4 July 2014: Friday ... Independence Day ... Wimbledon semis for men ... World Cup quarters ... a lightning-bug lit ascent at Carousel ...

I should always attempt to write something, even if I'm unwilling, as I seem always to be at the end of the day and all I want to do is dull my senses in front of the tube, because something will come of it (the writing that is) and discipline has never been my forte, in fact, my debilitating and calamitous weakness throughout my working and academic life. When will I learn?

Today was overcast, initially, part of the remnants of Hurricane Arthur, which apparently showed its mettle on the NC coast and elsewhere to some degree (i.e., winds reached 100 mph, et al.) but here, no rainfall and mild winds, and by close of day and my early evening/dusk walk with Dancer, the sky was clear and a hemi-moon stood in the early night sky. 

Bryan Wilson, owner of Miller’s Waterfront restaurant, braves floodwaters to check the damage to his property as wind from the Hurricane Arthur pushes water to his parking lot in Nags Head on Friday, July 4, 2014. Arthur struck North Carolina as a Category 2 storm with winds of 100 mph late Thursday, taking about five hours to move across the far eastern part of the state. HYUNSOO LEO KIM — THE (NORFOLK, VA.) VIRGINIAN-PILOT VIA AP

Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2014/07/04/3984271/fast-moving-hurricane-arthur-pummeling.html#storylink=cpy

We watched tennis and I actually enjoyed a semi, where one of the old guard, the #1 seed Novak Djokovic, who I like but am tired of in the finals, all the time, played a great match with the unseasoned but up-and-coming Bulgarian with a name starting with "D" and 8 letters (No. 11 Grigor Dimitrov) like the famous Serb. But alas, it was not to be. Experience on centre court won out and Novak took two tie-breakers from the young upstart, but he will be heard from. The era of Big 4 is being challenged. And Federer, closing in on 33 and now with two sets of twins (his boys just born two months ago) will be the other finalist, the 35th time that Novak and Roger have met in tournament play.

On the World Cup soccer front, let's see if I can recall. Germany slid past France, 1-nil; and the match of the tournament, Brazil-Colombia, was a nailbiter with the host hanging on at the end after a penalty kick made it a one-goal lead. Unfortunately, Neymar, Brazil's soccer star is out with a serious injury -- he fractured a vertebrae on a hit, that I must admit and apologetically so, I thought he was faking. They always dramatize their falls and this looked similar but he is out of the tournament and hopefully he will be able to recover to play again. Thoughts of healing to the young, vibrant Brazilian futbol star.

Well, it will be Germany-Brazil in one semi on Tuesday and the other semifinalists are being decided today, Saturday.

15 June 2014: Sunday ... well of replenishment ... emptying our lives ... Father's Day for the fatherless ... Nick from Bonaroo & Jack White ... walk along Pike Creek CC o'ergrown paths ...

Arrived at Church this morning right at 10:30 a.m. only to find that the choir was performing. I walked back behind the piano and sat next to Gordon. Did not have my music but I sang and it went surprisingly well. We did a piece, center stage that was mostly a cappella that was stunning in its beauty. Greg had to comment afterward and I spoke to Esther Steffens, who was familiar and appreciative of the composer (who I was unfamiliar with) but the melody was simple and utterly gorgeous in its composition, much like the Linz Symphony (which is on an entirely different exalted plain), composed in 4 days by Mozart. But the wonders of music, whether in the town of Linz well over 200 years ago or in a small UU congregation in the Pike Creek Valley is amazing in its reach and its breadth and its ability to move people. Nick felt the same way about the performer pictured below, who he saw at Bonaroo just the other evening. He told me about it today in his Father's Day call with such compelling passion. He truly loves music and it is so good to see that in him, passed from my father to me and now to him. Three generations.  


Nick's favorite performer, Jack White and his band, who he heard at Bonaroo (Nick's 4th visit to the iconic music festival in Manchester, Tennessee), and called it the best performance he'd ever seen by an artist. Two-and-a-half hours of nonstop playing, a fantastic guitarist who has a jazz mentality and plays freely with his band members, who surround him.


