Changes

Things are changing quickly with Dad's health. He is down to one meal a day in the morning. We push puddings, ice cream and butter all we can to keep the calories up. He has trouble lifting himself with his arms. His legs give out on a short walk. He is wheezing and breathing heavy. (probably heart problems) His mind is mostly divorced from the present. He does recognize people and will say their name. Often his comments are babbled or not complete sentences. He does not have much interest in TV content. Any noise or moving color will do. He sleeps often during the day and in short stretches at night. His appearance has changed enough that relatives have commented on it. He has for years bounced back from problems, but it appears that there is no coming back this time.

Grace

The word has many meanings, but with Dad I think it a blessing that he does not realize how far away he has travelled. He seldom talks sense anymore. He is physically weak to the point of walking only a few steps, not pulling himself up from a sitting position, and breathing with difficulty. He seldom knows the day or time and wants to go to bed in the middle of the day and put his boots on at 2am. Yesterday while he was at his best I asked him if he realized how his mind was slipping gears. As usual it is not him, it is something outside of himself that is causing his mistakes.
He is not in any pain and is taking only minor medications. The latest medical mystery was discovered during a shower. Blood streaks going towards his groin. I lifted his fat seeking a hole and found instead a 10" circle of internal bleeding around an old surgery. Again, no pain so I haven't mentioned it to him.
Last night he had been sleeping for a few hours when the carolers arrived. I woke him and turned him around to view the singers. He thanked them and went back to sleep.

Characteristics

Two stand out lately. He wants to share what he has. He taught for 33 years. He gave money to offspring. Now he has food on a plate. "Try this." "There is plenty of this pile of mashed potatoes with gravy." "Have some."
The other is that he is correct. You may think you know more about nuclear physics, but by god, he knows more. And there will be plenty of swear words to back up his opinion.
This weekend was horrible. He was very confused, not knowing where he was, why I was leaving my kids alone, why both my cars were in the driveway (they were both in my garage) etc. And then to cap my frustration, he was up most of last night.

Tseuq Cipmylo

Lower, Slower, Weaker. That is the progression of late. The Dr. made some tweaks in medication and made an appointment for 6 months. Every body system works on Dad. The pills he takes are for circulation help supposedly. A fluid reduction pill, an 81 mg aspirin, one to open the sides of capillaries. The brain pill, aricept, has been stopped since the effects are unclear. In the evening the two tylenol pms were started for me in hopes he would sleep through the night. They do not work. Five hours is the maximum. He is up about 4 times now between 9-10pm and 6am.
His mind is slipping apace with the muscles. It is harder for him to pull himself up from sitting. His legs give out. He forgets where he is. He is still capable of giving orders and worrying about something. Lately it was a plastic grill on the dash of his beloved car. It was temporarily fixed (for nothing because of the "Rodman" discount) by the man whose wife grew up here. A new dash board is about $1,600.

Honors

About 50 people, 30 who had been in Rodman for 50 or more years, met to share pictures, memories and some snacks in the "gym" where Dad worked for 33 years.

Medical mysteries

Yesterday, last night, and today, Dad says his left shoulder hurts. With rashes, bruises, lumps, aches, etc. that come and go I don't get too concerned until I can see bone or blood. The baseball lump on his left ankle has apparently gone for good. He had chest pains that went away with a nitro pill. The "shingles" rash is still present on his lower right back and side, but does not bother him any.
The first two hours while waking up and the last few hours of the day when he is tired from entertaining Meg and Heather, going out to eat, or thinking, he either does not talk much or else it is nonsense mixed with a few facts. If I make a comment when watching the ball games at night he will feel a need to respond so he will repeat the last thing the announcer said on TV.
He knew a few of the ball players by name and seemed to follow the game, but really did not care much about the outcome. We left that concern to Rob.
This coming Sat. the town of Rodman is honoring citizens of over 50 years. I have typed up his recollections of those living in town then and who rode which model of horse.

