Sunshine Hiding Darkness

I fell in love with Miami as soon as I moved here. I had a friend back in freshman year named Peter, who was a hard boiled Irish kid from Queens. Peter wrote for the Hurricane, and, last I heard, was a PR director for the James Brady Foundation. He was smart and funny, and had a young journalist's dyspepsia. I remember walking around Lake Osceola with him, pointing out the palm trees and tropical birds, and remarking how lucky we were to live in the Tropics. He had none of it. "It's a plastic paradise, Dave -- that's all it is." And then "Guys like me, from Queens, always need to be a little unhappy, and on edge. The world sucks. I know that. And seeing bright sunshine with tropical breezes just doesn't go with who I am." I thought of him this week. The weather has been almost surrealistically gorgeous. We've been treated to a mid March cool spell, with brilliant sunshine. And yet, over at Miami Jewish, my ancient Mom and Wifey's father are sad, weak, and miserable. I saw Mom 3 times the week before, and told myself I needed a break. But Wednesday I had a breakfast meeting before one in the office, and I drove over for a quick hello. She was in bed, at 10 am, and clear speaking, mostly. She still can't remember she has just 3 kids...And she was morose -- saying she's just existing, not living. I tried to cheer her by reminding her that her 93rd birthday was coming soon, and that we would celebrate Passover with her outside in the lovely gazebo. But she just stared off into the distance. Wifey visited her father later on, and when we met at night, we shared tales of sadness. His Alzheimer's isn't progressed far enough for him to have no appreciation of his surroundings. He laid a heavy guilt dose on Wifey -- asking why he had to be in the home, and wondering if the Ds "would put you there someday." Wifey tried to remind him that his final months at home were awful. He rarely left his bed, and peed all over. My mother in law can't care for him, and, truth is, she is relieved to have him in a long term facility. So lately, it would seem better if we lived somewhere overcast, and cold, and gray. The things sadden us, and the weather is too much in contrast...