One Day at A Time Blog # 8

Monday September 3, 2012

Editor's Comment: This is an extremely long Blog. It was a trip I recall taking with my first wife, Sharon and my best frien and his wife. It may not mean anything to you as a reader but it shows how an event can be a large part of a life history

Article 005

 

Our trip to The East Coast

I just wanted to pass this story on threw my LILAGCS Blog because I remembered how interesting it was at the time.....probably only to those involved....mainly Terry and Betty Penniman and myself.

I just finished reading an article in my "Guideposts" folder about a story that someone wrote about going to Cape Cod, Massachusetts. It reminded me of an event that Sharon and I had before she got sick. We were visiting our friends Terry and Betty Penniman who lived in Des Moines, Iowa close to the Merle Hay Mall. I can’t recall it was any special occasion; we just were visiting them and their dog Hawka. Hawka was a white boxer and pretty good sized.

Terry and Betty had a very nice home and we had decided to stay overnight with them. A few months earlier we had made the decision to take a trip together. It came after a visit about what a bad experience they had had the previous year with another couple. We agreed that we would get along much better if we were to go on a trip together.

Where we would go was the next thing we needed to determine. The previous year they had traveled to the Western United States and toured California and states out West. We were at a loss where to go so we decided to toss a dart at a wall map that Terry had. We drew straws and Sharon won so she got to throw the dart at the US map.

She threw the dart and it stuck in the map at a location close to Cap Cod, Massachusetts. Betty was the tour guide expert so we ask her to route out our plan of travel and scenic stops on the trip. Betty and I enjoyed camping and Terry and Sharon wanted to stay in motels. We compromised and decided that we would stay in motels if it rained and if we were in a place not suitable for camping like Washington D.C.

We had determined a departure date and that we would be gone for two weeks. Betty selected Boston, Cape Cod, Washington D.C., and Gettysburg, Pennsylvania as our main stopping points that we would cover.

We made the decision to depart early morning from Terry and Betty’s home in Des Moines. This then takes us back to our overnight visit to their place. We were to sleep ing the bedroom previously occupied by their dog, Hawka. He was placed in his kennel as we settled down that evening.

During the night I had to get up and go to the bathroom. Little di I know that Hakka’s kennel door was not completely locked and while I was gone, he got out. When U finished and returned to the bed I discovered that Hawka was in my place beside Sharon and Sharon was sound asleep. I had a tought time getting Hawka to move back to his kennel, but I was finally successful. 4 o’clock came and we were up and ready to go. My memory fails me as what Terry and Betty did with Hawka but I’m sure he was well provided for.

Terry had just purchased a new car a few week before. It was a two door Oldsmobile Cutlass. I was very nice plus it had one of the first tape decks that came in automobiles at that time. I remember Terry told us that he only had enough extra money left after getting the car with the tape deck to buy one tape to play. Herb Albert and the Tijuana Brass . (It is important to remember this for later in this story)

We decided that we would take turns driving every few hours so those not driving could rest. Our first destination was Kokomo, Indiana. The weather was beautiful and Betty had located a nice camp site for us to stay that first night. It was interesting to note that getting to Indiana took use along a southern route of Chicago. There was a lot of traffic but Sharon didn’t bat an eye. She just maintained 75 miles an hour over the course of the entire southern route.


 

..First Stop.Kokomo, Indiana

We arrived at the campsite near Kokomo and proceeded to pitch our tents. I remember what we had for dinner that first evening, We called them potatoe-chewies. They were made of a large hamburger patty, onions, a couple of slices of green pepper, fresh mushrooms, carrots and salt and pepper wrapped in tin foil and placed on the hot coals of the fire we had built. They were excellent and I can still taste them!

We slept well as I recall and in the morning had breakfast, (don’t recall what) Packed up and were on our way again on our way to Boston.

Niagara Falls and rain!

The route that Betty planned took us to Buffalo, New York and to Niagara Falls, an unplanned site that was along the way. We were able to find a camp site and pitch our tent. (Incidentally we were using the tent my parents had given us after they purchased their first camping trailer.)

