Please keep Moonshadow in Prayers.

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Dottie
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Re: Please keep Moonshadow in Prayers.

Post by Dottie »

My thoughts to are with you and your father , just remember you are on call for your dad not " I'm on call for work."
Remember the good times and make your peace with him.
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Sinned
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Re: Please keep Moonshadow in Prayers.

Post by Sinned »

Moon, Jenn, Amber, my thoughts will be with you during the coming days. Death of a parent is expected and MOH and I have been through the death of both her parents and my father, none of them really pleasant ( cancer was a common theme ) so I hope I know what you are going through. Yes, there has been friction throughout the relationship but try and dwell on the positives. I don't necessarily pray for his father's recovery because I don't know what the physical problems or illness is but sometimes a quick demise is better than a protracted and painful one. I had a son die of leukaemia and to watch his physical decline over a period of 9 months was harrowing. I will pray that whatever happens some sort of reconciliation and understanding may be the result. Bless you all.
I believe in offering every assistance short of actual help but then mainly just want to be left to be myself in all my difference and uniqueness.
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moonshadow
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Re: Please keep Moonshadow in Prayers.

Post by moonshadow »

Thanks everyone for the thoughts. I spoke to him again yesterday, I remarked that he sounded a little better, but he still maintained that he didn't feel much better.

His hip is bothering him very badly, and he has some sort of infection in his bladder, per the doctor. I believe the doctor has suggested admitting him to the hospital, but dad has resisted, he doesn't want to spend Christmas in the hospital. I'd say if he's still feeling bad after Christmas he'll probably go.

Now to be clear, he may pull through this, and it may not be the end of the line. However dad has been on a downward spiral for at least two years now. Only in the last few weeks has it reached a point where he can barely leave his room, and I believe I heard him say if he goes to town he's basically wheelchair bound.

I'm sure he knows his good years are behind him, and his life, for all intents and purposes is already over. When we spoke yesterday he confessed to a few minor things he's done over the years, to which I told him I already knew and he was been forgiven for years now. I think he feels like the end is near for him. I am going to see him next Saturday (Christmas eve-eve). It will be just Jenn and myself. I will be wearing normal clothes, but I'll be sure to grab a photo. A part of me thinks when I see him, and we patch things up, he's going to let himself go.

The last two times we spoke, he never mentioned politics. It was nice. I think on our future visits we'll simply discuss the good memories we've shared over time.

I stumbled across this while browsing my old 35MM folder on flickr the other day looking at old photographs of dad and I. I think this one is among one of my favorites:

Image
-Andrea
The old hillbilly from the coal fields of the Appalachian mountains currently living like there's no tomorrow on the west coast.
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crfriend
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Re: Please keep Moonshadow in Prayers.

Post by crfriend »

moonshadow wrote:I stumbled across this while browsing my old 35MM folder on flickr the other day looking at old photographs of dad and I. I think this one is among one of my favorites.
I believe I can see why. The look on the young Moonshadow speaks volumes.

It's good to hear that the two of you are not butting heads over politics -- if, for no other reason, that neither one of you can do anything about it. If the current situation brings the two of you closer, even if it is just for a little bit, it'll be a blessing for both of you. Make sure he doesn't think himself a failure; after all, he produced a successful son who is now navigating his own way in a difficult world amid troubled seas. Thank him for that.
Retrocomputing -- It's not just a job, it's an adventure!
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oldsalt1
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Re: Please keep Moonshadow in Prayers.

Post by oldsalt1 »

Looking at the army picture and the picture at the ball game he looks about my age. How old is he and when was he in the service.
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moonshadow
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Re: Please keep Moonshadow in Prayers.

Post by moonshadow »

oldsalt1 wrote:Looking at the army picture and the picture at the ball game he looks about my age. How old is he and when was he in the service.
He was in the National Guard. I'd say I was about 5 years old or so when that was taken. He was 26 when I was born so I'd say he was around his early 30s when this was taken. (Circa mid 1980s)
-Andrea
The old hillbilly from the coal fields of the Appalachian mountains currently living like there's no tomorrow on the west coast.
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moonshadow
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Re: Please keep Moonshadow in Prayers.

Post by moonshadow »

Here are some additional photos of dad's "glory days"...

These were taken from an old scrap book handed down to me. The photos are physically glued to the brown paper backing so there was no practical way to remove the photos for scanning without ruining the photos. Therefore I simply used my cell phone to "take a picture of a picture", this saved me untold hours of time to get these digitized on flickr. Another nice advantage is I was able to retain Mom's hand written captions on many of the scrap book photos... this helps with dates and identification...

My entire "35MM" album is located here. (link)

Image

Image

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Judging from Mom's appearance, the fact that this was a "Christmas dinner", and my birthday would be December 27th... I'd say I'm about to make my grand entry very soon!

Image
This was actually taken near you Dan, at Long Island New York where my mom was born and raised.

Image
And I just thought this was funny... in case you wonder what I'm like when I'm upset.... :lol:
-Andrea
The old hillbilly from the coal fields of the Appalachian mountains currently living like there's no tomorrow on the west coast.
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oldsalt1
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Re: Please keep Moonshadow in Prayers.

Post by oldsalt1 »

The hardest part about visiting especially when there is illness involved is what do you say after you say hello. No matter what we did or went thru us old guys usually have some fond memories about our time in the service. I was hopping that there was some kind of hook up that you could use just to get his mind going . If you reach a low spot you can always say that one of your friends an old vietnam vet saw his army picture and was wondering what he did in the service. Sometimes anything can be used to spur a conversation.
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moonshadow
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Re: Please keep Moonshadow in Prayers.

Post by moonshadow »

I visited dad today. He seems to be doing better, but I will say he looks nothing like the photos above. He has grown out a beard about 3 inches long, in addition to his hair is rather shaggy and completely white. He seems thin all around, yet still has a belly. We visited for a few hours and gave him a few gifts for Christmas.

The ride up there was pure hell. Just pure hell. I absolutely despise what this "Christmas" thing does to Americans. Go will toward men? Chhaaa... whatever.... :roll: I find America is at it's most obnoxious and arrogant during the month of December.

As I explained to Amber, "the interstate is like the internet in many ways, sometimes it's fast, usually it's slow, and it's chock full of anonymous assholes."

I wore my black Macabi and black tee-shirt as far as a rest stop where I changed into a pair of cargo pants. I visited dad and changed back into the Macabi once I got out of town again that night. We ate at the Golden Corral in Roanoke, and stopped at the Walmart in Lebanon a little after midnight to make a few purchases before returning home. The only incidents I received was being photographed at a Sheetz gas station in Wytheville while checking the oil in the car, and at Walmart later that night, I kept noticing a little redneck tramp with a couple of babies in tow getting rather obnoxious in my presence, all the while she's wearing hot pink pajama pants and slippers with hair that looked like it hadn't have been washed in a few days....

Ahhhh....'murica...
-Andrea
The old hillbilly from the coal fields of the Appalachian mountains currently living like there's no tomorrow on the west coast.
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