Lewy Body, Update 1-

Sara Jean never comes here to "Pitchpull", so I intend to use the blog to update you on what is going on in our dementia experience.
(She reads ALL my FaceBook posts and has already forced me to delete some of my comments there.)

Yesterday she was chatting with someone on FB and turned to me to ask, "How do you spell 'us'"?.
Seeing my reaction she realized the depth of her question and started to cry.
This is no longer my wife. The disease has taken over.

Today her temper is on a hair trigger. I cannot point out changes in her behavior without getting an angry response. I MUST learn to be more careful with my answers to her questions.

I married this beautiful woman "For better or worse; in sickness and in health."

The road we are traveling will be more and more difficult as we continue.
I'm don't seek sympathy here. I know how this story unfolds.
I just need a place to vent.
If you see "Lewy Body" in the subject line, you may want to skip what follows.

Dateline- Duc Pho, Viet Nam

(This ain't no B.S.!)

I was on the ground on standby at the airfield at Duc Pho, Viet Nam commanding a team of two UH-1C Huey Gunships to provide support for a subordinate infantry unit of the 123rd (Americal) Division.
This was a typical "Hurry up and wait" type mission for us and we were sitting/waiting on benches outside the operations shed.

We watched as a guy, (almost certainly CIA), flying a "Helio Stallion" landed and carried a box full of "Who knows what" secret stuff into the OPS office. When he walked out of the office he turned to us and said, "You helicopter guys think you're SO special? Watch this!").
The wind was blowing straight down the runway at about 30 knots. He started the big turbine on the nose of the airplane, taxied to the runway and got airborne.
He then flew straight to the departure end of the runway, reduced the throttle on this unbelievable flying machine and allowed the wind to blow him back to where he started his takeoff roll. He then landed on the spot on the approach end of the runway from which he started his takeoff.

Were we "Helicopter guys" impressed?
You Bet!

Cummins Diesels-

A Saturday last summer-
I had just pulled into the parking space at the WalMart in Clarksville, Tennessee and was allowing the turbocharger on my truck to cool. This normally takes about a minute or so.
During my wait I became aware of a man standing just outside my door.
He didn't look threatening. I opened my door.
"What year is your truck?" he asked.
"It's a '97."
"How much you want for it?" he asked with a smile, (with no idea how many miles were on the clock. 268,000.)
Knowing exactly where he was headed I responded "What's it worth to you?", even though I have NO INTENTION of selling my truck.
Again, he smiled.

We chatted for a few seconds and together we realized two things-
1. He initially thought I might not know the value of the truck and that he might be able to lowball me.
2. He soon realized I knew exactly what I owned and that he wasn't able to take advantage of my ignorance.
That settled, we had about a 15 minute discussion about the market for old Dodge/Cummins trucks, and parted amicably.

I had spent several months on eBay searching for the truck I wanted to buy...
A two-wheel drive extended cab Dodge Ram truck with a 12-valve Cummins engine and long bed.
I wanted a truck with a standard transmission. They are FEW and FAR between. I had to settle for the automatic.

Growing up in Central Indiana I had a friend whose Father had a pickup... a '53 Ford F100 with a Flathead V8 engine.
I LOVED that truck... loved the looks and the sound of it. It was simple and ready to do work.
It was A TRUCK!

Over the last years I've owned a few trucks-
Two Chevy S-10's that served me well during the almost 200,000 miles I drove them.
A '95 Chevy K1500 bare-bones truck that was geared WAY TOO LOW for Interstate driving that I sold within two months of purchase for exactly what I paid for it..
I wanted a truck, and knew what I'd need in the future.

As a kid my family went camping, and I had fond memories of that.
Sara Jean's indication of early stage dementia made me realize while she was still "with me" I wanted to do some traveling with her. I figured some sort of camper in our future would serve that need, but would require a truck to tow a camper. A 3/4-ton truck would be most comfortable.

I'm a HOOSIER kid; Indiana born and raised. I have been aware of the Indiana based Cummins company since Freddie Agabashian drove a Cummins Diesel powered race car in the 1952 Indianapolis 500 and shocked everyone with the power of that race car.

A few years back, Cummins had gotten together with Dodge to produce a pickup truck and those trucks had proven to be "Torque Monsters" and reliable. Buyers seeking a pickup with the power to tow heavy loads without niggling troubles have sought them out. 
Early "12 valve" versions like my truck are now respected and sought after.

