Chariotoflove

Thumbnail photo: my mom, dad, and me at my wedding in 1998. Mom passed in 2019 at the end of her battle with metastatic breast cancer. Dad was never the same after.

I’ve been in Indy over the last three and a half weeks helping my dad with his battle against Covid. We got him home, and he was getting better, but then complications made it worse and it was back to the hospital. Then, we went home again, but things turned south again. Saturday morning, we lost the battle. He coded, and they couldn’t bring him back.

I don’t really want to eulogize him here, though I may tell some of his stories later. He had some pretty jalop ones too, like the ‘47 Nash he bought for $50 and engine-swapped to get his first running car, and the time he got to aileron roll a Super Sabre.

Here is a goofy selfie we took two weeks ago after he got home from the hospital the first time. He was feeling pretty good but looking rough and wanted me to give him a hair cut. This is after the cut but before he shaved, thus documenting the closest he ever got to an actual beard. He said he was starting to look too much like me. The sun glasses were some cheap things from the 70s my mom left in the closet.

Goodbye, Dad. The world without you is already less than it was.

Chariotoflove

Two weeks ago, my dad collapsed in my sister’s arms. Covid. Despite having been vaccinated. He spent some nights in the hospital and was released. Needless to say, I took the first one way ticket to Indy and have been here ever since.

Dad seemed to get better at first but then started to have heart problems. He was refusing to go to the hospital (doctors make the worst patients and he is one of the best doctors, so…). He’s 83, and we have been seriously distraught thinking he could crash at any time (last night we had the defibrillator ready because he was in a-fib). Just this afternoon, he agreed to go to the hospital. We are seriously relieved, and that’s where I am going right now. So this is a happy post in a sense.

I miss my girls, and my job is on hold, but things are looking up. Post anything you like. Thanks for reading.

Chariotoflove

@GibbsEmphasis

A to today is here.

Chariotoflove

@ClassicDatsunDebate

A to today can be found here.

Chariotoflove

@Exage03040

A to today is here.

Chariotoflove

@Huzer

A to today is here.

Chariotoflove

alt text I've been posting here for years about my daughter and out exploits together, building gingerbread houses, learning the flute, going on car the car search that brought home Genie, designing twisted Halloween displays. So much has happened. This year is her first in high school, and she is thriving there. She is a straight A student and never misses a day of class or is even late.

She is now as tall as I am (when standing up), and she is strong. So strong. And so clever. But I have one of those digital photo frames here in my office that she loaded 1000 pics on from her youth, and to my eyes as I watch the images scroll through, she is in my mind's eye still the little girl who sat on my lap wherever we went, just like in those pictures. We would careen downhill in public places while she yelled and waved her arms to see how many people we could make scatter in panic before us.

And she has a temper. The usual teenage sullenness is there on top of her always volatile personality. She is so much like I was as a kid. Too much. Parenting her is an emotional roller coaster, with more shouting and tears than I can ever remember (or want to). She is nothing in personality like my even-keeled wife is used to from her family, and the poor woman has read more books and visited more web sites than she can count trying to cope (and cope she does). For those of you that don't already know, parenting kids together can be a serious test of a marriage. If you're in one of those relationships where both of you say you never fight and always agree, have a child. You'll see.

And yet it's worth it. It's all worth it. I'm 15 years into the adventure today, and I can still see my baby the first day I met her. It's so clear in my mind right now. I'm going to go home early, where we will have the steak dinner and cake she requested, and spend the evening with the wonderful young woman that my baby girl is becoming.

That's it. I just felt like sharing that here.

Chariotoflove

@facw That’s not political. That’s funny. Also true. If he’s willing to feed himself, let him.

Chariotoflove

@trivet

Yep!

Chariotoflove

@bicyclebuck
You put it on a sticky note and tape it to your monitor at work. Problem solved.

Seriously though, let me tell you about my current migraines with NIH password problems. And now they are getting on board with two-factor authentication. Heaven help us.

Chariotoflove

@ranwhenparked
Man, that’s a lot of accidents for one ship in that lifetime.

Chariotoflove

@just-jeepin
Well then here’s something for you to pick up. A mascot. You can name her Pinky Tuskadero.

https://www.stuffedsafari.com/Girlz-Nation-Pink-Stuffed-Elephant-by-Aurora-p/ar-19415.htm

Chariotoflove

@cb
That’s a solid plan. A lot of famous and well published authors wrote short stories to start, ending with those stories connecting to a larger universe and full length novels. Stephen King comes to mind.

Chariotoflove

@just-jeepin
I don't understand the answer from the people living in the house.

This is the most superficial report ever. The response from everyone asked seems to be a collective shrug.

Chariotoflove

@ita97
If you do this right, you’ll either wake up dead or wish you were.

Chariotoflove

@awesomeaustinv
This house design is relevant to my interests.

Chariotoflove

@mark-tucker
My dad was always one to know how to get the big ticket items too.

Good job!

Chariotoflove

@Chariotoflove

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