Where have all the mowers gone? Well, Pike Creek Golf Club is closed and now its cart path
provides a stellar walking trail through a beautiful landscape and a gurgling Pike Creek.
— with Dancer in Pike Creek Valley, DE.
Dancer's backyard roommate (yard mate, back mate?) appears to be a "Gray Catbird". It's a lovely creature but I have yet to identify its distinctive "catty mew" vocal sound. Stay tuned ... really. 

Got calls from Nick, first, from Bonaroo, where he'll see Elton John tonight and leave for home tomorrow, and then Lindsay later in the afternoon. 

14 June 2014: Saturday ... afternoon workout on Expresso.net (9.5 miles in less than 35 minutes) ... Sarah from N. Georgia fitness employee ... walk into paradise w/Dancer at Bark Park ... Netherlands hoodie from Amazon and Lindsay ...

It's not W. Eugene Smith's kids walk into paradise but it's my canine
child's walk outside Bark Park and it works for me this early Saturday evening.



A Father's Day gift from Lindsay via Amazon express. She texted me to see whether I'd received it.

26 May 2014: Monday ... Memorial Day (a day made more meaningful by Rev. Greg Pelley's service yesterday) ... Loyd Dillon's father he never knew ... cookout at Katia's ... Dancer splits a screen door ... John H. Taylor, Jr. essay post

"Memorial Day. May 26, 2014. In memory of my father of whom I have no memory -- Loyd Dillon, Sr. who was killed in the Allied invasion of Sicily on August 1, 1943.Also, of course, in memory of all the others --the countless others--who were killed in combat." Loyd Dillon's post for today. 

She seems so innocent on the lovely porch of Katia's home before we had our Memorial Day meal grilled on her gas grill, but later, when Dancer saw her cat, Kitsune, in the yard, she darted and tore a hole in the screen door as she chased the cat. It happened while we were eating.  

11 May 2014: Sunday ... Mother's Day ... Flower Communion at Church ... relationship assumption w/Maggie ... Hispanic twins, uno mas nina a cinco ... Mom as artist ... joyful conversation (again) w/Eleanor ...

Mom created this painting/picture on the iPad with an app I downloaded. It is called "Foolproof" and indeed, you can't miss with it. After you load the picture -- this one of Dancer from the Wilmington Flower Market at Rockford Park yesterday at the performance venue as I sat eating lunch with Katia -- you just use your finger and stroke the image to completion. Took her a while to figure it was her favorite dog but she got it after a little bit and enjoyed the activity. Hopefully, she's doing the same with the second pic I downloaded from Facebook, the one of me petting Dancer along the Brandywine River taken by the women couple under the bridge on a rainy afternoon last month.  

17 March 2014: St. Patrick's Day ... Curt Oglesby's 58th birthday ... snowing, AGAIN! (about 3 inches) ... Jihed Khiary in Tunisia (new FB friend thanks to love of Mozart and Rubinstein on YouTube)

Jihed Khiary is on the left (she reminds me of Tina Fey) with two of her friends.
Such wonderful young people, perhaps all from Tunisia. 

Jihed Khiary shared a link.

J.S. Bach - motet BWV 227 - Tölzer Knabenchor - Gute Nacht

youtube.com

motet BWV - choral 9, motet 10, choral 11

Unlike ·  · Share · 35 minutes ago · 

• You and Mu'ath I. Lahlabat like this.
• 

  فاطمة الزهراء سالم chnowa l9alb 3al 9alb? 

  22 minutes ago · Like · 1
• 

  Rudy Nyhoff As befits the genius of JSB, this is an extremely difficult piece to sing and it's done remarkably well. Such a blend. Thanks for posting Jihed. 

  19 minutes ago · Like · 1
• 

  Jihed Khiary
  

  فاطمة الزهراء  Apparently so
  My pleasure, Rudy! It really is awe-inspiring...

  See Translation

  13 minutes ago · Unlike · 1
• 

  Rudy Nyhoff Your Arabic (what a beautiful language) is a little better than mine ... thank you for the translation ... Salaam Aleykoom (sic).

