Tuesday, July 21, 2020

The Saga of Zela’s Automobiles (part 2)

Now for this part, we are going to have to take a circuitous route.

 

So, at some point I get my grandmother to at least reduce her driving. She is now driving a partially bondo’ed car with different color doors. I think this is a driving yellow warning to others.



 

At this point, my father returns to live in the same apartment complex she does. He, luckily, takes the lead in driving her around most times. But why has he moved back? Turns out he has Kidney cancer and 2 months to live.

 

Side note, I’ve said it before, and I will say it again. Two months my Aunt Fanny. During these 2 months my father asked, “Scott, was I a good father?” And I answered, truthfully, Dad, I love you and I love who I am. If we hadn’t gone through everything I wouldn’t be the person I am.

 

And he said, ‘Fine! I’m a horrible father!” And I though, Oh, this is how we are playing it. And so, for the next TWO YEARS of his 2 months to live, I was asked monthly, if not weekly, if he was a good father and I learned to say, “Of course!” And we moved on.

 

So, one day I get a call from my Grandmother that Dad has hit a car. Which is a surprise, because he was not a good father, but he was always a good driver. And I go out to Orange county and find that he had a black out. The cancer has spread, and some got in his brain. Now he isn’t allowed to drive the bondo-bucket either.

 

So I drive from my house to Orange County to take them to Kaiser ever now and then. They don’t want taxi money. They won’t use the Kaiser-Permente shuttle.

 

By the by, my house to Zela’s is about 20 miles and it is another 10 miles to Yorba Linda where Kaiser is. This can take anywhere from 20 minutes + 10 minutes (between 4AM and 9AM on the week-end) to 2 hours plus 1.5 hours (any other time).


The ACTUAL road from Zela to Kaiser - during the time I drove her.


 

But I do it. Then one day, I am scheduled to take them to the doctor. I call to see when they will be ready, and my grandmother informs me that they went yesterday to Kaiser. I ask, politely, who took them. And she giggles and hands the phone to my father.

 

I am a bit perturbed and say, “Did you drive Zela to Kaiser? You’re not supposed to drive! “

 

And my father’s answer was, “No, it is fine. I drove, but she was sitting next to me in case I passed out and she could grab the wheel.”

 

Yes, the arthritic old woman will lunge over the center console and grab the wheel as you pass out! She can’t turn her head to check a left turn, but we are sure she can leap over the console and grab control on the 91 freeway! All the while pushing your passed out fat ass away from the wheel.

 

They told me not to worry and I agreed. I also agreed to let them do whatever the hell they wanted but I stopped driving then over the worst freeway in America (maybe exaggeration, maybe not). The image below is from construction about that time. FYI, this is NOT the worst part of the drive. Honestly!


This this is the drive coming home from Kaiser to Zela's!


1 comment:

I’m in Steamboat Springs - most posting begins on Sunday

 However, I had to post this. Everything is kind of poopy now (see no curse words). So I take humor were I can.