Sunday, November 26, 2023

12 Potato Dishes of Christmas

On Friday evening, my wife read a meme to me in which the person wanted potato dishes instead of the bird-themed gifts in the 12 days of Christmas. 

So, I tried my hand at it. 

For the purpose of this post, I'll just jump to day 12.

On the 12th day of Christmas, my true chef served to me:

  • Twelve mashed potatoes

  • Eleven potato cakes

  • Ten tornado potatoes

  • Nine potato latkes

  • Eight potato burgers

  • Seven scalloped taters

  • Six diced potatoes

  • FIVE HAA-ASH BROWNS

  • Four tater tots

  • Three French fries

  • Two pierogi

  • And a baked potato topped with sour cream


Here is an instrumental version of "The Twelve Days Of Christmas" in case you want to try to sing along:

Wednesday, May 03, 2023

The Tenth Anniversary of My Father's Death


"How we deal with death is at least as important as how we deal with life." –James T. Kirk

I woke up at some point between midnight and 7am this morning. And, for several moments, I simply did not know where I was. I did not look at the clock -- or, at least, I don't recall seeing it or recognizing the time -- but I wonder how close that moment was to 3:07am. It would not have been the first time on this particular anniversary that I was stirred to something resembling wakefulness between the hours 3 and 4am.

Ten years ago today, at 3:07am on 5/3/2013, Dad crossed over.

The photo for this post was the morning sky that greeted me that morning as I left Johnstown around 6am and drove my mother to her empty house. The Sun was just kissing the sky over Route 56, Johnstown Expressway. Of course the Sun would rise and show me a way out of the dark valley of the past few days. Of course. How perfectly normal, yet bittersweetly beautiful, of a way to enter this next phase of my life, that of a fatherless son.

Dad had still been with us when I went to my hotel room shortly after midnight. That was about 8 or 9 hours after the ventilator had been removed. Over eight hours. He truly was one of the toughest men I've ever known.

Around midnight, Sis had already driven to her home, and Mom was falling asleep. She would end up sleeping in Dad's hospital room. And so, in the quiet and stillness, and nearly alone, Dad crossed over at 3:07am on 5/3/2013. Of course, he waited to slip away in a private moment. He had reached his birth month, but was nearly three weeks shy of his 67th birthday.

In 2020, Facebook told me this was my most-liked photo of 2013. That's kind of difficult for me to believe unless FB's algorithm factors in shares and other uses over time. But, hey, whatever algorithm. It's just another way the magic of social media technologies invite me to reflect. Memories, On This Day, and other features collaborate to remind me of the inevitability of loss.

And, of course, each year I re-share or re-purpose these memories, ensuring that I will have brand new versions of the same memories in years to come. It is now well-established as an arc within my own personal liturgical calendar. This date marks the end of the first two acts of that liturgy: illness and death. The next act: the continuing goodbye.

Why do I re-engage with this liturgy so regularly? It is a reminder to myself -- as much as to anyone else who might need it -- that each passing year after a loss does indeed lighten the load of grief, but also that the years do nothing for the pain and the tears. In fact, I might have paused in editing this post to deal with a few new tears.

And I would not have it any other way. For on the day I no longer feel anything for this loss, I will have become something less than human. In a November 2021 appearance, Andrew Garfield said that tears are "all the unexpressed love, the grief that will remain with us until we pass because we never get enough time with each other."

That tracks. We never get enough time with each other.

#memories #GoodbyeDad #StillSayingGoodbye #TenYearsLater 


Monday, April 17, 2023

Fifty-Five

We are now more than halfway through April, my birth month! And I will complete my 55th orbit around the Sun this month. But I will not use this occasion to have a party or seek presents. Nor will I give FB the opportunity to directly track my friends' donation activity. (Meanwhile, it is notable that 2023 might be the first year that Facebook has not resorted to a full-court press of harassing me to run a born-on day fundraiser through their platform.)

But if you choose to somehow celebrate or acknowledge my Born On date, I ask that you donate time or money to your favorite charity or not-for-profit organization. If you cannot donate, then just talk a walk in your favorite park, and maybe pick up some litter. 

