Aunt Joan – Page 4

The Elusive Piece of Paper

leeduigon(patty)February 28, 2017

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So first we went to public offices in one city, and then another in the opposite direction, and have nothing to show for it.

We need a copy of Aunt Joan’s birth certificate so that her continued care at the nursing home can be funded by Medicaid. She’s 90 years old and totally disabled. You’d think the fact that she’s on a state pension would be ample proof of her identity, but no–they want the birth certificate, too. And that’s just what we don’t seem to be able to get. She spent a lifetime prudently saving money, but it’s just about all gone.

Now we seem to have hit a dead end, so it’s time to regroup, rethink… and I think I’ll just go ride my bike for a while.

I can think of no reason under the sun why this transaction should be so difficult.

Mr. Nature is right: man’s stuff isn’t what it’s cracked up to be.

Last Day of February

leeduigon(patty)February 28, 2017

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Today I will be driving all around the county trying to round up paperwork for Aunt Joan’s continuing care, because she has run out of money–almost half a million dollars, all gone–and the government has to take over. Unless you cheat by dying earlier, everybody runs out of money.

I was hoping to get 6,000 views for this month, which I could easily do if it were 30 days long. But it’s not, and I’m still about 200 hits shy.

If you’d like to help me get there in spite of the calendar, I’d appreciate it–especially if you could get somebody to stop in who hasn’t visited before. Like I say, tell your friends about it.

And now, out the door for another dip in the ocean of bureaucracy…

The 11 p.m. Phone Call

leeduigon(patty)January 16, 2017

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Once you reach a certain point in life, the phone can’t ring at 11:00 at night unless it’s bad news.

Our phone rang at 11 last night, and it was bad news: the nursing home calling, Aunt Joan has a fever, they need my consent to take her to the emergency room. Well, yeah, of course! And then you wait for the phone to ring again.

First thing this morning, I called the hospital for an update: sit on hold for a while, and then they can’t tell you anything yet. For some reason my blood pressure begins to climb.

Half an hour later, another phone call: and, praise Our Father, now everything’s all right, the fever’s all gone, they’ll give her antibiotics and keep her a bit just to make sure, and then it all goes back to what passes for normal, these days. Well, I’d rather have her in the nursing home. She’s been there long enough for the staff to develop some commitment to her.

Until the next time the phone rings late at night…

This One’s for Aunt Joan (Andre Rieu, ‘Silent Night’)

leeduigon(patty)December 21, 2016

Oh, how my aunts loved this guy! Back when everyone was still alive, and the whole family gathered for Christmas at their house–that wonderful house, that the orcs tore down this year–you’d never fail to find them watching Andre Rieu on TV. So I can’t listen to his music without my heart being filled with loving memories.

So Aunt Joan is the last one left, still in the nursing home, unable to show a sign of taking any notice: and this one’s for her. Patty and I, my dear, we will remember for you.

My Cover Blurb for ‘The Throne’

leeduigon(patty)July 27, 2016

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You don’t want to read any more about politics today, do you? ‘Cause I sure don’t feel like writing about it. Blowing my stack first thing in the morning kind of wears me out.

But I came back from the nursing home (no change, everything with Aunt Joan is as it has been for quite some time) and decided I’d better tackle writing a cover blurb for The Throne–Book No. 9 of the Bell Mountain series–so it can be published in time for Christmas. And as I was writing it, the Lord told me what I needed to know to continue writing The Silver Trumpet. He knew I needed help today.

As much as I would like to post the blurb here as a sneak preview, I think I ought first to get it approved by Susan, my editor, and by the publishers, The Chalcedon Foundation dba Storehouse Press. So, if they say it’s good, and they accept it, and I get their permission to do so, I’ll let you all see it as soon as I can.

Some of Aunt Joan’s Life

leeduigon(patty)June 28, 2016

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Since so many of you have been praying for her, and she seems to be out of danger for the time being, I thought it only fitting that I ought to tell you a little more about my Aunt Joan–the last of my family in her generation.

Back in the 1950s and early 1960s, when hardly anybody else was doing it–in fact, you could get famous for doing this, if you wanted to–Joan and her sisters, Gertie and Millie, were world travelers. I mean, they went everywhere! And it was always an event when they came back with stories and a slide show. I’ll never forget the tale of how they wound up stranded at the Black Cat Cafe somewhere in Uganda, way back when, examining the varied and exotic wildlife that had taken up residence in their salad.

Joan, Gertie, and Millie got jobs as young women, fresh out of high school, which they kept for their whole working lives. How common is that anymore? They always had ample summer vacation time–especially Joan and Millie, who worked for school districts–in which to stage their travels.

It’s just too bad they didn’t keep journals. It was a very different world, that they traveled, and they knew it better than just about anybody.

Aunt Joan Has Recovered

leeduigon(patty)June 27, 2016

Just got a call from the hospital: they are discharging my aunt tonight, sending her back to the nursing home, because she has, for all practical purposes, recovered.

Thank you all for your prayers. I’ll tell you more about it tomorrow.