Fred Hoiberg

Is it possible that with Fred Hoiberg coming to Nebraska as our Head Basketball Coach and Duke getting beat by Michigan St. for a chance to play in the NCAA Final Four, that my highest level of basketball interest, could be shifting closer to home. Hoiberg was born in Lincoln and his Mother the daughter of Jerry Bush, one of my favorite Nebraska coaches from back in the late 50's. Whitey Buel from Malcolm was one of his players who played baseball with us in Garland and married a Seward girl. Whitey was typical of the Bush teams back in those days. Most of the varsity was made up of local in-state players with only a couple brought in from outside. With one Grandfather having been the Head Basketball Coach for a number of years and his other Grandfather a Nebraska Professor, Fred comes to the job with credentials and a very successful coaching record.
We have felt close to Duke over the years because of Tim having graduated from there and his association with the team. However, while I don't blame young athletes for going pro prior to graduation, It bothers me when a team is made up of players who may only play one year. That was certainly the case with Zion Williamson and a couple others at Duke this year when there was speculation as to what they may bring on the Pro-draft early in the season.

Therapist Alenah

Alenah was here this morning to lead me in my exercise therapy. After the initial check of vitals and discussion we went on a long walk down all 3-sections of this east Independent living component of the building. She estimated the round trip at 1200' which is close to a quarter of a mile. I was able to do that with my walker and be huffing and puffing no more than a much shorter distance when I first got home. After a few minutes of rest we did her regime of "stand-up" exercises at the kitchen sink.  I hold on to the front edge of the sink and do 15 repetitions of the following with each leg. Heel raises & rocks; Marches; Kick to side alternating; Kick back & bend at knee;and, Kick back & keep leg straight. These are things that anyone can do to build  up leg muscle. We walked our Omaha paper down to Marv Taylor's room this evening which added to my distance of the day. This is all in addition to 3-4 sessions on the Nebulizer and 4-6 breathing exercises during the day on the Spirometer. I had a pretty busy day getting material typed up to visit Ken Morgan Monday afternoon on our Income Tax. It was interesting watching Texas Tech beat Gonzaga 75-69. I stayed up last night to see Duke beat Virginia Tech 75-73 but they were lucky to win. Purdue is leading Virginia 30-29 at the half.

Tim Leaving

We had a great visit with Tim during the week and have this picture of his leaving yesterday. It was doubly enjoyable to have his son Tony with him here for a short visit. They drove our car while here and Tony was quite surprised the first time of starting up the engine and seeing "Tony Vrana" displayed on the dash. Tim really had an opportunity to get acquainted with Jack while he was here. It worked out great that they were able to go for some walks and spend time together. We are all looking forward to the Duke-Virginia Tech game later tonight. Son Jon received his BS Degree from Tech a few years after Tim got his BA from Duke, so we have a lot of family interest in the game. During the years that Jon was at Blacksburg, they didn't have the level of Team that they have now. Those were interesting times when we lived back in Arlington, VA and had 3 kids in collage at the same time a couple different years.

Nurse Blake

Blake, a Nurse with the Angel's Home Health Care came to visit this afternoon. She checked my vitals; discussed how I was "coming along" and made some suggestion for further activity. She  reiterates the importance of the exercises  suggested by the Therapist but went beyond in encouraging projects and goals. I immediately thought about all of the pictures that I have scanned and never processed. I still have many of them on the desktop of my HP computer and could easily sped a hour a day working on them. Most can be improved by cropping and running them through a program of optimizing color. I knew this was something that needed to be done but when I wasn't up to par, figured that Jon may have to do it someday. Her discussion encouraged me to see what I can do.

Josh was also here this morning and gave me a good workout. After checking vitals and some discussion, we walked down to the exercise room and I worked the Nu Ride bike for 7 minutes with a couple breaks. We then walked back a significant distance in the other direction before sitting down on my living room chair. We continued with a few weights and rubber strap exercises. He promoted walking to the extent that I went out later this afternoon and walked further down our east hall than I had ever been. It was even interesting to see the "front door" decorations of friends. 

