TOO SPECIAL TO THROW AWAY

Judy and I are donating an old dresser, and a couple of end tables, to the local community college theater group, so I spent the day going through the drawers, and trying to find other places for the junk stored in them.  I threw a lot of things away, but down near the bottom of a couple of dusty drawers were a few snap shots that I had completely forgotten about.

Here are a few of the most special ones I came across...

Ranking them, I'd have to say me feeding Katie Bug is number 1!  What a special moment that lucky Papaw's get to share with their grand-kids.  Look at those trusting little eyes...how in the world can some people mistreat children...especially little babies?  

This sure makes me miss her today, but she's off at college, preparing for her own life and future family.  We'll never share such a close moment again, so that's what makes this photo of that moment in '92 so special.

Then there were two I found of my dog Lacy...my candidate for "best dog ever"!  

She was very protective of her human family and even looked the part of a vicious guard dog!  However, to us, she was very loving.  I miss her terribly.  I think these two shots from '92 were the best I ever captured of her.  Note the "half-white" left eye...part of what made her so fearsome looking to strangers!

I couldn't help but laugh when I cam across "the nose picker" shot of Mickey Jones and me!  This was from a 1984 gathering to plan our 20th class reunion.  The Class of '64 has always been close and this just proves it.  Here we are clowning just like be did in class some twenty years earlier!

There are going to be some other dusty drawers in our house that will become overly stuffed from cleaning out this old dresser, but some things are just too special to throw away!

ENJOYING THE SNOW - A FAMILY TRADITION

The first photo I have of Corey (at right) enjoying the snow is from 1976.  Doesn't he look comfy in that fuzzy outfit!? He has always enjoyed the white stuff and so has the family.  Corey had his whole family out in it yesterday at his Papaw Harmon's, where the whole clan used to enjoy winter snows.

Even back in the early 70's, while Corey's mom and I were living at the Harmon's, and I was attending UT, I would come home from school (UT never closes) and hit the front yard slope!  My friend Bill and I would stay out late in the light of the porch light and run the hill until we were just too pooped to climb the hill one more time.  I would then go in and struggle to keep my eyes open long enough to study.

Those were good times, with a lawn chair bolted to a pair of water skis, we would slip into supersonic speeds, traveling well over a hundred yards at times.  Some snows back in those days would stay on the ground for days, giving us extra good times.  Today, you have to sled that morning or miss out!

However, this week's 4 or 5 inches has stuck to us like a Thanksgiving feast!  I've been out in it two days now and thinking about giving up today's nap and hitting the snowy trail again!

The snowmen photo is of Lily yesterday, enjoying her first real taste of outdoor fun in the snow, and of her dad back in 1978.  Lily pulled herself up the hill more than anyone thought, even though occasionally she would simply fall down and begin eating snow!  It was a refreshing pause, one that I too remember from days gone by.  

Back in my day (that's what old folks say) my parents would say, "Don't eat that snow...it's radioactive!"  It was probably true, but I would sneak and eat 3 or 4 snowballs every time it snowed.  Yesterday, all the advice offered to Lily was, "Don't eat yellow snow!"

Corey is a competitive sports nut and always goes until he drops.  His spinning "disk" sledding feats were a dizzying affair yesterday, one that would have had me puking!  He's loved the disk since '78.  It's a shame your kids can't grow up with you and enjoy all the old times with you.  He would have been impressed with his old man, almost as much as I am of him today!

Judy and I have always taken off work when it would snow...not because we couldn't get there, but because we wanted to "play in the snow"!  People our age are still amazed, for some reason, at how much we love the snow. 

We used to get out at night and walk in the woods while it was snowing.  It's a great adventure and great fun, and you'd be amazed at how well you can see at night in the snow.  All the light available is amplified by the snow with a glow all around you.  It's also wonderful how the sound of snow coming down through the dried leaves makes you feel.  It's so comforting and relaxing!  I miss that...have to try it again soon, but the snows lately have been coming down in the wee hours of morning.  Next time one begins late in the evening...we'll be out there!

