I Don't Do Well In Groups Anymore

By Bill Craig
D asked me to accompany her to our Methodist church's Christmas dinner (I am not yet a member there, being that I was raised Catholic), but I couldn't handle it.

I did the best I could.

Smiled and said hello, but other than eating and smiling at the kids who enjoyed their gifts, I just could not do it.

Was it the fact that D and I cannot spend a Christmas with friends and family back home in Germany this year?

Heretofore, I have always been able to make a trip home to Rothenburg at this time of year, and this time, as I was married, I would not have had to go by myself!

Was it the fact that Betty couldn't be there with her Wayne?

The Dementia? I used to be able to speak in front of large crowds and felt comfortable talking to them.

Hell, I don't know.

All I know is that the tears spilled out, but I kept them at eyelid level.

Now I am facing a family Christmas on the 19th, and I would give anything not to have to go, but D is hitting me over the head with the fact that Julian (my grandson) has never spent a Christmas with his "Opa" (German word for "grandfather") due to my son's divorce.

So I guess I better "suck it up", huh?

My good friend Luke in Australia sent me this, and I am sorry I cannot click you to YouTube, but you have GOT to see this and recognize the colors on their jerseys.

http://www.bookofjoe.com:80/2009/08/bicycle-magic-carla-and-henriette-hochdorfer.html

Everyone who knows me, knows I am a cyclist and this is just the most beautiful thing I have ever seen on a bike!

Bert, (my long-haired domestic cat) is looking at me right now, and seems to remind me that there are so many other kitties and doggies that need a home. It's cold out here in West Georgia right now, and so many of them are left on the side of the road or at dumpsters, and I talk to Bert about them.

Please remember this if nothing else: WE domesticated THEM and that makes us responsible.

If you just cannot adopt, then please buy a bag of dog or cat food, take some old towels, old stuffed animal dolls (Yes! They love those, too!) and take them to your local shelter/Humane Society

Just do something, please?


The Animal Rescue Site


Thank you!

Bill

Comments

Anonymous said…
So sorry you're having such a difficult time with the holidays and you and D are not able to travel to Germany, but being with your grandson should make it all the better. I'm right there with ya with the holidays, having a tuff time. Just want them over with.

Those dancing cyclists are awesome. I've never seen anything like that either. As a kid we tried to do tricks on our bikes, wheelies and such and usually wound up on our backsides. I couldn't even imagine doing anything like that, especially when the bike keeps peddling and moving with no one peddling. Incredilble.

OK, I give what about the colors?

Gotta start fixin us some grits.

Luv ya both, Becks
December 13, 2009 at 7:53 PM
Bill Craig said…
The colors are those of the German flag, sweet one!

Let's all of us hang in there for the holidays, okay?

Me and Dondra and Bert send our love!

DAB, Bill, Quasi and yes, I'm Christopher Robin too.
December 14, 2009 at 1:47 PM
Margaret said…
Things have been so busy around here-- preparing for the big get-together on Saturday, working at Guy's office. Thank goodness the gift shopping is done, all I have to do is wrap.

This year I'm giving all the gifts in reusable bags-- not paper bags, the resistant ones that can be used for shopping or the beach, and for the last months, I've been collecting the prettiest or cutest ones.

Bill, a few days ago I watched that clip and was stunned. I just couldn't believe it. I was impressed by the skill of one of our granddaughters who studied circus arts and is a whiz on the unicycle, on the trapeze and at juggling, but that clip is a totally different scale. Wow.

Thanks also for posting all the music clips. I enjoy them a lot. I'm looking forward to the webcast. :)

Thanks to you and others who post here, I've started reading a book about Ray Smith and his wife Grace who suffers from AD. Have you read "Amazing Grace"? If so, do you consider it a worthwhile book, or is there something else you could recommend?

My friend Olivette is the caregiver for her husband who was tentatively diagnosed with AD, shortly after the death of his older brother whose AD was confirmed.

Olivette takes Jean-Guy all over the place: theatres, concerts, museums,restaurants,dinner parties. Until this year, she drove him to get-togethers with friends who studied at the same classical college (old European system that existed in Quebec until the late 70s); this year, she stayed with him for the first time throughout the meal. Everything went smoothly. He's doing fine, and his friends (among whom my husband) are always glad to see he's there and happy to be with him.

They do a lot of reminiscing about their schooldays, and his long-term memory is fine: he was a star baseball pitcher in their team, and remembers all those stories perfectly well.

More recent stuff he has problems with, but nobody pushes him, and we're all happy to hear him tell (for about the 4th time in the same evening) the story of when he went on a tour to France with a group of old soldiers.

Olivette and he have wonderful children and grandkids. He is well-loved. Until now, we haven't seen any deterioration in his temperament, he's an optimistic sort.

He's been suffering from AD for about 15 years now, and according to his wife, he's on some sort of experimental meds that appear to be working for him.

Another example:

My daughter-in-law's father was a brilliant scientist who suffered from Early Onset AD. In Canada, on French CBC, he had been the person who commented on all the Apollo flights, both in preparation and during the actual missions. He's the man who explained NASA to the people. A brilliant man, very modest, with a very broad culture, a Renaissance Man.

And then he got AD, and I guess meds weren't as effective in the 1980s because his decline was very rapid and shocking. I had that info second-hand from his widow and daughters since he died about a year before Marie-Lise married into our family.

Enough rambling from me tonight.

Thanks, and take care, Bill.

Hugs to you and D
December 17, 2009 at 1:14 AM
Margaret said…
Hope your family dinner goes well, Bill,we can compare notes,I'm having a family dinner (everyone from my husband's side of the family)on the 19th also.

It'll be really cool to see that grandson of yours. Grandparents are so important to children, they're an unconditional font of love and acceptance. I get the feeling that he won't mind at all if you're not perfectly on your game. :)

Hugs to D and you,

Margaret/Mood
December 18, 2009 at 11:50 PM
Bill Craig said…
Don't know how I missed this one, Margaret! Could be due to my recent hospitalization, though.

I have never read "Amazing Grace", and sorry, I don't know of any good books to recommend to ya'. :(

So much I want to do (the play, the podcast, return to my songwriting and music), but I just don't have the "wanna-do's" right now.

Your friend Olivette sounds like an awesome lady and Jean-Guy sounds like he's had a great life.
(BTW, I KNOW it's pronounced soft j and the the "guh" sound to make "Gie". Helps to have been an english major, ah reckon!:))

Also glad you liked the girls. One of my cycling friends from Club Hypoxia ("Howard") says he's never held his breath so long in his life!

I try to find some music videos that "fit" what I write about, so I am happy you like them too.

I hope you and your Guy had a great Christmas and wish you a happy and prosperous New Year!

Your friend,

Bill
December 26, 2009 at 6:43 PM
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