RE: Songs of the Noblesinger (Full Version)

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noblesinger -> RE: Songs of the Noblesinger (7/31/2007 10:55:13 AM)

I had a rather interesting time this past weekend. On Friday evening, I did my Thursday training run. There was a thunderstorm in the area on Thursday, so I put it off until Friday. That meant that for the second week in a row, my training schedule has been shuffled due to weather concerns. Good for the ground and crops - bad for my timing. And even though it got shuffled around, I still wasn't able to do it outside because of another hard rain which came through Cross Lanes. I did manage to get over to the 'Y' and workout on the treadmill, which isn't quite the same as being in the humidity I'll be running in Sept. 1st, but at least I got the time in.

On Saturday morning, I went to my Men's Prayer Meeting at church. During that time, we prayed for the healing of one of the members of our body, Denise Benear. She'd been sick for about 3 - 1/2 weeks with a high fever that never would go all the way back to normal. She thought it was a stubborn case of the flu or something else. Her doctor tried several things, but it just wouldn't go away. Finally, she was put in the hospital for testing. Upon getting the results, they thought it might be T-cell lymphoma or leukemia, so they sent her to Charlottesville and the UVA Medical Center. We asked the Lord to heal her, either supernaturally or through the efforts of the physicians, and for her husband, Randy, as he and another Brother drove down to see her that morning. Several other concerns were mentioned, including the upcoming vote on the table games referendum. May it be beaten badly at the polls, never to return.

Later, Mom & Mary & I went to the 7th Annual Charleston RibFest. We had thought that it would run much like the annual "Taste of Charleston" that is held during the Sternwheel Regatta. At the "Taste," you pay $3 to get in, then purchase tickets at $0.50 apiece so that you can get samples of area restaurants best dishes. The most expensive item that each place has is only 5 tickets ($2.50), and you can get real stuffed real fast when you go. Your drinks are extra, BTW, inclduing wine from some of the local wineries. The RibFest, however, was a different animal altogether. You paid $4 to get in, then each vendor charged for their samples, sandwiches, or dinners. And the 3-rib sampler art each vendor was $6! The prices went up for sandwiches and dinners, needless to say. And the vendor from Texas that I went to gave me more bone than meat on my sampler. What a ripoff! This year's RibFest was held in the vacant lot where an Ames Department Store once stood, so it was muddy in places from the recent rains. That made it hard for Mom to navigate around, since she's having to use a walker now. That was really lousy for her. I did manage, however, to get a sample of some wonderful Carolina-style barbecue sauce. I found it to be much better tasting than that of the Texas-style sauce - too much smoke taste, even for me.

When we got home, there was an unfamiliar number on our Caller ID. I called it and found out that it was one of the women from the church. She was calling to ask us to take some food over to Randy and Denise's hoouse, since he and his family would be there. I asked her, "Didn't Randy and Rob Johnson leave this morning to go see her? Why are they coming back so soon?" She told me that Denise had died at about 10:00 that morning. It would have felt better, I think, if I'd been hit in the head with a hammer! I was really hurt by that news. Denise was 42 years young, a radiant Christian, and a caring nurse. In fact, she was present when I went through my colonoscopy in 2005. I appreciated her help to me before the procedure, but it was a bit embarassing for her to see my backside in all-l-l-l-l of it's glory. Her husband, Randy, is going to miss her terribly. . . in more ways than one. He is a quadriplegic, who needs help for just about everything he does - bathing, shaving, dressing, getting in and out of bed, changing his catheter, etc. If I ran the hospital where Denise was employed, I'd offer Randy free home medical care for the rest of his life, in honor of her service. Anyway, Mary and I went back out to the grocery store and bought coffee, disposable coffee cups (complete with lids!), cold drink cups, paper plates, & chips and salsa, then took it by his house. A mother and daughter from the church were there cleaning the place and doing laundry, and a ton of stuff was already there with more on the way. Such an outpouring of love for my friend in his hour of grief! Denise's visitation is tonight from 6 to 8 at the funeral home next door to our sub-division, and the funeral is 11:00 tomorrow at our church. BTW, the funeral home is located at a cemetery. Kind of makes for an interesting sight out of your back windows, doesn't it! But it also makes for a nice, safe place to walk and/or run out of the traffic.

This is now the third week in a row that our training schedule has been disrupted, because our leader made the decision to cancel tonight's group workout due to the visitation. I'm not complaining, mind you, just stating my concern that all of these disruptions will throw me off as I get ready for my 1st 5-K race. I pray that I will finish strong by running across the Finish Line at the local stadium. A lot of athletes have run on that same track over the years, No matter what the surface was made of, and I'd like to follow in their footsteps. That will make up for all of the "pain, blues, and agony" I've experienced as the training has gone on.


Duane



noblesinger -> RE: Songs of the Noblesinger (8/10/2007 12:32:15 PM)

Training continues for the 5-K Walk/Run on September 1st. This past Sunday, Mary and I went to the middle school track to do our weekend workout. It had been another week of interruption to the Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday timing, but for a reason other than rainstorms. I'll let you in on that in a few moments. But first, the running report.

After my required 5-minute warmup walk, I set out to run for 20 minutes - with no walking breaks. In my rush to get to the track, I left my Timex training watch at home. In fact, I didn't have any sort of watch on, so I had to just go by a lap count. The schedule called for 2 miles or 20 minutes. I knew that my jogging pace would not allow for me to get 2 miles in that short amount of time, so I settled for the latter. Since my watch was at home, I found a convenient Start/Finish point and counted my laps: 1 - felt pretty good; 2 - a little tougher; 3 - getting harder, gotta slow down; 4 - I can't go on any further . . . but I've got to! I rounded the first turn after completing lap 4 and got to the football goal posts and thought about walking because my legs were screaming, "What are you doing to us?! Did you go to Marquis de Sade High?!" But something deep inside me cried out, "Don't you dare quit!!" And that cry overrode the pain in my legs. As I got near the end of the back straight, my mp3 player began playing "It's Shoutin' Time In Heaven" by The Hoppers. I noticed that my jogging was a bit easier all of a sudden. When I got to the turn into the front stretch, the chorus was singing: "It's shoutin' time in Heaven, a sinner once lost is found! It's shoutin' time in Heaven, salvation has been brought down!" Well, folks, you may not believe this, but I started to run faster! That's right - a finishing kick! I crossed the line after lap 5, went a few yards farther, then slowed down to a walk. I was almost out of breath, but absolutely overjoyed at the same time! I'd never run more than 8 consecutive minutes in my life (which was just the previous week), and I'd just run 1-1/4 miles!! I nearly cried as I did my 5-minute walk-out! To think that, at the beginning of April I had trouble walking for more than 1 mile, and now I had just run more than a mile - it was nearly more than my heart could take!

I was so grateful to God for His grace to get me through this first BIG hurdle in my training that I called my friend, John Young, whose son was the one who had first encouraged me to try and run the 5-K. John is also one of my dearest brothers in Christ and a mentor of my faith. I left a message on his answering machine to give a quick report on what had transpired, then promised to see him on Tuesday evening for our group run. On Monday morning, I was checking out my e-mails, when I noticed one from Matt Young, John's son. In it, he said he had been thinking about me over the weekend (while he was competing in - and winning his age group - a triathlon!) and wanted to know how my run went. He then said that his Dad had given him the short version that I'd placed on the machine. He asked if I'd e-mail him back with details, but if I couldn't he'd wait until Tuesday to find out. I'd like to let you all see the reply that I sent him. Of course, some of this is a repeat of what I just told you, but bear with me, please:

Greetings Champ!

I heard from your Mom yesterday after church that you'd won your triathlon. Congratulations, my friend! That's an excellent accomplishment, and one that you are probably thankful to God for!

I'd have to say that my 20 minutes went fairly well. I forgot to wear my Timex, or any watch for that matter, so the time was just guesswork. What I did was track my laps, using the steps on the home side of the field at AJ as my Start/Finish line. I completed 5 laps at a reasonable pace, which gave me 1-1/4 miles. Not the 2 miles like it said in the schedule, but for never having run more than 8 minutes non-stop in my life, I think that's pretty terrific! I'll be honest with you though, Matt, I almost gave up just past the line after finishing that 4th lap. My legs were screaming at me, "What are you doing to us?! Where'd you go to school - Marquis de Sade High?!" But I gutted it out; in fact, I even came up with a little bit of kick to finish out the run! I had my music with me, and the song playing just as I was turning off the back stretch was "It's Shoutin' Time" from The Hoppers (I know, I know - it's Southern Gospel!). When the chorus started, "It's shoutin' time in Heaven, a sinner once lost is found; It's shoutin' time in Heaven, Salvation has been brought down!", my spirit got such a lift that I just knew I could make it - and that's when the kick happened! I even ended up walking more than 5 minutes afterwards, so that I could stay with Mary as she finished up.