How to Live

Dad has been sleeping some nights for 7 hours. Others he is up every three. He has been very mobile lately. He will leave his chair and travel around more frequently. Of course he is also less steady and will never ask for assistance. But lately he has had quite a varied schedule. Brenda has been taking him out for Friday night dinner. He can con Heather into driving him to the cheese store. Meg is game for a lunch out at the latest diner. Pat stayed with him this wkend and I enjoyed two days and nights at camp.
Last night I was making noise on the guitar and he left the ballgame to come into the concert room. He has been quite polite, but still swears too much. When he tells a story only a part of it will be factual. The rest will fit the plot or idea line, but not be entirely accurate.

Party time again

Last night we went to a local church to celebrate Herb's 90th birthday. He was a student of Dad's. Dad helped him pass the NY state regents. He has stopped to visit during the summer after golfing.

Old Friends

We took Dad to visit Joe Padget. They recalled 70 year old incidents and events, parties and dances. Dad tried to be charming and clever and to himself succeeded. I'll be darned if he isn't turning out to be just like me. He has wanted to eat at the Plainville Turkey restaurant in Cicero so that is where we had an early dinner. He ate a full thanksgiving dinner. Per thought that Dad did remarkably well during the day. And he was awake the whole day. He even thanked us all for the good time. Pat is taking the overnight duties while Per and I look at West Norway pictures and plan tomorrow.

Who Knew

Dad has been at the top of his game today. He told jokes with Per for a few hours this morning. Pat stayed with him while Per and I went on the oak rim trail walk. Then Pat went shopping and cooked a great stuffed pepper and sweet corn meal. Per mowed the lawn and we brought Dad to our house. Per showed him pictures of a Buick meet in Norway and of us when we were students in the 1960's. Now we are fat and happy and drinking coffee. Tomorrow we are driving Dad and Per to visit Jo Padget.

Time Flies

My college mate, Per, is visiting from Norway. He brought a letter that Dad wrote to him about 46 years ago inviting him to come to Rodman for the holidays. It was signed also by Mom, but Dad did the writing. Apparently Mom also wrote an invitation to Karin. Dad seems happy to see Per and is entertaining him with jokes and tales. Maybe all he needs to live forever is an appreciative audience.
Per and I were up till about midnight at camp when there was a loud crash. Dad had somehow moved a dresser and fell to the floor. The dresser is about all that Pat and I can move together and it was pushed up to the bed to prevent his falling. About 2 hours later when he was trying to get up he thought to give me a call. The blood stopped flowing from his arm and near his eye pretty quickly, but today he walks a bit stiffly.
Pat has been feeding us pretty fancy meals and always gives Dad his bacon, eggs, toast, jam. Here he is this morning waiting for the goodies.

Tuesday, like all others

Since I have given up trying to reason why I will just try to be descriptive. Dad seems to be slipping. He described a problem that I was to get on immediately. I tried to put him off until he was fully awake. About 3pm I asked him about it and he explained what I should be doing to correct the situation. Still mixing reality with the dream. I'm glad it was an imaginary problem. The papers we needed were thrown in the toilet which was locked in the safe.
Yesterday, Erika Ebeling, was singing to him and she forget the words to "Clementine." Dad provided the next verse.
I waited two days this past weekend to catch him lucid so we could have the son-father talk and never found a moment when I thought it possible.
He has been more abusive verbally lately. More swearing, more putting people down for what they are doing, more loud talking, just more negative all around. Not pleasant to be his caregiver.
He still tries to be kind to the sleeping caregiver by silencing his bell as he pushes the walker with the wheels locked. I found him already in the bathroom twice this week. If he is so far gone in the head, how come I can't figure out a way to hide the bell from his clever detection.
The lump on his leg still is apparent in the morning and disappears by the evening.
The "shingles" spots are still visible but not cause for complaint anymore.
Dad sleeps more during the day, yet puts in about 8 continuous hours at night.
He is proud of my trying to play the guitar, but critical of everything else that I can do. I should have paid more attention to the correct way the past 67 years. To Dad the lawn does not need mowing, nor the house painted. It was just recently done.

