Saturday, March 22, 2025

Saturday, March 22, 2025

Tonight's picture was taken in March of 2004. Mattie was almost two years old. That evening we were sitting on the couch together, surrounded by books. Mattie loved to look at books, and enjoyed listening to me read them. Mattie was fascinated by the illustrations and he always took the whole experience in! He had the best smile!

Quote of the day: It's your reaction to adversity, not adversity itself that determines how your life's story will develop. ~ Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Given that my mom has been sick all week, I have been very home bound. She was still struggling today. She is absolutely exhausted, congested, and has a bad cough. I was hoping the antibiotics would help, but she could have a virus, and that will have to play out its course. 

After getting my parents situated and comfortable in the family room, I went to the backyard to start doing some weeding in my flower pots. I picked up sticks and got some fresh air, which is always appreciated. 

When I came inside, I prepped a chicken meatloaf. I love adding sauteed vegetables to the meat, as it makes it lighter and my parents can get lots of vegetables this way. This meatloaf had onions, basil, broccoli, asparagus, mushrooms, and carrots in it. 

I chopped up sweet potatoes and baked them with cinnamon and nutmeg, and made string beans.  

My mailman surprised me with a big box today! In it was many gifts for all three of us from my dear friend in St. Louis. My dad kept asking.... why are we getting gifts? I told him it was the best kind of gift... an unexpected one, to show us that WE ARE NOT ALONE.

My dad opened up his gifts! My dad is ALL about the chocolate chip cookie! He literally eats two or three a day! 

My mom was thrilled with the chocolate. It is amazing how an act of kindness combined with chocolate can turn one's day around. 

These were my gifts. The sunflower blanket means so much to me, as the sunflower is so symbolic of my journey during Mattie's cancer diagnosis. Team Mattie used to give me fresh sunflowers whenever we were home from the hospital. The sunflower has come to symbolize love, compassion, and community to me! My St. Louis friend has been an incredible support for decades, but now that I am facing the world alone, her insights, love, and support, almost on a daily basis, are indescribable. 

Chocolate, tea, a fragrant candle, and a blanket..... it was like receiving a box filled with love and comfort! 

The comfort of this box, carried me through another round of packing today in the basement. I now have things staged to be moved out of the house in three areas. I knew that packing and organizing would be key, because when movers come in, they want to hit the ground running.... they do not want to wait around to determine what needs to be moved. So though this was labor intensive on my part, not to mention emotionally laden, I once again rose to the occasion in order to do the responsible thing. 

Friday, March 21, 2025

Friday, March 21, 2025

Tonight's picture was taken in March of 2004. Mattie was almost two years old by that point. That day we took him to the Children's Museum in Washington, DC. The Museum was filled with a lot of hands-on activities, which were right up Mattie's alley. Everything from sand to big vehicles like a firetruck which Mattie could climb aboard. It was our first and last trip to that Museum, but it was a day I will never forget. 

Quote of the day: A part of kindness consists in loving people more than they deserve. ~ Joseph Joubert

Starting on Wednesday, I noticed my mom was getting sick. She was coughing, congested, and seemed exhausted. She also developed laryngitis. When my mom gets sick, my balancing act at home goes up exponentially. I tried getting her to rest, take Tylenol, and cough syrup. But this morning I knew I had to intervene. So I contacted her doctor. Given that my mom has a significant lung condition, the doctor prescribed antibiotics, but he wanted me to test her for COVID and the flu. I knew about over the counter COVID tests, as I have several of them at home, but the flu is another story. The last thing I wanted to do was to take her to urgent care for a flu swab. So I asked the doctor whether there was a rapid test for the flu. He said..... YES and to get it at CVS. CVS has a combined COVID and FLU rapid test. Brilliant! This will make my life so much easier, as my parent's doctor always asks me to swab them. 

Any case, my mom did not enjoy the swabbing process, but complied. She is negative for both, yet is still quite ill. I am juggling her care and needs, as well as my dad's. When I went to CVS today to pick up her script, as I was leaving the store, I heard someone say.... hi Vicki! I wasn't sure who it could be, since most of my friends do not live near me. I turned and saw it was Nate. Nate runs his own stone cleaning company and I was introduced to him by my landscaper. Nate will be working with me starting next week and as odd as this sounds, it was very nice that someone stopped for a moment from their busy day to say hello. 

