The Branches go to Kazakhstan: Part Deux

Michael Palin for President

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 10:45:42 GMT

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jf1y9s73Nos

Floods, Funerals, Fleeing a Hurricane

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 19:31:39 GMT

...and other pestilence. Last Monday and Tuesday, it rained 11 inches here in Charlotte, thanks to Tropical Storm Fay (or what was left of her). Is the drought over? you may ask. Apparently not, we still can't water our (brown and disgusting-looking) lawn. The lake is up to full pond, but we're still in a drought.

We were packing to leave for Baton Rouge on Thursday -- as my dad's memorial service was scheduled for August 30. I was rooting around in the basement for, who knows what? or maybe I was doing laundry. A strange odor overcame me, and my first thought was, Dang it, Melanie has brought some food down here and it's spoiled, I'm going to wear her behind out ... wait a minute. What's this? Why is the carpet wet? Why is there about 1/2" of water ... WHAT? (Well, I didn't really say What? I said something that rhymes with Spit or something along those lines). David is off in South Charlotte picking up the RV that we've rented for the trip. I don't want to add to his troubles, but I call him anyway. I call my friend Mona, who used to work construction and is capable of renovating/repairing houses with one hand tied behind her back. I'm such a girl ... and she got right down to ripping up carpet, and even brought a box fan. We got it all up and propped up with 2 by 4's ... with fans blowing every which a way.

So we're a little late getting on the road. Like 3 or 4 hours later than we had hoped. We picked up Colin at WCU and got as far as Tuscaloosa, AL at 2:30 in the morning. We shacked up in a motel, and finally rolled into Baton Rouge late the next afternoon. My mom is hysterical over the memorial service plans and her washing machine has died, and of course it's the little things that set her off (and as I later discovered me, too). She starts yelling at me (for whatever reason) and I finally decide at that moment that I'm going to have my nervous breakdown about losing my dad, etc. and I just let the tears do their thing. I mean, I did cry the week that he died, especially coming home, and the morning he died. But this was a flood of magnificent proportions. I needed to wear a hat with a big black veil. We had company over for dinner that night and I was a pruny red mess. Oh well, I guess they understood. Just being in the house and knowing that he was gone, it just hit me.

The service was very nice. I read my dad's poem, The King's Ring ... supposedly I had a mike at the lectern, but I projected anyway. Good thing ... my sister told me later that my mike wasn't on, and that the deacon, Tim, was right behind me trying to turn it on and I never noticed him. I was able to hold it together, no tears ... Debi had to read a passage from Ecclesiastes, and she wavered a little, but it was all good.

David had bought tickets to the LSU-Appalachian State football game, the afternoon of my dad's service. He was so excited to take his kids to a game in Tiger Stadium -- an experience not to be forgotten. So to add to the bad news (floods, etc) it was announced that the game was moved up to 10:00 a.m., from 4:00 p.m. because there was this hurricane brewing in the Gulf ... dad's service was at 11:00 a.m., so he kissed those tickets (and the money he spent for them) goodbye. They did go over to the campus after the game and were able to mill around with the crowd leaving the game, so they almost got a taste of LSU football. (They routed App. State, by the way).

Oh, did I mention the hurricane? They started mandatory evacuations of New Orleans and the southern parishes on Saturday ... and started contraflow (both sides of the interstate traveling North) late Saturday night. We knew we were in for an adventure. The scope of which we had no clue. Suffice it to say that our usual 12 hour trip to Charlotte took about 32 hours, (with a 6 hour stop north of Atlanta at 4 in the morning, which was the first place we could find a motel with available rooms!) Oh, and the detour to Cullowhee to take Colin back to college.

There were signs everywhere saying "Gustav evacuees! Shelter ... next exit!" and car after car with Louisiana plates. Even when we stopped in Gainesville, GA, the motel was filled with Louisiana plates. It was awful. We did maneuver that "hog" of an RV along some back roads in Mississippi to avoid the "parking lot" that was I-55. And finding a gas station that had gasoline was another challenge. We felt a little selfish trying to fill up the RV ... when evacuees around us needed to fill up their cars so they could keep going.

