If you want to see what's happening with Jackie tomorrow during the surgery, you can check www.patsyterrell.com. There will be a link there for updates. Thanks for your concerns, comments, and emails.
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Saturday, October 13, 2007
Situation
I am in Kentucky to see Jackie. I have very little net access because I'm at the hospital or sleeping. Any posting I do will likely be from my phone, with the abbreviations and misspellings intact, so bear with me. I can't recall where I last picked up the story...
Jackie fell a week ago Wednesday when a board he was standing on at a construction site broke. He fell about 10 feet and had surgery on Friday to do a full hip replacement because it broke the ball off his left hip. The surgery went very well. But, he had a massive heart attack in recovery. He coded and they had to shock him multiple times. They weren't sure he would live through the night. But, he did and continued to improve. Until they tried to get him off the oxygen.
On Wednesday - I think - my days are confused - they discovered he has a leaky valve and will need open heart surgery. That is tentatively scheduled for Monday, depending on if the Plavix in his system is at a low enough level. They will remove the stent they put in last week for the 100% blockage and do a bypass there and also where he has the 60% blockage, in addition to fixing the leaky valve.
Amazingly, he says his hip doesn't even hurt. He has an incision about 4 inches long on the front of his hip and it's healing nicely. It's incredible they can cut us open, rearrange a major support structure of our bodies and we not be in pain five days later. But, so it is.
I came to KY late this week to be with him and help out - someone has stayed at the hospital around the clock since this happened. I've been staying at the hospital at night so Mary Ann can get rested up because I know she will want to be with him after he has the heart surgery.
I came home to shower today and sleep a bit and I'm headed back to the hospital (about 30 minutes away). He's in CCU, so we can only visit for brief times throughout the day, two at a time.
I was hoping to have wireless access in the waiting room, since a lot of what we do is wait, but no such luck. So, I have no real computer time. However, I may post from my phone with updates.
I was planning to be here Friday-Monday anyway because their 50th anniversary is on Monday and we had a party planned for Sunday afternoon. Now they'll be doing surgery on Monday instead of celebrating their anniversary.
If you're someone in my real life world, please refer people to the blog for updates or have people call my cell. I do not have everyone's emails with me and just don't have the energy to do a lot of texting. I'll try to update here whenever possible.
Your good thoughts and prayers are appreciated.
Jackie fell a week ago Wednesday when a board he was standing on at a construction site broke. He fell about 10 feet and had surgery on Friday to do a full hip replacement because it broke the ball off his left hip. The surgery went very well. But, he had a massive heart attack in recovery. He coded and they had to shock him multiple times. They weren't sure he would live through the night. But, he did and continued to improve. Until they tried to get him off the oxygen.
On Wednesday - I think - my days are confused - they discovered he has a leaky valve and will need open heart surgery. That is tentatively scheduled for Monday, depending on if the Plavix in his system is at a low enough level. They will remove the stent they put in last week for the 100% blockage and do a bypass there and also where he has the 60% blockage, in addition to fixing the leaky valve.
Amazingly, he says his hip doesn't even hurt. He has an incision about 4 inches long on the front of his hip and it's healing nicely. It's incredible they can cut us open, rearrange a major support structure of our bodies and we not be in pain five days later. But, so it is.
I came to KY late this week to be with him and help out - someone has stayed at the hospital around the clock since this happened. I've been staying at the hospital at night so Mary Ann can get rested up because I know she will want to be with him after he has the heart surgery.
I came home to shower today and sleep a bit and I'm headed back to the hospital (about 30 minutes away). He's in CCU, so we can only visit for brief times throughout the day, two at a time.
I was hoping to have wireless access in the waiting room, since a lot of what we do is wait, but no such luck. So, I have no real computer time. However, I may post from my phone with updates.
I was planning to be here Friday-Monday anyway because their 50th anniversary is on Monday and we had a party planned for Sunday afternoon. Now they'll be doing surgery on Monday instead of celebrating their anniversary.
If you're someone in my real life world, please refer people to the blog for updates or have people call my cell. I do not have everyone's emails with me and just don't have the energy to do a lot of texting. I'll try to update here whenever possible.
Your good thoughts and prayers are appreciated.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Alcohol Consumption
Recently I was at a gathering where by the time I arrived, one person was already feeling the alcohol they had consumed and was no longer very articulate, and another one had a head start down that path.
I'm not sure why adults don't understand that they're not at their best when they're a little tipsy. I see why 20 year olds don't get it - they don't have the life experience - but for those of us over, say, 25, it seems we should understand it.
