Holiday Happenings on Parade

GOOD RESULTS

Our excursion to the Cath Lab was fast and easy. I still feel quite at ease there, due to the friendliness and skills of the outstanding staff. Dr. DeMarco expertly did the procedure, and she was concerned about pulmonary pressures once again. The Good Nooz, however, was Zero Rejection on the heart. I think it will be six months until the next biopsy, unless there is a great interest in the pressures.

FESTIVE TRIO DINNER

We looked forward enthusiastically to our first TRIO Holiday Dinner as grateful transplant recipients. Dinner was quite tasty, and we enjoyed sitting with Isa and her husband Andrew. Andrew is the producer of The Power of Two and had a lot of interesting stuff to say about the film. We also discussed travel, which Isa and Andrew have done extensively. An extremely high point was the appearance of TRIO buddies Rusty and Katie. Rusty is just three weeks out on his kidney transplant, looking great. Now we need to hear good news on Katie who is going through the steps towards a kidney/pancreas transplant.

I was particularly jazzed about my first opportunity to participate in the donor appreciation ceremony this year, consisting of the placing of ornaments on a tree in honor of donors. Unfortunately, it came after the lengthy gift exchange, by which time many people had left or become tired and distracted. To make matters worse, I (naturally) dropped and broke my Hanukkah ornament, one of three ornaments I planned to hang. The others were a cross representing my donor, and a heart representing his gift to me. There did not appear to be any "ceremony" evident, and most everyone quickly removed their ornaments since it was time to leave. Disappointing, but still a fine event.

ALL ABOARD

As a surprise birthday gift for Cheryl, I arranged a trip on the Sunol-Niles railroad. This fully-restored train is quite excellent and popular during the Holidays, festooned with lights and featuring a visit with St. Nick himself. I chose the club car, with comfy seating and (spiked) apple cider served with cookies. Very refined, at least until two families boarded with about a dozen (gross exaggeration here) offspring. Naturally, the kids lost interest in the ride quickly, and commenced a loud session of poking, whining, running around, screaming and general kid-type activities. All the while, the moms intently discussed fashion and jewelry, appearing to be quite expert in choosing and wearing such items. Both dads were deeply lost on their smartphones, checking either sports scores or the Dow. Not what I had in mind.


This was nothing compared to the scene in the next car. For a slightly lower fare than the club car, one could enjoy roughly five times more juveniles, behaving five times worse while being roundly ignored by their parents. No food or beverage service was included here, so it was BYO to a ridiculous extreme. Ice chests full of brews, scores of wine bottles, and food of indescribable variety were all being enjoyed to the max. One particularly active seat had a stack of at least six huge Costco pizzas in various stages of consumption.

After conquering the crowded aisle and not slipping on stray pepperoni, we reached the open viewing car. While the atmosphere was similar to the preceding scene, we persevered in order to enjoy the sights and sounds. It was quite beautiful when the track curved and you could see all the lights forward and aft on the turning train. When we arrived at the Niles station, people stood on the platform waving at the train while quaint Downtown Niles was lit up directly behind. Very cool. After a pleasant return to Sunol in our club car, we happily returned to our quiet little home. Fun.

BIG FINISH: A HOLIDAY MUSICAL EVENT

For the third consecutive year, we joined our good friend Charlotte at her church, the Mormon church here in Livermore, for their interfaith Christmas music program. Choirs from other churches in the area perform, our favorite being the bell choir from Pleasanton. We saw several very nice folks we knew, all of whom expressed pleasure in seeing us happier than ever. Overall, a most pleasant outing that has become a Christmas tradition for us.

And so, an active and fun week ends, but wait, there's more! More cool Holiday stuff, more celebrating, more friends and family activities, more more more....but the more will have to wait until a bit later. Meanwhile safely enjoy yourselves as the Season rolls along.

Bob/Irv