A Fun Weekend with Chuck!

Friday afternoon I drove down to BWI to pick up my youngest brother, Chuck.  Chuck flew up from Charlotte, NC where he lives with his family - wife Leigh, and kids Elijah, Benjamin, Amelia, and dog Ginny.

We had a nice visit Friday night, then got up Saturday morning and removed the damaged evergreen bushes along the left side of the house.  That took us almost 5 hours in the hot sun, and we filled 19 large yard garbage bags before we were done.

Then we were able to make a last minute reservation for a 3-hour kayak float tour with Susquehanna Outfitters on City Island.  They shuttled us from City Island to Hampden or Fairview Township (Creek Drive on the West Shore) where we started on the Conodoguinet Creek. 

I was amazed to learn that there are freshwater mussels living in the creek and there were shells everywhere.  We saw lots of herons along the way, people wading and fishing, and we saw one fisherman catch a nice sized small mouth bass.

We made our way into the Susquehanna, toured some of the islands, and went down along the Wormleysburg side of the river for their River Day celebration before heading to the take out point at City Island. 

The float trip was amazing - peaceful, relaxing, and fun.  If you haven't tried it before, I highly recommend it!

Chuck and I worked up a big thirst, so we stopped for a cold beer on the deck at Dockside Willy's - boy did that cold beer taste great!

Driving Chuck back to BWI this afternoon, but we had a wonderful weekend together, worked and played hard, and had some great fellowship.  We called Forest and mom last night and talked to her about driving and potential for moving if she can't drive any longer.  It was a very difficult conversation to have, but necessary.

We're looking forward to seeing my entire family in North Carolina in 5 weeks!  Starting to make some plans for things we would like to do.

 

 

 

Spasm Mania

Last night the constant spasms in my left arm were driving me crazy.  They were very intense and I couldn't get comfortable no matter what position I tried.  I also noticed increased spasms in the right calf.  Keeping me awake at night - not a good thing.

Nice being back in the office a few days this week.  I hadn't spent a full day in the office since late early March until last week.  This week only 2 days at PennDOT.

Chuck is coming into town Friday for a visit.  He will help me cut down some large evergreens that were damaged with the intense winter.  They lean over the grass almost 4' in some areas, making it difficult to cut the grass.  Then we'll do some fun things together.  Might attend the WVU Alumni picnic and maybe go canoeing on the Susquehanna.  Will be great to see my youngest brother and spend some time with him before our week together with everyone in August!

Spoke to my dear friend Mary Ann this afternoon.  It had been too long!  Looking forward to lunch soon.

Hope everyone is having a great week and enjoying the nice weather!

Muscle Spasms

When I visited Dr. Laza in April I didn't have any muscle spasms below my neck.  They were mostly confined to my face and neck.

Now both of my arms spasm almost constantly above the elbow, and I have noticed one on my back and one on my chest, although sporadic.  I have also felt a few in my legs, not constant, but worrisome.  I haven't noticed any muscle weakness yet.

My speech is steadily declining, although in a quiet setting like lunch with my former commonwealth boss Phil yesterday I can still carry on a conversation, although I often have to repeat what I was trying to say until the other person understands it.  Kim is getting pretty good at guessing what I was saying since she has to do so every day.  Haven't started exploring Text2Speech apps on my iPad yet, but should start soon.

Today I had my first monthly blood test at the lab for Riluzole.  They need to make sure my liver is handling it okay.  Should know in a few days.

Since I am thinking about traveling in September to Colorado with my brothers, I had to change the date of my next ALS Clinic, since it fell in the middle of the week that Forest has off.  Still not sure it is going to happen, but hopeful.  I haven't been to Colorado in more than 5 years, and I want to visit Crested Butte where I spent 2 summers as a teenager ('74 and '75 - slept in a covered wagon at Skyland Camp), do some hiking, horseback riding, and see my family.  Cousin Charlie Kirk and wife Helen are just south of Denver, and my Aunt Geneva and Uncle Frank and cousin Frank and his wife Margie are in Grand Junction.  Forest indicated his interest in driving over to the Tetons, also.  We'll see what we can do in a week's time if it happens.

I shared my bucket list with Kim last week, and she shared it with her friends at work.  One of them has a dirt track sprint car and offered to let me drive it.  Kim just booked me on a Gotham Cars fantasy drive in July where I get to take a Ferrari or Lamborghini 3 times around an indoor track.  Some of her work friends offered to take me fishing, also.  I am such a lucky man!