  9 minutes ago · Like · 1
• 

  Jihed Khiary 

  9 minutes ago · Unlike · 1

14 March 2014: Friday ... today is Pi Day ... the 333rd birthday of Georg Phillipp Telemann ... 2nd walk at Ashland under a big tree limb framed Dancer ... two workouts ... LizBeth aquatics instructor Body Combat challenger ...

Ashland Nature Center beech (?) frames Dancer on the muddy walk we took at the bucolic park this Friday afternoon. The snows are almost all gone on this Pi Day and the soil is moist along the Red Clay Creek. I still am not sure of the species of this tree even with the assistance of Toni French and Susan Louth. 

14 February 2014: Friday (Valentine's Day) ... Skeesha made it today as the temp warm and the snow melted (shoveled the walk again and by midday it was clear) ... Y workout ... meet young, friendly girl Madison who hugged me ...

An appropriate Facebook post for this Heart Day ... I googled "I Love You in many languages and came up with this website":
From "Ti amo" (Italian) to "nenu ninnu premisthunnanu" (Telugu, of course -- a Dravidian language predominantly spoken in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh and Yanam, where it's the official language), this is a neat web page with the written words anglicized for 35 tongues. 

http://www.wikihow.com/Write-%22I-Love-You%22-in-Different-Languages

A Facebook post regarding shoveling snow from yesterday's huge storm:

WHAT GOES AROUND, COMES AROUND:

I watched, yesterday afternoon, with some concern but with some inward laughs, too, as a pickup with a plow marauded around our neighborhood pummeling curbs and recently shoveled sidewalks with a cascade of wettish snow. My neighbor a few houses up, who I do not know, had a few choice words for the plower, which I will not share with my FB friends, complaining that the extra snow deposited on his pristine sidewalk had clogged his snow blower.

I was smug and untouched by the indiscriminate plow, until, I returned to shoveling my walk and did not see the return of the marauder. My driveway, moments earlier cleared of slushy snow, was covered again. *&^*%# ...

Sometimes a simple "Hi" can make your day. As I prepared my coffee after my workout -- styrofoam cup, creamer and sugar -- a young girl (about 8 years of age) came up to get a cup and said, without compunction, "Hi", to me, and I responded in kind. Later, when I took a plum from a bin at the front desk (absolutely delicious by the way), she wished me a "Happy Valentine's Day".

When I returned from the locker with my wallet, keys and iPhone, I asked an older man, sitting with her, whether he was her grandfather. He said, "Yes", and I commented how friendly his granddaughter was and how her gestures made my day. She proceeded to walk up to me and give me a hug. She gave me a hug. Extraordinary. Her name was Madison. What a delight to encounter such an open and loving girl in our litigious, predator-conscious world. 

It's a full moon tonight. The walk was lovely, a little over a mile but that black ice can be tricky and disastrous. A few times, inadvertently, I hit a spot and the Nike would slip in the opposing direction and I envisioned a plummet to the asphalt with leash in one hand and dog potty plastic in the other. Not pretty, but the night sky was. I forgot what star was partnering with the moon tonight but it was to last most the evening. Wish I knew more about the stars and our universe. (Pondered a question tonight as I walked ... do a lot of thinking when I walk, thank goodness no music or radio station to detract like the many at the "Y" ... Just how did they figure out the speed of light? ... and then the debate between Bill Nye and Ken Ham, all thirteen letters of them, and how reality staring you in the face can be obstructed by suffocating dogma and myth). 

My JibJab videos went to their digital addresses today. One to Katia in Florida, another to Lindsay in Nashville, one here of mom & me doing a Brazilian dance, and the same Silent Film skit held the faces of Doug and Norma Virginia, which I sent to Johns Creek. He had not received it when I spoke to him by phone shortly after. Hopefully, he got it. There a lot of fun and so easy to do. The people who write the code for these websites are absolute wizards. They make it child's play. 

In remarkable serendipity on the radio station WHYY, which continues to fundraise due to all the catastrophic weather events in the Philly area, Terri Gross, 63; Dave Davies, 61; and Marty Moss-Coane, 65; all were born on Valentine's Day. They got together to, you guessed it, fundraise this evening during a rebroadcast of Fresh Air interview with Robert Redford. 

