Time for a change?

Five races we’re watching that could be decided early (as all polls close by 8 p.m. Eastern time): For southeastern Indiana’s U.S. House seat: U.S. Rep. Baron Hill vs. Republican challenger Todd Young; for Kentucky’s open U.S. Senate seat: Attorney General Jack Conway vs. Dr. Rand Paul; for Metro Louisville mayor: Democrat Greg Fischer vs. Metro City Council Member Hal Heiner; in Ohio: Gov. Ted Strickland vs. Republican John Kasich; and for Florida governor: FL Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink vs. Republican Rick Scott (pictured above). If the Republicans take all of these (certainly possible), I predict they will also take the U.S. Senate.

Watch Perriello-Hurt in VA and Chandler-Barr in KY also. In two other Congressional districts where we have roots, Democratic incumbents Allen Boyd (in FL) and Mary Jo Kilroy (in OH) seem already headed for defeat.

- Perry

Other health

Aunt June and Aunt Sandy called us Tuesday to tell us that Grandpa Beck, 97, is in the hospital, facing undetermined ailments. His blood county and kidney count are low, he has bronchitis, and it's possible he had some mini-strokes. We may visit this weekend. We feel bad that we didn't spend time with him this summer, as we did last summer. This is complex, since Vincent has talked about returning to Ohio this weekend, but we don't necessarily want to encourage that (and all of us going to Ohio would certainly encourage that). I may go alone. This may impact Mom's visit, slated to start in eight days, since we may want to include an Ohio visit, which wasn't originally planned.

This week Mom is taking a two-morning AARP driving class, which hopefully is giving her tips on how to perfect her driving strategies and assess her driving abilities. After trying and failing at participating in a swim class several months ago, Mom engaged in regular one-on-one swim lessons. Her mixed feelings about water, being out of the water for 30 years, and Parkinson's made the in-class experience scary and humiliating. But her general work on stretching, strengthening, and balancing - and her specific work in the pool - made her return to the swim class a success. She's still better at some things than others, but no panic in the pool this time. Good work, Mom!

Our doctor said Tuesday that I have an infection in my inner ear - my stubborn than the more run-of-the-mill infections Vincent and I had last month - and so he put me on a new round of medication. If that doesn't work, I may head off to an ear, nose, and throat specialist, potentially to have the fluid in my inner ear drained though a tube (through my ear drum!). To try to prevent the need for this, I'm also supposed to do things like I do in an ascending or descending plane to clear my ears.

No luck feeding the turtles. We are buying a new heating element to try to get the terrarium at a better temperature (instead of only 77 degrees or 107 degrees). We tried hand feeding Monday and Big Mac tried to bite Stephanie (hope that's a good sign, that he's trying to eat)! It's very hard to get the pieces of food small enough (especially cutting up live worms into small pieces). We were also told we could try fruit.

Heard from Penny Tuesday on how Serge and Jacob's birthday parties went last week. It turns out that she and I will both be in the D.C./Baltimore area - me for a conference for work, her for another round of movement classes - so she may stay with me in Baltimore one night.

P.S. Our Weight Watchers leader and meeting were in the Louisville paper today. Check the article and accompanying pictures out at: http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2010309220035

-- Perry

Challenges

Tough couple of days coming up: stressful encounteres anticipated, with a church meeting Friday and then spending time with Stephanie's stepfather and stepsiblings. We'll hope to see Vincent during this.) Also Friday: Mom shifts the stuff she couldn't fit in her apartment from a storage space a couple of miles away to a space within her retirement center complex. Keep all of us in mind as we make our way through these days.

-- Perry

News

Good news and bad news: It appears that my health and job are somewhat secure for a while. Mid-year review went OK and blood test came up negative for cancer. Stephanie has met the new assistant principal for her school and had lunch with the person promoted to head up the school district English as a new language education program, and got along with them both. Mom's closing went fine - and she met and liked the young woman who will live there and her parents (and found that the A/C - probably 20-25 years old - died, but Mom had insured it for the whoever the buyer was before. Stephanie's mom also went home from the hospital, as her condition has improved somewhat.

Still, Nancy is weak and will be embarking on somewhat unfamiliar medical territory. And Vincent - we think - after he changed his mind and stayed in Ohio - apparently didn't get his job back (which he quit when he thought he was coming back home). Hopefully, Vincent will join Stephanie to visit Nancy and Bob at their home Saturday, while I entertain Peter and his family, before leaving for three days of meetings in Chicago Sunday night. Stephanie will come back to set up her room early this coming week.

-- Perry

Housing and health

My Mother spent a nervous weekend waiting to hear whether the would-be buyer of her house would go ahead and buy. He had been trying to get Mom to pay to fix some additional wood rot that was found. But no final phone call came him and the drama will apparently go on until the end of the month, when the closing is scheduled. The buyer will lose some money if he does not go ahead with it. He's buying it for his daughter, a Florida State student, to live in (and probably housemates). Mom also reached a couple of milestones: she turned in the last work product for work - a short narrative describing and analyzing some data she had put into tables - and marked her fourth week of one-on-one swimming exercise activities.