Stitches out

Carolyn took me down to Bryan this afternoon for an appointment with Dr. Oaks who did the surgery on my lung. His office is in the 400 area of the Plaza which took a while to find. They had the benefit of the Chest X-ray that was taken in Seward yesterday.as well as the EKG,  They showed us the image and explained further all that took place in the surgery. They were very pleased with everything. The stitches were removed and vitals checked. My blood pressure was low at the time which was possibly a unique reading, it was normal this evening. We talked about the Nebulizer and Inhaler that I brought home from the hospital. They were interested in the Therapy that I'm doing with home health and not too interested in the Inhaler. It was suggested that I just work with our family Doctor on the need to extend them when the current supplies are exhausted. All in all, it was a very favorable report. Dr. Oaks expressed his pleasure with the way everything checked out.

Malted Milk

Jack had a problem figuring out what was going on when I came home from an appointment with Dr. Mansure. Carolyn had taken me for the appointment which began with a Chest X-ray and ended with an EKG and a good visit with the Dr. in between. After checking my vitals and reviewing the new information, she gave us a very favorable report. We discussed a Symbicort inhaler that I brought home from Bryan which I had been using. They confirmed that it was empty and Dr. Mansure said that with my loss of appetite and weight, that a Milk Shake or Malted Milk would probably do me more good. So it didn't take long for Jack to have Elaine go down to the Ice Cream Machine to get treats for everyone. Dr. Mansure was also helpful in discouraging depression. She suggested to take it one day at a time, listen to music during the day rather than national news, encourage social interaction and to have faith in therapy improvements. It was a very good day with Tim back to visit with us this evening. He even announced plans for He and Laura to be back this summer at the time of our Wedding Anniversary along with their family.

Story Time

Tim took grandson Tony down to the Lincoln airport this morning to see him off as he returned home to North Carolina. We had a great visit with Tony. He's become a fine, mature young man. Tim stopped by this afternoon, and not too long after that, Carolyn brought Jack over. Jack came in with a bag, then pulled out six books from the bag for Tim to read to him. Tim loves to read to Jack, and Jack loves for Tim to read to him, so a good time was had by all. Jack actually read one of the books to Tim. It was pretty impressive. I think Jack's a genius but even if he's not, he's a really bright boy. He reminds us of Tony. It was a great day.

Nebraska Basketball

Nebraska's men basketball team is playing at Texas Christian University in Ft. Worth, Texas, tonight in the second round of the NIT. The Cornhuskers are putting up a battle against a higher-seeded team on the road. As long as NU wins games and keeps playing, head coach Tim Miles (at right) will have a job. If and when they lose, he'll likely lose his job the next day. The team has been decimated by injuries and dresses only seven players (including one walk-on), but managed to win two games in the Big Ten tournament and won its first game in the NIT. He and his players know what's going to happen as soon as they lose, and they've played some very inspired basketball. It's 40-32 TCU at the half.

Family Dinner

Carolyn and Ben hosted a Soup and Pie dinner this evening with Tim and Tony here visiting. John, Julie, Sadie and Jack were included as were Elaine and I. It was the first meal in their new house for several of us which we thoroughly enjoyed.

Carolyn had made  Chocolate and Coconut Cream pies for dessert which went over real well. Several guests, including Jack, had some of each pie. Tim and Tony spent much of the afternoon with us in our apartment. We watched a lot of basketball but also visited and looked through old Baseball and other

albums. We took advantage of Tim and Tony carrying some empty boxes from our west room to the garage as we went out to check on our car. It hadn't been driven for about 6-weeks but kicked right off. Tony and Tim will drive it while they are here. We have a busy week ahead with Tony having to fly back to Raleigh, NC on Monday and Tim flying back to Columbus, IN on Thursday. That time will fly by too fast but we sure appreciate their visit.

