Wednesday update

Sorry, folks. The power went out last night.

Our friend with the large (and now somewhat flat) head is doing well. He's in some sort of body armor ('canned tuna,' Will said), and is scheduled to go for a walk this morning.

He's doing a thick liquid diet, and figuring out how to eat without moving his neck.

He's apparently already scheduled for facial reconstruction surgery Friday in Iowa City. I'm not sure how he gets from Madison to IC, but I've taken the top off the Subaru, so I'm ready to help out...

It sounds like everybody is already chomping at the bit to get out of the hospital.

Love to you all,
Kevin

Oh, shit...

I don't have a lot of details, but Cranium Man was biking in Wisconsin this weekend. There was a hill, a curve, and a patch of gravel. He landed on his face, smashing three(?) vertebrae and his sinus bones. He was airlifted to UW-Madison hospital Saturday, but they couldn't get a neurosurgeon until today.

As of today, I'm on facebook, because Robyn is posting updates there. Here's what I've got from there...

"Surgery supposed to happen today (Mon). will keep you all posted. Sam is getting less comfortable, and I;m sure surgery will change the discomfort to new places."

"Sam is FINALLY heading into surgery in a few moments...it will take 1/2 day, and they are putting some rods and screws in to help with the crushed T3 vertebrae. Looking at a collar for the cervical fracture--best case scenario--worst case = halo with head screws. Will have a back brace for 3 months at least. Will let you know how he progresses...."

"Sam's surgery is going well. Didn't get it started until just after 12:00--so far everything is routine! good news. btw-Tuna can fly."

"It is 6pm-still in surgery. No word on how much longer it will be. They say he is still doing well, and everything is 'standard' whatever that means."

"7 pm- Sam is out of surgery, will be in recovery for an hourish. They plan on keeping us for a week, so we may do facial recon up here as well. Will know more when he's awake and moving. robyn"

I'll let y'all know more as I hear about it.

I Promised...

I had forgotten about this until Uncle Dennis gave me crap the other night.

So here it is, a promise fulfilled. Here are some pictures from Africa to share:








And just so you know this wasn't all zoom feature, this is how close we got to our Elephant friend:




There was so much more than just the animals though. I'd post the highlights of my trip, but it'd take up too much space on the page. The people we met made the difference.

All you need is love

I'm having a hard time remembering that she doesn't want today to be sad. She wants today to be celebrated, like every other day.

I need to say thank you to all of you for making my life a little (or a LOT) brighter every day. Please know that there is a tremendous amount of love flowing from me to you, always :)

(I'm not as eloquant as Sam, but I think I said what I've needed to say for now)

April

April is the cruelest month, breeding Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing Memory and desire, stirring Dull roots with spring rain.

--T. S. Eliot

My Mom used to say "T.S., Mr. Eliot!"

It's been almost a year now since we said goodbye to our dear friend Diana. Okay, we've been saying goodbye ever since, too, haven't we? It's April, though, no way around it, and the 28th will come, and then May 7th, when my Dad died. You can get your head on as straight as you think you need to, and an anniversary of grief is still there, patiently waiting for you to stop trying to "manage" it.

I was by Da Woods and Yvonne and I talked briefly about this month and what it means. Kevin was already hauling stuff again. I walked upstairs and out the door grateful that these two found each other and have understanding company.

That got me thinking as I got into the car and turned around about a conversation I had with Diana one night while the other boys were playing pool. I can't remember her exact words, but she said something to the effect that she didn't mind dying so much if it weren't that Kevin would still be here without her. I suppose she worried about what would happen when he didn't have to hold things together so marvelously (making the rest of us spouses look puny by comparison) any more.

I looked up the driveway at the hundreds of tulips and daffodils sprouting along the driveway, thought about Kevin and Yvonne moving things and cleaning and making space, and felt the sun shining on my face through the windshield.

What I felt just then was something that's hard to describe, a sense of Diana's presence, warm and approving and I remembered that beaming crooked smile that always said "you are exactly okay and I am with you and I totally approve."

I don't know much. I know less than I once did, certainly. But I know this:

She is with us and she approves.

I Solemnly Swear..

...that I will have pictures to post here after I go to Africa.


I promise I won't be the odd man out not posting pictures. :)

I can't say I have as nice of a camera, but I think it will do an ok job with the animals...so long as they stay still. So it looks like there will be a lot of pictures of Crocodiles and Hippos.

:) Lauren

Face

I spent a good deal of yesterday running back and forth between Cedar Rapids and Vinton, once because of my own lack of organization (forgot my gym bag), and once because of some drama at school that my son found overwhelming (no harm, no foul - he doesn't ask for much in this regard). In the end, I just took some hours I had banked and called it a wash.

It got me thinking about "blow over." My commute is a rural two lane stretch of Hwy 218, straight north through corn fields to Vinton, the county seat of Benton County. I put my camera on "fast" and shot about 80 pictures rapidly through the windshield. The best visuals seem to be with the sun behind the snow, so that the light reflects all the flakes and makes them stand out. I missed the best conditions, but these are still some nice COLD pictures.

I've been messing around with Facebook, something apparently a few of my middle aged friends are doing as well. It all feels a bit managed to me. It feels as though the site is primarily about self-definition (and obviously networking) and comes with more than a little spam and neo-spam. My friends may find this surprising, but I only have so much patience for self-definition. At the age of 50, I'm a little less involved in definition than interpretation. I'm defined, for God's sake; I'm just not sure what it means. Fussing with the meaning of things and keeping an eye on balance and pondering what comes next.

There's this guy I've known for quite a while, who appears, Zelig-like, at events and gatherings, spouting blather, hail-fellow-well-met, and talking about himself, mostly. He's where he should be all the time and when he's not he's with some underworld spy or the wife of a close friend. . . etc. Anyway, he was the second person to "friend" me on facebook. I know more about this guy's movements in the past three weeks than I ever cared to know. Now if I "un-friend" him, it will be announced all over my "network" as though we broke up. Definitely not worth it. Another woman posted her macrobiotic diet and the fact that her husband speaks three languages. I don't know her either, and I don't care what she eats. Or when.

Before I get dressed and drive north through the blowing snow to my eminently satisfactory but not stressfull enough (ironically) job, I will log on to facebook and try to think of some clever way to indicate that "Sam is sitting in a chair scratching his ass." which is what I do every morning before I get moving. If I log on the same time every day, that's what it's going to say, because that's what I DO this time of day.

Part of life, like snow, and my first "friend" on facebook. Cheers!