We toured Niagara Falls and interesting the American Falls were blocked off for dredging out at the bottom of the falls This made for a very interesting view of the river bed where the water traveled before going over the falls. We spent a brief time in the Souvenir shop before returning to our campsite.
During the night it rained hard and when we got up in the morning it was still raining, but not so hard. We had to take down our tent and pack it away while it ws still wet. I was then the decision to stay in a motel the next night was made. And we all agreed it was the best thing to do. One thing to also remember is that Terry and I both had 35 mm cameras and were taking photos all the time for a record of the trip.

Next stop.....Sturbridge, Massachusetts

Our next stop was in Sturbridge, Massachusetts. where we found a motel for that night. I don’t remember, but somewhere during this part of the trip we set up the tent to dry it out from the rain we experienced at Niagara Falls. As I recall Sturbridge was an old village reconstructed from the past. We spent time touring the different stores and shops plus a rope-making business where ship ropes were made. After a short trip to Boston we arrived to find it very difficult getting from one place to another.

Old Ironsides Ship Tour

We had wanted to tour the old ship "The Constitution" or "Old Ironsides" as we knew it . Asking directions from policemen was fruitless until we discovered that they spoke differently with strange accents to us Midwesterners. We finally found our way to the Boston Harbor and "Old Ironsides". We had a good tour of the ship and as we were leaving we were informed that we better hurry because the Boston Harbor dock hours were over and all of the employees would be leaving .

This we were told would create a very difficult exit for us. Well we were caught in the middle of the rush hour traffic and we did have a very difficult getting where we wanted to go . It was then that we decided to find the Interstate highway out of Boston.

Plymouth Rock

After we found the road out of Boston we headed toward Cape Cod. We hadn’t gone far when we saw a road sign with an arrow. It read Plymouth Rock. Well we had to stop just to say that we saw where the Pilgrims had landed on the Mayflower in 1620. We spent a short time looking at the rock and viewing the Pilgrims homes that had been constructed to exemplify the time. We took a lot of photos to remember the place.

The Dunes Edge Campground

We were, of course looking for a campground to pitch our tent as close as possible to the Ocean Beach. We found one called "The Dunes Edge Campground" and in a short time we located an ideal spot to put the tent. The name of the site was very accurate because the Atlantic ocean was not far at all from the campsite. We visited it as soon as we could and enjoyed roasting hotdogs over an open fire. And watching the sea gulls fly around us.

Provincetown, Massachusetts

We soon discovered that we were very near to the only town at the tip of Cape Cod, Provincetown. We spotted a tall tower shooting skyward from Provincetown It was called

The　Pilgrim Monument.

The　Pilgrim Monument　in

Provincetown,　Massachusetts　was built between 1907 and 1910 to commemorate the first landfall of the Pilgrims　in 1620 and the signing in Provincetown　of the　Mayflower Compact. This 252-foot (76,80 m) tall campanile　is the tallest all-granite

 

I don’t remember how many steps to the top, but there was no elevator and we climbed to the top and took photos from there. It was awesome. We walked around and ate in a small cafe. I remember I had a lobster sandwich that was very good. As we left to go back to our campsite we observed a couple wheeling a stroller with a baby. That wasn’t strange, but the two pushing the stroller were both the same sex, I guess today it is mostly populated by gays. Back then in the 60’s there were not too many. We enjoyed the shops and little stores that were everywhere. We returned to our campsite at the Dune’s Edge and took a few side trips then packed up our tent and things and headed towards Hyannis Port. In case you didn’t know, that is where the Kennedy compound is located on the sea shore. We managed to get close enough to see some people out on the beach. We decided that they must have been some of the Kennedys.
 

Danial Webster Inn

Right here the memory gets a little foggy but I know that we were headed for Washington D.C. as our next stop. I remember on traveling back from the tip of Cape Cod we stopped to camp close to Sandwich, Massechuttes. Terry and Betty wanted to grill steaks at the campsite and I wanted to have a real Lobster dinner. Sharon and I went to a place called the Danial Webster Inn that was advertised as a place that served Lobster. I only remember I was served a large whole Lobster, fitted with a lobster bib and given a pair of claw crackers that resembled the nut crackers we had back in Iowa. Boy it was good. We toured the Inn and learned about it's history while we were there. We then returned to our campsite where We stayed.
 