Family Visit

 Carolyn picked up Tony and Tim at the Lincoln airport late this afternoon. Tony flew from Raleigh, North Carolina, to Minneapolis, Tim flew from Indianapolis to Minneapolis, and they flew into Lincoln on the same flight. They drove straight here (after a brief stop at Runza) and we have already had a great visit. Ben walked in to our apartment with them, and John, Julie, Sadie, and Jack joined us shortly thereafter. Sadie and Jack took Tim out to play and wore him out thoroughly. Tony (the younger) took Tim's place with the kids and was obviously in much better shape than his dad. We all watched Duke win its first-round NCAA tournament game against North Dakota State. Some of us watched more closely than others. R.J. Barrett and Zion Williamson were outstanding, especially in the second half. Elaine's chocolate chip cookies were outstanding throughout. We look forward to continuing our great visit.

Family

This picture which includes several of our family, was taken a few years ago but I chose it to show Tim and Tony who are planning to fly out tomorrow to see us. Tony's visit will be short with needing to get back to Raleigh, NC for his job with the CBS TV station there. Tim is to be here for a few extra days. I'm sure that we will watch a lot of Basketball during their visit. Tim has been a Duke fan since being a student there and keeping some statistics for the team. He and 3 of his Duke Buddies traditionally get to see one of their home games each year. With Zion Williamson and other outstanding players, Duke is the #1 rated team in the NCAA Tournament. It is anticipated that Zion will be the #1 NBA Draft choice. We should see some good games but also want to take advantage of their help with some of our business questions. We have scheduled an April 1 meeting with our Income Tax consultant and still have some work to do to be ready. I have a couple Doctors appointments scheduled during the time Tim will be here as well as visits from my Therapist but anticipate a very enjoyable visit.

Alenah

Alenah, Physical Therapist from Angels Home Health came to visit today at 3:00pm. She had left me with a list of "sitting down" exercises which I had worked my way through during the morning. After checking my vitals, she had me demonstrate that I was doing them correctly. Then, we went for an extensive trip up and down the hall with my walker. We did take a sit-down break. Back in our unit, we did several "stand-up" exercises with her holding on to my walker. She was reluctant to give me a list of them until she can be with me next week. She was here for some 50 minutes and kept be buy. I had a good day after a good night's sleep. We were up at 7:30 and did the Nebulizer early. After breakfast and doing chores, I went down to the exercise room and rode the Nu-Ride for 6 minutes. I went through several of the exercises that I remembered from Josh. Many of these were done setting in the rocking chair which is a good break from my big chair. He too is to have a list for me by his next visit. 

I was pleased to receive a phone call from John at Nebraska Pulmonary. He reported that the blood test taken at Bryan Hospital showed "No evidence of any genetic lung disease". Carolyn came over this evening, Elaine did a washing, and we are watching Nebraska vs Butler in the first round of the NIT. The score is tied at 38 with 17 minutes to go.

Our Care Giver

Carolyn topped off her day of helping us by coming down after supper and "loading" our pill trays. There have been a number of changes in mine during the past couple months which makes it a challenge for me. Elaine and I both had appointments with Dr. Summa who checked us both out and gave each of us a favorable report. Josh was back after lunch and worked with me on hand and arm exercises as well as my spending some time on the "Nu-Ride" bike here in the exercise room. We worked up a listing of what we did today that I can "work at" prior to his coming back a week from today. He will have put together a more lengthy list of exercises at that time. I had a short nap before Michelle, the nurse came mid-afternoon. She checked and recorded my vitals along with recording a lot of basic information. She also set-up a calendar to avoid the overlay of therapy treatments on the same day. Earlier this evening I had a call from Bryan Hospital seeking my opinion of the level of service received during my recent visits. A day of activity like today would have been a challenge a few years ago, but after going through what I have the past couple months and then not sleeping well last night, I just didn't feel up to filling the pill box.

St. Patrick

 Rosellen read a St. Patrick prayer as part of the Devotion for our Brookdale Dinner. Also shown are Jeremy and Lenora. Carolyn was up during the morning after having closed on the sale of their 5^th street house. It appeared to have been a very amicable transaction with both parties very pleased. I continued to work on my Therapy with a Nebulizer treatment even before breakfast. The newspapers were special today with the NCAA Basketball Bracket as well as the one for the NIT in which Nebraska will host Butler at 8:00pm on Thursday in Lincoln on ESPN2.

