JUNE 2013 NEWPORT BEACH We had our annual week in Newport Beach at the beach front house on 39th street. This is the 3rd year for this house. The little grandkids, Jake, Troy, Owen and Evan, were just getting to know each other. And Rick was getting into the father role. As always it was a great week.

OCTOBER 12, 2013 SCOTT AND JAMIE’S WEDDING It seems like just yesterday that our second grandchild was born. Well as they say time marches on, and today he and Jamie were married at the Surf and Sand Hotel in Laguna Beach. It was a beautiful affair hosted by her parents and attended by family and friends.

NOVEMBER 12TH 2013 PRIMM NEVADA

MY HERO
I forget how it got started, but not long after we moved into the Colony, Jean put together a three day golf package to play three beautiful courses in Mesquite, Nevada. That was November 2002. The original group was the Hartwigs, Milnes, Olcotts, Proctors and the Martins. After couple of years the group decided Mesquite was too far to drive, so we would play the courses at Primm or Laughlin. It had become a yearly happening for the group to play golf at one of those places in November. Jean would always make the arrangements. This year it was Primm and the group she put together was Bob and Barbara Proctor, Bruce and Ann Hartwig, Jan and Hal Ollcott, Del and Alice Mitchum, Scotty and Jan Methven, Joel Newcomer and Margie Pearson. We were all having dinner at the steak house when all of a sudden Jean grabbed her throat and stood up. She had something stuck in her throat and she could not breathe. I stepped behind her and gave her the Heimlick maneuver. Twice before, over the previous five years, I had successfully dislodged obstructions she was choking on using the Heimlick . I tried two more times and Bob Proctor also tried without success. When her eyes rolled back and she became dead weight and slipped to the floor. I almost went with her. Then out of the blue Margie Pearson took over. She ordered everyone including the emergency crew out of the way and she laid Jean on the floor and stuck her finger down her throat and dislodged a piece of steak from her windpipe. Margie is a nurse and she saved two lives that night, Jean’s and mine. She will always be my hero.

JANUARY 2014 - HEART SURGERY, THE LONG JOURNEY HOME It was the early morning hours, around three AM, January 10th 2014. I woke up with a lot of pressure in my chest and my arms. My hands felt heavy. I knew something was not right. What kept going through my mind was, if I lay here and wait for the feeling to go away, I may go away with it. I went back to sleep and woke up in the morning feeling fine. That evening when I was taking out the trash I experienced the same feeling with a shortness of breath. This time I sat down in the garage and called for Jean. I told her I didn’t feel right and we must go to the emergency room. She drove me to Inland Valley Medical Center ER. They ran some tests and an EKG. The ER specialist was Cardiologist Paul Hovsepian. He recommended that we see a pulmonary specialist, he also wanted me to make an appointment to see his partner, Cardiologist Michael Vargas.

Then a couple of days later on the 16th of January, I went to the emergency room with chest pains. I’m a little confused with the details, but Dr. Vargas was called and had me transferred by ambulance to Anaheim Regional Medical Center where he performed an Angiogram. That led to an immediate emergency Quintuple By-Pass Surgery with an implanted cardioverter defibrillator. I was apparently very lucky that the available Surgeon was one of the best in the world. Dr. Richard Ott. Dr. Vargas said later that I was in such bad shape that he didn’t think they had much chance to save me.

I was in CCU for sixteen days, the first five on a respirator. Very critical, flat lined twice. Well, the thing about almost dying is you don’t know that you almost died until a long time after you didn’t. I was in surgery for something like five hours and intensive care for a total of sixteen days. Most of that time I was unaware. You wake up for a moment and something awful is going on that you would rather not remember and you’re gone again. Even after you start being awake you’re whacko. Because of the anesthetic and the long period of time in CCU I had a condition called Post Op ICU Sycosis. I was paranoid, delusional and started hallucinating. Believe me, if you have never experienced hallucinations, it’s real and you believe these things are really happening. I thought Jean was divorcing me to marry a Mexican Drug Lord by the name of Juan Paulo. I was convinced they were planning to take everything I have, including my family, leaving me with nothing. I was deathly afraid of being left alone. One of the therapists told Jean that the condition had gone on so long that I would never be normal again. No one would listen to me. I was all alone and desperate. I was so angry at everyone I even called my wife terrible names. By some miracle and a great deal of suffering by my family and friends, I made it through that critical period. They transferred me to Menifee Re-hab February 1st. On the 6th they transferred me to Rancho Springs Hospital by ambulance because of blood clots and then back to Menifee Re-hab February 9th. The next day the 10th was my birthday and I don’t remember any of this. That’s about the time I started being aware of what was going on around me. In effect though I had a miserable time, I did not experience almost dying. I just heard about it afterwards.