-The following Sunday, literally 24 hours after being approached in the WalMart Parking lot, the doorbell at my son's home rang. At the door I found two nice looking young (30-ish?) men.
"We're interested in the truck. Are you interested in selling it?"

I LOVE my truck and I'm not interested in selling it right now.
But it's nice to know it will probably increase in value from this point forward.

 

 

 

 

Why I Wish I Was Elvis-

Elvis, like me, kept a hole puncher close at hand.
When something on television made "The King" angry, he picked up his hole puncher and made a smoking hole in that appliance.
Ruining a television meant nothing to him.
I wish I was Elvis.

Cheese Eating, Wine Drinking Surrender Monkeys !

I'm trying to find good things to say about the French.
Supporting us against the folks with terrible teeth... the British, they are our oldest ally. We must respect that and thank them.
And they build damned good things that fly.
I just hope we always remember how quickly they'll give up and wait for us to keep them from speaking some language other than French.

Religion and Politics-

This morning Sara Jean asked, "What was the first time in your life you felt as if some news item had slapped you in the face?"
I answered almost instantly... "The assassination of President Kennedy."
And those memories started flowing.

I was raised in Central Indiana... a VERY conservative, very Protestant area. (Richard Nixon carried the State there in 1960.) One of the BIG political issues about JFK was his catholic religion.
The fear of many was, if elected, would the Pope then be our de facto president? Kennedy's performance proved that fear to be without foundation and his election probably is the reason a candidate's religion is no longer much of a factor in campaigns today.
And the thought of that issue set me to thinking this morning-
Joe Biden calls himself a catholic. Some of us wish he was a whole lot more CHRISTIAN.
In my view he and Pelosi have given catholics and Christians the appearance of having no religious principles.

The memory of the political consideration of JFK's religion now seems ironic.
Can a Muslim now successfully run for the highest office of the land?

He/She/It-

I'm grateful to GOD Sara Jean doesn't have a PENIS.
How in the world do we find ourselves in Bizarro World?

Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder?

"I've noticed you've not updated your blog in a while" she said.
Yep.
-Don't know if you'd call it "writer's block" or simply lack of excitement/motivation to put words to page.
But I continually find myself asking "Didn't I already address that subject?" Or "I've beaten that dead horse 'way past death". Whatever.

This election seemed like sunrise after a long stint of bad weather for Sara Jean and me. We're smiling, and looking forward to the future with lefty heads exploding so often we get "tired of winning".

"Morning in America."
"The shining city on the hill."
Anything that irritates Rosie O'Donnell these days makes me happy.

We're in Destin Florida. We watched the election returns here while in touch telephonically with a couple sane friends here. It was glorious.

I'll try to do a better job of updating here.
In a few months the blog will celebrate its 20th anniversary.
There may be confetti, cake, and ice cream. (I'm still eating low-carb so don't depend on that!)

Wise Stuff That Came Out of My Mouth:

I'm sure I'm not the first. But while my son was growing he'd sometimes express extreme displeasure at the way his life was unfolding. Frequently I would reply,
"If you wanta keep gettin' what you're gettin', keep doin' what you're doin'."
I know... this is a corollary to "Doc, it hurts when I do THIS!"
SOMETIMES my son would actually listen to me.
Someone needs to have a frank talk with voters.

But would it do any good?
The country needs to take a look at the things we're doing and stop hitting ourselves in the head with that hammer. Sadly, it appears close to half of voters are masochists.
(Hope and Joy!)

Some medicines are hard to take because they are distasteful, painful, or have uncomfortable side effects. (Or some combination of all those.)
Our country has Cancer.
I think it's time for radiation and chemotherapy.

Retreat!

(Click the "YouTube" link if necessary to watch.)

Those with military service smile at this video.

A couple years ago I had dropped Sara Jean off at a military hospital for her to go to the Pharmacy and pick up her medications. Doing that was taking a little longer than normal.
Waiting in our car I was watching four children in a playground across the street, playing on a swingset.
Suddenly the kids stopped swinging, simultaneously turned to face the same direction, and placed their right hands over their hearts.

I knew instantly what was going on. I got out of the car, faced the same direction as they, and offered the hand salute as "Retreat" was sounded.

The incident brought a question to mind:
These "military brats" are being brought up in homes that know the sacrifice our servicemen and women make in order to protect and support the Constitution of the United States.
They know how to pledge allegiance to the flag.

And, unfortunately, they ARE different than most kids today.