Friends are friends forever...

We had a lovely day. Papa was like the king on his throne surrounded by five women this morning. And all of them talking at once as we gals are prone to do. Later he said to me, "Boy did they talk a lot!" As soon as we went into the "big house" for lunch he decided to take a nap. I think we wore him out.

He had a good day today. He ate well and I think he enjoyed watching his old movies. He stayed up tonight and watched at least half of American Idol. But, having said that, he is tired - tired of being dependent on others and just tired in general.

Lately he has been calling some of his old pals and former classmates of his or of Hyrtha's. It really does him good to talk to these folks. I would imagine that it also does them good too. It is one of the greatest things about Kenny; he keeps up with all of his old friends whenever possible. I am amazed at how many folks his age are on the Internet. I am unsure if they have accessed this blog or not, but I do know that they keep up with one another via email. I think that is so great.

Kenny is getting his haircut tomorrow. We are all so disappointed. He was beginning to look like George Washington. I had told him that I was going to get a black ribbon to tie his hair back when he goes to the wedding on Saturday. Savannah was planning to come around and "fix" his hair for him. She's going to be really disappointed.

We learned that my first cousin, Bruce Marshall, my daddy's nephew, died on Saturday of a massive heart attack (at age 60!) My sister and I were so looking forward to seeing so many of our Marshall family here for Rachel's wedding. How sad that the reunion will be at Bruce's funeral rather that at the happy occasion two days later. As a result of Bruce's death, I have been thinking a lot about life and, as a result, death also. Kenny will be 91 in November and has overcome many health challenges in the past twenty years. How blessed we have been to have him in our lives these past years. I have been thinking of Bruce's two daughters and his four grandchildren and how much they will miss him in their lives and how much our own children have benefited from having Kenny in theirs. No one had greater influence over my life than my grandmother. The older I get the more I recognize that many of my most strongly held beliefs come directly from her. I am so grateful for Kenny's presence in our lives and I know many of you feel the same way.