Bruce P. Morris

Link Here

At 6:30 am Saturday morning, Richard’s alarm went off, he had forgotten to turn it off, he doesn’t work on weekends. I woke up and was unable to fall back asleep so I went downstairs and checked my email. At about 7:30 am, the phone rang. The incoming call was from my father’s phone and my first thought was, “why the hell is dad calling me so early.” The person on the other end of the phone was not my father. It was his brother in a panic. He said he had just woken up and was unable to wake my father up, that he was stiff. I asked him if he was breathing, he told me he did not know, that an ambulance was on the way. I immediately hung up, called my brother Bruce, and then my mother and got dressed. I figured we would have to drive out to Lexington, his brother’s town and meet him at the hospital.

About 15 minutes later, his brother called me back and told me that the EMT had arrived and that they were not taking my dad to the hospital. He had been gone for several hours. I started to cry and hung up on his brother while he was speaking to me. I called my brother who was waiting for my phone call. He started to cry and hung up on me. Then I called my mother. I sat there in a daze, and then his brother called me again. The EMT and the Deputy Sheriff wanted to speak to me. They could not find my dads ID, which I knew he always left in his wallet in his truck. I answered their questions about his date of birth, his home address and the basics. I was in shock. After screaming and crying, I calmed down, almost went numb and just sat there. About 30 minutes later I got a call from funeral home in Lexington, they asked me where I wanted the body transported, where we wanted to have his funeral and what my plans were. I had no answers. I did not think we would have to deal with this for several years. I imagined that my father was going to get old and unable to take care of himself, I imagined that we would take him into our home and I would nurse him through his golden years. I never thought we would get news that my dad was gone so young.

I called my mother, and started to lose it. I told her I was not ready to make these decisions, that I could not deal with this on my own. She told me that she would help, but from behind the curtain, she did not feel it would be appropriate for her to be in the forefront. They had been separated just over 3 years.

Richard and I left the house to go pick my brother up at work. He was in no condition to drive. When we got there, I jumped out of the van, ran up to my brother and we just hugged and cried. We brought my brother back to our place, and a little later my mother called me. She was calling to let me know that because her and my father were never technically divorced, that dealing with everything going on was her responsibility. I breathed a sigh of relief. I just knew there was no way I could do it.

My mother came by a little after 10 am, maybe it was 11, I cannot recall, and she just sat here with Richard, my brother and myself.

It has now been 6 days, and as of yesterday the funeral home in Lexington had not gotten the check to pay for my father’s cremation. I think that really bugs me. I know he is gone, and it doesn’t matter to him, but knowing that my dad is still in a drawer on a refrigerated metal slab really bothers me. I want him to be taken care of the way he would have wanted, which was cremation. I hate that we have had to wait so long. As long as the funeral home gets the check for $1,835 by today, or tomorrow at the latest, we plan to have a memorial service for him on Monday and then go back to Pam’s place, which is where my father lived in a separate apartment on her property. I am not sure we are ready to be at the place he called home, and I know this has been extremely hard on Pam. They were very close, have been for just over 2 years. She truly believed my father was her soulmate despite all of his quirks and flaws, she loved him for him, and never expected him to change or be anyone different. She accepted him unconditionally.

I miss my father so much. We talked on the phone everyday, sometimes for a few moments, other times for hours, talking about whatever. He would usually come to my place 2-3 times a week, after Richard left for work and the girls went to school. That was our time. We would either hang out here and talk, or go to breakfast or have lunch. Sometimes we watched funny videos on the internet, or we would sit around and watch our favorite TV shows, like House and Dexter. My dad was my best friend.

I am so thankful we moved to VA almost 2 years ago, because my dad and I became very close again, after a very long time apart. I cherish every day that we spent together. I would give anything for 2 more years with him. At this point I would give anything for one more day with him. This has been one of the most painful things I have ever had to deal with. I wish my daddy was still here.

Right now this company, Revolution Money Exchange, is offering new members $25.00 to sign up (until May 15th) and $10 for each referral. This seems like an awesome company to compete with PayPal because sending money to and from other account holders is free, there is no charge, unlike PayPal where a portion of your money comes out when you receive money. I thought it might be too good to be true, but I do recall years ago when I first signed up with PayPal that they gave away $25 to new members also. I also found them through buy.com who I have been shopping with for years, so I believe they are legitimate. I already have my $25 credit (appeared instantly to accept) and can now either save it to send to another member as a form of payment or transfer it to my bank account. I definitely recommend this to everyone who currently uses paypal.

