Chapter 51: Fourth of July Weekend, Part I

July 2, 1988, Chicago, Illinois

"This is unbelievable!" I exclaimed, reading the front page of the Chicago Tribune.

"What?" Jessica asked, sipping her lemon tea.

"It says, and I honestly wonder if it's accurate, that at the Nineteenth Party Conference in the Soviet Union, they voted to end the Communist Party's monopoly on economic and other non-political power. They pretty much just threw out 70 years of Marxist-Leninist political philosophy in order to try to free the economy! I know Gorbachev was pushing for reform, but damn!"

"If it's true, what does it mean?" Kara asked.

"The end of the Soviet Union. If they loosen the reins like this, it's going to get away from them. It'll take a bit of time, and they'll try to keep the lid on, but I'd say by the turn of the century, or maybe a bit longer given that's only a little over 12 years away, things will be very different in Eastern Europe. What's truly amazing is that they're doing it at a time when there is agitation in the Baltic states. Something significant is going on internally, but it's hard to say what."

"How would this affect your friends?"

"Well, I don't see the Red Army going away anytime soon, nor do I see Dima Sergeyevich leading his tanks through the Fulda Gap, so I think he'll be fine. Tanya, despite her parroting of the 'Party Line' is pragmatic and smart. As young as she is, she'll simply continue in the diplomatic service, even if there is a regime change. Now, for my KGB friend, this might not turn out so well. It all depends on how things change. They might purge the KGB, or they might simply turn it into a new service with a new name."

"So you don't think there will be a civil war?" Jessica asked.

"It's possible, but I doubt it. The Red Army and KGB would simply crush any resistance outright. Whatever happens will need at least tacit support of the Army. And if you think about most of the American military guys we know, the LAST thing any of them want is a general European war. I think that's true of Dima and the other officers I met in Moscow as well. If Gorbachev could push these reforms through, then the generals must at least be OK with them, even if they aren't embracing them. Well, assuming this is all true and not a misunderstanding by the reporters. Kremlinology is a black art, and they've gotten it wrong more than they've gotten it right."

"Anything else interesting in the paper?" she asked.

I flipped to the sports section and found the starting grid for the Pepsi Firecracker 400 at Daytona.

"Fuck," I sighed. "Bill's starting 38th. That's pretty much the kiss of death at Daytona. And they're using restrictor plates. That's a huge unknown, but I can't see how limiting horsepower on an engine is good for the Elliott brothers."

"Restrictor plate?"

"It's a device which fits between the car's carburetor and intake manifold, and restricts the amount of air entering the engine's combustion chamber. I hate the idea, but after Bobby Allison's crash at Talladega last year, I don't know that NASCAR had much choice. They tried using engines with smaller displacement for a few tracks, and tried smaller carburetors, but having multiple engine types, or even multiple carburetor sizes, is pretty expensive in terms of research and building. Bobby was hurt so badly a couple of weeks ago at Pocono that I doubt he'll ever race again."

"What happened?"

"A terrible wreck. He was airlifted to the hospital in critical condition. I'm not sure of his status right now because we don't get much racing news, and I didn't want to bother Jason because there's a race today."

"Today?"

"They usually race on Saturday for the second Daytona race. I had planned to watch it after karate, if that's OK with you."

"Sure. I suppose I can watch with you and Kara."

We finished breakfast and hung out drinking tea until it was time to go to karate. Kara had seen Doctor Robertson, who cleared her to go back to karate as of August 15th, so she stayed home with Birgit. As Jessica, Stephanie, and I walked to the dojo, I wondered if any of my kids would be interested in karate. Unlike Will and Jacquelyn's parents, I wasn't going to force my kids into doing something that they didn't want to do. Josie had talked about getting Jesse ice skates, and if Jesse wanted to play hockey or figure skate or ice dance, that would be just fine with me. I wondered if I should send him to Katt in Göteborg for his first lessons.

Sensei Jim assigned me all the white belts except Jessica, though I'd have to have them back in the main room early, because Jessica would be testing for her yellow belt just before the end of class. After working for about thirty minutes with Geoff, Lorna, Nellie, Pinky, Melody, and Jacquelyn, we went back to watch Jessica test for her yellow belt, and another student, Juan, test for his blue belt.

