Out of the Blue Too

Long's Peak - My Favorite Mountain in the World!

2012-01-26T18:32:00.000-06:00

I climbed Long’s Peak a few times the normal route but my most memorable story was when my climbing buddy, Alex did the east face of Long’s with ropes. We knew it would take all day and into the evening to climb so the morning before the climb we spent the night at the base of Long’s. We didn’t sleep well because we had minimum gear because of weight of our packs that weighed 50 pounds because of the ropes and climbing gear! With my skinny butt the rock I was sleeping on got extra hard!

It was a beautiful sunrise and when we woke up for breakfast we saw a marmite family sunning themselves on a rock near by.

After a little breakfast of Ramon Soup with Vienna Sausages in it we started the all day climb. Unfortunately in the early part of climb I lost my balance and fell 30 feet and it scared the living daylights out of me! Fortunately I had only a few bruises so we climbed on.

It was an exhilarating climb! I must admit that we were totally beat when we reached the summit. I think that was one of my more major climbing experiences in my life! The weather was absolutely wonderful the whole day which unfortunately can get very bad at 14,000 feet in an instant. Which reminds me of two times when we turned back on other backpacking trips due the Mother Nature having different plans!

Here's a picture of our route!

We stayed up at the top for a long time before we had to descend. There were other people up top and it was interesting to explain how we didn’t take the normal route to the summit. It made us proud to be true mountaineers!

The trip down was less tiring than the climb which is usually the case. It was home free once we got below the tree line! In the parking lot was my trusty 1959 Jeep and boy was it a site for us weary souls!

Some day I really hope you can climb Long’s but please don’t make it your first forteeneer. Trust me you have got to train for it and you would be disappointed if you were not prepared. Good luck!

When my family moved from New Jersey to Colorado

2011-10-14T20:53:00.000-05:00

My dad was really tired of commuting for 3 hours each day from our home in Ridgewood, NJ to New York City after doing it for 12 years. He got the opportunity to take one year off work to come to CSU and get his PhD. As a family we would vacation in Colorado so my family was in for it totally. We moved to Fort Collins when I was starting the 7 grade. It was rough for me to leave my friends in NJ but I knew it was just for a year. The strange part was most of my friends turned to drugs while I was away. I was too much into the outdoors to do such a thing to my body. Looking back at it now my dad made the best decision. I am grateful. That was the summer of 1969 just like the song.

I faced many challenges in going to a new school. Having to meet new friends not to mention find my way around school. I had a locker for the first time in my life. Simple things like memorizing my locker combination were another challenge. But two classes that were special to me were gym and conservation. I don’t mind admitting but my body was changing drastically back in 7th grade especially my muscles. That’s why gym was important to me. When I got back to NJ, my friends said my biceps were gigantic! It made me proud. My gym teacher was extremely strict and my guidance counselor warned me on the first day of school. I really liked it. I was petrified of him. He he. The second class that I would like to tell you about was Colorado conservation. The really strange but interesting thing was the teacher was my next-door neighbor!

As a side note my family was really close to them and still is today. I would babysit their children! Yes I was an excellent babysitter! That’s when I learned that I love babies and young kids so much. They have so much love and what I like about them is learn at an incredible rate. I changed diapers and had no problem with the smell after all that’s what babies do, eat, sleep and poop!

His name is Richard and he impressed me with his love of the great outdoors. He would rather take a camera with him when he went out rather than a rifle. My Dad said he was a wuss. He he. But I learned so much from him inside and outside of school. Even when I had to do a speech in his class I was comfortable which isn’t my style because I get petrified when I do speeches in front of people that I don’t know. One time I had to give a speech for 11 Generals when I was working for the government. Talk about pucker factor! Rich had a way of teaching that made it fun to learn! After one year with him, I wanted to become a teacher but my dad said teaching was a dead end job and you don't make any money. I was young and believed my father but to this day I wished that I became a teacher.

Dad bought a house on Clover Lane right off of Laporte. Our backyard was a huge field where the KCOL radio towers are and I had a lot of fun riding my mini bike all around. To the left of the field is where my friend who had an underground trampoline. Also I would go to the city park pool with my friends. A girl named Sherrie lived a block away from my house and I became friends with her brother. I would love to go to her house and we would talk for hours with each other. I was so shy with girls at that age but glad that I could talk about anything with her. Her parents were way older than my parents but they were up on the times. I liked them a lot and they always made me feel at home. It was the time of the sexual revolution and all 5 of us would sit around the kitchen table and talk about sex and other interesting topics.

My dad knew that I was interested in how things worked so he helped me fix my mini bike when it needed attention. He let me practically rebuilt the engine. I loved my mini bike!

That year was very special to me and I think that I became more of a young man in that single year than any other year! I really grew to love Colorado because of all the things that my dad and I did like backpacking, skiing, hunting and fishing. If you get a chance read my favorite fishing story on my blog. My favorite hunting trip was with my dad and a good friend of the family named AL Barns. We got this elk pictured below. Dad named him Ralph!

In 1972 my parents decided to give up on life in NJ and permanently move to Colorado. Again for me it was difficult because I was entering my junior year of high school. We bought a house in Lakewood over looking Denver and the view was magnificent. Our house was two blocks from where no houses could be built because of the hills of Green Mountain. To my good fortune my new high school named Green Mountain was brand new so for the first year there was no seniors because they never pull the senior class away from their school. I was a senior for two years and walking tall! He he.