It was an amazing transformation. As soon as I walked into my own house, and my wife and family were there, the panic was gone. I felt safe again.

When I got home I was not in very good shape. I was weak to the point that I couldn’t turn over in bed. I had to use the walker for a while and then transitioned to the cane. Doctor Vargas recommended walking as the best exercise, but one little problem I forgot to mention, through all of this I had a broken right foot. In early January, before all of this heart surgery thing, I broke my foot. I’m not even going into how that happened. I also had a problem with the big toe on that foot. That made it very difficult during rehab because I could not put any weight on that foot. To get released to go home I had to learn to function on one foot. I got a physical therapist for two weeks that came to my house. He was very good and got me started on a good exercise program. Then Health Net provided nine sessions at Rancho Cardiac Physical Therapy with Randy. He really put the pressure on. Those sessions gave me a good idea of a weekly routine I could do at home. I have a recumbent bike, a 2 ft workout ball, a sit up rack, bungees and weights. On a five day workout routine, I do 30 minutes on the bike, 100 crunches, 100 straight pulls and 50 curls on the bungee. To finish I do at least 5 sets of 10 squats with the ball. It’s working pretty good except for the strength in my legs. My legs are not coming back as fast as they should. Doctor Vargas suggested I walk the pool. So I’m adding 30 minutes of walking in the pool at least 3 times a week.

Every three months I go in and get the Defibrillator checked. They run a tape of the three months to check and see if anything out of the ordinary has occurred during that period. So far it’s perfect.

By the way, we got a copy of the medical bill. It cost just over one million dollars.

I was a very lucky man, but I wonder. Maybe the 16th of January 2014 was my time. What will I do with the time I have left? Will it be quality time? If I become disabled with Parkinson’s and my back and foot problems and become a terrible burden to Jean and my whole family, then the gift of time comes at way too high a price.

SUMMER OF 2014 – NEWPORT BEACH This was a year to remember. My family had gone through hell with me during my heart surgery. It was easy for me because I was not there most of the time. I can’t believe I put them through so much misery, and can’t remember a thing. But, I think Newport came at the right time. It was particularly nice because it was the first time we got to meet Rick’s new friend, Eitienne. I hope it was as comfortable for her as it was for us. As a parent, I hope for each of my children the gift of finding a sole mate to share their life with. Rick seems to be very comfortable with her two daughters, Angela, eighteen and Abigail, ten. Angela is a very bright young lady who is setting her sights on Stanford. Abigail is a super soccer player. She is on one of the top teams in the nation, in her age group. And they all love Rick and Jake. As a father I think she’s a keeper and I would love to have her and her girls as part of our family.

NOVEMBER 2014 - MARCI AND ROB’S WEDDING Both Marci and Rob wanted to have a destination wedding. They chose The Hyatt Regency Hotel at Incline Village, Lake Tahoe as the sight. It was a gorgeous setting for a wedding. It was outside on the grass with the lake as the back ground. The wedding day was set for November 1st. Even though it was the high sierras, it rarely snows in November. Well, we got some rare snow on the day of the wedding. It was a rather blistery day. Our whole family was there. Scott and Troy gave away the bride. The Maid of Honor was Tiny and Evan was a beautiful flower girl. Robs family was there and his Best Men were his best friend Nick and his father, Robert. His mom and dad live just down the hill in Virginia City. They are nice people. Marci got a great husband and in-laws. And Marci, you made one marvelous trade up. I almost forgot about Scott and Jamie’s trip up to the wedding. They drove up 395 at night. It’s not an easy drive in the daytime, but at night it’s treacherous. Well, they hit a deer and totaled Jamie’s car. They continued with the car taped together with duct tape. It was amazing that no one was injured.

Even with the cold weather it was one of the best weddings I’ve ever been to. Everyone had a great time. It was a grand event.

MAY 2015 OUR TRIP TO SAYULITA It has been a tradition for the last 40 years for our family to spend a week at Newport Beach. We had rented the house we had in June of 2014 for four straight years. Kevin and Staci told us about a wonderful place they visited, in Mexico, about 40 miles north of Puerto Vallarta and they thought it might be a good place for a family vacation. We researched the place on line and decided it looked like an ideal place to celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary. So instead of Newport Beach we booked two of the villas for a week in May. We invited our whole family including Michele and Troy, Scott and Jamie, Rick and Jake, and Staci and Owen and Evan. Marci and Rob could not make it because they could not get off work. Also, Ricks girlfriend Eitienne had just got a new job and had to decline. So, twelve of us flew off to enjoy wonders of this beautiful little Mexican village. All of us flew out of San Diego. Kevin and his family flew from Portland on just what happened to be the same plane we were going on to Puerta Vallarta. Then we had two vans with drivers to take us north to Sayulita. One of the vans stopped in Puerta Vallarta for food and other provisions. We decided next time we come we do not need to do that because the shops in the village had everything we need. It’s a quaint little pure Mexican village, including speed bumps. We rented a golf cart for the week to get around. Our villas were both three bedrooms, with large bathrooms and walk in showers, spacious kitchens and large living rooms. In addition they each have large verandas overlooking the pool and the pacific ocean.