Monday, Judy and I were out down by the creek behind the house.  The creek empties into the lake and at that junction Geese nest.  We tried to get close for photos, and we did get close enough for my 300mm lens to get a few good shots before they scattered.

Judy did her first snow angel, which I still don't believe it was her first, and she was so proud of it!

So, come on, let it snow...we've still got a few good times left in us!

GETTING PAST THE "CABIN FEVER"!

My blog has become more of a documentary of family gatherings rather than a recollection of my thoughts and past events.  However, these will become "past events" that I'll look back on one day as just important as the older memories.  What is life but a collection of such things as these?

Part of the family met at the Gondolier Italian Restaurant* last evening...just to be with each other.  Of course, having been cooped up in the house for several weeks, either because of the snow and cold weather, or having been sick was the driving factor.  We just had to get out and over our "cabin fever"!

Had these family members not been willing, we would have probably picked up some homeless folks along the way.  Man, it felt good to be outside! 

*BTW, the food at the Gondolier is always good.  I just wish they had colder brew!

"PLEASE DON'T TAKE MY KODACHROME AWAY!"

Actually, I haven't used Kodachrome since around 1976, but prior to that Kodachrome Transparencies were about all I ever used.  I shoot 400 ASA in black & white for my advertising job at the time, and some large format film for the wedding business I had on the side.

Since Kodak stopped the manufacture of Kodachrome film, and the necessary enriching development chemicals, in June of 2009, the last place in the entire world that developed Kodachrome, Dwayne's Photo in Kansas, will process and develop its last roll on December 30th!  That is, providing their chemical supplies don't run out first!

Dwayne's started processing Kodachrome in 1956.  Now that service is being discontinued, but don't worry 'bout Dwayne and crew, they will continue to process other types of film and provide all other photo services. Only Kodachrome processing is being discontinued.

If you thought you were being smart by squirreling away a roll or two, you're still out of luck since Kodak's 74-year-old film cannot be developed in your basement.  The Kodachrome process was an after development color enrichment process that can only be done with specialized machines.  Dewayne's had the last remaining machine!

So, let's all say good by to another icon of yesteryear!

I snapped away while in Vietnam, and had King Photo in downtown DaNang send the film off to be processed.  I couldn't wait to get them back and then send selected ones home.

Double click on the studios photo envelope and you'll see I paid a huge $3.84 to get 32 frames developed in 1966!  That was expensive to a GI back then.

I also used to come home for lunch in 1974 and take shots of my Corey.  I was (am) so proud of him I could barely wait for the workday to end.  The family loved to sit around and watch my slide shows of Kodachrome.  The entire family loved their gatherings, especially Christmas, so there was always a new "show" to watch on the weekends.

The little single-lens reflect 35mm I used in Vietnam did a superb job and got me interested in photography.  That interest and love remains strong today.  While my taste has moved from 35mm film to digital photography, there is still much one can do with a camera today...probably a lot more!

As I told my brother-in-law, who remarked that my new Nikon was a good looking camera, "A camera has film in it...these are computers!"  And that's so true and now there's a little less excitement in filmed cameras...'cause they're gonna take our "Kodachrome away!"  

So long old friend and thanks for the memories you've helped me record in true color.

A BOOK SIGNING

Nope, not something I would normally do, but, as it turned out, I had a ball and met some new friends.

A gentleman named Al Williams (seated in "Big Orange" shirt), wrote a children's book called "A Friend Indeed", proceeds from the book’s sales go to Big Brothers Big Sisters of East Tennessee.  So, he and Myra Yeatman, of the BBBS organization, invited others to come and support the sales of the book at the book signing this past Saturday.

Muse Watson, of NCIS and movie fame, Bill Landry, local icon and narrator of the "Heartland Series" for over 25 years, Tennessee basketball coach Bruce Pearl, and alumni basketball star Dane Bradshaw showed up in support.