Josh, an Occupational Therapist with Angel's Home Health Services called this morning and arrived at 3:30pm. He “put me through the paces” of several activities that ranged all the way from just walking out in the hall to doing finger exercises. I was well pleased with his approach. He will be back again tomorrow afternoon with a schedule of activities for me including possibly utilizing equipment here at Brookdale.

Alenah, a Physical Therapist arrived for her appointment at 5:30pm. Carolyn had come down to set in on her presentation. She took me through numerous exercises; some of which involved leg exercises while standing with my walker, others were done setting down. She will be back on Wednesday with schedules but even left me with a listing of “sitting down” things I can work on.

Salem Chruch Choras

hh

Watched Duke beat the Florida State Seminoles 73-63 to win the ACC Championship during last evening. We did our 4^th Nebulizer treatment at bedtime and prepared for another about 2:30am as suggested by the ER Nurse. Took my normal pills along with 2 Benadryl for sleeping. It worked, I slept soundly until awakened by the alarm. While going to the bathroom, I decided to not do the nighttime treatment. Without Elaine awakening, I went right back to sleep until 8:30 when I got up and had my Nebulizer treatment. We had breakfast and I drank my coffee listening to Rev. Keck from First Plymouth in Lincoln. He used the popular song, “Just a closer walk with Thee” as a part of his sermon. We got our chores done, did some therapy and read Sunday papers. It was very approiate to have Corned Beef and Cabbage for our Sunday Dinner. Carolyn came soon after dinner and relieved Elaine in my 2^nd Nebulizer treatment. I had a short nap, watched the Players Golf Championship, and had a good call from brother Don. Also finished off my Corned Beef as an afternoon snack with a cup to Hot Tea. Our Potato Soup supper was nothing to brag about but I “spiked” it up a bit by putting the meat from my “Ham Salad Sandwich” in it. It was topped off with a Chocolate Mouse dessert. Carolyn had brought us some groceries and Prednisone pills which I took after supper. We worked in another Nebulizer treatment before going to the Dining Room to hear the singing of Salem Church Members. We are again enjoying the evening listening to the PBS, NET presentation of Peter, Paul and Mary.

Emergency Room Visit

I think I may have overdone therapy treatments yesterday and paid the price last night and today. I had some trouble sleeping during the night while having trouble with breath and relaxation. I was tempted to get up and see if I could sleep sitting in my chair but never quite got to that point and slept better as morning approached. After breakfast this morning, getting “chores done” and a round of therapy, I decided to take a short nap and was pleasantly awakened by Jack when Julie and he came to visit. I was real pleased that they came and we had a good visit. Our noon meal left something to be desired but a good salad and apple crisp dessert helped make up for the Chicken thigh and sauerkraut. After another round of therapy, I again felt the need for a nap. It was unsuccessful; waking up about 15 minutes after laying down and unable to go back to sleep with some difficulty breathing. I got up and sat in the chair with Elaine and just relaxed reading the newspapers for about an hour when I tried for another nap. It turned out the same way so I felt the need to get Carolyn alerted. She came right over and had a guide from Bryan that suggested going to the Emergency Room with problems sleeping. We got down to the ER at Seward Hospital where they checked my vitals and took a chest X-ray. Dr. Rahul Signh was on duty and indicated that everything looked real good. I was given a shot of Prednisone and a couple 25mg Benedryl pills suggested at bedtime for sleep aid. I was back to our unit by 5:30 where Elaine had our supper delivered. We were real pleased with the results of our ER visit and am optimistic that it will keep me moving forward.

