Richmond, VA

Grandson Jesse on top of Uncle Tem

Granddaughter Nora with my daughter Tessa

   April 4, 2017 -- Richmond, VA -- 1:30 p.m. -- 78 degrees F. -- and for the first time in maybe four months the guy with lymphoma does not feel cold.  I am currently wearing shorts.  We have had a wonderful time visiting Abby and Steve and Nora here in Richmond.  The accompanying temperature is certainly a perk that I appreciate.  We have been doing a lot of walking the last couple of days and it still mandates that I take it easy when we return.  I seem to be able to handle the flat surfaces fairly well, but since the red blood cells are still not as numerous as they should be, any climbing/steps/uphills gets me to breathing fairly heavily quite quickly.  It is hard to imagine ever being able to go for a walk without expecting to take a nap afterward, but I am told that might be possible again.  Today we wandered down by the Potterfield Bridge and Belle Isle.  The Potterfield Bridge crosses the James River and it was here in the spring of 1865 that Abraham Lincoln stood to watch Richmond burn as the Union troops took over the city and essentially ended the war.  One week later, Lee and Grant signed papers signifying surrender at Appomattox Court House.  Two weeks later, Lincoln was dead.  This city is a history textbook just waiting to be opened and read.
   Belle Isle is also a site of historical significance.  Much of the last two hundred years Belle Isle has been used by industries of various types.  But during the Civil War, this island served as a notorious prisoner of war camp.  This camp included tents (no buildings) and it allowed the cold and the wind to reign supreme.  The tent city was surrounded by bermed-up land and the word was that if any prisoner was on the wrong side of the berm, he would be shot on sight.  Another area just waiting to be opened and read.
   I hope that when this lymphoma is over, and I am healthy again and taking walks without taking naps, we will be able to look back at this journey and see there are lessons to recall when we open and read what is there.  It will be important to remember the lessons of my past, of my story.