Death and life

Bois Blanc Island

We went to another funeral Saturday, this one in Hubbard Lake, Michigan, near the farm my Grandpa Ole grew up on. This was for Dick Lee, my dad's cousin, who was raised with my dad like a brother. He was 85 and had dementia, so it was sad but not a shock.

Leaving the family gathering, on Sunday, a car carrying Lee relatives was hit head-on by a vehicle that had crossed the center line near the little town of Omer. Amy Lee, Dick's granddaughter, a passenger, suffered serious abdominal injuries and has had two operations in a Saginaw hospital. Her brother suffered a broken wrist, and her mother, the driver, had cuts and bruises. So we're praying for them.

Like Lydie said, we all rush to be there for a funeral and things can happen.

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I haven't written here in months.

I did a nearly 600-mile bike ride in Michigan and Wisconsin and around the UP to the Straits, ending up at the Vosper island, near Mackinac Island. I spent a week there recovering. Ms. V was kind enough to drive up and take me home.

I was home a couple days when I noticed my right leg was swollen all the way down and hurt something awful. So I went to urgent care, where they told me that perhaps I'd strained my muscles on the ride, giving me "compartment syndrome," and that one possible consequence was amputation. Might as well shoot me. I went to the Froedtert ER hoping to find better doctors, and they diagnosed a blood clot in my lower leg, probably unrelated to my ride. What a relief to have a blood clot. So, like a junkie, I'm self-injecting myself twice a day with a blood thinner and gimping around the house.

I've been on my bike just once in three weeks. But I have been dreamily poring over maps on how you might ride coast to coast. For example, how do you cross the Rockies? Glacier National Park, up Going-to-the-Sun Road, over the Logan Pass. Casual uphill riding for miles, then a steep 10-mile climb and 10-mile descent. The road is closed to motor vehicles till June, so there's that. But I'm probably too old for this, and -- have I mentioned this? -- I have muscular dystrophy. So there's that.

My MD condition is on the mild side as these things go. I can ride without impairment. It's just eating, walking, swallowing, talking and using my hands that pose occasional challenges.

But hey, I still have, not just one, but two legs. And only one of them has a blood clot.

Wilderness State Park, in northern Michigan

On the island

Jimmy Vosper tends the bonfire