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Stray
by J. Brandt Edwards
For the past fifty years here in Mississippi, my family has always taken in stray dogs and cats that were abandoned along our farm’s right of way, or those that had become lost and happened to wander up for a meal and then decided this was a good home. They are countless thru my childhood and adult memory. We even had a fawn that was rescued on the side of the highway after his mother was hit by a car. Buck grew to adulthood on the farm and unfortunately met the same fate as his mother years later crossing our country road. I have always thought people drive much too fast on our narrow country lane. But a few Thursdays ago, something quite different wandered up into our driveway, a human being. He was actually asleep in his car when Mom left at daybreak for her daily exercise walk. Alarmed that he might be dead, she rang my brother, Ken, who immediately came up the road to determine the situation. Bert, as his name turned out to be, was lost in more ways than one. He told Ken he was waiting for his wife to come out of the house and they would be off to breakfast. He also said he was in Arizona! Ken reasoned, "Sir, have you ever seen trees like these in the desert of Arizona?" Bert said "no", but such logic did little to dissuade him of his location. He was invited in to my parent’s home and they all had breakfast. Bert then let Ken inspect his wallet. Bert Rose, 87 years old, from Sun City, Arizona. He was driving a car with Arizona plates. Information produced a number for a Bert Rose in Sun City, AZ. A machine answered and the outgoing message voice was Bert’s! After breakfast, Bert was sleepy and decided to nap but still thought he was in Arizona. Ken then called the Sun City, AZ police department and explained the situation. They dispatched a car to the address and found nobody home, the house and garage door unlocked and the alarm system un-activated. A neighbor came over on seeing the police car next door and explained that Bert had left Tuesday around lunch for his brother’s home in Michigan after having a "tiff" with his girlfriend Edna earlier that morning at Applebee’s. She had accused him of sleeping with the waitress! The neighbor and policeman then went into Bert’s house and found an address book on the kitchen counter still open to the page listing his brother’s number in Michigan. The policeman called the brother and informed him of Bert’s whereabouts and situation. Brother Rose then called Mississippi. Brother Rose is 90 and bedridden with bad health and was most upset at his brother’s predicament. Ken assured him Bert was in no danger, just a bit confused, and was, by this time, sound asleep on the sofa. It was determined Bert had driven non-stop from Sun City, AZ to Byhalia, MS, a total of 1500 miles, from Tuesday at noon to daybreak on Thursday! Brother Rose then began to fill in the details. Bert was a retired truck driver from Michigan who had relocated to the sun belt of Arizona years before. His wife had died three years ago. He had four children; 2 were deceased, a daughter was currently dying from cancer and a son he had been estranged from for over 15 years. He was basicly alone. He had a good friend, Joe and a girlfriend, Edna, both who lived in Sun City and Brother Rose was informing them of the unfolding events. He went on to say that Bert had received a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease in the past year, but had refused any treatment or assistance from the medical and social services communities there in Phoenix. He seemed relieved that Bert was in good hands with Ken in Mississippi for the time being. Bert spent the day sleeping on the sofa and in the big chair. He had lunch with my parents and later, he and Dad had a long conversation out on the porch. Dad is 89 with progressive Alzheimer’s, so what was talked about and what was remembered from that conversation is anyone’s guess! Ken had to deal with the business day at hand, but by mid afternoon – what to do with Bert? A call to the county sheriff was most disheartening. Legally, all they could do was pick him up, put him in a cell and hold him till a legal relative came to claim him. That sounded like the dog pound policy! And with one legal relative alive, 90, and bed-ridden in Michigan, it seemed Bert would become a ward of Marshall County for the rest of his life! This was not a humane option. My internet airline search found a one-way direct flight from Memphis to Phoenix on Northwest for $956 and a senior fare with no advance purchase on a direct flight Friday at 6P from Little Rock for $129. Bert agreed that Southwest was his favorite airline; he used it all the time out of Phoenix. It was decided Bert would stay the night at Comfort Inn in Olive Branch with NO car! And it was planned that his brother, friend Joe and girlfriend Edna would keep him occupied by phone most of the evening. It worked as he was waiting in his room Friday morning when Ken arrived to take him back to Byhalia. He had breakfast with the family again and stayed the morning. Dad kept wondering to each of us who that "drunk old man" was? Explanations get nowhere with someone with progressing Alzheimer’s. Ken and Bert left for Little Rock at noon. An Alzheimer’s patient will ask repeatedly the same question over and over; he just cannot remember the answer. The trip went well but Ken was brain dead by airport arrival answering Bert’s questions repeatedly. "Where am I going? Where is my car?" Cell phone calls were made to the Arizona friends in order to keep him tuned into the trip and why he was flying out of Little Rock. The check-in went fine and Ken actually walked Bert onto the plane. They shook hands goodbye as Bert took his seat and began to cry; Ken assured him all would be fine and he would visit Bert in Phoenix on his next business trip there. Edna met Bert’s plane and he is now under medical care in Phoenix. The total expenses for his return and the return of his car by an employee of Ken’s totaled $1200. It was paid in full two weeks later with the assistance of Edna as Bert could not remember if he had posted the check but was determined that he would reimburse the expenses. I’ve heard of Alzheimer’s patients in our community that have taken these "flight trips". They get in the car and end up in Water Valley after running out of gas; places relatively close by. But 1500 miles later across I 40 and 7 states is still a bit boggling to my mind when it comes to "flight trips" and of all places to end up, Edwards Road in Byhalia, MS! I think Bert subconsciously followed his fate and knew his "guardian angel" in this situation lived on Edwards Road. If there is an award in this community given by a civic organization or publication, I nominate my brother, Ken Edwards, for "Man of the Year" or "Outstanding Citizen of the Year"! The humanity he displayed in his involvement and selfless actions in order to help a lost elderly man in need was deeply touching and heartwarming in this era of "I don’t want to get involved" or "what is the legal liability?" mentality! May there be a "Ken" around if any of us happen to become lost and afraid! |
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