Go Figure

I am learning that there are medical miracles that modern science can perform. Think hip replacements, heart stints, thyroid replacement medicines, etc. and then there are the many unexplained ailments that may afflict us all. Dad is suffering the last affects of Shingles again. First about 10 days of pain around the middle (like broken ribs) then a rash that only itches the third Tues. of leap year and then only for a day. And now the rash is healing and his back is super sensitive to touch. "Itch my back, but don't touch it."
And there is a lump on his lower leg in the morning that is painful to touch. It swells to the size of 1/2 a tennis ball. It is purple and red and has a definite circular shape. It is on his left leg that is partially swollen most of the time from the stroke many years ago. By nighttime it is gone. Only to reappear the next morning. Go figure that one.
He seems to be getting more out of the here and now more there and then. He came to dinner, sat on his walker, facing away from the table. He sits on the john with his clothes still on. He forgets the day and what we are doing next. But he still remembers old time tales and he knows he is always right whatever the topic.

Summer Fun

Pat and Rob brought Dad back from camp on Sunday while Carey and family went with me to Old Forge to retrieve art from a show. We then enjoyed three nights with uninterrupted sleep. Brenda stayed with Dad so he did not miss us a bit. In fact I was informed that the egg, bacon, toast and coffee were not only perfect, but she would sit and eat with him. Unlike the wayward son who eats cereal.

Lately

Dad has been complaining of back pain, lumps in his back, stomach cramps, side aches, etc. In general discomfort around the middle, above the belt line, below mid chest. Nothing was visible for the past week, but it was clear that he hurt when he tried to move. Yesterday a red rash appeared. It starts in a 4 inch line up his spine and goes around to the side. So if this is a virus then there is nothing to be done but wait it out. Just another thing that comes and goes without explanation.
He is more confused, more often but does seem to realize it occasionally.

Family Visit

While Max and Esme were with us in Rodman we would visit Dad in the morning, sometimes during the day, and then to say goodnight. He was much better with that than he was at camp from Thursday-Sun. There the noise confused him and made him irritable.
Esme was still loveable and shared her freshly picked blueberrys. Max lost his second front tooth.

Giants

There was a small cellar that Dad expanded into the garage by digging by hand under the kitchen and carrying out by the pail. Today there were two explorers walking there until they heard a giant walking.

Fun

Max and Esme are here for a few days. Today we went to the NY DEC Fish Hatchery. Big, impressive fish farm, but visitors are not able to see close up fish like in an aquarium. Dad helped Esme eat her 4th birthday cake in the backyard. We visit him a few times each day to say hello. Max suggests that the rainbow trout from the exhibit is my most interesting shot.

Symbiosis

We took Dad north of Old Forge to the boat dealer on Tuesday. He sat silent in the back seat. His head bobbed. He looked out of it all day. When we stopped at the Buffalohead for dinner he was still quiet and looking poorly. The mashed potatoes and meatloaf and gravy were shoveled in gobs and sometimes missed. I mentioned to Pat that her car was riding well and we must have the load distributed properly. Dad commented that he was adding his 150 pounds. Of course I corrected him (took the bait perhaps) and reminded him that he only weighed 140 pounds. He said, "Have you seen what I have been eating?"
One night at camp he slept well and long. The second night he was up often and very confused. Pat stayed up with him as he sat in a chair after he complained of breathing problems. It wasn't the sometimes wheezing and coughing, but he did not want to be laying down.
Last night he slept very sound from 6:30 to 8pm. We went to bed at 11 and he slept until 8am. This is a new record of which I am very pleased.

Work Time

There was a hole in the wood below the screen. After patching with a block of wood and filling with wood putty there is sanding to be done. Dad wanted to work on it but insisted on starting on the outside. I explained the blocking bushes to no avail. I asked him to wait until I got the camera so I could get the shot of his feet sticking out of the brush, but by the time I returned this is all I got. Total real time for this event was about 2 minutes. He then returned to the sun to relax.

