October 27, Hugo.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Rain drops.
October 26, Hugo, Oklahoma (112 miles, winter quarters.)
Four hours of boring highway driving and we're back in Hugo.
It rained all along; it's still raining here.
Things forgotten along the year, not so important maybe, how people would pass our slow trailers across a double yellow line on blind country roads, over and over again, risking their lives for a minute; how even though Fridman quit driving the tire truck some time in September and thus got onto the lot a lot earlier Chris would keep parking us all the way out, like pariahs; how some people would rush out of the lot in the morning ahead of call time protocol, as there were a race going on for first spot onto the next lot; how all this and all that; how the mud show gets under your skin even as it wears you down and I'm not raising the tent every day seven days a week.
The route slip gave thanks to all for a record-breaking year and I wonder what records were broken.
Rain drops count, most likely.
Four hours of boring highway driving and we're back in Hugo.
It rained all along; it's still raining here.
Things forgotten along the year, not so important maybe, how people would pass our slow trailers across a double yellow line on blind country roads, over and over again, risking their lives for a minute; how even though Fridman quit driving the tire truck some time in September and thus got onto the lot a lot earlier Chris would keep parking us all the way out, like pariahs; how some people would rush out of the lot in the morning ahead of call time protocol, as there were a race going on for first spot onto the next lot; how all this and all that; how the mud show gets under your skin even as it wears you down and I'm not raising the tent every day seven days a week.
The route slip gave thanks to all for a record-breaking year and I wonder what records were broken.
Rain drops count, most likely.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
A party for some.
October 25, Fort Smith.
The night was old and the Halloween party over - I had shuttled back and forth to try and take some pictures while watching the kids - when I routinely checked them for signs of temperature and found Dylan with a sudden peak of more than a hundred and four again and breathing rapidly. Maybe I didn't wait long enough for the drug to act but when he was at the same point moments later I was near hysterics and we decided to run to the nearest hospital and so we did, only to find out when we got there that the fever had all but subsided and he would probably be fine. The three hour ER wait sealed our immediate return home.
The party must have been fun for everybody else judging from the grins.
This week doesn't seem to end.
The night was old and the Halloween party over - I had shuttled back and forth to try and take some pictures while watching the kids - when I routinely checked them for signs of temperature and found Dylan with a sudden peak of more than a hundred and four again and breathing rapidly. Maybe I didn't wait long enough for the drug to act but when he was at the same point moments later I was near hysterics and we decided to run to the nearest hospital and so we did, only to find out when we got there that the fever had all but subsided and he would probably be fine. The three hour ER wait sealed our immediate return home.
The party must have been fun for everybody else judging from the grins.
This week doesn't seem to end.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Trick or treat.
October 24, Fort Smith.
The kids did Trick or Treat today between shows, but Dylan and Nicolas skipped.
Nicolas we've been watching closely and think he has the flu, the new one or the old one it doesn't matter, he's had a high fever although he seemed better today, and Dylan was doing great, hadn't run a fever since that first night, and all of a sudden, right after the trick-or-treaters came by, he started running one again. We went out today, it was finally warmer, but he must have gotten a chill, and now I'm panicking, dreading a return to yet another urgent care clinic (what else is going to be open on a Sunday?) dreading the accumulating bills (two hundred dollars just to walk into the clinic the other day, and now I know the system, that doesn't include neither the doctor nor the extra exams, those will be surprises in the mail - trick or treat.)
They'll skip the Halloween party tonight under the big top too, no way they were going out in the cold at night even if they both had been doing better.
It's been a hard week.
Friday, October 23, 2009
Late news.
October 23, Fort Smith.
Things forgotten among the children's illnesses and gloomy weather: last week the Rosales joined us again til the end of the season, followed on Monday by the Fusco family. Today another Perez brother arrived too.
Things forgotten among the children's illnesses and gloomy weather: last week the Rosales joined us again til the end of the season, followed on Monday by the Fusco family. Today another Perez brother arrived too.
More worries.
October 23, Fort Smith.
This I will not miss.
It was Nicolas' time to suddenly run a high fever yesterday (something about waking up from naps) but since we were in the middle of nowhere I simply gave him some children's painkillers and hoped for the best. Dylan's cough also picked up, on cue, to add to my stress level. Then as we were getting ready to leave around five thirty this morning Nicolas threw up all over the place, his skin clammy, hot.
Having to rush to the nearest clinic, around the corner or many miles away, not being able to rely on a familiar doctor (but in America in 2009 would you even call your family doctor at any hour and hope to talk to him?) you're running blind on a traveling circus, and on most days it's exhilarating but when your children are sick it's unbearable.
This I will not miss, as the season is almost over and we head to our transient homes.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
La Mongodal.
October 21, Republic.
Republic is where my friend Lisa lives. She came to visit and we headed to la Mongodal for lunch, kids' bliss. For the unacquainted, Mongodal is how Dylan pronounced McDonald earlier this year; it stuck and is now official Torales family lingo.
Dylan is doing much better, hasn't even had a fever since the first night of pneumonia.
Republic is where my friend Lisa lives. She came to visit and we headed to la Mongodal for lunch, kids' bliss. For the unacquainted, Mongodal is how Dylan pronounced McDonald earlier this year; it stuck and is now official Torales family lingo.
Dylan is doing much better, hasn't even had a fever since the first night of pneumonia.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Mischief.
October 21, Republic.
When I woke up from a nap yesterday next to Dylan, ages before I realized he was seriously sick, all I saw was the chocolate smears around his mouth. Apparently he had gotten up during our nap and opened the fridge (new, he couldn't do it by himself before) to take one of my bars of dark chocolate out.
We found it on the counter top bitten at both ends, the mischief hilariously revealed.
Worries.
October 21, Republic.
For a while I thought it was swine flu.
Dylan had had a cold for more than a week and yesterday he woke up from a nap with a hundred and four fever. We had almost brought him in a few days ago for a dry, persistent cough, then opted for natural remedies; we were, as usual in the circus, in the middle of nowhere. This time I rushed to a pediatric urgent care clinic in Springfield.
It was pneumonia, but not so severe that he required hospitalization. The night was long and difficult, coughing and the fever is up again. Still, it's not the dreaded flu.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Monday, October 19, 2009
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Saturday, October 17, 2009
A hair moment.
October 17, Eldorado Springs.
Time for the horse act and Armando's hair was out of place; Natalia tried to brush it back, Renato was his usual self.
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