Before school started my mom and I were grocery shopping at Safeway and a very tall boy was sacking our groceries and mom started talking with him about school and he said he would be glad to show me around. His name is Alex. We clicked immediately and became friends. After a while during school we had so much in common that he became my climbing buddy and backpacking companion.

In the summer we would hike up to the top of Green Mountain and camp up there. My most memorable experience was when I took pictures of the stars with my 35mm camera with the shutter open for about 10 seconds. I would capture the stars moving across the sky. You should try it sometime.

Alex is the person who climbed Longs Peak with me a few times when we were going to CSU! I must get in touch with Alex someday! We can talk about our adventures that I could go on and on for days!

My Nutty Buddy Story

2011-09-12T21:26:00.001-05:00

It was a cold and snowy winter night and I was walking with my friend, Rob Hannings from a Boy Scout meeting. We stopped by the store and brought some Drumstick ice cream cones. Back in those days the cones were named Nutty Buddies!

We were walking down a main street in Ridgewood, NJ when we spotted a green VW Bug stuck in the snow. Then a tall very beautiful lady opened the door of the VW and looked at us in desperation. We knew right away that it was our duty to save this princess from her distress.

“She exclaimed would you two help me because I am late for my appointment!” So we told her no problem we would be glad to help her.

Rob and I pushed with all our might but could not get the vehicle out because we were still holding our Nutty Buddies. In that instant we looked at each other and knew our delicious treats had to go. So we said to hell with our ice creams because saving our princess was more important. We each threw our treats into a snow drift never to be seen or eaten again.

Now with both hands on the back of the vehicle, we freed our princess’s VW Bug from it’s strangle hold in the snow!!! Our good dead of the day was fulfilled!
To our delight she thanked us many times and then she waved a friendly good bye with one arm out the window as she drove away. We watched her until we could no longer see the taillights of the VW. We knew our heroic act was complete! As we headed home it started to snow and our stomachs were a little bit hungry from working so hard!!!

There's nothing like cruising down the highway in a convertible sports car!

2011-07-29T19:13:00.000-05:00

A really good friend of mine reminded me of a story about cruising down the highway with the top down in my convertible sports car!

My story begins in 1980 when I drove my red sports car from Colorado to Maryland. I bought the 1970 red MGB from a lady who could not keep it running. I towed the car to my home in Lakewood, Colorado. I had to rebuild the engine and fortunately the summer to work on it since I graduated from CSU in May and I bought the car in June. It was the second engine that I rebuilt so I was confident despite that my MGB sports car was British made! The most complicated part was the dual carburetors because each had to be tuned perfectly in sync. If they were not in sync the engine would shake violently! I hope that makes sense.

Once rebuilt I had such fun driving it around town and up the foothills west of Denver. If you haven’t driven a sports car on a mountain road or a coastal highway, please add it to your to do list!

In September my army officer training would begin so I headed across country in my hot little sports car! I especially liked when people and kids would stare at me cruising by them doing 60 mph down the interstate 70! With my convertible top down and the breeze blowing my hair, what more could I ask for! I hooked up my head phones to the stereo radio so I could rock and roll all the way! That was before ear buds were invented and long before laws about wearing ear listening devices was illegal. Oops!!

Unfortunately there was one faulty part I didn’t repair. It was my fuel pump. So I was stuck on the side of the highway three times as I took the pump apart and repaired it. Fortunately I know exactly what’s was wrong and I knew how to fix it. I did get strange looks from people passing me on the interstate. It didn’t matter because I was 23 years old and felt invincible to the world and what it had to offer!

How I Met Your Mother

2011-06-12T13:20:00.000-05:00

It happened at a Christmas party at work. My boss decided it was time for us to meet. My boss worked next to your mom area so he knew her well. We were both in the computer software development for the U.S. Army and worked in the same building. We both lived in a small town south of Richmond, VA.

My boss’s name is Earl. He approached me at the party and said “Don follow me right now”. I being a good soldier followed Earl. It was very crowded as we passed many people going from room to room. He took me to the room where they had the giant Christmas tree displayed. I didn’t know why he was taking me through this maze. But there standing in front of the tree was a beautiful oriental girl. I look at her and realized what Earl was up to. After he introduced us to each other, he quickly left the room. As if he was saying “I did my mission and let the chemistry begin”.

When she first spoke to me I wasn’t expecting to hear the most soothing and wonderful southern bell voice that I ever heard. To this day I just love listening to your mom’s voice. Your mom and I talked for a while. She was so friendly to me. But soon I found out that she had to catch a plane back to her home town of Memphis for the holidays. I told her that I was going to visit my family in Lakewood, Colorado. We went out to the hallway and said Merry Christmas and good bye.

Earl asked me when I got back if I called your mom for a date. At that time I was extremely shy about dating anyone so I said no. He said why it’s been three weeks since Christmas vacation. And then he said “are you crazy”. I work my best under pressure so I said “Yes, I would soon”.

I called your mom and asked her if she would like to go out to dinner. To my surprise she said no. I was in a state of shock for a few seconds. She came to my rescue by saying how about a movie instead. Later when we were dating she explained that she had a bad experience when going out to eat with someone.

It was winter and the roads were icy. So I carefully drove my Mazda RX-7 sports car to her apartment. I wore my very unhandsome for a first date my flannel shirt, bellbottom cords and hiking boots. Later after we knew each other, she said that was not a good impression for a first date. I am so glad to know that mom taught you well in the clothes department, for I cannot be a good roll model for you until I met your mom.

