A Bet I Wish I Lost

Originally posted the day he died

My brother Keith had been in and out of hospitals and nursing homes since 2006. He had heart and kidney conditions uncommon in a man so young. I visited him in 5 hospitals, 2 nursing homes from here to Minnesota. Last summer at the end of an almost 3 month stint in hospitals and nursing homes I offered him $100.00 if he could avoid the aforementioned for a period of a year. This winter and spring he had been making the hospital and nursing home circuit again.

This April he was taken in an ambulance from his nursing home to a nearby hospital with cardiac arrest. He did not survive the trip. That is $100.00 I would have gladly parted with. Parting with him will be another deal entirely. I covet prayers for his family. That they would trust God knowing that Keith lives now with his Heavenly Father. That we'd be able to live without him.

Remembering my Brother

My Brother Keith would have turned 39 today. Every 39 minutes a remembrance from myself, a family member, or a friend will be posted in tribute. I will rerun a few of the posts that have already run here. Once the tribute is completed I will weave them into some sort of keep sake.

This is a picture of when Keith visited me in Russia in the summer of '94.

Getting The Run Around

I went to Parents day at Awana last week. I got this footage of Lucy in a footrace.

When we are her age, run-a-round is a good thing. It means getting exercise and having fun with friends and family.

Getting the run-a-round for adults is another matter entirely. It means being led around in circles and never actually getting to your destination. When I was in college the administration building was called Sherman Hall. Trying to procure permission to change majors or graduate early or build a better bird house usually meant going through a routine called the Sherman Shuffle. You would start in one office and be routed to another and another until you finally achieved your goal or until the offices closed for the day. I am sure every college campus and many other bureaucracies have an imaginative title for the run-a-round.

Lucy loves to run-a-round she also loves to cut tape although she has never had to cut through red tape.

Perhaps it is the childish adventuring spirit that can handle running around in circles and the World weary adult who seems beleaguered by it. So the next time you're getting the run-a-round try to make it an adventure rather than a drudgery.