Gadzooks ... halfway through my sixth decade. It feels like I should have something wise and thoughtful to say, but I don't and so I will cheat by quoting G. K. Chesterton:

Contradictions are just the truth,
standing on its head
to get our attention.

Time passes, and the world changes, and my truth now is that you young whippersnappers ( Read more... )

It is exactly a year ago that our Hâle passed on. In some ways it seems longer, because in a way we really lost her when we had to put her in a nursing home in April 2007. But today is the official anniversary of her passing ( Read more... )

I found this on one of Randy Cassingham's sites and it is just too appropriate to pass up the chance to hand it along, today being the 33rd anniversary of my official wedding to my wife and life partner Lale Akbay.
Thanks for the memories, canim, sevgelim.
GPat.

Once upon a time a man appeared in a village and announced to the villagers that he would buy monkeys for $10 each.
The villagers, seeing that there were many monkeys around, went out to the forest and started catching them.
The man bought thousands at $10 and, as supply started to diminish, the villagers stopped their effort. He next announced ( Read more... )

Awright awreddy ... in Bullwinkle's immortal phrase:
      "Gee Rocky, this time for sure."

I hereby finally declare myself to be officially [if involuntarily] retired.  Unless, of course, someone comes to me saying "I have this neat job that I really hope you will take."  Yeah right.  As if.  After almost a year and a half of being jerked around ( Read more... )

Golly ... time really does fly while you're not looking. Now that I'm semi-officially retired [retarded?], a couple of body shops have pinged me about the possibility of jobs, but while I haven't brushed them off I'm not going to lose sleep anymore over whether or not anything comes of it.

In fact, we're just back from a week in North Myrtle Beach ( Read more... )

I find it difficult to imagine that it has been almost ten months since my last posting ( Read more... )

We have finally come to the realization that we are unable to reliably provide the 24x7 minute-to-minute supervision that she requires to our Hâle. Accordingly yesterday, after thirteen months and a day (but who's counting) of trying to care for her at home, we have put her into full time nursing care ( Read more... )

WOW!
Lotsa time, lots of events since last post.

One thing unchanged: Hâle's condition (and thus ours) continues unchanged or gradually worse, as we approach one full year of attempting to care for her at home. As my brother Roy not only would but has said: "the thing is to do is to try and do the most loving thing you can at all times". But ( Read more... )

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