SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – We call them “Madad,” my siblings and I: So inseparable, not to say indistinct, have my parents become during 66 years of marriage.
When they call it's a twofer, dueling voices on separate extensions cheerfully greeting the new arrival on the line. But they don't call often.
Depression babies, I suspect they have never completely let go of the long-distance toll charge. So when I recently picked up a buzzing phone to see “Jack & Shirley O'Connor,” my stomach dropped.
As I explained in a text to my sisters and brother: “Disconcerting: Unexpected call from Madad.” “Frightening: Unexpected call from Madad during pandemic.” “Heart-stopping: Unexpected call from Madad during pandemic in which the first thing Dad says is,