Today 26July2023

Today I am running very late; it is already 10:40PM, so I will just cover the interesting stuff, skipping my usual boilerplates, and cover the good stuff. Think of tonight’s blog as a chocolate chip cookie without the cookie–just the chocolate.

Susie was having a good day when I saw her after leaving work near noon. Her eyes were full of light, and she was fully present–not true of all days. Susie was happy to travel to Metzger Park, and I only had to wave away one yellow jacket. The park was busy and loud, and we had to use the shady bench again. We called Leta, Susan’s mother, and Barb, Susie’s sister, on my iPhone using a 3-way FaceTime call. Everyone was happy to see each other; Thunder storms were passing thru the area in Michigan, with Leta finishing the storm that Barb was starting. Susie was more responsive on the call, but the strokes greatly affected her speech, and it was hard for her to get the words out.

We will check Susie’s weight every Friday and hope it is stable at 68 pounds and maybe increasing. Susie had a great short meeting with me.

Moving to the next bit of goodness, Dondrea and Z met me at Powell’s in Beaverton, and from there, we had dinner at Panera Bread for dinner. After we all had soup and some got sandwiches, we headed to the Cinemark Theater for Akhnaten, a Philip Glass Opera, an encore Live HD Met event. This is the 2019 recording I saw live with Susie, and it is great to see it again with Dondrea and Z, who have never done an opera before, let alone one at a movie theater. The Met’s version of Akhnaten is a fantasy and spectacle, and they have found the perfect match to the highly repetitive Glass music, juggling. This is a modern work, but I think approachable. We all loved it.

I rushed home and did a Zoom with Archana in India. I am starting up a new work set for the shoe company, and she and her team may get involved. It was great to see her and start to start new work.

I paid the August bill for Susie’s care. Her total care runs over $8000 a month after insurance (OTC items are not covered by insurance or included in IRS write-offs). I can still cover this with the money I borrowed from my 401K. I am thrilled with the care Susie is getting and honored to work with such good people. I only report it here so folks understand what the actual costs are.

The Beaverton anthology organizer finally contacted me. I sent him my Howard story, but he said I was the only person to reply to the note. I have sent the connection information to others (Here it is hackett.notonicpress@gmail.com).

Well, that was all the good chucks I can share. I hope you enjoyed these good bits!