The End of Summer

It seems like it is the end of summer now.  This summer was way too short.

August 18-19 Jean and I went to the Montana State Fair in Billings, Montana.  We had a lot of fun.  We stayed at the Days Inn near King Avenue West.  Yeah, I guess I'm a traitor to Super 8, but they had some front desk problems that day, so I stayed somewhere else.  That first evening Jean and I had dinner at Red Lobster.  We hadn't eaten at that restaurant in a really long time, and we both considered it to be a treat.  The next day we went to Best Buy and looked around at all the neat electronics.  What can I say?  I'm easily entertained.  The Best Buy in Billings is closest to Gardiner, and that's about two and a half hours away from us.

Afterward, we finally went to the Montana State Fair.  Jean and I went to see most of the exhibits and animals while we were waiting for Tim, Zana, Kassie, and Jared to arrive.  Unfortunately we didn't see any pigs/hogs or horses.  Also, we got to see how extensively damaged the MetraPark really was from the tornado they recently had.  According to some newspaper reports, it will cost $15 million to repair.

Once the rest arrived, I went on several rides with Jared while Zana took Kassie and Jean got to catch up with her brother Tim.  Jared had a really good time, and even went on the Zipper.  It was funny because he almost puked on that one, but he didn't have any problem with any of the rides that went from side to side.  I guess it was just stuff that made him go forward and backward.  Watch Jared as he does this ride--it's funny:

So after we had all sorts of fun, Jean and I drove back to Gardiner.

Since then Jean and I have been working on the house.  Jean has been doing a lot of housecleaning, going through closets, boxes, and various things that have been in Grandma's house forever.  Myself, I've been helping by going through some of the paperwork.  It's interesting to find things that are so old.  Much of it I am preparing to put in my family tree that I have built.

Dad and Bonnie came over to the house for a short visit on August 28, the day before Dad's birthday.  Dad's continuing to work on another book.  His first book is in the publishing phase.  We had dinner together at Rosie's.  Rosie's is a good place for us to eat because Dad hates cheese and Bonnie doesn't like seafood.  Rosie's offers Italian and steaks, so both of them can find things on the menu that they like.

September 1 Jean and I went to Bozeman to do some shopping, hauling, and watch a movie.  Jean couldn't remember the last time that she had been to a movie, and I knew that the last movie I watched in a theater was Clash of the Titans back in April, the day before I went on my vacation to the Bahamas.  We watched Takers since there wasn't a movie that we both really had to see.

This month we've been seeing a lot of bears in the area.  We have a grizzly boar around our house.  Jean and I witnessed him trying to cross the Yellowstone toward our side of the river.  There were a lot of tourists who were trying to get as close as they could so that they could take pictures.  Fortunately for the idiots, the bear changed his mind halfway across the river and doubled back.  These people just didn't realize how unpredictable a grizzly bear is and that they are the safest in their cars when a grizzly is that close.

A black bear sow and her two cubs have been frequenting the trash cans in Gardiner.  One day the mother even put her nose against our glass door at Super 8!  Black bears aren't as scary as grizzlies in my opinion just because they are scavenger bears.  Idiots were still getting way to close on purpose but no one was hurt; black bears are usually docile anyway.  However, I was working one day at Super 8 about 5:00 a.m. when Roger, our maintenance man, came to the lobby to get some morning coffee.  He left and then came back in a couple minutes later a bit shaken.  He said that he had walked outside with his coffee and then saw that the bear was right in front of him!  By that time the doors on the hotel had already closed so they were locked again.  He dropped his coffee and the bear and he ran away from each other in opposite directions.  I thought it was funny, but I'm glad it didn't happen to me!

My cousin Jared recently had an accident which we just found out about last week.  Some kid threw a rock at him; the rock hit Jared on his left cheek.  The wound turned into an abscess and doctor had to do surgery on Jared.  He's healing up pretty well, but still I think that charges should be brought against the other child for assault just to show the boy how serious rock-throwing is, since the parents obviously aren't teaching him.  Zana showed the mother of the culprit a picture of the wound and what Jared's cheek looked like after the surgery and the culprit's mother almost vomited.  I thought it served her right for being a bad mom.  I saw the pictures too, but my reaction was more of shock than anything else; I've seen bad wounds before.

Grandma and Betty are doing alright, though Betty's health is decreasing.  She's having frequent falls.  As a dementia patient, I wouldn't be at all surprised if she does eventually pass away as a result of falling (direct or indirect).  Alzheimer's patients tend to be obsessive walkers, but they also suffer from gait problems.  The combination can sometimes be fatal.  I certainly hope that isn't the case, but Jean and I are prepared for that possibility.  The nursing home wants to do a CAT scan on Betty to help determine the reason that she's not vocal at all.  They think that she has partial paralysis, but again, she has dementia.  Sometimes dementia patients just forget how to make sounds.  The last time Jean and I saw Betty, she didn't recognize either of us; that is a bit unusual.  She typically thinks that I am my father, and sometimes she recognizes Jean.  We also noticed that she favored her left side as if she's had a stroke.  Don't misunderstand me; I don't think she's had a stroke, but I think there's a possibility that she's had mini-strokes or that her frequent falls have affected her in this way.

Grandma is still pretty much the same.  She is mostly bedridden unless other people help her out.  At least in the natural it appears that she won't regain her physical strength.  When it comes to her mind, she has good days and she has bad days.  Sometimes she can understand what goes on around her, and other times, she doesn't.  Regardless of what we see, I still believe in a God capable of healing even the most hopeless cases.  Some might question why I look for God to heal a woman who has lived a long life of 82 years.  It doesn't seem right for her to linger the way she is.  She still wants to live too.  So unless God tells me otherwise, I pray for her healing.

Yesterday Jean and I went to Livingston to celebrate birthdays for several people: Chris and Bonnie (whose birthdays are on the same day), Dad, Janet, and Wilma.  I was surprised at Wilma because she was an elderly lady and she was bragging about the tattoos that she just got!  They looked good too.  She's a substitute lunch lady at one of the elementary schools in Livingston.  I'm sure the kids give her lots of attention. :)