Switching gears. Thankfully I had homemade turkey and chicken soup in the freezer. I freeze soups for moments like today! It is a hard reality being a caregiver to one's parents. Mainly because you know what the outcome will be. It isn't like caring for a child, who will eventually grow, mature, and become more independent. OH WAIT..... I did not experience that either with Mattie. 

Caregiving is a challenging job because there are no minutes or days off. No matter how I feel, I need to push through those feelings because things need to be cleaned, laundry needs to be done, food needs to be bought and prepared and of course Indie needs to be fed and cared for. Let's not talk about caring for the house. 

Later today, I went to the basement to start packing up items. Indie, my cat, was in tow. She is paying very close attention to all the work I am doing and I can't tell whether she is fascinated or anxious by all this activity. Nonetheless, you have to wonder, what is she thinking? After all, she wasn't my cat, she wasn't bonded with me throughout my marriage. Yet now she is my full responsibility and the beauty of Indie is she figured out pretty quickly that she had to hitch her wagon to me. As I am the only one giving her food, cleaning her litter box daily, and paying attention and playing with her. Somehow she seems to know that her presence is appreciated as I comb through items from my marriage and pack things away. I would expect this from Sunny (if he were alive), but I am most surprised by Indie! 

It will be hard weekend with my mom sick and more packing in store for me. All I can do is take it one task, moment, and box at a time.  

Thursday, March 20, 2025

Thursday, March 20, 2025

Tonight's picture was taken in March of 2007. Mattie was almost five years old. That spring break, we took Mattie on a trip to Key West, Florida. One of our adventures was to the aquarium. You will notice that Mattie and I were examining a horseshoe crab. Mattie was intrigued but was definitely NOT going to touch it! That was my job, which I must admit I wouldn't have touched this creature either, if Mattie wasn't with me. As his mom, I knew I had to model certain behaviors and since Mattie was a naturally curious fellow, I wanted to show him that it was okay to touch the crab, especially when the scientist was holding the crab's pointed tail. 

Quote of the day: Kind words not only lift our spirits in the moment they are given, but they can linger with us over the years. ~ Joseph Wirthlin

Do you think a kind word or two can transform your day? I do! I know it can, as this morning, when I woke up and checked my email, I received a lovely message from a blog reader in Europe! She shared several reflections with me and at the end of her message she wrote..... "You are not alone." I don't know about you, but these four words are very powerful to me. They convey much more than the three words most people want to hear.... I love you. In some ways, "I love you" can be trite or said by rote! But "you are not alone," is intentional and conveys to me that I am being understood, heard, and supported. 

Yes supported. Certainly this blog reader isn't next door, she is not even in this Country, yet given what she was writing, I could tell she follows my story, is absorbing it and through her words lent incredible support. I assure you I never felt this upbeat coming out of therapy. So I say to my European blog friend...... THANK YOU, your words are a gift!

This morning, when I got downstairs to make breakfast, I looked out the kitchen window and I noticed the garden fountain wasn't on. It goes on every morning at 8:33am, on the dot. It was 8:34am, and I panicked. Seriously you would be amazed what causes me to get stressed out. Any case, I checked the circuit breakers and they were fine. So I went outside to check the electric outlet. It too was fine. I did not have time to tinker with this as I had to finish my morning routine and get my dad up for his foot doctor appointment. 

So I continued on with my chores. Before going upstairs to wake my dad, I went to the fountain one more time. This time I went to the fountain timer and switched it from timer to manual mode. At that point the fountain turned on. This told me that nothing was wrong with the fountain. So I cleaned up the timer and reset it and switched it back onto timer mode. Sure enough it worked. Let's hope that it automatically goes on tomorrow morning. 

Any case, that was the second positive thing to happen today after receiving a beautiful email. Unfortunately my mom has developed a bad head cold, cough, and laryngitis. When she gets sick, she can be down for the count. Even though she wanted to go out today, I said no, that she had to rest. I made the right decision. 

While at my dad's doctor appointment, I got a call from Richard. Recap, Richard is the raccoon expert helping me with Ricki! I have been working with Richard since Monday. Ricki the raccoon has caused absolute havoc in my shed. He has torn up everything, created a four foot hole in the shed, and let's not talk about the urine and feces everywhere. If anyone in my area has issues with wildlife like raccoons, I highly recommend VA Animal Control. Why?

