Michele

She's free now, she's laughing and happy and complete again. I know it's hard for you right now...sending my love and hugs to you.

Ciels-
Michele

Thank you, 'Mama, for this.

It's taken months for me to come here, to let myself hear from you, some of my oldest friends. It's taken months for me to start to recover.

Shit, it's taken months for me to start to breathe again.

As I struggled through my last semester of nursing school (I'd failed it the first go-round, and busted ass the second time...), it was a period of unknowing; of insecurity, of self-doubt, of struggle and fight and sleepless nights.

Throughout, my Dad would call, send me notes in the mail, sent me flowers after a big exam (whether I'd done well or not...). He once left a teddy bear on my front porch.

It was a time of decline for him; he'd lost his driver's license due to confusion/hypoxia, and he was fighting to get it back. He'd stopped eating much, so I got 4 crockpots, and would make something for him every day; before school, at 5:30 or so, I'd sneak into his house, plug it in, and he'd have something for dinner that night.

Still, he'd schedule Dr. visits for when I could go with him. He said he felt safer with two medical people (me and his Dr) discussing his needs in front of him like he wasn't there. LOL. He'd bitch and moan, complain and gripe, and then we'd go to the deli, where he'd hold court, waving a pickle at passersby, signing autographs and listening to fans tell him things.

He'd always say "wow, I'm surprised. They remember Uncle Leo...that was years ago." We'd get chocolate shakes, and then go home...him to his house, me to mine.

I graduated nursing school December 20. December 21, we did our Christmas shopping, and December 22, we flew to Oregon to spend Christmas with my brother and his family.

Dad was frail, and had a hard time with the cold. While he loved being in Oregon, it was too cold for him, so when we came back to CA on December 27th, he was so grateful to be warm again, to sleep in his own bed...and to drive. He'd gotten his license back, you see, and was so damned proud of that. He didn't need to rely on anyone; he was independent again.

I was busy trying to recover from the pressure of finals, of completing nursing school. Dad and I went to a movie, but other than that, not too much together. I was busy sleeping, and while I maintained the food delivery service, I did a lot of just trying to relax. We did spend New Year's together, and he gave me a kiss for luck in the coming year, and told me "you are going to be the most important nurse I know."

In mid-January, I got a call from his roommate at about 6 am. Dad had fallen at some point during the night, and had spent the night on the bathroom floor. He was only semi-conscious. The ambulance was called, and I met them at the house.

I did a fast assessment, spoke with the medics, and decided Dad was going in to the hospital. He was in serious trouble; he was not quite "with it", and didn't remember falling, and asked me what the medics were doing there.

When we got to the hospital, his blood oxygen levels were at 71% (normal is +95%, and anything under 80 is a serious emergency). We got him on O2, but he lost consciousness anyway. We got the diagnosis: pneumonia in both lungs, unknown infective agent. Dehydration. Malnutrition. And of course, the cancer had wreaked havoc. He also was in atrial fibrillation.

Two days later, he was in ICU in respiratory failure. Somehow, even though we could hear him breathing 20 feet away, he managed to pull through that episode. I was at the hospital at all times, at his side, staying with him. I made him eat, I bullied him into letting the nurses take his blood (he had a horrible fear of needles...hated them).

He got transferred, and was making progress on the oncology floor. Two weeks later, he was transferred to a long term care facility, so he could rehab and come home. I was with him all the time, and when he started to deteriorate again and I asked him if he wanted to go to the hospital for more treatment, he yelled at me and said we'd talk later.

I brought my brother down Feb. 14, and a friend picked him up at the airport at 10 pm. David, my brother, stayed overnight with Dad, and then, in the morning, I joined David and Dad. The decision was made to not take extraordinary measures should the worst happen, and I did the paperwork. I cried the whole time, and didn't believe he was dying. He was sick - very sick. But he was my Dad, and he'd fight back from this.

I got the call that he'd stopped breathing and was unresponsive at just about 8:35 am on 2/16. I flew through the rain and traffic, and was at his side only 10 minutes later. He'd eaten breakfast, and then went back to sleep...and just stopped breathing. When I was a child, and was frightened, he'd hold me, and I'd listen to his heart. I held him that morning after he'd passed, held him, listened for his heart; I heard silence where once I heard love. I heard silence, and hot tears branded my face. He had passed, you see; my Daddy had died.

