MAINE OR BUST.

Hey! So, we’re leaving tomorrow!

Leaving New Hampshire. Headed for Maine. Supposedly. We’re assuming. You never know though. It can actually be difficult to escape from institutions when one’s been confined to their walls for nine months of rehabilitation and labyrinthine insurance bureaucracy is involved.

But let’s assume all goes as planned and we wave goodbye to Crotched Mountain, then Donna, Gabe, and I cross the border to the long-awaited goal of HOME.

Er…eh…or something close to it. About 20 minutes away. The goal was to bring Gabe straight home from Crotched Mountain, but navigating the spindly thorns of insurance has proved difficult to get all the tools needed for the home. Like the right bed. And a good shower chair. Really basic things he needs for adaptive living. As a result, Gabe will spend a week or two at Brewer Rehab in the Winterport/Bangor area while Donna and I tie up these loose ends. Gabe is very understanding of these issues and agrees its for the best so we’re not scrambling and ending up with the wrong items–like a bed meant for a 5’10 tall gentleman instead of one who’s 6’5! Gabe’s unexpected waylay will be a benefit in more ways than one however–it will give us–Donna, Mike, and I–time to settle into living together, and with Summer’s help, set everything up for a grand homecoming for Gabe.

Ok, with that, here are some entertaining pictures of The Dude:

1) Hand cycling,

2) Nomming a bagel (New York here we come!)

3) Nomming pizza (We’re really serious, New York!)

4) Shaving off the ‘stache. Using trimmer on electric razor.

Funny story about the ‘stache: Gabe has rocked it exactly 3 months to the day he decided to came off. Ian of Icarus Frames and Dan Flannery visited one evening back in Boston and commented on Gabe’s monumental beard growth. Their encouragement to shave it down to the upper lip sparked Fajita’s ‘stache to stick around just long enough for his dad to see it in person; then long enough for the Daytona 500; then just long enough til he could shave it himself. That day was last night. I’m pretty sure it could have come a lot sooner, but to his credit D and I hadn’t really encouraged him until now. So there you go. His moustache could be bested by none but Snidely Whiplash.

Also in the news, Gabe has said some absolutely hilarious things in real voice lately. It’s the #1 thing he wants next in his recovery, so we’re encouraging him as much as we can this last week. There are many exercises and strategies, and he picks up speed like a stone on the roll when he gets going. “Cept the other night when I requested voice-check prior to bed and he replied, “Have mercy.” He had a smile on the corner of his mouth with that one. My sis gifted him an Ugly Doll, and yesterday with Donna he named it “Eh, Steve!” Some may remember that this is a long-time Gabe quote. And he had an excellent retort for anyone who dare insult his mother. These are only a few examples of more to come.

And there you have it. A coupla stories, a coupla pictures, and the knowledge that we’re fiending for Maine so bad we may end up in a hotel room in Portland tomorrow night just to hit the border.