I was on my way to White Plains during our last effort to try to help David. I realized that I would be passing by the Pepe’s Pizza branch that had opened in Yonkers and thought it would be a nice idea to make a detour and get my little brother something familiar for our nightly visit and dinner.
So I stopped and picked up two pies and proceeded to make my way to White Plains. One thing you may not know about David was his fickle eating habits. It was either healthy all the way, or something that could clog an arteries or instantly induce type II diabetes.
His diet was pretty much this:
Jamba Juice – Peanut Butter Moo’d, no banana, extra shot of whey
Homemade Turkey Burger on Wheat
Popsicles
Steak and Cheeses
American Cheese Omelet
A Ben & Jack’s Filet Mignon
New Haven Cheese Pizza
Turkey Sandwich
Subway BMT, replace Ham with Turkey, Extra Pickles, Extra Olives
That was pretty much it. He didn’t see the point in nice dinners nor care at all about branching any further from this diet.
Anyway, I digress. I arrived at Columbian Presbyterian in White Plains and brought up some pizzas. The best part was David would pretend to not be hungry. It was easily combated with, “Well okay no problem I’ll just give it to some of the other patients then or chuck it. No biggie, just thought you’d like some pizza.” Within seconds, he’d be cramming two slices into his face, and within five minutes, the pie would be devoured.
During this time was like other times when I could see him coming out of the fog and funk that he was in, and the spark would ignite if only for a second.
The shittiest part of this was what I can only equate to the following comparison: Girls, you’re gonna love me for this; guys, if you don’t know what I am referring to, then you best get educated. But anyway, it’s like that part in The Notebook when they flash to the present time, and James Garner is telling Gena Rowlands the story, and she snaps out of it and realizes that the story Garner was telling was their story, and all of a sudden she remembers who she is. You think, “Alright, happy ending to this story,” and then all of a sudden during this key breaking point, she just flips off like a light and completely loses her memory, and Garner is a complete stranger.
Complete gut-wrencher… I am Niagara Falls every time because you see all the love ol’ Gos had for his lady, and you can just feel his heart being torn out of his ribcage.
Well, that is what it was like. You’d see the spark: You’d sigh a breath of relief and think to yourself it’s all going to be alright.
And then in an instant, a blink of an eye, you are the only one on the receiving line looking into a casket at your brother who looks nothing like he did, wondering how close you ever were to fixing the problem…