Juan passed his test easily, and then Jessica took her place. I'd worked with her on her kata, which she performed as if they were medical procedures — almost robotically. I hadn't tried to change that, because it was her style. It would limit how far she might advance, but for Jessica, karate was exercise. My sister would probably top out at a brown belt, given that she wasn't interested in coming to class more than three times a week. Kara wasn't sure at this point if she wanted to move up, though I knew she'd make brown belt a month or so after she returned to class.

Jessica's performance of her kata was technically perfect, though about as smooth as if a robot had done it. At this level, that passed her with flying colors. I wasn't exactly the smoothest, but compared to her, I was graceful! She knew the kicks and punches, and could recite the five precepts of Shōtōkan karate, and Sensei Jim presented her with her yellow belt. We lined up and bowed, and then class was over.

"Congrats, Babe!" I said, then excused myself to talk to Sensei Jim.

"Melody is ready to move to the main class," I said. "She's starting to be held back by the others. I think Will should move as well, because that will boost his attitude even more."

"And the others?"

"Not much change. If I could get Jacquelyn to talk to me, I might be able to help her, but I'm not having much luck."

"Actually, I see her standing in the lobby. I think she might be waiting for you."

"Good. I'm pretty sure I know what's bothering her. I talked to Kara about it, and Jacquelyn reminds us of a girl we knew back in High School who was an outcast and who was treated badly by the other girls and ignored by the guys. It kind of fits, though obviously we can't be completely sure unless she tells us."

"She wouldn't be the first overweight teenager to be shunned by her classmates."

"That's kind of what clued me in. She did say that her doctor told her mom that she needed exercise, and that's why they make her come here."

"Do you know if she's following a diet?"

"I would assume so. Well, I would assume that her doctor advised one. But I'll have to ask if she follows one."

"I'm curious, what diet do you follow?"

"It's varied. I eat lots of salads and vegetables along with the usual beef, chicken, fish, and pork. I watch how much soda I drink and I'm not big on snacks, except when we go to the movies. I don't eat much candy or sweets except on special occasions."

"With the exercise you get, that's not a concern now. But when you get older, you'll need to be more careful."

I nodded, "Doctor Barton, a friend of mine who's Head of Emergency Medicine at UofC, made that point, especially about sugar. And not just refined sugar, but carbohydrates in general, because they're starting to see a spike in diabetes."

"You don't drink beer?"

"No, bourbon is my poison, and wine with dinner."

"My doctor had me cut back on the beer. So many empty calories. That was my pop, so to speak. Now I drink lots of tea."

"Me too, though I drink coffee as well."

"Well, go see what she wants and do your best to encourage her."

"Yes, Sensei!" I said.

I walked out and wasn't surprised when Jacquelyn asked to talk to me. I asked her to wait a minute, and then let Jessica and Stephanie know that they should head home and I'd see them there. I got a kiss from Jessica as they left, and I took Jacquelyn over to the benches and we sat down.

"Were you serious about what you said?" she asked. "About being my friend?"

"Yes, of course! That's something that Sensei Jim encourages in the dojo. We're a loose-knit family and we should all be friends. But I'm not doing it because I have to. I'm doing it because I want to. You seem like a really nice girl."

She laughed ruefully, "Yeah, right."

"Are you having trouble in school?" I asked.

"It stinks. We moved here from Pittsburgh three years ago. I didn't have any friends here and nobody wanted to talk to me. I had lots of friends back home, but none here."

"Have you tried to get involved in stuff at school?"

"I'm not an athlete, obviously, I don't play an instrument, I don't sing, I don't like acting, and I'm just an average student."

"What do you do besides go to school and come to karate?"

"Homework. Listen to music. Take care of my cats. I read a lot."

I had a question that I needed to ask, but I had no idea how to do it delicately, so I'd just ask it straight up. I was pretty sure of the answer, but I had to ask.

"Did you gain the weight after you moved here?" I asked.

"Ten pounds the first six months and another twenty-five since then. I used to ride my bike back home, but we lived in a small suburb. It's hard to ride here."

"You could ride in Washington Park or Jackson Park," I said. "Have you been there?"

"No. It's not the same without my friends."

"Does your doctor have you on a diet?" I asked.

"It sucks! I have to eat stuff I don't like."

"And so you cheat, right?"

She nodded, "Candy, chips, pop. My mom and dad both work so I can get away with it."

"Where do they work?" I asked.