I want to thank you and your Dad, Matt, for all of the encouragement that you two have given me since I've begun this journey from "Couch 2 5K." If you had told me at this time last year that I'd be doing what I'm doing, I'd probably thought you'd lost your collective minds! "Me? Run a 5K? I don't even walk any farther than I have to! And you're tellin' me I'm gonna run 3.1 miles?!" But now I can see that I'm not the one that's really doing the running - Jesus is. Duane West can't run 3.1 feet, let alone 3.1 miles, without the Lord doing it; he does not have it in him. But if Jesus is inside of me, then I can do anything because He gives me the strength! May God bless you and your Dad richly for all that you have given to me.

Thanks for your indulgence, gang! Since Denise's visitation was Tuesday evening of last week and the funeral Wednesday, our schedule was thrown off anyway, so I told Mary I'd take her to see her biological mother. On Saturday morning, after getting cleaned up, we drove north to see Betty. It was a nice visit, with a slight side trip: Mary and I had seen a mobile home sales lot on the way to a Wal-Mart in a nearby town. We were looking to buy her Mom a little sweet treat (diabetic-friendly) the previous trip, when a couple of the double-wides caught our eyes. I told her that we didn't have time that day, but we'd make a point to get away from home quicker so that we could tour them on the next trip. Mom was with us, so we had her wait in the car while we toured the homes. Boy! Those were some really nice doublewides. One of them had 2 floor-to-ceiling bookcases in the Master Bedroom, as well as a built in computer workstation. In the Master Bath, it had a fireplace and a little nook where you could place a small TV set to watch while in the garden tub or the ceramic shower stall - complete with a rain-style shower head! Talk about plush! Another one had several Spanish-style archways between the entryway, kitchen, dining room, living room, and family room. It also had a garden tub (with decorative columns!) in the middle of the floor of the Master Bath. We were blown away by what we saw, as well as the fact that the sales staff didn't jump out of the office to pressure us into buying on the spot! The things that manufacturers are doing these days in the doublewide/modular home market are nothing short of amazing. Mary and I may be purchasing one in the next couple of years, because it would take too much money to retro-fit Mom's house to accomodate her lack of mobility. Her osteoarthritis makes it very hard for her to climb the stairs; she needs a new style bathtub - one which would allow her to bathe in an upright position; and the hallways are almost too narrow for her walker to maneuver through. So the doublewide/modualr seems to be the direction to go, although it will require us moving from the sub-division we've lived in for nearly 40 years. It's something to ponder about.

Well, I think I've rambled on long enough. I'll see y'all later!


Duane



noblesinger -> RE: Songs of the Noblesinger (8/28/2007 3:00:11 PM)

This is it! Race Week! The Charleston Distance Run and Charleston 5-K Run/Walk are this Saturday, and I am really getting excited! This past week was the last hard week of training for all of us. I had to run 2.5 miles on Tuesday evening, 2.75 on Thursday, and 3 miles on Saturday. I didn't quite make the 2.5 on Tuesday - my legs just wouldn't take it. I did run 1.75 and walk .75, so I got the total even if I didn't do it as I should have. Thursday got all messed up and I didn't do anything - besides it was over 100 degrees again here at home. But a cool front began coming through on Friday, which brought temperatures down to a very bearable 86 degrees by Sunday afternoon. This allowed Mary and I to do our Saturday training on Sunday. I began with my warm-up walk, then started trotting along with my mp3 player in my ears. I used my same Start/Finish point of a few weeks ago and began ticking off the laps as I went - "1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8... - Wait a minute! That's 2 miles! I've never gone that far without walking before!" When I realized that fact, I decided to go ahead and walk 1 lap, then run again. I did that, ran 2 more laps, then walked another one. By this time, I knew that I couldn't go anymore, but just to know that I could run 2 miles without stopping was enough for me. And my time for the 3 miles was around 45:20, a shade over 15 minutes per mile. That's incredible, especially when you consider my age (almost 49), my inexperience (I've never run before), and my weight (293 pounds)! My friend and trainer, Matt Young, is very pleased with how far I've come in only 9 weeks, and so am I.

BTW, I mentioned my weight for the first time in a lo-o-o-ng while. It's been out of shame that I have not talked about my weight-loss journey to you. I've not been as diligent in following the Weight Watchers Plan for quite some time. Oh, I followed it - but in my own way. And that doomed me to a period of yo-yo-ing: I'd lose one week, then gain the next, lose the one after that, maintain for awhile, . . . you get the picture. Since I began walking/running back in April, I've stuck to the Flex Plan as I'm supposed to, but have still gone up and down. This has been highly frustrating, especially since I knew that I was "being good." But my leader (a woman who has lost 175 lbs. in 19 months!) told me to not get discouraged, because I was obviously losing inches and the pounds would soon come. Sure enough, for the last six weeks, I have lost weight and my total is back to 72 pounds lost. I'm almost back to the point I'd been at back in February of last year, so there's another cause for rejoicing! This gives me hope that my promised golf vacation will happen sometime next Spring.

I've got to go now. It's about an hour till quitting time, and I've got to finish a few things before going home. Our last group session is this evening at 6:30; I've got 2.5 miles to run and Mary has a 30-minute walk on tap. See y'all later!


Duane



noblesinger -> RE: Songs of the Noblesinger (9/2/2007 10:20:27 PM)

It's finally over! Yesterday was the day of the Charleston 5-K Race and Mary & I survived. It was a very tiring, to be sure, but a wonderful experience nonetheless. Mary walked the 3.1 miles in a time of 54:49.1, and I completed the course in 43:51 seconds. I had originally hoped to run the entire way, but ended up walking a little over half a mile. But just to have done it is more than a major victory for me, no matter what my position was. My quadriceps are really aching right now, so I'm going to take 2 Tylenol, rub them with Ben-Gay Vanishing Scent, then go to bed. My friend/mentor/training partner and I are playing golf tomorrow morning at 9:06 and I need to get some sleep. I'll Post some more about the race later.

Duane



noblesinger -> RE: Songs of the Noblesinger (9/24/2007 11:10:46 PM)

I said last time that I'd tell you more about the 5K - well, here I go.

Friday night before the race, Verizon of WV sponsored it's annual Pasta Dinner. It was held at the Charleston Civic Center, along with a Runner's Clinic and a running shoe exhibition. I found a great pair of New Balance shoes that will on the market in the Spring. I'll be getting a pair of them when they're available. Mary and I met our group inside the building and picked up our race packets, then sat down to eat some excellent pasta. We discussed what the logistics for the next morning would be and it was decided to park wherever we could, then meet at the Start Line. After having our fill, I drove Mary around the course as much as I could, since part of it was blocked off from vehicle traffic due to the Sternwheel Regatta festivities. I knew the route because its part of my way into work each morning. We went all the way to the gates of the stadium, looked it over, then headed for home and a good night's sleep.

Unfortunately, it's late and I need to go to sleep. I'll tell you more tomorrow!


Duane



noblesinger -> RE: Songs of the Noblesinger (9/25/2007 4:06:44 PM)

Saturday morning, September 1st, dawned crisp and cool with just a hint of fog - in other words, a perfect morning for running. The forecast was for high temperatures in the 80's byt he middle of the afternoon, but the morning would be wonderfully comfortable for all the competitors.

Mary and I awakened to the sound of our alarm clocks at 5:00. We got up and drank a cup of coffee and ate a light breakfast - nothing heavy, obviously, but enough to hold us till after the race. We got dressed, then I attached the timing chips to our shoes. The timing chip is a really neat invention; it is activated the moment that you cross the Starting Line and keeps your time individually until you cross the Finish Line. That way, you not only have the Official Race Time, but your own personal time as well, which is excellent if you're looking to post a PR (Personal Record). For us, just finishing the race would set a PR. We picked up a friend of ours from the group who couldn't make it the evening before to get her packet, and then headed for the Civic Center. After fighting through some traffic (WVU was playing at home later that day, and the tailgaters were all heading north), I let Mary and Elizabeth out in front of the building then went to park the car. I met them in the lobby and put the chip on Elizabeth's shoe, then we headed for the Starting Line.

The rest of our gang was there waiting on us when we walked up, so we stopped for a quick group prayer. When we were through, I got good and stretched out so that I wouldn't cramp up during the race. Mary was talking a mile a minute to the women in our group - she was as nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs! I was pretty keyed up myself; I could almost taste what was about to happen! My mentor, John, had told me a few weeks earlier as we ran together, that I was pregnant with the expectation of the outcome, even as his d-i-l is pregnant with his first grandchild - the baby is there, she's just waiting to deliver. I already had the outcome of finishing the race within me, I was just waiting to see it happen.

At about 7:20, the race officials began to introduce some people that were a part of the committee, then the Mayor gave his greetings, a local pastor said a prayer (which wasn't made in Jesus' Name!), then the countdown began. The gun went off at exactly 7:30 and the 15-milers took off. Ten minutes later, the gun went off again and my first 5K was underway.