Monday

We had a quiet two days. I worked at painting the house while Dad gave me advise and criticism. He slept well both nights. Jim and Carol Steele are visiting. We stopped by to say hello this morning before going to Clayton and Alex Bay to play tourist. Tonight Dad called Pat to wish her a happy birthday and did not seem to remember that we had been there a few hours ago.

Surprise

My only painting class was about 35-40 years ago in Clayton. We had a teen-aged girl model and I painted her portrait. I now have the snow geese painting hanging in a show at the same place in Clayton. So I took the portrait to the young lady running the hand-weaving museum and she agreed to give it a go to find the model. Her first contact was a local gallery owner/artist. He studied the painting and thought it looked like the girls from a local family. He took it next door to his gallery to the coffee shop where one of them worked. He asked her if she had ever posed as a model. Surprise! It was her portrait.
Dad was miserable all day yesterday. Swearing often. Complaining, etc. When Pat came in for the first time all day, he yelled at her. When he overheard me telling this tale, he perked up and was happy for me that I had found the girl. Today he seems fine.

Camp Life

We went to camp with the Girards for a few days. The day they left, Heather, Andy and son came in for the night. Andy helped me complete the wharf that Peter started the day before. Heather entertained Dad after Max and Esme left. We are still smiling after a few days not in front of a TV.

Family Time

Dad and I sleep at his house. The rest of the day we are watching the Girards have fun. Klaus took pictures of us all with a flower on our head. In exchange for modeling Max and Esme took home KE's baloons that he got for his birthday. Since then we saw the Dino 3 movie and Dad has watched a ballgame. We are now playing board games, computer games, (Grandma and Esme) and computer blogs.

Good Health

I got Dad to the Dr. this morning. He is in perfect health and has an appointment for a recheck in 6 months. That was all he wanted to hear. He takes a pill in the morning that helps keep his veins open (a holdover preventive since the stroke 30 years ago.) And if you believe in the tooth fairy, then aricept is taken in the evening to slow the natural effects on the brain from getting older faster. And I give him two Tylenol PM with the hope that it makes him sleep for a longer stretch at night. I do think it keeps him sedated enough so I don't worry about him walking out of the house. As far as continuous sleep you know it ranges from 4 hours to 8 hours most nights. So probably the Tylenol is more for me than for him.

Not missed

Pat and I spent Wed. and Thurs. evenings at camp. Brenda took Dad to a camp about 40 miles away on Thursday for dinner. She had arranged it as a surprise for Dad. The Browns have kept in touch with him by stopping in each summer. Then she also took him to dinner at a restaurant on Friday evening.
I got some advice on how to properly crisp the bacon like Brenda did it.
The photos are last night when they returned and this morning after breakfast.

Overnight at Camp

He slept the whole night. Then he seemed groggy in the morning and couldn't decide what he preferred to wear. Once Pat got him fed he sat in a straight backed chair and put his head on his arms and there he stayed for hours. He was quiet the rest of the day coming home and into last night.

He would not eat supper because he was sure Brenda was taking him to dinner on Thursday. (Which she did last week.) I am sure all is forgiven because she called early this morning to confirm for tonight.

Short Visits

The McMahons provided a fun day for Dad. He really makes an effort to be alert and act as the usual host. He wasn't going to join us at the Black Pond, Ontario Lake trip. He would be ok by himself. I reminded him that he sometimes says that he would like to make my life easier and that going with us would be something he could do to make me happy. So we loaded Brenda's wheelchair and enjoyed the sun.

Later we all went out to eat. Kate and Lauren were free with their affection and Dad ended his day happily.

Worth the Wait

We sat in the driveway most of the day. But wasn't our patience rewarded ? And then Pat served a great meal before bedtime.

Predictions?

We went to bed about 9pm at camp. Dad slept about 10 hours solid. He went out last night because Brenda had other obligations for tonight. He started preparing himself about noon and was almost worn out before she arrived. For the past 4 weeks he has had stomach problems twice each night after a drink and dinner out. So I predicted the same for last night. Wrong again. He slept from the end of the game about midnight until 8am this morning. Then had the bathroom visit.

