Great Uncle Bet's Grand Tour
My grandfather's younger brother, my Great Uncle Bet,
remarried late in life. He and his new wife, Marianne, who were both in their
seventies, stopped by my house one day as they passed through town. I often
overheard the grownups in my family complain, his first wife was a nightmare
and made his life Hell, but that's all I remember about her. I do remember on our
visits to my grandpa’s family farm in, Pontiac, Illinois, Uncle Bet always
looking sort of sad most of the time, but not on this day, on this day, Uncle
Bet was beaming.
Uncle Bet's real name was, Marion, but I only ever heard him
called, "Bet." I don't know where or why the nickname came about. I suppose
I should ask one of my aunts before that information dies off, like the answers
to so many other unasked questions.
Uncle Bet had a brand new, top-of the-line, grand tour bike
that he and Marianne were riding across the county. They stopped by my house
for a few hours on their way through California. In hindsight, I wish I had
offered to let them stay the night, but it honestly didn't cross my mind, until
now.
Sitting in my living room, Uncle Bet regaled me, a now
ex-boyfriend, and my mom’s sister, with some of the highlights of their
adventure so far. He was a sweet man, kind, and thoughtful. I sat, and thought, how cool is that, for my
Great Uncle to be on such an epic adventure, at his age? I was both impressed
and surprised.
Suddenly, Marianne was out, cold. She slumped, collapsed on the arm of a big,
overstuffed chair. Uncle Bet, seeing the alarm on my face said, "Don't
worry, Marianne has narcolepsy."
"What? What is narcolepsy?"
Uncle Bet proceeded to tell us of this neurological disorder
that causes excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS). It’s characterized by
persistent sleepiness, regardless of the amount of sleep one gets at night. He told us to think of it as a, “sleep
attack”, where an overwhelming sense of sleepiness comes on quickly without warning.
Immediately, what was already a fascinating scene for me, was
amped, exponentially.
“How are you two traveling across the country on a motorcycle?”
My thoughts being of a floppy body, throwing off your balance if that body isn’t
leaning into the curves with you.
“I keep Marianne belted to me, arms, legs, and torso. She’s
light enough, and the bike
heavy enough, I don’t have any problems controlling
my bike, no matter where we are. I can feel her go limp so, I know when and how
to compensate.”
Marianne perked up abruptly, like a robot with a switch turn on, as if nothing strange had
happened.
Uncle Bet continued, “I’ve dreamed of doing this road trip my
entire life. Marianne was willing to take the risks and come along for the ride,
so here we are!” A huge smile spread across his kind face, they squeezed hands,
his eyes twinkled.
I was mesmerized. Here was this man, whom I’d always admired,
on what I considered, a brave and epic journey. I hoped I could always be so fearless.
That was the last time I saw or heard from Uncle Bet. I wish
I could tell him what an impression he made on my life.
~Deb