And for those who can donate but don't have a favorite charity or non-profit, here are several of my own:

  • School of Sacred Ministries -- Independent divinity school that offers a two-year program of spiritual training with ordination as an Interfaith Minister upon conclusion. I was ordained here, I continue to work with them, and they can always use money to continue their programs and further the cause of interfaith dialog.
  • Montgomery Theater -- A small professional theater in the suburbs of Philadelphia, Montgomery Theater is my home-away-from-home. Like many not-for-profit enterprises operating in the arts, they are in a budget crunch. Donations can help pay actor salaries or utility bills, or keep the education programs running.
  • Cat Tales -- This is the animal rescue where we got Milo and Otis. When we are ready for more fur-babies, we will probably go back to them. 
  • Leukemia and Lymphoma Society -- My father-in-law would have celebrated another birthday on Monday (4/26) -- if he had not succumbed to cancer in March 2005. My own father was diagnosed with a recurrence of Myelodysplasia syndrome (MDS) in November 2009. He did have a successful mini transplant, but eventually passed in 2013 due to complications from a recurrence of cancer. So, yeah, I'm all for funding cancer research and treatment.
  • Cleveland Clinic -- My father had his bone marrow transplants performed here. They also treated him in March 2013. This clinic has an excellent medical staff and wonderful family support programs.
  • Philabundance -- The Delaware Valley’s largest hunger relief organization. Working to end hunger and malnutrition since 1984.
  • Hero Initiative -- These folks help comic book creators in all sorts of situations: emergency medical aid, financial support, help finding work, etc. Much of their work is in the sales of merchandise or features whose proceeds benefit creators in need, but they also have several donation options
  • poets.org -- A trio of groups dedicated to poets, poetry, and poems (Academy of American Poets, National Poetry Month, and American Poets Magazine). April is National Poetry Month, and they also have an ongoing poem-a-day service. 
  • EDF and EarthJustice -- Two organizations working for environmental protections and justice. For info about their work, check out the EDF quarterly publication, Solutions, or the EarthJustice Press Room.
  • Americans United for Separation of Church and State -- With that name, it's probably fairly clear what Americans United (or AU for short) does. Help them fight theocracy in the US. 
  • Life After Hate -- People who have spent much of their lives indoctrinated into hateful, dangerous lifestyles need help rejoining the compassionate, humane communities. And that's where Life After Hate picks up their work.
  • A Woman's Place (AWP) -- Providing emergency shelter, counseling, legal advocacy, legal assistance, and more for victims of domestic violence in the Bucks County, PA, area. 
  • Human Rights Campaign -- More than ever, advocating for equal rights is necessary. Particularly with the current administration seeking to undermine hard-won LGBTQ+ protections.  

Thank you in advance! Let's meet back here in another year!




Image Credit
4028mdk09, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Sunday, April 24, 2022

Fifty-Four

All this month, Facebook has been reminding harassing me to setup a charity through them. Well, I do frequently engage with their platform, perhaps more than I should. But I still don't know if they've gotten any better about their fundraising fees or their actual distribution of the funds they collect. So, I won't use their platform to guilt my friends into donations. 

No, on this occasion of completing yet another orbit around the Sun – number 54 for me! – I will not have a party, and I do not seek presents. But I do have a request. If you choose to somehow celebrate or acknowledge my Born On date, I ask that you donate time or money to your favorite charity or not-for-profit organization. If you do not have a favorite, I happily suggest several of my own (updated since the last time I provided a list):

