Cape May Caper

When you were younger you used to dress yourself and go where you wanted; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go. John 21:18
I just had occasion to spend a few days with my 94-year-old dad at his seashore home in Cape May, New Jersey. The two of us went there for our own vacation. At 94, dad doesn’t really get vacations, but he remembers the ones he used to take, and the fun he and mom and all of the family had in Cape May over the last 35 years. As his health is failing, I thought this might be the last opportunity for him to get there, and so we drove the 11 hours each way. He sleeps all day long in his chair at home, but he didn’t even close his eyes during the car rides; he was more like a child on a big adventure. Once there, dad wanted to do everything. He knew he could walk the 6 blocks to the beach, but I talked him out of that and we drove instead. After carrying all of the equipment – umbrella, two chairs, beach bag, beach tags, towels – and dad on my arm, we got as far as the edge of the sand. I set up one of the chairs and sat him down while I went out, set up the umbrella, the other chair, paraphernalia, and went back for dad. He only made it about 10 feet onto the sand when he gave up; the footing wasn’t secure enough for him. Another day we tried going to the shops in town. He was sure he could sit in the shade while I moseyed around, but the bench was too hard and the heat was too high; that lasted about 15 minutes. He thought one night we should go bar hopping! Thinking about the logistics of this, I convinced him that a trip to the Rusty Nail might be just the thing; we could park right in front and sit in there for a beer. It was magic; don’t you know there were lots of people but we got lucky enough to sit facing a big screen TV and the Reds were playing the Phillies – and the Reds were killing them! A couple of trips to the Dry Dock for ice cream and the Lobster House for clams rounded out our 3 days. As we were leaving, I had dad look into my camera as he was closing the door on his condo – the end of an era, I thought to myself.
The quote from John’s gospel above is a prediction of the death of Peter, but as I watch my dad grow older and feebler, I think it is a reference to us all. In our minds we’re still young and able, but bit by bit we become more dependent on other, and come to realize that our entire life has been totally dependent on Other.
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