THANKSGIVING

This years Thanksgiving was exceptional in so many ways.

For one thing, I wasn't 100% sure I was going to make it to Thanksgiving. When you're living with an aggressive case of ALS, there are no assurances.

But I had a Thanksgiving that was memorable and wonderful in so many ways. So many exciting and joyous family events took place in the days immediately prior to this most American of holidays. Discretion forbids me from listing them all at the moment, but the biggest news for Dee and me was the birth of our very first grandchild, who came to reside among us earth-dwellers on November 14th, exactly the date on which she was predicted to show up. As if that were not enough our daughter Mel showed up with her partner, Emmanuel, and their little bundle of joy just before we were about to begin the Thanksgiving festivities. My heart was filled to bursting with joy.

Thanksgiving this year was about so much more than the bounteous table spread before us, laden with dishes we have eaten for decades. It was about our loving circle of friends and our expanding family, all of whom have brought me so much joy in the last few weeks. It was about being with the people I love most - and hearing from the ones who could not be physically present.

Being able to hold my grand-daughter in my (mostly non-functional) arms was a treat I never dreamed I would live to enjoy. And to be in the constant presence of my loving, caring wife and daughters is another blessing beyond measure.

If I were a bettin' man I would say this was probably my last Thanksgiving - let's be honest. But this one had everything I could ever ask for.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

Yesterday was Halloween.

My, how things change in a year. Last year, we lived in a neighborhood where we were besieged by trick-or-treaters, sometimes doling out candy to hundreds of kids. This year, not one single ring of the doorbell. It's not like we live in an Old Folks Development now, it's just that there are only a handful of kids in our new neighborhood. Not only that, but the way our home is situated on our lot, it's not obvious where our front door is. You have to be really hard up for your candy dose to go hunting for it.

I was trying to decide how to dress up for this years festivities. I would make a creditable scarecrow with a bit of makeup. Or, with a little costuming, I would make a great Raggedy Andy. I have about the same degree of muscular control as does a rag doll - the main difference is that I have bones.

One of the upsides? I can absorb every calorie I can eat. I can stuff as much Halloween candy down my pie hole as I care to. Getting plenty of food energy is one of my missions in life. Salads? Pfaugh.