His Number One Fan

If there's one thing I've learned from my mom, it's that we should seize the day, because tomorrow isn't a guarantee.

I hope she gets to see Hozier before dialysis.

My mother loves Hozier. It's almost unhealthy, the level of dedication she has to him. Stephen King once wrote a book about a number one fan, and while I don't think my mother is in any danger of hobbling the poor Irishman, I do think that if she were closer to his age she might debase herself on his tour bus.

I'm happy for her, really. It used to be that I'd call and she'd launch into some story about a friend-who-fell-away-but-resurfaced in her life. The most dramatic one was the pretty lady I remember coming over to study college classes with mom; she was good looking, but god, she was kinda mean. I was a little kid, maybe six, and that lady was such a sarcastic ass. But I sorta liked her anyway, because I was an asshole right back. Anyway, that lady popped back up in my mother's life a few years ago (whoa. Doing the math, it was actually a decade ago.) Anyway. She was always drama. Way too much.

I'm glad mom discovered Hozier.

It wasn't that long ago that she spent a week in Manhattan to catch a couple of his shows. I think it was right before pandemic lockdown, maybe. Over Thanksgiving break? Hell, I can't recall. Maybe it was last year. Time is a fuzzy thing sometimes.

Here's what I do remember. In our most recent conversation, mom mentioned several meds she's taking. I looked them up.

A few years ago, she had surgery and as a bonus she grabbed an infection that required some serious antibiotics that absolutely wrecked her kidneys. So, they're shot to hell. She has managed to make it this far without dialysis, but based on our conversation last night, it's just over the horizon.

Her mother died several decades ago, and my mom has already outlived her by five years, and I know that clock is weighing on her mind.

I started harassing mom to get her passport squared away at Christmas last year.

She reported last night that it is now in the hands of the State Department....10 months after I began my campaign to get that shit handled.

I hope it's not too late.

I'm believe he will announce more European tour dates soon, but I can't even buy her plane tickets until she has a passport ready to go.

My stepdad has kept his up to date and prepared for travel, so he'll be good when the time comes.

I need those kidneys to hold together so she'll be healthy enough to go.

I want to send her to see Hozier in Ireland before dialysis, but if I'm being honest, what I'm really saying is I hope she gets to see him in concert before she's gone.