Health problems also abounded in Central Ohio, where both Stephanie's Mother and Vincent have been having trouble breathing. The guess is that Nancy's problems stem from her cancer treatment and Vincent's from smoking and asthma. Nancy was slated to go to the doctor Tuesday to find out more. Vincent and his father - having left their apartment - somewhat near Vincent's work - are now staying very near the motel we sometimes stay at when we visit Ohio - and not too, too far from Stephanie's Mom. The two also had a short drive Saturday to Canal Winchester, scene of cousin Dustin and Jamie's wedding. Vincent and his father are currently staiying in an RV - apparently Vincent's grandparents' old RV - parked in the yard of a friend of Vincent's father. (They are quite far now from Vincent's job, at the North High Street Bob Evans.)

I'm wrapping up physical therapy this week (as my knee continues to feel better - the PT said I had gone from 45% to 85%), starting taking antibiotric for stomach problems I picked up in Guatemala, and start the prerlude Thursday for a Friday AM colonoscopy. i hope my current stomach problems do not jeopardize my colonoscopy.

-- Perry

Congrats!

Upon her return earlier this week, Stephanie learned that the New Albany-Floyd County (IN) school board had granted her tenure (having taught in the district for five years and her principal having giving her positive recommendations) (click on the image above to read the tenure letter). It’s complex because Stephanie occupies a niche. But, in general, it means it would be harder to lay her off and, if her position was eliminated, she could “bump” non-tenured teachers, if she were qualified for their positions.

Over the past week and a half, Mom received an offer on her house, went back and forth with the would-be buyer (a man buying the house for his daughter, who will attend Florida State, and presumably some housemates. Friday Mom’s realtor helped engineer a deal. In a couple of weeks the man will – or will not – put up a downpayment and then two weeks later a closing will take place. The downpayment will be big enough that if he pays it, he’ll definitely close. The sale somewhat official (at a somewhat discounted price), the house is apparently off the market for now. Mom doesn’t seem to be rushing back to see the house another time or two. She won’t have to worry about having to keep the outside mowed, etc., won’t have to keep paying pest control and utilities, and won’t have to worry about not being able to sell and having to rent it out.

- Perry

Health and housing

Frisco spent a day at the vet, with vomiting, but was back Monday night, seemingly as good as ever (see above)– though he vomited again Thursday night. The half a dozen eggs Speckles laid late Saturday night continue not to look good, and the one good one she laid earlier this spring has done nothing. The Nissan is still in the shop, undergoing rear axle work. I completed my second week of physical therapy on my right knee. At some points during the day it feels great; other times it does not. I plan to bring my cane to Minnesota and Guatemala. Stephanie (pictured below) came home Tuesday night via the Cincinnati airport (without luggage - it arrived the next day) after a challenging nine days away (in China and elsewhere), jet lagged, exhausted, and with swollen ankles and a bad cold (probably due to exhaustion, too much salt and MSG, and lots of air pollution), but no blood clots. After working on the yard all day Wednesday, she slept all day Thursday. She took something like 1,300 photos while she was away and had an mediocre-to-OK excuse for not calling me from the LA airport and not contacting me by computer once she got to China. Although she did miss having dinner with my father in Koreatown, she did not miss having Peking duck in Peking. My Mother also started one-on-one water exercise classes this week. Although the water is still cold, she's done better at this than she did with the group class, although she may re-join that as she gets used to the water. The exercises she are doing are similar to what she does every morning in the gym, but these under water. She also continues a group exercise class also at the gym, I think twice a week.

Vincent and his father are awaiting the clean-up of their place-to-be in metro Columbus, while Mother awaits word Friday on the possible sale of her house after three months on the market (including one month - May - which was the worst market for U.S. home sales in years and years).

- Perry

Countdown

Four more days of work for two people in our family: till the end of the school year for Stephanie (who will take all but the last week of summer off, because the school district couldn’t afford to have summer school, and is currently spending part of her time at work packing up her books, files, and so on, since she'll be moving to a former closet, which she'll share with a colleague, over the summer); and – apparently – for the rest of her life for my Mother. Mom is trying to finish two projects at home and to go in to work (in the Florida Education Center - or Turlington Building - pictured above) to go through more of her files. A couple of months ago she gave her manager June 4 as the date. Mom is not advertising the end of her 35 years with the Florida Department of Education as much as she might because she has mixed feelings about wrapping things up, as her health really pressed her to do it. Jacob has another week and a half of school. This weekend I may see Penny, Jacob, and Serge, as I head through there on my way to or from a college reunion in Pennsylvania. At this point, Stephanie is slated to stay home, as Vincent will be back with his own little one-year reunion and a doctor’s appointment.