Met with the insurance agent today about the basement. It's pretty well dried up but still smells pretty mildew-y. Oh, and I'm supposed to havesurgery to remove my right ovary* either this Friday or the 19th of September, don't know which yet. Will the hilarity ever end?

*if you're really interested, I have a hemmorhagic cyst that has been making my life so much fun lately. It needs to go.

Dad

Sat, 16 Aug 2008 22:21:30 GMT

Daddy died peacefully on Friday August 15. He had been unresponsive for about a day and a half before, so there was no suffering. It is surreal ... and for some strange reason, the world keeps on going. People still do their stuff, planes keep flying, kids keep playing outside. Death is not special.

When I got to Baton Rouge on Monday he was awake. He looked me in the eye and told me he was ready to die. (Direct quote). I told him that if that was his wish, that we were behind him 100%. He had been talking to Tim, the deacon at his church, and had made his spiritual peace.

The only prayer that I had was that it would be quick. And that prayer was answered. As I was flying home, it was a beautiful sunny day and looking out the window I envisioned Dad's spirit shooting heavenward. What a beautiful day for his soul to be free.

Retrospection

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 03:09:07 GMT

My dad is in the hospital again. Melanie and I spent a pleasant few days in Baton Rouge last week, visiting with the parental units, and sibling. Dad seemed fairly good ... going up & down the stairs, albeit a little slowly. He has compression fractures in his spine, as a result of osteoporosis, as a result of chemotherapy which he had several years ago for non-Hodgkins' lymphoma. Well the cancer didn't kill him, but the treatment nearly has. And probably will. At any rate, I got back to Charlotte Wednesday night, and he & I had a great conversation on the phone about stuff. Thursday I got a call from my sister that dad had fallen. He had a fracture at C-2 in his neck. This can't be good.

There is no paralysis, but he had surgery Monday morning to put a screw in to stabilize the fracture. After the surgery he had trouble swallowing. A swallow x-ray showed aspiration to the lungs. They are starting him on steroids, and tried to put in an NG tube for nourishment. However, after 3 tries, they gave up. Tomorrow morning, they are putting in a PEG tube surgically. My mom, up until now, has been a fountain of strength, but this evening, she sounded a little rattled. My sister says she is feeling like a bobblehead. I am flying down this Friday, for moral support.

Everyone knows that there will be an end. No matter how much we try, no matter how much plastic surgery we have (speaking completely in general of course!) we're still going to die (and end up as a slightly better looking corpse, if we've gone under the knife). And we know that our parents will get old and die. But when we're faced with it, it is terrible to contemplate. I guess many many books have been written about losing our parents. No matter how close or not close we are to our parents, it is a significant loss.

In my case, my dad and I have had our moments of closeness; many of distance. When I was a child he was gone. A lot. For a month or more at a time, traveling the world with his job. The world was a lot bigger back then; you just didn't hop planes as frequently as you can now. If he was in Japan, he stayed in Japan for weeks at a time. Sucked for my mom! Even when we joined him at his overseas posts, he traveled still more! But I guess we saw him more frequently (which wasn't saying a lot). When I was home last week I found several picture albums showing mom and dad in Bangkok. On a ship going across the Pacific. In Venice. In the Netherlands. And some had me in them. I remember going on Home Leave from Manila by way of Taiwan and Japan.

But no matter how distant we were, he is still my dad. There is a plethora of feelings attached to that word. Too many to put into words. The thought of him not being on the planet with us any more is just too painful to consider.

Blah blah blah

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 14:58:56 GMT

I used to be so creative; I used to write all the time. Certainly everyone has a stretch of writers' block now & then. I kept a journal from the time I was 13 until I got married. Even then, I updated it periodically. Most of my teenage years were filled with the usual angst and yearnings and love (absolutely, this is HIM, he's the one!) and love lost, and tears and joy and depths of depression, for page upon page. As an adult, all the words that came out are factual. The baby did this ... we did that ... we went to Disney World ... the kids are driving me effing NUTS ... we're taking him to college ... WAIT. What? College? In three weeks?