One tipsy person in a group starts to overwhelm the whole dynamic, much less two - it's just not worth the effort to me. People were not drunk - just tipsy - but getting less able to communicate well with each passing moment.
Generally people just get more boisterous and less intelligent with each ounce that's consumed. It becomes more and more of a struggle to have interesting conversation, and it's just not worth the effort to me. I have a large group of friends who never drink, but in this sort of a group, I'm usually one of only one or two not drinking. As a result, I'm one of the few who grasps how much the general level of conversation has deteriorated - and it's significant - quickly.
Trish and I have talked about this before when we're around a group that's having some "drinks," that the level goes down quickly. It's quite obvious in most people after the first glass and a half of wine that they're no longer at their best. They think they are, but they're not. I know because I see them at their best and I see them after a couple of drinks and the difference is far more startling than they realize.
This is not to say that people can't "handle" it - they can in the sense that they're still functional. But, their level of interesting conversation diminishes pretty quickly. You can quickly get a whole group that is suddenly fascinated with rather meaningless prattle and it's just not interesting for those of us who are not impaired. For those who are drinking, it works fine, it even seems fun. For the rest of us, the level of interesting conversation and people has just gone downhill. Back in my partying days a friend used to say alcohol was a way to make boring people fun. I think the truth is more that it made him less able to distinguish boring and fun.
Of course, there are exceptions. There are some people I'm around who drink regularly that I have never seen the least bit impaired. But, they're rare.
There's a group I gather with regularly where the wine flows freely and sometimes I just cannot wait to extricate myself because the level of conversation has really gone downhill and no one but me realizes it. They're all laughing at nothing and I'm bored silly. So, I find a way to leave so I can go do something interesting. It's a shame because they're cool people, but they don't even realize how uncool they get with just a couple of glasses. They're not obnoxious - well, a couple of them can border on it - but they're just not as interesting. They can't think about complex things. They can't engage in meaningful conversation.
I went through my partying days in college. I was done with it long before I was 25. I found alcohol quite dull - never liked my brain not firing on all cylinders and can't understand why anyone would want that. People always say it relaxes them - well, so does meditation or deep breathing or a dozen other things. People say it releases their inhibitions - well, maybe you should actually address those instead of just masking them. We have inhibitions for a reason - they keep us from doing things like jump off cliffs. If your inhibitions don't make sense deal with that.
I like to have a drink now and then of something that tastes good - Andrea served something fabulous at a dinner she had recently. I drank a little bit - maybe an ounce total - it tasted great, but I didn't want to feel the effects of the alcohol. I want to have all my wits about me. And that was a prime example of how it can be fine. Everyone was having drinks - everyone else a "normal" amount - but no one was impaired at all. It's possible, but it's rare.
The lure of getting tipsy is a mystery to me, like so many things... But it's one of the reasons I don't serve alcohol at events at my house. I want everyone to fully participate and in a group of 10 people, there will be at least one who gets a little too loud and a little too dense in no time at all. And then everyone has to lower their expectations. So, I just avoid the whole thing.
I'm not sure why adults don't understand that they're not at their best when they're a little tipsy. I see why 20 year olds don't get it - they don't have the life experience - but for those of us over, say, 25, it seems we should understand it.
One tipsy person in a group starts to overwhelm the whole dynamic, much less two - it's just not worth the effort to me. People were not drunk - just tipsy - but getting less able to communicate well with each passing moment.
Generally people just get more boisterous and less intelligent with each ounce that's consumed. It becomes more and more of a struggle to have interesting conversation, and it's just not worth the effort to me. I have a large group of friends who never drink, but in this sort of a group, I'm usually one of only one or two not drinking. As a result, I'm one of the few who grasps how much the general level of conversation has deteriorated - and it's significant - quickly.
Trish and I have talked about this before when we're around a group that's having some "drinks," that the level goes down quickly. It's quite obvious in most people after the first glass and a half of wine that they're no longer at their best. They think they are, but they're not. I know because I see them at their best and I see them after a couple of drinks and the difference is far more startling than they realize.
This is not to say that people can't "handle" it - they can in the sense that they're still functional. But, their level of interesting conversation diminishes pretty quickly. You can quickly get a whole group that is suddenly fascinated with rather meaningless prattle and it's just not interesting for those of us who are not impaired. For those who are drinking, it works fine, it even seems fun. For the rest of us, the level of interesting conversation and people has just gone downhill. Back in my partying days a friend used to say alcohol was a way to make boring people fun. I think the truth is more that it made him less able to distinguish boring and fun.
Of course, there are exceptions. There are some people I'm around who drink regularly that I have never seen the least bit impaired. But, they're rare.