Meet Ricki! They told me they were going to capture Ricki and sure enough! They know their stuff and came to the property each day with a different strategy to get Ricki into one of the three traps. Truthfully Ricki looks adorable, but if you could see the consequences of Ricki, you would think differently. Any case, Ricki was taken by Richard to a forest to hopefully live a happy and free life. 

Richard installed sheet metal on the walls of the shed and then he helped me by removing large items in the shed that had been decimated, such as old window screens, large pieces of wood, wire racks, and shelving. Truthfully these pieces were so big, I couldn't manage them myself. Richard and his colleague removed and disposed all of this for me! GOOD GUYS! Then after they cleaned out the big pieces, they removed all the feces and misted the entire interior with a disinfectant spray. I will give that time to work, and then it will be safe for me to go in and do more cleaning and reorganizing. So I view this as the third great thing for today!

Once I got my parents settled to relax this afternoon, I went out by myself! Truthfully a first! I wanted to give Jason (our favorite server at our local diner) a birthday card and gift. He takes incredible care of my parents and we were scheduled to see him today to celebrate his birthday. Given that my mom wasn't up to going out, I did not want to miss Jason's birthday. When I got to the diner and told Jason the story, he was so touched that I would make a special trip to see him when I was juggling so much. No matter how distraught I am, I hope I will always be able to step back and acknowledge the kindness of others around me!

After visiting with Jason, I then went to Sherwin Williams. Why? Well I wanted to get a can of paint to touch up a few of our walls. When I pulled things off the walls a few days ago, I also pulled off the paint. Going into Sherwin Williams was an interesting experience. Mainly because I was surrounded by contractors working projects. Any case the man behind the counter was super helpful. I explained what I was trying to do. Originally I thought getting a paint sampler can would suffice, but he alerted me that the quality of a sampler can is NOT as good as the actual paint itself. Fortunately I knew the paint color, as I picked it back in 2021! However, I did not know if the wall color was a flat or satin paint. So that led to more questions and the fellow pulled out a sampling pallet to show me the difference in sheen. Which confirmed that our paint has a satin finish at home. Truthfully what I have learned about being on my own is that it is okay to ask questions, to ask for help from people who have knowledge that I don't, and in the process I feel empowered to further help myself. 

Wednesday, March 19, 2025

Wednesday, March 19, 2025

Tonight's picture was taken in March of 2005. Mattie was almost three years old. That day we took Mattie to Butler's Orchard in Maryland. This was one of our favorite farms to visit as they planned wonderful events for the children for the Fall and during Easter season. That day we went for their Easter egg hunt. I am so glad we did all sorts of adventures with Mattie. We squeezed a lifetime into seven short years. 

Quote of the day: Stress acts as an accelerator: it will push you either forward or backward, but you choose which direction. ~ Chelsea Erieau

It was a regular three ring circus this morning. The raccoon fiasco continues. So apparently Ricki Raccoon did enter the shed last night. How do I know? Because Richard created a cardboard tunnel and door yesterday, to see if the cardboard would be disturbed. It was disturbed and scratched. So we know that Ricki is still living in the shed. Of course Ricki is smart enough NOT TO GO into the traps! Any case, Richard further educated me today, and he put up another piece of cardboard attached to the shed wall with screws. He wants to see if Ricki scratches his way in tonight. If he doesn't then they are sealing up the whole back wall of the shed with sheet metal tomorrow. 

Over the course of the last day or so, I was talking to another wonderful friend of mine. She was concerned when I told her I was planning on cleaning out the shed myself. Given that raccoons carry disease, it may not be a wise idea to do this myself. After thinking this through, I decided to discuss the clean out process with Richard. Richard is going to use a disinfectant mist all over the shed's interior, he will shovel up the feces he can see, and he has also agreed to help me throw out big things in the shed that have been decimated. It is almost impossible to describe what one animal could do to a shed. 

Richard told me that the raccoon in the shed is most likely a male. He says that the males are loaners. They mate, but after mating, they leave the female to birth the babies and raise them herself. I told Richard we also have possums in the backyard. He says the possum is a great creature to have, as they eat ticks, mites, and keep a garden clean, without being destructive. BRING ON THE POSSUM! 