Before we began, I had given Mary a quick kiss and told that I'd see her at the finish. I deliberately placed myself towards the rear of the pack, as a courtesy to the faster runners. That way they wouldn't have to avoid me as they went along. I jogged along at what I thought was a slow pace and let several other people pass me, following Matt's pre-race advice to me to not allow others to dictate how fast I ran. As the race progressed, my body began to tell me how much it hurt, but my mind was, thankfully, ignoring it. I had my mp3 player strapped to my arm and it was cranking out he tunes - all of them up-tempo. I wasn't about to let anything slow-paced or mellow enter my ears and drag me down! As I got to the one small hill on the course, the R/R underpass, I started to realize that I was nearly in the home stretch. A few minutes later, I truned onto the street that runs directly into the stadium - and behind my office building. I came near the gate and heard names being called out over the loudspeakers. When I got close, I saw one of the officials with a walkie-talkie acting as lookout. The next thing I knew, there it was: "Duane West, from Cross Lanes, now entering the track!" I nearly cried with the sheer joy of hearing that, but I kept my composure. Making my way down the straightaway on the press box side, then turning for home, I noticed the official photographer getting ready to take my picture - not to mention some folks from church that were there to cheer us on - and it was right about then that I heard this voice shouting out above all of the crowd; "Come on, Duane! Keep going! Don't you dare quit!!" It was Tony Lester, one of the younger guys in our group. He had already finished, but was right there in the stands, rooting me on. I broke out into this big grin, and that was when the camera snapped me first. If you'd like to see the pictures, just follow this link or go to www.asiorders.com and enter Bib number 2264 to see my photos (Mary's number was 2265, BTW).

It's time for me to go home, so I'll finish this tonight!



noblesinger -> RE: Songs of the Noblesinger (9/25/2007 11:13:39 PM)

When I crossed the Finish Line, I heard one of the officials say, "Good job, buddy! You ran a 43:47 today!" I was thrilled to hear that! The next voice I heard was the voice of Marshall Adkins, one of the Elders at our church: "Way to go, Duane! Now you can say that you've run a 5K!" He had also finished way ahead of me, as did his two daughters. Marshall showed me where to go so that my chip could be removed. After taking it off, I headed for the refreshment tent and about 6 gallons of orange Gatorade. OK, so it wasn't 6 gallons - just 6 cups!

When I had relaxed for a couple of minutes, I headed back to the track to wait on Mary. The announcer said, "Mary West, from Cross Lanes." I looked and there she came, walking side by side with another woman. I hollered out, "Come on, sweetheart! You can do it!" She turned sideways, while still walking, threw out her arms to the side and gave me this little move like, "I'm gonna finish! Just gimme time!" That absolutely floored me! I couldn't help but laugh at what she'd done. She finished in 54:45 according to what the official said to her, which thrilled me to no end. We sat around and waited for the two guys in our group who were running in the 15-mile race - Matt Young and Shane Lester, Tony's twin brother. After awhile they came into the stadium, side by side and stride for stride. Shane ended up beating Matt by 0.5 seconds.

When we had all sufficiently recovered, the group gathered for a picture then headed for Shoney's and their Breakfast Bar. That was a fitting reward for an excellent effort.

BTW, the chips we wore? They recorded my time as 43:28:25 and Mary's as 54:34:60, which is tremendous for our first time out. Bring on the 2008 Distance Run and 5K!!

Gotta hit the sack, gang! See ya' tomorrow!


Duane



noblesinger -> RE: Songs of the Noblesinger (11/28/2007 11:01:11 AM)

Sorry for the length of time between entries, gang, but I've been sort of busy with one thing or another since I last Posted here. Between things at church, things at work, and glitches on my home Internet connection, I've been unable to really concentrate on any kind of blog entry. Let's see what kind of random thoughts I can come up with.

I've been having to take days off from work lately. Notice that I said "having to take days off." It's due to a State policy that if you carry over more than a certain number of hours of Annual (Vacation) Leave from one year to the next, you lose the extra hours - and it depends on your years of service how many hours that can be. For instance, if you've worked for the State less than 5 years, you can carry-over 240 hours, 5-10 years, it's 280, and beyond 10 years, you can carry-over 320 hours. I'm in the last bracket, since I've been with the Division of Highways for 28.5 years. And I'll need to take off over 2 weeks between now and the 31st, otherwise . . . bye-bye! Terrible burden, isn't it?

Mary and I have been busy with our choir's Christmas cantata practices since late October; it's been on Wednesday evenings after Bible Study/Children's Ministry, and on Sunday evenings from 5-7. It's going to be a wonderful presentation, but the rehearsals are becoming a drag on our energy. We're surviving on caffeine and catnaps right now, but we're going to try and crash some after it's over. BTW, the name of the cantata is "Christmas is Forever: Unchanging Love in an Ever-Changing World." I really like it.

My boss and I had to take a trip to the north central part of WV last month - in fact, it was to my old hometown of Clarksburg. It was for the quarterly meeting between the DOH Utility Supervisors and the different utility companies. I only had to be there for that meeting, but Lary had to stay for the Utility Supervisors Meeting the next morning. That was a rather tiring day; driving over 150 miles that morning, grabbing a bite of lunch, attending the meeting, then driving home afterwards. The only real saving grace to the whole thing was that I got to go by our family's old hangout (Twin Oaks Restaurant) to get supper for all of us, plus I bought some fresh Italian buns to take home and put in the freezer for future use. That was pretty good, but it was still very draining because of the distance and time involved - not to mention the weather was lousy in the morning.

Oops! I've been paged to go and help our secretary. Gotta run!


Duane



noblesinger -> RE: Songs of the Noblesinger (12/13/2007 10:15:35 AM)

When I told you all of our Christmas cantata last time, I didn't mention something. I should have said that it was "The *********** Family Singers and The Pips" present "Christmas Is Forever." I was trying to ignore something, but it's just gotten to me, so I'm gonna vent to y'all.

Our choir director is a long-time friend, and her husband is my Family Doctor, but she seemingly has this notion that her family is the only talent in the church. Her oldest son sang two solos before the cantata; her oldest daughter choreographed the dance numbers (performing in one) and sang a duet in the cantata - but none of the rest of it; and her second son did the other duet during the cantata. See what I mean? [sm=icon_smile_faint.gif]And her parents, who left our church to go to a different one, are invited back each year for the "Silver Celebration" dinner, given by our Youth to honor the members of Perrow who are over 60. And I'm not the only one who thinks it's wrong that they keep coming to the dinner; many of my Mom's Sunday School class, all of whom are over 60, don't like it either. In fact, one year, her Mom called to confirm their attendance - even though they had not been sent an official invitation! [sm=icon_smile_boggled.gif]

Now please don't think that I'm complaining because I wanted a part - that's not it. I would've liked to have done something, but there was a part that was perfect for Mary, and she never even got a chance to try out for it. But when the director needed another Alto, she put Mary over there, then switched her back the next week to help soften one of the Soprano's pronunciation. It's Mary who is my biggest concern in all of this. She loves to sing, and does an excellent job (not my boasting, but other's opinions), but it seems like everyone has forgotten about her when it comes to solos and such. She tells me that she feels invisible, and I can see the pain in her eyes each time she says it. [sm=popsigh.gif] I've got to have a confab with "Alice" and get things worked out, if I can. Keep me in your prayers over this, will you? I need to state the problem and our feelings, without being hurtful. Tricky proposition, isn't it?

OK, I'm done with my venting. Thanks for letting me bend your ears . . . or should I say your eyes for a few moments. See ya' later!


Duane



noblesinger -> RE: Songs of the Noblesinger (1/8/2008 3:33:17 PM)

I guess it's time that I talked about Christmas, now that New Years is out of the way. [sm=icon_smile_boggled.gif]

Our Christmas was just as I am preferring it to be nowadays - quiet and peaceful. I used to go for the loud, confusing and brassy type of Christmas celebration, but I suppose that I'm mellowing in my "old" age. I had a chance to spend some time talking with my Pastor back during the first week of December, and he asked me if I would like to sing at the Christmas Eve service. I told him that I'd love to, then asked if he had any particular song in mind. He wondered if I knew "Sweet Little Jesus Boy," and I told him that I certainly did. He remarked that he'd asked my choir director's husband to do it several years ago, but it hadn't come out as he'd hoped. I cringed as I remembered Gary's interpretation of the song - he had "whited it up" by using the standard pronunciation of many words, instead of the slave dialect it was written with. His voice was nice, but it just left me feeling empty inside. As I worked on the song, I prayed that God would allow me to step inside the mindset of an African-American slave and sing it as they would; empathizing with the pain of the Savior because of their own mistreatment.

Christmas Eve came and as I sang, I truly felt somethin stirring in me. A couple of times, during some more poignant phrases, my voice broke from the sheer emotion of the words. It ended up coming across to the people just as I had prayed it would - simple, quiet, yet powerful in it's content. I was told by several people that they'd never heard me sing better. Our choir director finally got the chance to say something to me this past Sunday morning, and she said that she could actually feel the slave's pain as she listened to me. This was truly gratifying, for which I give God all praise.

