My Mom & family this Mothers Day

Sunday, Mother’s Day 2007

Dear friends and family,

Today is a wonderful day to honor our moms, whether they are here or gone on to be with Him, and to celebrate. It is tough on those of us who have lost our moms, Midgie and Bobbie so recently, in our minds, hearts and arms. It would be so wonderful just to hold them in my arms and have them know what is in my heart.

I want to share a personal time in my life that might be a little upsetting or not. Saturday, really Friday started something that maybe I had been denying myself for sometime. Grief! Grief in its most emotional form holds be firmly in its grip.

We have lost Jason Chrisawn, Karen's only child. We have lost Karen's mother in law, Sue Chrisawn just months before losing Jason so tragically at 33. And I lost my uncle Jack Guyton, a precious father and uncle, on an April’s Fool Day. We deal with those losses then Midgie becomes so ill and in her life, she didn’t deserve to spend 36 days in Brookwood Hospital before passing away alone. Then Bobbie had a stroke on Christmas Eve and passed away just 30 days after Midgie. These have been such great loses and so close together, we toughened ourselves to be strong and got through those times.

But fate has a way of catching up on you. I don't know how to tell you the why or how my 'adventure' began. Jack and I are working on Mom's house. The house is filled with such powerful memories that when we working inside and out of the house, the feelings can be overwhelming at times.

Jack and I started the work of taking down Mom's handicapped ramp 3 weeks ago and got maybe a third of it down. I ruptured a cyst under my arm and required immediate surgery and the subsequent down time. Maybe this was the trigger that sparked the emotional roller coaster I cannot seem to leave.

The time recouping from the surgery was depressing, dealing with pain and discomfort gave me too much time to think. I wondered if the cyst was cancerous and a few days of dread pushed me a little closer to that emotional crevasse I had thought I had already crossed.

Jack and I have some of Mom's things stored and have given away some. But decisions about the balance of Mom's things are still needed, as well as our continuing to remove the ramp and install steps and a sidewalk. Jack and I talked yesterday and agreed to meet over at Mom’s house to continue the work outside. For some reason my emotions began spilling over like a boiling kettle with a tightly sealed top. I found real soon, my mind (and body) just could not go there. Even today on Mother's Day, my emotions are right on the surface. Maybe writing this will be cathartic in feeling better today and into the future.

Saturday after hanging up talking to Jack, I tried to tell Karen about our discussion and she too found it emotionally difficult to handle. Her reaction then was to comfort me, when I am sure she needed comfort and I could not give it. As I tried to talk a little about our plans, tears could not be held back and I soon was sobbing uncontrollable, not really knowing why. But memories especially the most recent ones of caring for Mom before she died, just washed over me like a tidal wave.

I had told Jack that Karen and I had plans Saturday morning and afterwards I would call him about maybe working on the ramp. This storm of uncontrollable sobbing wrenched my body like nothing I recall in my 69 years on this earth. The pain and tears were overwhelming and I found myself unable to even talk to Karen and certainly not Jack and possibly upsetting him.

Now I look at what happen and what is happening with Jeff now is dealing with the loss of Jason, Bobbie and my wonderful mom. I told Karen I don't have a home to go back to like I did for decades. I don't have my Midgie to share my life with where she and I talked to each other about our problems and shared our joys. I don't have my Midgie to take care of as I and others did for so many years. It is the empty feeling, a void that my mind and heart has not yet dealt with.

Karen asked me this morning about putting the roses she bought to put on Mom's and Bobbie's graves. That is not what I want to do even though my rational mind tells me I maybe need to do. I am looking at the little rose buds in a tall vase as I write this and watch their reflection in the living room window. Why can't I do this? Why do I not dress and go to Cedar Hill in Bessemer and do this for our wonderful mom and aunt today? I don't have the answer. Wish I did. I am numb right now, I guess it is my mind’s way of protecting me from the emotional storm I went through Saturday morning. I still can't go there in my mind.....

Karen told me this morning that I don't have to do this today. I can do this whenever I feel more like it. She is my rock, my love, and my life companion that I don't know how I, especially right now, could do without her. I am resting today not being able to go to sleep Saturday night, after finding myself not able to turn off the flip show going on in my mind. Finally about 1:30am I did sleep some, up at 6:00 this morning. Mom occupies my mind even now as I write this today. I have decided I can share these with you if only to help you, my precious reader, friend and family and help you deal this loss in your life. Remember first and foremost that now and always that..

I love you all,

Jeff, dad, grand-pa Jeff, and cousin and uncle.

Warranty on Panasonic Home Theater System

Thursday May 11, 2007

Dear reader and friends and family,

Normally I am not a big believer in extended warranty on products I buy. I figure that
in most case the product has an initial factory warranty and they, the manufacture, believe
in the reliability of the product guarantee it sometime in excess of a year.