We planned on having the whole family with us but unfortunately Rob and Marci and Eitienne could not get away. I was looking forward to getting to know Eitienne a little more in depth. Rick has been dating her for about a year and a half. She was down at Newport Beach and at the house several times, once with her daughters, A but we have never really had time to get to know her. She and Rick still seemed to have a very comfortable relationship. But, Jean and I would like to get to know her better.

JUNE 2015 GEORGE’S 80TH BIRTHDAY Carole and his kids had a surprise birthday party for George on his 80th on June 13. He finally caught up with me. Jean and I and Gary and Phylles were there from his old high school days along with his college buddies from Whittier and all the teachers he worked with. He made a lot of friends over the last 80 years

AUGUST 2015 A TRIP TO PINE MOUNTAIN CLUB TO BE REMEMBERED Jean and I decided that rather than taking trips abroad, we would do more short trips in our own country. There are so many wonderful places to explore in the great USA. Although, we had already booked a cruise down to the Mexican Riviera like we have done several times before. We book a small suite and get on the upgrade list. Twice on Holland America we were upgraded to deluxe suites for fifty dollars a person. This time we’re going on Princess.

We just got home from a two day trip to see the Knapp’s at Pine Mountain Club. It turned out to be a disaster. We drove up on Wednesday and stayed in the hotel for two nights. As usual we had a great visit with Tim and Marianne, but the second night at the hotel, at about three in the morning, I got up to go to the bathroom. I was in the bathroom when I heard a crashing noise like someone falling, then I heard Jean screaming for help. I rushed out of the bathroom to find her face down on the floor next to the bed in a pool of blood. She was crying and obviously in a lot of pain. I got her on the bed and applied a towel to the bleeding area around her nose. I kind of panied myself. I had to calm myself down. Once I started thinking straight I realized I had to call 911. The paramedic arrived in about ten minutes. I asked her what happened, she told me she was having a nightmare that someone was taking her children away, and she leaped to grab them. The next thing she remembers is being on the floor in pain. The only thing we could figure was leaped out of bed to stop this person, and fell off of the bed and hit the corner of the bedside table right at the right side of her nose, and landed on the floor face down. At first I imagined she had a broken nose and cheekbone and some broken teeth. When the paramedics arrived, they checked her over and said she had lacerations next to her nose on the right side, next to her right eye, and on her right elbow, There was nothing broken and the bleeding was under control and they applied cold packs to her nose. They didn’t say anything, but my guess is that the thought crossed their mind that maybe this old man abused his wife. That will never happen in this family. I think we were very lucky that she didn’t have some serious damage to her face. As it is, she’s going to have some swelling and bruising that’s going to take some time to heal. When we got home, our doctor had her go get a full set of x-ray’s of her face, and there were no fractures. The doctor said it would take two or three weeks for all of the bruising to go away. In the meantime she’s hiding out in the house. Although we did go to the Hartwig’s for dinner on our shuffleboard night, and with makeup she looked pretty good. Here it is the beginning of October and the kids are planning a gala affair in our clubhouse on the 21st of November for our 50th anniversary. They are inviting between seventy and eighty friends and family. Our actual wedding date was the 6th of November, but we are going on a cruise on the 8th.

NOVEMBER 2015 ANNIVERSARY CRUISE AND PARTY The big party to celebrate our Golden Wedding with our family and friends is November 21st, but we are taking a little cruise down the Mexican Riviera for a week on the 8th. The party should be a lot of fun. Our kids and grand kids are hosting the shindig in our auditorium. Jean’s family from Seattle, Jan and Tony, are coming down, along with a few other friends and family. We should have about 80 guests.

Early Saturday morning November the 8th Michele drove Jean and I to San Pedro Pier 93 where we boarded the good ship Ruby Princess for a cruise to Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan and Cobo San Lucas. This was the fifth time we had taken this Mexican Riviera trip. This was the first time on Princess. We usually took Holland America. We would get a suite and never get off the ship. Just seven days of relaxation. This was a great cruise. The weather was perfect and the sea was calm.

We returned on the 15th with a week to prepare for the big 50th anniversary party the kids were giving us on the 21st. It was particularly special for Jean because family from Seattle was coming. Her niece Jan Pignataro and her son Tyler and his wife Brittiny along with her nephew Tony Pignataro and his wife Suzie. They were the offspring of her oldest sister Carol who died in 1978 at the age of 44.

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