Archive for the ‘Family’ Category
Tuesday, November 15th, 2005
• First excellency — Bruce gets released from the hospital today. Let’s hope and pray that it sticks this time. Dana has responded with another trip to Indianapolis. What a mom!
• Second excellency — I got a called from Liz the Advocate-Messenger reporter, and she wants to meet with me soon to discuss the issues and concerns I raised at the open meeting last week. This could be taking shape nicely—after sensitizing elected officials, work with the media to boost public awareness.
• Third excellency — During a long conversation with Dr. Williams about his brand identities and our ongoing professional relationship, he assigned to me an extraordinarily good design project—create a new image for Burkmann’s premium equine nutrition that will stand toe-to-toe with any other product in the competitive environment.
Not a bad day.
Posted in Business, Community, Dana, Family, Prayer, Public Service, Studio | Comments Closed
Sunday, November 13th, 2005
After the Gallery Hop in downtown Danville on Friday night, I went to David’s cabin to prepare for the 2005 deer hunt. Before sunrise on Saturday morning, Greg and I crouched below the rocky outcrop and saw a doe move around the point. I thought the visibility was too dim for a clean shot and was comfortable watching her move on. Not long after that, David shot a doe at the front tree-stand with his antique double rifle. That position proved the place to be throughout the opening weekend of rifle season. Stuart took his eight-pointer there Sunday evening, but that’s a whole story in itself.
My favorite time of the weekend was Saturday evening, before the weather changed. I watched two squirrels frolic for over an hour among the dry leaves until they retired to tree-top clusters, each of my senses acutely aware of the woodland environment in all its minute detail. Venus pierced the gloaming as a fiery sun finished painting the autumn colors a more vibrant shade of orange. I saw no deer, but it didn’t seem to matter.
On Sunday morning, sitting in the rain at the rear stand, I saw two does heading away from the knob-top clover field, no closer than 50-60 yards. Since I held a lever-action carbine with no telescope, it wasn’t a good shot for me (for the second time in as many days). Later, David was observing the area from the same stand at dusk, without a rifle. Firing his .45 revolver into the hillside, he attempted to spook a big buck moving on the same trail I saw my does. He was hoping to push him toward Stuart’s position at the front of the knob. It worked. As a result, enough meat became available that Dana and I filled our freezer and more, even though I had no personal kill this year.
When I was back in town someone wanted to know if I’d “shot Bambi,” and I sensed more clearly than ever the gulf between people who hunt and those who disdain it.
I went for decades without going on a traditional hunt, after putting it aside in my twenties when I chose to give up eating meat, but I never lost a respect for the tradition gained from Dadbo. Eventually I reintroduced flesh to my diet and became a fisherman. A profound reconnection with the natural world and an evolving appreciation of the shooting sports opened my mind to the idea of harvesting meat firsthand in the woods.
I honor the philosophical purity of strict vegetarianism, but anyone who consumes meat consents at some level to the killing of animals to sustain their life. Participating in the act with full consciousness, attuning the senses to a wild environment, experiencing the synchronicity of engaging a particular creature, and valuing it as a gift of nourishment from the Great Spirit is an activity that puts me directly in touch with ancestors—my hunting namesake, his Appalachian frontier forefathers, medieval Slovaks, first-millennium Norsemen, tribal Neolithics…
There’s no way to explain all that to someone who was never vouchsafed the hunting tradition. I’ll probably spend the rest of my life trying to understand it myself.
Posted in Dadbo, Dana, Firearms, Food, Friends, Hunting, Nature | Comments Closed
Wednesday, November 9th, 2005
• Went to the Community Arts Center with Dana for the Great American Brass Band Festival’s annual recognition luncheon. Mary Q told everyone that Dixon Design was honored with a “Traverse Award” from the Kentucky Tourism Council for our brochure design promoting the Festival. The distinction was announced recently at the awards dinner the Council hosts in conjunction with the Kentucky Department of Tourism’s annual meeting.
