Day 107, Year 5: Walkabout and Now Thinkabout
Date: Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Weather: Sunny and Warmer
Location: Bolgatty Hotel Anchorage, Cochin (Kochi), India

I took off early this morning by myself and did what I’ll call a reconnaissance walk about Ernakulam. I went to the Tourist Information Booth at the main ferry terminal, walked to the far end of town to the Fine Arts Center, walked to find the location of the Cochin Flower Show, and then walked to the train station to check out schedules. After two and half hours of walking, I finally took an auto rickshaw to the bus station to check out schedules there, and then took another auto back to the jetty. While I did this, Mark installed a new heating element in our oven and did a myriad of other odd jobs. And then tonight, we went to shore with Ed and Lynne of Constance, had dinner, and walked back to the Cochin Flower Show-this time to really see it. But what had been a very peaceful day changed once we got back to Windbird and I read the dreaded email. “Judy, call as soon as you get this message.”

My brother Dickie has not been well for sometime now. I talked with him on his Monday morning of this week to congratulate him on being a new grandfather. He seemed fine to me, but Mark did say his voice sounded a little gravely. Evidently he had pneumonia and didn’t know it, and is now in the hospital in critical condition. It is so hard to be so far away in a situation like this. So now all I can do is think about Dickie and wait for news. The time difference is difficult in this situation. It is now noon on the East Coast and time for me to go to bed. So I will get up early and call during the evening. Hopefully there will be good news.

100210 Day 107 India–Cochin Flower Show