We went to a movie that had a lot of foul language in it. I thought I was a goner after that. But your mom just gave me a look and chuckled as if to say without words that there was no way of me knowing that about the movie. Believe it or not it was a few years before the Internet so things like playing the trailers was out of the question! After she smiled I felt relieved.

After the movie she said that we should get something to eat. I was befuddled with the request because of her earlier comment. Later I found out that your mom felt comfortable with me. We went to a diner called Friendly’s. She said ice cream would be nice. The waitress could see that we were just dating and she was especially nice and almost like she missed those days of her younger years. We chatted until our ice cream was gone and I drove her home to her place. Later she told me that I was a perfect gentleman the whole evening. I drove home feeling like I was on cloud nine.

Earl was anticipating my full report the next day. He is such a character so I confessed that it was wonderful. A few months later he asked me if I asked your mom to marry me yet. When I said no, he said “are you crazy, what are you waiting for?”. I heard that before and just laughed!

Don Taylor Rules of Engagement for Girls

2011-03-26T13:29:00.002-05:00

Advice from me on How to Pick a Man

Below are two categories – The Keepers and The Throw Them Back

Good luck shopping!

The Keepers

• He should let you say whatever you want to say without him interrupting you. Unless you have so much in common that he must agree with you. Beware of men that talk about themselves a lot.

• On your first date, he should always make you feel comfortable but especially by being a gentleman and not attempt to kiss you at the end of the date.

• He should treasure his relationship with his family. Look for attributes that would make him a good father if you desire to have children.

• Watch him closely as he walks passed a mirror. He shouldn’t be obsessed with his body.

• His eyes should be on you. Not wandering around the place looking for his next victim.

• He should treat you absolutely perfect on your first date. Plus tell you where you’re going so you can dress appropriately. No surprises.

Throw Them Back

• If he has to clean his car of empty junk food wrappers or containers before he takes you on a date?

• If he gives you a gift with a power cord attached?

• If you visit his apartment/home and you have trouble seeing what the color of the carpet because of all of his crap on it.

• After the first date, does he call you more than once per day? He might be a stalker.

• Does he have body odor? Chain Smoker? Alcoholic? Felon? Addiction for Gambling?

How to Disengage:

• First, be totally honest. Don’t talk around the reason why. Be blunt as possible. Don’t be mean.

• If you truly want him out of your life, don’t say like “I need my space right now”. That’s an open statement that tells him there’s still a chance for him to stalk you. Danger, Danger!

Fond Memories of Wilderness Fishing with my Dad

2010-10-16T21:05:00.004-05:00

I would like to tell you a story of my favorite fishing trip. When I was in junior high in Fort Collins...I went backpacking with my dad and a good friend. The friend name is Al Barns. Al lived on a ranch outside of Fort Collins. He was an avid hunter and fishermen like my dad. One of his animals he owed was a donkey named Lady Bird. He took her on our wilderness backpacking fishing trip. She would carry our food and cooking equipment.

Our adventure was to hike into the Rawah Wilderness area. There are 26 lakes all feed by melting snow. The area is free from motorized vehicles. We backpacked nine miles to get to our base camp. We were thankful of Lady Bird because after seven miles, we were feeling the weight on our backs.

The lakes are above timberline. That’s why we camped at the base camp. Our camp was just along a pure rocky mountain stream. The area was surrounded by magnificent pine trees. We got up early and cooked a mountain man’s breakfast that would last us till lunch time. My dad would make his specialty called monkey guts. A bunch of eggs with grilled onions cut up potatoes, sausages, and diced ham all mixed together. Served with buttered toast lightly browned over the morning fire of course!

With our fishing gear and lunch in hand, we headed for the lakes. Lady Bird would stay behind. It was a difficult climb to the lakes about an hour. Once we got above timberline, we heard water running under the rocks beneath our feet fed by the snow above the lakes. To get a drink of water, we carried clear surgical tubing to feed through the rocks to get perfectly clear water!

Once we reached the lakes it was time to get busy fishing. The fish were jumping that morning. My dad loved to say look at them jumping every lake that we passed by as children. We just laughed.

Since the trout aren’t stocked up in the wilderness, their meat is pink not white like most store bought fish. Native trout with pink meat tastes much better than white meat. A specialty fish up in the Rawah is called Cut Throat trout. They have bright red markings just below their gills, thus their name.

The catching was fantastic that morning. Just before lunch I caught a large cut throat and built a little fire to cook this fine fish. After the fire had red hot embers burning, I cleaned and roasted my catch until the meat practically fell off the fish. The trout melted in my mouth. To this day that was the best fish I have ever eaten. Naturally what do you do after a delicious meal, I took a nap.

The end of my fish story (in this fishy story, all is true)
Enjoy the pictures below.

One of the Best Colorado Vacation Spots Ever

2010-09-02T19:42:00.002-05:00

I decided to brag on my sisters home in the mountains. She is renting it to tourists seeking a Colorado experience.

Here's the link to Sunhaven.

www.HolisticLifeChoices.com/SunHaven

People who rent can review their stay. Below is an example of one of the better ones.

The above quote was from my 21 year old son and my 19 year old daughter agrees. I had plans and schedules for rafting, horseback riding, brewery touring. They went out the window once we arrived at Sunhaven. No one wanted to leave the mountain. The directions to the home were easy to follow. The place was clean and well maintained. It was more spacious and beautiful than the pictures show. Hiking and climbing were the daily activity of choice. Night time was for campfires, game playing (Pass the Pigs and Scrabble) and reading. We did not see any bears or mountain lions, but were sure one of us would have our eye impaled by a hummingbird! The owners were kind and friendly, answering any questions that cropped up. This vacation is what we consider a "do over" because we want to do it again (and maybe raft next time!). Kudos to the owners!!