In the flurry after that, I don't recall much. I know things got taken care of, and that people came in from all over the US - and one from Canada. I know that the media was, surprisingly and pleasingly, respectful and treated us very well.

I know that his funeral was attended by over 300 people, and it was not a public event. I know that his burial was private, and enormously difficult for me - at one point, I was unable to breathe, as his casket was lowered into the ground, through the silence of the early morning...silence except for a single bird singing...singing Dad home. I know that the bird kept singing, through Kadish, through prayers, and through the end of the ceremonies.

The hollow thumping of dirt onto the casket will always fill my mind. The solemn faces of his grandchildren, the tears on the face of the Rabbi, the grief etched onto my brother's face will never be erased, no matter what.

And the pain, the utter, complete, overwhelming pain of loss, of irrevocable separation, will always be present for me. I don't know if it will become less sharp; if over time, this pain will be less penetrating, less overwhelming, less devastating. I know that I am able to get through my days now, but I still have a shock - that thrill of remembrance, the pit of my belly turning - when I remember that Dad has passed away.

My days, full as they are, are not bright. There is a dullness to the sunshine, a tarnish to the shimmer of sunlight on water. The roses I've planted for him are in full, glorious bloom, but I can't bear to smell their scent.

I laid a memorial stone at the foot of the walkway at his house (I've moved here...) on Father's Day. It reads:

Father, Friend
Len Lesser
1922 - 2011
If love could have saved you,
You would have lived forever.

I see it each time I come home. Everyone who comes to the front door sees it. Dad lives, if only in my memories, tucked into my heart. He lives, and if love could have saved him, he'd still be here, holding court at the deli, waving a pickle in greeting to his fans.

I miss him more than I can even begin to articulate. Someday, they say, I'll be able to make my peace with his passing. I think that's the day I see him again, someday, in heaven, where there are no tears, no pain, no sorrow.

I miss my Dad.

Thanks for this thread, Mama, and everyone. I know I've been absent for a while; for you to have remembered he and I made me both cry and be pleased. Forgive my inability to post until now....it's been very, very difficult in my world.

Best to you all,
Michele

I'm fat. So there.

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They took all his direct reports away b/c none of them could stand him, then was promoted to VP level WTF

Getting him out of the way? I've heard that's one way to deal with someone who's a jackass...sorry you got insulted. Peeheads like him (or, as I now call them, twatwaffles) are horrible to deal with. No fun. Go have a beer....

Ciels-
Michele

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Michele,

Haven't seen you around for a while. Hope things are going well!!

Things are...going...school is tough, tough, tough...cats are great, horse is wonderful...no time for anything other than the books and the hospital, though, so when I can I come and say hi; mostly lurk, though...just can't keep up with everything right now.

Hope you feel better soon!

ciels-
Michele

Cats. Gotta love 'em. They know just where you hurt, and try to help you by realigning everything via their tiny paws. I know this first hand.

And thank God for Vicodin...

Hope you feel better soon! Gout sucks.

Ciels-
Michele

LuckyMc, I nearly fell out of my chair when I saw this post.

I for one am doing just fine!!!! Heading out to the barn to see the big horse this morning, and since I can't jump, there's no where else I wanna be today.

Twat waffle. What a phrase. I'm digging it.

Ciels-
Michele

I told my brother that phrase, and as staunchly christian as he is, he still burst out laughing. Told my 78 y/o mom, too, who just laughed and laughed and laughed.

Twat waffle.

Glad you all liked it...'cause it's kept me laughing for days.

Ciels-
Michele

The term I just learned the other day.

Twat-waffle.

It has such a great ring flying off your tongue in the heat of an argument. And it never fails to make listeners laugh.

Twat-waffle.

Happy New Year!!

Ciels-
Michele

My love and prayers for you both...and of course for Shaye. May the peace she knows now come to you soon; may her smile be brightest when it's the hardest, and may the wind sing memories alive of her laughter.

When hearts bleed, souls rest. And while souls rest, healing comes. And when healing comes, hearts slow their bleeding. May the healing come quickly and completely.

My love and deepest condolences.

Ciels-
Michele

I still don't know what to say. It's been more than a month and I just don't have the words yet. Maybe someday, the tears won't be so bitter. Maybe someday, the words will flow more easily. Maybe someday, I will understand what happened better. Maybe someday, but not yet. Until then, all I can do is tell you again, JP, I love you. Your death has sent me into a very dark place. I dream of you, of our jump together, and of you reaching out and holding my hand in the big blue sky. I wake to a soaking pillow.

