Sidetracked Charley

Time by J. Binford-Bell The last few days have been most interesting. Nothing monumental by itself but memorable taken together. It was all a bit too much for a status message on Facebook (they once limited them to 400 characters) but perhaps not enough for a blog. But here I am anyway trying to unmuddle my feelings. I move through my life often like those around me thinking it is a stream which goes from birth to death, and then like an Ohio leaf caught in an eddy on the lower Mississippi life just begins going in ever widening circles and back to the center of the whirl just missing the current. And suddenly you are speeding downstream again. The eddy which is winter has caught me against the shore. I have painted and blogged and put one foot before another and then yesterday began with a couple friend requests on Facebook. One was my ex-brother-in-law. Kevin is Marc's brother. None of Marc's relatives, once related to me by marriage, contacted me when he died. What ...

Steve Oliver by Janet Oliver My neighbor and husband of my best friend died the 10th of July. Eight and a half years ago he was diagnosed with a deadly cancer caused by Agent Orange. It is currently taking out a huge number of our Vietnam Veterans and not in a gentle way. Steven Ryan Oliver would have been 68 this August. And like his service in Vietnam as a Marine, he beat some long odds to make it this far. May he rest in peace. My experience with having him and my friend as neighbors was eye opening about the American way of death and dying. If you do not have an extended family being a care taker for someone with cancer might just kill you. The statistics are against you. I long ago dedicated myself to helping Janet through this ordeal. And she has had to totally put her own life on hold because of the care and attention he required. Even at those times when he seemed to be functioning well to the community. Until you have been there you have no idea. On Good Friday th...