Safe Home

Safe home. The Irish say that to wish you a safe arrival when you leave to go home. I like the saying.

Recently several famous people died. Regis Philbin, Olivia de Havilland, John Saxon, and John Lewis. There have been more than 150,000 deaths in the United States from COVID-19. Car accidents, health emergencies, poor health, and age account for more deaths. I wish them all safe home.

I know I left out a lot of people. I cannot list them all. I do not mean to diminish the importance of anyone's life. There just is not room here.

Rick Watson wrote a blog I have read for a long time. He was humorous, caring, industrious, giving... a lot of the adjectives used to describe a truly good person.

Rick died not long ago. I felt the need to remember him and his family but could not bring myself to do so until now.

Rick and Jilda were married for decades. It was obvious to all how much he adored her. I know that is a comfort to her.

Rick and Jilda had full lives. Besides tending to a small farm, they both had jobs. They were close to extended family especially those who lived nearby. Often people would 'dump' their dogs and Rick and Jilda would see to it those dogs got good homes. More often than not, the home was with Rick and Jilda.

Rick and Jilda lovingly tended the graves of their loved ones who preceded them.  And every year on the appropriate holidays, Rick would collect money from other cemetery visitors to help pay for the expenses of upkeep throughout the year.

Raising a garden, berry bushes, hosting dinners and holidays for family, writing and performing their music at various festivals, Rick was always busy.

I never met Rick in person. I only knew him from his blog. I do know I will miss him. I send my best wishes to his family and friends.

Rick, Safe Home.

I Am Partly Back

I suppose it is time for me to post again. I am not back fulltime yet but I hope to be sooner rather than later.

My grandson has been home for about a month. He still needs aids like crutches and a wheelchair to get around. He is doing so well.

Everything is healing as to be expected.  He is strong and healthy (and cute as can be). He has a long way to go.

My son went from the hospital to a rehab center. He was supposed to have therapy there but it did not happen. I suppose part of the reason is the virus but not all of it.

One day he received a letter stating that two people in the center had tested positive for the virus. After a couple of weeks they decided to move all those with normal temperatures to a separate floor so he was moved.

Several weeks later my son was sick of being there. He checked with his doctors and lawyers to be sure that he would not hurt his benefits if he went home.

He heals fast like his father did. All his bones are mended. Some of his muscles and tendons have atrophied from inactivity. Therapy should fix that.

So my son is home. Nurses and therapists visit him there. He is happy to be home. He and his son are able to be together again.

Please all of you stay safe and healthy.

My Son And Grandson

As I told you my son and grandson were in a car accident. This is the car.

My son was cut out of the car. Then they dragged my grandson through the driver's side of the car.
Both were unconscious.

My son had 6 broken ribs. Both of his arms were broken. Both of his legs were broken. There are several compression fractures in his back. And they are treating blood clots in his lungs.

He has had 4 surgeries to repair and anchor bonnes in his limbs. One wrist and one ankle required surgery. He is full of metal plates and screws.

My son was in ICU for a week and a half. He is beginning to mend.

Right now he is waiting to be transferred to a medical care facility. He will continue his healing there. When he is ready he will be transferred to a rehabilitation facility to begin physical therapy. it will take some time.

My grandson was taken to the same hospital as my son. Once he was stabilized they transferred him to Children's Hospital. Even though he is bigger than a lot of men he is only 14 years old. His bones are still those of a child.

He had five breaks in one leg. Five hours of surgery and a metal plate and a bunch of screws later his leg is mending. He also has several compression fractures in his back. Several bones in his foot were broken and there is a pin to stabilize his toe.

My grandson has begun his physical therapy. He hopes to be out of the hospital in a couple of weeks. His MMA instructor is planning to supplement physical therapy with keeping his upper body exercises.

As you can see they are both lucky to be alive. Remember to let the people you care about know you love them. You just do not know when something terrible might happen.

I will still be mostly absent from blogging. Some things are more important.

Hospital Blues

My son and his son were in a horrible accident. They were driving home from my grandson's MMA class. We still don't have many details about the accident itself.

When first responders arrived on the scene both my son and my grandson were unconscious. They used the jaws of life to get my son free. Then they pulled my grandson through his father's side of the car.

My grandson is a tall boy. From his size you would think he was a grown man. But he is only 14 years old so the took him to Children's Hospital.

His leg was broken in 5 places. Bones in his foot and toes were broken. He had surgery to repair them. It was a long surgery. A couple of days later he began complaining that his back hurt. An MRI revealed several compress fractures of vertebrae. His mother is with him and friends and family are in and out to do what they can.

He has healing and therapy ahead of him. Thankfully he is fine otherwise.

My son has multiple breaks in both arms, multiple breaks in both legs. 5 broken ribs, both ankles are broken, three compression fractures in his back, and broken bones in his feet and toes. He has had surgery on one leg and arm to stabilize the bones. He had a second surgery to repair some more of his injuries. Two more surgeries are scheduled for next week.

When they release my son from the hospital he will have to go to a rehabilitation facility where they have the things necessary to take care of him. He is looking at a lot of therapy.

I write this not looking for sympathy. It is to explain that I am taking a break until things are more stable.

