My Popsie-Wopsie
won’t smile for the camera.
What a grumpy Gus!
For those wondering, Dad is all settled in Highland Park. I visited him on Thursday. He was willing to pose for a picture. When I told him to smile, he decided to pull a face. (I have an even worse photo by asking him to show teeth. He made a face that looks like a beast on “Where the Wild Things Are”.
What a Dad, huh?
I’m going to be visiting him every Thursday, and we are going to have family gatherings here in Lisle every Sunday. Dad wants to watch football with the L’s! So do Mary Beth and Kevin! So, usually, the will drive him down from Highland park.
It’s starting to sound like our gatherings are going to be so big, I may as well go whole hog and start inviting all climate-blog war addicts in the greater Chicago area. (I’m trying to decide if I’m serious. But if you live near Highland Park and can drive Dad down on weekends when Mary Beth and Kevin can’t and you aren’t unpleasant… and… you don’t mind two very loud families who consume beer and wine. . . Plus, if your single, I have a nice single girlfriend who sometimes asks me to introduce her to some nice guy. Preferably Roman Catholic. . . (Ok. That last bit will ensure no one will consider joining us. Did I mention I don’t have a flair for match making? )
But basically, my Dad is squared away. I’ll post pictures of family football gatherings in the future.
Lucia: I hope your dad does well in Highland Park. Being a Bears fan in Wisconsin, I’d be tempted to be the driver, but my schedule is too erratic right now. But hopefully the Bears will catch the Vikings and you’ll be having your parties well into the post-season.
OK, I’m an optimist. And possibly crazy. But you never know…
Glad your Dad has settled in.
What’s wrong with that “look”? I’m working on one just like it, and I’m only in my 50s. 🙂
douggerel–
Dad’s in Highland Park. We’re watching the Bears game in Lisle– miles further South! That would be along way for you to drive.
Today, my sister (who lives in Highland Park) is driving Dad down. Now… I have to get ready for the game. I bought Dad a bears throw for the occasion.
I think it’s called “sampling.”
I’ve taken over;
made myself comfortable.
Now why should I smile?
Lucia,
Does your dad like cats??
Then again, it may just be the weather!!
Umm yeah… My Beloved Bengals pretty much kicked the living snot out of the Da Bears today.
Yes I have a Man Crush on Carson Palmer
WHO DEY 😉
Out
Andrew
Kuhnkat–
Dad likes dogs and cats– but he’s more of a dog person.
Andrew_KY. Yes. The Bears… what’s the word.. s*ck?
We had fun anyway!
Despite Minnesota losing, I… don’t really see my beloved Bears catching them. Or Green Bay. Or Detroit, possibly. Andrew, the Bengals looked damn good! Glad you had fun anyway, Lucia!
Lucia,
How much $$$ does your single Catholic friend have?
😉
Andrew
douggerel,
I watched the Minnesota game and the Vikes should have won. They got screwed on that tripping call that erased a touchdown. Old Man Favre still has it goin’ on. I hate the Steelers, BTW.
Andrew
Andrew,
As a Bears fan, Brett Farve occupies a special place in my heart; not a good place, although we did have his number towards the end. I didn’t see the Vikes-Steelers game, but yes, the man has it goin’ on. He’s a freak; an amazing athlete able to compete well beyond the age when most men have to retire (like Vince Evans or Cy Young).
As for the Bears humiliation by the Bengals, no matter. As Lucia can attest, Bears fans are used to disappointment. To compensate, I made some awesome chili with beef, italian sausage, mushrooms, and chicken. Now excuse me while I gorge myself! 🙂
douggerel,
Sunday Football Chili is always a winner! 😉
Andrew
Well I don’t know about the Bears but the Lions deserve credit for managing to escape the week with a non-loss.
All this talk of mediocre football teams. Being from Eastern Canada means you love all (most) things Boston, and the Pats are a football team. As Tom Terrific regains his form after the year off, expect pain if your team has the misfortune to have to play him. I must add however, that Walter Payton was my all time favourite.
Your father is very fortunate, indeed.
I hope things go well for you all.
Sorry to say that Mrs. hunter and I live so far away. it sounds like you are putting together a wonderful party.
Best regards,
Lucia;
You won’t have your dad settled in until he wants to leave you on his own terms if my experience is of any value.
Musing upon a thought of when and how one learned to drive, this bit of realization took over my keyboard a while back:
“My dad used to get plastered and walk 2.5 miles home where, barely sober by then, he would roust me from my near-death slumber, hand me the keys and send me on my mission to return the family ‘limousine’ to its rightful position atop the steep hill.
Perched precariously on the graveled road that swung elegantly around the washed-out gully before reaching the ancient paving over near where the folks with real money lived.
Hated the walk, loved the drive.
He was an okay guy really, never got over the depression years and the war when he stayed behind and made lightbulbs for the war machine while his nephews and cousins went over there and did their best to get them shot out so they could sneak away and cut the legs off the bastard giant who tried to strangle the world.
