You know you are getting old when..

When my mother died in 2000 of cancer I realized my parents weren't super people. Then I was diagnosed with this terrible disease. That fall, one of my best buddies, Joe D'Alessio died in a motor cycle accident. His father died a few years early sitting at the dinner table. Joe was forced to take over his father's pharmacy. I knew Joe since my first semester of college. I decided to jump right in to the collegiate scene by joining a fraternity. Joe pledged with me. He was in his second year. We became close friends over the years and I miss him.

When I was in Pharmacy School we had to work x amount of hours in a Pharmacy setting. I worked part of those hours in Old Saybrook. There I met our most famous patron -
Katherine Hepburn.
Everyday her secretary would stop by and pick up a couple of New York Times. I guess so they didn't fight over the various sections. As you probably know I love old movies. I was shocked when she died. This has been a devestating year for some of my favorite stars -
Gregory Peck,   Peck played one of the most credible actors I've ever seen. How about when he plays Nazi Dr. Josef Mengele in "The Boys from Brazil". I loved him as Aticus Finch in "To Kill a Mockingbird and in the Hitchcock thrillers "The Paradine Case" and "Spellbound". I was jealous of him in "Roman Holiday" when he got to spend time in Rome with Audrey Hepburn. His father was a pharmacist too. Then more of my favorites died this year, Buddy Ebsen, Buddy Hackett and now
Bob Hope.
I just loved him costariing with the like of Bing in the "Road To" shows and with Lucille Ball in "Son of Paleface". Others who have played an important roll are
Joseph Coors - brewer of my favorite beer (although it was not available on the East Coast until the mid 80's); Fred Rogers, someone we all grew up with; Hume Cronyn who I particualarly loved in a WWII movie in which
Spencer Tracy   escapes from 1936 concentration camp and he is helped by Hume (who died in nearby Fairfield, CT); and other famous people dying and making me feel old. I am a big Spencer Tracy fan (that comes hand in hand with Katherine Hepburn). He died shortly after "Guess Whose Coming to Dinner" in 1967 when I was four years old. A great movie that makes on really think. Heck, if my daughter brought home an elegant man like Sidney Poitier I wouldn't hesitate to marry her off whether he was red, white or blue." I love every Spencer Tracy movie I have seen - no he did not die this year but I have to emote my admiration of this man while I was on the subject of desceased actors.

Another way to make you feel old is to work on your family's genealogy and see the generations grow and grow. My second cousins who were babies when I was young are all at the marrying stage. It can also make you feel young, I was lucky to find several people who had already done the genealogy on relatives of my mother and so far the records go back to 16th century England - wow

Well, I fell good but old today - hope this finds you all well and feeling young!

Tim

Loneliness

I keep writing that this is my biggest downfall. This weekend I couldn't get out of bed I was so sick. I get so run down. Siobhan was sleeping all day because she worked the nights and I had no one. Absolutley no one. My family hardly calls - they act as if nothing is wrong. I have no friends to depend on when the chips are down. And my beloved children were at there cousins all weekend. It's Sunday night at 8:46 PM and I am waiting for them to come home. They are about 2 miles away but I feel as if they were a continent away.

I wait for Sonny to bark announcing that someone has pulled in the driveway but it doesn't come. My wife left for work. Thank God she does work or we would be up the proverbial creek without a paddle. I just feel lost when she is gone. With the children gone I feel destitute. I admit I need my rest sometimes and I have a hard time watching them but we manage. I'm so tired I can't wait to go to bed. Please help me God.

Fall down and yell ouch

I fell down on Thursday ruining my weekend plans. I twisted muscles in my thigh and calf causing pain - if on a scale from one to ten it would be a ten. My pain patch didn't even cut the edge. I called my neurologist and I got his Physicians assistant. She prescribed Vicodin and Flexeril.

I can't recall being in this much pain. I missed two picnics but did some genealogy research. I can't sleep. I'm exhausted.

Sara came home with a guinea pig and Aidan came home with a hamster from one picnic. Our friend apparently has too many critters. We are watching my sister in laws two little dogs while they enjoy Florida. Thus we have four dogs, four fish, 1 frog, 2 parakeets, a guinea pig and a hamster. I'm being over run by scaley furry things.