The Last Ferry Ride

The next day we got up and returned to our travels to Washington D.C. We were approching Rhode Istand when we got in a long line of traffic as we were approching Provenstown, Rhode Island. We needed to cross a bay or body of water. After doing some asking we discovered that the long line of cars were waiting to cross the body of water on the one and only ferry that took the passengers from where we were to Provencetown rather than going around the body of water on the highway. It was a shortcut and we also learned that this was the last day that the ferry was running. Everyone wanted to have a "last ride" on the ferry.

We waited and were finally able to ride the ferry across the body of water. I think they were going to build a new bridge across the body of water or something.

Our Experience in New York City

Our next big encounter ws New York City. Rather than going around the city, we decided to go through the city. We started to enter the outter suburbs of New York when the heat light on Terry's car came on. We quickly decided we needed to stop and have it checked. We assumed that the car was overheating. It was very warm outside so we stopped at a place where they could check to see what was wrong. As I recall they flushed out our radiator and replaced the fluids. We then confidently started off again toward New York City. It was a Saturday as I recall and just as we started into the main part of the city, the heat light came on again. I remember our feelings just like it was yesterday. We slowed down and fortunately we were close to a gas station where we pulled into. We then got a good taste of the uncourtace attitude we had heard about with New Yorkers. This attentant came out, lifted up the hood of the car and said "Sorry Mac we don't work on cars on Saturdays...we just pump gas. Well gosh, what were we to do? We did the only thing we could think to do. We lifted the hood and let the car cool down. We then drove til the light came on again then stopped again and did the same thing......over and over all the way through the main part of New York City. We had not been on an interstate highway but as we slowly reached the highway leading South out of the city we spotted another gas station and decided to give it a try.

 

Solving Our Overheating Problem

This time a great big blackman came out and very pleasantly said "What can I do for you?" We told him our delemia. He then opened the hood and took off the radiator cap and stuck his finger down in the radiator. He called out to Terry, "Is your red heat light on now?" Terry answered affirmatively. The man said, "The only problem you have is a defective heat light bulb. He then gave us directions to a place where we could get a new blub. It required backtracking and getting on the toll express interstate. I was driving and I am not sure what happened except I went through the same toll booth 3 times because I didn't get on the right road. The last time I went through the toll booth, the girl attendant in the toll booth said...."Go ahead...this one id on the house!"

 

Finally we got to the auto parts place where we purchased a 35 cent blub, had it installed and we were back on the road again headed toward Washingto D.C.

Finally we arrived in Washington D.C. and went directly to a Holiday Inn where we checked in and decided that we would find a Grayline Tour Bus to take a tour of the city. We had attempted to drive but got more frustrated that it was worth. We then continued on towar our next destination.

Trip to Gettysburg, PA and the Battle of Gettysburg

Gettysburg was our last stop before returning to Iowa. We encountered a very interesting event as we spent time in Gettysburg. We went to a place that gave us information about tours of Gettysburg.

An older man got into our car and said he would give us the tour. So we decided to let him be our guide. As we followed his directions he began reliving the Battle of Gettysburg as if he were there, It was extremely interesting and we got a very good idea of what it was like during the battle.

Well we then headed back to Iowa after the tour was finished. This has been a long article, but I tried to give you an idea of a cool trip we took together, 

One Day at A Time Blog # 7

August 31, 2012

Recent Skype Chat  with a Classmate

This will be a very short Blog. I just want to share my enthusiam when I was able to chat with a clasmate last night on Skype. Elaine Cook and her husband were on Sky[e last night and we had a very good time sharing things.

Elaine showed us her beautiful quilts on the web cam and they were very beautiful. We talked about many things and she was so encouraging with her comments about my Bloga.....Thanks Elaine. Carlton, her husband shared about his fishing that brought back past memories of fishing in my early life.That's all for now just wanted to post this comment.

Dr Dave

One Day at a Time .... Blog # 6

Saturday August 18, 2012

Short Story:

Sign Painting and Brother's Broken Bones

Keep in mind as I write these articles they are events that pop up in my RT*and probably have no other signicantes to anyone except those involved......it is a true and interesting story.