-- Perry

Family news

Friday is the big day at my job. Earlier this week Mom got the go ahead to work at home, up until her retirement date (June 4). She went in for several days and got some important work done that she could have only done in the office. She met with a fitness center staff and was a little surprised that she can only mainly do what she’s been doing at the gym (she missed a couple of days when she was at the office most of the day) – She may have to consider breaking down and do exercises in the pool. Hasn’t gone swimming for 32 years.

I called Mom’s realtor’s office about whether we could get in to see Mom’s house during our brief visit next week, and she said that prospective landlords – attracted by the four bedrooms – have been the biggest draw to see the house so far. One person who visited didn’t like the house backing onto the apartment complex (over the fence). The pictures on the realtor’s website certainly don’t show the complex behind the house (though it peaks out behind the fence in the picture above). The bigger recent challenge as been the now student rentals on both sides of Mom’s house, and we probably won’t feel great about contributing to that.

(Mom will also be headed to the doctor's office Friday for a routine visit.)

Stephanie’s had a crazy week, staying at school to work late every night, five nights in a row. Tuesday afternoon was the probably the last district-wide English as a new language teaching staff meeting with the long-time leader, who will probably have different responsibilities next year (and Stephanie’s Camry may get fixed as a follow-up to that meeting). Tuesday night brought a very modest-sized group of parents and children coming mainly from the school whose families tried to hard to keep it from getting closed (the school that President Bush visited several years ago). But one Silver Street parent said he opposed the closing but was excited about Fairmont’s diversity (including many of Stephanie’s students). Wednesday afternoon brought some annoyances but bottom line a visit by a group of district staff, local academics, and state staff eager to let the IN education officials how Stephanie’s ENL program could be a model for others around the state.

(Earlier Thursday Stephanie also took her fifth-grade ENL students - and this year the fourth-graders too - in an annual field trip to see the middle school where most of them will be attending and to meet some of the staff. The regular ENL teacher - the one injured in a bad car accident this winter - is of course still out. But they met the long-term sub who Stephanie met last week, as she's a student in one of the Indiana University Southeast teaching ENL classes.)

Undergoing new treatment, Stephanie’s mother is already seeing some new side effects (without the old side effects all going away). Earlier this month Nancy and Bob had their swimming pool filled in with a dirt – a pool that Vincent, Stephanie, and I enjoyed regularly – and that dates back almost to when Stephanie, Nancy, and Bob first lived there. Maintenance is a challenge, and neither Nancy nor Bob ought to be outside in the sun.

-- Perry

New Albany night

Stephanie, Frisco, and I were all in New Albany until late Thursday. I planned to take Frisco with me to an “Organizing for America” phone bank making calls to Southern Indiana Democrats to urge them to call U.S. Senator Richard Lugar (R-IN) to urge him to vote for financial industry regulatory reform. First time I’d phone banked for several weeks, and the first time not for health care reform. Frisco came along with me. Stephanie stayed late for a “family literacy” program put on by Indiana University Southeast for her English as a New Language students and their parents. Stephanie was kind of a star, as the MC essentially interviewed her, asked her questions about the families. Plus there were two IUS ENL education grad students who said they had heard of Stephanie , were excited to meet her, and hoped to follow up. A new READ 180 coach also appeared during the day to offer Stephanie feedback.

Things weren’t so great back on the other side of the Ohio River. Thanks to me leaving Frisco in the back yard during the afternoon (and taking him to New Albany with me), he had no accidents for the first time in three days. Back at work, however, things did not go so well. Some long, closed-door meetings, and rumors from other sources, suggest that the cuts – in general and in our offices – may be quite severe, which leads me to believe the Presbyterian Panel, which I’ve administered in 14 months in my new position, may be on the chopping block. Hard to see how they could justify keeping me – instead of some of my colleagues – if they got rid of my research program. Mid-week next week will find at least three people from my office headed to a de facto job search workshop at work (why before the layoffs? Asked my colleagues; I answered: because if they do it afterwards, the laid off people will all be gone – it will be too late). There are other interpretations out there. This may not be by accident – we may all three be on our way out. Thursday I came closer to finishing a draft of another report and signed up for the new jobs e-mail distribution list at church.

Mom went into work for the first time in months and found that her new medication doesn’t seem to work as well as her old medication. She was sleepy at work, but – more importantly – she found some of her Parkinson’s symptoms – ones she may or may not have missed in recent days – were more in evidence – which made it tougher for her to walk. She’s going through her files electronic and hard-copy and logging more hours in so she doesn’t use up all her vacation.

-- Perry

Mid-week news

Another big mid-week: Stephanie goes to a faculty/staff meeting at her school this afternoon, when more of what’s in store for them this coming school year will be made public. It’s been musical chairs with the rumor mill as to which teacher she might be paired with and in which room. Stephanie finished our contribution to this year’s Children’s Fellowship Sunday, leading a fun Mexico/Cinco de Mayo-themed activity, and then topped off her after-school Culture Club Mexico unit Monday with a parent – a parent she’d seen the day before in a long, parent-teacher conference – bringing in Mexican food (with leftovers coming home).

