Friday, July 4, 2003

Fort Smith, Arkansas

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We are in Ft. Smith today, with a planned visitation to HealthSouth.

Shannon Duerr, the receptionist at HealthSouth, graciously tolerated our really bad senses of humor, although when Jim leapt over the counter and began jabbering and gesturing like a spider monkey, Shannon's eyes showed a bit of panic before she quickly recovered.

The boys met with several rehab patients and staff persons at HealthSouth, who provided a beautiful cake and punch for everyone. Notice how patriotic the boys' uniforms look? Today was the only day when those "lovely" uniform shirts actually seemed appropriate. Robert Taylor, at right, was a stroke victim who was especially inspiring to us.

"Please, Meredy, let us design a jersey for next year!" is the most common refrain heard from the boys regarding this year's uniform.

The inpatient rehab area at HealthSouth was large, well-lit, and filled with helpful, smiling PTs and OTs.

See how happy the boys look at this cake? That's because Joe only lets us eat breakfast twice per week, and July 4th was a "No Breakfast Day!". The cake was beautiful and tasty. And was gone, come to think of it, after a few minutes of the boys' attention. Mark was given the honor of cutting the first slice, and he was gratefully replaced shortly thereafter by a helpful HealthSouth person who rescued the cake from Mark's butchery.

More patients at HealthSouth.

Mark gabs, and gabs, and gabs...

Bruce gabs, and gabs, and gabs...

Bruce, in response to Ted Gaskell's offer of free prosthetic adjustments, said, "No, that's okay." So the other boys threw Bruce against the wall, gagged him, and held him until the authorities arrived. Ted, shown at right, is a prosthetist at Horton's Orthotic Labs in Ft. Smith. He gave us all some slight adjustments and lots of good company. He also bought us lunch at Chili's. Ted is one of our favorite people now.

Bruce was his usual inspiring self -- he love's talking with the patients.

Ted Gaskell is one of our VERY favorite people. We were very happy campers after our time with Ted. Thanks, Ted!

People across the river in Oklahoma warned us that the admittedly breathtaking women of Ft. Smith could not be taken at face value because they are somewhat shallow. We disagreed and are here photographed with a local beauty. Ok, so she's actually printed cardboard, but we were nevertheless impressed.

We have been away from home for WAY too long.

Colonel Stumpy, Ambassador at Large for the Evil Arconians, was found hiding in the van after our visit to Ted's shop. We put an ice cold bottle of root beer at the end of the parking lot and drove off rapidly when the Arconian was occupied.

Finally! We were granted a pardon from hanging in the Ft. Smith area. And this was an official proclamation from the Mayor of Ft. Smith. Jim ruined our joy, though, when he pointed out that we could still face life imprisonment, should our acts warrant it. This was a severe shock to Bruce, who regretfully put all his clothes back on and returned that Buick he had "borrowed" earlier in the day.

The Colonel got Game! He's jamming here like the white boy he is, with Trish, who could not breathe because she was laughing so hard.

Pre-amputation to post-amputation, Mark continues to perfect his sitting skills, here concentrating intently on keeping his butt cheeks in contact with Terra Firma.

The crowd started throwing quarters at Joe, pleading with him to not dance naked in front of the stage. Here, Jim shows the preferred "alligator catch" method of grasping thrown coins.

It's official, thanks to Holly of HeathSouth and the Mayor of Ft. Smith, the boys were made honorary citizens of Ft. Smith, Arkansas.

Happy Birthday America! And Patsy, the Fourth is still and will always be your birthday. Thanks, Mom.

The boys are photographed with Matthew Vines, who seemed to be having fun at the festivities. Smiles like those below make long days and sweat worthwhile.

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