Chapter 28: A Tornado, a Baseball Game, and a Visit to Ohio

August 22, 1990, Chicago, Illinois

“Well, I’d say we’re going to war for sure,” I sighed.

President Bush had announced he was calling up reservists and activating some National Guard units. The expense to the government and the potential disruption of the economy meant that would only happen if Bush were already planning for combat operations. Kara had just arrived home from teaching her evening class and joined us in the great room.

“Did you hear from Aimee?” Kara asked.

“Yes. They’re on heightened readiness, but they’re still in Japan. The carriers Eisenhower and Independence are already in the Middle East, and the newspaper said that the battleships Missouri and Wisconsin are on their way there as well, if they haven’t already arrived.”

“What about our friends at Great Lakes?”

“Howard is going TDY to Norfolk tomorrow to help coördinate sending equipment and supplies to the Middle East. Jeri told me that today at lunch. The rest of them are all staying put, at least for the moment.”

“TDY?” Lauren asked.

She was cuddled with Katy on the loveseat. They’d been hanging out more with us for the past week, and Lauren looked much happier.

“Temporary Duty,” I said. “Basically a short-term assignment. He’ll be back to Great Lakes as soon as this tour is over. He’s a logistics wizard, so I’d guess once they get all the ships underway, he’ll come back to Illinois.”

“That sucks for Jeri,” Katy said.

“She talked about flying out to Norfolk to see him some weekends,” I said.

“You don’t think he might be sent to Saudi Arabia?” Jessica asked.

“It’s possible,” I allowed. “Let’s just hope he stays Stateside. Aimee, on the other hand, is on a command ship based in Japan, and they could easily head for the Persian Gulf.”

“Whatever happened to your friend from Milford who played football for the Naval Academy?” Elyse asked.

“Napoleon McCallum? He resigned his commission, and he’ll be playing for the Oakland Raiders this year. But I haven’t heard from him since we graduated from High School. Aimee met him when she went on her campus visit to Annapolis and said ‘hello’ for me, but that’s the last contact I had, and that wasn’t even direct.”

“Before I forget,” Jessica said, “What are you doing about the Rap Sessions? We’ll be gone over Labor Day, and that’s the first Sunday.”

“We’ll start on the third Sunday in September. Jolene and Stephanie have been recruiting students from UofC. I talked to a couple of kids from IIT who joined us last year, and they’re going to invite some Freshmen to join us.”

“Jessica, I heard you finally got to assist with a surgery yesterday,” Katy said.

“I was in ‘scut hell’ for ten weeks. In a sense, it was my own fault because that’s where I had my problems before I went to Maine. Screaming at the Chief Surgical Resident probably didn’t do much for my reputation in the department.”

“All of that is in the past now,” I said. “I hear you’re the best young doctor at UofC Hospital!”

“I do believe Doctor Barton might be biased,” Jessica said with a small laugh.

“There’s no question that he wants his hand-picked student to succeed, but he did pick you.”

“True. It’s just hard to forget how badly I messed up.”

“That’s how we learn our hardest lessons,” I said.

August 28, 1990, Chicago, Illinois

I had just walked in the door with Jessica when Abbie called out that we should come to the great room. She had the TV on, and WMAQ had some kind of ‘News Flash’ running.

“What happened? War?”

“No, a massive tornado out in the far western suburbs. Some places called Oswego and Plainfield. There’s a woman on the phone to the newsroom saying that the High School was destroyed.”

“I better call the hospital,” Jessica said. “We could get some ‘Flight for Life’ patients if there are that many injuries.”

She went to my study to make the call.

“How long ago?” I asked.

“About forty minutes, I guess. Wouldn’t High School have been out?”

“Probably,” I said. “But there’s always afterschool stuff. It’s football season and probably volleyball and other stuff.”

Jessica came back and told us that the hospital was on alert, but that so far no patients were coming in. She said she’d call back in twenty minutes or so. The news coverage continued and showed ever-increasing amounts of devastation. The High School, an elementary school, a Catholic church and school, and several subdivisions had been hit hard and, in some cases, destroyed. There were reports of deaths, but nobody had even a remote idea of the number of casualties, and the first responders had only been on the scenes for a few minutes in some cases.

