Kidney Talk - Poem: Jimmy Plays to Win

Was watching an extremely boring Charlie Rose interview on my laptop when Scott came to say goodnight since he's leaving for work now.


  This woman is supermodel Gisele Bunchen.

She's the most boring guest I've ever seen on his show. Charlie was his fawning best.!

Then why are you watching it, asked Scott.

I'm waiting to hear what she has to say about her husband. He's a football player, Tom Grady.

Scott said he's a really great quarterback on the Boston Patriot's team.

Bunchen, btw, is 35 yrs old, from a rural village in southern Brazil, and was offered a $25 million contract by Victoria's Secret when she was 20 yrs old.

***

My friend Judy introduced me to Peta, a lovely woman with a British accent, tho she was born in India. She has a fascinating family history and has lived in many parts of the world, including Paree and Guam. .

I was happy to talk to her about my kidney transplant. Mine was 4 years ago, in 2011. 

Her husband Stewart, 77, is having a kidney transplant. Their son, Jonathan, 30, has the right stuff in order to donate his kidney. 

 We met for lunch at one of our fave restaurants Colonial Bay, where we had a delicious healthy lunch. We each had sandwiches w/o the bread. Peta had crabmeat, I believe, while I had a vegetarian portabella.

First I had spicy mushroom soup which made me cough.

Stewart will be operated on at HUP, (Hospital of the University of PA). Apparently, his loss of kidney function arose from taking too much ibuprofen for headaches. When I told that to Scott, he said that's why he doesn't take medication.

Their family is aware that there's a small chance the antirejection meds can cause insulin-dependent diabetes like I have. I see it as an opportunity, though, and have written at least a dozen poems about it plus one short story.

My nephrologist told me to wear sun screen at all times of year to avoid the risk of skin cancer, including the deadly melanoma, which my friend Beatriz, from the Writing Group has. 

Told Peta to read my blog post about my Kidney Healthy Diet and How I Cheat.  

The Wallander novels have Kurt Wallander suffering from diabetes. He's a terrible eater and never takes care of himself. Sadly, Swedish author Henning Mankel died earlier this year of cancer, 3 yrs after his diagnosis. Read this fascinating link about what happened to his identity after being diagnosed. 



Peta's husband Stewart has made videos of what to expect when you have a transplant.... kidney or liver.

After I dropped Scott off at the train station - he works from 10:30 pm to 6:30 am - drove back home down Ball Road.

There was Jimmy playing basketball. 

I rolled down my window and told him to wait there, I wrote a poem about him, and wanted to give it to him.

Typed it up, stuck it in an envelope, and drove to Ball Road a few minutes away from Cowbell.

Took a photo of him under the street lamp, but it didn't come out too well.


 Kareem Abdul Jabbar. Did you know he's just written a novel?

JIMMY PLAYS TO WIN

A month ago I saw him

playing out in the rain

more often than not

he missed

devil may care

a boy of thirteen, fourteen

I rolled down my window

“Do you realize,” I said

the rain rolling onto my

sleeve, “you’re playing

ball on Ball Road?”

He laughed. Told me

his name was Jimmy.

My heart leaps when I

see him, a real boy like

in the old days, when

smart phones with

ring tones were as unknown

as what lies inside the

black holes.

Jimmy’s transported

from Ball Road and

stands in the center of

the Lakers’ stadium

his loose-fitting yellow

jersey sweating, while

Jimmy sinks yet another

up-close in-your-face

shot into the net.

Yes! he yells, slapping the

hands of the other five

and, wiping his eyes,

sees a vision of his

English lit book lying lonely

on his desk back home on

Ball Road.

***

After he read the poem, Jimmy, who's actually 15, said he really liked it. I was thrilled. He said he loves  The Lakers! Lucky guess on my part.

And now, if you'll excuse me, gotta work on Chapter 8 of my novel. As I told Peta this afternoon, I send each chapter to my fantastic reader, Freda, who is all of 89 yrs old.