I don’t know either of them. But here’s Carl’s father, Joe.
Joe stirring grits.
I’ve been a volunteer at Dorothy Day since before Covid. And this image was taken before Covid. (B.C.) Joe and I prepared large pots of oatmeal and grits, and with fruit, bread, and coffee, drive them to a church where we served breakfast to the homeless on Monday mornings.
Covid changed everything. We still serve breakfast, although there are no tables, no congregations. Food is served in recyclable containers, through a window. Joe still works on Mondays. Jadyne and I on Thursdays. We don’t see each other very often. Joe substituted for Mary Ann one Thursday late August. I was pleased to see him again. He said, “My son was in a serious motorcycle accident last week. We don’t know if he’ll make it.” The bottom fell out. I couldn’t imagine Joe’s coming in to fix oatmeal, continue his work at UC Berkeley, while his son may be dying from his injuries.
He didn’t. Carl’s recovery is documented daily by his partner, Mica, on Caring Bridge, a website tracking people with life-threatening health issues. Jadyne’s brother Greg was on Caring Bridge. Sean kept track of his progress. Friends could read Sean’s posts, comment, donate. Mica writes daily. I’ve been following Carl’s progress for several months now. Finally, Carl wrote, a first person account of what he’s going through.
I wrote to them. “I would love to meet the two of you.”