Richard and his colleague were up on our roof today installing the metal guards around our attic fans. The sound of people jumping all over the roof was disheartening, but whatever it takes to keep Ricki out of the house, is a plus. While working with Richard, our carpenter arrived to discuss how to fix the shed doors. They have practically disintegrated and it is close to impossible to shut the doors. All I know is I have become a project manager of multiple problems and issues in the house. Truly no day is peaceful and frankly I see no end to this, to me this is now my life.

As an aside, I had the opportunity to talk with a neighbor today while outside. I think so many people want me to have a happy life, to find peace, and to see a future of possibilities. In this person's words to me.... "the best is yet to come." I absolutely get why people try to remain positive with me, but in the process of being positive, it negates how I am feeling. I truly do not know how anyone could conceive that I could go from being married to divorced, after 35 years together, and be happy about it. 

I can say that one entire room in my house has now been packed up. I have packed about 12 boxes so far. Tomorrow, I move to the next room. As I come across items that are not mine, I set them aside. All items are boxed, organized and labeled. I have learned from experience that getting started is always the hardest part. So I take it one day and box at a time. 

Tuesday, March 18, 2025

Tuesday, March 18, 2025 -- Mattie died 786 weeks ago today.

Tonight's picture was taken in March of 2006. Mattie was almost four years old. You will notice that he was standing in a flower pot. We bid on that flower pot at Mattie's preschool auction. We won it and when Mattie saw it, he was excited that it belonged to us. With regard to the balloon, Mattie got that balloon at the grocery store that day (this particular store used to give out balloons and cookies to kids who were shopping with their families). In fact, Mattie loved going to that store just for that reason. Any case, when Mattie stepped into the flower pot with his balloon, I thought it was worthy of a photo! But what this photo tells me was Mattie really loved his preschool and was happy to have a part of something created at the school in his home. 

Quote of the day: You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. And you are the guy who'll decide where to go. ~ Dr. Seuss

As I am in the process of boxing and packing things around my house now, my mind wanders back to 2013. Packing and dealing with emotionally laden things, has a way of triggering past experiences. 

 

This photo was taken four years after Mattie died (2013). Every room in our home looked like a warehouse. Why? When Mattie had cancer, each and every day he received gifts and items from friends, family, our care community, and the hospital. We rarely were home, but when he did return there between chemotherapy and surgeries, we would dump what we received all over our house. When I say dumped, I literally mean dumped. Things were put in piles, all around the perimeter of every room. It was an overwhelming sight and yet at the same time I couldn't get myself to clean any of it or touch it. These items all seemed like they represented Mattie. Throwing anything out, meant losing another piece of Mattie. 

Naturally I was grateful to receive all these gifts and items for Mattie. As they made his living hell, much more manageable. But I point this chaos out to you, because Mattie dying had implications in all aspects of my life. Including our physical home. 

A close up on one of the piles. If you have ever seen the TV show Hoarders, I would say if you walked into our home after Mattie died, you would think I was a hoarder. The only difference is at the core, I am a very neat and organized person. So I suppose it was a matter of time, until all of this chaos got to me. But when I tell you I lived in piles like this for years, I am not kidding. What this hoarding illustrated was the massive trauma I was facing and trying to cope with each day. 

After Mattie died, my main goal was to try to survive. Not to jump out the window, not to overdose on medication, and to take a shower and eat. That may sound ridiculous or basic, but that was as good as it got for a while. Therefore, being concerned about my physical space was not high on my list. 

For years, being around Mattie's things kept him alive for me. I was very influenced and connected to all objects, toys, and clothes. I would also say that hoarding kept me safe from dealing with the outside world. I did not have anyone over and all these things helped me put up walls and boundaries. It kept me safe and it kept Mattie's presence locked into our home. 

Then four years after Mattie's death, I said to myself..... I can't see any of Mattie's creations, I can't see his art work, and somehow all these piles did not do Mattie's memory justice. So I started organizing and cleaning out. NOT for myself, but for Mattie! 

Bit by bit, day by day, I went through clothes, toys, gifts, and every item. Some were donated, some things thrown out, and important things kept and either stored or displayed. It was at that point that I transformed Mattie's bedroom into Mattie Miracle's office, and Mattie's legacy started to bloom. 