Article 003

I will now take you back to Sac City one summer day when I got a sign painting job to paint a street banner promoting a special event in the small town East of Sac called Lytton. It was an event called Lytton Gala Days. Don't ask me how I remember that...it comes from my * "remembering technique"(RT). The canvas banner would stretch across their main street in the middle of the business district. I was approximately 3 feet high and maybe 20 to 35 feet long.

I had stretched it out in the backyard on the grass. I finished laying out the letters "Lytton Gala Days" across the length of the Banner. I had just started painting the letters when my mother came running out of the backdoor of our house latterly shouting "My Gosh, Dave, they called from Lake City and said Jim has broken his arm." My RT* is kicking in and I must give you some background here.

Editor's Note:      (this is a long but interesting story)

....This probably won't mean anything to anyone except to brother Jim, but it is an interesting story and "Amazing" that I am able to use my RT*   I remembered a lot of details from this story so hang with me please! ....

My brother, Jim, 8 years younger than me. became a very good athlete. I didn't excel in any sport, but I played them all. I remember making a commitment to myself to to what I could he help Jim excel in as many sports as possible. As one example, teaching him baseball techniques I started playing baseball with him in our basement with a tennis ball. I had an old catcher’s glove and would have Jim pitch the tennis ball as fast and as hard as he could to me from one end of the basement room to the other for hours at a time.

We would trade places and I would itch and Jim would be the catcher. Eventually I was throwing as hard as I could to him. Jim got so he could stop anything I threw and many times catch the thrown ball also. I worked with him in football and track events also.  In football Jim went on to become a very good quarterback, in track a good pole vaulter and in baseball he became an all star player on his little league team.

Jim's strongest desire was baseball in high school. He chose not to participate in any other sport except baseball in high school. This was fine except the high school football coach was constantly trying to talk Jim into playing on the high school football team.

After many attempts, the coach talked him into going out for football that fall. He told him that he would play Jim in positions that he would not get hurt because Jim was looking forward to the upcoming baseball season. The evening of Jim's last football game of the season my friend, Terry and I were having a Pepsi in the Buena Vista snack shop. Jim's football game was played at the BV football field. The game was against Storm Lake high school. Terry and I had been watching the first half of the football game and decided, at half time to walk to the snack shop for a drink. I was very close to the football stadium. as we left I noticed on the game clock we had about 15 minutes befor the second half would begin.

We were sitting in the snack shop when someone came running in and said, "Dave, you need to get over to the football field, something happened to your brother."

As we ran back to the football field, I glanced up and saw that the game clock was stopped about 2 minutes into the 3rd quarter. We saw a bunch of people in a group with an ambulance in the field. As we entered the stadium the ambulance was leaving and I saw Jim and my mother in the ambulance. Jim had a big grin on his face and was waving at me.

We immediately went to our car and followed the ambulance to the hospital. When we arrived we were directed to the floor where Jim was being examined by a Doctor Shay. Dr. Shay was a somewhat strange but caring doctor. Jim expressed a great deal of pain from his broken ankle as Dr. Shay attempted to remove Jim's football stocking. Dr. Shay was trying to remove the sock by sliding it off Jim's ankle.

In a very short time Jim expressed his anger from the painful technique by loudly saying "Cut the “@$!&*$%” sock off with your scissors!"  Jim told him and said that he would buy the football team another sock.

After Jim's ankle was repaired and a metal pin place to hold one of the bones in place Jim was admitted to a hospital room. From the time he regained his consciousness from the surgery, Jim was asking when he could go home. You see, Sac City varsity football team played a game on the following Friday, four days away.  He was told to relax and wait for the doctor to release him.

Friday came and Jim asked to talk to Dr. Shay that morning. At noon he was given permission to prepare to be released. I don't know what he said to the doctor, but it must have been conversing. That evening I took Jim, on a pair of crutches to the football game. We had to park a fair distance from the field so Jim had to slowly use the crutches to maneuver to the seats.

It was a long trip back to the car after the game and Jim was pretty tired. The next morning he complained of a sore throat and to make a long story longer....he came down with mononucleosis. I remember I had to crush ice for him to suck on cause it was hard for him to swallow as he lay almost motionless for the best part of the next week recovering.