  • School of Sacred Ministries -- Independent divinity school that offers a two-year program of spiritual training with ordination as an Interfaith Minister upon conclusion. I was ordained here, I continue to work with them, and they can always use money to continue their programs and further the cause of interfaith dialog.
  • Montgomery Theater -- A small professional theater in the suburbs of Philadelphia, Montgomery Theater is my home-away-from-home. Like many not-for-profit enterprises operating in the arts, they are in a budget crunch. Donations can help pay actor salaries or utility bills, or keep the education programs running.
  • Cat Tales -- This is the animal rescue where we got Milo and Otis. When we are ready for more fur-babies, we will probably go back to them. 
  • Leukemia and Lymphoma Society -- My father-in-law would have celebrated another birthday on Monday (4/26) -- if he had not succumbed to cancer in March 2005. My own father was diagnosed with a recurrence of Myelodysplasia syndrome (MDS) in November 2009. He did have a successful mini transplant, but eventually passed in 2013 due to complications from a recurrence of cancer. So, yeah, I'm all for funding cancer research and treatment.
  • Cleveland Clinic -- My father had his bone marrow transplants performed here. They also treated him in March 2013. This clinic has an excellent medical staff and wonderful family support programs.
  • Philabundance -- The Delaware Valley’s largest hunger relief organization. Working to end hunger and malnutrition since 1984.
  • Hero Initiative -- These folks help comic book creators in all sorts of situations: emergency medical aid, financial support, help finding work, etc. Much of their work is in the sales of merchandise or features whose proceeds benefit creators in need, but they also have several donation options
  • poets.org -- A trio of groups dedicated to poets, poetry, and poems (Academy of American Poets, National Poetry Month, and American Poets Magazine). While April is National Poetry Month, they also have an ongoing poem-a-day service, and they have posted special Shelter In Poems options during the COVID-19 pandemic. 
  • EDF and EarthJustice -- Two organizations working for environmental protections and justice. 
  • Americans United for Separation of Church and State -- With that name, it's probably fairly clear what Americans United (or AU for short) does. Help them fight theocracy in the US. 
  • Life After Hate -- People who have spent much of their lives indoctrinated into hateful, dangerous lifestyles need help rejoining the compassionate, humane communities. And that's where Life After Hate picks up their work.
  • Planetary Society -- Education, advocation, and exploration! Join CEO Bill Nye and the Planetary Society in their mission to "empower the world’s citizens to advance space science and exploration."
  • A Woman's Place (AWP) -- Providing emergency shelter, counseling, legal advocacy, legal assistance, and more for victims of domestic violence in the Bucks County, PA, area. 
  • Human Rights Campaign -- More than ever, advocating for equal rights is necessary. Particularly with the current administration seeking to undermine hard-won LGBTQ+ protections. 
  • Congressional Dish -- Operating under the value-for-value model, Jennifer Briney accepts no advertising or sponsorship for her twice-monthly podcast She works for you, not the corporate bigwigs, in covering bills, hearings, and more goings on in the US House and Senate.  
  • Black Journalists Therapy Relief Fund through the IWMF -- Your gift here helps to encourage and support a more diverse, representative news media.
  • Stop AAPI Hate -- Make a donation to help Stop AAPI Hate (sponsored by Chinese for Affirmative Action) track and respond to the surge in racism and xenophobia. 

Thank you in advance! Let's meet back here in another year!




Image Credit
Go 54 via Wikimedia Commons  | Some Rights Reserved

Sunday, October 31, 2021

Halloween 2021: My Continuing Pop-Halloween Malaise

 

So, tonight is the actual, official, U.S. calendar-dated Halloween. This is also the time of Samhain, Winter Nights, Allelieweziel, and several other seasonal observances. 

Three years ago on this evening, I hopped a flight to Toronto for the 2018 Parliament of the World's Religions. In 2019, I lamented a bit of pop-halloween malaise, and then logged into an evening class for #GraduateSchool. Last year, I still held that same malaise, but instead of a class, I had to complete an essay. On the positive side, I was privileged to officiate a wedding for some friends, down in LOVE Park. 

This year ... what can I say of this year? This is my fifth year observing a personal Dísablót for Winter Nights, something I've done since my mother passed in 2017. I spent this weekend officiating two weddings, one of which was even Halloween/October themed. No class to attend today, as this is a Sunday. I'm fortunate to not have a looming assignment either. I'm actually at the start of a week-long semester break (OK, it's Symposium Week at the seminary, but I'll be using the time to catch up on readings, work on assignments due later in mid-November, and handle several tasks that I've let slip around the house). And I'll take some more walks, probably in that local cemetery. 

Over the years, I've fallen out of interest with the pop culture aspect of this holiday, the candy and spooky movies bit, and given more to solemn contemplation of life, death, and those across the veil. I'm not sure why this is. Maybe it's my age. Maybe it's because my mother crossed over in October. Or, maybe, it's the year-by-year decrease in neighborhood trick-or-treaters. Maybe it's the toll of the pandemic. Whatever the cause, I'm not looking to "fix" it. I'm just sitting with it.

Anyway, at the outset of this post, I included a 2018 photo of me in a skull mask. I mean, I still like skulls and skeletons.

#Halloween #AllHallowsEve #Samhain #Allelieweziel #skull

Thursday, April 29, 2021

Fifty-Three

 

This is the week I turn 53. As usual, Facebook has been reminding harassing me to setup a charity through them. Well, I do frequently engage with their platform, perhaps more than I should. But I don't know if they've gotten any better about their fundraising fees or their actual distribution of the funds they collect. So, I won't use their platform to guilt my friends into donations. 