1 February 2014: Saturday ... January is done, one of the coldest and snowiest on record and we await Punxatawney Phil's prediction of more/less winter ... Linda on the train to NY ... workout at "Y" ... call from Lynn Boley thanking me for the card ... beautiful day, warmer, the snow is melting ...

29 December 2013: Sunday ... dreary, rainy day but the sermon brought light into one's being, finding that inner sanctum of bliss ...

Starting this blog at 6:31 p.m. as Shawshank Redemption has just concluded and Red is embracing Andy on the Pacific beach in Mexico where he's come to be with his friend after his 40-year incarceration at Shawshank and Andy's amazing escape. Just a great, feel-good movie with really good guys and absolutely sinister bad guys. 

Where Andy tells Red about that Mexican town and where to find
a special stash under an obsidian rock by the tree where he first
made love to his wife.

It was a dreary day but church went well. I did coffee for the first time with Maggie McLaughlin, also a newbie, but wearing two other hats -- she was a greeter and the ministerial associate for the sparsely attended service. I sat next to one of my favorite people, someone I met on my return visit to UUSMC, who, along with Linda Lucero, invited me to the literary soiree at the latter's home. It was Susan Klugerman, the restaurateur extraordinaire, who had a fine eatery in San Francisco during the height of the AIDS epidemic. She lost many of her employees to the disease. It was nice to sit next to her and my really favorite person came, Jane Frelick, a few minutes after the start, seated, as always in the front row. She will have a 70th wedding anniversary in a couple of weeks but is unsure whether Robert, her iconic doctor husband, will make it. He is in a nursing home at present and not doing very well. Let's hope they make it, but we talked and she has such a healthy and positive attitude. They have lived an amazing and awesomely productive and wonderful life together. 

Jane and Bob Frelick 
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wilmingtonfriends/8159040222/

Drs. Robert Frelick, Nicholas Petrelli, Ruben Tiexido, and Les Whitney (left to right)
at the American Cancer Society's "A Night at the Museum" award event.WILMINGTON, DE  – June 4, 2010 – On Saturday, April 17, the American Cancer Society hosted “A Night at the Museum” at the Delaware Museum of Natural History in Wilmington to honor local hometown heroes who have helped the organization create a world with more birthdays and less cancer.
http://sacancernews.org/2010/06/american-cancer-society-honors-local-heroes-at-%E2%80%9Ca-night-at-the-museum%E2%80%9D-distinguished-event/

I am truly enjoy the services of Rev. Keith Goheen, who is a member of the congregation, but lives and is the chaplain at Beebe Healthcare in Lewes, Delaware. He drives about 90 minutes to get to the church and he does a wonderful job. He delivers a powerful sermon and has a deliberate and measured tone that engages. He spoke of being assaulted by comments all around oneself and then having to find that place within, the one where one can find all that is necessary. It is place to get your bearings and be able to come to some understanding. It is sacred space and there you may find wisdom. He made an interesting statement about his life, when he came to a point where his roots had shifted and had moved on: I resolve to live unresolved, he said.

And he also spoke about the sun and its bounty and how it has shined over all time with little recognition, so does generosity illumine the world. He was quoting from the Persian poet Rumi.
 On a big sports note, the Eagles beat the Cowboys in the last game of the NFL season when the backup QB for Dallas was intercepted with less than 2 minutes remaining for a 26-24 victory. They head to the playoffs against New Orleans at home next Sunday as winners of their division, even though N.O. has more victories. 

25 December 2013: Christmas Day ... clear and cold, ice in Dancer's water bowl ... the luminaria bags are collected; sand trashed, bags recycled, candles kept ...

Kind of a cool image, I wrote: Thought it was frozen solid but just a layer had formed 

on Dancer's water bowl this frosty Christmas morn.

