Tuesday, July 19, 2005
July 18, 1988
Bamps was already bored beyond belief by day four. Aside from the fact he was in isolation, the TV wasn't turned on until almost 4 pm, which means he missed his favorite sports games over the weekend. In order of preference, his favorite games were baseball, golf, bowling and anything that involved a horse running across a finish line. He never participated in any of them, but he loved to watch them.
I could always understand the baseball. And his favorite team was "the Yankees and whoever played the Mets". The World Series just wasn't another game around our house - especially if the Yankees were playing - but if they were in the World Series it became an event which surpassed Christmas and New Years! Only it was spread out over a few days, kind of like Hanukkah but with Cracker Jacks and beer.
The golf was really boring, or so I thought, but he and Nany would watch it all the time. They'd have loved Tiger Woods! With all the golf courses in Florida you'd think he would have taken it up. I asked him why he didn't and he said when they air conditioned golf courses he'd think about it...besides, the hitting a little white ball might make a person late for the 19th hole!
The bowling was understandable. He and my grandmother bowled when they were younger, I bowled, my parents bowled. The whole family bowled. I even had a cousin who liked it so much he kept trying to go pro for at least 20 years. But watching it on television was another matter. Still, it was a sport and it was televised.
He never got the hang of football though, so he rarely watched it for game, preferring to watch it for the cheerleaders instead.
My grandmother had slightly different tastes in television sports; Nany watched curling, bullfights and wrestling. Which isn't a combination most people would think of anyone's grandmother watching, but Nany was definitely not your average granny!
She used to curl when she when she was younger, until she fell on the stone when she was about 16. If you want to learn more about curling, click here. It seems to be a sport anyone can do, and although it's played on ice you don't have to know how to ice skate because you wear shoes. Go figure!
Bullfighting was actually televised on one of the UHF channels in South Florida for many years. It was on late at night, after the Joe Pyne Show, which she and I faithfully watched. For those of you who don't know, Joe Pyne was a talk show host and after he died the show changed slightly and some guy named Bob Grant took over. Him you might have heard of. Anyway, Nany loved bullfights; she felt the Spanish fights had more drama, but the Portuguese ones were less gross. After all, in the Portuguese ones, nobody kills the bull. At times the Joe Pyne Show and bullfights could be quite similar. And the cameras on both didn't show too much blood.
As for the wrestling, well...she loved a good fight, she loved costumes...it just made sense that she loved wrestling. Did I mention she also liked the roller derby?
Word from the doctors is that Bamps' fever was down, his lungs sounded about the same, and he had to stay in isolation because of his depressed t-cell count. He was now on several medications to help all his problems. And Dr. R thinks that, unfortunately, it's time to join hospice because his heart and lungs are failing. He is testing my grandfather for HIV, but the results will not be available right away. So we have to wait to some more.
There had been lots of stories in the news about how AIDS patients are discriminated against and even threatened with violence or worse. One thing Dr. R wants to makes clear is that if my grandfather's tests are positive, there's no evidence, as far as anyone can tell, that any caregiver would be at risk and since my husband and I will be taking care of we need to know the facts. He's very adamant about it.
The reason he'd been so concerned - well actually there were three reasons: Ricky, Robert and Randy Ray, of Arcadia, Florida. Living in South Florida we were practically watching their lives from ringside. These three brothers, all hemophiliacs, were at the center of a firestorm of ignorance simply because they had HIV and wanted to live their lives like every normal boy wanted to. Unfortunately, hysteria about AIDS was making that difficult. When the boys mother told school officials about her sons they banned the boys from attending. Lawsuits followed, and the Rayses home was gutted by an arsonist. Eventually, the family moved to Sarasota and the boys were able to attend school.
There's no question that home is where Bamps wants to remain, so Hank (my husband) and I move from our apartment back into the two bedroom mobile home where I was raised. It's a tight fit, but our two cats seemed to like it. I told Dr. R that I understand his concern and that I have no intention of falling prey to ignorance. He said let's all hope for the best and we'll deal with the results from the tests later. In the meantime, he's heard rumors about the thermos of Manhattans. When my grandfather said, he wouldn't do it again. Dr. R. said it's really not hospital approved, but he'd look the other way as long as it was a nightcap. And only a single.
