dughlas

Hey, she our sis what do you expect?

Finely minced.

I haven't given up. My current treatment wasn't an option 2 years ago.

Just a hug ... okay, maybe a kiss too ... oh, and a cuddle would be nice ... I'll make something tasty for breakfast if you stay the night. What?!? He looks a little lonely. I'm just tryin' to make him feel loved.

Mum never made it at home. I learned to eat it at school.

Greetings Albert. I'm better than I was though not quite as well as I'd like.

Suicide is not an "easy way out" but rather an act of last resort. I know as I was very, very close. I was in near constant severe pain from an intractable neurologic ailment. The medication I was taking as a treatment could at higher doses cause suicidal ideation and I'd reached that point. I viewed every day I woke as another in hell. I prayed each night to die while I slept to no avail. I had determined how I was going to act and one morning I did. I started to pull out of my drive into the path of a tractor trailer speeding towards me. I'm not sure what stopped me but it was enough to a collision that I could see the horror on the driver's face when he thought he was going to hit me. Maybe that's what stopped me. I was late to work that morning. When I arrived the person in the cubicle beside me took one look at me and asked what had happened. So I told her. Within fifteen minutes my boss was at my desk with a phone number for me to call to arrange counciling. I knew I had to get off that medication it was doing more harm than good. However, I needed specialized help to do that and had to wait four months to get an appointment. People were aghast at that, me, I just accepted it as just one more stage in the hell I was living. I made promises to my mother, councilor and coworkers that I wouldn't do anything "stupid", my word choice not theirs. Every day I told myself "no, not today, maybe tomorrow". Tomorrow never came and eventually I got off the med. No, life didn't magically improve, in fact it got worse. I went on medical leave and eventually medical disability. My condition isn't fatal, just intractable. There is no cure only treatments that alleviate symptoms. It took several years to find the one I'm currently on. It helps. While I still deal with daily pain it's rarely as severe as it once was. I no longer need narcotic pain killers to cope. Having been there I believe suicide is a permanent solution to what is likely a temporary situation. So I say wait don't do it today there's always tomorrow because sometimes tomorrow turns out to be better. It was for me. Thank you for this story.

Truthfully so would I. I don't much care for peas though I can and will eat them without pulling a face. I avoid them whenever possible. Feel much the same about lima beans. I do however like baked lima beans.

The day began foggy and overcast. The temp was 67/19° which is warmer than the high temp last weekend. It hasn't grown any warmer but it's humid so feels damp. We could see light showers off and on today and tomorrow. My head is not best pleased. Spent the majority of yesterday resting quietly. Feel a bit better this morning. Took the pup for his early morning walk. Though now I'd like nothing more than to slip back into bed and sleep.

One of my favorites but I don't use peas and carrots in mine. My school cafeterias made it with corn instead so that's how as a child I learned to like it. I also add mushrooms and and onion to the meat.

Maybe peas instead

I'm glad you had the chance to visit with some of your kids. I leave to head back to SC and mum in just two and a half weeks. I'm excited but I have a bunch of things I'd like to accomplish before I go.

We went from chilly slightly below seasonal conditions to a prediction of a couple days of above average warmth and humidity before a return to cooler at the end of the week. Today started wet and remained damp and dreary most of the day. I spent it resting my head.

Winter is coming ... what?!? Marty's the one who brought GOT to mind with the blurb about the tree lined avenue on the previous page.

It's being damp here this morning, extreme edge of the remnants of Beta have brought light rain to the area. Decided to forego this morning's walk for a bit of a lie in.

It brings something most might overlook front and center. Well done. Does anyone else think it looks somewhat alien or something found under sea?

Just don't drop it, if you do it would be a crumbled pumpkin cake.

It's time for someone to tell Rita to put a sock in it. "Ricky Ticky" really. That's how she speaks to a "professional" tradesperson when doing business. She smoozes people to get what she wants and takes advantage. I wonder if it's actually intended to set people wrong-footed for that very reason. Enough about her. Marta was a breath of fresh air and a joy. It didn't take Rick very long to shoot himself down after encountering "the lovely heat of summer". I feel for him.

Rick has lived with the consequences of that afternoon his entire life. Willy'd gotten what he wanted and probably forgot about it before the year was out. Heinrich Sr. is just another sort of user. It seems to him Ricky is little more than slave labor and a source of embarrassment. You've written another compelling chapter.

From the start there was a sense of what occured and yet the way both present day and Rick's memories were interwoven created a superb tension. It seems this sort of thing is or was common at summer resorts when the "golden ones" interacted with and took advantage of the more naive permanent residents with little or no consequence to themselves. Leaving the often younger girls and boys to gather up the tatters of their lives and self-esteem when the young gods left to resume their normal lives elsewhere. Privilege begets a sense of the freedom to what one will with little to no regard for those harmed. You've portrayed that with consumate skill. Is Rick's lack of a partner due to the harm done his sense of self or small town life? I am curious to see where you take us.

Wow. I missed this until you're four chapters into the tale. I like the interaction between Rick and Jerry it flows naturally. Reminds me a bit of my son and his lifelong best friend. They're at 35+ years. Looking forward to catching up.

It was a mostly good day, thank you.

Belated greetings Page.

May tomorrow and tomorrow be better.

I'm rather certain those were my herd members. Your neighbors called the other day and ask to borrow some. They wanted to brighten your day. Sounds like it worked.