Full Day of Therapy

Chris, a physical therapist nurse from Angel's Home Health Care from Lincoln got to Brookdale this morning about 10:30. She had started her examination and questioning of me when Carolyn arrived with Jack. She had a meeting earlier this morning with a Landscape Designer for their new home. Jack brought along his First Aid kit and put me through some of the same things that Chris had done. She will write-up several exercises to help me achieve my recovery objectives and be back next week to get started on them. As noted in the picture, it appears that a rubber-strip will be a part of the process. Elaine and I continued to use the Nebulizer, Inhaler and other therapy. We had an excellent Trout Dinner and I was able to "clean up my plate" for the first time since getting back from Bryan.

After a few more exercises, I had a short nap before being awakened by Elaine visiting with Marie, an occupational therapist nurse from Angel's. She put me through tests, did examinations and worked me over pretty good in preparing a program of therapy for me. She took my blood pressure several times at various stages of activity. She too will be back next week to get me going. It was interesting to learn that Ivan and Mrs. Sedlak were her Grandparents. Then about 4:00pm, Michille came. She too put me through several tests and checks and reported some information of Dr. Summa's office which is a requirement, I understand. I now have the impression that at least 2 Therapists will be working with me a couple times a week for the next 2-3 weeks and then it be cut to once a week for the next 7 or so. It is all a considerable challenge but I certainly have great Support.

Basketball Weather

Here is what the weather looks like for the next 10 days  in our Lincoln, NE area. Hopefully it will give eastern Nebraska rivers and streams a chance to clear out before anymore significant moisture falls. It looks like we are building up to go out of the Month of March like a lamb after it coming in like a Lion. In visiting with Verlon and Janice earlier this evening they both spoke of spring flowers blooming etc. But we remind ourselves that we live in Nebraska. We were pleased to see the Nebraska men's basketball team beat Maryland this afternoon in the Big 10 tournament in Chicago. The Huskers beat Rutgers yesterday and Maryland today by a score of 69-61. They play Wisconsin at 3:00pm tomorrow; they are a #4 seed compared to NE being #13. We are about to see Duke take on Syracuse in the ACC tournament. Zion Williamson has taken warm up and expected to play tonight. His presence will make the game worth staying up to see the end.

Michelle

A lot happened around our unit today after Carolyn and Ben went down to Lincoln in the rain and picked up a Nebulizer from ACS Medical,LLC for my home use. Carolyn got it all set up and provided my initial treatment here at about 2:00pm. Carolyn was back at 3:00pm when Michelle RN from  Angels Care Home Health  from Lincoln spent a couple hours getting me signed in, going over all my medications with Carolyn, and even re-bandaging my right side where the surgery took place. We will have 2-visits per week for the first couple weeks and then once a week for about 7. My stated goal is to get back to the way I was feeling some 6-months ago. Carolyn was back after supper and gave Elaine instructions for giving me another Nebulizer treatment before bedtime. I use the Symbicort inhaler with 2 "pufff's" in the morning and 2 more during the evening. I have also utilized the Incentive Barometer 5 times so far today and expect to do it on another 10 breaths. I have walked down to the end of our east hallway 3 times and plan to do 1 more trip this evening. The Doctors at Bryan have told me that the amount of therapy, exercise and water I drink will be as important in achieving my health goal as what they did with the surgery and treatment. We are all certainly working at it.

Carolyn's Help

This picture of Carolyn expresses some of the pleasure of my being home and also some of the frustration of having filled a prescription at Mueri's and then realizing that we don't have the nebulizer to apply it. I used one as an "inhaler" during the last couple days at Bryan and they evidently understood that we had one at home.  Carolyn made some phone calls this evening and will call Mueri's when they open in the morning. I realized after googling "nebulizer" that in addition to the hand-held dispenser, it appears that it must also be connected up to an air compressor. This may complicate Carolyn's phone calls in the morning. This complication further makes us pleased that we have subscribed to a "Home Health Care" service and a lady is to be here tomorrow afternoon for her initial visit. I have used the plastic breathing machine a couple times since getting home in thick fog about 2;30pm. I also walked down to the end of the hallway and back and expect to do it again before going to bed. Carolyn got our pill boxes filled this evening with a full week's supply, which we have quickly learned to appreciate. Elaine and I have gotten along pretty good "leaning on each other" but when these crises come along, I don't know how we could get by without Carolyn's help.