When Jessica called the hospital later, they said only one ‘Flight for Life’ flight had been called, and it had taken a child to Loyola. They were still on alert but didn’t expect any patients, given how much time had passed. I left to make dinner, and then after dinner, we watched the news as the count of dead and injured climbed, and the property damage estimates soared.

The tornado was classified as ‘F5’ — the strongest possible on the ‘Fujita’ scale. It had been one of at least a score of tornadoes in the Midwest, New York, and Ontario, Canada. The other tornadoes had done relatively small amounts of damage, and there were no reports of fatalities. When we finally went to bed, the death toll was already at twenty, and the number of non-fatal injuries was estimated to be at least 250. It reminded me of the April 1974 tornado that had wiped out Xenia, Ohio, and had been part of the ‘Super Outbreak’ when over 140 tornadoes were spawned in a twenty-four-hour period.

One other news item managed to creep in — Guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughn had died when the helicopter in which he was traveling crashed on the side of a ski hill at Alpine Valley Resort in East Troy, Wisconsin, early on Monday morning. They had been on their way back to Chicago, and the wreckage hadn’t been found for nearly six hours despite being only a few hundred yards from where the helicopter had taken off.

August 30, 1990, Chicago, Illinois

“Is everyone ready?” I asked.

“Yes! Let’s head for the L,” Elyse said.

We were on our way to Wrigley Field to watch the Reds take on the Cubs. The Reds had a record of 75–54 and were easily in first place in the Western Division of the National League. At this point, it seemed very likely that they would go ‘wire-to-wire’ in first place. The only question now was whether or not they could go all the way.

“Fourteen years later, finally!” Elyse said as we got off the L near the ballpark.

“It looks good, but there’s still a ways to go. We have to win the NLCS before we get to the World Series.”

“Don’t you think they’ll do it?”

“I think they have a very good shot, but this team isn’t nearly as dominant as the ‘75 and ‘76 Reds, and remember what happened in the ‘75 World Series. I think the Reds were saved by the ‘Curse of the Bambino’.”

“Well, the ‘Curse of the Billy Goat’ is keeping the Cubs from going anywhere,” Terry laughed. “They haven’t won anything since 1908!”

“The White Sox aren’t much better,” I said. “They had their run in 1983 with the whole ‘Winning Ugly’ team, but the thing that was really ugly was getting knocked out in the ALCS by Baltimore three games to one.”

“Don’t remind me,” he groaned. “The last time they won the World Series was 1917!”

“That was the year my dad was born,” I said. “Though who knows what would have happened in 1919 if the White Sox hadn’t thrown the Series to the Reds.”

“So we have the ‘Curse of the Black Sox’, too,” he sighed. “And they’re tearing down that old ballpark after this season. I hate the new ‘cookie-cutter’ ballparks.”

“Me, too,” I said. “I think Crosley Field had WAY more character than Riverfront Stadium. I love Fenway, Chavez-Ravine, and Wrigley. Though it appears that at least from the outside, the new Sox stadium will have a bit of architectural character.”

We presented our tickets, and before finding our seats, we went to a concession stand to buy Jesse a new Cincinnati Reds hat because the one he’d received as a baby no longer fit, even with the strap on the furthest post. That made him very happy because now he was wearing a hat just like ‘Dada’.

“Good seats, Boss, considering you had to trade for them.”

“Thanks, Terry. They’re a bit higher up and a short way into the outfield instead of behind third base, but I agree.”

The Cubs scored first in the game, getting a run in the second off Danny Jackson, but then the Reds exploded for 6 runs in the top of the fifth. The Cubs came right back with three in the bottom of the fifth. That led to Lou Piniella pulling Danny Jackson for a pinch hitter. Rob Dibble and Randy Meyers blanked the Cubs until Meyers gave up a solo home run to Ryne Sandberg with two outs in the ninth. It was too little, too late, and the Reds held on for a 6–5 victory.

“Damn, that was close,” Elyse said.

“Jackson didn’t have good stuff tonight,” I said. “But Meyers and Dibble were spot on, except for that errant pitch that Sandberg sent out in left field.”

“I can’t believe there were five triples in the game!” Terry said. “And one of them was your pitcher!”

“It was a pretty wild game,” I agreed. “11 runs is a lot, especially with only that solo homer.”

“Any chance you’ll go to a playoff or championship game?” Penny asked.