Muse and Bill are long time friends of mine, but Myra Yeatman (above middle), Al, Bruce, and Dane are new acquaintances.  My son, Corey, was so jealous of me getting to rub shoulders with his basketball heroes! 

Muse and Bill are going to be at the newly opened Channel 15 Station in Harriman, TN this evening, so I'll get to hang out a little more.  However, I'll probably be sharing the experience with a crowd of people wanting to see the studio, see Muse and Bill, and get their DVD of "A Christmas Snow" signed.

While I'm on the subject of Channel 15, please check out my Princess Theater blog.  We are working on a complex of buildings in the center of Harriman, TN that will provide local high school and Roane State Community College (RSCC) hands on experience in operating and producing television and stage productions.  

The complex will be called “Princess Performing Arts, Education and Conference Center”.  It will include the television station, the newly restored Princess Theater, and a series of other connected buildings that will eventually house a conferencing center, green rooms, and storage for musical instruments, costumes, and stage props.  

So anyway, back on subject, I had a ball at the Borders book signing in Knoxville, and I'm sure the celebs did as well.  

Come see us when you can!

IT'S BEEN A HAPPENING!

As I've posted, my brother visited this week and he and I spent the first day making the rounds and doing a little target practice.

On the second day, he and I joined up with my son Corey and did some "manly man" shopping.  We also ate a Wild Wings and visited The Irish Times for a couple of black & tans!  I thought for a minute there was going to be trouble over the last wing, but they finally worked it out...they gave it to me!

Friday evening was the annual Christmas gathering of my brother-in-law Ron's old work group.  This year it was at Smoky Mountain Brewery.  The group also included two guys, Andy and Tim, that I haven't known for a couple of years and have accompanied to Roger Waters and AC/DC concerts.  This year, because of my kidney operation, they made the trip without me.

However, it was good to see the guys again and to again see some of the other work group that I've met.

Prior to going to the "brewery", Ron and I had a couple of black & tans at the "pub"...just to warm up!

I think I've written, or at least mentioned, before about the wild retirement party I had back in '05.  It just happened that the Jack Daniels "cheerleaders" visited Bailey's that evening.  Man!  We had a ball touring their "tour" bus, which included laying on their big bed in the rear, and having photos made with them.

Well, as luck would have it, girls promoting Ole Smoky Moonshine appeared at Smoky Mountain Brewery last evening.  So, it was "Déjà vu all over again"!  Again I was trying out what they were selling, getting a free t-shirt, and several hugs for photo ops!

Turns out, Andy took the bill for a table of about 15 of us...what a guy!  If you offered money, he took it and threw it into the pile in the middle of the table.  The cute little waitress made out like a bandit for all her hard work.

Check out Andy's sweatshirt...remember that?!  Ol' Bluto's shirt from Animal House!  It was hilarious and, unfortunately, he has to explain it to every youngster he meets.

One gentlemen in the bunch (don't know his name) performed bar tricks for us and amazed me by pulling this thread from a twenty-dollar bill!  Ever seen that done before...I hadn't.

So, it's been an amazing week...lots of food and brews with the guys...and gals!

Today, Saturday, was a great day too, but I'll save that until next time.

A DAY WITH ME BUBBY

Wade, my only sibling, is, what my dad called, my twin, even though there is a year's difference in our ages.  Dad called us twins because we were born 10 years apart.  I was so proud of his arrival that I combed the neighborhood knocking on all the doors and announcing, "I have a baby brother!"

Nearly as soon as he began to talk he called me "Bubby" and I remain that to this day.  We don't see each other but half a dozen times a year, but we pick back up where our conversation ended and we resume our close relationship.

He has always been a lover of my era music, with a little Fog Hat thrown in from his.  We both share a love of Pink Floyd and good blues.  We have spent hours sitting quieting listen to music, not saying a word unless it related to the tune playing, and playing air-guitar and drums!  We are, like my son Corey, uninhibited about our love for music and we show it proudly by being able to know when all the best licks come in and strum them expertly in the thin air!