Don and Gladys visit

I was real pleased that brother Don & wife Gladys were able to get up to room 404 and visit here at Bryan East this afternoon. Carolyn and Elaine had gotten down before lunch so we all had a good visit. With staff in-and -out while they were here, we had a lot of activity. Carolyn is scheduled for final settlement on the sale of her 5th St. house a week from today so they had a lot to talk about after their recent house sale. I had good reports on my "recovery" today and look forward to the possibility of getting to go home tomorrow. They will take X-Rays of my chest again early tomorrow morning; after review of them and some other factors, the decision will be made. Though we have had phone conversations and follow family activity on Facebook, this is about the longest time that has passed since we were together. We hope to get down to Syracuse to see their new home sometime this spring when the weather warms up/

Bryan Hospital

After  nearly a week in Bryan Hospital in late February with a collapsed right lung, I didn't expect to be back here so soon. On early Friday morning, it was apparent to me that I needed help breathing. Elaine & Carolyn got me down to the Emergency room at the Seward Hospital where Dr. Novak inserted a small tube in my right-side lung cavity.  I was taken to Bryan by a "rescue vehicle" where further x-rays and options were taken and discussed. An arthroscopic surgery was scheduled for early Saturday morning. I was heavily sedated and have little or no memory of the operation or recovery until about 6:00pm when I had some supper. Though Elaine, Carolyn, Julie and Sadie came to visit during the afternoon. I was too sleepy to visit with them. I slept good last night but our wall clock was re-set from 2:00am to 3:00 am for Daylight Saving time. (At home we always reset the clock before going to bed.) X-rays and other procedures began soon after but I caught a pretty good nights sleep. I was able to set up in my chair during most of the day.  I was able to watch Rev. James Keck from First Plymouth per normal and Elaine and Carolyn got down ahead of noon. My flowers from Julie and John were set up on the Mantle. We were able to have a good visit even with a lot of traffic through the room all day. The Doctors reported favorable readings of the X-Ray and from other information.

A Great Day

This has been a great Day. We woke up to some 5-6" of new snow and with the temperature up to 30 degrees, much melted during the day. I was blessed with "a bit of sunshine" in the form of a card from our Kiwanis Cub signed by 47 members. It came in the mornings mail and I want President Jill to know how much I appreciate it. I hope to get back down to our regular meetings as the weather warms up.

This afternoon Pastor Jo Ellen stopped by with a beautiful Prayer Blanket and card. We had a nice visit with her earlier this week and look forward to her being up here Sunday afternoon for our Church Service. We went down to the ice cream machine this afternoon where Elaine had a pink cone and I had a Hot Chocolate. We went on back to the Activity room where Rosellen had just baked a "Kings Cake", it was a bit crowded so we didn't go in. However, Carla came bye with a couple pieces for us. It was warm, delicious and "fit for a King". After several more phone calls this morning, I think a lady with the Ameritas Insurance Corporation in Cincinnati, is going to send me a 2018 1099-R form for our Income tax. Trying to get our mailing address updated and obtaining a copy of this form has been most frustrating. Hopefully, it's taken care of so along with these other blessings, It's been a Great Day.

John Denver & my frustration

We are enjoying an hour and a half NET program on "John Denver: Country Boy". He was certainly one of our favorites back in the '70's. We even had an opportunity to see him in live concert down in Kentucky when Tim was working with the Social Security Administration down there. We not only enjoyed his music but also appreciated his respect and support of environmental issues. The program is especially important to me after spending several hours this afternoon attempting to get a 2018 1099-R form from the Ameritas Life Insurance Corp. Though we had moved to Brookdale over a year ago, the form for 2017 was delivered to us and we never got our address changed. For many years the monthly check has been directly deposited in our local bank account. It is for the 8 years that I worked for the State of Nebraska with funds deducted from my salary for a retirement fund. Upon retirement I selected a lifetime annuity which the State provided through Bankers Life which later became Ameritas. I have a copy of the 1099-R form for 2017 which I received a year ago and have spent hours on the phone and computer trying to get our address changed and the 2018 form. John Denver's music is helping relieve me of the frustration.