I learned Monday evening that the larger unit at work within which my office is by far the largest subunit may be facing a 19 percent budget cut, which means May 14 it’s likely that 2 of the 10 people (possibly including me) in my office will be laid off. I had a dream last night that I or we were moving to a new city so I could start a new job. Back at work, I’ve turned in one report and trying to finish one more this week (while layoff decisions are still being made). In perhaps a swan song, the three or four days’ worth of Presbyterian “Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study” podcasts I recorded earlier this year went out over the weekend: http://www.pcusa.org/missionyearbook/podcast/may/myb050110.mp3

Also, Wednesday is the first meeting of a small group of people from church going to Guatemala on a mission trip in July. One of the trip leaders, I purchased tickets (with the pastor’s credit card) for four of us last week. A Spanish class (partly to prepare) at church, after Weight Watchers, starts up again today.

My Mother has been trying to nail down some of the details of her retirement and exit from her office. She also has an appointment with her neurologist this week. I knew she had talked with the realtor and her contractors, but it turns out her house has been on the market for a week or two, with three people coming to see it already. Check out the pictures at: http://www.libbyallen.com/content/listdetail.html?propid=111315592&proptype=*&minprice=-1&maxprice=-1&bed=-1&full=-1&ag_id=162936&pageclicked=1&proppos=10&ids=108928250,107852264,102765984,105037361,91721122,78676355,105073187,108425781,109801255,111315592

Over the weekend my sister had her four modern dance performances, and received an award, but was also in a car accident soon before one of the performances, which shook her up and damaged her car and created a hassle for her trying to track down after the fact the person at fault who sideswiped her and her insurance company. Jacob got to see most of Stephanie’s performances. We’re glad Penny’s OK but know it must have been stressful.

Stephanie and Vincent were in touch Monday after we went to see a movie by a Korean filmmaker whose previous movie (“The Host”) Vincent loved. Vincent says he’s working on his classes, mostly right now the English class that he’s essentially taking for the third time. He continues his job, which he alternatively says is fun or boring.

- Perry

Happy birthday, Vincent!

Today is Vincent’s 19th birthday, which we celebrated with him this past Friday night, when he was still in town. I wrote Thursday about Vincent’s school “progress.” Apparently Vincent’s father has lined up a job at a Bob Evans near Graceland shopping center in north Columbus. Vincent may start this week (even on his birthday?). By days of the week, a year ago today Vincent went to court and essentially escaped with a de facto year of probation, with nothing on his record, and his house arrest ended (and this week he completed the online high school he’s completed most recently). I have called the lawyer about getting his record expunged – after one year – and haven’t heard back.

Mother heard from her manager late last week that apparently there was some paperwork that needed to be completed for her to work at home, and he asked her to stop working because they needed to start with her doctor for that paperwork. Mom was just getting going on some work projects at home, and was sorry to have that cut short. She would also like to finish those by June (her putative retirement month) and is a little worried that she currently is eating up the rest of her vacation days (it’s not clear what to do with these stop-work days). Mom has kept busy, entertaining, going to programs at the retirement center, taking care of personal business, maintaining her medication regimen, getting used to her walker/rolator, meting more people at the center, and exercising at the gym (in the new, post-therapy era). She has also been in contact with the contractors working on her house, and the real estate agent we’re working with will do a walk-through of the house with them this Friday. She will take photos at that time that will appear on her company’s website. Apparently the house will go on the market soon. The real estate agent will stop by Mom later Friday to let her know how things are proceeding. I’m hoping Stephanie and I will be in Tallahassee later in May, and hopefully we can see the house – somewhat transformed – at that time, before it might be sold. Who knows?

This past Monday Stephanie wrapped up a three-week unit in her after-school Culture Club about Korea. I had stopped by the first week to talk about and show pictures and mementos of my 1995 visit with Penny and Serge there. Last week Stephanie had hoped Vincent would stop by to show the kids some Tae Kwon do moves (a Korean martial art), but that didn’t work out. Monday she brought radish kimchee and rice and bulkogi steak she had made, and they had a feast. She had done Korea a year ago in Culture Club, but they did not repeat any content this time, since she still has some kids from back then in Culture Club. Negotiation continues about where Stephanie’s school will put all of the teachers/students they will have next year. Eventually, they may need portable classrooms.

-- Perry

Saint Marks Wildlife Refuge

Whenever Perry and I get to return to Tallahassee we try to enjoy some of the nature in the surrounding areas. We try to get to Saint George Island, or the Wakulla River for canoeing, or Saint Marks. This time Perry didn't get to go to any of these places but I was able on the last full day I was there to get away for awhile and go to Saint Marks.