Date of Stay: 06/29/10 Review Submitted: 07/11/10

My Three Grandsons

2010-07-15T18:20:00.010-05:00

I certainly enjoyed seeing Matthew, Kim and my three grandsons these past five days. They traveled from Groton, CT camping across country. Stopping for family visits along the way. Traveling across country with three boys ranging from 3-6 years of age can be challenging to say the least. But I have to hand it to Matthew and Kim; they kept their spirits and humor up

KOA - Tent Side, right on a lake. Very nice

It was wonderful getting to know my grandchildren again. The last time I saw them was in Christmas 2007.

The first night when they arrived on Thursday, the kids were shy to greet me except Maynard. He was fascinated with Erica. Matthew explained how I typed with my eye. I certainly enjoyed the visit because of Matthew and I got to know each other again. He volunteered to suction my mouth because I have trouble managing my saliva. What I noticed most about him was how mature he has become. I guess marrying into a relationship with three kids is the right thing for him. I am sure the Navy had a lot to do with maturing a man.All of you that have served could agree.

Another thing that I noticed was Kim is very funny. I could listen to her endlessly. She comes up with the funniest lines. It was great seeing Kim and Matthew get along despite traveling across the country to boot.

The second day, I had a doctor appointment so they stayed at camp and checked out the fun things to do. at night matthew joined Kate, Ken and me as we went to a professional baseball game in Denver. The Colorado Rockies were playing. I haven't been to professional game since 1995. Wow it was fabulous. The stadium was packed. Peanuts and popcorn and lots of beer! Kim stayed back with the kids because this game was sponsored by the ALS Association and we had limited tickets. Poor Kim. Bonnie joined us as well! At the start of the game they had people with ALS come to home plate to show support for Lou Gerhrig. and to raise funds for the association.

On day three, we had to check out their campsite. We took lots of pictures of them swimming. Then we went to their tent. Matthew had to upgrade the tent because five people in a little tent are hard to squeeze all bodies and equipment. Matthew bought a seven man tent. A good idea.

On Sunday I had a party at my house celebrating my second year in Colorado. We invited family and friends. Of course Matthew and family came. I gave three yellow roses to the people who came the farthest distance to the party. The first place winner was Mary, Kate’s friend from Mexico. Second was Kim and third was Susan, the mom of my caregiver named Abby. Susan is from Colorado Springs. Ken cooked up some brats on the grill. A big success! Susan her famous layered Jell-O dessert and I could not resist eating just a little bit. Oh how it melted in my mouth. I told Susan that I had a sugar high jokingly! It was delicious.
It was a great get together with family and friends.

Susan, Rachel and Abby

.On Monday for dinner, since it was the last time we could get together, we went to Red Lobster because apparently there are no Red Lobster’s in Guam. Peyton sat near me so I had a good time watching him. I was amazed with the way he tested how hot his food was before he ate some. He would lightly test it with the tip of his tongue. To my amazement he tested his broccoli first. At first he stood his broccoli on end like it was a tree. Very creative. He was talking to himself the whole time. Next he would stuff the whole thing in his mouth again to my amazement. Peyton never used his napkin. His shirt was too convenient. Ha ha. His next objective is the chicken fingers after tackling almost the broccoli. He dipped his chicken finger in the cocktail sauce that came with the fried cheese sticks and exclaimed to his Dad that he really liked it. Aunt Kate likes salt on her nachos, so when Kate wasn’t looking, Peyton put the salt shaker back in the salt and pepper rack. He was talking to himself delighted at his accomplishment. His next mission was to convert his sippy cup straw to a tank cannon. He continued to make important sound effects like a real tank. I just loved watching him.

Good old Red Lobster

Now I just have to wait three years for their return. Ha ha. Good luck Matthew and family.

Happy Independence Day

2010-07-06T14:07:00.000-05:00

I have a lot to be thankful for and certainly our Independence in the way that we as a nation, celebrate with parades and family gatherings to watch the fireworks as well as eat good food. Few nations can admit that success of independence.

My home was properly graced with an American flag in celebration of our independence. Thanks to Ken for bearing through my trials on where I wanted the flag to be on my house. After many attempts, we finally choose the perfect location right where the most people can see it.

WWIII STARTED IN 1979

2010-06-28T15:50:00.000-05:00

THIS IS VERY INFORMATIVE. YOU HAVE TO READ THE CATALOG OF EVENTS, THEN, ASK YOURSELF HOW ANYONE CAN TAKE THE POSITION THAT ALL WE HAVE TO DO IS BRING OUR TROOPS HOME, RESET THE SNOOZE ALARM, GO BACK TO SLEEP, AND NO ONE WILL EVER BOTHER US AGAIN. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT, WORLD WAR III BEGAN IN NOVEMBER 1979. .

US NAVY CAPTAIN OUIMETTE IS THE EXECUTIVE OFFICER AT NAVAL AIR STATION, PENSACOLA, FLORIDA. HERE IS A COPY OF THE SPEECH HE GAVE LAST MONTH. IT IS AN ACCURATE ACCOUNT OF WHY WE ARE IN SO MUCH TROUBLE TODAY AND WHY THIS ACTION IS SO NECESSARY.

AMERICA NEEDS TO WAKE UP!

