Lolypop

I was talking to my dear friend Laura the other day, and she asked what I've been up to. Laura lives in beautiful San Clemente, California, and although it's been many years, I have a strong bond with southern Cal, having spent all my summers there while growing up. My mom's whole family lived out there - uncles, aunts, great uncles, great aunts, cousins, and family friends. We took the Santa Fe Super Chief as soon as school let out, boarding at the grand old Joliet train station, and traveled cross country before disembarking at the Pasadena depot where we were met by my grandparents.

Our time in La La Land was interspersed with all the fun-filled tourist attractions a kid could want (always saving Disneyland for last), along with excursions to San Francisco and rugged Big Sur in the north to San Diego and Tijuana, Mexico in the south. But a lot of time in-between was spent just living there, hanging out with the local kids, grocery shopping at Ralph's, running errands with my uncle, which always included stamp shops (my uncle was an expert philatelist), and swimming in my grandparents' apartment building pool.

Laura is the admin for my Transverse Myelitis support group, and that is where we met. She works tirelessly advocating for research, and bringing the latest information and resources to the members of the TM community. She is into everything from surfing to holistic medicine. She is a proponent of medical marijuana, and in her spare time makes mosaic gift items, including crosses (one of which my wife and I presented to our local pastor for Christmas), and a Victorian heart (that I gave to my wife for Valentine's Day, and is now proudly displayed on her desk at work).

All through the fall and winter holidays last year, in addition to the chronic pain and paraplegia from TM, I was undergoing chemo and radiation therapy for lymphoma. Following Laura's posts, I noticed that her close friends and family called her Loly, which was short for Lolypop, the nickname given her as a child by her father. I did not feel it was my prerogative to refer to her by that sobriquet, until one day while texting back and forth, she invited me to call her Loly. I was moved to tears by her simple gesture of love and friendship.

Anyway, I was telling Laura that I was involved with a writers group at my local library, editing a book for a friend from the group, researching articles for my blog, working on my memoir, writing humor pieces on Facebook, reading several books a week, and corresponding with dozens of friends on a daily basis.

Laura messaged back saying she was bestowing me with an Indian name, and I would henceforth be known as "Man of Words."

I thought, How cool is that!?

(Of course, she didn't say, "man of few words.")

Thanks Loly.