I first went to my friend, Rachel's, house. I had wanted to see her little girl, but she was at her dad's house. Rachel and I reminisced about going to Saint Marks the week of my graduation from FSU. She was my neighbor at Hidden Villas then. My Mom and Dad had both come down to see my graduation. Martha, Rachel, my Mom, and I had all gone to Saint Marks. My Dad was flying in later so Perry picked him up from the airport and brought him out to meet us at Saint Marks. Once we were all there we ate dinner at Ootz's Too. As Rachel and I drove by Ootz's we laughed about the drive back on the dirt road that led to Natural Bridge.

Perry, Vincent, and I when we lived in Tallahassee would always go down to the lighthouse and then go to the right to walk out to a rock jetty. Because of several hurricanes the grassy walkway is still there separating the fresh water from the gulf but the rock jetty that we could climb out on during low tide has been swept away. Since the jetty wasn't there Rachel and I headed out to the left of the lighthouse, breaking from tradition but allowing me to see several beaches that I don't think I ever realized were there.

Spring was defiantly in the air. Flowers were blooming and grass was growing everywhere. Looking back from the gulf towards the wildlife refuge I kept thinking that if I didn't know better the grassy areas could be mistaken for the Savannah grasslands of Africa. I even joked that I could imagine seeing a long neck of a giraffe in the clumps of pine trees growing here and there.

Flowers in Tallahassee and especially along the beach don't seem to be as showy but they are still pretty. I found these tiny little pink buds growing in the sand. If you look closely at the picture you can see the holes from crabs peeping out from the sand. The purple flowers below were also along the beach but a little further from the water. They were growing on a low lying shrub. They seemed to be everywhere.

Rachel and I walked along several different paths until the water bottles we had drank during the drive down caught up with us. Hearing the water from the tide coming in didn't seem to help matters.

Here is a better picture of Rachel. It was warm and windy, but after this past February it was a welcomed change.

I tried to catch the sea foam that was along the edge of the water. You can also see some of the grass growing along the beach.

Here I was trying to be Samson! The palm trees were so close together I couldn't help myself. You can tell I was having fun, enjoying the break, and catching up with Rachel.

Tallahassee had a lot of rain before Perry and I got down there. It even rained pretty heavy one night while I was there. When Rachel and I were leaving Saint Marks and driving back towards the visitors center we noticed lots of high water along the road.

There were signs along the way saying they were preparing for prescribed burns but I'm sure all the water was keeping them from doing it when they had planned.

While Rachel went into the visitors center I walked a little of the trail around the pond outside the visitors center. The shade felt good but also seeing all the plants and nature was very calming. The whole time Rachel and I were there the only time we really saw people was down at the lighthouse and a few horse back riders along the road.

Riding a horse or bike along some of the trails at Saint Marks would be fun but it could get pretty buggy. This was probably early enough in the year that it wasn't too bad for some people. We did notice that the horseback riders were actually walking the horses (probably because of the heat) on our way out of the park.

Sometimes getting to see all of the nature around Tallahassee reminds me that I don't get out and see the nature in Louisville as much as I should, just as when I lived in Tallahassee I didn't get out to see nature as much. I guess sometimes you have to pretend to be a tourist in your own city to actually appreciate some of the things that are there. Or, better yet...I could invite lots of friends and family to come visit us in Louisville so I can show them around...and get to be the tour guide for them!

---Stephanie

Back and forth

Click on the arrow in the small white box immediately above to see a video clip with Mom and her physical therapist trying an exercise activity that probably improves Mom's balance and agility.

Spring break (part 1)

We left Friday morning, together, to take Frisco to boarding. On the way out I used the flash to take a picture of newly emerged buds (it's spring!). We got to the boarding place just before 8, but several "Dog of the Day" dogs were already waiting with the people for us.

After work we drove to the airport and took Delta Airlines flights through Memphis to Tallahassee. Stephanie and I last flew together back on the way back from Vegas.

We picked up a rental car and drove to Mom's retirement center. We'd only seen her new apartment when it was empty, before she was close to moving in. Either Friday night or Saturday morning Mom showed Stephanie her room.

This one walk-in closet - and a smaller one in her entry way - replaced Mom's four or five closets in her house.

Saturday morning - after walking on a retirement center trail and visiting with Mom - we stopped at the nearest local version of Tropical Smoothie Cafe, a small chain we disocvered back in December in Tallahassee.

While Mom went to an AAUW event, Stephanie and I then went to her house, where our friend Andrew was to meet us. We looked around at what was left after Mom and Penny and the movers and Penny's friend Lemae and her Coalition for the Homeless colleagues had gone through it (and after a burglar had apparently cleaned out some items in the garage).

This is the "blue bedroom" where Stephanie lived for two years and she and I for part of a year (and Serge and Penny at other times). It was originally a guest bedroom.

Across the hall was Penny's bedroom, where Vincent lived for two years and where Penny, Serge, and Jacob had all stayed during Christmas break 2 1/2 months before.

In the back of the house are Mom's bathroom and bedroom.

Also in the back is Mom's computer room, which was originally my bedroom (with the 1970s drapes originally paired with black and white dressers (now on our 2nd floor in Louisville), a black beanbag chair, and red carpet in the house we lived in Tallahassee before this house - where Stephanie first started vacuuming (baseboards, walls, and ceilings, too!).

