Independence Day. Let’s celebrate.
Ramblin’ Prose
A little bit of everything that doesn’t make sense to a rational parent
Beautiful soul
His name was Eddie Graham Vaughan Jr., but the family always called him Little Eddie to distinguish him from his dad, Eddie Sr. Of course, by the time he became a young man, that nickname was a major misnomer. He was tall, with an imposing physique — you could imagine him crushing a beer keg the way the rest of us crush a beer can. But he was one of sweetest natured boys I ever knew — a true gentle giant. He was my first cousin.
I went to his funeral Thursday, and though I’ve often heard funerals called “a celebration of life,” this is the first time I ever truly felt more joy than sorrow. Don’t get me wrong — we all felt enormous sorrow when we learned that Eddie had died in a motorcycle crash Monday night at the age of 38. It seems the cruelest possible loss, for someone so good and kind to die in such a sudden and violent way.
Sadly, a life cut short
For Susan, it was a bitter pill to swallow: The family lost a beautiful life. Eddie Vaughan, a master officer with the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, was killed in a motorcycle accident Monday night [click for story via Hendersondispatch.com].
Just last year, WRAL had interviewed him in a report about low water levels at Kerr Lake [click for video].
I never had the pleasure, but from what I’ve read and what Susan has told me about her cousin, he was a wonderful guy.
Mischief managed
A few people mentioned there were some issues with Ramblin’ Prose today such as the continue link wasn’t working, comments weren’t working, etc., and everything was going to 404 page.
After a little investigation, I noticed some additions in some of my template files that were not done by me. Also, my theme had broken.
So, after some blog work this evening in between the times I had to entertain the dog, I’ve finally managed to rid the Prose of the issues.
Just what I needed, another time suck.
Surviving a dog attack
With the girls out of town, Pippin and I have been able to take really long walks in the evening. Most have been uneventful but enjoyable. But you never know when you’re going to get blindsided. Last evening, I learned the hard way that you can never let down your guard.
Pippin and I were returning from a two-mile jaunt when a dog appeared from behind a house and dashed across the street toward us. It looked like he had gotten away from his owners. At first glance, he looked familiar.
The dog was obviously rushing toward us. When he finally stopped, he and Pippin stood nose to nose.
But the event quickly changed for the worse.
Feeling powerless
Since she was 5, we’d take Abby to Delaware to stay with my parents for at least a week. It’s a great opportunity for her to decompress from the end of the school year. It gives my parents lots of quality time with her that they rarely get. And it gives us a break.
Camille started tagging along in the last two years.
We took them to Delaware the Friday after school ended. Of course, the morning of the trip, Abby awoke to a sore throat and ear ache. She slept for most of the drive up, a 10-hour ordeal, and didn’t eat much. We gave her some children’s Motrin and she seemed to feel better. By Sunday when we returned home, she had felt much better.
But over the next couple of days, she began to feel worse. My parents took her to a clinic. It turns out, she has strep throat. The doctor prescribed an antibiotic and after the first pill, my parents report that she’s back to her old self.
A few things I’ve learned from this:
- When Abby’s acting even somewhat abnormally, take it more seriously.
- My parents are awesome.
- Health care needs to be fixed in this country.
My mom called the clinic to see if they accepted our insurance. But when they got to the clinic, the story changed. My parents had to pay out of pocket for the visit, three times what our copay to an in-network doctor would have been and twice what a visit to an urgent care facility would have been.
One other note: My Mom told us that it was Camille who asked all the questions of the medical staff. The doctor said jokingly that Camille could be the grandmom and my Mom could be the little sister.
Yanked
Camille’s second tooth is now in the hands of the Tooth Fairy. Susan yanked it out. I’d stepped out for a few, but I came back to a big toothy grin - she’d already started with the second set.
And school’s out. Temperatures are dropping. All good news for the summer ahead.
12 is silk
Something I didn’t know: Your 12th anniversary is silk.
My wife looked it up ’cause today’s our 12th. I didn’t get silk for her (who knew?). But I’m claiming my silky, smooth moves for getting her to say yes.
Like when I asked her to marry me in my parents’ car in the parking lot of the Ben & Jerry’s when it was on Tate Street.
Smooth….
It’s the thought that counts
The other day, Camille was drinking a soda or something and I was parched. So I asked for a sip.
Her response, true but funny nonetheless:
“Okay. But you know I backwash.”
One tooth down, many more to go
Kids lose teeth. Some a lot later than others. At age 6, a few months from her 7th birthday, Camille lost her first tooth. Lucky, too. She was working on her second set.
Shark jokes aside, it was an ordeal. She fought it for weeks. Susan finally took the bull by the horns and worked the incisor enough to make it bleed. At that point, we thought Camille would be happy to get it out. Wrong. It took Abby, Pippin and me to hold her down while Susan got the sucker out.
Then Camille started laughing!
The child doesn’t like losing body parts. She barely sits still to get her nails clipped. Her umbilical cord took forever to fall off, to the point we were considering surgical means.
She does things in her on time, that’s for sure.
Vote now
You can help out the Piedmont Regional Greenway get a grant. Details:
Vote for the Piedmont Regional Greenway
to receive a $3,000 GrantIn an effort to raise awareness of the tremendous work that land trusts are doing across the state in support of Land Trust Day,the Great Outdoor Provision Company has launched a Land Trust Day competition. They are highlighting seven projects from seven different land trusts that are in need of protection.
Patagonia has agreed to the underwriting of a $3,000 grant to go towards the winning land trust project, to be announced on Land Trust Day, June 7th.
You can cast your vote on GOPC’s web site at http://greatoutdoorprovision.com/culture/wesupport/patagonia-land-grant/
Votes will be accepted until 12 noon on Friday, June 6th so forward this note along to anyone who may be willing to vote for PLC’s project!