I received an amazing letter from my friend and Baker work colleague Mike from the Beaver office.  I was totally blown away by the awesome things he said about me.  Thank you, Mike - you made my week, and I am honored to have you as my friend!

Trying to connect with my friend Bob from MapQuest while he is in town this week and next week.  He lives in Iowa but is visiting and staying up at Mt. Gretna, which we have never visited.

Chuck called tonight and we discussed some yard work I would like to have him help me with next weekend when he visits as well as some fun things we can do while he is here.  I have 4 large evergreen bushes that were damaged this winter and need to be chopped down and bagged.  Would take me a full day by myself but with 2 people will go much faster.  We'll probably go kayaking on the Susquehanna, and may attend the annual WVU alumni picnic also.

This Friday is my birthday, and we're heading to State College for the weekend to celebrate with Kim's mom Jean and Kim's twin brother Kelly.  Looking forward to it and some boneless ribs from Clems!

I apologize to everyone who hasn't received a thank you card from me yet (and yes, that is everyone) for the ALS walk participants, donors, Eddie and Celeste for organizing the party last weekend, and to everyone that has sent cards and letters.  I finally have thank you cards and will get started on them this week.  No more procrastination or excuses for not getting them done.

Finally, my current work at PennDOT is starting to wind down.  Looking forward to taking on some new projects at the PA Turnpike, finishing the PennDOT proposal I am working on, and being back in the office more.  I have enjoyed the past 4 months at the DOT, but I miss seeing my friends at work, also.

Another GREAT Weekend!

Kim and I traveled to Charleston, WV Friday afternoon to see mom.  Other than a torrential deluge and almost running out of gas, it was a pretty good drive.  Thank God we didn't run out of gas, or I would have been divorced immediately.  Charleston had 5 inches of rain in less than 30 minutes so there was a lot of localized flooding.

Took mom out to Outback for a nice dinner Friday night once we arrived.  Kim and I were both very tired so went to our hotel after dropping mom back at her apartment and crashed early.  There were dogs barking a couple rooms over, lots of car and truck traffic, and trains right behind the hotel, which we thought would keep us awake, but I don't think we lasted more than 5 minutes once the lights went out.

We spent the morning with mom in her apartment, catching up and talking about lots of different things.

Mom/Margaret/Mimi

My best friends Eddie and Celeste opened up the HPCBD law office for a gathering of friends Saturday afternoon, and we had a wonderful time!  Eddie laid out a great spread for all of us - quite the cook!

Drew and Jennifer I saw in March at the Outback when I was in town for business.  I hadn't seen Eddie and Celeste for a few years.  Several of the guys I saw at a WVU Football home game three years ago, but some of my friends I hadn't seen in 20 or 30 years. 

It was a day of fun, talking, laughing, sharing, and friendship.  And the weather was perfect, also.  I couldn't have asked for a better day than to be with my beautiful and strong wife, mom, and dear friends.  They all offered their well wishes, prayers, and anything they could do to help me down the road.  I hope to see some of them at a Mountaineer football game and tailgate this fall.

 

 Jim and Celeste

 

 Celeste, Eddie, Jim, and Kim

 

 Dave and Jim

 

 Dennis, Dave, Mike, Eddie, Gary, and Drew

 

Drew and Jennifer

 

 Dave, Jim, and Eddie

 

The Ladies - Kim, Celeste, Margaret, and Jennifer

 

Dave, Jim, and Mike

  

Gary, Dave, Gary, Drew, Eddie, Dennis, Tony, Jim, Grant and Mike 

 

My sincere thanks to Eddie and Celeste for going the extra mile for me!  And thanks to all of my friends who took time out of their busy weekend to share it with us.  Your friendship, love, and compassion touched me, Kim, and Margaret.

 

Closed out Sunday in Charleston by having breakfast with mom and going to church with her.  After church we had a nice lunch with mom and got back on the road to Mechanicsburg.  Fortunately the drive home was a lot easier than the drive down.

 

I'm looking forward to my next trip!

 

Home next weekend!

I'm still flying high from Sunday's ALS Walk for the Cure and all of my friends who were there to support us!

