February 18, 2010

The Story Of The Stanford Jacket...Our family has a running story about a jacket at Stanford Hospital. Three years ago when Dad had his surgery for esophageal cancer, we would walk past this jacket hanging near the entrance of the hospital. I remember the first time I saw it there, I thought to myself, "Wow that is such a nice jacket and someone has forgotten it." As the days passed and turned to weeks, I wondered how someone could forget this jacket since I knew leather jackets were expensive. I talked with my Mom about it and she too couldn't believe that the jacket was still hanging there and that someone hadn't stolen it by now. I thought of telling someone to take it to the lost and found, but I guess that it just wasn't that important to me by the end of Dad's two week stay. When we returned to Stanford this time, three years later, there it was again. I couldn't believe it! How could that jacket still be here 3 years later!!! People are just too human to leave it hanging there and I would have thought someone would have stolen it by now! So that day, I mentioned it to my Mom. She laughed and said she thought the exact same thing when she too saw the jacket still hanging there. She kept laughing and I asked her what was so funny? She told me that the jacket is a sculpture...a piece of art. I said there was no way. It looks so real! The next day when I returned to Stanford, I immediately approached the jacket. Sure enough...it isn't a jacket, but artwork! I remember thinking, "Am I the only idiot that thought this jacket was real?" I'm sure any of you who have spent time at this hospital are familiar with "The Jacket". This jacket is a symbol for me. When we took Dad home three years ago, we were so excited we couldn't think of anything or anyone else. But, like this jacket, others remained in the hospital, some to eventually return to their homes and others to their etermal homes in heaven. I often wonder what the artist was thinking when they hung this art. I look at it and try to stay focused on getting Dad home, unlike this jacket which will forever remain a fixture at Stanford Hospital. It helps me to remember that things are not always what they appear to be and perhaps that was the idea the artist had when he hung it up on a coat rack for all to admire. Life isn't always what it appears to be either and I hold onto each day in the hope that tomorrow will be a better day.