Here are his favorite sneakers. They are almost as old as Dad, but he won't allow any new ones.

Waiting

We are waiting for visitors. Tomorrow we three, (Dad, Pat, and I) go to camp and return on Thursday so Dad can make a dinner engagement with Brenda.

Traffic Watching

An uneventful weekend. Dad still gets up about 2-3 times each night. Last night he covered about 10 topics in a few minutes. He was still talking about all the stuff we had to do when I flipped him back into bed. As he gets physically weaker he seems to me to be trying to be more independent.

The sun is hiding again this evening so Heather has moved him inside.

Hurray for the Future

After 7 hours of sound sleep we were up at 6:30 watching tv trying to get awake before clean-up time. There were tears in his eyes and he was chocked up saying, "He's a pretty good ole boy," as the president spoke of world understanding in Egypt.

Routines

About 9pm, before the pills, Dad enjoys a small ice cream. Bedtime is about 10 now that there are no NBA games. Up at 3, 6, and 8.

He wants to "wake up" with a face wash and hair comb before breakfast.

Today is warm enough and sunny so I expect he will have outdoor time.

Medical Advice

The nurse that checked me out today used to work with old folks. She advised that Tylenol pm, besides helping one sleep, has benedril which closes off the water works, especially in old men. Even with the pills he still gets up once or twice a night to pee and give me advice.

The drug rep said that 40% of the cost of medicine goes to the wholesaler and the pharmacist.

This morning we were going to look at a cement project. The barn needed new gutters. Nothing fancy, no mechanical cleaners. A nice clean job for cash. At 4am I was excited to hear of our next adventure.

Lernin

Dad has learned that the Norwegian Cow Bell makes a startling noise as it falls off the dresser. Of course that is the point so I can sleep a little deeper knowing that when he moves I will be awake. Now I find him quietly removing the bell and setting it on the walker so no one will be disturbed.

For my part I have learned not to try to converse while he is under the influence of Tylenol PM (10pm-8am). This morning at 4 I was told that someone would have to supervise the opening of the coke bottles and see to the distribution among the multitudes.

He is very independent thinking lately. He does not think he needs any help. Even though I caught him 3 times yesterday to prevent serious falls. He will sit still for hours and the minute I am out of sight he will get up to move.

He values highly his night out with Brenda. This week she is with her sister on Friday, so they plan a Thursday meal out. I am lernin that the night out night precipitates at least two very complicated trips to the bathroom.

From Love to Hostility

We had a much better than anticipated time with Dad at Camp. Lincoln and Greta were great with their great-great. The Tuesday night when we came home he slept for over 8 hours without interruption. Then yesterday he was hostile all day. Swore at everything and just never got happy. We went to bed at half time last night and he was up at 3,5,7. At 3am he marveled at how well the corn was growing this winter and how high it will be in the summer. At 5 the wall got sworn at because it was holding up his walker with the brakes on. Another rainy day today. Let's hope he gets some internal sunshine.

Feel the Love

The blackboard is from the one that Dad taught on in the Rodman school. Great Grandson Lincoln is practicing his algorithms.

Greta often went to Great Grandpa Bob, woke him up and gave him a hug.

Work

We watched a late ballgame until 12pm. Oh Boy, a full nights sleep. Wrong again. Up at 1am calling, "Jerry, are you asleep yet?" There was a new insurance problem that demanded our attention now. I bragged that I was on the case and would take care of it, rolled him back into bed and went back to my own fantasy which did not include insurance or anything else that came close to work. Up again at 5am for a nature call. Back to sleep until 6:30 when we got dressed and started the coffee.

Back to the brain studies. Emotions go direct for action. Survival may be at stake. Other inputs may take other routes that take longer to process or think about. Is that why we tend to remember problem situations, traumas, unpleasant happenings more vividly than pleasurable happenings?

Memories

According to my latest reading we take in information and then rearrange the data to fit our own brain. Memory is then triggered or forgotten or rearranged to suit our changing understanding of who we are. Therefore we all remember differently.

