Over lunch stories were told of mom’s past visits to her hometown. One of them stood heads and shoulders above the rest.
My mother had returned to Locri in the late sixties prior to meeting my father with my cousin Joe (a real cousin) as her travel companion. At some point during their stay, Joe took ill and became extremely feverish; so feverish that convulsions set in. While waiting for the ambulance, Mom stopped Joe from biting his tongue and brought down his fever with a cool bath. By the time the ambulance arrived, Joe’s convulsions had stopped and he looked much better. Mom insisted that they still go to the hospital, but on the way there the driver told my mother that he had to make a small detour to pick up his mother-in-law (suocera) and give her a ride. “Absolutely not” was mom’s response. The driver told mom not to worry, Joe was looking better and would probably be alright; besides, picking up his mother-in-law would only take a few minutes. Motherly instincts kicked in (mom is a mother to the whole family) and the ambulance driver was likely threatened with loss of life.
Long story short, the ambulance proceeded directly to the hospital, Joe survived. I don’t know if the mother-in-law made to her appointment.
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