While Manhattans went out of vogue for a bit, with martinis back I've seen a comeback on bar menus. Here's Bamps' Manhattan recipe:
I could always understand the baseball. And his favorite team was "the Yankees and whoever played the Mets". The World Series just wasn't another game around our house - especially if the Yankees were playing - but if they were in the World Series it became an event which surpassed Christmas and New Years! Only it was spread out over a few days, kind of like Hanukkah but with Cracker Jacks and beer.
The golf was really boring, or so I thought, but he and Nany would watch it all the time. They'd have loved Tiger Woods! With all the golf courses in Florida you'd think he would have taken it up. I asked him why he didn't and he said when they air conditioned golf courses he'd think about it...besides, the hitting a little white ball might make a person late for the 19th hole!
The bowling was understandable. He and my grandmother bowled when they were younger, I bowled, my parents bowled. The whole family bowled. I even had a cousin who liked it so much he kept trying to go pro for at least 20 years. But watching it on television was another matter. Still, it was a sport and it was televised.
He never got the hang of football though, so he rarely watched it for game, preferring to watch it for the cheerleaders instead.
My grandmother had slightly different tastes in television sports; Nany watched curling, bullfights and wrestling. Which isn't a combination most people would think of anyone's grandmother watching, but Nany was definitely not your average granny!
She used to curl when she when she was younger, until she fell on the stone when she was about 16. If you want to learn more about curling, click here. It seems to be a sport anyone can do, and although it's played on ice you don't have to know how to ice skate because you wear shoes. Go figure!
Bullfighting was actually televised on one of the UHF channels in South Florida for many years. It was on late at night, after the Joe Pyne Show, which she and I faithfully watched. For those of you who don't know, Joe Pyne was a talk show host and after he died the show changed slightly and some guy named Bob Grant took over. Him you might have heard of. Anyway, Nany loved bullfights; she felt the Spanish fights had more drama, but the Portuguese ones were less gross. After all, in the Portuguese ones, nobody kills the bull. At times the Joe Pyne Show and bullfights could be quite similar. And the cameras on both didn't show too much blood.
As for the wrestling, well...she loved a good fight, she loved costumes...it just made sense that she loved wrestling. Did I mention she also liked the roller derby?
Word from the doctors is that Bamps' fever was down, his lungs sounded about the same, and he had to stay in isolation because of his depressed t-cell count. He was now on several medications to help all his problems. And Dr. R thinks that, unfortunately, it's time to join hospice because his heart and lungs are failing. He is testing my grandfather for HIV, but the results will not be available right away. So we have to wait to some more.
There had been lots of stories in the news about how AIDS patients are discriminated against and even threatened with violence or worse. One thing Dr. R wants to makes clear is that if my grandfather's tests are positive, there's no evidence, as far as anyone can tell, that any caregiver would be at risk and since my husband and I will be taking care of we need to know the facts. He's very adamant about it.
The reason he'd been so concerned - well actually there were three reasons: Ricky, Robert and Randy Ray, of Arcadia, Florida. Living in South Florida we were practically watching their lives from ringside. These three brothers, all hemophiliacs, were at the center of a firestorm of ignorance simply because they had HIV and wanted to live their lives like every normal boy wanted to. Unfortunately, hysteria about AIDS was making that difficult. When the boys mother told school officials about her sons they banned the boys from attending. Lawsuits followed, and the Rayses home was gutted by an arsonist. Eventually, the family moved to Sarasota and the boys were able to attend school.
There's no question that home is where Bamps wants to remain, so Hank (my husband) and I move from our apartment back into the two bedroom mobile home where I was raised. It's a tight fit, but our two cats seemed to like it. I told Dr. R that I understand his concern and that I have no intention of falling prey to ignorance. He said let's all hope for the best and we'll deal with the results from the tests later. In the meantime, he's heard rumors about the thermos of Manhattans. When my grandfather said, he wouldn't do it again. Dr. R. said it's really not hospital approved, but he'd look the other way as long as it was a nightcap. And only a single.
While Manhattans went out of vogue for a bit, with martinis back I've seen a comeback on bar menus. Here's Bamps' Manhattan recipe:
1 1/2 ounce Johnny Walker Black whisky (or whichever brand you like)
3/4 ounce Sweet Vermouth
Dash of Bitters (or more depending of your taste)
1 Maraschino Cherry
Shake with ice, serve with or without ice. I'm not sure how
traditional the cherry is. I've seen it mostly with a lemon twist.
