MARQUETTE MICH
Saturday, May 30, 2020
Thursday, May 21, 2020
I saw God
I saw God walking across the Upper Peninsula.
When I stopped to ask Him why He was here
He replied, “I’m working from home this week.”
godscountry906
When I stopped to ask Him why He was here
He replied, “I’m working from home this week.”
godscountry906
Tuesday, May 19, 2020
I arrived at the address and honked the horn.
I arrived at the address and honked the horn. After waiting a few minutes I honked again. Since this was going to be my last ride of my shift I thought about just driving away, but instead I put the car in park and walked up to the door and knocked.. 'Just a minute', answered a frail, elderly voice. I could hear something being dragged across the floor.
After a long pause, the door opened. A small woman in her 90's stood before me. She was wearing a print dress and a pillbox hat with a veil pinned on it, like somebody out of a 1940's movie.
By her side was a small nylon suitcase. The apartment looked as if no one had lived in it for years. All the furniture was covered with sheets.
There were no clocks on the walls, no knickknacks or utensils on the counters. In the corner was a cardboard
box filled with photos and glassware.
'Would you carry my bag out to the car?' she said. I took the suitcase to the cab, then returned to assist the woman.
She took my arm and we walked slowly toward the curb.
She kept thanking me for my kindness. 'It's nothing', I told her.. 'I just try to treat my passengers the way I would want my mother to be treated.'
'Oh, you're such a good boy, she said. When we got in the cab, she gave me an address and then asked, 'Could you drive
through downtown?'
'It's not the shortest way,' I answered quickly..
'Oh, I don't mind,' she said. 'I'm in no hurry. I'm on my way to a hospice.
I looked in the rear-view mirror. Her eyes were glistening. 'I don't have any family left,' she continued in a soft voice..'The doctor says I don't have very long.' I quietly reached over and shut off the meter.
'What route would you like me to take?' I asked.
For the next two hours, we drove through the city. She showed me the building where she had once worked as an elevator operator.
We drove through the neighborhood where she and her husband had lived when they were newlyweds She had me pull up in front of a furniture warehouse that had once been a ballroom where she had gone dancing as a girl.
Sometimes she'd ask me to slow in front of a particular building or corner and would sit staring into the darkness, saying nothing.
As the first hint of sun was creasing the horizon, she suddenly said, 'I'm tired.Let's go now'.
We drove in silence to the address she had given me. It was a low building, like a small convalescent home, with a driveway that passed under a portico.
Two orderlies came out to the cab as soon as we pulled up. They were solicitous and intent, watching her every move.
They must have been expecting her.
I opened the trunk and took the small suitcase to the door. The woman was already seated in a wheelchair.
'How much do I owe you?' She asked, reaching into her purse.
'Nothing,' I said
'You have to make a living,' she answered.
'There are other passengers,' I responded.
Almost without thinking, I bent and gave her a hug.She held onto me tightly.
'You gave an old woman a little moment of joy,' she said. 'Thank you.'
I squeezed her hand, and then walked into the dim morning light.. Behind me, a door shut.It was the sound of the closing of a life..
I didn't pick up any more passengers that shift. I drove aimlessly lost in thought. For the rest of that day,I could hardly talk.What if that woman had gotten an angry driver,or one who was impatient to end his shift? What if I had refused to take the run, or had honked once, then driven away?
On a quick review, I don't think that I have done anything more important in my life.
We're conditioned to think that our lives revolve around great moments.
But great moments often catch us unaware-beautifully wrapped in what others may consider a small one.
PEOPLE MAY NOT REMEMBER EXACTLY
WHAT YOU DID, OR WHAT YOU SAID ~BUT~THEY WILL
ALWAYS REMEMBER HOW YOU MADE THEM
FEEL.
At the bottom of this great story was a request to forward this - I deleted that request because if you have read to this point, you won't have to be asked to pass it along you just will...
Thank you, my friend...
Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we are here we might as well dance.
Eastwood Nursing Center reports COVID-19 case
Eastwood Nursing Center reports COVID-19 case
Eastwood administrators Lee Johnson could not be reached for comment prior to Journal press time this morning.
MARQUETTE — Eastwood Nursing Center has mandated widespread testing after an employee tested positive for COVID-19.
According to a Facebook post from the facility’s page on Friday, the 100-bed skilled nursing facility in Negaunee had been testing asymptomatic employees on a voluntary basis within the last couple of weeks.
Dozens of the tests administered came back negative, but one employee, who reportedly works in the laundry and has no direct contact with residents, tested positive for the disease.
“We have contacted all of our employees who have had known contact with this employee and they are all scheduled to be tested today,” the post states. “We have four employees who also have worked closely with this employee, who were tested voluntarily and their test results were all negative.”
As of about 5 p.m. Sunday, the page reports that 46 employees have tested negative with 22 other test results pending. Superior Walk-In Clinic was reportedly testing other employees on Sunday.
The facility is in the process of testing the residents, the post on Sunday stated.
Five residents at Eastwood who had been tested prior to Sunday came back negative, the post states.
“We are all set to test most or our residents tomorrow but are still waiting on a couple of consents that we will get taken care of in the morning. We currently have enough test kits to test all of our residents and 25 additional employees,” the post states. “We have 236 test kits expected to arrive on Monday or Tuesday from our lab partner NxGen MDx out of Grand Rapids, Michigan, and will be testing through the week. We have also heard that the National Guard will be able to assist with testing our employees some time next week but we do not have a set date yet. More information to come tomorrow as we get test results in.”
Eastwood employs over 190 people, including 35 nurses, 80 nursing assistants, 25 dietary staff, 30 environmental services staff, and 10 in administration, according to the facility’s webpage.
Monday, May 18, 2020
Saturday, May 16, 2020
Friday, May 15, 2020
Thursday, May 14, 2020
Norlite Nursing Center
MARQUETTE — Norlite Nursing Center announced on its Facebook page Monday that it lost two “kind-hearted” residents to COVID-19 over the weekend.
The residents were a man and a woman, both in their 70s, according to a Facebook post. This brings the total death count at Norlite, located at 702 Homestead St. in Marquette, to eight.
Friday, May 1, 2020
“A Letter From Grandma”
“A Letter From Grandma”
“I’ve seen the way you look at me when you think I haven’t heard what you said.
“Truth is I heard you, but I’m at a new place now, and it’s somewhere in my head.
“I understand it scares you, but it’s because it’s all so new.
“Time was when it scared me, and made me more than a little mad too.
“But I’ve found this field of daisies where the skies are always so blue,
“and I’ve seen a spotted puppy with a child who looks a lot like you.
“I can jump so high and run so fast — I’m so very young again I hardly have a past.
“I’ve seen you worry, and I know you stew
“Sometimes you even get mad — I know that you do.
“It’s because you love me, and you don’t understand that what’s happening to me is all part of a plan.
“Sometimes from where I am I think I see my mother.
“I see everyone I’ve ever loved, first one and then the other.
“When I’m here, I have strength, not an ache or a pain.
“I can play baseball or hopscotch and take long walks in the rain.
“Here It doesn’t matter if I forget what I wanted to say.
“There’s no stress or pressure, maybe someday I’ll stay.
“It all happened so slowly, but someday you’ll understand.
“Even you will visit this new place, and when you do, you and I will walk hand in hand.”
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)