When he got better, we were told by the medical people that it was probably the best thing that could have happened to him. It have his ankle sufficent time to really heal. Had he not been down and off his feet he might have suffered complications from his over-activity.

As a result of the fractured ankle he was not able to go out for basketball that he was really looking forward to doing. (He was an exceptionally good basketball player also) As it turned out he got to play in the last two basketball games of the season. 

Next came the track season. We had purchased Jim a glass pole for his pole vaulting. He had btoken the junior high record in pole vaulting the year before. He had gone to a track meet in Lake City about 30 minutes from Sac and he was determined to do well in the pole vaulting. His foot and leg were pretty well back to normal excerpt he was still a little slow on his run.

That is the time my mother came running out of the back door screaming that Jim had broken his arm.  Actually it was his wrist. He had made two attempts to clear the starting height and missed then on third try he cleared the height but when he came down he landed on his wrist wrong and it broke.

The school didn't make any money that year on the Logan family. Jim had a broken ankle and now a broken wrist.

That really upset him because he was looking forward to the baseball season coming up next. He was in a cast and decided that he could only coach with the cast on so he coached a little league team.

* (RT) Remembering Technique

One Day At a Time by Dr Dave .........Blog Day (#5)

August 16, 2912

This is the BLOG DAY Blog that I plan to send out quarterly to pause and reflect about where I am with my Blogging! I will continue this blog where I left off soon so hang in there. I love to Blog because that is about all I have to keep my mind going. Here is a little story my Great grandma Austin told me that you may enjoy for this short Blog:

A Short Story Before I Continue

I want to tell you a story that my Great grandma Austin told me about people that called her "senile". Since we are all advancing in years I thought it very appropriate and fitting to tell what this 85 year old grand old lady told me when I was about 7 years old.
I remember I had asked her what the word "senile" meant, I had heard it used and remembered it.

She told me that the word "senile" was best discribed (her view) by comparing my brain of 7 to her brain of 85 years. She told me that we could compare my brain to books in a library like the Spencer library (the town where I lived of 7,000 population) She continued to say that her 85 year old brain had many more books in it. She compared her brain to the Library of Congress in Washingto D.C.(with almost every book written in the US).
She told me that when a young person 20 to 40 years old would ask her a question. she would go to her imaginary library of books in her brain and begin going through the rows and stacks of books to find the answer. Compared to me looking for an answer it took her much longer to sort through all the books in her brain and these younger people were not very patient and could not wait for her answer so they stopped and called her "senile" for the reason.

I think that is so good an explaination especially noe that I am going to be 71 in a few days and so far God has blessed me with a fairly good memory. Like another one of my classmates told me. She didn.t have altzhimers...she called her condition "Sometimers". that's what I have at times!!!! (Thanks Elaine)

One Day at A Time Blog #4

Short Story Article 02
Monday August 13, 2012

　

Things I had to Re-orientate My Thinking About - Blog #4

When I moved to the Philippines I knew a little about some of the Philippine culture but there was a lot I would have to learn. This may appear humours to many Americans but it is very serious to Filipinos.

Eating Out

There are some things that I had to adjust to when I ate out. When eating at a restaurant or cafe or anyplace you pay when you order. This is not a customer service orientated country and if your order comes wrong or over cooked you can't send it back, because it is already paid for. McDonalds here was the only place we were able to correct an order. I had ordered a double cheeseburger. I got a piece of meat, presumably hamburger between two dried out buns. No lettuce, no condiments and no pickles. We finally attracted the attention of a server and he was very congenial after checking the receipt we had received. In about 10 minutes we got a double cheeseburger that had been sitting in the warming tray for a while. There is no consideration of priority.

In addition when you eat out the napkins you receive (If you receive any at all) are close to the size of a large sheet of toilet paper other places. There are some nicer restaurants that give you a napkin that resembles a napkin you get everywhere in the States. ( Keep in mind, I am not complaining), I am only pointing out the things that you need to adjust to here in the Philippines that are different in other countries.

You usually have to fight your way through hungry kids that are out in front of many eating places begging for food or money. Places like McDonalds and other nice eating places keep these beggars away from the front of their businesses.