One of the nicest things to happen was to have both John A and Vince D stand up to compliment us personally and salute our work on behalf of the Festival. Vince’s tribute was particularly warm. Although I expected that our award would be mentioned, I did not anticipate his kind remarks about our long-term influence on the image of the Festival. To be honest, I don’t think I’ve ever gotten a public endorsement from anyone at his level of talent. It was a rare moment.
We’ve won the “Traverse” twice previously (in 1997 and 2000) for tourism pieces we did for the local Convention and Visitor’s Bureau. Perhaps this time we’ll make a better effort to capitalize on the special recognition.
Posted in Business, Community, Dana, Music, Personalities, Studio | Comments Closed
Tuesday, November 8th, 2005
• Traveled to Liberty and participated in the City Hall reception for J.A., the new economic development professional for Casey County. Just about everybody who’s anybody in local leadership circles was there and I met Representative Higdon, Mayor Sweeney, the new director of the Chamber and several others, including the guest of honor. One of my most interesting conversations was with Richard M, who has a history with our family that goes back to the early years of the Clan.
I have to say that I felt a welcoming atmosphere that was new and different, as though a page had turned in my connection to a community that has been a puzzler for over twenty-five years, or perhaps the timing is just right to extend every benefit of the doubt to a place that continues to pull at me—after many, many moons.
Posted in Business, Community, Family | Comments Closed
Saturday, November 5th, 2005
Have you ever noticed that no matter what digit you injure, you find yourself thinking, “I didn’t realize how much I used that finger” or some other lame thought?
When a husband lives alone for two weeks when his wife is gone—well, he tends to notice how many routine, practical things get done when he isn’t typically paying attention.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a total deadbeat, but it didn’t take me long to appreciate the disproportionate amount of cooking, cleanup, and laundry that Dana fits into our daily lifestyle. Covering for her share of those duties went well for me; I also tried to do some mending, which did not go so well.
I thought the use of a thimble was optional and learned the hard way that I was wrong. I slipped and jammed the blunt end of a sewing needle deep into my cuticle and within days my right middle finger was horribly infected.
When Dana arrived home last night I found out how much I also rely on her useful knowledge of natural healing. She hit the herb books and suggested a poultice of raw garlic, golden seal, and slippery elm. Although initially it hurt like a you know what, the remedy, along with some extract of golden seal taken orally and an epsom-salt soak, had the painful hand nearly back to normal within a day.
Posted in Dana, Home | Comments Closed
Friday, November 4th, 2005
• An excerpt from Dana’s most recent update:
“Last night Pam went out to celebrate a new job, and I prepared a
gourmet meal for Bruce—venison medallions with balsamic reduction and
celery/pear puree, plus a side dish of steamed fresh beets.
“Pam came in after I’d gone to bed, so she wasn’t apprised of the menu. In the middle of the night when she helped Bruce with the ostomy, she saw what she thought was blood and called the doctor. At 5 am, she woke me and said we were to take Bruce to the ER. I drowsily pulled on my jeans, put on shoes, and drove them to the hospital.
“While we waited for results of ordered tests, we were all talking and
Bruce said something about having beets for dinner. Then it hit us. It
wasn’t blood; it was beets. We all were laughing when the resident came back in, and we confessed to the false alarm, which was confirmed by a negative result on the test for hemoglobin.
“Our mirth was short-lived, however, as they had determined that his
white blood count was too high. They said they would start him on an
antibiotic and send him home. Later they said they wanted to keep him
for diagnostic tests until tomorrow. By this evening, they’re saying he might stay 3 to 5 more days.”
(The “headline” is Bruce’s quip, so he’s keeping his sense of humor.)
