Category: Family

What our family members are doing or have done

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Breathing

My sister’s name is Lucy Thomas Falconer, and she can’t breathe.

Lucy

Lucy grew up on our farm in KY, met an Englishman in graduate school and married him. Eventually they bought a home north of London, had two children and she pursued a career in business and non-profit work. Sometime in her 30’s, she began to have trouble breathing. Yesterday, her husband Terry told me she probably has only a few weeks to live, because her lungs are almost gone. In between has been a long and painful road, with a miracle of the Lord’s grace almost at the end. Here is a bit of her story.

Continue reading “Breathing”
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Six & Five

This September 4th is the 3rd time in my life that my government has, unbidden, designated me to be a certain thing:

  1. At birth, 65 years ago, I was designated as “born”
  2. At 18 years old, I was considered “draft ready”
  3. Today, I am “retired senior citizen”

To all of you who have wished me a happy day, thank you!  To my government, however, I have a different response, namely… Continue reading “Six & Five”

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Judge Not … ?

We all have faith, don’t we?  That is, we have faith in something.  I might be the  staunchest of atheists, yet faith in the possibility of staying alive, and making some progress in my endeavors, is required even of me as I get out of bed every morning.  Over the years, when sharing my faith with others, I have been told, “… judge not!”  This is meant, I have assumed, to shut the conversation down, or at least make sure my POV has no sharp edges.  It has been spoken as a sort of talisman– once out in the space between us, it is supposed to guarantee that no unacceptable words will come from my side (or at least give cover for ending the conversation with a note of, “… I told you not to go there.”)  While meditating on Christ’s words in Matt. 7:1 (the source of this idea), the realization came that I had significantly misunderstood it.  In reality, the Lord meant to say, “Sentence not…”  Continue reading “Judge Not … ?”

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Inbox assault

I’ve been thinking about this post all day… and I’m still not sure I should write it.  Here it is, anyway, for a simple reason: I’ve never seen this before, and was not sure it was possible, but am now very concerned.  This is possible.  If you are not a parent and will likely never have an e-mail account, you can safely skip it.  For the rest of you…

I was sexually assaulted this morning — sort of.  As I was reading my inbox, a relatively attractive, smiling, unclothed woman popped up, with a phone number.  The e-mail was simple, had clearly gotten by all my spam filters, and I didn’t even need to open it.  There she was, in full glory, in the preview pane.  There was no virus or attachment; just one “come hither” JPEG with a phone #.  That said, I apologize for Continue reading “Inbox assault”

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Thomas Times Newsletter – More from TT

This is the promised addendum to our 2017 news update.  Hope you enjoy it!

As my parents began to forget things and struggle mentally a number of years ago, it became clear that they would need a more intensive “at home” care than we had planned on.  When both were diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, I remembered what Dad had done for his mother-in-law in a similar situation, and then realized Beth and I were going to start a business we weren’t qualified or trained to pull off: a mini-nursing home.  This past year, after Dad died in June and Mom in August, our careers Continue reading “Thomas Times Newsletter – More from TT”

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Thomas Times – Age

From the Thomas Times, our annual family newsletter:

 There is something sobering about age.  I recently sent a birthday soliloquy to one of my nephews, in which I mentioned an iron pot.  This is a pot I remember seeing in a field over 50 years ago, as men who worked on our farm boiled a hog they had just killed in order to turn it into hams and bacon.  Recently, a friend and I dug that same pot out of the ground where it had been partly buried under the side of a barn.  I made the point that it was still in good shape, because cast iron, once it gets a coating of rust, doesn’t deteriorate any more.  However, in the last day or two, I happened to walk by the pot and take a closer look, since I noticed something amiss.  As I tapped it with a small hammer, several pieces of the bottom chipped off.  As it happened, the very bottom had been in contact with wet earth for many of those 50 years, and the rust had penetrated… Continue reading “Thomas Times – Age”

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Memories & Meaning

I recently sent this soliloquy to my nephew Riley on his birthday.  Since it includes thoughts that many of you may find interesting, I’ve posted it here as well:

 When I was a little boy, I remember walking in the lot west of our home.  It’s where the horses and Blackie the steer live now, about a 100 yards from the breakfast room window.  As I walked, I believe it was springtime, and I saw a big pot made of cast iron over a fire.  In it was the body of a dead Continue reading “Memories & Meaning”

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Lydia’s Graduation Weekend

This post is for those who have asked for pictures from Lydia’s graduation.  It will be mostly pictures, but I’ll tell you a little about what we did.  “We” means Ted, Beth, and Serena; Ben Allen and Emily; and Sarah, Rainey, and William. We all drove up together in 3 vehicles.  I had the 2 back seats out in my van so I could 1) bring 2 rented wheelchairs for Ted’s parents’ use, and 2) have room for all Lydia’s stuff to vacate her apartment and bring her back home. Continue reading “Lydia’s Graduation Weekend”

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Unusual sightings at Chenoweth

February 15 was a banner day for odd things around here.  The first occurred as a result of Neil. You family members know Neil — Sarah’s old friend that we have been helping.  He asked to use our dining room for a romantic Valentine meal for his wife, seeing as how he couldn’t afford to take her out to a nice restaurant.  I said o.k., and he made all the arrangements through Serena.  I didn’t think I would need to be involved at all.  (But you know me). Continue reading “Unusual sightings at Chenoweth”