It's difficult to come to this digital page and compose at the end of the day for you forget the memorable moments of a day, even a Christmas day, when it's just the two of you and phone calls from Lindsay and Liz and Gail and Nick and sharing with Susan about a book by Elizabeth Gilbert, who you friend on FB because she loves the social media (you heard her interview on WHYY with Marty Moss-Coane (had no idea how to spell it), who is the author of mega-best seller Eat, Pray, Love and who has written a book, I thought she would be interested in and which I sent her a New York Times review by Janet Maslin called The Signature of All Things, which I offered to get for her but have not heard
back. I friended her on FB and wrote a wry comment about a photo she posted of her in 1976 at age 7, yes, she was born in 1969 on a tree farm and her sister is a well-known author, too. Splendid, creative childhood with parents who nurtured their true artistic selves.

Yes, I an enamored. She is lovely and so talented and intellectual. 

Went to Snapfish and uploaded pics of the Finn Family to give back to them what they gave to us, two lovely printed photos. Still have to figure out how to get a assemblage of maybe 4 photos in one display to send to them. I will do it. 

On Christmas Eve, when I found a Nintendo Wii, thanks to Muhammad at Best Buy, the handsome close-cropped bearded young man, and I ate my usual veggie omelet at Mary's Kountry Kitchen and go to share dad's passing with Mary, at the cash register, and Shelley, serving but not me on this day, I did not find something for Stacy. I had wanted to. 

Well, this evening, it hit me. Get her something personal. A photograph. One that we have displayed for years in its frame ... dad and mom laughing and enjoying a moment at a meal at Cindy's wedding reception from some 30 years ago, now that's personal and meaningful. So, I wrapped it and combined it with a Christmas card that I'd written earlier, left a message on her home phone (she was at work tonight, doing the holiday as it was her turn) and placed the present and card in her mailbox. Afterward, when I'd finished my 2 miles plus walk with Dancer, I phoned her cell and she answered at the hospital. She did seem put out but anxious that I called. She thought something might be up with mom. I told her about mom being placed on Hospice and then about looking in her mailbox ... she closed by calling me "Ru". Nobody but my mother has ever called me by that shortened version of my name. Got a curious pang in me about Stacy. No, it will never be but I have a strong feeling of like/love for her and what she's done for my mother, specifically, and my father, too. She has been an extraordinary neighbor and she is an extraordinarily beautiful person. 

What am I truly thankful for on this Christmas Day 2013:

1. Being able to spend Christmas with my mother for perhaps the last time.
   
2. Having friends like Marli and Gerrit Stam who really enjoy spending time with us and are just terrific.
3. Family like Marissa Finn who can give gifts that touch the core of our being.
   
4. Being able to share a part of your life with another in the form of a treasured photo that you feel is a proper way to say "Thank You" for all you do Stacy Casaletto.
   
5. Understand that when mom calls to answer that call without anger and show only love because we only have one shot at this thing called life, as Gordon Roth, my bass compatriot in the UUSMC choir so eloquently put it last evening.
   
6. The genius of David Attenborough and his animal films. Just finished watching the World of Mammals on Netflix tonight. Just extraordinary commentary and stunning photography. 

21 December 2013: Saturday ... the 9th of Beethoven is concluding as I type this, John Eliot Gardiner and his Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique ... amazing performances of the Beethoven symphonies ...

Explanation: Today the Solstice occurs at 0608 Universal Time, the Sun reaching its southernmost declination in planet Earth's sky. Of course, the December Solstice marks the beginning of winter in the northern hemisphere and summer in the south. When viewed from northern latitudes, the Sun will make its lowest arc through the sky along the southern horizon. So in the north, the Solstice day has the shortest length of time between sunrise and sunset and fewest hours of daylight. This striking composite image follows the Sun's path through the December Solstice day of 2005 in a beautiful blue sky, looking down the Tyrrhenian Sea coast from Santa Severa toward Fiumicino, Italy. The view covers about 115 degrees in 43 separate, well-planned exposures from sunrise to sunset.http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap071222.html

************************************************************************************************************

I still find it difficult to understand the Solstice. I need to take the time and just figure it out. Learn me some astronomy. I'll be the better for it, gain a better perspective on my place on this Earth and how it is configured with our Sun and our solar system. When this knowledge will be gained I have no idea, probably never. I'll just continue to wallow in my ignorance and get by not knowing why today, the start of winter (which I just learned does not need capitalization unless it refers to a name like Winter's chill) and is the shortest day and thus, longest night of the year; whereas, in the Southern hemisphere, it is the start of summer. One day.

