Pappaw's Birthday

The joy of family

Family gatherings are always stressful events for me. In my family every single person thinks they are in charge. We have our own little groups (some of which give the air of looking down on others). Of course, we have our grudges against each other for reasons real or imagined. But this weekend we had a gathering where none of these issues matter. We celebrated my grandfather’s 90th birthday.

My grandfather is an amazing man. He lost his father during the flu epidemic of the early 20th century. He came of age during the depression working with WPA. His job was to pick up trash along the highway. It was a job he was grateful to have. His meager paycheck was taken home to his mother. In his twenties he married a beautiful woman (my grandmother who is still beautiful). During WWII he was a member of the US Air Force and was bunkmates with Vincent Minelli. After the war he worked in a steel mill, eventually working as a lobbiest for his union. He “retired” at least three different times, each time taking on a new career that interested him. During this time he raised a family of three, built his own home and was a responsible and involved citizen of his community and church. After he raised his own family he helped to raise his grandchildren and his grandchildren’s children. In other words, he has lived an amazing life.

Four years ago he had his third open-heart surgery. After the first two we all expect him to recover quickly and return to his active lifestyle. However, this time his recovery was slow and his attitude was bitter. His memory began to slip and he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. He had a stroke and lost vision in one of his eyes which caused his doctor to recommend his license be revoked. This brought forth more anger and bitterness. Over the last few months his vision reached the point of legal blindness. He can no longer see the television or read the paper. His response was to slip into an attitude of nothingness with brief glimpses of even more anger and bitterness at what he had lost.

I say all this because this weekend I was able to see the man he once was. He wasn’t active physically but his mind was aware. He talked. He smiled. He even laughed. Being around his family-children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, siblings, nieces and more brought a joy to his face that I have not seen in over a year.

For each and every one of us the most important thing we could do was to be there for him. Our petty differences didn’t matter. Only his happiness mattered.

patios, 5ks and shows - total randomness

we have a large yard and it has a lot of grass. it can take several hours to mow. today the decision was made to eliminate some of that area. we are going to put out patio bricks over a large area outside the door eliminating some of the time we hve to spend on the mowers. i am very excited about this.

it's that time of the year again. the komen race for the cure is in october and i am organizing a team from the theatre. unfortuntely for me summer hours took away two months of training. i'm not back at square one but i am close. my goal had been to run the whole race but now the realistic goal will be to run 1 to 1 1/2 miles. i want to do the race in 40 minutes which is a little over 13 minutes a mile. i know that is not an impressive time but for me it will be the best time i've walked/run since i was in high school (eight minute mile with bronchitis, thank you).

odd couple just finished up and it was the most fun i've had stage managing any show. we had a small cast who got along fabulously. now we are working on dearly departed. i'm playing an 85 year old woman. btw, wigs are itchy.

the family reunion plannig is back on track. bellydancing classes are back. so are acting classes. next month i'll be adding a couple of computer classes for work.

Today's Lesson: The Double Standard

The bad news is...staying news-free is nearly impossible. The good news is that the media has once again proven how narrow-minded the liberal left truly is. McCain chose a VP who happens to be a woman who has an infant child, a blue collar husband and a very pregnant 17 year old daughter. The last few days have been nothing but coverage of these stories. Even the entertainment shows are covering this crap. And yet...the liberal left misses the fact that Barak Obama's mother was 17 and unwed. It attacks anyone who dares approach a very ADULT Chealsey Clinton that has campaigned for her mother. The liberal media thinks that anyone who dares to approach these subjects is leading a vicious and unethical attack against innocents...except when it benefits their cause.

So to the liberal left media...you've just opened pandora's box.


We now return to being utterly uninformed.