The food is very seldom hot. It is warm, at best, because every place except McDonalds the orders are place in a "wait to be served" area with a number. You are given a number when you order if the food you ordered is not yet sitting in the warming rack. Many times if what you order is a difficult item they will ask you if you can wait 10 or 15 minutes. I said yes only once. I was given my french-fries and 15 minutes, after I had eaten my fries came the sandwich I was told would take 19 to 15 minutes. You learn fast the procedures here. My drink also was delivered right away and it was gone after my sandwich arrived. There are some places that have "bottomless" drinks. Those ar the best places.

I will post this article #4 and continue more later.

　

　

　
　

　

　

　

One Day At a Time Blog #3

Thursday August 9, 2012



Article:  08/-02/12

One Toe in Heaven

My wife had died and I had been taking care of myself since her death. I was a care giver for almost 13 years as we faced the consequences of the brain tumor. I was a bit paranoid when it came to hospitals, doctors and any medical treatments. I had gone through 3 brain surgeries and having total hip replacement during the 13 years with her.

First Wife Got Sick

My wife got sick while we were visiting my parents in March of 1982 in Saint Petersburg, Florida. My two adopted sons, my wife and I left from the airport in Des Moines, Iowa. Before leaving, we experienced very heavy fog. Our flight was delayed and eventually cancelled.

After a 5 hour delay we were able to reschedule our flight to Florida through Chicago and Atlanta,Georgia. Fortunately I was able to call and alert my parents of the flight problems. I told them that I would call them from Atlanta to tell them when we would arrive at the Tampa airport where they could meet us. Before we left Chicago we said a prayer to help reduce the anxiety we were experiencing. 

When we arrived at the Atlanta airport we prepared for the eight hour layover. I was able to keep the boys pretty well occupied watching the other people and airplanes landing and taking off. My wife appeared calm and quiet during this delay.

Finally Arrived in Florida

About 10 PM we arrived in Tampa, Florida and were met by my parents. We had left Iowa at 6 AM and arrivedin Tampa at 10 PM. Originally we were suppose to arrive in Tampa about 1 PM.
The first day after arriving we spent resting. The second day we went to the beach and enjoyed a picnic on the white sands beach. The third day we went to Busch Gardens, an amusement park close to where we were staying.

The next few days were very tramatic and stressful. My wife had an attack that caused her to have uncontrollable seizures and put her in the hospital in Saint Petersburg for the remainder of our vacation. Many times during the two week delay I spent a great deal of time in prayer....asking “Why?”

We were finally able to make flight connections back to Iowa. Iowa had been in the area of a dangerous winter snow storm. This Blizzard forced our flight to land in Saint Louis Missouri. My wife was highly medicated with Phenobarbital, an anti-seizure medication. She was in a wheelchair and very non-communicative. My two boys were at our side and stayed with me during all the negotiations through Lambert the St Louis airport. There were large groups of people mulling around tryin to find out-going flights due to the cancelation of most flights in the central United States.

Efforts Futile at First

My efforts were at first futile. My previous experience flying all over the US, I knew it was the obligation of our carrier to get us to our destination. I said a silent prayer and forced my way to our carrier’s ticket desk and explained that I had a sick wife and two small children and needed to get to Des Moines, Iowa as soon as possible. We then were scheduled on the next flight to Des Moines. 
We landed in a mild snow storm. The major blizzard had subsided after leaving upwards of 14 inches of snow on the ground.

 Returning to the motel where we had stayed and left our Toyota station wagon  when we departed to Florida we discovered, to our dismay, the station wagon was almost completely buried in snow drifts. Also the snow removal equipment had pushed snow over our car when they attempted to remove the snow from the parking lot. Another time for prayer because all I had was a pair of gloves and a leather jacket to keep warm.

 Dug Our Station Wagon out of the Snow

I physically with my two hands moved the snow away from the station wagon enough to drive out into the parking lot. We loaded the station wagon with out positions and ourselves and started the 30 minute trip to Perry, Iowa where we lived. We called my wife’s parent alerting them of our situation and they said they would also go to Perry to meet us
.
We had not gone 10 minutes when there came a very loud sound from under the car. I pulled to the shoulder of the road best that I could and discovered our muffler had almost totally fallen off. I removed the muffler as best that I could and returned to finish the trip to Perry. I can describe my feeling when we pulled into the driveway at our Perry home. My wife was still very quiet and under the influence of the anti-seizure medication. I again prayed that I could help remove her from the station wagon and assist her in getting to our bedroom
.