THAT'S WHAT WE THINK WE HEARD ON THE 11TH OF SEPTEMBER 2001 (WHEN MORE THAN 3,000 AMERICANS WERE KILLED) AND MAYBE IT WAS, BUT I THINK IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN ‘GET OUT OF BED!' IN FACT, THE ALARM CLOCK HAS BEEN BUZZING SINCE 1979 AND WE HAVE CONTINUED TO HIT THE SNOOZE BUTTON AND ROLL OVER FOR A FEW MORE MINUTES OF PEACEFUL SLEEP SINCE THEN.

IT WAS A COOL FALL DAY IN NOVEMBER 1979 IN A COUNTRY GOING THROUGH A RELIGIOUS AND POLITICAL UPHEAVAL WHEN A GROUP OF IRANIAN STUDENTS ATTACKED AND SEIZED THE AMERICAN EMBASSY IN TEHRAN. THIS SEIZURE WAS AN OUTRIGHT ATTACK ON AMERICAN SOIL; IT WAS AN ATTACK THAT HELD THE WORLD'S MOST POWERFUL COUNTRY HOSTAGE AND PARALYZED A PRESIDENCY THE ATTACK ON THIS SOVEREIGN U. S. EMBASSY SET THE STAGE FOR EVENTS TO FOLLOW FOR THE NEXT 25 YEARS.

AMERICA WAS STILL REELING FROM THE AFTERMATH OF THE VIETNAM EXPERIENCE AND HAD A SERIOUS THREAT FROM THE SOVIET UNION WHEN THEN, PRESIDENT CARTER, HAD TO DO SOMETHING. HE CHOSE TO CONDUCT A CLANDESTINE RAID IN THE DESERT. THE ILL-FATED MISSION ENDED IN RUIN, BUT STOOD AS A SYMBOL OF AMERICA'S INABILITY TO DEAL WITH TERRORISM. AMERICA 'S MILITARY HAD BEEN DECIMATED AND DOWN SIZED SINCE THE END OF THE VIETNAM WAR. A POORLY TRAINED, POORLY EQUIPPED AND POORLY ORGANIZED MILITARY WAS CALLED ON TO EXECUTE A COMPLEX MISSION THAT WAS DOOMED FROM THE START.

SHORTLY AFTER THE TEHRAN EXPERIENCE, AMERICANS BEGAN TO BE KIDNAPPED AND KILLED THROUGHOUT THE MIDDLE EAST. AMERICA COULD DO LITTLE TO PROTECT HER CITIZENS LIVING AND WORKING ABROAD. THE ATTACKS AGAINST US SOIL CONTINUED. IN APRIL OF 1983 A LARGE VEHICLE PACKED WITH HIGH EXPLOSIVES WAS DRIVEN INTO THE US EMBASSY COMPOUND IN BEIRUT WHEN IT EXPLODES, IT KILLS 63 PEOPLE. THE ALARM WENT OFF AGAIN AND AMERICA HIT THE SNOOZE BUTTON ONCE MORE.

THEN JUST SIX SHORT MONTHS LATER IN 1983 A LARGE TRUCK HEAVILY LADEN DOWN WITH OVER 2500 POUNDS OF TNT SMASHED THROUGH THE MAIN GATE OF THE US MARINE CORPS HEADQUARTERS IN BEIRUT AND 241 US SERVICEMEN ARE KILLED. AMERICA MOURNS HER DEAD AND HIT THE SNOOZE BUTTON ONCE MORE.

TWO MONTHS LATER IN DECEMBER 1983, ANOTHER TRUCK LOADED WITH EXPLOSIVES IS DRIVEN INTO THE US EMBASSY IN KUWAIT, AND AMERICA CONTINUES HER SLUMBER. THE FOLLOWING YEAR, IN SEPTEMBER 1984, ANOTHER VAN WAS DRIVEN INTO THE GATE OF THE US EMBASSY IN BEIRUT AND AMERICA SLEPT. SOON THE TERRORISM SPREADS TO EUROPE. IN APRIL 1985 A BOMB EXPLODES IN A RESTAURANT FREQUENTED BY US SOLDIERS IN MADRID. THEN IN AUGUST 1985 A VOLKSWAGEN LOADED WITH EXPLOSIVES IS DRIVEN INTO THE MAIN GATE OF THE US AIR FORCE BASE AT RHINE-MAIN, 22 ARE KILLED AND THE SNOOZE ALARM IS BUZZING LOUDER AND LOUDER AS US INTERESTS ARE CONTINUALLY ATTACKED.

FIFTY-NINE DAYS LATER IN 1985 A CRUISE SHIP, THE ACHILLE LAURO IS HIJACKED AND WE WATCHED AS AN AMERICAN IN A WHEELCHAIR IS SINGLED OUT OF THE PASSENGER LIST AND EXECUTED. THE TERRORISTS THEN SHIFT THEIR TACTICS TO BOMBING CIVILIAN AIRLINERS WHEN THEY BOMB TWA FLIGHT 840 IN APRIL OF 1986 THAT KILLED 4 AND THE MOST TRAGIC BOMBING, PAN AM FLIGHT 103 OVER LOCKERBIE, SCOTLAND IN 1988, KILLING 259. THE WAKE UP ALARM IS GETTING LOUDER AND LOUDER.

