And a mighty Merry Birthday

To two of my favorite sisters!

And a little funny on me!

Last week I was in Portland and needed to run to the grocery store to get some supplies for Richard. It’s a real simple journey. Richard is at 46^th & Hoyt and there is a Fred Meyer at 67^th & Glisan. Glisan and Hoyt are one block apart. So, you head up Hoyt to 47^th, turn right and then turn left on Glisan and speed out to 67^th. Half wits can navigate this with no problem.

Now, there were extenuating circumstances. There was construction going on (building construction) that was causing some headaches on Glisan, I could see where the problem was. The solution was simple. Instead of turning left on Glisan, I could just continue gaily forward (sorry, I don’t do straight ahead) on 47^th Street, take a left on the next street and just circumvent this entire nightmare. However, I was sitting in the left turn lane, but when the car ahead of me darted ahead on 47^th, I followed suit. I kind of thought he knew what he was doing. He didn’t turn left on the first street. I was nervous that I was following another out-of-towner until I glanced down that street and it was obvious that it didn’t go through.

Second street, same story.

Third street he turned left. I followed. Nice street that looked like it went all the way to 82^nd. I don’t know that for sure, but it had all the earmarks.

He didn’t turn back to Glisan at 48^th Street. I checked. It didn’t go through. Same with 49^th. I trusted this dude with my dignity. He was totally cool! When he finally turned left, back to Glisan, I followed, knowing he was leading me back to my goal.

Okay, this leads to the obvious question of, “What is the socially acceptable thing to say to a complete stranger after you have followed him into his driveway?”

a.       Jump out of the car and ask, “What’s for lunch?”

b.      Jump out of the car and ask, “Hey, sailor boy, want to spend some time?”

c.       Avoid eye contact, shift the car into reverse and speed away as quickly as possible.

Another round trip to Portland

Well, there truly is some good news today. 

Richard looked better than I have seen him in a couple of weeks. He had color. No, he wasn’t a bronze god, but he wasn’t snow white, either. He had energy. Not enough to walk to the hospital, but enough to walk to the cafeteria and eat!!! And his humor came to life again.

Of course, I knew his humor was on the rebound yesterday, when he said…

Oh, you’re a day behind me. I know about yesterday, you possibly don’t. More tumors. More tumors in the brain. Original radiation plan scrapped. Now doing scatter plan.

A down side of the scatter plan is possible loss of memory, appearing like early stages senility. Richard turned to me and said, “And now I become one of you Cornelisons!” Or something to that effect.

And it’s just one more candle of hope snuffed out in the wind.

But damn, he looked good!

The Professor has left the room.

RIP Russell Johnson.

Seems we're left with Mary Anne and Ginger!

I'm with Opal

At a bare minimum, have the common decency to upscale the location a bit.

"He was killed in a tragic shopping cart accident at his local Nieman Marcus."

(and thanks to Brian Crane for creating Pickles!)

Oh, Lordy, where do I begin?

This is an official Richard Update. Had this been merely prose of intense humor and no factual data, I would not have said, “This is an official Richard Update.” Come on folks, this isn’t rocket science.

Let’s see. Saturday was bad, Sunday was worse. Monday was about the equal with Saturday. I spoke with the hospital/clinic on both Sunday and Monday. It was agreed that if this morning (Tuesday) Richard wasn’t able to travel to Portland, he was heading to the emergency room in Hood River.

I think that kind of inspired Richard. We made it to Portland. I slowed down in front of the hospital and pushed Richard out the door and sped back to Hood River.

No, that’s not how it happened, but I did come home alone. Richard is at the same apartment as he had this summer. It’s kind of like old home week for him!

The road trips were too much for Richard. I will still go into Portland everyday and make sure he gets to the hospital. His energy is very low and it is a couple blocks to the cancer building. He couldn’t have walked to the apartment today, so I will make sure he is mobile. He will come home for the weekend.