No, on this occasion of completing yet another orbit around the Sun, I will not have a party, not even a virtual or physically distanced one (go get vaccinated, all y'all!), nor will I seek presents. But I do have a request. If you choose to participate in celebrating my Born On date, I ask that you donate time or money to your favorite charity or not-for-profit organization. If you do not have a favorite, I happily suggest several of my own (updated since the last time I provided a list):

  • School of Sacred Ministries -- Independent divinity school that offers a 27-month program of spiritual training with ordination as an Interfaith Minister upon conclusion. I was ordained here, I continue to work with them, and they can always use money to continue their programs and further the cause of interfaith dialog.
  • Montgomery Theater -- A small professional theater in the suburbs of Philadelphia, Montgomery Theater is my home-away-from-home. Like many not-for-profit enterprises operating in the arts, they are in a budget crunch. Donations can help pay actor salaries or utility bills, or keep the education programs running.
  • Cat Tales -- This is the animal rescue where we got Milo and Otis. When we are ready for more fur-babies, we will probably go back to them. 
  • Leukemia and Lymphoma Society -- My father-in-law would have celebrated another birthday on Monday (4/26) -- if he had not succumbed to cancer in March 2005. My own father was diagnosed with a recurrence of Myelodysplasia syndrome (MDS) in November 2009. He did have a successful mini transplant, but eventually passed in 2013 due to complications from a recurrence of cancer. So, yeah, I'm all for funding cancer research and treatment.
  • Cleveland Clinic -- My father had his bone marrow transplants performed here. They also treated him in March 2013. This clinic has an excellent medical staff and wonderful family support programs.
  • Philabundance -- The Delaware Valley’s largest hunger relief organization. Working to end hunger and malnutrition since 1984.
  • Hero Initiative -- These folks help comic book creators in all sorts of situations: emergency medical aid, financial support, help finding work, etc. Much of their work is in the sales of merchandise or features whose proceeds benefit creators in need, but they also have several donation options
  • poets.org -- A trio of groups dedicated to poets, poetry, and poems (Academy of American Poets, National Poetry Month, and American Poets Magazine). While April is National Poetry Month, they also have an ongoing poem-a-day service, and they have posted special Shelter In Poems options during this past year's COVID-19 pandemic. 
  • EDF and EarthJustice -- Two organizations working for environmental protections and justice. 
  • Americans United for Separation of Church and State -- With that name, it's probably fairly clear what Americans United (or AU for short) does. Help them fight theocracy in the US. 
  • Life After Hate -- People who have spent much of their lives indoctrinated into hateful, dangerous lifestyles need help rejoining the compassionate, humane communities. And that's where Life After Hate picks up their work.
  • Planetary Society -- Education, advocation, and exploration! Join CEO Bill Nye and the Planetary Society in their mission to "empower the world’s citizens to advance space science and exploration."
  • A Woman's Place (AWP) -- Providing emergency shelter, counseling, legal advocacy, legal assistance, and more for victims of domestic violence in the Bucks County, PA, area. 
  • Human Rights Campaign -- More than ever, advocating for equal rights is necessary. Particularly with the current administration seeking to undermine hard-won LGBTQ+ protections. 
  • Congressional Dish -- Operating under the value-for-value model, Jennifer Briney accepts no advertising or sponsorship for her twice-monthly podcast She works for you, not the corporate bigwigs, in covering bills, hearings, and more goings on in the US House and Senate.  
  • Minnesota Freedom Fund's Suggestions -- From their webpage (as of 4/15/2021): "We ask that people turn their attention, and contributions, to groups needing our support more than ever because they are on the front lines of this fight [for racial justice and to end police brutality]. Please consider making your donations to some of these amazing Minnesota organizations instead of MFF."  
  • Black Journalists Therapy Relief Fund through the IWMF -- Your gift here helps to encourage and support a more diverse, representative news media.
  • Stop AAPI Hate -- Make a donation to help Stop AAPI Hate (sponsored by Chinese for Affirmative Action) track and respond to the surge in racism and xenophobia. 

Thank you in advance! Let's meet back here in another year!




