July 31 – August 8, 2021

First, let me get you caught up on some events. Things have happened so quickly in the last month, that I have not been able to keep track, and keep up.

It was July 28 when Annalou told me things had gotten to a point where Dad needed to be checked out to find out why he was so weak, and could no longer stand up, even with help. We knew it could be something simple, but was more than they could do there alone.

So they called for an ambulance to come and take him to the hospital for tests. No lights or sirens, just transportation.

Annalou took Sara in her car, and followed behind. The test results showed dehydration and a UTI infection, and because he was having difficulty swallowing, they gave him meds through IV, which would take through Sunday to complete. There was no place for Sara to stay overnight, so they both went home for the night.

That next morning, they went back in, and stayed all day again by his side. He seemed to be holding his own, and was talking if you asked him something, and Sara said he even kind of joked with her a little. They were asked to leave by 6 before the shift change, and before they even reached their car, got a call saying that Dad had tested positive for covid. There were absolutely no symptoms, but he would now be transferred to solitary confinement for ten days, and they would no longer be able to visit. Interesting how they waited until they had left, and could not return before they told them. Interesting how he tested positive with no symptoms. One thing this planned-demic has taught me over the past 21 months; Healthcare, news media, and politicians can never be trusted. In fact, you can pretty much count on the fact that they have your worst interests in mind, which will be what is most profitable for them, and gives them the most power over you. I believe that the hospital was positioning themselves so that if he died there, they would get their covid bonus. These are the Last Days, friends!

Well, we were going to make sure that didn’t happen! My brother Paul called right away because he has some experience with this. He made sure they knew he was coming home as soon as the meds were finished on Sunday, and not staying there for 10 days. Friday our good friend Marsha, who is a nurse there, stopped by to see him, and got the staff there moving to take care of him. She also stopped in several other times.

One of the women in the office stopped by my van to bring me my mail. Yes! They have finally figured out who the guy is that gets mail and packages sent to him, so sometimes drop it off to me! We got talking about the issue here, and she told me how in early 2020 her husband of almost 30 years was in the hospital, and cried as she told me she will never forget him yelling at her over the phone, saying “Here I am in the hospital dying of cancer, and they won’t let you come in and see me!!??” And she had to say “Yes, and there is nothing I can do about it!” That is sick! When has humanity ever stooped this low? Even if there had actually been a pandemic, there would never have been a reason not to allow a visit like that! But certainly not for a bad cold with a 99.99% survival rate. Oh, wait! I am in the high risk category, so my survival rate is only 99.98%. These are the Last Days, friends!

Saturday, July 31, 2021

I was still there at the trucking company yard, and wanted to keep busy enough not to dwell on the fact that my Dad was now all alone in solitary confinement in the worst possible place anyone can conceive of – a hospital! But, I wanted to be able to pray for him all day. So I decided it was time to transform the area where my side AC unit was in the other van, and organize it with shelves and a drawer. I had bought the materials last night, and had the plans all drawn up. I wanted to take this. . . . .

. . . .and make it look respectable! I knew I could move my van over near a flatbed trailer to use as a work bench, but it was blazing hot and sunny in the high 80’s so I needed to stay plugged in and keep the AC running. So I had to use a guard rail behind me instead. LOL Not a flat surface at all. BUT, survival is key! Because I checked in several times with Annalou, and had a few other phone calls to make, it took me all day, but here is what I ended up with.

A bin on top for my empty food storage containers, a shelf for dry goods under that, a small hinged door at the bottom to secure a thin shelf for my new laptop and my notebook PC. . . . . .

. . . and a drawer in the middle for oil and filters for my next two oil changes.

Paul had been successful in calling the nurse station, and having a nurse go in and put her phone next to Dad, and talked to him. I’m going to do that tomorrow! But we really have no idea how he is doing, except that Marsha was in to see him as well.

Sunday, August 1, 2021

I got up, made breakfast, and went to church. It was a great message, and I learned something about Justification. If we forgive someone for a wrong doing, we seldom forget about it, so put ourselves in a position so it  never happens again. But Justification goes to the next level, forgetting the trespass, and treating the person as if it never happened. That is difficult, but is the way God treats us.

When I returned to the yard, I parked next to the wash bay, changed in my van, stepped out, and helped Eddie wash the trailer, then backed it back next to another trailer, and separated the front neck so it can be worked on before he leaves with it Thursday. Here is what it looked like when we were finished.

The identical trailer beside it is the one I will be steering Wednesday to WI and on to NM.

I called the nurse station and asked to speak with my Dad. “Well,” she said, “I will have to change into full PPE in order to go in there. . .” Did she think I would tell her not to bother? Does she check on him as often as she should, or skip a few times because of the extra effort? What is that PPE anyway, a space suit and a gas mask? When has this ever happened in history? All this to avoid spreading a bad cold – which my Dad doesn’t even have!

So I firmly told her, “Ma’am, you do whatever you have to do, because I want to talk to my Dad right now.” It was brief, because he did not answer me. She said he nodded when I told him we were doing whatever it would take to get him home tomorrow.

I told Annalou that if he was not in better condition when he arrived home tomorrow than when he went in, I’m driving down right away!