Bill C. is the head of our local artist' group. He was the paper boy for Stinard Ave. in Syracuse in 1965. Joe Biden lived on Stinard then while he was going to law school at SU. Mrs. Biden taught at Bellevue school where Bill C. was a student. (The VP, Hubert Humphrey, spoke at my SU graduation in 1965.)

My recollection of that year is a red Triumph spitfire that I drove to North Syracuse to teach 6th grade. We rented the upstairs to a small house that had a steep driveway. I would stop at the corner and Pat would come out in the winter to push the car up the slope for the night.

Pat described in detail the apartment, our first. The furniture, floorplan, colors, etc. I remember none of this even after she told me. She says I drove her to the hospital to work and she would take two buses home.

I asked Dad what he recalls about that time. I even tried to trigger a few thoughts, but nothing came of it.

We watched the Celtics implode until 10pm and then slept until 6:30. The perfect night (except for the Celtics.) This is Dad quessing what day it is and hoping for warm sunshine.

Remembering

"Proust was a Neuroscientist" by Jonah Lehrer was given to me by Sara. It is about Artists who understood about the brain about 100 years before science could explain and prove their experience. Auguste Escoffier understood the experience of food beyond the four tastes on the tongue. Marcel Proust wrote of his life thinking. His thoughts on memory; "We bend the facts to suit our story, as our "intelligence reworks the experience." "Our recollections are cynical things, designed by the brain to always feel true, regardless of whether or not they actually occurred." The more you remember something, the less accurate the memory becomes." "Memories appear and disappear. They obsess us precisely because they disobey every logic, because we never know what we will retain and what we will forget."

At 4 am Dad was collecting firewood on a beach in preparation for the group that was coming to build something. Where does that come from? Yet he could recall from 70 years ago some facts that were agreed on by the visitors who also were there. But I also notice that Mom is approaching saint hood and their marriage is getting happier each year.

Visits

The Cramers visited Dad yesterday pm. Meg fed them goodies while they swapped stories from the past. Herb is only in his late eighties and golfs regularly.

Brenda took Dad to Coopers Landing for dinner where he remembered that he should drink a manhatten with supper.

First at 2am and regularly four times since I traveled with him to the the ceramic throne to complete the food cycle.

Resting

By the end of a long day entertaining, Dad needs the news hour to rest. Then he wakes up to watch some TV before bed at 10-11.

?

We watched TV until midnight and slept until 6am. Back to bed for an hour and up and dressed. A large breakfast and a glance at the paper. Then back to the living room chair to watch the morning news on TV. I told him I was leaving to give Meg a ride in the rain. He asked, "Where am I, at Judy's house in Rye?"

Lunch

At 4 am Dad was planning lunch. He was having Albert Gilmore and a few others and wanted to call in for the meat. Would I get the number for the meat market? And then there was the problem of how we should cook it. On the grill perhaps. This discussion took about 30 minutes while I continued to physically guide him into bed. Once prone and covered he slept another 4 hours.

Tuesday

Another good day in Rodman.
I told him about a friend's father who fell, had an operation on his hip, and could not live at home any longer. He listened sympathetically and waited until I had left the room to stand up by himself. Kids nowadays.
The Tylenol PM works to induce sleep and confuse thought for about 10 hours. While trying to get up from the john this morning, I told him to move forward. He swore and informed me he only had two hands.
From the book on how come humans make errors was the common mistake mentioned before. Pat & I saw two horses shoulder to shoulder coming down the road in front of the camp gate. New facts of no harness, long noses was then processed into the unusual recognition of two large moose.
We received the pontoon boat from storage yesterday and I think that Dad is looking forward to some time at camp this summer.

Thinking

Things are different now than then. Time used to be linear and took longer. What you saw was real or at least close to the saying, "Don't believe anything you hear and only half what you see." Now what you see may be edited in many ways. This is especially true during the NBA games. With highlights from the past, replays from 5 camera angles, comments from announcers, etc. Dad is getting really confused. "How come they made five baskets and only got credit for one?"