There's a group I gather with regularly where the wine flows freely and sometimes I just cannot wait to extricate myself because the level of conversation has really gone downhill and no one but me realizes it. They're all laughing at nothing and I'm bored silly. So, I find a way to leave so I can go do something interesting. It's a shame because they're cool people, but they don't even realize how uncool they get with just a couple of glasses. They're not obnoxious - well, a couple of them can border on it - but they're just not as interesting. They can't think about complex things. They can't engage in meaningful conversation.
I went through my partying days in college. I was done with it long before I was 25. I found alcohol quite dull - never liked my brain not firing on all cylinders and can't understand why anyone would want that. People always say it relaxes them - well, so does meditation or deep breathing or a dozen other things. People say it releases their inhibitions - well, maybe you should actually address those instead of just masking them. We have inhibitions for a reason - they keep us from doing things like jump off cliffs. If your inhibitions don't make sense deal with that.
I like to have a drink now and then of something that tastes good - Andrea served something fabulous at a dinner she had recently. I drank a little bit - maybe an ounce total - it tasted great, but I didn't want to feel the effects of the alcohol. I want to have all my wits about me. And that was a prime example of how it can be fine. Everyone was having drinks - everyone else a "normal" amount - but no one was impaired at all. It's possible, but it's rare.
The lure of getting tipsy is a mystery to me, like so many things... But it's one of the reasons I don't serve alcohol at events at my house. I want everyone to fully participate and in a group of 10 people, there will be at least one who gets a little too loud and a little too dense in no time at all. And then everyone has to lower their expectations. So, I just avoid the whole thing.
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Christmas Preparations and More
It seemed ridiculous to put this away only to get it out in a few weeks. This year I'm going to wire it to the wall before I start assembling it instead of trying to do it afterwards. Greg suggested this placement since this is the direction it wants to lean - into the room - because I put more stuff on the sides that are visible. I'm excited to try out the new stand Jackie built.
And speaking of Jackie - he is doing well. Their 50th Anniversary notice was in the paper so people have been bringing it in to him. Obviously, we've had to postpone the party that was set for Sunday, but we've got a whole year to work it in, so we've got plenty of time.
I have spent today running from one thing to another. There always seem to be more projects than there is energy and time to do them. I want to change that dynamic.
Tonight Andrea hosted the gathering for our committee locally that put on dialogue. I went for a little bit and it was nice. But I had to come home to work on a couple of projects. I had a freelance graphics project to complete tonight and a number of other things so I couldn't stay very long. It was good to see everyone, but conversation was getting very intense about what to do in the future and I just didn't have the brain cells for that. I needed to save my brain cells for other things tonight.
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Monday, October 8, 2007
Mike Armstrong Remembered
I went to the memorial service today for Mike Armstrong of Roy's Barbecue. I went hunting tonight for the photos of Mike I'd put on the blog. It made me chuckle that they're basically the same photo taken at different times, because Mike was always hard at work, and always smiling. I'm certain Mike would like the fact that he gave me a chuckle, even on the day of his memorial service.
This one is from June 25, 2006, which included this excerpt, "We did go to lunch at Roy's. When I was outside the door I could hear Mike chopping inside and it occurred to me that that is one of the "sounds of Roy's." I'm always into sound - I guess it comes from all those years in radio."
This one is from November of 2005, when we stopped by after the Christmas parade, with Clarence the dino still on top of the van. It included this excerpt, "After the parade, we drove to Roy's for some lunch. Anne came out to see what was pulling up in their driveway. I pulled her over to have her photo taken with the dino. She wasn't too eager so I didn't push my luck and put the Santa hat on her. Christmas is not her favorite time of year. I'm working on her. Slowly.Of course, someone still has to be working to keep the barbecue flowing. Mike was doing just that."
This one is from September of 2005, when we were taking some friends out to one of our favorite spots, which inluded this excerpt, "I snapped a pic of Mike working hard at Roy's. They have the best barbecue I've ever eaten, and I've eaten some barbecue."
I only knew Mike from Roy's, but people become a part of your lives when you are a regular customer - especially in that kind of a circumstance where it's a small, intimate place. I think that's especially true when it's a place you're eating, too. Food is so primal - the very sustenance of life - and Mike prepared it so well. Son, Ryan, has been cooking and chopping for awhile now, and he's doing a great job. I'm glad Mike had some time to do things he enjoyed the last few months.
When I went to the service today I wasn't sure if it was really appropriate for me to be there. I was not a close friend of Mike's, but when a friend called to tell me the notice was in the paper, I had a desire to pay my respects. There were a few other regular customers there today, but not as many as I expected. I'm not sure what is appropriate in this circumstance - you don't want to feel you're intruding on a private occasion for family and close friends - but you don't want the family to feel you don't care either.