He got the dorm he wanted, and he & his roommate (from Durham ... I was hoping for a roommate from Charlotte, with a car, as Colin's not taking his car -- that 3 hour drive is a BEAR) have been chatting about what to take, etc. Sounds like they were picked from the same pea pod ... both like video games, the same movies, etc. I just hope the video games don't result in academic failure. I told Colin if he flunked out he would be going to the Air Force. Maybe that will be impetus enough to keep him busy. I'm so mean. There's also the chance to study abroad, if his GPA stays at an acceptable level. Oh, and getting his car for sophomore year.

Summer has been crazy ... the graduations, the wedding, the orientation, the surgery. Melanie is doing great. She was pretty swollen at first, and looked quite miserable, but is back to her bouncing-off-the-walls self. Nothing slows that kid down, honestly. This week I'm taking the three youngers to Atlanta to visit the Coca-Cola World Museum, and then to Grandmama's house in Mississippi. Then Melanie and I are sashaying down to Baton Rouge to visit my dad, who is actually doing better -- despite compression fractures in his spine.

The olders are going to New Orleans with our youth group to work at a mission there. They serve an at-risk neighborhood south of the Superdome, with Bible Schools and games. I'm hoping that my very spoiled children will see how close to the brink these people live. Kids who get breakfast & lunch at the mission, and very little else. The neighborhood wasn't flooded during Katrina, but there was considerable wind damage. Three years after the storm, there are still houses needing repairs, covered with tarps. Not exactly on anyone's priority list, fer shure. <sigh>

After that, David and the boys are driving up to Cedar Point, in Ohio. The World's Greatest Amusement Park Ever. With the Biggest, Baddest, Craziest roller coasters on the planet. Roller Coasters that go up at a 90 degree angle. I. Don't. Think. So. Not even if you gave me a huge trailer filled with money (and shoes). Not Even. I went on the Rockin' Roller Coaster at Disney last year (accelerates from 0 to 1,000 mph in 3 seconds!) and felt like I was having a heart attack ... or that my heart had been ripped from my chest ... for nearly an hour. Guess that takes me out of the astronaut program, eh? Darn.

School starts back for Lisa & Christian on Aug. 11. Quentin decided this year to bail out of the small, Christian school, and jump into the public high school (from which Colin just graduated). He is interested in journalism, and has signed up for Newspaper and Yearbook at Hopewell. (Sometimes called HopeLESS High School). He doesn't go back to school until Aug. 25, lucky duck. One less tuition to pay ... we'll just transfer it directly from Southlake to Western Carolina University! In one pocket out the other.

Crazy crazy summer

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 16:17:06 GMT

Bullet point summary of the past month and a half ...

1. Had a great time in England. Learned a lot. Still need to write paper. Bad me. Bad me. Also went to France over the weekend.

2. Went to Maryland for Cousin Courtney's graduation. Celebrated birthdays. Came home.

3. Colin graduates from Hopewell High School.

4. Kids all go to camp ... little ones to South Carolina, big ones to Skycroft, Maryland.

5. Back to Maryland for Ashlea & Jason's wedding. Lots of fun .. very hot. Beautiful bride. Colin, Quentin & Christian look great in tuxes. Girls beautiful jr. bridesmaid and flower girl.

5. Two days spent at orientatin at Western Carolina University. Colin would like to leave now. Move in day: August 15.

6. One lazy week ...

7. July 9: Melanie has her bone graft surgery. Updates to follow.

Jolly Olde England

Fri, 02 May 2008 14:37:57 GMT

Well, one week from today I'm headed back to England. My stellar prince of a husband (I LOVE YOU HONEY!) is letting me go to Oxford for 2 weeks to attend a seminar on British Librarianship, in connection with UNC-Chapel Hill's LIS department. I will get 3 hours credit (well, after I submit a 15-20 page research paper, ack!) and I won't have to go to summer school. You see, if I take one class each term (fall, spring, summer) I'll finish my degree in 4 years. (One year down, 3 to go!) I am so looking forward to being in England again. The last time I went was 1998, with my mom and friend Robin.