THE TERRORISTS DECIDE TO BRING THE FIGHT TO AMERICA. IN JANUARY 1993, TWO CIA AGENTS ARE SHOT AND KILLED AS THEY ENTER CIA HEADQUARTERS IN LANGLEY, VIRGINIA. THE FOLLOWING MONTH, FEBRUARY 1993, A GROUP OF TERRORISTS ARE ARRESTED AFTER A RENTED VAN PACKED WITH EXPLOSIVES IS DRIVEN INTO THE UNDERGROUND PARKING GARAGE OF THE WORLD TRADE CENTER IN NEW YORK CITY. SIX PEOPLE ARE KILLED AND OVER 1000 ARE INJURED. STILL THIS IS A CRIME AND NOT AN ACT OF WAR? THE SNOOZE ALARM IS DEPRESSED AGAIN.

THEN IN NOVEMBER 1995 A CAR BOMB EXPLODES AT A US MILITARY COMPLEX IN RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA KILLING SEVEN SERVICE MEN AND WOMEN. A FEW MONTHS LATER IN JUNE OF 1996, ANOTHER TRUCK BOMB EXPLODES ONLY 35 YARDS FROM THE US MILITARY COMPOUND IN DHAHRAN, SAUDI ARABIA. IT DESTROYS THE KHOBAR TOWERS, A US AIR FORCE BARRACKS, KILLING 19 AND INJURING OVER 500. THE TERRORISTS ARE GETTING BRAVER AND SMARTER AS THEY SEE THAT AMERICA DOES NOT RESPOND DECISIVELY.

THEY MOVE TO COORDINATE THEIR ATTACKS IN A SIMULTANEOUS ATTACK ON TWO US EMBASSIES IN KENYA AND TANZANIA. THESE ATTACKS WERE PLANNED WITH PRECISION. THEY KILL 224. AMERICA RESPONDS WITH CRUISE MISSILE ATTACKS AND GOES BACK TO SLEEP. THE USS COLE WAS DOCKED IN THE PORT OF ADEN, YEMEN FOR REFUELING ON 12 OCTOBER 2000, WHEN A SMALL CRAFT PULLED ALONG SIDE THE SHIP AND EXPLODED KILLING 17 US NAVY SAILORS. ATTACKING A US WAR SHIP IS AN ACT OF WAR, BUT WE SENT THE FBI TO INVESTIGATE THE CRIME AND WENT BACK TO SLEEP. AND OF COURSE YOU KNOW THE EVENTS OF 11 SEPTEMBER 2001. MOST AMERICANS THINK THIS WAS THE FIRST ATTACK AGAINST US SOIL OR IN AMERICA. HOW WRONG THEY ARE. AMERICA HAS BEEN UNDER A CONSTANT ATTACK SINCE 1979 AND WE CHOSE TO HIT THE SNOOZE ALARM AND ROLL OVER AND GO BACK TO SLEEP.

IN THE NEWS LATELY WE HAVE SEEN LOTS OF FINGER POINTING FROM EVERY HIGH OFFICIAL IN GOVERNMENT OVER WHAT THEY KNEW AND WHAT THEY DIDN'T KNOW. BUT IF YOU’VE READ THE PAPERS AND PAID A LITTLE ATTENTION I THINK YOU CAN SEE EXACTLY WHAT THEY KNEW. YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE IN THE FBI OR CIA OR ON THE NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL TO SEE THE PATTERN THAT HAS BEEN DEVELOPING SINCE 1979.

I THINK WE HAVE BEEN IN A WAR FOR THE PAST 25 YEARS AND IT WILL CONTINUE UNTIL WE AS A PEOPLE DECIDE ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. AMERICA NEEDS TO 'GET OUT OF BED' AND ACT DECISIVELY NOW. AMERICA HAS BEEN CHANGED FOREVER. WE HAVE TO BE READY TO PAY THE PRICE AND MAKE THE SACRIFICE TO ENSURE OUR WAY OF LIFE CONTINUES. WE CANNOT AFFORD TO KEEP HITTING THE SNOOZE BUTTON AGAIN AND AGAIN AND ROLL OVER AND GO BACK TO SLEEP.

AFTER THE ATTACK ON PEARL HARBOR, ADMIRAL YAMAMOTO SAID ‘... IT SEEMS ALL WE HAVE DONE IS AWAKENED A SLEEPING GIANT.' THIS IS THE MESSAGE WE NEED TO DISSEMINATE TO TERRORISTS AROUND THE WORLD. THIS IS NOT A POLITICAL THING TO BE HASHED OVER IN AN ELECTION YEAR, THIS IS AN AMERICAN THING. THIS IS ABOUT OUR FREEDOM AND THE FREEDOM OF OUR CHILDREN IN YEARS TO COME.

I didn't write this but I received it in an email from a friend. I thought it was just right for the blog. I normally don't get vocal about these issues but this is different .

Don Taylor's Rules of Engagement for Men

2010-06-15T17:56:00.004-05:00

I think that I would have been better off in life if someone sat me down and told me what I'm about to tell you. The subject is girls!

Unfortunately my parents never taught me how to find the perfect soul mate. I had to learn the hard way. You see, my parents and Grandparents had the perfect marriage. How can I say that, because they had true love. I mean that the word divorce wasn't in their vocabulary. They knew that when times got rough, they just rolled up their sleeves and worked on fixing the problem. A lot of people in the world get divorced, especially if they are from Hollywood, because it was easier than working things out. I want to give you some advice on relationships. The reason I started talking about my parents and Grandparents is because I thought that every girl I met would be like my perfect Mom or my perfect Grandmother. Boy was I dead wrong. By now you might be wondering why I'm talking about relationships knowing that you may or not have a girlfriend. But I know the day will come when pursuing the smell of perfume will make you go totally blind. I'm hoping when you can't see your hand in of your face because you have the LOVE blindness, you will think of me and what I am telling you today.