Posted in Bruce, Dana, Family, Food | Comments Closed
Thursday, November 3rd, 2005
Today’s swim was as meditative as Tuesday’s was strenuous. Before I came home I walked over to the Jones Center and looked over the exhibition of sculptures. Standing in the painting studio among the half-finished canvases, I breathed in the vapors of turpentine and tried to get the Paul Watkins story out of my system (it made matters worse). Last night I listened to a 1993 radio interview that helped me gain a greater sense of the young man. The interviewer used the word “precocious,” but I must say I didn’t have that impression after having lived with David Halifax for a week. Well, I suppose most contemporary artists tend to squander youth before getting their act together, so any disciplined person who hits the ground running by the age of 20 is now considered prematurely developed.
I was talking to Marty about the novel and immediately he thought it would translate well as a motion picture. He chose Tobey Maguire as Halifax and Sean Connery as Pankratov. Not bad. I’d go with Michael Gambon or Brian Cox as the gruff, mysterious Russian myself (but who besides Cox could be Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring?). The character of Guillaume Fleury is trickier. John Turturro could have played him early in his career (maybe a bit too tall). Perhaps Jason Schwartzman would be a good match today, but I’m not familiar enough with his work. The likeness of Fluery that I picture in my mind is similar to a self-portrait by Pierre Bonnard. Marty suggested Adrien Brody—not bad again. He asked me how one gets to be a casting director in Hollywood, and I’m ashamed to admit that I came back with a snide reply inappropriate for a fourteen-year-old lad. Needless to say, it doesn’t please me when I witness a pocket of cynicism erupt from below the surface, like looking in the mirror to discover a conspicuous pimple.
Speaking of Marty, I had to pick him up from school yesterday when he was feeling too sick to wait for a bus ride home. I told him to stay warm, rest, take some vitamin C, and, so he wouldn’t miss any class time today, not to be “outside playing football after your friends get home.” When I talked to Terie later she said that he was fine. “Really?” I asked. “Yeah, he’s playing football,” she said.
Posted in Art, Exercise, Family, Fiction, Marty, Movies, Personalities | Comments Closed
Wednesday, November 2nd, 2005
Thoughts—more than that—expansive, deep-breathing celestial amalgamations inspired by a magnificent story of smoldering suspense, defying containment by mere intellect, taking possession of my imagination, filling it and spilling over like Champagne poured too quickly, and I’m wondering who happens to control the film rights to The Forger, and whether he is a typical Hollywood son of a bitch, and I’m certain that I could design the production, fixated on the idea that Brendan would play David Halifax, and totally convinced that Andrew was born to make this movie…
Yes, I know—these are the outrageously soaring notions one has after finishing a Paul Watkins novel.
Posted in Art, Brendan, Fiction, Friends, Personalities | Comments Closed
Tuesday, November 1st, 2005
— Month of October workout totals: Swim-4; Bike-1; Run-3; Lift-0; Yoga-0
— I’ve been wondering why I’ve felt tired lately, and this morning it became obvious to me just how much the frequency of my exercise has dropped off over the last couple weeks. Wouldn’t you think I’d have more energy if I wasn’t out running and cycling? No, gang—it works the opposite way. And so I made my way to the pool at noon to put this period of inactivity behind me with a solid workout, which included an 850-yard swim in 16:22.
— Bruce continues to improve at home, but needs 24/7 care. Pam got a new job, so that means Dana will be staying there to help until Terie can go up to relieve her. I saw Dr. Liebschutz today and when I told him that Bruce was out of the hospital, all he could say was “Unbelievable.”
— I picked up Marty after school and we went to dinner at the King Buffet and then stopped for groceries. Lee and David had extra tickets for Leahy at Norton Center, so we walked over to the concert, but decided to leave at intermission. There was nothing about the performance that was disappointing. We just didn’t want to stay out that late. The dynamic ensemble of brothers and sisters is an impressive lot, and they’re shaping up to be the most successful group of musicians to come out of Canada since The Guess Who.