The next morning, as we began unwrapping our gifts, Mom pulled 2 Christmas postcards off the tree and gave them to Mary and I. The message read: "Merry Christmas! Enjoy!" Then she'd drawn a small box on each one and wrote in it "BG. Location/Time". Mary and I were both totally puzzled over the cryptic nature of the message, and finally asked her what it meant. "Try Bill Gaither," she said. It turns out that she'd purchased tickets to the Bill Gaither Homecoming Concert that comes to Charleston on May 30th. We can hardly wait for that night! Later that day, we went to our Associate Pastor's home for dinner. It's become our tradition to join them to celebrate the major holidays - Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter. This seems to take some of the edge off for Mom, since she misses her parents and my Dad so much on those days.

On New Years Eve, Mary and I attended the Blessing Service at our church. The Elders and Pastors, as well as their wives, were at the altar to pray God's blessings over singles or families as they came forward. Most people just let them pray as the Holy Spirit leads, but Mary and I (true to our natures) come with a "shopping list" of prayer requests. What we ask for is not to win the Publisher's Clearing House Sweepstakes or other such things, but just to reflect God's glory in every area of our lives: working with the children on Wednesday nights, my job, Mary's dealings with her Dad, etc. And it's not that we don't want the Spirit to lead the Elders prayers, we just are offering a "jumping-off point" to them. After being prayed for, we went to put her foster sister to bed, then headed home to watch the "Law & Order" marathon on TNT, then see the ball drop in Times Square. As I was fixing the coffee pot timer, I turned over to ESPN to see the "Mad Aussie," Robbie Maddison, attempt to jump over 320 feet on his motorcycle. We gave up around 12:30 when it was apparent that commercials would delay the jump until nearly 1 am. That's the extent of our "wild and crazy" New Years Eve behavior.

Oops! I've gotta go. More later.



noblesinger -> RE: Songs of the Noblesinger (1/16/2008 9:33:33 AM)

I forgot to tell you all this earlier, so I'll share it now.

The town of Nitro, WV, has become an absolute haven for antiquers in the area. I think that there are 10 shops in this one small town, with the largest being housed in a former grocery store. It's in that particular store that this incident took place. On the 14th of December, Mary and the woman who helps her care for her foster sister went to the store for some items, then out to lunch at a small diner that occupies a corner of that same building. When they were finished, they broused around to see what they could see. Inside the entrance to the antique store was an old phone booth, one of the wooden ones that you used to see before they went to the metal kind, which could be placed outdoors. Mary told me about it and said that I should take a look at it if I got the opportunity.

The following Friday, which was my last day of work before my Christmas vacation began, I left work early and met them at the diner for lunch. When we finished, Mary and I went over to take a gander at the booth. I started reding the note that had been placed on the side of it, and I almost fainted! The booth was originally in a hardware store in Glenville, WV, but had been removed, refitted for modern equipment and placed in a collector's home. That didn't interest me as much as where it was originally used - the hardware store. The town of Glenville was where my Dad was born and raised, and where I spent many hours visiting my grandmother (my grandfather died before I can really recall him). There was only one hardware store in Glenville, and I used to go there with my Dad quite often . . . and I used to play around in that old phone booth!! Talk about deja` vu!! A whole host of wonderful memories of my days in Glenville came flooding back to me as I stood there looking at that old thing. I would love to be able to purchase it and refit it for my house, but it costs $2,998 (refit not included). So I guess that someone else will end up with that piece of my childhood, but it was still good to see it again.



noblesinger -> RE: Songs of the Noblesinger (1/31/2008 2:28:24 PM)

Mary and I certainly had an interesting time beginning last Thursday morning. Let me clue you in on it.

I had taken the day off so that Mom could get fitted for some edema stockings. She's been having a tremendous amount of fluid retention lately, and has been taking 80mg of Demadex per day to try and alleviate the problem. Anyway, I dropped Mary off at her Dad's so that she could care for her foster sister, then went back home to get Mom and go get her errand done. No sooner had I walked back in the door, than the phone started ringing. It was Mary asking me to come back over to the house because her Dad was not acting quite right. I jumped back in the car and drove back to Gene's house. When I arrived, I found Mary sitting beside him on the love seat, which clued me in that something was, indeed, wrong with him. He never sits in the love seat - only his recliner. He wasn't able to speak, which led us to believe that he'd had a stroke. Mary had already called the paramedics, so we waited around for them to come, then I went back home to wait for Mary to get Ellen cared for so we could go to the hospital and see how her Dad was doing. Her oldest brother was going to meet us there.

After we got to the ER Waiting Room, Mary was able to go right on back, but Mom and I had to sit and wait. The plan was for Mom and I to wait until we found out something definite, then we would go get her stockings and come back. Unfortunately, Mom took that time to begin feeling bad; her neck was pounding, sending pains up over the top of her head and into her hands and arms. I took her to see the Triage nurse, who then got her in an examing room. After awhile, I was called back to go see her. I sat and talked with her and waited to see what the doctor might say. Mary came around from where her Dad was to tell me that he had, as we had thought, suffered a stroke. She was rather upset about it, so I took her downstairs to the cafeteria to get a bite of lunch.

When we returned, her Dad was being prepped for admission. Meanwhile, Mom was still awaiting some news on her test results. I sat and waited with her, while Mary went with Gene. Finally, they came and told Mom that she was going to be staying overnight for observation. When we found out where she was going to be, I got Mary and took her home so that she could feed Ellen, then we would head back to the hospital.

Mary's Dad was alert and talking when we got to his room. I stayed and spoke with him for s bit, then went downstairs to find Mom. She was feeling somewhat better, but still rather lousy overall. There was no real news from the physicians, other than they wanted to run some more tests on her in the morning. This began a weekend pattern of first one room, then the other. Mom wnded up staying 2 nights in the new Observation wing of the hospital, finally going home on Saturday afternoon. Her Dad stayed in until Monday afternoon, when I went and got him. I had taken Monday off so that we could (finally) complete Thursday's errand. Things have settled down somewhat, but there may be some fireworks in the future. I'll elaborate on them soon. Bye for now!


Duane



noblesinger -> RE: Songs of the Noblesinger (2/11/2008 3:45:14 PM)

So much for a return to normalcy! Instead of getting back to a (fairly) normal routine around our house, things went haywire . . . again.

I mentioned that Mary's Dad had returned home on Monday the 27th of January. That was some good news. More good news came in the form of Mary's older brother, Mike, who arrived on Tuesday night to spend some time with his father, as well as get some papers in order. Mike was being named as durable power of attorney for his Dad, replacing his older brother, Jay, who retained his position of medical power of attorney. This was due to his close proximity - not because he is more equipped to do the job. Wednesday and Thruday were spent shuttling to doctor appointments, as well as checking on Gene's late sister's house and getting her mail - which continues to amaze me that it still comes 3 months after her death. Anyway, on Thursday evening, Mary and I went home for dinner, then she relaxed while I got online to download the last of my tax form updates and send them off. When I got done, we went over to Gene's so that Mary could care for her foster sister. No one was home when we arrived, but we just thought that they were out for dinner and maybe a visit to Jay's home. As we left, and they were still not home, we began to get a bit worried. I finally looked at my cell phone, which I had left in the car, and found 3 messages from Mike. I turns out that Gene had begun to be unresponsive to Mike as they sat at the table paying bills. When he finally got his Dad to respond, Mike took one look at his eyes and called 9-1-1 to get him to the hospital. At the suggestion of the EMTs, Gene was taken to a different hospital than on the previous occasion. This one, CAMC, has a Stroke Center and some of the top neurologists in this region working there. Mary and I immediately headed for the ER to await word on what happened.

I'ts almost time to go home for the day, so I'll pick this up later.


Duane



noblesinger -> RE: Songs of the Noblesinger (2/21/2008 2:27:58 PM)

Back to my story:

Mary and I arrived at the hospital and went directly to the ER Waiting Room so we could find out what was going on. It took a good bit of time before Mary was allowed to go back to the examining room, but she finally got to. After being back there for about 15 minutes or so, she came out to tell me that the fingers on Gene’s right hand weren’t working properly and that his speech was gone again. He also seemed more sluggish than before. This definitely had me concerned more than before, basically due to the closeness of the two strokes and the difference in the symptoms.

We’d been there about 45 minutes when Jay and his wife showed up, along with his son, TJ, and his girlfriend, Holly. We all sat around and talked; you know what I mean, the usual waiting game that goes on when someone is in ER. At around 11:45, they came out and told us that Gene was being transferred upstairs to the 7th floor, which is the Medical Telemetry wing of the hospital. We all trooped upstairs to begin the wait all over again, only this time we weren’t sure that Gene would live through the night. I dozed off at one point and when I woke up, Mike’s wife and daughter were in the room as well. They had gotten his phone call, thrown a few things into a bag, and driven from Brunswick, MD to Charleston in a lot shorter time than it normally should. Alison, Mike’s daughter kept taking her grandfather by his hand and saying, “Popall? Popall? Can you hear me? It’s Ali!” It was a running monologue with her all night . . . but it worked! At around 4 or 4:30, he opened his eyes and even partially sat up in bed! All this from a man who was not looking too good only a few hours before!

