Coolhand
Resident River Rat
Hey guys, for those of you that remember me well enough to possibly wonder where the hell I got to (like, all four of you) ...
Lost an employee in the shop when his father abruptly passed away and he had to go back East to settle the estate and take over the family business.
Then my own father suffered a severe abdominal aortic aneurysm, which nearly killed him. Compound this with a severe respiratory problem he's been having (coughing until he passes out), and you have the recipe for an extremely dire health situation. He was cut open from sternum to crotch to find the aneurysm - he had 3 1/2 liters of blood in his abdomen - and twice his coughing fits have caused ALL the stitches to burst. He's been put under and intubated twice, for 48-72 hours each time.
Those two things alone would be enough, but it appears that my dad has been suffering some other, more insidious health issues for a while - mostly between the ears. We're really not sure what the hell is going on just yet, but a lot of things that he would never have failed to take care of in the past, he abruptly did so - unpaid credit cards, mortgage, life insurance ...
So I am now working about 70+ hours a week keeping the business going (my dad was working three days a week in the shop up the hill for me) and trying desperately to straighten out the mess he made of things.
The good news is I have a lovely porch, a great view, and a dwindling-yet-still adequate supply of cigars, and I force myself to go spend an hour a day on said porch to enjoy said cigars and said view, and be thankful for what I do have.
I will try to be around more. In the scheme of things my lack of attendance isn't one of my biggest regrets, but it's definitely something I wish I'd been doing better on.
Hope everyone is well.
Lost an employee in the shop when his father abruptly passed away and he had to go back East to settle the estate and take over the family business.
Then my own father suffered a severe abdominal aortic aneurysm, which nearly killed him. Compound this with a severe respiratory problem he's been having (coughing until he passes out), and you have the recipe for an extremely dire health situation. He was cut open from sternum to crotch to find the aneurysm - he had 3 1/2 liters of blood in his abdomen - and twice his coughing fits have caused ALL the stitches to burst. He's been put under and intubated twice, for 48-72 hours each time.
Those two things alone would be enough, but it appears that my dad has been suffering some other, more insidious health issues for a while - mostly between the ears. We're really not sure what the hell is going on just yet, but a lot of things that he would never have failed to take care of in the past, he abruptly did so - unpaid credit cards, mortgage, life insurance ...
So I am now working about 70+ hours a week keeping the business going (my dad was working three days a week in the shop up the hill for me) and trying desperately to straighten out the mess he made of things.
The good news is I have a lovely porch, a great view, and a dwindling-yet-still adequate supply of cigars, and I force myself to go spend an hour a day on said porch to enjoy said cigars and said view, and be thankful for what I do have.
I will try to be around more. In the scheme of things my lack of attendance isn't one of my biggest regrets, but it's definitely something I wish I'd been doing better on.
Hope everyone is well.
