Lent

The last two times I visited, Darrell was walking by himself, sitting at the table & smoking pot and cigarettes.  Mom reminded me that in her little book it mentions how a person nearing death will get a sudden burst of energy just before the end.  Though knowing Darrell, a fleeting burst could last a month.

He hasn't eaten a single bite of food in over a month.  "How long can a person live without food?" Mom asked me.  Well, we know Jesus went a full 40 days and 40 nights without food and now we commemorate that event by giving up cookies for a month.  I once read a comparison on fat & skinny women in a magazine.  If one of each land on a deserted island with no food, the skinny woman would die first because the fat woman's body would feed on itself.  Makes sense.  When Darrell was eating, he ate as much as he could as often as he could, whatever he damn well pleased.  Mom figured he was trying to enjoy ice cream while he still could.

Now he's vomiting his liquid medicines but still not in much pain, which is good of course.  His estranged wife is still sniffing around, my guess hoping he'll make it to the 3rd of next month so his disability will kick in and she can smoke it away in a little glass pipe.

And people wonder why I don't trust anyone anymore.

I hugged Darrell goodbye as we were leaving and he was just skin and bones.  It's easy to see in his arms and legs but to hug him and not feel a little fat here and there was weird.  I am too wondering how long a person can actually live without food in their belly.