Weather

It was a beautiful day today to be inside looking out. Carolyn picked me up this morning for a 10:00am appointment with Dr. Hansen in the Specialty Clinic when the temperature was still in single digits. After a review of my files, x-rays, and some examination, he felt I was doing OK. He did suggest some reduction in blood pressure medication and gave me a 6-mo appointment. 

As peaceful as this picture is, it may not last. Ken Siemek tells us we have 3 storms systems headed our way during the next week. They will come through just a couple days apart with the 3rd one probably being the strongest. It could bring rain instead of the light snow in the others. This kind of weather fits into the normal pattern during the High School Boys State Basketball Tournament. 

Home Visit

We were pleased to have JoEllen Axthelm, Assistant Pastor of the Seward United Methodist Church pay us a visit this afternoon. She had considered coming to Bryan while I was there, but we decided a home visit would be better. She certainly brought words of encouragement but it also was an opportunity to cover a wide range of subjects. Our discussion extended from the Red Oak tree  in the Church yard to the recent General Conference of the Methodist Church in St. Louis. The ability to spend some time in the relaxed setting of our living room added to the cards and letters we have received as part of the caring ministry. The much publicized conference in St Louis was called to act on a report from the Commission on a "Way Forward", to examine paragraphs in The Book of Discipline concerning human sexuality and to explore options to strengthen church unity. While there was heated discussion, the final vote, by a small margin, was to stay with the Traditional position. We talked about the desirability of using a "pause" in the action and await future spiritual guidance.

Fortune

We do a pretty good job of sharing magazines, newspapers, etc. here in Brookdale. Marv Taylor brought me this current Fortune issue this afternoon. We subscribed to Fortune some years ago but don't believe I've looked at one in the past 5 years. A couple of the more interesting articles in this issue is a graphic display of lobbying expenditures by the major  Technology Companies. And a ranking of Fortunes 100 best companies to work for. Hilton Hotel with headquarters in McLean, Va with 62,403 is ranked #1; CISCO is #6; And, Edward Jones with 45,085 employees and with headquarters in St. Louis is 7th. If I recall correctly, Edward Jones was ranked real high in the Lincoln, NE area as a good place to work.

The John and Julie Owens family came to visit us this afternoon after having been to an event at the Chapters Book Store. They brought along a copy of a Book written by Karen Duncan, autographed for Sadie and Jack; and illustrated by Joseph Broghammer. The story is about a little gray dog rescued from the streets of El Tajin, Mexico. Jack always enjoys himself at such events and is never hesitant to ask questions or make comments. Sadie  is much more reserved and just listens. All the little kids at the event were invited to set "down-front" which was right down Jacks "alley" while Sadie was happy to stay back with her Dad. Jack remembered seeing me in the hospital with an Oxygen tool in my nose and wanted me to explain how it worked and why. It will be interesting to see if and how he may change, but his pre-school experience only adds to his curiosity and questions.

My Walker

Though I've used a walking cane for a few years, I moved to the next level of support with this "Walker" after coming home from Bryan Hospital with my collapsed lung problem. The walker provides considerably more stability when walking down the halls and enables me to stand up straighter while walking. Elaine has had one for a couple years but has been hesitant to use it very much until I got one. Now we walk to the Dining room and elsewhere here in Brookdale with them. Elaine is using hers now when using the clothes washer and dryer located down the hall. Both Elaine and mine are the very entry level. These is as much variation in models here as there is of automobiles in the garages. Most of them have attachments for "carrying" things. Some come equipped with a seat that enables its use as a chair. The simplicity of ours makes them relatively easy to fold up and slip behind the seat in a car. I have welcomed the use of a wheel chair with some of my recent medical appointments. It brings back the memory of Tim's arranging for me to have one in the Airports as we flew to Miami for a baseball game.