Why is this an effort to write ... I consider it a punishment that I must write and record everything of import during this mild, springlike day, the start of winter, where the temperature approached 70 and I walked Dancer, after trying to find a Post Office where I could get my letters to Susan, Nick, and Lindsay, today, so they might arrive by Christmas. But NOOO ... the post offices are closed and the mail is picked up early in the afternoon on Saturdays, so my mail is stuck in the mailbox and won't go out till Monday and arrive after Christmas. I'd put $100.00 dollar checks in each of the kids' cards and am now down to about $60.00 in my old checking account, which I should close out soon.

Called the dad's health insurance company today to learn that their hours are only during the week. Will call on Monday to cancel his policy. Received SS notices about increases in payment to dad and mom's accounts. Of course, dad's will end with notification (which I believe Mealey may have already done) and mom's will continue, slightly increased, but I am getting the material together for the visit to the accountant, whose name I will never learn to spell, Sczeczyck (that's close). Regardless, I'm moving closer to closing the financial and governmental concerns regarding dad's death.
I have to get use to getting the mail from the mailbox, like my father did for years, no decades, in the late afternoon for today I had more notes of condolence, a trio sent by Mealey Funeral Home, which I think came from their web site, sponsored by legacy.com for people to write something about the deceased. One of the surprising notes came from "Raggsy" (Lisa Paulson Leach), a camp friend of Susan's, who commented on the obituary and who I then e-mailed and who responded posthaste. She told me that her sister died from breast cancer and I shared the message of Dusty's death with her, who I know she knew well, and how it devastated Susan. It is wonderful when old friends, even of your ex-wife let you know that they care and are connected to your sorrow.

Girls prepare a meal around a fire circle
during overnight tent camping at Grove Point in the 1980s. http://thismorningishistory.wordpress.com/2011/11/09/the-girl-scouts-are-coming/

Starting using our vast store of art and musical books today when I took down the biography of Beethoven, a lavishly illustrated book with numerous portraits of friends and patrons of the composer. Just an amazing compilation by the noted musicologist and biographer, H. C. Robbins Landon (link to his obituary). I was listening to an extraordinary set of recordings by the remarkable conductor, John Eliot Gardiner, who has created ensembles that use period instruments but more importantly, symphonic size to create a sound much like what Beethoven would have heard. His Orchestre Revolutionnaire et Romantique, a recording that dad bought, is just incredible. The gif below is of the recording, a total of 6 CDs, five of which are the nine symphonies, the sixth is a spoken dialogue by the conductor of his approach to the works. Just outstanding.

16 December 2013: Monday ... first day with Mom and Dancer and moi, a trio together at 4546 Pickwick Drive ...

This opportunity came in the evening at the end of Pickwick Drive in Limestone Acres. I spied this attractively decorated home for the holidays and went to take a picture with the iPhone when I noticed that Dancer was inching toward the frame. I let her do the work and got her in the picture with, of all reindeer, Rudolph. My caption read in my "Daily Dancer" photo: "Could not keep Dancer away from Rudolph as it's that time of year."

3 December 2013: Tuesday ...

A lazy day that I spent napping and dad slept most of the afternoon and awoke confused ... did I take my medicine (3 pills ... in the morning) and was unsure what time of day it was ... it's pushing 9:00 p.m. and I have to close down the computer and head to bed myself.

Had a good walk tonight ... exactly 2 miles when I got to the home at an average of 18:16 per mile and I'm thinking I need to get out on the roof to see the planets, maybe the moons of Jupiter with binoculars.

So much to write and so much to be thankful for. Need to get back to this writing and soon. Can't let the days pass because they will become history and irretrievable in the memory banks.

Got a number of deliveries ... drugs from Delaware Hospice via FedEx, my phone from
Credo (initial activation is disappointing ... voice sound is tinny and far off), and clothes from L.L. Bean. 

