Some Quick Updates

Mom is better, but still not well. The last surgery managed to stop the leak of cerebrospinal fluid, but it kind of put her back at square one on her lower extremity issue. They are still working on her pneumonia and poly nephritis. In addition, her hematocrit dropped and they had to give her two units of blood. The goal right now is to just get her out of the hospital and back into rehab.

I have a second interview today. I've turned down one job, waiting to hear on another, been rejected outright for a third. I'm guessing I will take this one if the money is ok. I'd rather work at this hospital and I hope things work out.

I've been struggling a little bit with Kitten's son. He hasn't done anything different, I just get angry when he leaves empty containers on the counter because the garbage is full, or when he leaves fans or the TV on in the house, or when he leaves his plate for somebody else to clean. I do all of these things myself, but I know I will be the one that comes back and resolves the problem. He is waiting for somebody else to take care of it. I talk to Kitten about it and as I was talking to her, I realized that it didn't bother her at all. I then came to the realization that the problem was me, not her son. If it doesn't bother her, why should it bother me? It's not like she asked me to clean up after him. I'm gonna work on that because it's silly to be mad at a situation that doesn't really affect me. I think I'm turning into my Dad.

I'm going back to Nashville this weekend. A couple of friends are getting married and I'm happy to see them tie the knot. Well, not really, I'm sort of anti marriage, but just because I'm a grumpy old curmudgeon, I'm not gonna deny anybody else their happiness. When I asked her if she was registered, she gave me the usual places and the resort where she was staying for their honeymoon. I thought that was fantastic! I was able to buy them some credit toward their wine service. I'd much rather they enjoy a good bottle of wine together than have some knick knack that collects dust on a shelf somewhere.

Randy Newman

Kitten and I went to see Randy Newman last night. I had a fantastic time and recommend that anyone with a chance, catch his act.

Most people recognize Newman from either his movie scores (Toy Story being the the most famous I think) or from the one or two minor hits he had on the radio ("I Love L.A." and "Short People"). He has written a ton of other stuff including the score for "The Natural" and "Mama Told Me Not To Come" made famous by Three Dog Night.

Backed by the Louisville Orchestra, the sound was rich without drowning out Newman's sometimes understated vocals. Newman himself is witty and urbane in deportment. His songwriting can be political and thought provoking without being aggressive.

He was every bit as entertaining as my favorite song writer, Lyle Lovett. Listen to the video above for proof.

Mom

My Mom's health has been in decline for quite a while now. About a year and a half ago, she had three compression fractures in her spine and had to have them repaired. While in the hospital, she suffered from narcotic psychosis and had a long, extended recovery. She had trouble getting around after that hospitalization, but we just attributed it to post op weakness and the fact that she had no interest in rehab. Six months after that operation, her weakness in her legs became worse and she began to complain of numbness in her legs and feet. She would try to walk and her legs would just give out on her. She lives in an area about two to three hours from any real medical care and that just compounded the problem because none of the quacks where she is at were able to give her a diagnosis.

We finally got her to a neurologist in a small town about an hour and a half away. After checking her out and getting and MRI, the neurologist immediately sent her to a neurosurgeon in Memphis. Mom had a long cyst pressing against a significant area of her spinal cord. The neurosurgeon operated and was pleased with the results, but once again, mom refused rehab and went back home to the little town with no real health care available and no family that could be relied upon to help her.

She never really got better. If anything, the numbness and lack of control in her legs continued to get worse. She had to have a distant relative come live with her, but if you know my Mom, you know that's a short term solution. She is strong willed and opinionated and not really a people person. We began to formulate plans for her to move closer to me or one of my siblings. We wanted to put her in an apartment, but were afraid that it had reached the point where she couldn't live alone.

The neurosurgeon that had seen her before decided that things weren't what they should be so he had another MRI done. He told us that yhe cyst had returned and Mom's options were another surgery or basically be in a wheel chair for the rest of her life. She opted for the surgery and went into the hospital a couple of weeks ago. The doctor said that when he opened her up, it wasn't the cyst causing the problem, but scar tissue on and around the spinal cord. Post op, Mom had movement in her feet but very little sensation. After a brief recovery in the hospital, she was sent to a rehab facility to try and regain some of her mobility.

A couple of days ago, Mom began sleeping more and more. She was beginning to get confused and was unable to participate in her rehab. They sent her to the emergency room where she was diagnosed with dehydration and a urinary tract infection, but no real explanation for her confusion. They kept her in the hospital and she soon became unresponsive. My sister called a couple of hours ago. They were to do some further testing today, but Mom's breathing became ragged and they were concerned about pneumonia. The last I heard was that she was completely unresponsive and was being placed on a ventilator. I asked my sister if I should go to Memphis and she pointed out that there was nothing I could do and Mom wouldn't know I was there. I see the logic in this, but worry that my sister feels left alone to shoulder the burden of making decisions.

Boy this is tough.

The Big Easy

Wow! Thursday already? It was quite the Labor Day weekend. Friday afternoon, I picked Kitten up from work and we headed to the airport. A quick flight to Chicago and a short walk to the train station and we boarded the train to New Orleans. Traveling by train is so peaceful. You just sit at your seat and watch the scenery go by. You have room to get up and move around, you have an accessible bathroom, and when you are tired, you just flip down your bed and go to sleep. It's sad that there is no service in this part of the country. I would choose to travel by train if I was given the choice. Kitten seemed to enjoy herself.