Image Credit
Number 53 by Ian Barbour  
Change notice: Cropped the original to a 533 x 533 square

Tuesday, April 28, 2020

Fifty-Two


Ten years ago this week, I turned forty-two (42), the age of the "the Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything." This week, I shall turn 52. There is nothing particular about this number in the H2G2, but Facebook keeps reminding me to setup a charity through them. Well, screw them. While I regularly engage with their platform, I won't use it to guilt my friends into donations, particularly when Facebook charges high fundraising fees (for anyone not a verified non-profit). And FB can delay distribution of funds to the orgs.

No, in recognition of the questionably auspicious occasion of another orbit around the Sun, I will not have a party (not even a virtual or physically distanced one), nor will I seek presents. But I do have a request. If you choose to participate in celebrating my Born On date, I ask that you donate time or money to your favorite charity or not-for-profit organization. If you do not have a favorite, I happily suggest a few of my own:
  • School of Sacred Ministries -- Independent divinity school that offers a 27-month program of spiritual training with ordination as an Interfaith Minister upon conclusion. I was ordained here, I continue to work with them, and they can always use money to continue their programs and further the cause of interfaith dialog.
  • Montgomery Theater -- A small professional theater in the suburbs of Philadelphia, Montgomery Theater is my home-away-from-home. Like many not-for-profit enterprises operating in the arts, they are in a budget crunch. Donations can help pay actor salaries or utility bills, or keep the education programs running.
  • Cat Tales -- This is the animal rescue where we got Milo and Otis. When we are ready for more fur-babies, we will probably go back to them. 
  • Leukemia and Lymphoma Society -- My father-in-law would have celebrated another birthday on Monday (4/26) -- if he had not succumbed to cancer in March 2005. My own father was diagnosed with a recurrence of Myelodysplasia syndrome (MDS) in November 2009. He is currently recuperating after a successful mini transplant, but eventually passed in 2013 due to complications from a recurrence of cancer. So, yeah, I'm all for funding cancer research and treatment.
  • Cleveland Clinic -- My father had his bone marrow transplants performed here. They also treated him in March 2013. This clinic has an excellent medical staff and wonderful family support programs.
  • Philabundance -- The Delaware Valley’s largest hunger relief organization. Working to end hunger and malnutrition since 1984.
  • KidsPeace -- Top notch (and kind of local, for me) facility helping children and their families. Founded and headquartered in PA in 1882, they have services in "Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia and the District of Columbia."
  • CBLDF -- The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund is "dedicated to the protection of the First Amendment rights of the comics art form and its community of retailers, creators, publishers, librarians, and readers." They fight on behalf of all sorts of banned books
  • Hero Initiative -- These folks help comic book creators in all sorts of situations: emergency medical aid, financial support, help finding work, etc. Much of their work is in the sales of merchandise or features whose proceeds benefit creators in need, but they also have several donation options
  • poets.org -- A trio of groups dedicated to poets, poetry, and poems (Academy of American Poets, National Poetry Month, and American Poets Magazine). While April is National Poetry Month, they also have an ongoing poem-a-day service, and they have posted special Shelter In Poems options during the COVID-19 stay-at-home orders. 
  • EDF and EarthJustice -- Two organizations working for environmental protections and justice. 
  • Americans United for Separation of Church and State -- With that name, it's probably fairly clear what Americans United (or AU for short) does. Help them fight theocracy in the US. 
  • Planned Parenthood -- This group is about so much more than access to safe abortions. They provide vital health care, sex education, and information to many people who otherwise could not get they help and attention they need.
  • Life After Hate -- People who have spent much of their lives indoctrinated into hateful, dangerous lifestyles need help rejoining the compassionate, humane communities. And that's where Life After Hate picks up their work.
  • Planetary Society -- Education, advocation, and exploration! Join CEO Bill Nye and the Planetary Society in their mission to "empower the world’s citizens to advance space science and exploration."
  • A Woman's Place (AWP) -- Providing emergency shelter, counseling, legal advocacy, legal assistance, and more for victims of domestic violence in the Bucks County, PA, area. 
  • Human Rights Campaign -- More than ever, advocating for equal rights is necessary. Particularly with the current administration seeking to undermine hard-won LGBTQ+ protections. 
  • Congressional Dish -- Operating under the value-for-value model, Jennifer Briney accepts no advertising or sponsorship for her twice-monthly podcast She works for you, not the corporate bigwigs, in covering bills, hearings, and more goings on in the US House and Senate.  
Thank you in advance!

