K-F International

Contrary to what some of you may believe, the K-F in the title of this post does not stand for Kentucky Fried.

So for those of you looking for a cuisine oriented blog post, you'll have to look elsewhere today.

No the K F in this post stands for Kaiser-Frazer, which was a U.S. automobile manufacturing company that produced cars in the 1940's and 50's.

They looked like this.

You can read the history of the company here.

A group of aficionados of the cars formed a group called the Kaiser Frazer Owners Club International in 1959.

And this week their 59th National Convention is being held in our area.

A number of cars from across the nation are on display for the convo.

Including the Darrin, which was a fiberglass sports car that beat the Chevrolet Corvette to market by one month.

Car lovers will have a great time in Central Arizona this week.

MONDAY, MONDAY

Well it's not quite Monday here in Arizona but we're less than 3 hours away from it so . . .

THE WONDERFUL SEASON

The monsoon has officially arrived in Arizona!

Oh, I know, it's not a real big thing for most of you to see rain falling from the sky.

But when you live in the land of scorched earth and "but it's a dry heat" and temperatures above 100 for days in a row . . . that first rain of the summer monsoon is a very big deal.

I can remember our first evening in Phoenix back in early July of 1972.

We were in a small convenience store when everyone ran outside to enjoy a monsoon rain shower.

We thought they were crazy until we heard that it had been over 100 days since the last rain.

Now, many years later, we're the ones who dance in the rain.  

(Figuratively speaking.)

And we can open the house and let the blessed cool breeze blow through.

'Swonderful!

FRIDAY FUNNIES

So it's Friday, glorious Friday once again.

SWMBO has been up for awhile and now into the living room recliner, all by herself with only the walker to assist her.

She's walking much better today than yesterday.

Maybe home care is better for her than even a very good rehabilitation hospital.

Meanwhile I, the caretaker and step-and-fetch-it, am exhausted.

But that too shall pass and after all, it's time for some humor here.

BTW, a big thank you to the BRD, who's been such a peach throughout this ordeal.

And the folks at the rehab hospital, who were/are a true delight.

O.K. boys and girls and Gentle Readers, that's it for this week.

Now here is my prescription: be up for anything that comes along as you enjoy the weekend thoroughly and always remember to keep laughing.

Here, kitty-kitty . . .

SWMBO (JUDY) IS HOME!

Just one day shy of three weeks since SWMBO fell on our rear patio and broke her femur, I am happy to report that today she came home.

As she reclined on her old familiar bed this afternoon I took her photograph to verify the event.

Well, as I have often said, she's a bit shy about having her picture taken, especially if she doesn't have her "face" (make-up) properly applied.

(I remember once reading a quote from television anchor lady Connie Chung that her husband, Maury Povich, was the only person who had ever seen her without her false eyelashes on.)

After a long wait and much paperwork she finally was released to the outer world this afternoon after a heartfelt goodbye from her case manager Doreen and one of her nurses Anita.

With the aid of a walker, a wheelchair, me and her eldest daughter, the BRD, she made it into our home and the loving greetings of her cats.

Speaking of the BRD she did a truly wonderful thing when she arrived at the hospital today.

She surprised a nurse with a "bouquet" for the staff, made up entirely of candy, and a lovely thank you card for treating SWMBO with such care.

She said flowers are nice but a sugar high is even better!

Thank you from all of us to the doctors, nurses, therapists, orderlies, cleaning staff, cooks and everyone at Mountain Valley Regional Rehabilitation Hospital in Prescott Valley, Arizona.

FROM BAD TO GOOD

Judy's day didn't start off well.

Sometime in the darkness hours early Monday morning she woke to a pain at the rear of her right knee joint.

It grew progressively worse until she finally got some pain medication and some ice on it.

But then this morning the pain persisted from the back of the calf, up through the knee joint and into the back of the thigh.

When she tried her physical therapy this morning she was unable to take even one step and, in addition, she'd been given a muscle relaxant that had her groggy.

When I visited her the second time this morning she was back in bed, feeling depressed, and dozing off.

But I just spoke to her on the telephone and she said the head PT guy had worked on her leg for a good five minutes and given her a lot of advice about how to avoid the contractions, what to do when they start, when to ask for pain medication and how to loosen up the muscles.

And then she walked 32 STEPS!

She also learned this afternoon that she will have her staples removed from her surgery today.

So what started out as a rotten day has turned into a much better one.

And on the Goodwin Fire the latest I heard was that it is 91 percent contained and should be totally contained by tomorrow night at the latest.

So today is a Glorious Fourth of July!

Incidentally the traditional fireworks displays have been canceled in Prescott and Chino Valley but will go off as scheduled in Prescott Valley, where I live!

SAINT LYNDON

Lyndon Baines Johnson was the 36th president of the United States of America.

His history, like that of most politicians, is replete with ups and downs, both in his electoral record and his appeal.

Some loved him.  Some hated him.

But he holds an honored place in our household, regardless of some of the things he did that we didn't like.

In 1965, he signed a bill creating Medicare.

Former President Harry S Truman and his wife, Bess, were the first recipients of the program.

At a time when a Republican Washington is trying as hard as they can to ruin healthcare in this country, we (Judy and I) are benefiting from the wealth of Medicare.

Since Judy took a fall on June 16th she has been in a hospital, had surgery for a broken femur, transferred several days later to a rehabilitation hospital and had absolutely excellent care.

All of it, or most of it, paid for by Medicare.

We have a supplemental policy which we pay for and we pay every month for our Medicare coverage also.

But without that wonderful government program, we would probably be hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt.

So thank you, Medicare.

And thank you, Lyndon.

We may not be in debt but we are in your debt.

And, by the way, Judy is doing better each day and will come home Thursday.