Any of you monkeys want a banana?

My (internal) alarm woke me up at 7:00 this morning, so I should get up and update my weblog with all the latest happenings. Let's see, where should I begin.....

Gene, my father-in-law is about to have the greatest question answered...What comes after I die?...perhaps before Christmas day. I just spoke with Rosalie and she told me he's gasping for breath. He's ready to go; he's told me that several times. 'I would have been dead already, but my daughters won't let me die' or words to that effect. His health has gotten much worse in the last three years, although it wasn't all that good in the 5 years prior to that. The funny thing is, we moved here 15 years ago because Rose wanted to be near her father (and mother) before they passed on.

Gene was a real fighter. He broke his back when in the Coast Guard, and has lived with that for the last 60 years. He had heart surgery (valve replacement) over 30 years ago, and has lived longer than anyone else (that we know of) with that type of surgery. I'm sure it's because he was in such good health when he was younger. He was an amazing runner, and at one point was invited to move to Canada and try out for their Olympic team. We had one of his trophies (no longer, we lost it in the house fire) he won when he was younger. It was engraved 'Eugene Rogers, 100 yd dash, 9.8 sec'. I wonder what he would have done if he'd had the support of an organized athletics program.

The first time I met Gene was the day he ripped the telephone off the wall at his house (I'm assuming that was the only time). I was visiting Rosalie, and had been there for a few hours. Gene came storming into the house, raging about 'Can't anybody answer the $&#*$%#_)# phone!!!!!' He had been visiting his friends at the local pub and had called repeatedly for a ride. Belva and all the kids told him several times the phone didn't ring at all. Just then, the phone rang. I guess that was too much for him, so he 'answered' it. Uhhh...Hi Gene. Pleased to meet you...

With the impending death of her father, Rose decided there was no way she could go to Texas as we had planned. It's disappointing for all of us, and for Neal and Jaclyn also. Neal had planned for he and I to upgrade his computer, visit book stores, computer stores, etc. I want to see my second grandchild. We were all looking forward to a road trip, and since I've not been there before, I was planning to enjoy visiting a new place. I guess we'll have to make other arrangements. One of the good things about this, of course, is that the kids (9 brothers and sisters) and families are all coming home. Belva/Cliff/Eric/Elliot are here, and Linda/Rene/Rafaelle/Michael/Peyton are coming. Eugene (Genie) is coming too, although he had to be coaxed. Everyone else lives in the area.

Charlotte and Sara are both doing well. Charlotte looks to be quite alert and interested in the world around her. Sara is still in the new baby stage. She sleeps a lot, and is still not very interested in things she can't suck on. They both appear to be healthy, and that is the most important part. Let's hope they both have healthy, happy lives ahead of them.