He's in this week, with a little extra time off from his aircraft mechanic job with Continental  Airlines in Charlotte, NC.

We spent mid-morning firing his new AR-15 (M-16 to me) and Smith .40, and I put the virgin rounds through my Ruger LCP .380.  The "16" was as sweet as I remember them from 'Nam and the .40 cal. almost jumped out of my hands!

I wasn't too impressed with the LCP...trigger pull is long and slow and you almost have to push the trigger back in place after the firing.  However, it sits nicely in my back pocket and remain my primary carry.  I still wouldn't want to be in front of it, but I sure wouldn't want to get into a "fire fight" with one!

The rifle was somewhat off and it took several rounds to finally see that we need to shoot high.  Neither of us was exactly sure how to raise the sight, so he has some research to do.  He did finally get it hitting the center of the target by aiming at the top of the black instead of the middle 10-ring.

I was all around a 4X4 inch block of Styrofoam, but failed to notch it!  However, had it been a "bugger" he would have felt the sting of lead and copper!

Afterward, we drove up to Lincoln's in Oak Ridge, and had a snack and a couple of rounds!  Best part of the day!

On the way back to mom's (where Wade stays when he's in) he had an urgent call so we visited a lonely part of an industrial park.  He laughing in this photo because he wrote his initial on the stump!

It reminded me of the old joke where the girls father is telling the boy's father that his son pees his name in the snow outside his house every night.  The boy's father says "boys will be boys", but the girl's father says, "Yeah, but it's in my daughter's hand writing!"

So, back at mom's, no one knowing the difference, he's on his hands and knees riding his granddaughters around mom's living room.  Don't ask...don't tell!

Tomorrow, unless the ice storm that is slicing things outside as I write, is our final day, so who knows what we'll get into then.  I'll take pictures if something happens!

A TREE DECORATING PARTY

The Dragons decided to gather Saturday afternoon and decorate sister Neena's Christmas Tree.  It's her and Ron's house we use for our Christmas Eve party, so it was only fair all the sister's help her decorate.  Judy made a flower arrangement and everyone else help disperse the traditional ornaments around the house.

Meanwhile, us Knights floated off to Lowe's and Harrison's Sporting Goods to lust after all the guns and other manly tools!  It was good to see my old (actually only 42) deer hunting buddy Bo.  What great times we used to have!

We made our way back to Los Primos in Harriman for a tall frosty mug of Dos Equis!  We then made our way back to Ron and Neena's.

Ron had bought us all our favorite cut of meat earlier in the week and he soon had everything on his grill smoking!  The steaks were all great and cooked to perfection.

With the beef, we enjoyed a tossed garden salad, and a potato casserole.  Charlotte brought a cherry cobbler and soaked in vanilla ice cream it was "heaven", as Need is accustomed to describing food! 

Naturally, while the girls finished their Christmas chores and meat slowly cooked, we all enjoyed our favorite libations.  Steve, Gary, Noel, and I settled in on a bottle of Buffalo Trace, 90 proof, while Ron stuck with his pale ales.  The Buffalo Trace was a great drink, just chilled over ice, and went down smoothly.  I'll have to repay Steve Christmas Eve with a surprise bottle of something expensive and special!

With the tree trimmed and blinking, we all settled into "quiet mode" and filled our growling stomachs, enjoying the peace that family brings.

Within the next couple of weeks both Steve and Noel will be undergoing surgery.  I've added them both to my prayer list, so I'm sure everything will be fine. 

I too will be undergoing a simple outpatient procedure this week to have my esophagus dilated once more.  This should be the last time I ever have to have this particular procedure performed.  The spasms are back and the internal gas is almost unbearable at times!  Stand clear!

Today, the Dragons took Ron's granddaughter to see the Nutcracker, so the holiday has begun in earnest!  