29 November 2013: Friday ... put away the iPhone, I want some alone time with dad to say goodbye ... tears flowed but they're OK Doug, he laughed, too ... life is balance

That Eternal Day - Cantus 

Serendipity, a divine presence, a coincidence, who knows,
but this morning, before I got up at 5 a.m., Performance
Today featured a performance by Cantus and their rendition
of Gravedigger by Dave Matthews, a story about death but
more about the effect their lives had on the lives that continue. "Don't
bury me too deep, so I can hear the rain hit the earth," or a similar
lyric moves throughout the song. I am still here in spirit, do not
forget me. I included the experience in a note that I wrote and
left for my **BROTHER** which he read and I think was moved
by. Later, when he asked for time alone with dad, I could hear the
tears -- that's tough for Doug, he doesn't show emotion, he's pretty
good at covering it up -- and they were good. Our father shall not
be forgotten, at least by his two sons. 

Left early evening after mom had been fed and dad taken care of ... I gave him the cell phone to call if necessary and then left to pick up Lindsay at the airport, U.S. Airways flight from Charlotte due to land at 6:19 p.m. I arrived with time to spare at the "Cell Phone" waiting area with its displays of the arriving flights and whether they'd landed. Here flight was on time, she texted me and then called me telling me she was ready at the U. S. Airways sign. Saw her right away and got her in at which time she noticed the egging that the Honda had received and I knew nothing about, all on the passenger side of the car. How long it'd been there, I do not know. (It's been addressed and cleaned with a car wash this Saturday morning after a trip to Mary's Kountry Kitchen for breakfast, a stop for birthday cards at Books & Tobacco and then to the car wash establishment, where it's not cheap but they do a good, attentive job for $14.95 plus tip ... I gave $3 today).

Well, I got this nice pic of Lindsay kissing mom as she arrived in her bedroom.
 

27 November 2013: Wednesday ... mom's nasal cannula was pulled out and she looked gaunt, complained of left ankle pain ... dad put in his nasal cannula during the night ... never heard a thing with my monitor ...

Gail dropped by on this rainy Wednesday, the day before
Thanksgiving with her peekapoo, Teddy, for a visit. She was in
north Wilmington for a job and had called earlier. 

Mom got to play a little with Teddy on her bed as Gail offered him up to her. She got the dog about 3 1/2 months ago from a shelter, who she asked to call her if a peekapoo cane and they did. He's about three
years old.



Doug has walked and fed my dog and while I slept, he prepared the dinner for mom and dad and went to Zoup and got some soups, one the Lobster bisque that dad loves. I slept, he worked, later, I did do the dishes while I ate the mushroom soup (delicious) and then his hot dogs and beans with a roll. Topped it off with mandarin oranges and Tapioca pudding.

Amazing recollections of mom today ... first, us, and our haircuts up until we were 10. We never saw a barber, she did the cutting and she tried the shears on herself and slipped and had to wear a bandanna to cover the bare spot on her back scalp. Doug said he remembered the scarf and the accident. He also said he remembered the trip over to Holland in the plane. Sure.

The other one was the movie The Anderson Tapes, with Sean Connery and Dyan Cannon. She says we saw the movie at the now gone movie theatre at Prices Corner and dad fell asleep through half of it and then, in a fit of rage, in a pouring rain, chased down a young driver who cut him off in the road. She recalls it but dad did not; however, initially, dad said he had not seen this movie but as the movie went on and the police move into the luxury apartment building being robbed, he recalled it.

He did remember playing the role of a long dead cleric, hands upraised, in a stone crypt in Scotland, a country he remembers for its paucity (pas de personnage) of people on the barren but beautiful landscape.

I have made his bed again tonight and he's taken his metoprolol (100 mg a day, 2x 50 mg tablet, once in the morning and once at night), and we've laid out his 2 Temazepam (sleep aid) and his 2 Xanax (anti-anxiety) and a 1 Vicodin (pain pill). Earlier, we watched Jeopardy, which he complained that he knew no answers to. I got to assist him with the oxygen which he has turned on and placed the nasal cannula. We take his pulse oxygen and when it finally works, it's 97 with a pulse of 110. He sits in the chair to watch Turner Classic Movies with Robert Osborne narrating.