Requiem 1999
On October 11, I opened the local Vallejo
paper to
page 4 and was surprised to see my obituary. Well, there it is.
I had often wondered
how this would occur. However, upon a closer look, I discovered
that the
Richard Green, was actually Richrd Greene...with an e, and from
Michigan,
not Ohio. Needless to say, I was greatly relieved! Apparently,
I am to
continue for a few more years. Hopefully, I can match my mother's
longevity, as she is moving toward her 90th year.
I reviewed the air tickets purchased
this year and calculated that I had
been away from Vallejo for a total of 100 days since February
8th,1999. In
all, there were 9 trips back east including a pleasure trip to
Chicago to
see 2 operas and a week in New York/ New Jersey area to visit
several
friends. However the majority of trips back East were mainly due
to
family.
My mother has been in the convalescent
center in Dover since
January, 1999 and continues to have serious problems with her
blood sugar.
Falling several times has worsened her situation. Another reason
for the
many trips to Ohio was to shore up my father-in law, John Horner,
a wonderful man, who was
married to Mom for the past 10 years. Then a real shocker. John,
who was
in very good health, walked a mile each day, became ill, and died
10 days
later. That set off another series of trips, selling the house,
auctioning
off the contents plus all the other legal complexities associated
with
death, trusts and wills. John was such a support to mom, visiting
her twice
a day -- with John's death, the situation changed dramatically.
Because of
Mom's condition, I expected Mom to pass first since John was only
86 and
in relatively good health with the exception of respiratory problems.
But that was not to be. Fortunately,
we have a wonderful cousin in the area who
looks in on Mom once a week and that is very comforting. Sister
Gloria and
self visited Ohio over the Thanksgiving weekend and, on the day
before we
were scheduled to leave, December 2, Mom fell and bumped her head.
She was
admitted to emergency, then released. However, within an hour,
Mom was
re-admitted with a seizure and was diagnosed with diabetic shock.
Fortunately, we were
still in Dover and once again, Mom was released and sent home.
The next
day, her doctor ordered her back to the hospital. Currently, she
is back
at the Center and is being monitored twice a day on the blood
sugar
problem. Mentally, she has some problems remembering events but
overall, she
is doing as well as can be expected for a lady who has problems
associated
with aging.
Overall, I must say that the year has
been a real bummer. An inordinate number of people, friends and
family, who I am associated with have passed. Three folks who
lived on this small
drive have passed since May, along with nearly a dozen others
who I was
aquainted with socially here in Vallejo or former colleagues from
the
College. The crushing blow occured about 5 weeks. A close friend,
Jackie
Thomas, a 40 year old mother of 2 teen aged sons, passed after
a
heroic 8 month struggle battling leukemia. Jackie was one of my
favorite
friends, a simply wonderful human being and loving parent. I'll
really miss
Jackie and step-dad John. Added to this, my favorite uncle, Tony
Nardi,
passed this summer. I would just as soon forget the year.
On a happier note, the small Catholic
school I attended in Ohio for 13 years ( I was
kept back in the first grade because I was so shy) staged our
50th high
school class reunion . There were 23 in the class and only one
has passed,
which is remarkable. Son Chris designed a wine label for the reunion
and I
gave a bottle of California wine to each class member who attended
the
reunion, which as I recall, was 19.
Chris and Lisa are doing quite well. Lisa's career as a registered nurse is working out very well. She is on the staff at UC San Francisco and loves her job and career. She and Andre are able to juggle their lives and work quite well, and can spend a lot of time with both kids, Cole (7) and Madison (4). Both kids are real cute and are quite talented! Like all young folks, they can be trying at times but they are very sweet and wonderful kids and Andre and Lisa are good parents.
At one point this year, they were considering a move to St. Helena, a beautiful rustic town at the north end of the Napa Valley. But the cost of purchasing a home and moving the kids was high -- I am pleased they decided to stay in Benicia where they have a good support system of friends and family to help with the kids. They also just completed a comprehensive remodeling of their house and the result is smashing. Andre is an exceptionally skilled craftsmen and the entire house and outside looks fabulous. We'll be having Christmas dinner at my place this year as I have the most real estate for our growing family.
Chris is also doing well, still working for Etak after 12 years. The company, still owned by Sony, is involved in all sorts of business related to digital maps, traffic information and GPS technology. He has become a manager and a support engineer at work and wears many hats in his job. He still teaches group fitness classes at Gold's Gym and 24 Hour Fitness and has owned his condo now for 5 years. In that time, the value of his real estate in the Silicon Valley has risen $100,000 or nearly 60%!
Am continuing my interest in the arts,
attending as many performances of the
San Franciso Symphony as possible, which was 23 at last count
for the 98-99
season. Continuing my interest in the San Francisco Opera and
the SF Ballet as well.
It only takes an hour to get into the City . We are blessed to
have such
first-rate organizations loaded with talent in the Bay Area and
I feel fortunate to be able to
attend as many of these performances as I have despite the constant
travel
back East.
Finally, with the help of Bill Michaels,
my teaching colleague from the
college, we rebuilt the deck this summer. Took down a 52 ft. Sequoia
redwood tree
and another 40 ft. Coastal redwood that were becoming too large
and messy
in the back yard. Have plans to construct an Italian-style garden
with
a fountain and a spa. Finally realized I can't do all this work
myself so
I hired two landscapers to do the bulk of the work and expect
it will be
done in the Spring. Also plan to change a few things in the kitchen
and
that too should be completed by April . The interruptions due
to traveling
back to Ohio have made it difficult to complete these projects.
Hopefully,
this coming year will bear more fruit. Am hoping for a more productive
year in 2000. But again, events in Ohio will dictate what is accomplished
here in California.
I have received cards from many of you
already. Those I communicate via
e-mail are aware of most of what has been said in this letter.
Hope I
haven't bored you.
In closing, I recommend a Tom Hanks film,
The Green Mile. Saw it a day ago.
It''s neat. The best supporting actor/actress may go to a mouse!!!!!
See
it if you have a chance. It really boosted my spirit!!!
Have a great year in 2000!!!!!
Rick