Mark's Pages

April 19, 2012:

Woman with oxygen gushes, delighted: "This is cool!"

My neighbor on the train. Carries oxygen in a thin backpack slung over one shoulder, clear tube held in place just below each nostril. She wears a waterproof wilderness parka, hiking boots, tights, and her oxygen tank.

Sparkling enthusiasm. Says to her husband, "Did you hear me giggling when we rode those ATVs!" They're on adventure holiday. She's in love, absolutely in love, with each and absolutely every moment.

It's a treat for their seventh anniversary. Another couple celebrates their 40th. "I don't know if we'll live that long," Mrs. Oxygen says, shaking her head wistfully. "I gotta thing," she says. "It's a helluva thing," her husband adds.

Later as we pass through a beautiful rocky gorge with waterfalls on the left: "It's all that you can process in one day, you know? It's all so amazing."