There's A Kind Of Hush...

... All over the canyon at 4:30 a.m.  I'm rolling along, sipping a thermos of coffee hubby has kindly prepared, to make sure I'm awake, and I'm thinking, well, if you have to get somewhere fast, better to do it at this time, when the smart people are sleeping.  So there I am, like I said, rolling along, not-so-merrily, 'cuz, let's face it, there's nothing merry about another outing to the ER to meet up with my daddy, and I'm sort of boasting to myself, practically bragging about how quickly I'm going to arrive at my destination, when about midway down Beverly Glen, I encounter a Dramatic Obstacle, in the form of barricades and police cars and flashing lights. And now, I must make yet another decision.  Sit and wait?  Stare blankly?  Take a quick nap?

To add to my personal discomfort, this barefoot hippy chick materializes, and looks at me, plaintively, as if to say, "It's the '60s, man, can you give me a ride?"  Well, mean SJG that I am, I give her a look back that says, "Uh, sorry, gal, unless you want to go to Cedars, you'll need to hitch another ride."

I do a nice U-turn, drive back up the hill and call hubby with the latest update.  "Now what?" "Benedict Canyon," he says.  Good call.  What a pretty street, I say to no one.  I haven't been on Benedict Canyon at 4:30 a.m. since... never.

I arrive at Cedars, the place my grandmother used to call "The Hotel," and greet my sweet, discombobulated father with a kiss, and wave hello to his evening caregiver, who just rode in an ambulance for the first time.  "Here I am again," my dad says.  "We need to stop meeting like this, Daddy."

The good news:  it was only a bloody nose, a bad one, but still, not life-threatening, as we seem to say a lot these days.  The bad news:  I manage to insult the nurse, unintentionally, of course.  Sometimes I just open my mouth and things happen.  As I sign the release form, I notice the date.  "Oh, it's December 7," I say.  And out it comes:  "A date which will live in infamy."  Only then do I notice the nurse is Japanese.