October 24th was a terrible ending to what was otherwise a GREAT week.

I took the week of October 19th off, partly because I had to use some vacation or risk losing it and partly because I really needed a break from work. We were not going to go anywhere, this was my time, my time to perform a brain douche, as one friend so aptly put it. I was not going to just lie around and be a couch potato either, I decided I was going to do something every one of the days off. Each one started with watching the sunrise at the beach, and let me tell ya - that is a great way to start the day. I find very calming, it has always helped me get centered and balanced. When I started my week off, I had no idea that before the week was out I would be in Ohio and have another week of vacation. I cannot even remember the last time I was able to take 2 weeks straight. As bad as that was I found I was able to use the two weeks to my mental advantage and went back to work today refreshed and invigorated. I had laid out my days starting with Monday, the Saturday and Sunday were spent doing my normal weekend things.

Day 1 – I spent day one doing nothing but cloud watching. I laid on a lounge chair by my pool, on three separate occasions I spent no less than 2 hours just laying on my back looking at the clouds. I saw all manner of things in the clouds. I saw fish, I saw dogs, I saw gargoyles and I saw ancient wooden sailing ships. Mainly I just pondered a lot. I thought about my childhood on Collins road, how simple life was there, at least through my child eyes. We spent a lot of time outside when we were kids, Mom would not allow us in the house. We played in the creek that was close and we played in the barn that was even closer. We played a lot, no matter the place. We always spent time looking at the clouds for shapes that we could identify and tell a story about. I do not have many, if any, bad memories from this time in my life. Looking back that is a testament to my Mom, she could put a positive spin on ANYTHING. She once even had us build tents in the kitchen while we huddled around the stove because it used propane but we had no heating oil. Now any parent who can make nearly freezing to death into a game to play with their kids is a stellar parent.

Day 2 – I spent the day visiting neighborhoods and nurseries to gaze upon the simple beauty of the various foliage that surrounds us. I visited 5 nurseries and drove around in at least 15 different neighborhoods. I took many pictures, in one case I had stopped the car and was taking pictures of some flowers when the homeowner came out. It was an awkward moment but after explaining that I loved his floral bouquet and was planning an attempt at replicating it in my yard his anxiety subsided. Mainly I just pondered a lot. I thought about my childhood on Collins road. We always had a garden, we had apple trees and pear trees, we had peach trees and a rhubarb patch. We had strawberries and blackberries and even some blueberries close by. We had a gigantic barn and LOTS of trees, large and small. We were in nature a lot, around the house, in the cornfields and soybean fields. We played in a creek that was more of a drainage ditch from the surrounding fields and I think there was a natural spring that feed it somewhere out in Ira Painter’s field. We spent a lot of time in nature for sure.

Day 3 – I spent wandering around several tool stores. My Bride does not understand when I do this but when I get time, I love to do it. Mainly I just pondered a lot. I have always been fascinated with tools, just about any tools really. Anything that we can dream up to help us make or repair something else is a piece of art to me. Talk about the pinnacle of creativeness, to me it does not get any better than that. I look at tools, like a crows foot wrench, and can see exactly why someone designed it the way it is. They have a very specific purpose and just by looking at them, you can tell what it is. I am fascinated by the electronic repair tools as well, an oscilloscope or a spectrum analyzer for measuring amplitude verses time and frequency verses amplitude, respectively. I am fascinated with the creativity of the ergonomic movement in the design of power tools and even the simple hammer. I saw a hammer that has a tuning fork built into the handle, this AntiVibe technology minimizes vibration and shock at impact, and when you couple that with the Patented torsion control grip technology and the Magnetic Nail Start feature it make the simple hammer quite a bit more, doesn’t it. When I have time to just stare and tools it sparks my creative juices as well, what could I do with that cool new tool or how could I use this nifty gadget to help make some other mundane task easier. I love the tools and the stores that sell them.

Day 4 I spent toy store roaming and have already written an oratory about that and day 5 was spent meandering various city parks here in Jacksonville and I plan on writing about that day in an individual oratory later. On Saturday, which was to be day 6, I planned on writing about the previous 5 days of relaxation and what effect they had on me. Day 6 turned out to be quite a different day than I had planned and the outcome of that day in turn drastically changed my day 7. I was at the beach, to watch the sunrise again. This was my 7th day in a row to watch the spectacle and this day was magnificent in its glory. I was enjoying it with my friends Roy and Bruce and for some reason, before the sun came up, I had to go the restroom, I have never done that before. I walked up the convenience store a couple of blocks away and during my return trip is when my sister first called me about Dad, it was 7:29am. She told me they were at the hospital in our small hometown and they needed to transport him to a larger, better-equipped hospital in the next town over. In order to transport him they would need to sedate him and there was a distinct possibility that sedating him would kill him. My Sister was looking for my input. Well thank god I was almost back to the beach where there were bench’s because my knees just about gave out on me and I literally fell onto the bench to listen to her tell me the story.

We decided that we had to try to get him to the larger hospital and they were now on their way. I had a bad feeling, I am not sure if I could hear something different in my Sister’s voice or what but I just had a bad feeling about this one. Dad seemed to have 9 lives, he had been through a great number of issues that most likely would have killed anyone else. They were off to Springfield and she would call me when they had more news. So there I was, sitting on the bench leading to the beach – shell shocked really. I am not sure why I left the beach but I was glad I did, I would not have wanted to receive that news sitting with my friends watching the sunrise. I stayed at the beach quite a while longer on this day than normal, after the call the sun popped into the clouds and we did not see it for the rest of the day. It would be a couple of hours before the fateful call, telling me Dad did not make it into surgery. He suffered a cardiac arrest while being prepped for the surgery that most likely would not have been able to save him. I remember thinking WOW – what a really shitty way to end an otherwise perfectly relaxing week off. I called my brother, before Dad passed to let him know he was having some problems and spoke to him when he called me back, after Dad had passed. We did not have any words for each other and the call ended quickly. Arrangements were made and I was in Ohio the next day.

A worse ending to a great week I cannot imagine.