Mary and I went home at around 10:00, so that we could get a bath and something to eat. I convinced her to lie down and take a nap, then get cleaned up. She slept for about 2 hours, and then we did our business and went back to the hospital to hear about the results of Gene’s MRI. Imagine our surprise when Mike and Jay told us that they hadn’t done it yet – and this was at 2:00 in the afternoon! We later learned that CAMC (Charleston Area Medical Center) has policy of doing Outpatient MRI exams before the Inpatient ones. This had all of us flabbergasted! Why do you think that an Inpatient exam is being done? It’s to determine what in the heck is wrong with the patient in the first place! DUH!!! Now, I can understand putting a critically injured person in ahead of somebody that’s staying in the hospital; that makes perfect sense. But to just take a guy needing an MRI on his shoulder or his leg ahead of a probable stroke patient – Huh uh!!!! You just don’t do that! When they had not done it by 7:30 that evening, Mary and I went to grab a bite to eat before she put her foster sister to bed.

The next morning, we went back to the hospital after Mary had completed cleaning the church sanctuary. When we got there, they had done a “swallowing test” on Gene as well as the MRI. He failed the swallow test, which meant that he was going to be put on a feeding tube, and the MRI determined that his stroke had, indeed, been a massive one. It basically turned the entire left side of his brain to Jell-O; not a pretty thought, at all. This just made Mary and I more and more determined to pray for Gene’s salvation as well as his healing. He has never, to our knowledge, made a profession of faith in Jesus Christ – and he’s 87 years of age! He was raised in church, but then drifted away from it.

Here’s a small detour from my story: For some time, when Mary was very young, the family attended a nearby Kingdom Hall but left when some of the leaders told Gene and Dorothy (Mary’s mother) that they shouldn’t devote so much time and energy to caring for Ellen (her foster sister), but spend it going door-to-door. One of the men in particular was very vocal with his feelings, which moved Dorothy to tell him he should be careful of what he says about a person in Ellen’s condition (she has CP and suffered from seizures as a young child, resulting in a semi-paralysis of the right side her body) because his words could come back on him. He persisted, and about a year later, while traveling to California for some sort of JW convention, he suffered a stroke while on the airplane . . . and became paralyzed on his right side. Just like Ellen. And he never recovered from that paralysis; he stayed that way until his death a number of years later. You just never know, do you?

Anyway, on Saturday morning, as I was talking to one of Mary’s half-sisters on my cell phone, I got a beep of an incoming call. I answered it and heard the sister she was raised with, Nancy, on the other end. She told me that she and some of her family were coming in to see her Dad, but I was to keep it a secret – especially from Jay’s new wife! You see, after Debbie’s attempted theft of Dorothy’s diamond earrings after her death, Nancy has an “intense dislike” of her. In fact, Debbie is afraid of what Nancy might do to her if she gets a chance – and Nancy couldn’t be happier! She said they would be leaving York, PA, at around 2:30am and driving all night. She wanted me to give her directions to the hospital, but I did her one better: I told her to come to her Dad’s house, where Mary and I would be waiting. This would give them a chance to freshen up from the trip, and then I would lead them to CAMC. (Besides, this gave Mary and me an opportunity to watch Debbie’s reaction when she got a glimpse of Nancy for the first time in about 6-1/2 years! LOL!) Sure enough, on Sunday morning, the PA crew rolled into the driveway at Gene’s place, they hit the bathroom, and then we headed for town. When the elevator doors opened on the 7th Floor Waiting Area, the rest of the family was there talking and watching TV while Jay and Mike visited their Dad alone. Everyone was glad to see Nancy – except Debbie, and if looks could kill, we would’ve been planning a funeral! She was not a happy camper to say the least at this point, and it only got worse for her. Dorothy had a sister, Mabel, who lives in Ohio and is a wonderful Christian lady with no tolerance for sin. She came in on Sunday afternoon, soon to be followed by “Unky,” who is Dorothy’s brother, Norman. “Unky” is a former Marine (he was at Iwo Jima during the landing there!), and he isn’t too fond of Debbie either. All in all, she spent a rather miserable day under the watchful eyes of her husband’s aunt and uncle – and we could not have been happier!

Now, before some of you think that my attitude is all wrong over this situation, let me explain: I’ve already asked God to forgive me for taking joy in her misery, but not to let up on Debbie’s misery either. I want her to be miserable every time she sees Mary and I, or Mabel and Unky for that matter. For in seeing us and feeling miserable, she may come to realize that she needs to confess to her wrongdoing over the earring incident (which she has yet to do!) and ask God for forgiveness, and the rest of the family as well. If that’s what it take for her to come to Christ, then so be it! That’s what I want for every member of Mary’s family – to believe on Jesus Christ for their salvation, so that we might all gather around the Throne and rejoice in what the Lord has done for us. Now do you understand why I want her to be miserable?

Well, I’d better get back to work now. See y’all later!


Duane



noblesinger -> RE: Songs of the Noblesinger (3/10/2008 11:01:35 AM)

I thought I’d better give you all an update on just what has transpired with Mary’s Dad since my last Post.

His 2nd stroke, “the big one,” took place on Jan. 31st, a Thursday. On February 28th, also a Thursday – and only 4 weeks after his stroke – Gene walked out of the hospital and into my car. 4 weeks! The doctors were absolutely amazed at how much he had progressed! In fact one day, as Mary was walking with her Dad back to his room after his therapy session, the Rehab physician went with them to monitor Gene’s balance. He said to Mary, “He’s not supposed to be able to do that!” He was referring to the fact that Gene went from one end of the 2nd Floor, where the Therapy rooms were, all the way to the other end, which is where his hospital room was - a distance of over 500 feet. I guess that goes to show that physicians, no matter how learned they are, are not in charge of a patient’s limitations or capabilities.

The first night was a bit of a learning experience for the two of us, since neither Mary nor I had ever taken care of a stroke patient before. One of the hardest parts of his after-care was the schedule that he had been on while in the hospital. He was to be fed (through the feeding tube) and cathetered 6 times per day; 5am, 9am, 1pm, 5pm, 9pm, and 1am. This made for some very short nights for all 3 of us. Mary never had me get up with her, but the alarm woke me up at 1:00 nevertheless. The 5:00 wasn’t really a problem, since that’s the time I get up normally, but my baby was getting exhausted. On Saturday morning, while I was at my Men’s Prayer Meeting, then the subsequent Breakfast, God did a wonderful thing for Gene. He had gotten up to get on the potty chair, before Mary inserted the catheter, when, Lo! and Behold! – he began to urinate on his own. This was another thing the doctor said he wasn’t supposed to do! At first, Mary thought that it might be just a one-time thing because of him needing to have a BM, but almost every time afterwards, the same thing occurred. She eventually stopped even inserting the cath, which pleased both of them to no end. And on Thursday evening of last week, he had his first Outpatient PT session. Before we left the house, Mary and I both tried to get him to use the bathroom, but he indicated that he didn’t need to. BTW, he still doesn’t have his speech or swallowing yet, but they will come. Anyway, his appointment was at 6:00, and was not only therapy but an evaluation of his needs. We left the therapy place at around 7:45, stopped at Wendy’s for our supper, then went back to the house. I carried the drinks and walked with Gene, while Mary took the food and went inside to go unlock the front door. I forgot that there was no floodlight around front, so I hopped up the steps to put the drink carrier down, and then I asked Gene to wait for me to get my Mag-Lite out of the car. He said, “Well,” and proceeded to start up the steps! I took his good hand to steady him, but he climbed the 4 steps into the house on his own! How cool is that!

We knew from earlier in the week that Mary’s brother, Mike, was coming in from MD that night to take care of some financial matters, as well as spend time with his Dad. I wolfed down my Spicy Chicken sandwich and fries so that I could go check on my Mom. By the time I returned, Mike was already there. He had pulled in about 10 minutes after I left. We filled him in on all of the recent events and had a nice visit all around before turning in for the night. On Friday morning, I got a call from Mary at around 10:00 or so. She was so excited that she could barely get out the words, “Dad moved his fingers!” One of the lingering effects of the stroke had left the fingers on Gene’s right hand (his writing hand) useless. But on Friday morning, all at once, he began to move them. Mary was in the kitchen doing something, while Mike was in the living room with his dad when he called out to Mary to come and look at something. She just about jumped out of her skin when she saw it! We all rejoiced the entire weekend as he would exercise them. Now, granted, the movement is only one way – he cannot flex them out – but that’s OK, because it’s a start. And another thing happened on Saturday evening that was pretty cool; he pulled the handle on his recliner to let his feet down. Mike and I both were the ones to see that maneuver, and we were amazed at how he did it; he hooked his fingers underneath the handle and pulled up until the spring took over the rest of the way. But in our way of thinking, another milestone on the road to normalcy has been passed.

I’ve got to go now, but I’ll keep you all posted.


Duane



noblesinger -> RE: Songs of the Noblesinger (5/23/2008 3:43:17 PM)

It's been a long time since I've Posted anything here, so I think I'll give you all an update on everything.

