Telephone Game

Bon Soir-

Here's an echo from childhood....remember the old 'telephone game?' Of course, you do. I'm sure it's still in vogue, but perhaps played via electronic media somehow. The idea is that you begin a message at one end of a line comprised of several people...most often, in my experience, giggling little girls at birthday parties...this was before cell-phones, iPads, etc. The message is passed from one set of ears and lips to the next until the end of the line is reached. Then comes The Proof of the Pudding...which virtually always means The Proof that most messages do not come out the other end without having undergone significant distortion...and, hopefully, this is/was a source of harmless amusement.

Last night I found myself at the end of a telephone game...the phone rang, I answered, and found myself talking to one of our dear church pastors. He was between meetings but wanted to see how we were doing and whether we had been inundated with phone calls....parDON?

"Well, I understood that Ben had just been released from the hospital."

Um, that was true a little over a year ago...but not today...or even yesterday...

Somehow a well-intended but inaccurate message had morphed...that Ben had been hospitalized again and had an abscess on the back of his knee, precipitating surgery and concern. Fortunately, reality as it relates to Ben's health has been so much less harrowing this time!

I felt badly that anyone should be concerned and misinformed...but it was very warming to be cared about and called.

Update: Ben's thumb is sore but mending. He, for some reason unknown to me, has been laudably persisting in his peroxide soaks and glucochecks. Thus far the blood sugar readings have been reasonable (103 earlier today), but just now it was 195, and he is supposed to inject .5 unit of Humalog for every 50 points over 150...this stuff gets tricky.

Most of the thumb is looking better, but there is still an "angry" looking area.

Best News: I do not have to take him for his follow-up appt. tomorrow...I've delegated that fun little errand to My Personal Accountant...of course, it probably won't be quite as exciting without any long needles or syringes...I guess I was just
'lucky' to pull that duty on Wednesday...

Fashion News: Ben's Coach has come up with an idea for a new T-shirt...inspired by Ben...it would say..."I Am the $ Million Kid....just ask my parents..." This is probably not quite so far-fetched as it sounds if we add up all of Ben's medical costs from the past 15 months...but, why go there?

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Queen Cee and Her Gentlemen-in-Waiting...

Don't even bother shaking your head. It was bound to happen.

Today we went on a field trip to LegoLand in Schaumburg, IL. It was kind of a kick, offering more than the obligatory "gift shop" and Technicyle Ride. There was actually a learning component, as well. This was entitled, "Tall Towers Training" and consisted of a friendly, competent young man engaging the students in a question-discussion about basic building concepts....structure, balance, interlocking reinforcement, etc. This included team challenges...groups of four or five students, provided with a Tub of Legos and the assignment of building towers that were meant to withstand an 'earthquake test' [how's that for timely?] which was approximated by a vibrating platform.

Here a team, there a team, everywhere a team-team....except over there in the corner, the so-called Green Team. Unlike all the other groups, there were only 3 junior architects on this job. And one was clearly in charge. Her Gentleman-Servants were (I'm not making this up) Cayden and Hayden. Yes. The same good-sport Hayden who was seen last year at the school program being navigated around the gymnasium by Queen Cee's hand planted firmly on top of his head.

I exchanged knowing glances with Hayden's Very Good-Natured Mom: "I'll try to watch and make sure she doesn't try that again," I promised.

"Well," she smiled, "we'll see."

The Queen is nothing if not entertaining.