"He Ain't Heavy..."

It occurred on a barren plain in "Nort" Dakota on a damn cold day in February, 1954.  Earlier his parents-to-be, Martha Alice and Francis LeRay had grown weary of their spoiled 7 year-old son, Thomas and decided to test the proverbial waters once more.  They thoughtfully asked Thomas for his opinion and his answer was; "Absolutely not.  No way in Hell.  I am not sharing any of this pitiful Dakota plain or either one of my parents with a sibling." You see, even at 7, Thomas was already showing signs of a sophisticated command of the English language. 

Martha and Ray wisely ignored Thomas's rants and so, David Claud William was born.  He was famously named after three gentlemen; "Claud", his father's father, "William", his mother's father and "David" from the 1954 abridged edition of the Willow City ND (pop. around 250) phone book.

When Martha brought David home from the hospital, Thomas attempted to take him out with that very same phone book but his aim was off.  They had outhouses in Willow City in those days and he was banished to the Campbell's version 100 feet behind their home until mother Martha began to believe he would accept his little brother.  As you will find later in this story, Thomas remains in that outhouse to this day.

When he was still very little, David and his family moved to Michigan.  They sold every possession they could not fit in or on their 1949 Chevy and headed across the U.S.  They took the route through the northern peninsula and rode the ferry (where Thomas tried and failed to throw him in) into lower Michigan, settling in the Pontiac area near Ray's parents, brothers and sisters. It was a confusing time for the Campbells.  When everyone else was packing their autos and heading West to see what Horace Greely was talking about, they were heading East.  But hey... compasses weren't cheap back then.

After a few years in Michigan and Ohio, where David was brainwashed in a Catholic elementary school, the family packed up again and moved to the Seattle area.  Yes, they finally were able to afford a used compass and get things pointed West.

They settled in Seattle where David grew up in the Renton area.  During that time he fell in love with guitars and cats.  Tom, never being a big cat fan, attempted to hit his brother with a much larger Seattle phone book and missed again.  Martha could not find an outhouse to banish Tom to so she made him sign up for the Air Force and he left, pretty much never to return.  Yes, Thomas was in a permanent outhouse of sorts.

DCWC - Covid hair 2021
(no barber)

David decided he was going to hit Thomas with something other than a phone book if he ever returned to Seattle so he began studying martial arts in the Chinatown area.  There, he would become an expert at the Bruce Lee style of kung fu as well as the ancient oriental custom of drinking hot teas instead of water while exercising.  HelllOOOooooo!!!  He also became quite proficient at wrecking brand new sports cars.

As the years went on, David enjoyed the favor of his Mother and Father without the distractions of his evil, but much more handsome brother Tom.  He and his father became very close and would often stop at a little shop on Maple Valley Highway in the morning for donuts together.  These moments were all the more tender when you consider they shared the same coffee cup for dunking.  And yes, they did require a lot of napkins.

David also cultivated a passion for playing music that has irritated neighbors and annoyed close family members for decades.  For example, when pressed his brother Tom will swear David can play guitar just like Jimi Hendrix though he will also claim Hendrix' God-like status in the music world is completely overblown.  The truth, he will claim, is that Hendrix is no more than a common deity who will be revered for eternity whereas David will be revered only among family, friends and anyone who is fortunate enough to hear him play. The exception of course, will be his brother Tom who will only "Revere" Paul.

As the years continued to go on, David developed a devout love for the word "Boeing" and, unable to afford a trampoline to help him simulate the sound, signed up for a job.  He would prove to have a checkered career there, working mysterious black boxes, getting sophisticated security clearances and transferring from plant to plant up and down the Interstate. Along the way he also got some damn fine acronyms to hang after his name, stuff like MCSE and Cisco.  He became a shepherd for engineers and, in fact, was named as one before retiring to a life of playing video games with his son Dakota.

With Dakota, David Claud William had stumbled across the meaning of life. Considering his success at Boeing and his fine son it's a reasonable bet that neither would have happened if Thomas would have had better aim with those phone books!

No sir..."He ain't heavy...he's my brother."