Gene continues to make progress in his stroke recovery, although during his PT yesterday, the therapist noticed that he's seemingly losing some ROM in his right arm. He can move it, but not as far as before, and he seems to be hurting slightly as he does it. It may be his arthritis flaring up, but we'll see during his next appointment with his Rehab doctor. He has refused to continue his speech therapy, however, and that is a sore spot with both Mary and I. We found out about his refusal by a strange manner; he pitched a fit, just like a 2-year old child! Two weeks ago, Mary got him ready to go and the person who was giving them a ride came and got them. They turned onto the street that led to the Industrial Park where the therapy center was, and that was when the trouble started. He began to fuss and make gestures as they got closer, and by the time they pulled up in front of the center, he was really showing his temper. Mary got angry with him and he got back in the car. She told him that he ought to be ashamed of himself for the way he was behaving. Well, he ended up getting out of the car and going inside, but he was very un-cooperative with the therapist the whole time. She made notes in her report to the Rehab doctor about his actions. When I came after work to get them, Mary told me of everything he'd done, and he pouted all the way home. When we got there, his grandson and another boy were cutting his grass and he wanted to be outside with them, even though it was time for him to eat his dinner and go for physical & occupational therapy. He fussed and fretted all the time Mary tried to feed him, and when she'd ask him if he wanted to go outside and watch TJ and Eric cut the grass, he'd never give her any indication. Finally, when she'd had enough, she said to him that he didn't appreciate anything she did for him, and that she'd put her entire life on hold to take care of him. All she wants is a little gratitude and courtesy. He got madder still, and while she called the therapy center, he proceeded to sit down on the sofa and pound one of the cushions! I was amazed at the way he was acting - just like a little child in the throes of a temper tantrum. It ended up affecting my run that evening.

That's another thing I've been meaning to tell y'all. I'm back at my running after taking the fall and winter off - although not by choice. I hurt my hamstrings and quadriceps one Saturday back in October, and they only came around to normalcy back in late March. I've been doing fairly well lately, and if you're intereted in following my efforts, check out THE RUNNING THREAD here at Crosswalk. I've planned on running 3 different 5K (3.1 mile) races this season: July 3rd (Charleston Ind. Day Race), August 30 (Charleston Dist. Run), and November 2 (Marshall Memorial Race). That will do me for the year.

My ongoing research project is doing well. It's forcing me to spend more and more time not only online, but in the Scriptures as well. I'm really enjoying it. Our Wednesday night children's ministry is wrapping up for the year, and that saddens both Mary and I - especially since we'll be losing a number of th children from the apartments next door. A local developer bought them and has given them until the 31st of this month to be out. In fact, he's begun tearing the roofs off - while they're still in the buildings. And the kids haven't finished the school year yet, which is really bothering not only their parents, but us as well. Our church is doing what it can to get them relocated, but we can't do it all. Worst of all, the developer has been very rude in all of his dealing with the families. It's probably because they're not the upscale type of people he's wanting to cater to. Personally, I hope he spends a ton of money renovating and rebuilding the units - and then can't sell them or rent them. That way he'd lose his shirt - because it may take that to bring him to repentance. He's being so unreasonable about all of this matter, and it's so unnecessary, IMO.

Mom's health isn't doing very well right now, so that's another burden on me. I took her to see her GP yesterday afternoon and he told her that she's got congestive hear failure. That partially explains the huge amount of swelling in her legs - but not totally. I'm praying that it goes down quickly.

Well, it's almost time to go home, so I'd better sign off here. Gotta clean up my desk. Take care, everyone, and have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend!


Duane



noblesinger -> RE: Songs of the Noblesinger (6/5/2008 3:07:32 PM)

Since last I posted anything, a number of events have taken place to further shake up my life. Let me tell you about them.

First of all, last Thursday was extremely busy for me. I took the entire day off so that I could run all of my errands, and needed every minute of it. At 9:15, my father-in-law had a doctor's appointment concerning the stint he had put in his renal artery about 2 years ago. I thought it would be a kind of in & out thing, but it ended up lasting until after 11:00. By the time I drove us home, it was nearly noon and my Mom had a 1:00 appointment to get her hair done and a 3:15 trip to her GP. I grabbed some lunch, then took her to the beauty shop. While she was getting "pretty-fied," I went to the church to speak to the Pastor about something. I picked Mom up when she was done, then stopped back at the church so that she could see a dear friend of ours who was in for the weekend. We talked for a time, then I took her to the doc.

I waited around for a good bit, then was called back to the back so that Dr. Stonestreet could speak to me. He informed me that Mom had some congestive heart failure and entirely too much edema (fluid) in her legs, and that she needed to go to the hospital. I said, "Couldn't it wait until tomorrow, Greg?" He said that it needed to be done that evening. So I took her to the house so she could pack a bag, drove Mary and her Dad to his PT, left them there, went back and got Mom, took her to the ER and waited with her until it was time for me to go and get Mary & Gene to take them home. I wanted to come back and sit with Mom, but the daughter of some friends from church is an ER nurse at the hospital. She said she'd keep an eye on her for me, and Mom insisted that I go home and get some rest, so I did what she said. Still didn't stop me from feeling bad about it, though.

On Sunday, the entire church was rocked by some unexpected news. We have been ministering to anumber of families in the apartment complex next door, especially their children. One such family had 4 children, Hayley, James, Alex, and Kayla - all of whom are absolutely adorable. The funny thing is they have different fathers, but they all look alike. I guess they take after their Momma. Anyway, during the time of prayer at the end of the service, Pastor Keith told us that little 2 year-old Alex (full name Constantine Alexander) had died that morning from some sort of head trauma. My heart just sank! I had held that sweet little boy on my lap only a week before and totally lost my heart to him. The family who are their neighbors, the ones who got baptized together on Easter Sunday, were just crushed. The two daughters that I've helped with their homework were in tears. The whole Body gathered around them to lift them up. It was a tough, tough situation, but it also showed how the Church is supposed to operate: come together when someone is hurting and uphold them.

The funny thing about all of this is that Mary and I have been hurting for quite awhile, what with her Dad and my Mom being ill, and us needing a chance to get a break now and then. The only way we get to do anything is to have the homemaker who helps Mary with her foster-sister come to stay with Gene, and she doesn't do it for free. Mary's brother that lives in the area won't help out, and her other brother lives in MD, so we're stuck. I can't understand why the Body at Perrow Church is so selective about who they jump to help out. I've been wanting to speak with Pastor Keith about this situation, but I haven't been able to yet.

The other 3 children from that family have been removed by CPS, so that doesn't look good. Keep them in your prayers, won't you? I can't give out any last names, but just remember Hayley, James, Kayla, their mother and Kayla's daddy (the boyfriend of the mother). They all need Jesus, but especially the adults. I pray that God becomes very real to them through this whole ordeal, and that He receives much glory from the outcome.

The running is still going well, although the distance keeps increasing weekly. I'm up to 2.75 miles per run, three days a week, and the race is only 4 weeks away! I would really appreciate it if you guys and gals would pray for me that night (July 3rd). The race begins at approx. 7:30 and it could be ju-u-u-st a bit hot then, so I'll need all the protection that I can get.

See y'all later!



Duane



noblesinger -> RE: Songs of the Noblesinger (7/11/2008 9:56:37 AM)

Well, the race is over, and I didn't quite come up with the time that I'd been wanting, but I'm still pretty pleased with my efforts overall. My time for the 5K (3.1 miles) was 40:24:90, which is 3:03:35 faster than my time from last Labor Day weekend. The way that my training had been going, I thought for sure that I'd come in under 40:00 but it wasn't meant to be that night. I still busted my old PR (Personal Record) pretty good, so that's a positive note, but I've got to learn how to keep my adrenaline in check at the start. When the started hollered out, "GO!" . . . I went! Like a runaway beer truck, I took off rumbling down the street. My mentor, John, told me on Saturday morning that he was watching me and kept thinking, "Duane, what are you doing?" Before the 3/4 mile point, I was walking - which is far too soon. I'm seriously considering investing in a 4GB mp3 player (twice my current size), and putting 2 Playlists on it: one will be nothing but mellow tunes to relax me in pre-race mode, while the other will be my current one, which is nothing but up-tempo tunes. Hopefully, this will help alleviate the problem.

My Mom is currently in the Transitional Care wing of a local nursing facility, receiving therapy on her legs so she can return home. One of the requirements before she can be released is that she has to cook a meal for the therapy staff. Personally, I think it's just because they want a decent meal - 'cause they sure ain't gettin' 'em there! Honestly, my friends, the food there is pretty atrocious! The main course for just about every meal is Mystery Meat of one variety or another (beef, chicken, pork, or fish), with gravy. Yes, you read that right - gravy on fish! The other evening while I visited her on my way home from work, they brought her tray and it had salmon covered in gravy! GROSS!!!! I'm not a salmon eater, or that would've really nauseated me; it was bad enough anyway. I'm awaiting word from the therapist and social worker on when we can schedule a pre-release meeting. I hope it's soon!