And yes, we did get bad news today. There appears to be more tumors. Somewhere between one and four depending on the strictures you place on the facts.

Two are in the chest cavity. We heard rumor of them while Richard was in the hospital in Hood River. His oncologist confirmed that one of them was a concern on Boxing Day.  Apparently the other is too small to form an opinion about. But the doctor Richard saw today thought they were news to us. And the other two are in his brain. But one of them is too small to be sure, the other is a concern.

So, yeah, somewhere between one and four. You count ‘em!

Okay, at what point am I allowed to run out into the yard, stark ass naked and scream at the top of my lungs, "FUCK CANCER!!!"?

And do I need a zoning permit for that?

Another wonderful old picture.

If you haven’t picked up on the general drift, I’ve been moving a box of old pictures to a more protective environment. As such, I have been looking at a lot of photos from the past.

This is one of my all-time favorites.

The Newell Family Home

From left: Maude, Will, Nate, Emily, Roy, Fannie, Ethel, Hazel and Ray.

Oh, and the best part, this photo is laced with my Great-Aunts and Great-Uncles.

Roch, when you are shown pictures of your Great-Aunts and Great-Uncle (on one specific side of your ancestry), you will need to filter out some of the unfortunate poses.

We ain't quite as photogenic of a group as the Newells.

Thirteen-Thirteen-Thirteen

Today is the 13^th day of the 13^th month of 2013. Obviously, I am not confined by the standard restrictions of the western calendar.

I'm itching for family gathering someplace totally awesome! How 'bout you all join me in the south of France?

My Grandpa was no fool!

Ira Beam McCracken was an remarkably intelligent person. He applied for a number of patents, including for a roto-tiller like creature and an electric lawn mower. 

You know, I came within an inch of being as amazingly wealthy as I am good looking!

Another Richard Update!

I would love to tell you all that Richard is doing swimmingly. Really, I would.

But Richard is uncomfortable in bodies of water. He doesn’t swim. I hope you all see the biting irony in the use of “swimmingly” as a good thing when Richard can’t even tread water. I even amaze myself with my wordsmithing prowess.

Or maybe I’m the only one I impress. That is very possible.

Four down, six to go: Richard is exhausted. He’s keeping hydrated and his headaches have lessened. The miracle pills that the doctor gave Richard had some unfortunate side effects, so he had to cut back. He was going to make me dinner last night. He did get the cans of tuna out of the cupboard, but frankly his heart gave more than his body could deliver, so I learned his secret recipe for Tuna Noodle Casserole. (I’ve sworn to take it to my grave with me.)

He’s having issues with sleeping (can’t), his lower extremities (neuropathies – or at least a neuropathies-like symptom), vision (blurred and painful eyes), weight-loss (yes, he keeps going down, he’s to his lowest since grade school), a general disinterest in eating (I’m sure it is not my cooking that is causing his appetite to disappear and I resent you thinking it was!) and constant and extreme exhaustion.

We’ll see what tomorrow brings.

An official welcome to Robert Elias Wells

Woo hoo!!! Me a great-uncle once again!!!

It's purely a title. I am pretty sure that I would rank in the mediocre to middling field if all the statistics were gathered.

But, even though reality does shed a different light, let's let Roch believe the title as long as possible.

The big news of the day!

I know you will all be amazed, but I complete the Sudoku Monster in the Oregonian. No on has ever, in the history of the world, completed this puzzle before. I am amazing.

Oh, and Richard had his first radiation appointment today. I think it went okay. I wasn't there. I had jury orientation. 

There is really little to report. Our friend, Barb took him to Portland. He was home when I got home. He said it was okay.

Sorry, no miracles. Apparently, they only do miracles on odd numbered days with a few "d"s or "l"s or "7"s  in their name. The rules are confusing. I don't understand them.

Sunrise over the Columbia

 

I guess there was a valid reason to come to work this morning.

Another old picture.

I don't know the date or the location, but I know the characters!