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Life Interrupted

February 7, 2013 By Talya Tate Boerner

Today I expected to wake in San Diego. I planned to hike Torrey Pines National Park with the Pacific Ocean to my west and the rest of life to my east. 
Instead, life interrupted. 

Instead I woke in our Fayetteville cottage to the chorus of birds chirping and chattering. I can’t imagine San Diego birds have anything on  Fayetteville birds.
So there is no view of the ocean, but Mt. Sequoyah towers in the distance, the sun filters through the  bare trees rising over the mountaintop cross. 
Instead of lunch yesterday at a secluded oceanside romantic La Jolla cafe, we dined in Eufaula, Oklahoma.
At I Smell Bacon. 
Next door to I Smell Gas.
Lake Eufaula was concealed just to the west over the treetops, a bit murky this time of year, the winter water churning and turning, preparing for spring, preparing new life.
I had a Chef Salad with turkey, cheddar, iceberg lettuce, one boiled egg and French dressing shot straight from a red ketchup bottle. Bland and boring, I could barely taste it. Somehow it filled a hollow space inside me.
John had bacon.
My father-in-law has pneumonia. He was agitated and disoriented and struggled late into the night trying to get out of bed, trying to pull various tubes from his body, trying to get something to eat. He would have loved I Smell Bacon.
Life interrupted.
talya
Musical Pairing:
Prayer for the Dying, Seal

Filed Under: Family, Life Tagged With: Fayetteville

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Comments

  1. Colene says

    February 7, 2013 at 7:51 am

    ๐Ÿ™

  2. Linda Nash Dickinson says

    February 7, 2013 at 11:33 am

    I am so sorry!

  3. Anonymous says

    February 7, 2013 at 3:16 pm

    I’m purty sure that that is the only life there is, Interrupted I say!

  4. TimH says

    February 7, 2013 at 4:55 pm

    I love bacon, so the “I Smell Bacon” doesn’t sound like a totally total loss. I can only imagine what they serve at “I Smell Gas,” and I’m sure it goes well with cornbread!…haha. Anyhow, I am sorry that you’re not hiking in California, but for now, your father in-law needs you and your husband, so kudos to you and John for postponing the San Diego trip. Good deeds such as this come back around, so expect a blessing from this act of love and respect sometime in the future.=)

    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      February 8, 2013 at 5:24 am

      I Smell Gas is a gas station:)

    • TimH says

      February 9, 2013 at 7:51 am

      HAHA!!! Whew! That’s a relief!…and no pun intended!=)

  5. Patricia A. Laster says

    February 8, 2013 at 6:25 am

    Once again, blessings on you all.

  6. Dorothy Latimer Johnson says

    February 8, 2013 at 8:03 am

    I’m sorry your father-in-law is ill. It is so disorienting at his age. Prayers for all of you!

    Sometimes the interruptions hold wonderful surprises, sometimes it just means doing the right thing for those you. You and John are on a difficult journey with his dad, but you’re are handling well. Love the picture!


Hi! I'm Talya Tate Boerner. Writer, Reader, Arkansas Master Naturalist / Master Gardener, Author of

THE ACCIDENTAL SALVATION OF GRACIE LEE (2016)

GENE, EVERYWHERE: a life-changing visit from my father-in-law (2020)

BERNICE RUNS AWAY (2022)

THE THIRD ACT OF THEO GRUENE (coming 2025)

Recent Ramblings:

  • Sunday Letter: May 4, 2025
  • Sunday Letter: Rainy Day Edition
  • Spiderwort: my love-hate relationship
  • Sunday Letter: March 23, 2025
  • Sunday Letter: March 16, 2025

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