“Elyse was looking into it, but without season tickets, we’d have to buy on the open market, and that would cost an arm and a leg. I think I’ll have to settle for watching on TV.”

September 1, 1990, On the Road to Cincinnati

“You have to explain why you aren’t with your wives,” Abbie said.

“We all won’t fit in the minivan,” I answered. “It only holds seven, and there are twelve of us. Elyse wanted to bring her own car so that she didn’t have to depend on us to go visit her family. Jess and Kara like to ride together, and they have the kids.”

“Even when he’s with them, they sit in the back seat and hold hands,” Stephanie laughed.

“I know I’ve said it before, but you have some VERY odd relationships!”

“Says the girl who sleeps with my brother!” Stephanie laughed.

“Who said we sleep?” Abbie smirked.

Stephanie and I both laughed.

“You decided to go for the cute, conservative blonde look for the weekend?” Stephanie asked.

“I figured with seeing your mom, it was just easier. And honestly, I’m not sure that other look really fits me at this point.”

“Why is that?”

“Living with your brother, his girls, and his kids has given me a different perspective on life. And I’ve spent a lot of time talking with Trish about her dual life. She doesn’t dress goth much anymore because of law school and how often she has to hang out with people from school to study and stuff.”

“But you still go to the club on Friday night, right?”

“Yes. That’s why I have off Friday evenings instead of Thursdays.”

“What about your hair?”

“I switched to the theatrical dye that Trish uses and your brother and his wives used for Halloween last year.”

“Are you doing that to fit in?” my sister asked.

“No. It’s funny, but because there’s no pressure to conform, and everyone is so tolerant, I don’t feel the need to dress that way all the time. I think really I was just protesting all the stuff I didn’t like about my parents, my school, and my hometown.”

“It was that bad?”

“Squirt, think about OUR home life and our desire to escape. If I hadn’t gone to Sweden for a year and had help from Andreas, the Spencers, the Blocks, Ben van Hoek, and especially Don Joseph, who knows what I might have done. I’m guessing Abbie didn’t have many options.”

“No, I didn’t,” Abbie said. “There weren’t any adults I could go to. Once my parents caught me in bed with Aidan, I think they just wrote me off and didn’t seem to care anymore. They were more worried about their bed-and-breakfast than about me. In talking to everyone in the house, it seems like we all had some kind of problem with our parents, except maybe Elyse.”

“Elyse’s problems weren’t with her parents, but with an abusive boyfriend, she had before she met me. And Jennifer didn’t really have too much trouble with her parents; her issues were deeper, and unless she tells you, I can’t share.”

“But every girl here had some kind of serious issue growing up, right?”

“Yes. And I did as well. We’re all trying to get over it. Some of us just learn a lot slower than the others.”

“You?” Abbie asked.

I nodded, “You met me at a point where I had more or less made a big leap forward. Before that? I was a complete and total mess.”

“But you have a college degree, earned a black belt, and started a successful business!”

“And he was perhaps the dumbest of ‘dumb boys’ on the planet,” Stephanie added. “As his friend Katt used to say, he was a «jävla idiot»!”

“Which means?”

“‘Fucking idiot’, in Swedish,” I chuckled. “And she was right.”

“I haven’t met this girl.”

“No, nor most of my other Swedish friends. Or my Russian ones.”

“So what did it take to get you to where you are now?”

“Repeated beatings,” I chuckled. “By the girls, by life, by my sister, by some male friends.”

“You’ve handled what happened to your friend Nick pretty well.”

“I managed to hold it together,” I said. “That’s all I’ll take credit for.”

“You’re going to Ohio now, really, to see your friend and her son, right?”

“Yes. And Jesse and Matthew want to see their friend. But you know how Jesse feels from the letter he wrote with your help.”

“So what else are we doing in Ohio?”

“We’ll see Joyce and Jake and their two kids, visit Kent and Jennie Sanders and their kids, Colin and Chelsea. And we’ll go see my parents. I’ll go to Elyse’s to see her parents as well. And we’ll go see Paul and Nancy.”

“Wow! That’s a busy three days!”

“Now you see why I asked you to come along!”

“I do,” Abbie said. “What are you going to do, Stephanie?”

“Other than dinner with my parents tonight, I plan to spend the weekend with Ed.”

“Where are we going for dinner?” Abbie asked.