Wife’s Parents Taken to the Hospital

By the time I was able to do all that, her parents arrived. They then observed her having one of the grand mal seizures in the hallway to our bathroom. This totally disengaged them from reality and I had to take them both along with my wife and the two boys to the hospital 3 blocks away.

Moving Ahead 4 years

To make this unpleasant experience shorter, I will skip ahead 4 years. My wife had gone through 3 brain surgeries and had both hips replaced as a side effect from the steroids given to her for reduction of swelling during the second brain surgery.
There were so many times that I fell on my knees crying and asking God’s strength to sustain my own mental stress. He did and I am so grateful I recognized when it happened and thanked Him for the strength to move on.

Placed Wife in a Nursing Home

I had to place Sharon in a nursing home in February of 1995 where I ended up joining the dietary staff as a cook. I helped feed Sharon her meals and was given my meals free . I have lost track of what happened to our two boys exactly, but friends and my brother took care of them while I worked as a caregiver to my wife.
One event I will never forget was the time our pastor told me that I needed to give Sharon permission to die. I didn’t understand that at all. 

Giving Wife Permission to Die

One evening after I had finished my work cooking I went up to Sharon’s room to visit and had asked God to help me explain this thing about dying to her. I went into her room and left 3 times before she finally ask me what I was doing. I told her that we needed to talk about heaven and dying. She looked me straight in my eyes and said, “David, I think you are having more trouble with this than I am.” Praise the Lord, she already had talked to God and He had comforted her long before I realized it.

Wife went to be with God on our 29th Wedding Anniversary

On June 5, 1995 Sharon was called home by the Lord. It was our 29th wedding anniversary.
I continued cooking and serving as a caregiver to the elderly until one day I scraped the bottom of my right foot on some rough cement at the side of my small home in Perry. I thought I could care for it myself but, the fact of the matter was I had discovered I had diabetes and before I knew it I was in trouble. Diabetes was causing my toe to become infected. I was admitted to the Perry hospital where my doctor and a Podiatrist informed me I was going to lose my second toe on my right foot.

Went To the State Run Hospital in Iowa City, Iowa

I made arrangements to have my pastor drive me to Iowa City Hospital where I needed to go because of having no insurance and no money to pay on my own. 
By the time we got there, my toe was black and the foot was swelling from the accumulation of poison. The doctor intern began talking to me and preparing me to lose my entire foot from bone infection. I ask Pastor Charles to pray with me that God would intervene. He did and all I lost was my toe and some pride.
As I lay in my bed recovering in the Iowa City hospital, an assistant pastor from my son’s church where I had attended with my son came to visit me. He prayed over me and told me of a friend that had lost his leg in a motorcycle accident. He went on to write a book called: “One Leg in Heaven”. 

Came Up with the Title “One Toe In Heaven” 

I did some thinking and praying and decided I need to also write a book about my life and came up with the name “One Toe in Heaven”.

I have spent the last few years working on my book and since then have remarried to a Filipina lady and her four children. I moved to Cebu City in the Philippines in 2005 and continue writing memories of my life. I created a Blog on the Internet and regularly post new material about my past memories. It is called Dr Dave’s Memories and I entitle the Blog LILAGCS....(“Life Is Like A Grilled Cheese Sandwich”) You may visit the Blog ...just let me know and I will send you the address.

One Day at a Time Blog (1b)

Thursday August 2, 2012

I decided to try and write an article for Guidepost about the experience I had in the vacation to Flordia where Sharon got sick, the care giving experience and my eventual loosing my toe from diebetes and the "One Toe in Heaven" book idea I had.

First Post - One Day At A Time (1a)

Thursday August 2, 2012

What is: One Day At A Time?

One day at a time is a blog that I had a dream about last night. I decided that I needed a my place to record my everyday thoughts and actions.

I have started listing to the Bible .... the Old Testiment first. My goal is to read (or listen)  to the entire bible. I will listen to as much each day as I can endure.

I may post more than one blog each day for I will post them when I feel I want to. This Blog will be more like a daily journal.