Adventure 445: The Story of George, Auld Lang Syne, 41

April 12, 2018

Real time finds George on the up tick. His health is improving; however, his memory is fading. He's 0-2 this past two days on pill check, and he wasn't really able to follow a conversation with the home health nurse yesterday about the process for keeping his catheter sterile. This is not new; it's the state of him now. He's still managing to bathe, feed, clothe, and ambulate himself around. He's been exceptionally active recently, going with Vina to the Civic Theater and participating in Meals on Wheels as a person who hands out meals. As for us, we're still battling (And trying to prepare) the issue of when to move him, how to free ourselves up, and what or if any of that looks reasonable. Unlike President Trump, we're tethered to the truth of our circumstance, and for what it's worth, it's all good.

Last weekend was remarkable for me. I acted on an e-mail I received out of the blue announcing a retirement party for a friend I haven't seen since 1970, and others in that group who I hadn't seen in twenty years promised to be there as well. So I went. All but two members of what we called in college "The Machine" were at the party. It was fun to close up the gaps of a lifetime, and it was especially fun to spend the night with Eric Lagassa and his wife Roxy. I also took the opportunity to see my siblings, since they live in the area as well, and to top it off, I dropped in on Coach Brown in Centralia, the town of my first teaching job. As he always does, he called around to see if any of the old crew was around, so I saw four fellows I taught with as well. I then drove home over White Pass, stopped for a world famous Miner Burger in Yakima and made it home without being stopped by the highway patrol, which isn't that easy considering the White Rocket loves highway cruising. Without any effort, the A6 will settle into a comfortable ninety. Since the accepted excess speed in our neck of the woods maxes out at seventy-seven, ninety can be problematic. I was so enthralled with the scenery, that it surprised me to see the speedometer inch up so often. All in all, it was a fun weekend, and once again made me realize that life is good, especially today.

 Brother David.

 Brother Tom

 Retirement boy, Randy Ryan with his youngest grandson.

 Machine member, Joe Blue.

 Machine member, Erik Stewart.

 Machine members minus, Edwards, Kirk, and Willis.

 Eric Lagassa, machine member, and biologist by trade, used to raise these exotic cats. This lady is his last. She runs free on the property.

 Eric and Roxy live as naturally as possible. They raise a variety of critters.

 For years, they've raised Angora goats.

They're starting to phase out the herd.

  Eric and Roxy's back deck.

 Coach Brown.

 Coach Burchett.

George's new shoes.