Shall We Caucus?

I will bet you wish you knew someone who took part in the Iowa caucus. They have still not announced the results and it is about 16 hours later.

You do know someone. I was there. In my small town we had exactly 21 people taking part in the Democratic caucus.

I felt it was not run as efficiently as I would have liked. I like a little more order than I saw there. This is only my observation and not meant to cast aspersions on the process.

The doors were closed at precisely 7:00 PM as instructed by the rules.  A cover letter was read that explained what we were going to do.

There were local representatives for 3 of the candidates. Since they were residents of our town they would also be voting.

Each representative spoke to the reasons we should vote for their candidate. If someone wished to speak about a candidate who did not have an official representative we were welcome. Two of us did.

Then we were given a card and a pen so we could write the name of the candidate we were voting for. We then were grouped by candidate.

The groups were Bernie Sanders, Joe Biden, Tom Steyers, Pete Buttigieg, and Amy Klobuchar. That was it.

In order to be "viable" and move on to the next level a candidate had to have at least 15% of the total of votes attending. Bernie Sanders and Tom Steyer were eliminated and their supporters chose other candidates.

In the end Pete Buttigieg had the most supporters. To close the caucus a delegate was chosen to go to the county level and represent the top candidate from our precinct.

So that was the result in my precinct. I have no idea yet what happened in the rest of the state.

I normally keep my political beliefs to myself because I choose not to share them. I will share that my candidate was viable but did not come out on top. I hope he did well in the state. I also hope that people will vote in their primaries too.

Planning Ahead

This is the time of year that we tend to look to the future. Making a few plans is good. It gives us something to work toward. As long as those plans are realistic we might even outline how we will accomplish our goals.

However we should not spend so much time on the future that we forget about today. Life is for living. If you are walking down the street and see some beautiful flowers enjoy their beauty. Smell the fragrance. Touch the petals and feel their delicate silkiness. If a small child is playing take the time to observe the joy the child is feeling. You will smile with joy yourself. If you have a good meal take the time to taste and savor it. If you have good dinner companions have a lively conversation with a lot of laughter.

Dreaming of far away luxurious vacations is enticing. You might even be able to take some of those exotic trips. But there are so many places to go and things to see near home.

Plan some time away from home. You need not go far. It need not be for a long time. You could go to a local museum or have a picnic at a local park. After all some of the best things to see are near to where you live.

Maybe a day trip. Go to a ball game in a nearby town. Visit a famous landmark and buy a few souvenirs. Many state parks have special celebrations at certain times of the year.  Take part in them.

Even a weekend can give you a real break from day-to-day doldrums. Spend a weekend camping and bird watching. Pick a nearby city. See what are the interesting places there and visit them. Eat at restaurants You might not try other times.

Too often we do not take advantage of places close to home. We always think we will do it later. Later is now.

Susan from thecomtemplativecat had a post today that posed some evocative questions. I will print them and give my answers. You might find it interesting to see what your answers are.

If you could live one year of your life over again, which year would you choose and why?

I do not think I want to relive any years. While I enjoy my memories I prefer to look to the future.

If you could learn to be an expert at something without putting in the work, what would it be?

Walking. My knees give me a terrible time of it.

If you could learn a new language instantly, which would you choose and why?

Gaelic. I have taken a couple of online courses but it is difficult when there is no one else to practice with.

If you could give $1 million to any charity, which would you choose?

With that much money I might form my own charity to help children to eat and dress to feel good about themselves. I would follow through to help them establish themselves

 as adults.

When was your Robert Frost moment a la "Two roads diverged in a yellow wood..."? The poem (read it here) says you can't go back and that is true. "Way leads on to way" and so forth. But if you could, would you? What is the difference you think it would have made?

I would take the one most attractive. I like overhanging trees and color. I do not think it would have impacted the world one way or the other but I would have been happy to be there.

Time travel: where would you go and when? Why?

Who would you want on your fictional character bowling team? You get to pick four.

I would have liked to be present in Appomattox Courthouse at the end of the Civil War. Two great generals who had great respect for each other discussing the end of a terrible war had to be a great thing to see.

What would you want for your last meal?

A nice juicy steak, baked potato, and Brussel sprouts. For dessert a devil's food cake with fudge frosting like my mother used to make. Maybe some watermelon cubes to nibble on after.

What's your favorite song?

How on earth can I choose? I love music and there is so much to choose from. It would simply be whatever I am in the mood for. One day it might be Louis Prima and the next The Sex Pistols. The Everly Brothers or Credence Clearwater Revival. Vivaldi or Booker T and the MGs. LaVerne Baker or Taylor Swift. Teddy Bears' Picnic or In A Gadda Da Vida. The Irish Rovers or The Vienna Boys Choir. Or anything else.

Are you an introvert or an extrovert?

I am probably an extrovert. I do not like to be ignored.

If you came over to my home and I offered you a drink, what would you want me to serve you?
Water would be fine. Iced tea (not sweet tea) is also good. When I was younger and drank alcohol occasionally I liked Long Island iced tea too. But a nice cold beer was good too.

You can answer these just for yourself if you like. I think they are good questions.