Even so, it's a tough week at PennDOT - the HPMS deliverable is due to FHWA next Monday, so every day is critical.  I made some more good progress today, fixing some data items and working on the HPMS supplemental files.  Tomorrow I need to start on the GIS data submission.  Last year I spent about 3 weeks working on the GIS data, this year I have about 3 days.  Fortunately, I take good notes. :)

We're heading to Charleston, WV Friday afternoon to see mom and some friends for the weekend!  Looking forward to catching up with mom.  I was last there in March for a business trip for my City of Charleston Stormwater project.

We're staying at the Marriott Residence Inn off Greenbrier Street and hope to see friends on Saturday.  Eddie has offered up the HPCBD law office for a gathering of friends, so if you are out and about Saturday afternoon, we hope you will stop by and visit.  I'll have my camera of course, and hope to get some pictures of my friends and with my friends. 

Plans have gelled for our Knudson Family Reunion North Carolina trip in August.  We're staying in a large cabin near Grandfather Mountain and all of my family is flying or driving in.  One of Chuck's friend's/patient was kind enough to let us have the cabin for the week.  It will be awesome to see all of my family, this time with Kim.  We met at Chuck's house in Charlotte last fall, but Kim was not able to join us due to her father Bill's illness.

Chuck is coming up from Charlotte for a visit at the end of the month.  We're looking forward to his visit and planning some guy activities we can do together during his visit.

Today I had lunch at Bricco's with my good friend Bruce S.  He shared the story of his trip to Israel and walking 50+ miles to Nazareth over a week's time.  He has posted his pictures, travel log, and GPS coordinates online - fascinating!  He also gave me the book "Tuesday's with Morrie", which I have heard of but never read.  I never realized that Morrie had ALS, and I look forward to reading it.

My good friend Eric J. also gave me a book several weeks ago written by a woman who had a serious neurological disease, which I have enjoyed reading.  It's by Sarah Manguso and titled "The Two Kinds of Decay".  It is sometimes scary, humorous, and very insightful about the human condition, the medical system, and our short time on this earth and what really matters.

Thank you to my friends who have shown how much they care and my supporters who are still making donations to the Team JFK website!  Kim and I are much richer for knowing you and sharing in your lives!

Hershey ALS Walk Day

Thank you to all of my friends, family, and coworkers who made it out on this beautiful morning to walk with us in support of the Hershey ALS Walk for the Cure!  And thanks to everyone who prayed for us and those who contributed financially to support the ALS Philadelphia Chapter! 

• Jeff Bergsten
• Esther Betancourt and Dave Fekete
• Dex Bouasanouvong and Laura
• Lisa Clark, Liza Clark, and Galen Dorman
• Lida Derk and Ann Weaver
• Andrea, Bob, and Erik Hanson
• Jean Harris
• Kim and Jim Knudson
• Eric Orndorff
• Kathir Ramalingam
• Charity and Steve Rosenberry
• Tom Sloniger and Tracy Sayers
• Danielle Spriggs
• Todd Trautz

We completed the 2-mile walk in about an hour, then many of the walkers joined us for lunch at the Subway.  It was a very nice morning for Kim, Jean, and I.  I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

 

 

True Friendship

Hello, faithful readers.   Thanks for continuing to follow along, and for your continued prayers, support, and friendship.  I thought I had posted a new article midweek, but obviously not.  I guess I have been slacking a bit.

Tomorrow is the Hershey ALS Walk for the Cure, starting at 10AM.  In three weeks time since we decided to form a team, we have raised more than $3000 and are expecting at least 22 walkers tomorrow!  Woo Hoo!  Thanks to everyone who is taking time away from their families and busy summer weekend to spend a few hours with Kim and I and to help the cause!  It's not too late to donate or walk - just go to my TEAM JFK page and you can sign up to walk or make a donation.  The weather is supposed to be beautiful - sunny and in the 80's by the afternoon.

I posted on my May 15 blog about my friend Brian Hart's attempt to climb Mount Denali in Alaska.  The weather has been brutal the past 3 weeks, with very high winds up to 100mph gusts, and snow almost every day.  The 5-man team Brian was part of had until this past Wednesday to achieve the summit.  Three of the men were able to reach the summit, but my friend Brian did not feel he could make it safely and didn't want to add risk to the team.  As a result, Brian decided to not attempt the summit, which would have required a 6000' vertical ascent over 2 days.  They have been acclimating to higher altitudes at about 2000' intervals over a period of several days, climbing and caching their equipment and supplies at the higher altitude, then retreating back to their previous camp before moving camp to the higher altitude.

