Weinzierl

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Victoria’s Corner Bar.  Nightly Specials and Menus.  952-443-9944

8 First Street in Waconia.  952-442-2885

942-443-2078

Funeral Home & Cremation Services

952-474-9595

Pediatric Rehabilitation Clinic.

Occupational Therapy.  Speech Therapy.

952-443-9888

Huber

City of Lakes & Parks  952-443-2363

“Trees Are Our Roots”

8099 Bavaria Rd * Victoria * 952-443-2990

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         I've often been asked in the last few weeks, especially by the nurses and doctors in the Belfast hospitals, "What brought you to Ireland?"

         It's a question I've not contemplated in any depth because there's simply no depth of reason for our trip to the Emerald Isle.  Why do we go anywhere?  Because a destination strikes our fancy at the right moment and the right time.

         So why Ireland?  I've heard myself reply in different ways:  Because we've visited practically every other European country except for Ireland.  Because we've seen enough of Mexican resorts and cruise ships.  Because I love Irish music and have listened to it for years, especially by John McDermott.  Because I've enjoyed Michael Flatley and his Riverdance group in Minneapolis.  Because Father Bob White would be our lead companion and we like our parish priest.  Because I enjoyed my trip with Father Bob to Fatima and Lourdes a few years ago and this was another welcome opportunity.

         Many of the Irish nurses and doctors I've come to know on a first-name basis expressed sorrow at my damaged self and destroyed holiday.  And they added, with a wee bit of wonder, "You'll probably not be wantin' to return ever again."

         I told them, honestly, that this has not been an ugly experience.  I have seen and felt firsthand the charm and friendliness of Irish people from one day to the next, over the course of two weeks.  I did not see the Irish landscape but I did get to experience unending Irish care and hospitality.

         I met Chris, Lori, Laura, Carol, Paila, Shavonne, Arlene, Lisa, Jimmy, Sabrina, Rachel, Cathy, Natalie, Jannoy, Joanne, Mark, David, Gerard, Ian, John, Emma, and other hospital staff.  Each of them can tell you that, on the first time through, I did not understand their English because they speak fast and run everything together.  Many times I asked them, politely, to repeat what they said. 

         When I heard them talking to each other in the hallways or at the nurses' station, they could just as well have been speaking Greek -- except there was a lilt in their voice, as though there was a leprechaun in their pocket.  They really did make me smile, inside and out.

         I know some of their stories, told to me quietly in the middle of the night as they checked my blood pressure and oxygen level and emptied the catheter bag and administered pain medicine through my IV.  I also heard some of their stories in the light of day.

         Some asked me what I was writing about.  I'd say, "About me and you."  I told them I'd send an issue of the May Gazette  to the hospital if a May issue perchance would happen.

         I don't know if I'll ever go to Ireland again nor anywhere else for that matter much beyond Victoria.  We've already traveled most all of the nation and much of the world.  And there's no place so lovely as our home, located on the most private and beautiful one-acre lot in all of Victoria, directly adjacent to Carver Park, where we moved shortly after getting married, from where our children went to church and school, which holds so much that is near and dear to me.

         It was extremely hectic getting everything done in time to leave for Ireland on April 2nd.  I had said to Allan, "Why am I working so hard to leave this best place in the world and a job I so enjoy?" 

         I had just attended a city council meeting on March 26th and finished writing it up by 10 a.m. the next morning.  I got the April issue of the Gazette sent to the printers on March 27th.  I picked up a truckload of Gazettes in Hutchinson and brought them to the Chanhassen Annex for mailing on March 28th and left that afternoon to visit my parents in Marshall for a couple overnights.  By March 31st, I did the April billing and the publishing of the online April edition, including six new album pages.  We attended Easter Sunday Mass at the Cathedral in St. Paul on April 1st.  And I brought my completed income tax worksheets to Paul Storms on April 2nd, shortly before we left that morning for the Minneapolis airport.  I landed in the hospital in Belfast on April 3rd.

         How am I doing today, one month after being hit and tossed like a rag doll by a two-ton vehicle?  Pretty good.

         I'm close to navigating without a walker.  I'm only taking mild pain medicine (Tylenol) as needed.  The black and blue stains on my face have faded away.  The catheter was just removed on Monday, April 30th, and the plumbing seems to be working just fine, thank you.

         I feel good, eat good, and sleep good.  I thank so many of you for your emails and cards, calls, letters and gifts, delicious homemade soups and meals, cookies, kind words, good wishes, and especially for your unending prayers.  You are amazing.  You make my heart swell with love and thanksgiving.  Thank you for your friendship. 

From the Editor

Dedicated to the sunshine of truth,

the moonshine of meeting deadlines,

and the starshine of Victoria.

The Victoria GAZETTE

Sue’s Album

A symphony of photos

and fewer than a thousand words

at www.VictoriaGazette.com

May 2018