tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29859296.post115870632497705458..comments2023-10-30T02:09:57.503-07:00Comments on Connectivity: Charlie Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09298868348780104962noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29859296.post-1163111695100149922006-11-09T14:34:00.000-08:002006-11-09T14:34:00.000-08:00Charlie,Your tribute to your father was just beaut...Charlie,<BR/>Your tribute to your father was just beautiful. It gave us chills as we read it. I know it helped you to write it. The lose of a parent is never easy and you made it very comforting to hear. <BR/><BR/>All our love,<BR/>Bob and Loretta HamiltonAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29859296.post-1162784636436874932006-11-05T19:43:00.000-08:002006-11-05T19:43:00.000-08:00robert browning on drugs!! may it never be!! those...robert browning on drugs!! may it never be!! those words were stingingly true, and might ring truer to you now than they did before. most people interpret the "grow old along with me; the best is yet to be" quote as some kind of touching marriage-proposal. it's in fact the opposite: a looking-forward to death, and a view of our withering bodies as the pathway to heaven, put in the mouth of an old rabbi talking to his young student.<BR/><BR/>the poem is so beautiful, and contains such truths that speak to me about your situation and your father's personality, which i feel i've glimpsed through your stories and remembrances:<BR/><BR/>Grow old along with me!<BR/>The best is yet to be,<BR/>The last of life, for which the first was made:<BR/>Our times are in His hand<BR/>Who saith "A whole I planned,<BR/>Youth shows but half; trust God: see all, nor be afraid!''<BR/><BR/>Poor vaunt of life indeed,<BR/>Were man but formed to feed<BR/>On joy, to solely seek and find and feast:<BR/><BR/>Then, welcome each rebuff<BR/>That turns earth's smoothness rough,<BR/>Each sting that bids nor sit nor stand but go!<BR/>Be our joys three-parts pain!<BR/>Strive, and hold cheap the strain;<BR/>Learn, nor account the pang; dare, never grudge the throe!<BR/><BR/>For thence,—a paradox<BR/>Which comforts while it mocks,—<BR/>Shall life succeed in that it seems to fail:<BR/>What I aspired to be<BR/>And was not, comforts me.<BR/><BR/>But all, the world's coarse thumb<BR/>And finger failed to plumb,<BR/>So passed in making up the main account;<BR/>All instincts immature,<BR/>All purposes unsure,<BR/>That weighed not as his work, yet swelled the man's amount:<BR/><BR/>Thoughts hardly to be packed<BR/>Into a narrow act,<BR/>Fancies that broke through language and escaped;<BR/>All I could never be,<BR/>All, men ignored in me,<BR/>This, I was worth to God.<BR/><BR/><BR/><BR/>amen, and amen!!<BR/><BR/>you and your whole family are in our prayers, blessed soul.<BR/><BR/>love,<BR/>barry and catherineAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29859296.post-1159489206172888562006-09-28T17:20:00.000-07:002006-09-28T17:20:00.000-07:00Charlie,You so eloquently write of the painful pro...Charlie,<BR/><BR/>You so eloquently write of the painful process of dealing with your families journey with Alzheimer's disease. Our hearts go out to you and family for all that this entails for each of you. We saw this very same thing with Clyde's brother and his family. It is not easy to watch a strong and healthy person who is a giant to a young son, slowly deteriorate into a helpless individual unable to communicate his thoughts and feelings. In those lucid times, it seems they are "normal" if only for a short while, but quickly they return to a fog, unable to find their way. Please know you are in our prayers. Clyde and JudyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29859296.post-1158717656210175342006-09-19T19:00:00.000-07:002006-09-19T19:00:00.000-07:00Charlie,I know how much you love your dad and how ...Charlie,<BR/>I know how much you love your dad and how difficult this is for you and your family. My prayers are with you as you enter the next stage of the journey. We love you and miss you LOTS!!!<BR/>Your Friend,<BR/>MsmithAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com