Corinne, and the girls - he loved you beyond the pain he was in. You all have been in my prayers, and even though I don't know how to do the rosary, I've done my version of it several times. Please let me know if you need anything. I would move heaven and earth to see that you all are o.k. in the end, so please just let me know.

My love and unending prayers for everyone touched by this loss.

Michele

Three weeks, 6 exams, two essays and one paper...and then I start summer classes. And then perhaps EMT-1 3 week intensive course. And then I get a month off. In August. And start it all over in September.

Sigh.

I'm tired just thinking about it, let alone getting ready for it.

Ciels-
Michele

It's going to be a very bad fire year; we've had only 4ish inches of rain, and we're normally at 14 inches (in Los Angeles). We had little rain last year, as well - everything is incredibly dry and unstable. The hills near my house - the Hollywood Hills - have had 5 fires already this year, the worst being the beginning of the week; 800+ acres of Griffith Park burned.

I'm sorry for Catalina - it's a gorgeous, fun place...

Ciels-
Michele

"The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face"....

and

"What A Wonderful World."

Ciels-
Michele

This has become a very "interesting" thread...

Ciels-
Michele

I have got to stop taking Lunesta - these dreams are really vivid!

Ciels-
Michele

The casting cattle call for the new "Zombies Strike Back" is going well, don't you think?

Ciels-
Michele

Windows or AC? Depends on the outside temp. If it's 85+ inside the house (and it's reached temps exceeding 100), I will use whatever I can to cool it off; the cats suffer, and so do I. I have a window unit (energy sucker, and loud) as well as a portable AC unit (usually in the bedroom - I can't sleep if it's over 85-88) which has a thermostat; so it stays on and cools the bedroom to 80, and then regulates things.

Most of the time, however, it's open windows and fans. And nakedness, truth be told...

Ciels-
Michele

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Rescue a pet so that the animal can have a life or buy from a reputable breeder. Stop buying from pet stores and puppy mills, k?

Done, done, and done (and done, and done...). And even rescued a purebred Siamese this way...Simon.

Just a note: if you want a purebred, google a purebreed rescue for that one. Oftentimes, there are babies, and you can get one for little $$. Unless you're intending to breed and sell the babies, there's really no need for registration and breed papers...and if you are intending on breeding, I would ask you to reconsider; there are plenty of animals available for rescue from those who thought "hey, I'll breed a litter!".

Ciels-
Michele

Then don't drink the water, silly!

Ciels-
Michele

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I hate posting it but I feel like everyone should be made aware of the type of person he is.

While I agree that stabbing someone is pretty awful, and indeed violence has no place at the DZ (or in life, for that matter), and while I realize it's a friend that was hurt...

There are two sides to a story, and the truth is usually somewhere between the two sides.

My very best wishes for the instructor's speedy recovery, and I'll be waiting to hear the full story before I make more of an opinion of Salsa John.

Ciels-
Michele

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whether you need them to work the fields or the kitchens of your Country... ALL of them, out! Americans, Europeans and Asian alike.

Agreed. However, you're the one emphasizing "all." I never said otherwise.

Ciels-
Michele

Happy Birthday, darlin. Hope you have lots of fun!

hugs to you.

Ciels-
Michele

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Oh, and there ARE borders, very long, tall and solid ones by the way; they run all the way into the Pacific Ocean.

And all the way across the northern part of the country, too. Don't forget them.

But I also think that while the borders are there, they're not strong enough. Otherwise, how does one account for the staggaring numbers of illegal immigrants here?

Ciels-
Michele

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How about that.. I agree with Michelle on a SC issue....WOO HOO...

You're funny.

I happen to know that we agree on more than this...and that sometimes, you light fires just because some people need to be awakened. And I also happen to know that even though we disagree on some issues, we're still friends.

So there.



Ciels-
Michele

Andy, that's not the OP's point, and you know it.

I have to say that while I believe in the melting pot theory, there's a point where it just becomes untenable.

I live in a city where illegal immigrants are taking over. It's sad, and I feel sorry for the anchor children; but then, I also think that it's time the borders were strengthened, and those who are here illegally get deported.

If you come in legally, welcome to you. I hope you find your dreams. But being here illegally is a shame both on them and a stain on my country that doesn't do a whole hell of a lot to stop them.

Everyone is allowed an opinion, and that's mine.

Ciels-
Michele