Merry Christmas folks, you may not hear from me again until after Christmas

I'M DOING JUST FINE!

Several of you have asked for an update on my health, so, since my buddy Gary Baker took a couple of candids of me last evening I thought I'd share them with you.  

You can see I'm alive and kicking, although weighing in a bit less than before the surgery.  I shed at least 30 pounds, possibly a few more, and wearing some old pants I had stuck back in the closet.  Feels pretty good too, but I am suffering some pain at the bottom end of my incision today.  It may have been from standing up last night for the Christmas Parade in Harriman.

Our new city TV station, Channel 15 locally, put on its first production - a live presentation of the annual parade.  It was quite a historic event for us and one we've waited on for years.  The station is owned by the City of Harriman and Roane State Community College and will be a facility for local college and high school students to gain "hands on" experience along with their classroom instruction.

The station will also televise local events and live performances originating on the new stage of our Princess Theater once it is renovated and operating.  This new stage will give our community college two stages for their performing arts department to utilize, and the entire area will be able to benefit from the entertainment.

The production was done with backup equipment, which is not of the quality of the actual equipment to be installed at the station.  Nonetheless, the picture and sound was above and beyond what we have been used to seeing on other local stations.  Everything necessary was right there on that cart!  Everyone was so proud - and relieved!

Anyway, I shot photos at the event last night for about two and half hours, and I think that's why I'm hurting today.  Other than that however, I'm doing well.

I appreciate the concern and apologize for being lacks in posting...just too much going on and not enough about me happening to post - I suppose.  I mean, our blogs are all about US...right!?

OPENING THE DRUGGED DOORS OF PRECEPTION

Had I more experience in the 60's with psychedelic drugs I may have coped better with the dilaudid I was given post-surgically.  However, I passed through Vietnam prior to the breach-barrel huffing days, and never encountered a "drug" of any kind.  It was not until 1977 that I was even exposed, and even then it was a harmless toke that made the white-rubber woofers of a Kenwood appear to dance out into the room!

Weed and drugs were never my thing, and I was usually in control of alcohol, with an exception of a reunion or family gathering or two!

The "Step-Down Unit" at Oak Ridge Hospital is designed to the post-surgical patient through recovery steps before being moved out into the general rooms, and finally release.  However, somehow I managed to fake my way from that unit straight out the door!  I just couldn't stand the thought of any more days inside.  I talked my way around misjudgments in depth perception and wobbled steps, good enough for physical therapy to pass me.  That write off, with the blood, EEG, and EKG test put me over the top.  It may have done me some good to stay in a general care room a few days, but everyone knows there's no place like home.

I received a nice card from all the nurses I don't remember several days after getting home.  They were apparently the day shift gals, and the ones I attacked and flashed in the first few days of my incarceration!  I pulled off all my clothes,  and pulled the nearly 12" long IV PICC line from my right arm, which caused a lot of hemorrhaging.  I also tugged violently at my catheter...which isn't a great idea.

The response was to tie me to the bed, and I broke loose once...I'm told.  Had I been conscious I would have tried to reduce the CT scanner and the bed to small hex-nuts!  Can't stand to be still, even for a moment!  That's psychological trauma my mom inflected on me as a small boy.  When dad was away working I would sleep with mom and she would tell me, "If you wiggle one more time, I'll spank you!"

It was all innocent to her, but I would lay stiff as a board until I feel asleep.  Today...I sleep alone, free to kick and squirm until I root out a good place in the bed to sleep!  So, don't let me know you have tied me down!

It's the night shift and weekend girls that remember.  They were with me through the good, the bad, and the ugly!

I'd like to be able to say it was all a good trip, but it wasn't, due either to my intolerance to drugs or the amount I was given access to.  There were light moments trying to whip cotton from my tongue while people watched and laughed, or like being asked if I recognized "this man", and me answering, "It's my son."  

"Well, do you know who Lily and Kingsley are?"