It's been a tough week but to see the kids with their animals makes me happy - lets see how long it takes before we have to remind them to take care of their animals. Growing up I always had animals - guinea pigs, hamsters, a ferrett, fish and a white rat named Ralph (after Ralph Cramden)

Graduations

This past Thursday my son graduated from Kindergarten and yesterday my daughter graduated from Elementary School. Getting to Thursday's event was not too hard but I was dragging Friday morning. It would be a ceremony over teo hours long and a reception with a DJ after.

My son's graduation was fun and cute, His teacher told me that she forgot to tell my wife that my son excells in reading. She also commented how much he has grown thoughout the year and how she now sees the fun-loving child we told her he was at the beginning of the year. In September she was worried that he was shy - Not my son! Wrong kid I thought. My daughter yes, but bot my son. He chose McDonalds for dinner but we forgot to tell him that the party would be tomorrow night along with his sister's. We all went to bed early.

Aidan woke up crying, "My special day is over!" My wife explained how we are getting a Star Wars cake (Sara didn't care) that had their names on it and he could pick out a video as a gift. Subway was the menu choice of Sara so that got him even more excited. She also told him that they were celebrating summer birthdays in his class that day. His is in August.

Sara's graduation statred at 9:00 AM with a video of baby pictures and updated pictures of all the 4 graduating classes - yes FOUR classes. The town has built a new school for next year! We have 6 elementary schools now I think. It was a humid day so I dressed in my khaki pants and new short sleeve dress shirt that Siobhan had bought me. I wore my sneakers since I knew I would be in my wheelchair anyway.

It was a beautiful ceremony and Sara was among the STAR students as they call them. The students have to have so many A's and a certain GPA. She looked beautiful in her dress and heels. I was so proud of my princess. After graduation there was a party with a DJ at the Marriott but we were late. Our friend's father passed out at school and Siobhan the nurse came to the rescue. The school nurse was unsure of what to do as she only deals with kids. Apparently he had a cardiac episode. The doctors told them that Siobhan probably saved his life.

We got to the party and not a single male parent would talk to me. A few of the women I know who work on committees with Siobhan felt bad and came over as I sat there by myself. It was still wonderful to see my daughter dancing with her Mom and her friends. More important than graduation was the fact that the Fifth book in the Harry Potter series came out today. She was up early to snatch one up.

I felt real odd at the party and it was not like I could get around and start a conversation my self. I was very hurt but tried bot to let that ruin the joy of the occassion. I waited till bedtime to cry.

Loneliness
No one understands how lonely it is to be home all day and see no one but your wonderful wife and two great kids. Non one visits, no one calls. I hear all sorts of excuse. There even a quote in the Bible about negelcting ill people. I will have to look it up. I save it somewhere. It comes from the old Testament and it either blesses those that visit the sick or condemns those who don't visit sick friends. I can go places yet no one ever asks me. Sure I have bad days when I can't go anywhere but it feels like being in Jail. I am so lonely I cry.

Gregory Peck
One of the last of my favorite actors to die! Spencer Tracy, Cary Grant, Harrison Ford, Sean Connery to name just a few of my favorites. Iloved Peck in To Kill A Mockingbird
I'm all alone as the rest of the family is at my son's Tee Ball Game. I ate a big dinner - two bowls of Beefaroni (that;s a lot for me) and now I feel like I could pass out. I think I'll just put the computer away and "pass out" in to sleep land. This humidity from the rain has made us all grouchy. Ok, falling asleep as I type zzzzzz.......

New Blog
Everyone, especially my wife has been telling me how important my site is, especially my journal. I haven't journalized (I looked it up in the dictionary because I knew there was no such word as journaled - I guess I can say blogged, blogging but not blogalize!) in almost 2 years. With the introduction of blogs, I thought that would motivate me even more.
Well I finally got around to it. I journal in a notebook almost everyday. Most of the things I "talk" about concern MSA but I also like to journal about politics, movies, friends, activities, religion - anything that affects my life or emotions on any given day. It's been raining like crazy here - very little sunshine.
My 5 year old, Aidan, had his Kindergarten picnic cancelled today. I was going to get my butt out of the house and go to take picture but it will be next Monday. Sara's fifth grade picnic was a big success yesterday but I didn't feel like hanging around with hormonal 11 year olds all day. We all got little sleep last nite due to the humidity - I got none even after taking my RestoriL. My whole body hurts from head to toe and my son is driving me crazy to play computer games. I have to surrender.
Take care,
Tim