Blogging From the Mississippi Delta

I am blogging from the amidst the Soybean and Rice lands of the Mississippi Delta. It has been a long tiring and emotional day. I am so exhausted that I think I will have trouble sleeping. Anyway that might result in a few entries.

My Aunt and Uncle's house is typical of many planters. A very nice brick home, with a pool, satellite, a very bad ancient dial up Internet connection(at least here) all surrounded by rice and Soybean fields as far as the eye can see. Want a lesson in how Technology allows one person with just a couple of helpers to farm immense land that at one time took over a hundred just come here. The Delta is not exactly scenic but I like it. The only downside of living here is the summer. The mosquitoes that come out at night from the flooded rice fields are HUGE like HORROR Movie HUGE and their bite leaves a welp and sting that is not pleasant. Shooting Fourth of July Fireworks at our celebrations here was often a very hurried affair to say the least

Note to Louisiana folks expect the very high water to keep on rising I was amazed how high the Oauchita river was in Arkansas. When we crossed the Mississippi River the water was so high I swear you could see the pilots on the barges. In fact if the river rises too much higher that Casino they just built in Greenville is going to be underwater. It is literally lapping at the door right now. My grandmother has always had the River as a part of her life. She was most attentive when I was talking about it so I decided to take her to Rosedale to see if we could see it. No such luck in fact don't even think about getting on that levee because you receive an incredible fine. We went to the Port and the river is so high in the side channel they are having trouble unload and loading various commodities. It is truly something to see.

I was talking to my Uncle and he can remember as a kid the Mississippi water level in 1973. They did not break but it was a very dangerous time. Patrols on the levees to make sure they were not blown etc. He informed me that we are one foot away from that historical mark up here and perhaps will reach it in the next two days.

I feel so sad for my Grandmother . A my prior entry noted this is why I am here. She just lost her husband and she and the whole family realized now how much my ailing grandfather took care of her. The extent of her mental demise has become much more clearer. It is very easy to be say that this is not fair. That is it is not fair that my grandmother a month after her husband dies is in assisted living and having to interact with new people. She has gone from a house to a whole new situation of living and at night she faces it alone.

The best I can describe is it as if are watching Jimmy Stewart playing a evil villain in a movie. You want to go this does not compute sorry this does not work and this is not reality so please take this trash out of the DVD player and put in Its a Wonderful Life.

It is not fair that the children because of the particular family dynamic cannot really give her the quality of life she can receive there. That she cannot be just staring at 4 wall all day and that she will listen to trained staff that have the education expertise and compassion to deal with people of her age and situation that will tell her to eat , to take her medicine, and yes even force human contact.

It is not fair that my very religious Seventh Day Adventist Grandmother does not have Adventist programs to watch on tv like she used too because they are not available on her cable. It is not fair in fact that she is surrounded by Catholics, Methodists and Baptists, and yet none of her own faith. (Though family members are taking turns to drive her the one hour drive to the closet Adventist on Saturday. Yes even her Catholic grandson will be glad to do that when I am in town to do it). I could go on and on.

However there is rally nothing unfair about it. That is the big lesson. My grandmother has had a blessed life. More important than that it is not over. There are blessings yet to come Whatever mystery when are all about to enter into with my Maw Maw in the last very twilight years of her life she is doing with it dignity. This is where the rubber meets the road to that phrase that we Catholics spout off "The inherent Dignity of every Human Being" regardless of condition. This is human life and indeed a important part of it.

She is still beautiful in old age as the three only men at the assisted living center comment to her I hear. By the way men take your vitamins. If you make that golden age women will outnumber you 10 to one in these places and you will be truly a tomcat. It is pretty funny to observe. The flirting and need to engage the opposite sex appears not to diminish at age 85 as I observed today.

She is still loved by her family and to there will be no abandonment. In fact I have to admit she might be getting a tad better because staff are making sure she is eating , taking her medication etc. We all know this might be a slight reprieve and very slight at that. However that is a blessing. She is not "all gone"mentally as we say by any streatch of the imagination. As I took her for our drive she jumped to life talking about the farming she was observing. In fact it gave me sort of a false hope. About that 5:00 hour she started forgetting things again. I hear this is normal for people in her condition.

My thoughts went back to Benedict yesterday when was talking about quit living like their is no God. Start thinking about the large picture the last things and that this life is not it. No matter how much materialistic culture tries to tell us the opposite.

Those are my thoughts at the moment at least as to this day. I do know two things.

I very much will enjoy taking my Grandmother and Mother out to breakfast in the morning before we depart. Also I will not assume other people are doing all those other lay ministries. One does not sometimes thinks of the people that take out time to visit assisted living and the Nursing homes.You are just assuming someone is doing it in your Parish. When you see someone in your life that will truly be benefited by the stranger acting as a true neighbor then you really appreciate it.