"Got to be saved," I replied to everyone's surprise.

But it was the dark time, the time when you always feel worst when ailing.  I would begin by complaining, begin to be restless, and giving short answers.  That's when the suggestion always came that I was most probably "in pain" and needed a magic tap on the black IV pump  button.  "Don't be afraid of it...it's here to help you.  See...", giving the button a quick push or two, "...hit it anytime you want to!"  

Little did they know that each time sent me off on a "magical mystery tour" that never took me beyond the confines of the "step-down unit".

Of the seven days I spent "inside", the last four are the only ones from which I can recall vivid parts.  I went in on September 27th and came home on October 4th.

One evening I watched the shift change take place on the unit, seeing a new face of a rather meek little young lady.  I had been fretful, so the nurse encouraged a tap on the black button.  I dozed off and saw this new girl whispering to the older nurse, and giggling.  I thought I overheard them plotting to video some procedure on me, so I became very distrustful of them.

They posted something on the "tube" and then showed it to a fellow in the bed next to mine, which I'm not sure ever existed.  I never saw him again!

I opened my eyes and there stood the new night nurse.  "I need to check your vitals," she said.  

"Okay," I agreed.

"I need to check your blood sugar." 

"Okay," I again agreed.

"I need to give you a shot of insulin," she told me. 

"NO," I told her very sternly.

"Why not?"

"Because you're not a nurse," I said, sounding very assured.

The shy nurse walked away slowly, head down, over to where the day nurse sat preparing to leave.  They talked and looked in my direction.

"Go ahead and show it to her," I shouted.  "You've already put it on YouTube...ask him," I said pointing at the imaginary male patient's bed!  "He's seen it!"

After a long conversation, I finally excepted the fact that I had been dreaming and the little lady was a nurse.  I allowed the shot and the evening went on, after changing directions and I went off to another dinner with Alice!

The next night I awoke with the creative power to wave my hand and turn pieces of steel into beautiful animals and wild flowers.  The colors were mind-blowing and the swirls and points were easily made by waving my other hand.  It was wonderful...that trip, that time.  I played with that a long time while, I'm sure, the nurses watched in puzzled amazement!

Another night I awoke bathed only in an emergency light, with the IV pumps all alarming from lack of power.  The alarms sounded like a note and a half from "Money For Nothing", a high lick that comes between refrains. 

The young night nurse was standing looking at me, half in the dark, and I noticed ice shimmering on the Styrofoam ceiling tiles over her head.  I also noticed that there was a track of plowed snow from about fifteen after to about twenty after three on the clock.  "Looks like it happened about 10 minutes ago," I said to her.

"The power outage?  No, more like 5 minutes," she said calmly, knowing that she had just turned the lights off for the night in the unit.

In my mind someone had released some deadly virus within the unit and power and heat had been cut.  We were sealed off from the outside to freeze and die with the deadly virus.  I looked terrified!

"Is there anything I can do to make you feel better," she asked?

"You can turn the light back on so I can see that ice up there."

Everything in the unit was coated in ice or frost, just like inside the Dr. Zhivago house!

She flipped the light switches and the frost disappeared!  I told her at the moment to lock the IV pump and allow me no more dilaudid!  She responded and I got remarkably better over the next two days.

It's a powerful drug...but some folks, like me, just can't handle it.

I'm home now, knowing that I survived an early encounter with kidney cancer.  Thank you God and Dr. Sloan!

I have since had my 32-staples removed, and gone up and down in energy level.  I continued taking my blood pressure med while having lost around 38 pounds!  I had no blood pressure, so I was too weak to function.  I've now stopped that nonsense and seem to be recovering some energy.  

Yep, a lean 213!  Oh, I know it won't last, but it's the lowest I've been since 1973 when I weighed 212 and was benching 225...more than my weight!  I doubt I could keep 75 from falling on me today!

Anyway, keep a good thought for me...I'll make it back soon.