The Gale Has Swept In...

Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show...(the opening lines of David Copperfield as written by Charles Dickens;inspired by MTM). Or at least this ACCOUNT will, perhaps, have a reflection on whether I'm going to be the hero in my own life.

...It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death! The closing paragraph of the; Give Me Liberty, Or Give Me Death---speech, by Patrick Henry

Because the Arizona summers were getting increasing difficult, Barry Goodwin & his wife Kathy have bought a summer condo in East Amherst, NY. The significance; you ask?? Well---Barry went to Cathedral Grade School, and then Bishop Fallon High School; class of 1969. With Barry having come back to Buffalo NY, this was decided to be an excellent reason to put another 'fellowship' together. Sue McKnight had suggested the DOCKSIDE ON THE CANAL---and it proved to be an excellent choice. We met @ 7:00PM on Tuesday 28 June, 2011. What was particularly impressive was that some new faces decided to join this rendezvous. Besides the regulars of Jim & Barbara Barrett and son Shamus, Blaine Wegrzynowski, Norb Warnes, Sue McKnight, and very belatedly Joe Barrile, that made the journey, we had a couple of newcomers who joined in, on the fun---Tommy Gannon, and Jimmy Eagan. The weather was great, the food was delicious, and the conversations were lively and spontaneous. I was not aware of it---at the time---but something very murky, had dropped into the mix, on the home-front of Tuesday; at 20:44PM---to be exact. The festivities adjourned at about 22:00PM. I left with a good feeling about the evening, the service by Justaline, and that I had, in effect, found another good location for subsequent rendezvous. And from a personal standpoint, I am eager to find out about Wednesdays, having to do with AMTRAK schedules, and the TRESTLE BRIDGE overpass on the Erie Canal part of Ellicott Creek. As a train-enthusiast, I was thrilled to see on Tuesday, twice during our stay, the AMTRAK passenger train passing by, in the N/B direction. One of them was the Empire State Express, and one of them had to be, The Maple Leaf Ltd!!

Wednesday 29 June, 2011---at least as I am progressing through the ECBOE activity, is pretty much going to plan. Once I get home, and settle-in, something very very unsettling, comes into focus. Like myself, when Andrew gets home from work, and he got in just a bit in front of me, he goes through a little bit of a routine. Included in the routine is catching up on some messages left on the phone voice-message system---that included messages from Tuesday. I, of course, was @ DOCKSIDE ON THE CANAL, on Tuesday---till late, and Donna & Andrew went to The Merge Restaurant for their supper, and got back late,as well.

The second message---the one that came in @ 20:44PM Tuesday---was bone-rattling, heart-racing, scary, and numbing. It was a message left by the family black-sheep; the one bad-apple---Margaret. The second youngest of eight, she is ten years my junior. To make a very very long story short, her life has been wasted on drugs and alcohol. In her younger years, she gave birth to two children. The first one was a boy named Paul. Because Margaret had failed as a mother with Paul, he was adopted by a family in Grand Isle, NY. The family Paul was adapted into, moved away from Grand Isle, and through FACEBOOK, recently reconnected with with his other sibling. Paul now resides in North Carolina. Margaret had a second child; a daughter, named Erica Christine. Margaret's attempt at mothering this child---failed miserably as well. We; Lou & Donna Marconi, stepped in and ADOPTED Erica. It was an especially long and arduous process because the State of New York's orientation toward adoptions is ALWAYS with deference to the biological mother. Because of this deference, it took us over ten years, to finally make the adoption official. In Judge Mattina's courtroom chambers, on 29 August, 2002---it became official. Over the years, Margaret would surface for an inquiring phone-call---and then, disappear again(which was fine by all of us; Erica included).

As I was listening to this recording, I just---went numb. The voice intonations are very very threatening. As each phrase is remarked, the intonations are punctuated with a more macabre, sinister, and bewitching threat-level, so that when she imposes her final word into her statement, I'll be honest with you---I can't say I have EVER HEARD THAT WORD SAID---THAT VOLATILE, before.
The TEXT of the message:
You Bunch of Assholes---
You Dirty Rotten Son of a Bitches---
I'm gonna Kill You---
And I'm gonna Ruin Your Property---
For What You Did To My Girl---
YOU SICK FUCKS.

What did I do?? What could I do?? Of course, the first thing I did was tell Andrew--NOT TO DELETE the message. With the message being so threatening and incriminating, it would be my intention to report this to the Kenmore Police Department, and determine what my options would be.

In due course of time, because we just kind of are this way; on a wing and a prayer, rather than having plans already set in place---Andrew wants to get an idea of whom all should he include in supper plans. Toward that end, he calls his mother to see if she is eating with us, or has already 'grabbed' something. She will do that sometimes when she is at one of her all-day cleaning jobs. While I wished he hadn't done this over the phone, he shared with his mother that we got a very nasty message from Margaret. Through the course of the conversation, she concurs---don't delete; we want to tell the police. Donna eventually gets home in due course of time. She had bought some groceries for salad and apparently caught-up with my sister Rose by cell-phone, on these hair-raising developments.

When she comes in to talk to me, having now just listened to the recording herself, she asks---did you call the police?? I replied--No. I quickly added why I did not. I detected a look on her face that suggested; well, why not. I explained that I was waiting for you to get home so we could 'close-ranks' and show a united-front. This dynamic that had just unfolded is a curious one because, based on this line of questioning by Donna, the status-quo of the interior of the house would have been suitable, at this time, to bring the police into. But then again, maybe not.

We decide to have supper first, and then afterwards, have the Kenmore Police department brought to the house. By now it is 20:30PM, when supper is finished. Donna now decides she wants to 'straightened-out' the house. Apparently it was alright earlier, but now, on second-thought, it needed to be squared-away.

At 21:00PM, officer D. Rule arrives. Like Joe Friday of DRAGNET, he wants to hear the recording immediately. As it is finishing, I even noticed his eyebrows drop a tab, as the last word of the message is expressed, with such vile emphasis. After this, Donna & I ask for him to listen to another message that, so ironically, is left on the machine---right after Margaret's. It is a message from Erica---and it is so alive, bubbly, and effervescent!! The officer, here as well, seemed to have a look on his face that concurred with our perspective: Margaret has it---ALL WRONG.

As he pulls out his report form to write it all down, he gives me, as the complainant, my options. Family Court---or Criminal Court. With this being a deadly threat, I choose Criminal Court; the charge, aggravated harassment.

While all of this is unfolding, as a united-front, Donna & I are sitting across from each other, at the kitchen table. Andrew is in the living-room, keeping Tootsie from being a distraction. At no time, does Donna decide to choose a chair alongside me, or at least reach across the table to take my hand---a physical gesture that says we are together in this. Remember earlier, I had reflected that Donna had given me the seal-of-approval to have the police come by, and that I would singularly handle the matter.

After the report is completed, and is turned over to me, he exits. In doing so, Donna accompanies him. And this is where I received another sad, in-effect, commentary to our reality.

I mean---My God, these were bone-jarring threats. At least from where I was positioned in all of this, I could have certainly used some gesture, some expression of humanity. And it certainly did not have to be intense or overbearing. I would have appreciated some supportive conversation, a hand being held, an arm around one another's shoulders. Something---anything, that might have said---We Will Get Through This Together.

Having come up the side-door stairs, Donna opens the refrigerator door and pours herself a glass or wine. She then turned her back to me and proceeds to the living room for the desk-top computer and a couple of hours of You-Tube exploration.

The turning of her back, and the walking away from me, had me, with my weighted thoughts at the kitchen-table~~~now alone & abandoned.

--{-=@
Hickok
The Promise