This is the family room, with a pile of stuff to go to Goodwill at far left, looking into the kitchen. Before Mom moved her TV would have been in the middle of the picture.

Here's the little alcove part of the kitchen, with the door leading out to the side yard with trash and recycling, which Mom couldn't navigate a year or two ago - maybe an early sign of her challenges. The alcove was once full of plants and shelves with books. There is still one plant.

The realtor suggested we have all of these kitchen cabinets painted white and the handles replaced, but there ended up being a debate about this (now settled).

Here's the dining room/kitchen eating area, with the "new" ktichen table (as Mom statted to switch from 1970s green and brown, to white), which I've never liked, and the light fixture that one of my Mom's choirmates and her boyfirend installed a year and a half ago, which the realtor said to keep.

In the family room looking out the sliding glass doors to the back yard. You might recall that the realtor also suggested getting rid of all of the draperies and curtian rods, opening up the house to more natural light, and installing faux wood blinds.

This is looking down the hallway past the bedroom doors into the bathroom. About a year ago the contractors who were about to start working on the house did some other things for Mom, including painting the halllway walls. Mom and they misconmmunicated and they took all of the family pictures that Mom had on both hallways walls down and did not put them back up. But then Mom held off on having us put them back up, which turned out to b e a good move. After I left - with some input from Stephanie - Mom had a few pictures - including some of these - put up around her new apartment.

This is the living room. Neither Penny and Serge nor the Coalition for the Homeless wanted either of Mom's couches or her brown corduroy chairs. Mom thought about taking the chairs but decided there would not be room. The chairs - again - were rather "new" additions to the house. The love seat once went with a bigger sofa, at our last house in Gainesville - where we got them from Scan Design. The sofa bed in the family room hasn't really showed up in a picture yet. Mom hasn't been able to sit in any of these for a good while, since she can't get up out of them.

There's the sofa bed on the far left of the picture below.

Andrew turned up at the house, and we packed reclycing into his truck. We stopped at the storage space and switched Mom's winter clothes (which we had in the rented car) with some spring and summer clothes, and then went out to the land fill to recycle hazardous materials and cardboard recycling. For the second time in a few months, I failed to take any pictures of the person who helped us at storage (last time it was Michael Moline). Thankfully, I've got both Andrew and Moline pictures coming up in a little while. After Andrew and we subdivided, Stephanie went to a favorite Tallahassee resturant, San Miguel's.

A few hours later - on the way to the Saturday night phase of the Flambeau reunion - we stopped at Andrew and Jan's. Here's Jan in their family room.

Here's the doggie staircase they had gotten for one of their Boston terriers who needs it to get up to the sofa in the family room.

Here is one of Andrew and Jan's "new" dogs. When we used to house sit for them, Tina and Tatum would sleep in the bed with us and Frisco. It got a little crowded. We can no longer tell these twins apart.

Below we're out in the backyard between the hot tub and the swimming pool.

We drove from Andrew and Jane's north up Thomasville Road to Water Oak Plantation Road, then drove on a bunch of dirt roads past a big old house overlooking a lake to the servants' quarters or boathouse or whatever it was, where the evening informal dinner - Day 2 of the Florida Flambeau reunion - The Flambeau was a five times a week paper with a press run of about 21,000. It was originally the student newspaper at Florida State University - which, importantly, had no journalism school - but was kicked off campus around 1970 for running abortion information and editorializing against the administration - or something like that. A fixture of the progressive community on campus and in the community, it fell victim to the downslide of hte newspaper industry, decades of right-wing attacks, and a few too many attacks on the cmapus Greek community, when it wass essentially bought out by a new competitor, after the mainstream corporate paper in town - which we always viewed as the competition - refused to print any more copies of the "Flam" unless it paid its bills. I worked at the "Flam" off and on between 1980 and 1989, and still have great friends from my years there. In 1986 I worked there from 9 in the morning until 11 at night - 5 1/2 days a week - and made $6,000 for the whole year. It was the best job I've ever had. Somehow it seemed apropos that it was quite an odyssey to get back to the reunion (which was essentially set up as a class reunion - featuring people who had been on the news or production staffs mainly in the 1970s and 1980s).

This one was particularly incongruous. We're still not back there yet. Guiding our way were large late 1980s cardboard cutouts of "Mr. Stupid, " a cartoon character who appeared in the "Flam" in the 1980s. Its creator, Bill Otersen, was actually in NYC part of the time I was there. Many hip or ambitious people in Taallahssee back then either wished Tallahassee would become Athends, Georgia, or Austin, Texas, or wanted to be in Atlanta or NYC. Some of them moved to one or the other. Indeed, Moni (who works for CNN), David (for whom Stephanie, Vincent, and I house-sat for in New Orleans before Katrina ran him out), and Eileen came from Atlanta for the reunion, and Moline came from NYC. Steve had just moved back to Tallahassee from NYC. While in NYC, Bill crafted designs for T-shirts (as he was unable to sell "Mr. Stupid" to publications there), but he chemicals he encountered in the garment district finally drove him home. As with any class reunion, you meet people you never knew (like the very nice Leon County commissioner Stepahnie and I spoke with - whose time on the commission has been recent eough that I never covered him) and talked with other people (without mentioning names) who you knew and liked but had completely forgotten about. I don't think I ran into any people who fall into the other class reunion category: As I said after my 10-year high class reunion: I had forgotten how much I hated some of these people. By the way: That's righit - that's Mr. Stupid, in a bikini, in front of some (real) sheep.

