He suffered a stoke this morning. Hopefully it’s a minor problem but we’re concerned. He had the stroke while mother was getting him ready for breakfast. She called the ambulance and they took him to the emergency room in Soda Springs.

Nina and I drove up and waited there for a while as the doctor completed the evaluation. He was then transported by ambulance to Pocatello (the same hospital he was discharged from yesterday). He actually seemed to get quite a bit better in the emergency room there.

Then they moved him by ambulance to the east hospital here in Pocatello. His speech has become gibberish. He’s not moving his right leg much and seems to have some weakness in his right arm and hand. He’s not in pain, I don’t think.

So, we’re in the room waiting and watching.

At about 8:30 pm tonight they moved dad from the ICU to a private room on the fifth floor. He’ll be discharged in the morning.

After getting to his new room, the nurse asked if he’d like some ice cream. The smile on his face was just delightful. She brought in some ice cream and he devoured it. The apppetite is coming back. He’s ready to get out of here. He says he’s feeling better than he has in a while.

Eileen and Phil went back home this morning. It sure was good to have them here. I think we’re on the home stretch.

We got here early tonight. “Here” is the Jensen Performing Arts Center. We were here last night as well. That performance was by the Repertory Dance Theater and was an interesting evening tracing some of the history of modern dance in America. A few of the pieces were spectacular. Some were just interesting. We had a good time and enjoyed the performance.

Today was supposed to be partly cloudy and pleasant. The reality was cloudy with rain showers. Nevertheless, there were things to do. One of my tasks this fall is to close off under the deck to keep Bradica (the dog) out of there. She hates the snow (and the rain, and grass, and the outdoors in general) and when there is snow on the ground she’ll try not to go outside. When that isn’t working, she’ll try to go under the deck where it’s dry. That’s a hard place to clean up! So today dad and mom came over from Soda Springs. Dad brought his tools for drilling into concrete. I got up early (for a Saturday) and went over to Lowes to get the lumber. We mounted a board on the outside wall under the deck and nailed on place a 2×10 across the space under the stairs going from the deck to the backyard. That worked very well. I nailed in place some lattice work and that part of the deck is now closed off. The rest will get done over the next couple of weeks.

Tomorrow is Fast Sunday. In keeping with a recent tradition, Nina and I went to dinner at Applebees before coming to the concert hall. That’s why we’re early (but it isn’t early any more — we’re five minutes past the scheduled starting time). We try to get out to dinner on the Saturday before Fast Sunday. It’s a nice tradition. Anything with food is nice! The lights just went down and then back up again. Is it time to start?

The program tonight is a group from Nova Scotia with a performance titled “Drum“. There are all kinds of drums on stage. This should be a lot of fun! It’s starting!

I’m attending the Whitaker First Ward this morning for a great-niece to receive a name and a blessing from her father Josh. There’s a good number of family here today and all has gone well.

My car is still in the garage. I took it in last Wednesday to have an air conditioning temperature sensor replaced. The wrong part came in and hopefully the right part will arrive on Tuesday. As a result, I have to ride the motorcycle instead. Wbat a sacrifice! The weather is lovely and the riding is great.

This is the last big weekend of the summer — Labor Day. We have nothing planned as Nina needed to be at the prison today. We are enjoying a quiet weekend!

On even numbered years the reunion is held on a Saturday afternoon. On odd numbered years, the reunion is held the second weekend of August, usually in Hanna, Utah. The event this year was held at a small park in Bountiful, Utah. It’s limited to adults only whereas the event in Hanna is for full families. The even-numbered-year event organizing rotates amongst the families of the five children of Perry Chappell and Minnie Viola Hardy Gillett (grandpa spelled his name with no ‘e’ at the end. Grandmother didn’t like that spelling, so she added the ‘e’). The five children are John (deceased), Perry (deceased), Art (deceased), my mother Arlene, and Marjorie. This year it was my mother’s turn, so she turned much of the work over to her four kids (me included), except for the worrying. The event went very well.

We took the motorhome down so there would be a place for Bradica (the dog). We met mom and dad in McCammon and they rode down and back with us. We’re on our way back home (we’re near Malad, Idaho). We’ll be back home in about an hour and a half. We’ve had a nice day.

The doors open 5 minutes before the show starts — in about 3 minutes. We’ll be seeing “Yellowstone” for the next forty minutes. Nina will meet us after the feature as these kinds of movies have a bad biological impact on her. It’s been a very lazy day. We came into West Yellowstone about noon and had lunch (Arbys and KFC), did very little shopping, and now the movie. We’re having fun!

We’ve had dinner (soft tacos) and built a fire. The grandkids are roasting
…. Starbursts! Seems weird, but they like them.

After church we came back to the motorhome and had lunch. We then took the
motorhome and drove around the top of Quake Lake and Hebgen lake. An
earthquake on August 17, 1959, measuring 7.3 on the Richter Scale, killed
some 28 people, burried the road, and formed a new lake. I remember the
earthquake. I was working in Treasureton on the Workman farm at that time
and it was almost the biggest news of the century. A huge rescue effort was
required, including teams parachuting in and big helicopters rescuing
people. There is a visitors center at the place where the mountain came
down. We stopped and I stayed for the movie. It was very interesting. The
entire drive was very pretty. This is beautiful country up here. Life is
good!
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It’s about 15 before church starts and it’s full! We’re in the cultural hall and there are chairs set all the way back. I suspect it’ll be full. When we came in, someone snagged Christopher and Michael to pass the sacrament. There are three rows of deacons and another fellow is going through the congregation looking for more people to pass. This is fun!