Wednesday, August 29, 2018

A moment of grief, and of love remembered



So, during my evening commute today, I was going through some playlists on my phone. I came across "Always" by Tony Lucca from the NoiseTrade Summer Mixtape collection.


I've had this collection for a few years, and this wasn't the first time I'd listened to this particular tune. But this evening, it hit me quite differently. Lyrically, it really felt like a message from a parent to a child. Specifically, from my parents to me and my sister.

And, lo, the tears did come.

I might never hear this song any other way again. And that's perfectly all right.

Here are the lyrics:

// I wish I could tell you what's goin' through my mind I wish I could promise it's gonna be just fine one thing's for certain: till the end of time I'm gonna Love you like no one will ever Love you I'm gonna Love you always I wish I could tell you dreams always come true that Lovers and strangers won't ever get the best of you for better or worse now, we always get what's due so I'm gonna Love you like no one will ever Love you I'm gonna Love you always I'm gonna Love you more than words and stars and tears and grains of sand, best I can for good. I wish I could hold you and never let you go I wish I could show you everything you'll ever need to know best I can do is give you freedom to grow and I'm gonna Love you like no one will ever Love you I'm gonna Love you always //
#grief #love #parents #GoodbyeMom #GoodbyeDad #StillSayingGoodbye

Thursday, May 03, 2018

On the Fifth Anniversary of My Father's Death


Dad crossed over at 3:07am on 5/3/2013. In my eulogy for DadI quoted Deng Ming-Dao's meditation on death. On this, the fifth anniversary of Dad's passing, I still find solace and wisdom in those words:
open quoteWe give death metaphors. We cloak it in meaning and make up stories about what will happen to us, but we don't really know. When a person dies, we cannot see beyond the corpse. We speculate on reincarnation or talk in terms of eternity. But death is opaque to us, a mystery. In its realm, time ceases to have meaning. All laws of physics become irrelevant. Death is the opposite of time. 
What dies? Is anything actually destroyed? Certainly not the body, which falls into its constituent parts of water and chemicals. That is mere transformation, not destruction. What of the mind? Does it cease to function, or does it make a transition to another existence? We don't know for sure, and few can come up with anything conclusive. 
What dies? Nothing of the person dies in the sense that the constituent parts are totally blasted from all existence. What dies is merely the identity, the identification of a collection of parts that we call a person. Each one of us is a role, like some shaman wearing layers of robes with innumerable fetishes of meaning. Only the clothes and decoration fall. What dies is only our human meaning. There is still someone naked underneath. Once we understand who that someone is, death no longer bothers us. Nor does time.
-- Deng Ming-Dao (from 365 Tao: Daily Meditations)

Although he is gone, there are tangible reminders of my father. For example, I usually have at least two of the following items with me on a daily basis:

  • one of Dad's pocket watches
  • some of Dad's ashes in an old film canister
  • Dad's ring


Sunday, April 01, 2018

Remembering 4/1/2013 on 4/1/2018


I haven't been to Prophet or Madman since June of last year. Since then, I've done most of my posting at Bookended by Cats or directly on Twitter. But an anniversary like this moves me to reflect. Five years ago today, April 1 was on a Monday. Easter Monday. It was also my 19th and final day at the Cleveland Clinic with my folks. I would leave on Tuesday (4/2) and return to work on Wednesday (4/3). Dad was stabilized, the doctors were no longer looking for a proverbial silver bullet, and there was a plan to move Dad from the ICU to a Clinic rehab unit and then ultimately to a care facility closer to home. At the time, this felt like a good outcome. It felt like progress. As I look back upon this event with the ... benefit(?) ... of hindsight, knowing what was to come in just over a month, it might be easy to take a darker view of this memory. It can be tempting to connect the news received on that day with the supposed nature of the calendar date itself. So, yes, the irony of receiving hopeful, yet ultimately false, news on April Fools’ Day is not lost on me. But no one, whether in the Clinic or beyond it, was conspiring to deceive us on that day. There was no endgame or "gotcha" moment in mind. Everyone involved was dealing with the best information they had at that time, and there was cause to be hopeful. There was a very real possibility that Dad would make at least some kind of recovery. In the wake of what happened, was that false hope? No. What came later cannot mar the hopefulness and slight relief I felt on this day five years ago. Even though I'm still saying ... #GoodbyeDad. (If you want to read my 4/1/2013 FB post that sparked this reflection, the full text is posted after the jump.)