"My dad is a bricklayer, so he works wherever the union sends him. My mom works as an administrator at the Museum of Science and Industry. She does fund-raising campaigns, mostly."

"Do you get any exercise besides karate?" I asked.

"No."

"Jacquelyn, do you want to lose weight and get in shape?"

"Why? It won't change anything. Nobody likes me. They all think I'm a freak. I asked a guy who I kind of knew to go to a turnabout dance, you know, where the girl asks the guy? He told me he'd rather stay home than go with a fat pig!"

Now there was a guy I'd like to have in the dojo for twenty minutes. As a sparring partner. Without protective gear. Anyone with that little respect for another person needed to be put down like a rabid dog. The sad part was that I'd seen it before, time and again. People didn't realize just how much damage they did to others with comments like that.

"Trust me, you wouldn't want to go out with a guy like that! You seem like a really nice person and deserve better than that! So forget him for the moment. For now, let me be your friend, and let me help you get into shape and learn karate in the process."

"You would do that?"

"Sure. What time do you usually get up in the mornings for school?"

"About 6:00am. Why?"

"I'm up at 3:00am because I make breakfast for Jessica and walk her to work. You need exercise every day, so how about if we meet at 5:00am and run together. I used to run a lot, but I stopped when I started coming to karate every day."

"Run? Me? How?"

"We'll start slow. Ask your parents if it's OK."

"But 5:00am? During the Summer?"

"It's up to you. I'm offering what I can."

"Can I think about it?" she asked.

"Yes, and talk to your mom and dad, or your doctor, or both. But listen to me, please. I'm sure that inside you there's a sweet, beautiful young woman just waiting to burst out. A young woman that people will want to be friends with and nice guys will want to go out with."

"Nobody wants to date a freak!" she said.

"You aren't a freak, and trust me, I think they will. If I were a lot younger, I'd ask you out!"

"Yeah, right!" she laughed. "It's safe for you to say that because you could never do it!"

"I'll tell you what," I said. "You work hard at karate, run with me, and when you reach your weight loss goal, I'll take you on a date."

"But you're married!" she said.

"That doesn't mean I can't take you on a date. Dinner and a movie. Jessica won't be upset about it."

"I have to lose thirty pounds?"

"I think you can do it. But you have to work hard. Will you try?"

She was silent for a moment, "Sure. If I get to pick the movie!"

I chuckled, "Deal!"

We were the last two to leave the dojo, so I locked up and we walked down the street until she turned south and I turned north. I walked home quickly and got a shower, then joined the girls at lunch.

"Jess, I'm curious, could there be medical reasons someone gained a lot of weight?"

"Sure, plenty, why?" she asked.

"I'm going to try to help Jacquelyn get into shape, and I honestly think it's just the fact that she's sedentary and doesn't eat right, but I wondered if maybe her doctor missed something."

"Tell me what you know."

I described what Jacquelyn had told me about moving and lack of friends and the diet that they had put her on, along with the prescription to exercise.

"Now you know I can't diagnose anything, and her doctor would be in a much better position, but it sure sounds psychological to me. What I would suggest is that she sees an internist, not a pediatrician. She should also see a gynecologist and a nutritionist. There are plenty of diet options and someone who has proper training can help her find one that she likes. I bet her doctor simply said low fat, low calorie, lots of vegetables, you know, the usual thing. The other thing to consider is that as her exercise level goes up, her diet isn't going to matter nearly as much. She should cut out those soft drinks and chips and candy. I'm no expert in adolescent physiology, but the general precepts apply."

"My brother IS an expert in adolescent physiology!" Stephanie said, laughing hard.

"Watch it, Squirt!" I warned playfully.

"She does have a point," Kara smirked.

"Whatever!" I chuckled. "I'll see if I can talk to her mom, or have Sensei Jim do it. Kara, would you be willing to take her shopping to find some clothes that complement her?"

Kara smiled, "Tracey Jones and Julia Simmons?"

"Similar. I did promise Jacquelyn that if she lost thirty pounds by diet and exercise, I'd take her on a date. And before you let your imagination run away, I specifically said 'dinner and a movie'."

My sister laughed, "Uh-huh!"

I ignored her.

"My plan is to get her to jog in the mornings before school," I said to Jessica. "I drop you at the hospital at 4:00am, so I suggested 5:00am to her. That would give her an hour before she normally started getting ready for school."