It was a beautiful service. I was impressed with it. Anne and I spoke just briefly and she told me she planned it. It was lovely - personal and moving, with moments of humor as well. The recessional was "Take Me Out to the Ballgame," because Mike was a big Yankees fan and even played college baseball at Pittsburg State. After the service, there was a balloon launch in front of the church, to release Mike's spirit. Blue and white balloons were handed out to each of us and after a brief reading, we all let them go. I wanted to take a photo because it was such a beautiful sight, but that didn't seem appropriate so I didn't.
I just know I'm glad I went. It was an honor to be witness to the memory of such a fun-loving man. My heartfelt sympathies to Anne, their children, and the rest of the family. I know Mike will be missed by all who had the good fortune to cross his path in this lifetime.
__________________________
Tonight I was looking for a particular blog entry I had written about Roy's and in the process, discovered that in the last two and a half years on the blog I've mentioned Roy's more than 80 times.
The entry I was looking for was from live journal, which, unfortunately, isn't as searchable, so I'm going to repost it here.
This was written June 12, 2004............................
I'm lucky to live in the same town - Hutchinson, Kansas - as one of the absolute best BBQ joints in the country. Roy's. It's wonderful. A rich, sweet, smoky sauce that permeates the meat to perfection. I always eat the beef at Roy's, although I can also vouch for the turkey and ham, which I've partaken of when the beef is gone by the time I get there. The meat itself is wonderful - it's really smoked - not psuedo-smoked out of a bottle.
Mike gets there very early every morning. He makes a certain amount. When it's gone, it's gone. So, go early or accept you may not be able to get your favorite meat. If you wait too long, you won't be able to get anything. This is good stuff - made fresh - smoked with hickory - like BBQ is supposed to be. You serve up the coleslaw, potato salad, beans and other goodies yourself off the salad bar.
Anne and Mike are the proprietors at Roy's. They've been in business 23 years so they know what they're doing. It's a small building, with one large round table in the front, and then an annex with other tables. If it's your first time, don't miss the communal experience of sitting at the round table.
You may notice the painted window pictured above says 11-4 or until the food is gone. Heads up here - they're always closed by 2 - so don't dally. They're open Tuesday through Saturday. I know... hours are limited... doesn't matter - plan your trip around it - you won't be disappointed.
Going to Roy's means heading down Hutchinson's main street, turning onto 5th, toward Nickerson to the west. Continue on 5th - you'll think you're out of town. Keep going. And then you'll see the cars parked all around a yellow building on the right, and sometimes in the grass across the highway. You're there. Even if the line is out the door, as it often is - wait - things move along at a good clip.
Settle in and get ready for a treat. Meat is always perfect. Anne and Mike are always friendly. Experience is always ideal. If you become a regular they'll know your name and your favorite in no time.
Even if you're just passing through, you'll be treated kindly. They're used to out of towners because they're listed in some of those books about great BBQ places. You'll be happy to leave a few well-spent tourist dollars here. It's also a bargain - in case I didn't mention that. I eat a half sandwich, and it's less than $6, including the all-you-can-eat fixin's.
There are some other BBQ places in Hutchinson, including one that continues to buy a billboard near Roy's - somehow thinking we'll be fooled by marketing. Don't bother with them. They may win contests with ballot box stuffing and such, but locals know for the real stuff you gotta head to Roy's. Do you want BBQ or do you want meat with some liquid smoke poured over it?
Roy's is one of the places people can't wait to return to if they move out of town and come back for a visit. As I tell Anne occasionally, "If I can't have Roy's, I'll do without." You'll feel the same once you've had it.
You can see more pix and get more info on the official site at http://www.roysbbq.com. You can even see the menu or order some sauce. The sauce is adored - a staple in Hutchinson kitchens. I even took some as a "thank you" gift to some folks I was staying with in Cairo, Egypt. They were thrilled and you will be too.
Jackie Doing Well
Jackie is doing well.
He has the clicker to watch TV. He wants to go home. He ordered everyone else to go home and stop staying at the hospital. It seems he's getting back to normal.
He will be moved out to a regular room tomorrow.
Thank you for your good thoughts!
Sunday, October 7, 2007
More Good News
My brother, Jackie, has continued to improve. I'm so thankful he's doing well. He is still in CCU, but he is improving. Obviously, it's all I've been able to think about the last couple of days. He has had a lot of visitors today and recognizes everyone. He's had some soft foods and they have him sitting up in bed a bit. They're reducing his sedation and he's no longer restrained. So, things are moving in the right direction.
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