Adventure 448: The Story of George, 25

February 15, 2018

Real time found George up and at it by the time we got to Harvard Park at 7:40 A.M. He was dressed well, appeared calm, and was able to hold a conversation. He took his pills out of the daily box, put them on the desk, and walked off without taking them. Judy brought them to him. We talked about his hip and told him Leticia would come today to give him a massage. She'll try to release some of the pressure along his right leg. If George keeps this up, his daily life will be too boring to report on. We'll see.

George came from a interesting distribution of siblings. He had one sister, the oldest child-Betty. Then came Bob, Rich, George Jr., Roger, and Jim in the typical stair step fashion of Catholic families in those years. Dad was especially close to Richard, who if you can believe it was bolder and wilder than George. One of the great absences in my life is any connection with my cousins on my Dad's side. I've seen some of them over the years, but I have no real connection with any of them, which is polar opposite to my Mom's side, although it's fair to say that I've not had contact with any of my cousins on my Mom's side except for Barbara's kids, and that is mostly because we lived together during our formative years. Like most extended families, I suppose, I have vignettes of memories that include cousins from both sides. For example, I can remember clearly the time I spent with Bob's kids up at the ranch in Craigmont, Idaho. I can also remember a few close moments with Barry who is my mother's sister Diane's oldest son. So really, when I think about it, I've just scattered memories concerning my blood relations. That aside, I do have a clear understanding of how my grandmother ran her home. Tom and I lived with my grandparents for two full years. We cleaned, weeded, scrubbed, and rubbed just about anything grandma told us to. She took no guff and no prisoners. But she was fun, too. She loved playing the piano, and all  of her boys could sing like meadowlarks. She had her own Idaho quintet. My point is, I don't know very many specifics of George's early years, but I can make a pretty good guess that grandma and grandpa raised their crew to be good, hardworking citizens.

 Dad and Judy exchanging some "spuut" (Geman for trash talk, I think.)

 Back row: Roger, George Jr. Richard
Middle row: Jim, Bob
Front row: Rosa, George Sr., Betty

My siblings before the split: Judy, Sandy, Tom, Tim