My father-in-law is still showing some moodiness, though far less intense as the one big fit that he threw a couple of months ago. His physical progress is phenomenal for his age and circumstances, although he still cannot talk or use his right hand fully. In fact, he's now climbing around on the step-ladder, taking the riding mower for a spin (just not engaging the blades - Thank You, Lord!), and burning his brush pile. The latter was probably the most dangerous thing he could've done, because he soaked the pile in gasoline first (he did let it soak for a few hours, thankfully), but after he lit it, he wouldn't have been able to use a rake to get it under control if something had happened. Three neighbors saw him do it, however, and they came over to stand with him and watch out for flying embers and such. If Mary and I survive this, we'll need a lo-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-ng vacation to let us recover!

Gotta run, y'all!



Duane



noblesinger -> RE: Songs of the Noblesinger (9/5/2008 11:36:48 AM)

It's been awhile since I last Posted here, so I'll give you an update on what's been happening.

Mary and I are still busy with her Dad. He's been showing some signs of deterioration in his physical activity - not really wanting to go outside or down to his garage like he did. In fact he's not really doing much of anything except sitting in his recliner and sleeping. He still goes to his appointments when necessary, but other than that he just doesn't go outside. His youngest son, along with his wife and daughter came in back in early August to spend a few days with him, although they stayed at Motel 6 so they could bring their dog, Daisy. She's a Westie, and is as cute as a button.

We got word of an interesting development concerning a family matter recently. Mary's half brother, Wayne, had originally been named as the executor of his Aunt Leona's estate when she died back in November. Wayne, if you will recall my vacation story, owns a Christian bookstore in GA. This would make it hard for him to continually keep coming to WV for the legal process in settling things. Leona was my father-in-law's only sister, so he volunteered to take over the duties and Wayne readily agreed. Gene had said that he had a copy of her will that specified that the house be sold and split amongst the remainder of the family. Mary, however, had found a copy of another will which changed everything. It stated that the house was to go to her church, to be used as a manse for the Pastor. She found it while looking for something else that she needed. We made copies for Wayne, Rosemary, and Linda (Mary's half-siblings by her biological father), and they decided to hold on to them and not confront their Uncle Eugene. Mary and I promised that we would try and convince him to abide by her wishes, which we knew about from conversations we'd had with her. But during the weeks that followed her death, Mary's brother, Jay, and his live-in, Debbie, spent a lot of time "helping Dad get things taken care of at Leona's." What that meant was they helped themselves to much of the furniture, sheets, blankets, etc., that were there. He did give Mary access to the glassware which she had there - much of which was antique. He also let me look through Leona's books, and I found some that I wanted to keep. There had been others that I had looked through while she was living, but "the vultures" had picked them clean. I managed to keep a good number of her Bible Study helps (which they didn't want), as well as several Bibles. One other Bible I found had been in a stack of things, apparently to be discarded, and it belonged to Gene's and Leona's brother, Curtis. It was embossed with his name and in very good shape. I handed to Gene and said, "I found this and I thought you might want it." He got this funny look in his eye and said, "Indeed I would. Thank you." That was back in December, just before Christmas, and was the last time we were in her place. Then Gene had his strokes in January and pneumonia in March, so we'd not thought much more about the 2 wills.

Anyway, Mary and I found out that Wayne and Rosemary, along with Wayne's wife, Karen, had been to Charleston last month - and hadn't told us. To say we were hurt is an understatement, but when we were told why, we understood. Wayne had brought his copy of the 2nd will and gone to the County Courthouse for the purpose of filing to take over the duties of Executor from Mary's brother Mike (he is Gene's Legal Power of Attorney) - and he didn't want Mary to have to lie and say she didn't know about this. To say that some hard feelings have surfaced is putting it mildly; in fact, Jay has said that "if Wayne comes to Dad's funeral, I'm gonna give him an *** whoopin'!" He doesn't know that I'll be acting as Wayne's bodyguard - and I'm looking forward to seeing Jay try something.

Another development is that Jay has been going around to various nursing homes, checking them out to see which one Ellen can go to when Gene dies. The only problem is this: he doesn't have the legal right to do diddly poo about Ellen. Mary is her Representative Payee and I am Secondary, so it's up to us - not him. What he thinks is going to happen is that as soon as the funeral is over with, he'll kick Ellen in to a nursing home and us out of the house so he can sell it and collect his share of the proceeds. Mary and I would love to be able to secure a loan so that we could buy the house and the 1.5 acre lot it's on, just to tick him off. I know that's probably not a good attitude, but it's the way we feel.

Oh, I kept up with my training and ran in the Charleston Distance Run 5K last Saturday (8/30). Once again, I fell short of my sub-40:00 goal, but I did go a bit faster than over the July 4th holiday. My time this year was 40:15:60, which is 9.6 seconds faster than my previous PR, so I am making progress - just not enough to suit my tastes.

I've got to get back to work, so I'll sign off now. See ya' later!



Duane



noblesinger -> RE: Songs of the Noblesinger (10/23/2008 10:13:51 AM)

Hi gang!

I know that it's been awhile since I've been here, but if you've seen my few Postings in other Threads, you'll know why. My life has (to quote The Fresh Prince) "got flip turned upside-down." My father-in-law is still alive, but failing daily; it takes everything that Mary and I have to get him from the recliner to the potty chair - a mammoth distance of 3 feet and a 90 degree turn. I do the bulk of the lifting from either chair to a standing position, as well as easing him down again. Mary and the home-health person who comes for Ellen do it during the day, but I'm the one who is doing it at 5:00 pm, 9:00 pm, 1:00 am, and 5:00 am every day. There are supposed to be some teen-aged boys from the church come to help on weekdays, but they haven't yet. I hope it's soon.

My Mom had a mass removed from her left breast on the 13th, then a Modified Radical Mastectomy on Monday of this week. She is still in the hospital awaiting word on whether or not she can go to the same Transitional Care Facility she was in back during the summer; otherwise, it's going to be me caring for her while she's over with Mary and I. I'm not looking forward to that prospect - draining her tubes and changing her dressings just sounds too much like "Oedipus" to me. I sure hope that Mom does get to go over there again.

I don't normally post things that other people send me, but I want to make an exception for this one. This is from a woman at my church who has become my dearest friend, except for Mary. She is who I can go to for advice when I need it on how to help Mary in some way, and we work closely on our Children's Ministry Team. There is no romantic love between us - let me make that clear . . . NONE - just a deep, abiding affection. She's like the younger sister that I never had, which I need because I was an "only." Anyway, she sent me this yesterday and I'd like to share it with you, my Crosswalk family. I thought it was so cool that she cared enough to put down her thoughts this way. Read on!

---------------

Duane,

I wrote the following for you. I am thinking about putting it on my blog but I wanted you to see it first. It's a little long, but I hope you see my heart as you read. I love to write poetry, stories, journal entries and my thoughts but I'm a very private person and have a difficult time sharing my sentiment with others. I am stepping out of my comfort zone, but I really want you to read this.

MY THOUGHTS ON TEARS…

A very dear friend of mine, one of my best friends, actually, is really struggling! It seems “life” keeps throwing more punches than one should possibly have to endure. He holds his chin up, smiles and tells the world, “all is well…” I see the “real” him, though: the man who wants to return to the days of his youth when he could run and hide, cry and say “I quit”!

About a week ago, I asked “…how are you?” He put on his fake smile and forged an answer but the sigh that accompanied it and the break in his voice when he said, “just fine”, told me otherwise. Almost simultaneous with his generic “just fine”, I said, “not good, huh?” You see, I asked as a courtesy, I think. The thoughts of him weighing heavily on my heart for several days before, told me the true answer before the question was ever asked. As he began telling me the things he was going through, I wondered, “how is he still standing?” but I was also empathetic with him, as my mind immediately shifted to a similar “storm” I am enduring daily. At one point, as he shared, he said, “I am just trying to keep from crying…” I thought this strange but allowed him to continue pouring-out his heart. That statement kept repeating in my head, so I finally asked, “Why are you trying so hard not to cry? Is there any real value in that?” For him, I don’t think it was a “pride thing” or even a “macho thing”. I think at that moment, he feared that if he fell apart, everything may crumble and he may never get it all back together again. I know I’ve felt like that many times! Over the next few minutes, he told me of several occasions where he had, in fact, cried then joked that when he does cry, it isn’t pretty. That’s just the kind of person he is…laugh to keep from crying!

It was several days before I saw him again, but my heart remained heavy. When I did see him, I knew things really weren’t better. I felt God had given me some scripture for him (and his wife) and I was supposed to pray with them. I was struggling with being obedient to that call. I didn’t want to listen. I was a real Jonah…God told me specifically where to go but I went the other way instead. Finally, it was as if God had literally opened the door and all I had to do was enter. Thank goodness for such grace…I wouldn’t do so well in the belly of a whale, if you know what I mean! I stood between my friends and read the verses. Then, I started praying. A minute or so into it, as I recall, my dear friend began to sniffle, then cry, then weep!!! Immediately, his words from days before, “…I am just trying to keep from crying…” returned to my remembrance. I think I may have even let a little giggle slip as I thought, “well, God showed him…” At this point, I moved, allowing his wife to comfort him and went to find some tissues. We all needed them!!! At one point, he stopped crying but it was short-lived, as another wave of emotion washed over him and he began sobbing again. I believe this flood came again before it was all over. In the end, he looked up at me and said, “see, I told you I cried ugly…” I laughed but said nothing. In the days that have followed, I have been continually haunted by those words, though. In my eyes, his tears were precious…a sweet release!

