nurse came out and asked T. and me to follow her back to Kinky’s cloth tent and sit with him. We followed her, and sat down in chairs next to Kink’s bed, and listened to him as he snored—he was in a very deep sleep, and the nurses encouraged us to try to wake him up.
“Wake up Grandfather Clock,” I said, over and over again to deaf ears. Tony tried coughing real loud—several times, but to no avail. Kinky’s doctor showed up to check on Kinky and I asked him how the procedure had gone and he was all smiles as he told me that Kinky was in great shape and healthier than a horse! That made my day, and I could not wait for Kinky to wake up, so I could tell him the great news! Finally, Kinky started waking up, but he was really groggy—we’re talking goofy, too. After about twenty minutes of ins and outs of it—Kinky was fully awake! Tony and I told him the good news! Then the super nurses reappeared, asked Tone and me to leave, then they closed the curtain, and helped him dress and put him in a chair.
When they reopened the curtain, Kinky was sitting in a chair—still super groggy. A very nice nurse then showed up, and started telling Kink what he could do and not do in the next twenty-four hours. “Mr. Friedman, I voted for you. The doctor said that you are absolutely fine, but you cannot drive a car for twenty four hours....And, you cannot operate heavy equipment.”
“You’re kidding,” Kinky said, in a serious tone. “I can’t operate heavy equipment?”
“No sir,” the sweet nurse answered back. Tony and I broke out laughing! The Kinkster was back!
We went to the Del Norte for lunch and then Albertsons, and then we arrived back at the ranch at 2:45! It was a long day for all of us.
P.S. There’s more, but I am truly tired and fixin’ to go to bed! Here is the picture that I took of Wayne Newton years ago—that we rescued from the Kerrville pound! Wayne Newton Rocks! Y’all have a great evening!
1 comment:
Good morning, Nancy! Please tell Kinky "HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" from Judy...
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