Brian's best friend and climbing companion, Kirk, decided that if Brian wasn't going to attempt the summit that he wouldn't either.  After all, he and Brian went to Denali to climb it together, and he wasn't going to leave his friend at camp by himself for two days.  After almost three weeks of extreme cold, extreme effort, and extreme adventure at the top of the world, Kirk decided that his friendship meant more to him than reaching the goal.  That is the measure of true friendship, when you are willing to give up your primary goal for the sake of your friend.  I am disappointed for them that they weren't able to achieve the summit, but I am glad that good sense prevailed, and that they are coming home safely.  I credit Brian for his good sense to listen to his body, weigh the risks, and make the right decision.  And I credit Kirk for his true friendship!  They are on their way back down the mountain, soon to be home.  I can't wait to hear their stories and see their pictures!

I have friends like Kirk, also.  Many of my friends I met in kindergarten or first grade.  Some of you I don't see as often as I would like to, but I know that when we get together, it is like we have never been apart.  I look forward to seeing some of you in Charleston next weekend when we come down to visit my mom!

Please send your prayers for a good day tomorrow!

What Beautiful Weather!

Kim and I really enjoyed the weekend - the weather was incredible.  I started my weekend on Friday by having lunch at Ho Wah's with my dear friend Pat Hardenstine.  We're been there for each other over the past few years and she always makes me laugh!  I'm very excited that she and Aaron are going to New Zealand for 3 weeks this summer to visit Al, and then coming back by way of Hawaii.  I am envious, but very excited for you!

Kim and I sat out on the back patio both Saturday and Sunday afternoons to catch some rays.  It was hot, but there was a nice breeze blowing.  It was a little cloudier on Sunday than Saturday, but both were amazing days.  Today was just as nice.  I'm hoping that the weather gods save some for Saturday morning! :)

We never left the house all weekend, just did some work around the house.  I'm still going through boxes in the basement trying to get 30 years of "stuff" straightened around..  I have recycled a lot of things either by taking them to work or donating them.  I decided not to throw away my old college class notes but to reread some of them. 

After I dropped back in to WVU in 1982 after working for the C&P Telephone Company for three years, I made a real effort to attend every class and even rewrote my notes very neatly every day. I decided after working 2 years in a warehouse and climbing telephone poles and humping cable across the mountainsides of Boone County as a lineman that I could put a lot more effort into my college classes than I did during my party years from 1977-1979.  My notes are very clear and easy to read and understand, and it will be fun to revisit my geology and physics classes, since I haven't used either one very much over the last 27 years.  I especially loved Mineralogy and Dr. Milton Heald.

 I decided to start opening and enjoying the bottles on the lower levels of my wine fridge instead of saving all of them for the future.  Last night I finished a very nice bottle of 2006 Spanish Rioja from Lacrimus,  It was rated 90 by Wine Advocate, and I paid $13 for it 6 years ago.  I had 4 glasses over 4 nights, and each was just as good as the last one.  It drank very nicely with BBQ Chicken from the grill, a hamburger, a stromboli, and a steak. We're going to have to start inviting some friends over to share in the bounty!

Plans for visiting family in the fall are starting to come together.  We're driving down June 12 to see Mom in Charleston.  Chuck is flying up from Charlotte for the weekend on June 26.  August 9th we're all getting together for a Knudson Family Reunion in North Carolina at a cabin near Grandfather Mountain. And if things work out, Chuck and I will fly out to Denver to spend some time with Forest in September.

Today was another good day at work.  I helped rewrite the PennDOT Next Generation GIS ArcGIS Online (PennShare) white paper, which Frank, Bob, John, and I finished up this morning.  I had a good day working on HPMS also.  I addressed all of the Import Validations and starting working on the Cross Validations and Coverage Validations data changes, plus rewrote several more of the validation stored procedures to make them simpler and run faster with the new Oracle Backend data changes.  After the PNG working meeting this morning I stopped by to see my good friend Phil Tomassini and we had a very nice chat.  Phil and I are going to lunch in a few weeks.

Going to bed early tonight to read - was up late last night working on the PennShare white paper.  Tomorrow will be my first time back in the Baker office over the last 2 weeks - will be nice to see my Baker family!

Life is good!