  

"The Journey" -

Yeah, that’s what my brother from another mother, Don “Aught” Palen calls it; “The Journey." This is a hell of a story that begins with the remarkable dedication of a front-line health care worker who, years later was asked to pony up for an amazing act of selflessness.

It was 20+ years ago.  She developed a fever that evening.  As she laid in bed, he kept getting her more blankets to help with her shivering cold.  The next morning, she continued fighting whatever it was and remained shivering under the covers.  He had asked her often if she thought she should go to the emergency room but they both ended up thinking that she, being young and healthy would snap out of it.  They had both worked years in health care; she a radiology technician and him a "pencil-pushing" administrator so you can easily surmise (correctly) they both knew just enough to be dangerous.

Then, she said; "I have to get up, take a shower and go to work."  He tried to insist she call in sick but she knew her clinic would be short-staffed that day and said; "I have to." 

So she climbed out from under all those blankets and went and a day later, she was in the hospital suffering from a massive bacterial infection.  The staff there quickly got control of things and a couple days later she was discharged.  They had earlier planned a plane trip to visit his family and, thinking (again wrongly) things were well under control, made the journey.  While there, she developed symptoms again, mainly fever, and they immediately headed for their doctor upon their return home.  The doctor examined her and quickly decided she should be readmitted.  The doc, a fine one named Al-Hariri, looked very concerned and suggested an ambulance but her husband said he could take her "right away" and might get there faster.  When they arrived at the hospital entrance maybe ten minutes later - there was a crew waiting and they quickly went to work, got her in the ICU and began treating her.  After an intense treatment of antibiotics she was over it but, unbeknownst to the couple, she had been septic with renal failure and had "20%" damage to her kidneys.  Over time, that and continuous blood pressure problems caused the damage to progress.

Years later, her kidney function had deteriorated to the point that her nephrologist decided she should begin treatment.  The plan was to adopt a surgical technique calling for a peritoneal implant to support home dialysis three days a week.  She had spent  a very busy life tending to her family, her work, her home and anything that needed attention so the transition to being tied to a machine was threatening and somewhat depressing for her. In fact, in almost 52 years of marriage he had never known her to be feeling quite as bad about something.

Julieann Marie Campbell,
Mother of Tyler and Samantha
Wife of Tom
(April 27, 2021 - two weeks prior)

As the day of surgery fell to within two weeks, she prayed for a donor transplant; "C'mon! If you (God) are going to help let's get going!" She had been on and off a kidney transplant list due to other complications for the previous four years and she was ready...definitely ready. Meanwhile, her husband caught himself occasionally trying to imagine life without her. (He could not. Would not.)

Then, on Easter Sunday she received a call; "We have a donor, a match and you are fourth on the list of candidates. If you agree to the procedure, these are the things we need you to do to prepare so you can respond quickly..."  That night around 9PM the call came; "You are now on top of the list.  Can you be here by 10PM?  We will get you prepared for the donor who has not yet passed."  The next afternoon surgery began and she was out of the OR around 7:30PM.    

It ended up being a long week of constant noise and terrible hospital food but her amazing spirit, an Almighty presence and a great transplant team carried her through. He was fortunate to be able to bring her home late yesterday afternoon and she is now resting. They are not yet out of the woods with this. But past the trees, he can see some early morning sun gracing the meadow and that is where Julieann and he are determined to go. Over the course of their marriage, she has created, cultivated and nurtured his soul. It is completely hers and will always be. She has always maintained that he leads a “charmed life” and that is certainly true with this latest indelible mark.

Julieann now has a “zipper” and he has two. He has concluded; as we all grow older we change somewhat like the moth/butterfly phenomenon only we, instead transition into luggage with zippers all over.

Note:  I have a hero who, 15 years ago donated one of his kidneys to his daughter who today is happily married and well. Byron Geer is, at the moment of this writing, kicking back in the Spring warmth of Florida and sipping a well-deserved cranberry juice/vodka cocktail.  My main hero though is currently resting on our couch. 

Julie and I feel fortunate, or "charmed" you might say, to be in recovery. We hope you are all doing well, vaccinated, loved and not gathering too many zippers for your luggage.