V & S
Posted in Dana, Exercise, Family, Friends, Marty, Music | Comments Closed
Sunday, October 30th, 2005
Another chaotic crossroads at the Hall — Mombonian agenda rules — Upstairs clean-out madness — Blackboard comic strip — Darb cracks the whip — Marty mans the burn box — Bubb and Joey build the stud wall — Halloween costume partiness — Top dog Greg Brown — Caveman Frank and Wonder Woman — Crayon wall banner — Trek to Camp Hourglass — Connor is a peanut — Marboro Man gets the Kyle treatment — Bat-eyes, devil’s work, and Mardi Gras beads — Bearded lady and a popcorn vendor — Alias techo tunes — Nic falls in the bonfire — Stargazing in the barnyard — Slap Stick and his little blue-haired pest of a sidekick — Hokey Pokey tradition — The unauthorized Cap’n Lice — Wigs, Wigs, Wigs — No Cliff to be seen — The cheese stands alone — Supercar in the sky — Columbian, it’s the richest kind — A watched meatloaf never bubbles — Council deliberations — Bag o’ bunny ribbons — Around the room — Clete’s sandbox tunnels — Spy Detector — Brendan’s apology — Too many doughnuts — Uncle Wiggly and Merry Milkman — Mung beans into the compost — Janet sends her artichoke deliciosity — Eddie’s Air Corps suitcase — Uncle Bobby sure knows how to live — Alyx and the E-bay connection — Big Tim-Mee pirate swap and sale — KK telephone pass-around — Rainbow units for the chicken-house man — Jerome’s Asian flu update — Oh God not more kelp tablets — Stamp-cutting party — Indian Headache — Graveyard schematic — Fake-o guy in the festival portrait — Currier and Ives uncovered — Red fox in the headlights — Did I remember to change all the clocks?
Posted in Family | Comments Closed
Friday, October 28th, 2005
Bruce came home from the hospital today.
Posted in Family, Home | Comments Closed
Thursday, October 27th, 2005
Bruce‘s release to home care remains a day-to-day affair as Dana maintains her Indianapolis vigil. She has her PowerBook G3 with her, and the two of us trying to work together at long distance reminds me of when we were making the transition to Kentucky. I was here in Danville and she was in Dayton. Our studio survives, but it’s been a weird year so far for us—obviously.
Bruce is still slowly improving and we anticipate he’ll be home by the weekend; if not, we’ve endured false starts before. He just fights on. Although many details of his financial status are certain to emerge later (millions of dollars for just the hospital bill; doctor fees unknown), I think it’s fair to say he’s considered an indigent ward of the state at this point, and could be for a long time. The important thing is that he’s among the very few who make it through this malady. In time, the artist in Bruce will surely provide a glimpse into this grim, months-long soul journey and the forbearance it coldly demands.
Posted in Art, Dana, Family, Priorities, Studio | Comments Closed
Tuesday, October 25th, 2005
With Dana into her fourth day of an Indy holding pattern, it was a particularly odd day for me, as I was forced to troubleshoot JavaScript in the studio (way out of my element) while supervising two tradesmen who were replacing a cracked drain pipe on another floor of the house.
