Hello on Friday Morning

Dear Friends,

It is 35 degrees as I start this e-mail. I am ready to start a new season of
golf, but I don't think that the golf superintendent of my club will allow us to
tee off until it warms up a bit.

Our Thursday went as planned. I was at Berkshire Medical Center a little before
7 AM to visit with Mom. I didn't want to look at the stump of her leg which was
left after Monday's amputation. They have her on pain pills, and not morphine .
The nurse said that she looked better on Thursday than she has looked all week.
Yes, they are still trying to manage her pain, but hopefully this pain will go
away eventually. Mom seemed very lucid, and in good spirits.
Mom did suggest that we (my sister and I) should spend more time with our own
families, and let the hospital assist her when the need arises. Mom said that
she likes it when we do visit her, but that we don't have to be there for
Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner.
There is something called Phantom Pain and feeling. Your mind / nerve endings
have been programmed to believe that a person is functioning with both legs even
though one is not there any more. I am hoping that I never have to deal with an
amputation in my life time.

The nurse who was working with Mom these past few days was one of my students
from several years ago. She was in my class as a ninth grader, but she left
school to have a baby. Yes, I had her boy friend in one of my other classes too.
I asked my former student if she was married, or stayed with her boyfriend. She
said that they tried to make it work, and they lived with his parents for a
while. She ended up in a teen parent program because things didn't go as
planned.
The good thing is that she didn't give up the challenge to get her life back on
track as a teenage parent. She eventually went back to high school and college.
She has been a registered nurse for almost 7 years now. Her daughter is 15 years
old, and she is attending my former high school. This means my former student is
some where around 30 years old. I don't know what role the father has in raising
his child, but he owns a successful landscaping / nursery / lawn care business.
The purpose of this little story is to point out that you can make a mistake,
and still work through it. You have to get off of your butt, and make the
effort. This is what all the support groups were designed for like the local
"Teen Parent Program". The Democrats have created a good deal of these social
systems, but most weren't meant for people to be on them for life.

Sports -- The Boston Celtics beat up on the Bulls last evening in Chicago.
The Red Sox start a weekend series with the Yankees tonight. Let the baseball
wars begin.


Speaking of this weekend's baseball series, it looks like I will be sitting in
Fenway Park on Sunday night to watch the Yankees and Red Sox do battle for the
nationally televised game on ESPN. This means that I won't be attending the
installation of officers at the ITAM on Sunday afternoon. Linda will have to
represent our family.
Kevin and Kyla, Kyla's Dad and me will be sitting together at the game. The
weather is going to be great for baseball. I can't wait!

Have a great weekend, especially if you live in areas where we are finally
supposed to get some warm weather.

Talk to you soon. The Curley Lad