Edit: This company is totally legit. See http://blog.washingtonpost.com/washbizblog/2007/09/steve_case_launced_revolution.html

Former AOL chairman Steve Case is at it again, this time using his Revolution LLC investment firm to start a new credit card company he’s calling Revolution Money.”

“The new company will have some well known names on its board. AOL vice chairman emeritus Ted Leonsis will chair the new company, said the sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they had not been authorized to talk about the venture.

The board also will include former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers, former Mastercard CEO Russell Hogg, and former Charles Schwab chief executive David Potruck, the company plans to announce Monday.

She is feisty, has her own style and is set in what she wants. She is compassionate, always eager to help and continues to teach me new things everyday. Happy 8th birthday to Kaycee, my sweet little girl.

The triage nurse took my blood pressure and temperature, which were both normal and made me start to regret even going. Once I was admitted, they drew my blood for some tests and gave me a sodium chloride drip to get some electrolytes back in my system. That thing hurt, it was very strange to feel cold liquid flowing into my warm veins, that whole experience freaked me out. I hadn’t noticed but I was extremely pale. My legs were so white they looked blue, even from a distance. When my blood results came back they diagnosed me with Iron Deficiency Anemia. My iron level was at 24, the doctor said it should be 40, 35 at the lowest. He said I may have needed a blood transfusion if it had got much lower which was scary to hear. He also diagnosed me with Abnormal Uterine Bleeding, and said I have to follow up with a GYN, because they cannot diagnose the cause of uterine bleeding in the ER. He prescribed me 300 mg iron pills to take twice a day, and also prescribed Ovral, which is birth control. He said that the birth control should stop the bleeding for now, and he wants me to take 2 a day for the first 3 days then one a day after that.

I called the health center close by to see a GYN, they told me they can’t see me for abnormal bleeding there and recommended I try the free clinic. I called the free clinic and they told me they only helps the working uninsured, if you are a stay at home mom, your kids have to be below school age, so that was out. I called the AMC clinic, which is located in the hospital I went to, but they will only help for a family of four with an income under $18,400. It doesn’t matter if Richard was just my roommate, it is household income. I definitely do not qualify. I called the Charlottesville (45 mins away) clinic. They told me the household income restriction is 24K for a family of four. How could a family of four get by on less than 24K, or worse, less than $18,400? My last bright idea was to call Planned Parenthood, which is also in Charlottesville, and they told me that there are no income restrictions or requirements. They will see me for $50 for an office visit, and then tell me what more I would need to pay for further tests they might want or need to do. I made an appointment for next Wednesday morning, so we will see if they can figure out why I have been bleeding for so long.

The Ovral prescription, in generic format was almost $43 to fill. I mentioned to the pharmacist that I thought birth control was much cheaper. She said that the more common kinds are significantly cheaper, but there must have been a reason the doctor prescribed this type, which is more expensive and less prescribed. I have taken my first dose of iron and the first round of two birth control pills. It will be nice to finally stop bleeding and get my energy back. I am definitely looking forward to that.

On another note, I have cats to keep me company during the day…

I just glanced over a few moments ago and saw my 3 boys being very lazy - not very good company, even if they are cute.

We have been playing a lot of Dead Rising. Who knew killing zombies could be so much fun? There are so many other elements to the game. It is probably one of my favorite games ever, up there with Urbz, Bioshock and Fable. I also found another gem in Thrillville: Off the Rails, though building a coaster from scratch sucks. The game is sort of like Sims meets Sim Theme Park (or whatever it was called), except that as you go along building your theme park, you unlock all of these mini games which are reminiscent of old school platform shooters and fighting games. It is quite surprising, the mini games feel very well put together, not like they were an afterthought and tossed in there. Seems there was a lot of time and care taken on most of them. It has awesome replay value because once you unlock the mini games you can play them at any time.

Well, the house is dark and quiet, to resist the sleepiness, I think I am going to scope out the kitchen and find some breakfast.

—————-
Now playing: Jim Croce - Bad, Bad Leroy Brown
via FoxyTunes

Christmas was great. After a lot of jumping through hoops and unexpected drama, we got to spend time with my sister who was home for only a short time. The girls enjoyed the haul they got from Santa. Overall, it was a success.

On January 4th, Richard was laid off from his job. Happy New Year, right? He immediately filed for unemployment, which was harder than it sounds. In Virginia, unemployment is 100% paid by the employer, so his previous boss tried to fight the claim and basically said Richard was fired, not laid off, so he had to fight back. Basically we went 3 weeks without any income until Richard had a phone hearing, which was a 3 way call between the unemployment commissioner and his employer. At the end of the call, we had to wait for a letter stating the outcome. Richard was found to be not at fault, and therefore eligible for unemployment benefits. It was difficult because while waiting, we had fallen behind on almost all of our bills, so when the money was finally deposited it all had to go to pay January’s bills. Better late than never, right?.