Stephanie and I finally arrived! Below is John Lowndes, who was the last "Flam" news editors I worked with. He's a county attorney in the Orlando area.

Here's Danni Vogt, who at one point was a lawyer in Tallahassee, Andrew and I had reminisced a few minutes about the time Danni tried frying a bar of soap at one of the four legendary parties we had at our rented, off-campus house in 1981-82 (during one of my two long "Flam" runs) - all four parties with diverse attendees and four broken up by the police. David asked Danni to leave. Several years later I turned down an offer of help from Danni - one of two mistakes I made writing one of the better - and personally scariest - "Flam" pieces I wrote - this one about conditions at the country jail.

Below - talking with Danni - is Diane Roberts (formerly "D.K.") - host of our Sunday morning event - another legendary "Flam" writer - now a Florida State University English professor and regular National Public radio commentator. Diane has written a book about Florida (as I have).

Here's Michael Moline - who had helped us move stuff into Mom's storage space back in December - my boss/editor twice - at the "Flam" and then briefly during my post-"Flam" Tallahassee stint with the now defunct United Press Internatoinal. I've visited him twice in San Francisco - but last time it turned out that he'd moved to NYC (and I didn't know he was there when I was last in NYC - Facebook has cleared all of this up). He edits a national legal newspaper and lives in (Brooklyn's) Park Slope (until recently with Dollar) - not too far from where I lived with Tony. A runner before I knew him, he was a chain smoker when I worked with him - and once irritated then Senate candidate Jim Crews by lighting up during a candidate interview in the old "Flam" office - but then quit (but apparently has gone back).

Louis worked in the "Flam" production office during the 1980s.

The Saturfday night event was set in this old servants' quarters house off the lake - with plenty of pictures of "Flam" people from the 1970s and 1980s - mainly in black and white - and a video of other still pictures - like a wedding anniversary or funeral video - many from former "Flam" photographer Bob O'Lary. There was also a great buffet dinner, a fireplace, and music from a Jimmy Buffett-like folk singer, Dell Suggs, who chaired the "Flam" board for several years. We talked with but did not get a picture of some of the people who cooked and served the food - including a Presbyterian pastor from nearby Havana, FL, and one of his parishioners, whom he had married. Below are several former "Flam" greats posing: Eileen from Atlanta, Mark (a longtime feature writer for Tallahassee's mainstream paper), Steve (whose wife helped organize the event), Diane, and Jack, a former "Flam" production director who is now good friends with Andrew.

We went home pretty early (some folks stayed out until 1 a.m. and then headed to a bar near my Mom's retirement center). For the second night in a row, we drovce into Mom's by night gated commnity but managed to get through there when the gate was not down (there's a shift change around 11 p.m. and the gate is apparently open for about half an hour). In the morning we got up early enough to join our old Sunday school class (First Presbyterian's Faith and Families). We're always late, and this time we were almost on time - and we were the first tog et there!

We skipped worship to go to the third and final reunion event - brunch - with mimosas! - at Diane's cute (but cold) 1920s house, one house away from the old Leon High School (my alma mater) gym!

Here's a mediocre picture of Moni, my former editor, who has done tours as a journalist in Iraq and Haiti. She was slated to head back to Haiti soon and then on to Afghanistan. This is one of the "Flam" Atlanta people I may see if I go to the sociology meetings there in August. - if they're in town! Long ago I visited Moni there.

Here's the brunch buffet table - we ate everything up fast - with Diane's mother in the background. Diane is from an Old Tallahassee familiy - the law school building is named for her grandfather I believe - and she was a radical!

Away we go at the food. There were more people at this event whom I didn't really remember - until I thought about it.

Jack I do remember.

Likewise Christine. Chrsitine and Gary are one of the couples I know where I knew both of them before they got married or even dated. Both are essentially free-lance writers. I talked with Gary about their kids, who went to preschool at the same private school where Vicnent went to grade school, but are now in school at the Catholic school just down the street from Diane's house.

That's it for reunion photos! As we talked with Mom about whether to make any changes in teh way her apartment was laid out, Monday visited our friend Dee, who lives a couple of floors above Mom at the retirement center. Dee has a studio apartment.

Monday we went back to the house to meet Goodwill staff. Here's a head-on picture of the sofe bed, with some other Goodwill items on and around it.