Literally for weeks, I had piles going of things that were getting donated. Once I started, the process seemed to unfold, and the donating got easier. However, to this day, there are things of Mattie's that I have, that will NOT be removed from my possession. Unfortunately things are all I have left, along with a steel trap memory (thank goodness) of our life together. 

Get the gist of the many piles I donated. Literally the donations went on for weeks. It was a very hard thing to undertake. Now 16 years later, I am once again faced with a cleaning out and packing up of things from my married life. Not because I want to, but because I have to, as these items do not belong to me. I never viewed items as mine or his..... to me, everything we had was ours. So in addition to having to say good-bye to things, I have to say good-bye to what all these items meant in my life. 

Maybe it is because I have faced numerous traumas and losses, but I get attached to people and things. When any thing or one I have connected to for years becomes severed from my life, it is an unbearable feeling. Yet here I am once again, facing the impossible. 

Monday, March 17, 2025

Monday, March 17, 2025

Tonight's picture was taken in March of 2007. Mattie was almost five years old. He was on spring break from his preschool, and we flew to Florida, to drive to the Keys. It was our first family trip to the Keys, and also our last. On the long drive from Ft. Lauderdale down to the Keys, we stopped at this store. Mattie could see all the shells and things from the car, so it was the perfect place to stop and stretch our legs. As you can see, he found a seat in the shape of a hand! I miss those adventurous and whimsical days. I think when in the throes of parenting, one thinks that is the hardest thing on earth. It is hard, don't get me wrong. Nothing is harder than parenting, and being responsible for a little one. Yet I have found a whole long list of impossibles from that moment on, and I long for those more "normal" tough days now.   

Quote of the day: Rock bottom became the solid foundation in which I rebuilt my life. ~ J.K. Rowling

Each day I wake up and wonder.... what crisis will I face today? That may sound silly, but so far, NO DAY HAS DISAPPOINTED or changed my thinking! After I dropped my dad off at his memory care center, I decided to call my pest control service. A friend of mine encouraged me NOT to fix the four foot hole in my shed without dealing with the raccoon problem first. Truthfully I thought that was an odd comment she made, because in my mind, if you fix the hole, then the problem is gone. The raccoon would be locked out of the shed. Turns out my friend was correct. Raccoons are resourceful and TERRITORIAL. Even if I were to have a carpenter fix the wood, that wouldn't solve the problem. 

My pest control company was NO HELP. Literally I made six phone calls around Northern Virginia until I finally found the right resource. Pest control companies do NOT manage wildlife issues. Any case, when VA animal control called me today, we had a long talk. I got the 411 on raccoons. Literally I was arguing with this poor fellow, who has been doing this work for 25 years. I clearly did not understand the complexity of the raccoon. 

Here is what I have learned. Raccoons are territorial and this raccoon has adopted my shed as his home. Let me tell you how smart this fellow is. He has been opening up my trash cans for months, pulls open the trash bags, eats left over cat food while in the trash can, and never makes a mess outside the garbage can. Ricki the Raccoon is very neat. You would never know he was having a buffet until you open the garbage lid. 

Any case, I learned that I could fix the wood on the shed, but that wouldn't stop the raccoon. He will just continue clawing at the structure until he gets in, doing more damage. So there has to be a two pronged attack to this problem. Today, they laid traps for the raccoon. Don't panic, these are animal friendly traps. Once Ricki Raccoon is trapped, he gets relocated into a lovely forest in Virginia. The traps remain in place for five days. I asked what happens if you don't catch Ricki? After all, maybe he has other homes to visit besides my shed. The fellow I was talking to tells me that raccoons visit their dens daily. So he is pretty convinced Ricki will be caught. 

Once Ricki is trapped, then they have to seal up the four foot hole. But NOT with wood. Instead using sheet metal. He says that raccoons get frustrated clawing at steel, because they can't cut through and then give up and look for other locations. So at the moment I have traps set for Ricki and later this week, sheet metal will be attached to the inside of the shed. We can't access the back of the shed because it literally is up against my neighbor's fence. Making it impossible for a human to access the area. 

The professional did a full inspection of my property and home today for raccoons and even did a walk through of our attic. He told me that if raccoons are on the property then it isn't unusual for them to wander around looking for ways to get in the house. For my house, they could potentially get in through the attic fans. He says once they are in the house, it is a huge expenditure, because they carry disease and their urine and feces get into the house insulation, which he says when all is said and done could cost $15,000 to do a professional cleaning and install new insultation. All I can say is this would be just my luck. So in addition to raccoon proofing the shed, I am also getting steel cages around each of the attic fans on the roof.  

