DAD VISIT

Chimo and I drove up to Jefferson City and Pigeon Forge to see my Dad in his new facility there, and to spend time with my stepmom, Sharon. The visit was less traumatic for me than I expected, as Dad is still in good health and remembers me, though he shows all the usual sign and symptoms of a person suffering from middle to later stages of Alzheimer's. The place is a very good one, it seems to me, though I am no expert. Both times we stopped by we caught him reading (oddly, a book about the coming Apocalypse). We had lunch the first day (the less said about the food, the better). I brought along a converted video of family video from around 1965, and he had little trouble identifying individuals and events, even if his attention wandered. It was nice at least to sit with him a bit, hug him, and say "I love you." We drove up to Gatlinburg one night and walked about, listened to music, and Chimo rode one of those mountain sled rides. Sharon showed us around earlier in the day to he favorite walking spot, Patriot Park, and we had lunch at Old Mill, which was very good. On Sunday she took us out to Cade's Cove in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park, which was very interesting (although I think some of my historical interpretation friends might have been able to do a tad better job there). She later that night treated Chimo to the Island Ropes Course, which he liked very much, and we took a spin on the giant ferris wheel. Hopefully soon I can post some pictures. Herewith are a few, one a little blurry, that I will post now, with the promise of additions later.