Posted in Dana, Studio | Comments Closed
Monday, October 24th, 2005
I finally went into the Central Kentucky Wildlife Refuge. It’s a fact—I’d never been beyond the parking lot. Why? Because I always told myself that if I had the time, I’d rather go to the Blue Bank Farm to be in our own knobs. While that notion is essentially valid, it allowed me to stupidly neglect an extraordinary natural setting right here in Boyle County. I ran the picturesque trails with some friends. Some might say this was a ridiculously hazardous thing to do under the circumstances, since it was raining and there were roots, loose stones, and lots of fallen leaves on the trail. The downhills were particularly treacherous; there were places where it would have been almost impossible to stop, and even slowing down before a level spot made the footing more uncertain. You know what I mean if you’ve ever run down a really steep grade. I know runners who won’t run on anything but a paved surface, fearing injury. They won’t even run on grass, which is my favorite thing on which to run—always has been. I remember how uninhibited I used to feel after watching a Johnny Weissmuller movie, and I’d run barefoot at top speed across the back yard with a rubber knife and give the Tarzan yell, which I thought at the time to be an exceptionally decent rendition of the Hollywood sound effect (for an eleven-year-old Ohio boy it probably wasn’t bad). I felt swift—I never paused to consider how it might look as though I were standing still if one of the Vagedes brothers had been running next to me. They were all sprinters from birth and grew up to challenge the rushing and stolen-base records of their day. I was never similarly fleet of foot. I didn’t run track in high school. I said it was boring to run in circles, but the true reason is that I wasn’t fast. I thought I would do better at a longer distance. In the late 60s track and field competition offered nothing over a mile run, so I went out for cross country. The distance was two miles. Today a two-mile run is a track event. I was still slow, but I got to run on grass. Dadbo was supportive and said I had a natural stride. It was nice to have my father tell me that he enjoyed watching me run, but we didn’t talk much about cross country. If he came to observe any of our meets, he kept out of sight. He must have thought it might make me nervous if I saw him. I’m guessing it would’ve helped. If I’ve ever possessed “the Means,” it wasn’t back then. Most likely, Dadbo knew that. In any case, I was usually injured because I waited too late in the summer to begin my training. On top of that, I had inferior shoes and poor coaching. I’m still relatively slow, but I can take a medal in my age group now and then if I’m in shape (and only one or two good athletes happen to show up in my category). But I’ve learned to run without injury at last—and I can pull out all the stops on a slippery October trail run among my fitness chums, with the keen insights of Paul Watkins reverberating in my psyche.
Posted in Dadbo, Exercise, Friends, Movies, Nature, Personalities, Playtime, Sport | Comments Closed
Thursday, October 20th, 2005
I think it might be a good idea to share—in its original format—my sweet wife’s most recent note about Bruce.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Dear friends and family,
It’s been nearly two months since I’ve given an update, but now Bruce is showing marked improvement. Today completes seven months in the hospital. At seven weeks, that seemed a long time, but I had no idea what we were facing.
In recent months, it’s been difficult to report because he’s teetered back and forth while battling infection. He would have good days followed by days of fever and nausea. It was hard think he was getting better when I’d see him get pints of hemoglobin, but he fought on.
About the time the infectious disease specialist was ready to throw up his hands in defeat, the surgeons declared that they didn’t want to set him back with another surgery, that they would stay the course. That was almost a month ago.
Since then, they decided to test out the pancreas by giving him juice. The next day, he was told to pick out what he wanted off the menu. This seemed outlandish to me, since he’d had nothing but ice chips for more than 6 months. His stomach and taste buds must have been in shock. He doesn’t actually digest what he consumes due to bypass tubing, but I would have thought a return to food would be more gradual. He is going easy on it since his basic nutrition is still provided by tube feeding. He still has frequent nausea, but the pancreas and blood sugar are not over-reacting to this new challenge.
He’s been off antibiotics for several days, and no fever so far. The pain is getting better, so he’s being weaned off the “patch,” and he’s asking for Dilaudid less often. His voice is now strong, and he is using a walker twice a day. His ability to concentrate is suddenly much improved.
I expect that he will go home soon, although having to travel for dialysis will be a whole new challenge. With the hospital bill alone over $8 million by last month, everyone’s eager for him to go home. Very few people, whatever their station in life, could handle the co-pay on such an amount.
Recently we were told that the survival rate for someone with pancreatitis this severe is about 1%—an eye-opening statistic if accurate. I tell you this so that you’ll know how vital your kindnesses to us have been. We will be eternally grateful for your understanding and support and for your thoughts and prayers on Bruce’s behalf.