Don Taylor's Rules of Engagement:

1. There are approximately 5 million girls that could be your soul mate. The challenge is to know which one will "fit" you.

2. Don't rush to meet your first girlfriend, it's not a race. I didn't kiss a girl until I was in my senior year in high school.

3. Don't think that it's the end of the world if your girl breaks up with you. Time heals all wounds.

4. Date as many girls as you feel comfortable dating.

5. There are two types of people in the world, there are the GIVERS and the TAKERS, try and decide which one is suited for you and avoid the other one like the plague.

6. You can fix a lot of things, but you can't fix STUPID. Be careful.

7. No matter what your heart tells you, you are not really mature enough to make a firm commitment until you are over 21 years old

8. Just as in Boy Scouts, you are expected to fail; nobody is perfect, as Mr. Chuck Martin would tell us, that failure is good because that's a great way to learn. .

How do you measure the health of your relationship?

1. Don't believe it when you hear that opposites attract. How can you become a best friend if you don't have anything in common?

2. No matter how you try, if you are not happy during the dating times, you will not be happy in marriage.

3. In any relationship, if you are crying more than you're laughing, get out of it before they take you away in a straight jacket.

4. You can never over communicate with your best friend. Always keep the lines of communications open.

5. One of the most important thing is do you trust her? Trust is everything.

6. You know all the points of the Boy Scout Law and you live by the Law. The Law and the 10 Commandments are the foundation in which you base your values on. Some people who are less fortunate than you might have a different set of values and if you are not careful, they will suck you to the DARK SIDE. Don't let that happen to you.

May the Force be with you man.

I was Born One Day in April

2010-03-15T20:56:00.008-05:00

One day last month I realized that I have been remembering things about my life that I haven't thought about since it happened. So I thought I might as well capture it in writing. This is a new section of my Blog labeled "Autobiography". The purpose is to allow me to write about the significant things that have happened to me in my life. To read all my posts just click on the label to the upper right.

I remember hearing my Mom and Dad telling me about the day I was born and what followed, but I never really had the story straight, so I recently asked my Mom to tell me. I found her response surprising because I learned a few facts about myself, who doesn't want to hear stories about themselves! Here's what my Mom wrote....

You weigh 3 1/2 lbs and went down to 3 lbs. You stayed in the incubator for only 1 or 2 days. You were 2 months early. The snow was pretty deep. I can't remember that but I heard a woman went to the hospital in a jeep the day before. You waited till the next day when they had shoveled out the driveway.

I had flu for the second time during pregnancy. I believe that is what made you come early.
Daddy took me to the hospital and the went home to find a friend to take care of Kate (Cathie).

I cried during contractions while daddy was away. The nurse wanted to why I was crying. I said I didn't want you to come yet. It was too early. By the time Daddy returned you had been born. Daddy was so apologetic because he wasn't there.

We would go see you every day because you had to stay in the hospital. (It was very had to go home without you.) We did not know at the time we were supposed to sign in or something which we did not do. So the nurse asked if we wanted to keep you. It was heart breaking that they would ask such a question. They said it was common for parents not to want a child that needed such care.

The doctor said "He has all his parts He just doesn't have much blubber. (Actually no blubber) You looked like a cute little monkey.

You were born at the beginning of April and had to stay in the hospital for 5 weeks making it a perfect Mother's Day that year. You were home for Mother's Day weighing 4 1/2 lbs. You did so well and summer was coming so they let me take you home. Usually premies had to be 5 lbs. [Don- I learned later that most premies were born blind in the late 1950's because the eyes are not fully developed until the last month of pregnancy. I believe that is why I cannot see out of my left eye.]

Yes, I did take you home in doll clothes. At that time little girls played w/dolls a lot more the today and there was a nice selection of dolls clothes to choose from. (Now they have premature baby clothes).

There was a little girl 1 lb 11 oz. in the incubator room with you. She went home the week after you. Never did ask about her. I was so occupied with you never thought about it. As years went by I thought it would have been fun to keep up with your very first girlfriend.

You needed a lot of care when we brought you home. Kate was only 2 yrs so we played together sitting in our rocking chairs feeding our babies and taking care or them. Kate had a rocking chair as I did and she took care of her little doll as I did with you.

I remember I had to tap the bottom of your tiny feet to make you eat because you wanted to sleep. But I had to be careful not to tire you.

Well, ask me some more questions this is fun. I love my memories. I was always blessed. Love and hugs, Mom

Child Development - Don and Hing Style

2010-02-01T14:52:00.004-06:00

Here's some tips and techniques that Hing and I practiced. I mean it with the best intentions.

1. We never spanked. Never. We feel that strongly that there is absolutely NO time when it's appropriate for anyone to hit a child or shake. Especially if you were hit as a child.

2. We used the word NO sparingly. Trying not to make their first word that they learn is NO. Instead we told them DANGER (like sticking fingers in an electrical outlet), HOT (like putting hands on the stove) or redirected them to do something else. But this technique is more effective if you insert yourself into the situation. What we mean by that is when you say DANGER you put your hand in front of the wall socket or fireplace or hot stove. Keep saying DANGER or HOT until the message is understood.

3. We noticed that many parents are using the counting technique to motivate your children. Children love a good race and when you count to three slowly, they will always stop doing the bad behavior before you get to three. The technique is let your child know exactly what you want them to do and start counting slowly - One, Two. . . You'll never get to three because kids don't want to loose.

