Cookin' at Spaulding

This particular day started off as innocuously as could be imagined. Last night's game kept us all up to varying degrees of "late," so we trickled down to Spaulding one by one, and began to plan the day. Jancy needed/wanted to do a little shopping and Tim seemed to think that was as good as any reason to leave the building. So, we finished up a few odds n ends, like organizing Tim's space - including packing up some gear that's no longer needed; his collar and the stabilization boots that prevented drop foot while he was sleeping. All signs of progress.

I couldn't believe I had signed on to go to a mall - Galleria Cambridge Side - but off we went, Jancy handling the pushing. Once we got to the mall, which is a quick walk past the Museum of Science, Tim provided his own power and maneuvered through the crowds quite nicely. We went here and there, hung out in the Food Court for a bit and got Tim's hair cut. He also did some research on some camera accessories he's interested in and spent a good bit of time in the Apple Store. A good day.

Amy and Tim headed back to Spaulding, while I took Jancy to South Station to catch her bus back to Lee (thanks Phoebe and Chris for picking her up). We ran into Uncle John on this part of our journey, but as we were running late, had just a few minutes to catch up.

This is where things start to get a little funky. Turns out there's a new patient named Morgan whose sister knows Dane Cook's publicist. Today, Dane came up to the ninth floor to visit Morgan and spent time with other patients and staff. Quite a ruckus, let me tell you. I'm glad that he didn't read my review of his latest movie earlier on this site! He was funny, gracious and generous with his time and definitely gave everyone on the ninth floor something to remember.

That took a bit of time - Amy was willing to take some pictures while I watched the Pats whup up on the previously undefeated Cowboys. After it was all over, Tim's spot was a bit of a gathering place as folks came by to look at the pictures on his laptop. After our weekly sharing of local news - mostly an article about Shurika and Thalia involved in recycling at Monument - A & I headed home.

But this trip was not to be swift. Our timing coincided with the end of the last performance of the Ringling Brothers, Barnum & Bailey Circus. As we walked by the back of the Garden, we met the Ringmaster, who was about to lead the elephants and other animals on their walk back to the train in Cambridge. The circus is on a two year, 80 city tour, and they had just done show number 700-something. So, we stuck around to see what would transpire. We talked a bit with the Ringmaster - Chuck Wagner - who is actually a veteran stage actor doing his first gig with the circus. Earlier in his career he had performed in "Kiss Me Kate" at Berkshire Theater Festival. For more about him, click here:

http://www.ringling.com/explore/136/stars/cwagner.aspx

He does a little double duty and leads the walk at the end of the run. We took out our camera, but in the dark with our failing eyesights, we couldn't figure out how to turn the flash on, so these images aren't so great. Too bad, it was kind of cool.