We arrived in New Orleans at around three in the afternoon on Saturday and checked into our B&B on St. Charles. It was a fantastic place to stay. Quite and right on the street car line. We dropped our bags and bounced onto the streetcar to run down to Mother's for Ferdi sandwiches.Afterwards, we walked around the quarter for a while drinking and taking in the sights. It happened to be the weekend for Southern Decadence, so there was plenty to see, such as a six foot tall man wearing a mesh body suit that prominently displayed his yellow banana hammock. I'd include pictures here, but none were taken, mostly because I was waaayyyy out numbered. I'm just not sure how a pack of drunk gay guys would react to the one hetero on the street taking a picture. We went to Jackson Square and Kitten had her fortune told. I don't put much stock in such things, but if it made her happy, that was fine by me.

The next day, we went back to the Quarter and caught the cemetery tour at St. Louis #1. I thought it was very interesting and informative.There can be up to thirty family members buried in some of those tombs. Apparently, the coffin (provided it's made of wood) and the body almost completely decomposes within a year. When the newly deceased are ready to be interred, they just push the remains of the previous occupant to the back of the tomb where the fall into a hole beneath the tomb. So, if you have a family member you don't like, you had better make arrangements before you die, otherwise, your remains will be mixed for eternity!

After the tour, I had to have a muffaletta. Central Grocery is my usual choice, but they are closed on Sunday. We gave Frank's, a couple of doors down, a try. I was unimpressed to say the least. It was perfectly acceptable, just not as good as Central Grocery's. From there we went to Pat O'Brian's and drank Zombies while sitting in the piano bar. Four Zombies later, we stumbled back to the B&B.

That night, we went to eat and listen to jazz at a place called Snug Harbor. Pretty decent gumbo. After eating we went to the back to listen to the band. I can't remember the name, but I enjoyed them. There was a slight kerfuffle during the show. A couple of guys came in late and sat next to me against the wall. Kitten was on my right and the chair across the table was empty. A third fella came in even later and sat in the empty chair. He obviously knew the two next to me. There was some discussion between them that was loud and obtrusive. I blew it off, but the guy sitting across from the two on my right (confused yet?) was perturbed. He (let's call him Al) was completely beatnik with giant black horn rimmed glasses and a hair style reminiscent of Albert Einstein. He kept looking over at everybody, obviously not happy. Then the musical chairs started. The two guys on my right switched places. Now the guy (let's call him Libby) to my immediate right spent all of his time looking at the guy across from me. It was very distracting. Things had settled for a bit and I was become accustomed to the looks of love happening in front of me when the musical chairs started again. The two guys next to me swapped places again and then the guy that was NOW immediately next to me swapped places with lover boy across from me. Then lover boy and Libby swapped places. If you are keeping score, to my immediate right is Libby, to his right is lover boy, the third guy is across from me and Al is across from Libby and lover boy. Whew! All of this was done mid performance. It isn't like jazz performances have breaks or even have a short song. Now lover boy and Libby were having a loud conversation when they weren't staring into each other's eyes. Al finally had enough, leaned over the table, poked Libby three times on the shoulder emphatically and said "Be quiet!" Libby's head snaps around and he leans over the table and pokes Al in the shoulder three times and responds with "Don't touch me!" I thought I was gonna get to see a slap fight between Liberace and Albert Einstein! The three fellas left shortly after that and we and Al were left to enjoy the rest of the show.

The next morning we got up and did the obligatory cafe au lait and beniegts at Cafe du Monde. We had to rush back to the B&B because I had an office meeting. We had lunch at the Red Fish on Bourbon. Pretty good! That evening we dressed up and went to dinner at Commander's Palace. We decided to have the "Chef's Playground" with the wine and cocktail pairing. (BTW, doesn't Kitten look great?)Dinner included Soft Shell Crab "swizzle", Crispy Oysters Meuniere, Foie Gras "Du Monde", a Crescent City Cooler (guava flavored rum! Who knew?), Pan Roasted Summer Seafood, Tournedo Rossini, and Destin Key Lime Pie & Huckleberries. All and all, I'd say it was one of my top five meals ever.

We did other things. Got caught in the rain, followed a bunch of kids playing zydeco on the boardwalk, drank. We flew back home on Tuesday. NOLA is still a lot of fun post Katrina. It and San Francisco are my top two food cities and food is my thing in case you couldn't tell.

What's New?

It's been quite the adjustment so far. The number of teenagers in and out of this house is impressive! They are like a swarm of locusts. The whole band must have a tapeworm because they eat like they've been on a hunger strike. I've been living by myself too long I guess. They seem to be normal teens, pushing boundaries, moody, wanting to be waited on hand and foot, but I'm just not used to it.

I've had an interview and some interest from a few other places, nothing definite yet. My money is still holding out for now, but I can see a time coming where I'm gonna have to take whatever I can get.

On the very bright side, Kitten and I are getting along great. It's a nice routine, having somebody to talk to that understands me and what I'm saying. We have disagreements, but it never turns into complete drama and for that I am very thankful.

We have a nice little getaway planned for this weekend. It's the trip we planned before I moved. Fly to Chicago, take the train to New Orleans and stay in a bed and breakfast for a few days before flying home. Kitten is very excited and constantly looks at our little visitors guide that the board of tourism sent us. I'm looking forward to the food mostly. I'm easily pleased.