Mom and the rain

Oelwein to Waverly, Iowa Wednesday, July 7, 2021

Today was a sad day. My mother died 35 years ago today, of metastatic breast cancer, at the age of 58. Too young, and too soon to lose your mother. Funny to think that she was alive for less than half of my life. Martha Jane Reading was funny, brilliant, beautiful, and a real catch for my father. She accepted the life of a CIA wife, and all of the foreign travel that involved. Sarah and I were delivered at army hospitals in Germany. She started out in early education, having attended Western College for Women and the University of Ohio, and later became an aide to senators Mondale and Sarbanes. She raised three happy, successful children, and I remember her most as a comforting, nurturing presence, ever a safe harbor. I remember her spending hours sewing elaborate Halloween costumes for us, that would always take top prize at the school competition. She was a diehard fan of Jeopardy, back when it was hosted by Art Fleming, and I often think that competing against her on the couch (she would always win) is what sparked my intellectual curiosity.

Even though it meant separation from her many friends, she was game to try the life of living aboard a sailboat, fulfilling Dad’s lifelong dream. She took to it like a duck to water, delighting in the “happy hours” of yachts rafting together in Bahamas anchorages, and able to cook great meals in the galley, no matter how much the boat was tossing and turning. We called her “iron gut”, she never got seasick.

She suffered from bipolar disorder, and had two major psychotic breaks before being stabilized on lithium. The first was triggered by worry over Dad’s clandestine work in Berlin, after she was discharged from the hospital Dad was brought home, it was felt her instability could compromise the mission. Even at the end, dying of mets to the brain, she told me cancer was a piece of cake compared to mental illness.

Thunderstorms were predicted all day, and I dragged my feet leaving the motel, even considered “taking a zero”. When the forecast improved to just a steady drizzle, I decided to go for it, my progress through Iowa has been slow enough. Though it was warmer, I did not reprise my 60 mile “Rain Man” dash through Ohio, this time there was a mild headwind. I finally figured out how to complement my mapping software with the excellent Iowa Bike Map I’d picked up at Pikes Peak, and find a route with good shoulders and great bike paths. This left me free to play 60s ballads and think about my sweet Mom. Even the destination reminded me of her. She always loved the witty and sophisticated Mr. Waverly in The Man From U.N.C.L.E.

Distance 34 miles, 3,538 total. Time 4 hours with stops. Elevation gain 490 feet.

©️ 2021 Scott Luria