Bittersweet

Sorry folks you are stuck with the old guy this week. I am glad that you all appreciated Gracie’s first journal and equally glad that she enjoyed writing it so much. It is actually her aspiration to become a writer for a profession. She sure has read enough books to know a thing or two about it. You will probably be getting some of Nora from time to time, as the journal can be a little stressful on me to do every week. Not all the time, but there are certainly weeks when I have very little to say and it brings a bit of anxiousness to put something together on those occasions. Pleas do not take this personally. I have never felt pressured by anyone that I HAVE to write, but just feel like so many folks enjoy it, that I hate to skip a week.

Unfortunately, I do not have much to share with you this week. It was a busy, but sad week. Last Sunday evening, while we were at the evening church service at the Jacobsville Chapel (held outside), I got a call that my older brother, Ed, had passed out and fell to the ground and hit his head, causing bleeding of the brain. He is the one on the far right in the picture above. They called 911 and got him to the hospital quickly, but too much damage had already been done and the prognosis was not good, even if they could have been able to operate.

He had made it clear that he did not want to live in a state where he needed to be kept alive by machines, or even not be able to take care of himself. I think a lot of us can identify with that, so the decision was to take him off the respirator. There were some things that first needed to happen, so he stayed on the respirator until Tuesday afternoon. Around midday Thursday he took his last breath and passed away peacefully.

He was 6 years older than me and since my younger brother was just 4 years younger, I did not do a ton with him when I was growing up, but once I finished college, we did much more. Sailing on Lake Geneva, going to some of the festivals that Milwaukee has and he traveled with me to the Keweenaw my very first time back in 1991. He was probably the most generous persons I have ever known. Always first to reach into his pocket to pay, or the first to step in and help someone do a task. 

Back around 7-8 years ago, he was diagnosed with leukemia. He fought hard and with a bone marrow transplant from my sister was able to beat it and the odds. There were many complications from the chemo and the transplant and he was never able to recover to his full active self before the leukemia hit, which was hard for him, as he was very active, including having a 3rd level black belt and riding his bike 20+ miles several times a week. 

A few weeks ago he learned that he was going to need a heart and kidney transplant, due to damage done by the chemo. So in a way, his death was a bit of a blessing for him. He no longer struggles with his severe health issues and does not have to face anymore. His faith was strong and I have absolutely no doubt that he is in a beautiful place now.

As far as the Keweenaw goes, it was another hot week. Highs well into the 80’s and very high humidity. We had two rounds of very strong storms roll through as well. One early Thursday morning and the other in the middle of the night last night. The one last night knocked out power to quite a few of the residents of the Keweenaw, but thanks to the super men, otherwise known as the UPPCO linemen, our power came back on in around 20-30 minutes and most other power was restored before the sun rose this morning. Everything is either green again, or turning green. The forecast for this week looks delightful, with highs in the 70’s, lows in the 50’s and lower humidity. I almost forgot what true Keweenaw summer weather was like!

So I guess that covers it for this one. 

Good Night from the Keweenaw..
JD