My sister was taken away after being on house arrest for a month. She will likely be gone for a few years. It makes me very sad. Since moving out here to Virginia, she and I didn’t get to spend much time together. I wish we had taken the time to do more, but my hope is that she knows how much I love her and miss her anyway.

At the end of January our tax refund arrived, allowing us to pay February and March’s rent along with all of our February bills. It couldn’t have come at a better time. We sold our 48 inch widescreen HDTV and used that toward the purchase of a 46 inch Sony Bravia. We had wanted a 1080P tv for quite some time. When we went to Best Buy we learned that with the purchase of any new 1080P TV, a Blu-Ray player was $100 off, so we wound up getting one, thankfully it came with 5 Blu-Ray movies because those suckers are expensive! It was only a week later that the web announced the defeat of the HD-DVD format, so we were doubly pleased with our purchase.

Just last week Kaycee was in a Wonderful Winter performance at school, celebrating Black History Month, Valentine’s Day, Groundhog Day, Washington and Lincoln’s birthday and winter. It was a show put on by the kindergarten and second grade classes. She got to play the glockenspiel for the second song onstage. She loved it. Here are a few photos.

That is her on the far left in the Japanese print shirt.

She is 5th from the left, again in the Japanese print shirt.

A few days ago, we got a letter in the mail from the girls school, letting us know that Kymberlee’s artwork was one of only 8 children in her school to be chosen to be in a professional art gallery from March 2nd - March 5th. Each school in the area chose a select few students, usually one per grade. We are so proud of her. The exhibit opened tonight. Here are a few photos from that.

That is her standing beside her work. It is right above her.

A close up of her work.

I wish the pictures showed more detail. Unfortunately we did not have enough to purchase the new camera I want, but soon.

Richard starts a new job tomorrow in Harrisonburg, paying just over $2.00 more than he was making at his last job. YEAH! That will cover the rising cost of gas, since Harrisonburg is about 30-35 minutes away.

I guess that is the bulk of my updates. I am sure I am missing things. I really need to blog more often.

A little bit later as it warmed up, I opened the door and it literally sounded like it was raining, but there wasn’t a drop of rain to be found. It was the sound of the ice melting and falling from the trees all around us.

Now I remember why I missed the east coast every winter I spent in California. Sure the cold can be a total pain in the ass, but the view is spectacular in the winter.

We are getting ready for Christmas. We still haven’t put up our tree. We were supposed to do it today, but I just got a phone call from my sister. She was supposed to come home tomorrow but due to the winter storm warning we have, they are letting her come home early and we have to go pick her up today. We are so excited to spend the weekend with her.

Gotta get ready to drive to Winchester, which is about an hour and a half to two hours away, before the snow starts. Will write more soon.

We drove out to the Harrisonburg mall on Saturday and walked right into J.C. Penny’s biggest sale of the year (I imagine they can say that because it is the biggest sale of the year to date, but we all know the sales get even better toward Christmas). They had a bunch of shirts on clearance in the men’s department, so we wound up buying Richard 5 or 6 shirts. Most were originally marked $36.00 and $20.00 and we got them for $2.50 each, one of them was $1.71… seriously. We were quite excited. I also got the girls each a new winter jacket. They were having a sale on Rothschild winter jackets were are normally around $80… they were marked down to $20 each. We also got Kymmi an adorable little windbreaker/fall jacket. It was originally $29.99, we got it for $5.13. We left there and spent just under $70. I got home and added up the original prices for everything… it would have come to $440. That was definitely worth the trip.

I gave Richard his birthday/xmas present on Sunday, a month before his birthday. He has been dying for one and I couldn’t hold out any longer. The girls and I got him an XBOX 360 with Guitar Hero 2, Bioshock and Beautiful Katamari. Ok, well maybe Beautiful Katamari was more for me and the girls, as well as the extra pink wireless controller, but he loved it all the same.

In other news, Richard just started a new position at his job. They did away with the retail store so now he is an on-site technician. He gets to drive to people’s houses, and businesses and set up or fix their computers and equipment. It was a parallel move, so there was no pay raise or cut, but it’s something new and exciting.

Kaycee stays home from school today, so I can collect every drop of her urine for her tests at UVA tomorrow. It should be interesting.

That’s pretty much all that is new and exciting on the homefront.