With a grateful heart,
Dana
Posted in Dana, Family, Gratitude, Prayer | Comments Closed
Wednesday, October 19th, 2005
Almost two weeks ago Joan alerted me to E-Ring and thought it might be shaping up as a 21st-century COMBAT! replacement. I finally got around to watching the last half of it tonight. It has a dynamite ensemble cast, but the minutes I saw were a far cry from the classic WWII squad series that starred Vic Morrow and Rick Jason back in the 60s. The best surprise was to see that Kelly Rutherford had surfaced again. If Joan had told me about KR being on the show, THAT would’ve gotten my immediate attention!
Posted in Family, Joan, Personalities, Television | Comments Closed
Tuesday, October 18th, 2005
One of the most interesting conversations I had at my recent high school reunion was with a classmate I knew as Terry. I once directed him in a one-act play co-written by my sister Joan. He later changed his name to Cliff, got a degree in aerospace engineering, and became an Air Force fighter pilot. He flew F-16 combat missions in the first Gulf War, even though he was probably too senior in rank.
I told him I couldn’t begin to imagine the level of information processing that would require. He replied, “You know, I’ve tried most of my adult life to find a way of explaining it to someone who has never done it, and the best thing I can come up with is that it’s like playing two video games at the same time while riding a roller coaster.”
“In addition to somebody trying to kill you,” I added.
“Yeah, that, too.”
Posted in Family, Friends, Joan, Technology | Comments Closed
Monday, October 17th, 2005
Someday it would be fun to draw—no—I SHALL create a comic strip version of Bridget, and I’ll begin now if you agree to buy it. Metal frame or wood? Next Day Air or standard ground?
Posted in Art, Brendan, Fiction | Comments Closed
Sunday, October 16th, 2005
Dana and I were heartened to see a vast improvement in Bruce when we spent most of the day with him, including a trip to one of the hospital courtyards, where he used his wheelchair as a “walker” to get some good exercise in the sunlight. His progress over the past week gives us reason to believe the topic of his going home may be under discussion before long. On the way back, Dana read aloud to me from “Reading Lolita in Tehran,” as did I while she was driving, selecting a chapter from “The Fellowship of Ghosts,” the evocative account of a journey through Norway’s nearly inaccessible mountains by novelist Paul Watkins. As a massive sunset peaked, we passed a caravan of mobile homes with FEMA emblems heading south. The cloud pattern filled half the sky like glowing lava splashed against a field of robin’s egg blue.
Posted in Dana, Family, Nature, Nonfiction, Personalities | Comments Closed
Wednesday, October 12th, 2005
Speaking of the augury of birds (were you not?), Dana and I saw a blue heron fly over our path (from left to right). It was the largest heron I’ve ever seen. It reminded me of our pelican omen of 1979, when we christened our business partnership, which has survived 26 years. Whether or not we’ve begun a new cycle of good fortune, it certainly feels as though the recent studio tribulations are firmly behind us.
Posted in Business, Dana, Nature, Studio | Comments Closed
Monday, October 10th, 2005
Dana and I drove to Indianapolis after the reunion so we could spend time with Bruce. Some anonymous medical genius had him so sedated he could barely keep his eyes open. They load him up with drugs and then stop in and ask him if he’s feeling depressed. Well, that makes perfect sense, doesn’t it? On our lunch break we walked along the canal, visited the Indiana History Center, and looked at some Bodmer lithographs and 1860 watercolors of Old Richmond. By the time I’d stopped in the Cole Porter room to see the Hirschfelds and play a couple tunes on the Wurlitzer, I felt somewhat better, although I took out my residual frustration on a nurse by insisting Bruce get some plain yogurt instead of the version with artificial sweetener, which gives him a headache (no problem, we have drugs for that, too). I’m certain everyone’s glad when the grouchy step-dad leaves.
Posted in Angst, Art, Dana, Family, Music, Personalities | Comments Closed