Literally I was derailed today for hours on this problem! But here is my next concern.......

After bats, raccoons are the second most frequently reported rabid wildlife species, according to the CDC. They can carry it without any outward signs or symptoms. Raccoons can also carry raccoon roundworm, a serious disease that can cause neurological damage. It spreads through the ingestion of soil or other materials contaminated with an infected raccoon's feces. In addition, raccoons may carry leptospirosis and distemper. 

This information is crucial for me to know because I have a large clean out of the shed ahead of me. When I tell you everything is covered in urine and feces, I am not kidding. Many things have to be thrown out. In any case, I am not doing this clean out until Ricki is captured and the sheet metal is installed. But I am not looking forward to this hateful job. I started moving some things out of the shed today because there is so much in there, it will be impossible for the crew to install the sheet metal. Nonetheless, this is not the kind of spring cleaning I enjoy doing. What I do know is Ricki Raccoon would never have set up shop if my Sunny was still alive!

Sunday, March 16, 2025

Sunday, March 16, 2025

Tonight's picture was taken in March of 2009. This was a special day at the hospital, it was their opening party of the children's art gallery. I remember Mattie and I created many pieces for this exhibit. Some were poetry, some collages, and Mattie also created a Lego model of an ideal hospital room. To this day, our collages are still on display at the hospital's children's art gallery. I can't tell you how much that means to me! Can you see the man with the violin? That is Anthony! Anthony was a volunteer at the hospital and believe it or not, he also volunteers at my dad's memory care center. So now Anthony is helping two different generations of mine. As you can see, Mattie was like a moth to a flame. He had a way of attracting such wonderful people into his life. 

Quote of the day: Hardships make or break people. ~ Margaret Mitchell

If this isn't a sign that spring is coming, then I do not know what is! Over the winter, I brought in my two big "Sunny" hibiscus. I bought these glorious plants last spring. The notion of them dying, didn't sit right with me. So I transplanted them into plastic pots and brought them inside in the fall. I bought these plants in a tribute to my beautiful Sunny, who died on January 10, 2024. 

See the clock on the wall. It is a banjo clock. It belonged to my mother-in-law's father. I recall this clock in his dining room and then when he died, we got the clock. For decades I have seen this clock in our  front hallway. In fact, when we moved to the house in 2021, this clock immediately found its home. Since this clock no longer belongs to me, I made the difficult decision to remove it from the wall today and store it. But I had to find something to go in its place. 

Meet its replacement..... my cuckoo clock! I was given this clock by my mentor, Don, at the George Washington University. At the time he was moving out of his city condo and he was having a tag sale. We went over to visit him, with Mattie in tow. Don liked Mattie a lot and in fact, when Mattie was born, Don gave me the book, "Goodnight Moon." Which happened to be Mattie's favorite story! We read it so often, that we could recite it cold! 

While at the tag sale, Don just gave me several things. One was Lionel toy trains for Mattie and the second was this cuckoo clock. This clock was hanging in our city townhouse for decades. I loved hearing the cuckoo noise every hour! 

As I was cleaning out cabinets yesterday, I came across this clock. I decided to bring this whimsical clock back out and display it. I wasn't sure it was going to work, but it works beautifully. It is a tribute to my mentor, who always believed in me. 

On the day of my dissertation defense at the university, Don was on my committee. To defend a dissertation, it feels like you are sitting in the hot seat, because you never know what questions will get fired at you, and better yet after all this work.... will you pass and graduate? To start the defense off that day, Don greeted everyone and then announced he was wearing his "panda power tie." Indeed the tie had a beautiful panda on it and what Don was telling me was... he wished me luck and was sending me the power I needed to survive this grueling two hour process. I will never forget his kindness, his professionalism, and his support. If I can't have the banjo clock, which symbolizes so much of my history, then the cuckoo clock is a great replacement. 

It is a clock that represents a different time in my life. A time when I was much younger, Mattie was healthy, and I thought our family had a beautiful future ahead. Now whenever I hear this cuckoo sing his song on the hour, I will think of Don and the power he wished upon me during my dissertation defense in March of 2003.