“A buffet near Donna Grossi’s house. With 6 kids aged a couple of months to four-and-a-half, plus eight adults, it’s the only reasonable thing to do. My parents will come by around 2:00pm to spend time with the grandkids, then after dinner, Elyse will head to Glen Este and drop Stephanie at Ed’s house. Tomorrow, we’ll take the kids to Bethany’s house for the afternoon, then you guys will go see Paul and Nancy with the kids, and I’ll take Bethany to dinner. On Monday morning, I’ll drive over to Elyse’s to get her and the boys and spend time with her parents, then we’ll all meet at Kent and Jennie’s house for lunch. We’ll head home late in the afternoon.”

“Wow! That is crazy!”

“It is!”

September 2, 1990, Colerain Township, Ohio

“Hi, Dad,” I said, shaking his hand.

“Grandpa!” Jesse squealed and nearly bowled my dad over.

“Careful, Jesse!” I said. “Grandpa had an operation on his legs!”

“Sorry, Grandpa,” Jesse said, sounding sad.

Matthew hurried over as well and got a hug. For the next couple of minutes, my dad was in a sea of grandchildren, all demanding attention. He did his best to talk to all of them, though it was difficult. My mom looked a bit sad, but honestly, she only had herself to blame for her relationship with my kids. Kara did walk over with Stephie in her arms and let my mom hold her. Birgit walked over and climbed onto a couch next to my mom.

“Steve?” Donna Grossi called.

“Yes?”

“The snacks and drinks are ready if you’d please come help get them.”

“Of course!” I said.

I followed her from the guest house to the main house and was greeted by Jake, Joyce, Joseph, and Amelia Tarrance.

“It’s my favorite bubblehead!” I chuckled.

“And my favorite landlubber!” Jake joked back.

“I’m surprised they cut you loose, given what’s going on!” I said.

“Once the boomers are out of the barn, there isn’t much to do. It’s not like we track them or talk to them or anything. You can imagine what happened when the threat level was raised.”

“Everything that could move sortied,” I said.

“Exactly,” he replied.

“My parents are with the kids. Let me grab the snacks, and we can head back.”

“I’ll help,” Jake offered.

We grabbed the trays and went to the guest house, adding two more rambunctious boys to the mix. That relieved my dad a bit when Matthew and Jesse went to say hi to their friends. Michael and Albert stayed with my dad, and that gave Joyce, Jake, Jessica, Elyse, and me a chance to chat.

“Six kids,” Jake shook his head. “That’s crazy!”

“Now you see why we need a nanny and why she came along on the trip! Have you decided what to do about your commission?”

“We’ve talked about it, but no decision yet. And until this whole thing with Iraq is settled, I’m staying in. It would be gutless to cut and run at the first sign of danger. I’d feel I was insulting Nick’s sacrifice.”

“Nick was murdered,” I said.

“He died in the line of duty,” Jake said fiercely. “DO NOT forget that. You saw him buried with full military honors.”

“Sorry. It’s just, well, never mind. Your point is well taken.”

“I know about you and Bethany and about how Jesse feels. I get it. But don’t dishonor his memory by ignoring the fact that he was in uniform, doing his duty trying to aid another officer when he died.”

I nodded, “I know.”

“Then remember that. And make sure that Nicholas knows it.”

“I will,” I said. “You have my word.”

“Good. How are things going otherwise?”

“Look around,” I chuckled.

“And you’re going to have another one?”

“I am,” Jessica said. “Probably next Fall.”

“And that’s it?” Joyce smirked.

“Seven is the perfect number,” I said. “Joyce, are you going to be able to come to California for the User Group meeting next month?”

“Yes. My sister and Anthony are going to take the kids because Jake will be at Kings Bay. I already talked to your travel agent, so it could be billed directly to the company. Elyse didn’t tell you?”

“No. But she doesn’t bother me with details like travel arrangements. Cindi would be the one to tell me you were attending. I have a meeting with her on Tuesday about the User Group.”

“Who all is going?”

“Cindi, Elyse, Julia, Jeri, and me from Chicago. The entire California team. And Mario. Dave chose to send Jeri instead of going himself.”

“You seem to be doing OK as CEO despite your protests to the contrary!” Joyce said with a grin.

“I’m just keeping the chair warm while my sister gets some ‘seasoning’, as my dad put it. But it’s not as bad as I feared.”