But Karen had bought a Sony Home Entertainment system about 5 years ago and she bought
for about $19.95 a 4 year extended warranty. She felt like it was a good investment on something we enjoy and not have to worry about it. And the warranty was cheap.

The Sony system soon had a glitch in it and we called Best Buy and they said to dismantle the
whole thing and bring it in. The put all these expensive components in a mixed box behind the counter and told me to go an select a replacement crediting me with the $249.95 we paid for it.

Well, they did not have that same model I brought in so the clerk told me I could select any system I liked to replace it. Of course I decided to upgrade and paid another $100.00 to get a nicer more powerful system. The Panasonic was $349.00 on sale but it MSRP was $499.95.

Now decision time as I go to checkout. Do I want to spend the $19.95 for a 4 year extended warranty since the first one failed. Yes! I spent about $140.00 more than I did on the Sony and have truly enjoyed the Panasonic since September of 2005.

This morning my power goes off as I am watching "Because I said so", a movie I rented from Blockbuster. Boom, everything goes out, the lights, TV, electronic phone, all are now off and I am sitting in the morning light with only my laptop to entertain me.

30 minutes later, the power comes back on and something goes wrong with the Pansonic subwoofer and central unit. The door on the DVD disk player comes halfway open and it says on the screen "Wait!". I did and nothing happen. Just like your computer locking up sometimes this piece of electronic dies.

I called the tech number on the back of the book of directions and we walk through trying to fix this glitch. I am undoing power, exchanging power cords, and resetting the power strip all this is plugged up to. But the subwoofer will not come on as the power light is now out and nothing we do will correct this. Service or warranty is now the question.

I told Al with Panasonic thanks then called Best Buy. They dial up your phone number and it shows I have the 4 year warranty and yes, the unit is under warranty. The lady is service said to dismantle the whole thing, bring it to us, and we'll give you a NEW ONE! WOW!

Karen and I plan to dismantle this bad boy tonight and cart it to BestBuy tonight. So wish us luck on putting the new one together as they are all different and you spend quite a bit of time getting all the cords connected between the unit, the TV, and the sub-woofer. Al said the sub-woofer is probably the culpret in this and it blows something in the power source inside and this shuts the whole thing down.

News at 11:00 tomorrow...Jeff in Birmingham, Alabama, USA

A Billion Dollars

Here is something to tax your Gray Cells!!! WhatIs A Billion?

The next time you hear a politician use the word"billion" in acasual manner, think about whether you want the"politicians" spending your tax money.A billion is a difficult number to comprehend, but oneadver tisingagency did a good job of putting that figure into someperspective in one of its releases.

a. A billion seconds ago it was 1959.

b. A billion minutes ago Jesus was alive.

c. A billion hours ago our ancestors were living in theStone Age.

d. A billion days ago no-one walked on the earth on twofeet.

e. A billion dollars ago was only 8 hours and 20minutes, at therate our government is spending it.

While this thought is still fresh in our brain, let'stake a look at New Orleans.It's amazing what you can learn with some simpledivision.Louisiana Senator, Mary Landrieu (D), is presentlyasking the Congressfor $250 BILL ION to rebuild New Orleans. Interestingnumber...

a. What does it mean?a. Well, if you are one of 484,674 residents of NewOrleans (every man, woman, child), you each get $516,528.

b. Or, if you have one of the 188,251 homes in NewOrleans, your home gets $1,329,787.

c. Or, if you are a family of four, your family gets$2,066 ,012.Washington, D.C .. HELLO!!! . Are all your calculatorsbroken??

Tax his coffin, Tax his grave, Tax the sod in which helays.Put these words upon his tomb, "Taxes drove me to mydoom!"And when he's gone, We won't relax, We'll still be afterthe

Inheritance TAX!!
Accounts Receivable
TaxBuilding
Permit TaxCDL
License TaxCigarette TaxCorporate
Income TaxDog License Tax
Federal Income Tax
Federal Unemployment Tax
(FUTA)Fishing License TaxFood License Tax
Fuel Permit Tax
Gasoline Tax
Hunting License
TaxInheritance
TaxInventory
TaxIRS Interest Charges (tax on top of tax)IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax)
Liquor Tax
Luxury Tax
Marriage License Tax
Medicare TaxProperty Tax
Real Estate Tax
Rec reational Vehicle Tax
Road Usage Tax (Truckers),
Service charge taxes
Social Security Tax
Sales Taxes
School Tax
State Income Tax
State Unemployment Tax (SUTA)
Telephone Federal Excise Tax
Telephone Federal Universal Service Fee Tax
Telephone Federal, State and Local Surcharge Tax
Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge Tax
Telephone Recurring and Non-recurring Charges Tax
Telephone State and Local Tax
Telephone Usage Charge Tax
Utility Tax
Vehicle License Registration Tax
Vehicle Sales Tax
Watercraft Registration Tax
Well Permit Tax
Workers Compensation Tax

COMMENTS:Not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago and therewas prosperity, absolutely no national debt, the largestmiddle class in the world and Mom stayed home to raisethe kids. What the hell happened?