The war ended, work was good but we got forced back into the hills, where he had worked so hard to leave; when housing became serious and beer joints sprouted up like weeds after a hard winter’s freeze.
So there we were, my thirsty old man five pit stops away from the last lap of each days toil and the kidneys raced and the liver flagged until my mom found another place in town.
But come Friday, the carpool ended, the beer joints lit up bright by the jukeboxe’s glow, singing softly, and off again he would go until that familiar gait no longer reliably led him to the ever-elusive driver’s door of the car.
I went on many missions as I grew taller and my walk-strengthened legs grew longer until one day I walked out of town and into the USAF’s arms.
One year to the day before JFK fell to a coward’s bullet, my dad, the angry, kind, frustrating drunk lay down one night and drank no more.
He only wakes me up now and then and he’s quite sober when he comes by, but I know what he really wants is for me to get up and get his car and make one more round before “The Wheel of Fortune (Kay Starr)†ends, and the lights go out and the Wurlitzer grinds down.”
K– Very touching! I’ll have to write about Dad teaching me to ride a bike… or something. (He is a pretty good Dad!)
He has the look of an engineer about him; i.e., a look which says, “No confidence will be placed in work which has not been checked.”
The 4 phases of man:
1st. You believe in Santa Claus
2nd. You don’t believe in Santa Claus
3rd. You are Santa Claus
4th. You look like Santa Claus
http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=10404341
Scott–
Dad was in marketing research and sales during different times of his life.
Unfortunately, he also had chest pain yesterday and is now back in the hospital. I’m leaving to drive to Highland Park Hospital to check him out. (If you are wondering the reason for the light blogging, this is it! I like to be able to read comments for tone after I post and I can’t plan on being able to right now.)
He’s grumpy. All old men are grumpy. They spend their lives thinking of wise things to share and then realising immediately that they’ve said them many times before and nobody listened.
I was described by one of my sons in a speech he was giving at his brother’s wedding as, “famously grumpy”. I speak whereof I know.
For My Dad
Margaret Savitskas
Dear St. Joseph,
help my dad to be a good father.
Help him when he is tired,
when he is worried,
when he is in a hurry.
Give him pride in his work and
a little more time to have fun.
Help me to show my dad
how much I love him.
Amen.
Well… I sprang Dad from the hospital. Why does it always seem like people are inmates at hospitals? When I got there, they thought he needed to wait to see a cardiologist, but after an hour and a half, they decided he could schedule that for a later appointment.
I took Dad back to his “place” visited him for several hours. He’s in good spirits– though he forgets when he moved to the new home and why!
Now that he’s somewhere where others remember about his medicine and his appointments, we are hoping things will settle down.
Hi Lucia,
My siblings and I (mostly me due to proximity) have been through a lot over the last 4 1/2 years as my dad has descended into ever worsening Alzheimer’s. First there was loss of driver’s license, then part time in-home assistance, an “assisted living” facility for a couple of years, and finally a “controlled facility” when he started to become lost if allowed outside alone. Each step was absolutely required, but not one of them has been easy for him or for us. Just this afternoon he had the staff at his facility call me (his capacity to dial a phone gone years ago), and then struggled for 15 minutes to find the words to ask me why he can’t get a job and live in an apartment by himself.
The staff at his facility tell me that some residents accept their situation without a struggle and remain cheerful, while others never do. My thoughts and best wishes are with you and your dad.
All this has given me new perspective about the need to get done what I want to accomplish in life without delay; for there, but for the grace of some years, go we.
SteveF–
Now that Dad is in the assisted living facility, he is pretty accepting. We remind him he had the foresight to get long term care insurance for just this reason, and he says, “I was pretty smart!”. But, of course, we say this over and over– because he doesn’t remember.
He’s mostly upbeat, but does miss warm Florida, where he knows the weather is warm. The guy has alternated living in places like El Salvador, Cuba, Florida vs. Buffalo, NY and Chicago. He prefers warm weather, and who can blame him? But he seems content.
When I left, he asked when I’d visit next! I’m glad we are close enough to visit regularly. My sister and brother in law visit every day. I’m visiting once a week and hosting weekend events once a week. So… we hope he’ll be happy.
I saw a piano… Jim and I are thinking of bringing sheet music and singing. . .
Hi Lucia
Glad he’s out of the hospital and fairly cheerful.
Did you tell him his photo was going to be on the web?!
He looks like I feel sometimes….
With just such a look
My Dad sat in such a chair.
Look again! He’s not there.
=====================
PaulM–
No. I didn’t tell him he’d be on the web. But he isn’t the sort who would mind.
I didn’t take any pictures in his hospital gown though. That he would not like. We have rounds of doctor visits today.
We need to track down what went wrong. Unfortunately, it seems likely he’s been having these episodes but would just forget afterwards. So, things are only getting treated now that we sort of tricked him into coming here and visiting.
Kim–
I’m sorry about your Dad.