Better Than The Best

After what feels like a long absence, I have found my way back home to NYC. The Ohio trip was nothing short of amazing. Amazing because of how much has changed in West Chester since I was in high school. Amazing because even though it was just a week, I missed Gretchen quite a bit. Amazing because of friendships that are one in a million -- like what I have with the members of Quad One.

We had an unexpected detour on the bachelor road trip (I am not permitted to refer to the trip or any subsequent trip as a "palooza"). In the heart of Amish country, after we had all settled down to a nice Friday lunch at a restaurant where they serve broasted chicken and rolls with peanut butter whip, Lee began experiencing severe abdominal pain. We soon had to rush him to the Wooster hospital, allegedly one of the busiest in the state. It was soon determined that he was suffering from a bowel obstruction similar to the one that forced him to have a major emergency surgery last summer. We were all very worried about the situation.

Jeremy, Bryan and I sat in the waiting room -- making phone calls to family members to make them aware of what was going on, amending the weekend plans, and reading the yellow pages and using iPhones to determine what our local dinner and hotel options were, in case we would have to spend the night in Wooster. (Did you know that you can find fine Italian cuisine at a local place called "El Rancho Grande."?) Dan, the in-house doctor of the Quad, helped the local physicians at every stage of the crisis, especially helping them understand Lee's prior surgical history.

Fortunately, Lee's condition improved and we were able to get him transferred to Columbus, where he had an overnight stay and was released late Saturday afternoon. We were all relieved and thankful that he did not have to have another surgery. When the emergency was unfolding, I was not sure whether I would have to say goodbye to Lee at the hospital on my way to the airport on Monday. This was something I hoped to avoid at all costs. To have him back with us by mid-weekend was a genuine blessing. We all came out of the experience with a sense of what is really important in this "short visit" that life gives us.

Dave Matthews was right. Turns out not where, but who you're with that really matters.