Rhett Armstrong Nutter

10 Stitches in Time.....

There is a saying that goes "a stitch in time, saves nine?" Is that the way it goes? I wondered what my doctor was saying when she was doing her artwork under/at the edge of my left armpit.Jack and I had worked on mom's house last weekend taking down the ramp. We put in maybe 4 or 5 hours and got a little tired and sweaty and as I said in an earlier story, Jack did better than I did.I got home and tried to take of my T-shirt and I had aggravated a 'cyst' just in front of my left arm pit and I had an almost pingpong size lump.

I will not go into the gross details but after a short visit to my skin specialist Monday, "Jeff that bad boy has got to come out!" I had aggrevated it so badly and my upper arm and left pectoral area was sore and red and swollen that I needed antibiotics (Keflex) to reduce the infection and swelling before removing.

I was lucky and she had an appointment open today Wednesday May 2nd.It was not bad (if you have read this far). Dr. Gerald has a small sterile operation theater at the edge of her offices and does office surgeries each Wednesday after appointments. I think the preparation took longer than the surgery. It is getting your preped, draped, that brown looking stuff painted across the surgical area and then numbing the area. I could tell by the depth of the needle that she was preparing to 'dig' (kidding).But she talked and we each told jokes during the 30 or so minutes to get the cyst excised and stitching me up. It will not be a big scar as the swelling was down and 3 stitches are internal (the kind that dissolve) and 4 surface ones.She had given me something (thankfully) for pain as the novacaine or whatever she used is beginning to wear off.

I won't be lifting or doing anything very strenuous for several days until they take the stitches out 9 days from now, next Friday. I have got to be careful as the underarm (she says) is or can be a stronghold for germs and bacteria and don't chance messing up her artwork with a nasty infection. Believe me, I made it sound simple but don't relish her messing with a very sore upperarm and chest right now.

Now where did I put that Ultram, and I am sure it has been 6 hours. Yummm! You don't have the 'druggie' feeling with this medication but it does help you rest. It took a little getting used to and hopefully will not need any after a day or two. She said I can shower after 24 hours and surprise, no bandage, just clean well with bactericide and an applied anitboitic salve for safe keeping. Then white T-shirts only and don't cause her any problems with a phone call where I have ripped the stitches out. Humm! Wonder why she said that.Well one good point. It is probably not anything but a cyst and it was relatively near the surface and I had not ruptured it.
She took some extra to assure a 'clean border' as I have had skin cancer before and this is always a chance of reoccurance. Keep me in you prayers and you can send any old pain Rx just lolling around in your medicine cabinet to 3281 Tyrol Road, 35216. Kiddiing! Love to all my family and friends.News and Updates at 11:00!!!

It is now Saturday, 4 days later and there was good news from the skin specialist Friday that all it was a 'cyst', nothing more. I have that history of skin cancer, we had to be sure and get all of it and establish a clean, neat border. I had ruptured the cyst allowing it to inflame the surrounding tissue under my arm creating the large swollen area that hurt. The swelling is down 75% and I only 7 stitches along a neat red line under my arm onto my chest.

I have showered now 3 times, carefully, and peroxide and neosporin with pain and chean white T-shirts. I tried going without the pain Rx for about 12 hours yesterday and last night but this morning I paid for it. I was out of bed this am, looking for the Rx bottle and a glass of water big time. I sat in my recliner with a hot cup of coffee soon, just enjoying the lack of pain for now. I think I'll take it today and try Sunday to reduce it to 1/2 and see how I fare.

Surgery of any kind is not fun, but when it involves need to have internal stitches and caterizing the small veins and capillaries but, you know it is a little more than a snip-snip which I expected early on. Not! But so glad this bad boy is out and on a frozen piece of glass in some lab somewhere rather than festering under my arm.

She said looking at my records, she had observed this very small cyst under my arm some year or so ago, but she choose to put it on my watch list as it possed no health problem based on its feel and appearance. It truly then was not bothering me and we together chose the conservative approach to more skin surgery until this series of events brought it to the surface. Originally she said I did not rupture it, but the lab tests appeared I did but it resealed over the days before the surgery.

Feeling good and hoping to return to full duty by Monday 5/7/2007. It is hard to do things one handed and will not be able to lift or pull with my left arm until I get the stitches out next Friday. Prayer works and God was watching over me to make sure this was something I could have and still stay here. You had better thank him each day for you never know! Waiting for the lab results is no fun. News again at 11:30....Jeff the Knutt in Birmingham, AL, USA