I know, 2 weeks ... no kids! No housework! No rat race! No nothing! Just academia and culture, oh and don't forget the pub crawls! I know I'll miss home, but that will make it all the more wonderful to come home. I think everyone deserves a break from life now & then. I lived in London for a summer with Judith (see entry in October 2007) and feel so much at home there.

Totally off the subject ... we were so captivated by the PBS series "Carrier" this week. Wow ... it just knocked us off our feet. If you have the chance to buy the video, DO IT. It will give you an idea of what our armed forces go through in this war on terror. (Whoops, mis-typed that as War OF terror. Hmmm ... freudian slip?)

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 00:05:44 GMT

Here is Melanie's school picture from last fall. Before she cut her hair off. After all, this blog was originally all about her!

Another Weird Wildlife Wincident

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 21:33:40 GMT

Today I was driving down to Melanie's school to pick her up for a doctor's appointment. She's usually starving by the time she gets home from school so I pulled into Jack-in-the-Box for a healthy (bah!) snack for her to eat on the way. As I'm pulling out into the very heavy traffic, I see a movement on the hood of my car. There, sitting on the hood looking me straight in the eye is a MOUSE. No, I'm not panicking at all, trying not to cause a major traffic accident over a stupid mouse. He took one look at me, with those sweet little black eyes, and ran back under the hood (you know, the gap between the windshield wipers and the actual hood). Of course I drove the rest of the way with one foot up on the seat. I ran into the school and asked for a "man" (I know, genderist again) to come and make sure there wasn't a colony of the darn things living under there. Well, dummy me in my agitated state couldn't figure out how to pop the hood. He saw the suspect, stuck a stick in there and saw it scamper away under the hood. So I was forced to drive the rest of the afternoon without knowing if it would pop out at me at any moment. I'm such a baby.

Back at home I finally figured out how to pop the hood (they HID the latch) and of course there was no sign of our Little Furry Friend. I just hope the stowaway wasn't running away from the family which may or may not be living in our garage.

Close Encounters of the Wildlife Kind

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 14:08:44 GMT

Jeepers, the woodland creatures are taking over. Yesterday afternoon the kids and I were sitting on the porch after school, just chilling, enjoying the Carolina blue sky and warm weather (finally!) when Boudreaux, out in the yard, started barking and barking. The new neighbors have a cat that likes to sit on the other side of the fence and taunt him (I know what he's thinking: heh, dumb dog. I can jump over this fence right now and claw your eyes out, you can't, nyah nyah!) so I thought the cat was back. I didn't pay much attention, but eventually got up to yell at him. Well, 'tweren't no cat, Boudreaux had a SNAKE backed up against a tree! The snake was all coiled up, head up, and striking at Boud. Boudreaux would back up when he struck, so thank goodness I don't think he was bitten. From one angle it looked like the snake had a hood, and my brain registered "COBRA" even though intellectually I knew we weren't in India and cobras don't live in this area (do they?) I screamed at the dog to come, and finally he did. We stood on the deck watching the FOUR FOOT LONG (at least) black (and not dangerous) snake slither into the woods. <SHUDDER> They probably eat the vermin that hang around the woods, and I was glad to see him, but I was also glad to see him go.

But he must have missed a rodent yesterday, because this morning ... as we're all sleepily trying to get coffee and cereal and bookbags packed, I see out of the corner of my eye a brown blur go by on the floor. Quickly, and MOUSILY. Yep, a mouse was in the house. I've apparently been watching too many Tom & Jerry cartoons, because without thinking, I jumped up onto a chair, Lisa screamed, "EEEEEK!" and ran into the bedroom calling for David, who is at this time in the midst of a deep REM sleep. He comes stumbling out of the room, armed with a swiffer mop, ready for battle. The darn thing ran to & fro, scared out of its wits, and ended up running under the dishwasher. Ugh ... the kids were completely freaked out and wouldn't go into the kitchen to get their breakfast.

Okay, Mr. Snake, you're fired. Dereliction of duty.