Monday, August 2, 2021

I was up and ready, and once I got the call from Annalou, I went right in to the office to talk with the owner’s son. I told him the situation, and he said “David, family is first, and you told me several months ago that this day may come sometime, so we will find a replacement for you somehow.” Then the dispatcher spoke right up and said “Charlie just sent me an email a few minutes ago and said he was back from vacation, and ready for work as soon as he can get here from Virginia.” So they had me covered within a minute! He asked if I was flying, and I said “No, I don’t want my van up here with me down there if the politicians decide to shut the country down because of this planned-demic, so I will drive.” He told me to let him know when I’m ready to return, and he will try and fit me in somewhere closer to where I am. It doesn’t get any better than THAT!

I packed up and was on the road within 30 minutes at about 11 AM. My GPS said it would be a 24 hour drive plus stops. Now I don’t know if I’m just getting older, or if I’m getting wiser. But just a few years ago I’d have never given it a second thought. I’d have jumped in my vehicle, and tried to get there in the next 24 hours or less INCLUDING the stops. But these days, I realize that if I do – and I easily could – I’d be tired when I got there, and would need to cheat each day to get a little extra sleep. I really don’t like that, so decided to just do it in two days, but still keep travel time to 24 hours or less INCLUDING all stops, except an overnight. So I drove about half way to Paducah, KY, stopping once in the middle for fuel/restroom/supper and pulled in to a truck stop at 11:30 after 783 miles. I was in my own bed within 10 minutes.

Tuesday, I got up at 6, took a free shower using my fuel points, and was on my way by 7 AM. I drove about 730 miles, stopping twice, and arrived at the house in Citra at 6:30. Though my Dad was unresponsive, I talked to him a little before eating some supper.

The next few days are a blur. Cara, Scott, Seth, and Abby took two days to drive down, and Lara and Jeremy drove down, arriving within an hour of each other. They all spent time with Dad, and we all spent time together. Lara, with her experience as a Dental Assistant, was a big help to Annalou and Sara with meds and care, and Cara was a big help as well. It was wonderful having my entire family there with me.

Both Jeremy and Seth have drones like mine as a result of my interest, so we had our first chance to fly them together.

We took pictures of each other’s drones in the air,

and shared tips and things we had learned with each other.

One evening, Terry and Karen came over. Terry played his guitar and I played my cabassa as we sang for about an hour gathered around Dad’s bedside in the living room. We sang hymns, and scripture choruses that he loved to lead at meetings and conventions all around the country and several other nations. Everyone looked forward to him leading, because he did it with all his heart, with such contagious joy that the building seemed to become electrified!

One afternoon, Seth and I went out to fly drones together. Normally, I just fly mine up, get a few shots or video, and land it. But he has tried out everything it can do. So he started showing me the different flying modes. He took his up, and went into Sport mode. That mode doesn’t have collision avoidance, but is much faster. He took it up and over the trees. When his drone got out of sight, he brought it back. We still don’t know exactly what happened, but I guess when it came back, it lost altitude somehow, and nicked the top of the tallest tree on it’s way over. It got caught on the very top branch, and lodged there. It had to be 120 feet up in the air. We walked around the field to see from the other side, and could hear it’s distress signal, and see the lights flashing. Now what?

The tree was far too large to shake it, and the drone was far too high to reach with anything. So we did the hard thing, and went in to tell his parents. They came out to see, and we discussed our options. Actually, we decided we had no options! LOL It was decided that I would go find the Property Manager there, and ask for suggestions. I turned around – and there he was driving by! I flagged him down, and he said, “I just saw a bucket truck doing some tree work down the street. Let’s go ask them for help.” Seth jumped in back of his truck, and I sat in front. As we drove up, the bucket truck was parked, and four men were in a pickup truck, pulling out to drive home. We stopped them, and asked. “Sure! We’d love to help!” I checked my ears to be sure that’s really what I heard. One guy started up the bucket truck, and they all followed us out into the field.

I guided them to the right spot, because the lights and distress signal were no longer running. In the picture below, notice three things. First, the red dot shows where the drone was. Second, fully extended to 55 feet, the bucket is not even halfway up to the drone! And third, the limb to the branch where the drone is, is just BARELY low enough for the bucket guy to reach the crotch with a chainsaw.

With the Property Manager right there, and since the tree was on church property, we easily got the nod to cut the limb down. As I shot this short slow motion video, I was so concerned that the drone would fall to the ground and break, that I moved the phone down as I searched to see the drone falling. LOL

We all rushed over to look, and I crawled under the limb, and hollered “I found it!” Seth was right behind me, so I handed it back to him to inspect. Aside from the need to fold two of the prop arms back out, and a grass stain, it appeared to be unharmed!

“What do I owe you guys?” I said. “Oh, we are actually a Christian nonprofit organization that helps people break drug and alcohol addictions, so we don’t charge for our services, but you can give a donation if you like.” So you guys are Brothers? Teen Challenge? No, but very similar. We talked briefly, and one just graduated from the program. I gave them a $100 donation, and they were thrilled. Sorry to make you late for supper, guys!” “Oh no! We can’t think of a better way to end the day than to help out a nice kid like this recover his drone! And that’s a REALLY NICE drone, too!” The Lord cares about even the details! What a divine appointment!

Jinnie and Roger arrived Saturday evening, and Paul and Charline are on their way, planning to arrive Sunday evening. (Tomorrow)

Sunday, August 8, 2021

After 4 days, and more times at Dad’s bedside, it was time for them all to leave. They all said their goodbyes to Dad, and the “see you later’s” to us – and of course we took a few drone shots!