You're heard of the last supper (we just celebrated it Thursday night). This is the last lunch, with food and drink (although we were one short) (of course) from Tropical Smoothie - on the white table, which even if I hated it was nice to have there.

I took a picture from the street of the front of the house. Love all of those tall pine trees and all of that green!

In the middle of that picture above are Mom's prized azalea bushes (Stephanie noticed just one was dead). Below is a close-up of one of them.

The Goodwill staff took a bunch of small stuff and then the big furniture that was still there (like the two sofas).

Gary and Christine weren't able to see us, becuase one of their children was sick. So we walked around Lake Ella, Tallahassee's midtown pond. (Below is one of the houses that line the street that circles the lake - Love those tall like oak trees!)

We stopped at the Black Dog Cafe, along the lake (which I'd never been to), and our friend Brant ended up meeting us there and we talked for a couple of hours.

Brant is one of two or three high school friends I've kept in best touch with. He lives on the south side of town, near the airportk, with several companion animals. Back at the retirement center, here's a look inside Mom's front door

.

Tuesday we were back at Mom's house, meeting her former and now again contractors, who were going to be followig through on the realtor's suggestions. The contractors were Cindy, who grew up in an Amish family, and Scott, and their two sons whom they and one of the grandmothers home school. Below - standing on Mom's relatively new asphalt driveway - are Stephanie and Cindy.

Scott stood in the front yard.

Before we left, I took one more walk through and around the house - there was a remote chance Mom will somehow sell the house before I get back there. On my way through the back yard I greeted Sawyer - who ran away there in November 1999 - and paid tribute to one of our frogs, buried back there. I also took a picture of the magnolia tree whose tree fort we tore down long before Vincent moved there.

Back at the retirement center for Mom's therapy appointments and dinner, we took a picture of a picture of Mom posted along with pictures of other new residents, along with a little bio.

Starting on Tuesday with an hour of occupational therapy first, Mom worked on a kind of silly putty to strengthen her hands and fingers, affected by arthritis.

She also did various leg lifts.

This is an exercise she started doing with an earlier specialist, trying to keep her back straight standing against the wall.

An interesting exercise Mom did with the physical therapist, with whom she spent another hour, was bouncing a ball/balloon back and forth. Stephanie remembered Mom doing something similar with Vincent, back when Stephanie and he lived with her, when it was easier for her. I've got this on video too. I imagine this is for both balance and agility.

Mom ended up in PT with her leg being warmed. This reminded me more of some of the things I've done in PT. I was in therapy for some 15-18 months in NYC and Albany, after I got hit in the knee by a car in Manhattan, and then off and on twice in Louisville after I sustained a back/shoulder/neck energy in Michigan. (Back in Tallahassee) the therapist finally got annoyed at me for taking pictures. We'd BEEN annoying Mom, who said she'd prefer that we sit near the door, so we wouldn't embarrass her. The therapists are the ones who first diagnosed Mom's Parkinson's, and hinted to the doctor that's what she might have. They also have more influence over the retirement center's overall policies, and first recommended Mom use a more flimsy (and easier to use) walker than she wanted to. Now that they relented and recommended her for a more heavy duty one, they've ask that she not use until they train her in its use (and - implicitly - until they decide whether it's safe for her to use).

Next we went straight to the dining room, where we to meet a couple that helped Mom get into the retirement center, when the marketing peopel were taking forever to get back with her. Dinner has been a bit of a challenge for Mom. She was unsure about dining from the start. Many of her friends from before either eat their one meal at the dining hall per day at lunch, or live in a house or villa and cook for themselves. Mom somtimes goes to dinner late and eats by herself. Many dinner people go very early - even at 4:30 - a time that Mom - all the more so when she's working - finds too early. It's not easy to break into long-time groupings of diners, and some of them Mom finds more interesting than others. A couple she enjoyed meeting a couple of weeks before we were there weren't there one day - It turns out the man had died, and now the woman has fallen. It reminds me a little of me trying to break into the lunchroom in high school. Mom also isn't necessarily inclined to sit and talk for hours, all the more so when she figures she has stuff home she can do. Mom has started to go to a Monday evening music program that a woman from our church organizes.

Here's a view of Stephanie on Mom's computer in Mom's living room - most of which is a home office.

Instead of getting a new but much smaller dining room table, Mom has found it more convenient to eat at a little tray table that she can move around easily. She gets up by leaning on the chair, that doesn't move so easily.

I left late Wednesday morning, met Stephanie and Mom at the storage space where they picked up some more spring clothes (not as many there as she thought there would be, because she has Goodwill-ed so many), then picked up lunch at (you guessed it) Tropical Smoothie. My flight got to Louisville a couple of minutes early, and I needed every minute I could get. I drove across town to the boarding place, and got there with 15 minues to spare to pick up Frisco. We walked around the hotel where we have exercise. swimming privileges.

I dropped Frisco off at home and then got to a church board (session) meeting just five minutes late.

-- Perry