All the same he will ask me for a name and when I give it to him he will accept it or not until I come up with the one he was thinking about. And he is still surprised and thrilled when the Celtics get lucky.

Brains

"Bozo Sapiens" is about humans making errors. One of the reasons is that we have created patterns in our thinking that we quickly try to plug new information around. If the new data does not readily fit we try to make it fit our way of knowing rather than asking why it seems out of sync with our perception of the world. For instance a pilot who is highly trained in all kinds of probable emergencies suddenly has something unusual happen and will react according to the training rather than question the unusual new data. "The more we can do with our eyes closed, the larger our blindspot when they are open.

Dad is getting more stories out of less data using this method. He will hear a fact, wrap it into his reservoir of old stories, philosophy, wisdom, experience, etc. and voila, a full blown tale. So when you hear one of his tales, try to find the fact that generated the stuff.

Dining Out

Dad took Heather in her new outfit to dinner. The restaurant owners made an appropriate fuss over her and how lucky he was to have such an escort. I heard all about it from 6-6:30 at which time the manhattan drink put him away until bedtime. He was choosing his restaurant for tonight when I ruined it by telling him it is only Thursday. I think today he is watching Meg bake.

Pat stayed with Dad on Monday night while I went to camp to put the dock in the water. He slept well for her. And then again last night it was almost a 9 hour run. He tries to entertain or be entertained during the day so when the party ends about 7 he goes to sleep. So even after a three hour nap last night he slept soundly for nine more hours.

I got my latest ink drawing framed this morning. He is admiring it.

No News

Dad is enjoying Meg's cooking, Heather's laugh, and singing with Brenda. He watches the NBA, but seems to understand less of what the game is about. His arm strength seems weaker. And his legs work less well each day. And the Tylenol extra strength PM works to make him sleepy and out of it in about 45 minutes. During the night he pushed all of the bedding to the foot when he got up. When he went back to bed he tugged on the bed cover under the sheet. When questioned, he got mad at my stupidity. He needed to be warm and wanted the covers. My standard response now is, "Don't worry, I'll take care of it." With that he settles into sleep.

Ladies of all ages

Last night at dinner a lady next to us asked, "Is that Bob Merrill?" After many inquiries we established to both their agreement that her name was Lucina Drake. That did not mean much to Dad but you could see the gears turning. "You mean Lucina Kenfield, the dancer?" She was. They used to cut a rug about 70 years ago. She was married to a Kenfield who wouldn't share much of his wife, but it was OK to dance.

Heather has been telling Dad about looking for a new outfit to go to a dinner. He insisted that she bring it to model.

Curiosity

I am reading "Bozo Sapiens" and they wrote that Sir Francis Bacon who is credited with starting the experimental method of inquiry was too curious. He was watching snow. Snow looks like salt. Salt preserves food. So he wondered if snow would also preserve food. He stopped the carriage, killed a chicken, packed it with snow and died from a cold two weeks later.

Perhaps I should just accept the things that can't be changed. The arctic people say, "Ayorama". There is nothing to be done about it.

After polishing on the car yesterday, Dad had Heather drive him to the store for cheese. He wanted to see if being shined made it drive smoother. I stopped in Pulaski to find my 1955 Pontiac that we had on Daytona Beach. Last seen it had a tree growing through it. Alas, the garage has collapsed and my convertible was not home.

Breakfast and a shower put Dad to sleep for a while. But during the morning and around lunch he is up entertaining his girls. By the time I return at 6pm he needs another rest to wake up around 8 to watch TV.

I can do it.

One can stand vigilant guard and Dad will still find a way to do it himself when you are not looking. Last night I found him looking for where I had hid the cow bell so he could move the walker without me knowing. I try to explain that a fall that requires hospitalization is not a welcome event and he seems to know that yet continues to move around without help. He reminds me of his great grandson who seems to patiently maneuver until his outcome is achieved.

His legs seem weaker. It takes longer to stand and sometimes the left one gives out. But his plan for today is to polish on his beloved Cadillac. Good luck, Meg.

35 Days of NBA