I think tears are a gift from God. It isn’t an accident that they so closely resemble water, which is used to cleanse. When a loved one passes, we weep and those tears symbolically wash away our grief, although it’s stain is never completely gone. When a child misbehaves, he cries with remorse, as if to wash-away the “badness”. I have heard people talk about tears of sorrow and tears of joy. We cry when we’re angry, hurt, sad, afraid and sometimes, for no reason at all! Babies cry to satisfy their basic needs or to just get their way! In the Old Testament alone, there are 129 verses (KJV) that use the word “cried”. That doesn’t count cry, wept, weep, lament or other references to the act of crying. Psalm 18:6 says, “In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried out to my God: He heard my voice from His temple and my cry came before him, even to His ears.”

If you don’t know where to turn, if life has you down, if you feel like you just want to cry, grab a tissue (and maybe some ice cream) and go for it! Chances are, you’ll feel better in the end. If you feel you are proving something by holding it in, you are! You’re showing that you are willing to let your pride stand in the way of your own well-being. If you refrain because that’s the “macho” thing to do, may I remind you of the shortest verse in the Bible about the toughest man ever, John 11:35, “Jesus Wept.” My dear friend, to me, crying is not ugly but a thing of beauty in its purest form!


Blessings,
Billinda

---------------


Isn't she a sweetheart? Mary and I just think the world of her and her family. BTW, please pray for her husband. His name is Brett, and he is in bad shape mentally and physically. He spent one very long tour in Iraq with the Army Special Forces - it got extended 3 times - and he suffered some injuries from 2 severe concussions that have played havoc with his mental capacity, not to mention his physical condition. Their biggest concern, other than his illnesses, is that Brett is not a Christian. He and Billinda have two teen-age daughters by her first marriage and a young son named Alex, who is a real prayer warrior. We found out almost 3 years ago that he prays nightly for Mary and I to have a child - and he started that practice when was only 8! Isn't that amazing?! Please keep Brett, Billinda, Kaley, Kamy, and Alex Chevalier in your prayers. And yes, Bret is related to the late actor, Maurice Chevalier. I'd love to find out that Brett has asked Jesus into his heart before his mind can't comprehend anything. Thanks, my dear family! See you later!


Duane



noblesinger -> RE: Songs of the Noblesinger (11/17/2008 11:51:33 AM)

To say that my life has been stressful lately would be the understatement of the year. Between my Mother's and my father-in-law's declining health, sleep has been a scarce commodity for both Mary and myself. And that stress has caused a couple of arguements between us, but we have gotten everything straightened out very quickly; we have "not let the sun go down on our anger," which has served to strengthen our relationship instead of drive it apart.

Mom had her surgery on a Monday, but we didn't find out the results of the biopsies on her lymph nodes until Saturday. I was over at her house using the Internet when she called me. I could tell she had been crying, so I asked her what was wrong. She said, "I just finished talking to Michael (her surgeon). My nodes were clear! I don't have any cancer!" Needless to say, I started crying too! That was such a relief to all of us. I brought her home on Monday (10/27), then took her back to the surgeon on Friday for a post-op check. He found she had some fluid retention in her breast, so he took a needle and aspirated 300cc from it. He asked her to come back again on the following Wednesday, so I took her again. I had changed her dressing several times since she had returned home, but I had not noticed just how much fluid was staying in her. When we returned to the surgeon's office, he said that it looked like he hadn't even done anything. He put her on the table and inserted a drain tube, but even before he could get it totally inserted, the fluid began to stream out of it. It got all over the table and spilled out onto the floor before he got the catching bulb attached. He called it a "hand grenade," and that's what it looks like - a clear, soft plastic grenade. Anyway, he estimated that about 1500cc of fluid was removed. 1500!! That was such a mess, and poor Mom got her back soaked because of it. He was leaving for a vacation on Sunday morning, so he asked Mom to come back on Friday for one last check-up. We got in the examination room, and he didn't like what he saw - more fluid. He wanted to insert a larger diameter tube right then, but I had to take Mary to an appointment regarding Ellen's Medicaid status, so he said he'd do it the next day. We agreed, and set it up for 9:00 Saturday morning. They called later on and rescheduled it for 11:00 because of an emergency surgery that Michael was going to have to perform.

That night, Mary's Dad was really tired and sluggish, but he was bound and determined that he was going to stay awake and see his son, Mike, and the rest of his family when they came in. Around 1:00, they walked into the house and he roused from his stupor for a little while. We finally got into bed about 2:00, so Mary and I decided to wait until 6:00 to get him on the potty chair. He seemed OK then, but he was still very tired. I had to go over to help Mom get ready, so we put him on the chair again at 8:00. He wasn't too bad going to the pot, but when I got him off, he wasn't able to help me very much, and when we got him into the chair, he went into a blank stare. I got Mike up and he came into the living room. After several minutes, he was able to rouse his Dad a little bit. I left to go be with Mom. There were some delays at the hospital, so Mom didn't go back to the surgical area until almost 11:30. I went to the cafeteria to grab something to eat. I'd just barely started eating when my cell phone rang - it was Mary. He had passed away a few minutes before while, once again, sitting on the potty chair. I was hurt because I hadn't been there for her, but Mary told me that it was OK, this was something that was unavoidable. I told her that I'd be back as soon as I could, so I gulped down the rest of my salad and a piece of rotisserie chicken.

Oh! I almost forgot something! Just before Mom and I left her house, she asked me to empty the bulb. I squeezed the contents into the plastic tray that came from the hospital, and I noticed that there was something red and curly in it. I thought it might have been one of her stitches, but it was actually a blood clot. I ended up emptying the bulb twice more before we got out of there. By the time I returned to the surgery waiting area, they were calling me back to see Mom. Michael had been delayed again, so she wanted me to sit with her. I told her about Gene, and she cried. I'd only been there for about 5-6 minutes, when Michael arrived. I left to go back out and make some phone calls to her half-brother in GA and half-sisters in TN. About 15 minutes later, Michael came out to talk to me. He said that the tube was working perfectly and he wouldn't need to do anything. He also told me that he was sorry about my father-in-law. About that time, they wheeled Mom out into the waiting area, so I went to get the car and bring it to the entrance. I loaded her in and we headed for Gene's house.

I'll tell you more later.


Duane



noblesinger -> RE: Songs of the Noblesinger (11/20/2008 3:31:04 PM)

By the time that we got back to my father-in-law's house, Mary's other brother and his wife and stepson were there, as well as the funeral home's hearse. The hearse was just getting ready to pull out as we pulled in. After going inside, I immediately went to my sweetheart and hugged her tightly. She began to cry and I told her to go ahead and let it out; she did let some of her grief out, but not all of it. It's going to be a long time before she is finally rid of her grief.

Her older brother, Mike, and his family left later on that afternoon so that they could make a fast trip back to Brunswick, MD, for dress clothes and to take their dog to a neighbor's house for the week, and then after a few hours sleep they would return to Cross Lanes. That night, after everyone else had gone home, we were alone in the house for the first time since mid-February. It was then that Mary let some more of her tears flow. One thing that she had been fearing was that we were going to be given just a few days to get our stuff out of the house and move Ellen, Mary's foster-sister, out as well. She was almost more concerned about that than she was about the fact that her Dad was gone. I did the best that I could to calm her fears, but I was only going on my limited knowledge of human nature - not on anything truly substantive.

On Sunday morning, we went to church and were enfolded by a number of members of the Body. They held us, listened to us, and prayed with us - just like it's supposed to be. One thing that we hadn't planned on, however, was what happened after the service. Pastor Keith opened up the altar for prayer, and I immediately took Mary's hand so that we could go forward. One of our Elders and another couple met us there, and I laid out what we were wanting; prayer for strength and for a smooth time of making the arrangements. After Mark (the Elder) prayed for us, the husband of the couple began to pray. The first thing that he said was that the Lord had a bit of a rebuke for me: I had been relying too much on my own strength and my sense of humor to 'get me through,' instead of seeking His joy to be my strength. I broke when I heard that, because I thought that I'd been seeking His joy. As I began to repent, I felt something being poured over my head and I smelled the sweet aroma of anointing oil. Bill hadn't just applied a drop to my forehead - he had actually poured several drops to the top of my head and let it run down my jawline and neck, until it stopped on the collar of my shirt. That smell stayed with me all day and into the night. But there was such a release in my spirit that it manifested itself into the physical - I truly felt as if a 5 ton weight had been pulled off my shoulders! That was just so-o-o-o sweet!

I've got more to tell, but not enough time. Later!!


Duane



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