4. Almost every night we read a story to them. We know that you cannot read every night because it's just impossible for you to do it. Make it a part of the bedtime routine, that your children will miss it and insist (beg) for you it. You'll be amazed at how well your child will do in school once you start reading to them.

5. Manners - Lead by example, after every burp, sneeze, or fart say excuse me. Insist that the words *Please* and *Thank You*be used. Don't stop - ever.

6. We insisted that we, friends and relatives never buy guns for our children. But as they got older, we allowed nurf guns. The less violent behavior should be promoted.

7. There is a rule to follow about your never ending love for your child. We're very serious about this one. Sometime in your child's development, you will be challenged. He or she may say "I hate you"or after a episode of bad behavior, your child might say, "I love you". If you ignore your child, the message you sent to your child is that you didn't love your child at that moment. Unfortunately, you never stopped loving your child. What you did, unintentionally, was to reject your child . Your silence can be very damaging. Rejection brings insecurity and you don't want your child to be insecure. What you should have said is - "I love you too but right now I am disappointed with your behavior..." We think that is more effective, don't you?

8. Don't play a video game or Facebook for more than an hour. Take a time out to check on the kids or ask if your spouse needs assistance. Video games or Facebook can suck the life out of a person. Ask yourself if you could be outside, what would you do with the your child like to do?

9. Believe it or not, we didn't allow the kids to drink soda until they were out of diapers. Especially your child is over weight. Also, eat at mealtime and avoid unhealthy snacking during the day. Lead by example. If your child won't eat vegetables, try to give he or she vitamins.

10.This applies to babies that are less than six months old. Never let your infant cry and you ignore your infant. Our rule is "you cannot SPOIL a infant". If you come immediately to your child, your child will become a very confident child. By you coming to comfort your child will make your child a loved infant and your infant will know that he or she can count on you to come to rescue when he or she is in distress.

11. Finances - Never get in debt (except for mortgage and if you want to buy a car). When you get the credit card bill, always pay the full amount. If you don't have the money, why did you buy it? If you need help, seek professional guidance. Never spend beyond your means.

My Five Year Date with ALS

2010-01-26T10:34:00.012-06:00

After consulting with my pulmonary doctor, Hing and my Colorado family, we decided that I should get a trach and vent to assist my breathing. A few of my friends (PALS) have decided to not take the next step and choose to pass away. Not me, I choose to LIVE.

Below is a message that my sister, Kate wrote before my trach operation. . .

“Don’s trach surgery is set for Tuesday, January 5th. We have to get Don to the Poudre Valley Hospital by 9:30am. He will be there several days. Family can be with him in ICU 24/7. The trach is actually an easy surgery, and the potential problems with anesthetic are mitigated by the insertion (during surgery) of the breathing tube and Don being placed on a ventilator immediately. The anesthetic problems are usually slowed breathing problems, which the ventilator will take care of. The reason Don will be in the hospital for several days is so they can monitor and perfect the ventilator, and train us how to handle the vent and take care of the trach. This surgery should help Don’s breathing immensely, so he is getting rid of the CO2 buildup in his lungs. Don has been experiencing hot flashes when his CO2 sky rockets up. Also we expect it will be more portable since the vent will fit on his wheelchair and the tube will breathe through his neck, eliminating the need for the irritating VPAP face masks. Don was getting sores on the bridge of his nose.”

How am I emotionally?

Feel wonderful because of many things. Mainly because I’m not in physical distress. Actually it's great now that I have the trach. My coughing is nearly eliminated, except when I get lung suction. Naturally my lungs fill up with fluids and I have to have my lungs suctioned similar to suctioning my mouth. To watch my lung suction for the first time takes a little getting used to. In order to the fluid out of my lungs, unfortunately makes me cough rather violently. Not a pretty site. But it has to be done.

You can hear me burp and I can hiccup both for the first time. I certainly enjoy the fact that I don't have trouble with breathing anymore. Some of you know that excess yawning is a side affect of ALS. When I wore my mask, I would get a leak every time I would yawn. But it's wonderful not having hot flashes anymore. The vent is attached to me 24/7. My caregivers had to make necessary adjustments to the daily routine.

Soon my pulmonary doctor will recommend that go to a speech therapist so I can learn how to talk. Wow this is very exciting for me and my family.

Believe me or not but since my trach is in place, I cannot swallow fluids down my windpipe; I’m anxiously waiting to eat something. I will tell you all about the adventure in eating next time. You can be sure that a German beer is at the top of my list!

Unfortunately, I had two times where I had to be rescued because my vent failed to operate as it should. One evening, we lost power and the whole neighborhood lost power. So Kate and Ken came to my rescue and while Ken got the generator working, Kate got on the phone with the power company asking when we could get our power back. She told them that I was on a vent and they put us on the critical list. We had power in less than one hour. We certainly learned a valuable lesson that night. But it’s was very good. My new vent has an extra battery that lasts eight hours. So we are ready for the next time. Oh yeah!

Calling All Angels

2009-08-22T16:09:00.005-05:00

Call to Action – Angels Unite!

Thanks to your generosity last year, my brother, Don Taylor, was able to begin intensive, holistic IV treatments to combat his ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease). The treatments were very successful in slowing and stalling this deadly disease. Don, his wife Hing, mother Ruth, and his whole family join me in sincere appreciation of your help to our family.

Thanks to the overwhelming generosity of all our many Angels, Don was able to continue this valuable therapy throughout the past year. Over time he dropped from doing the IV treatments every day to only one treatment a week. At that time we again learned how important these treatments were when he began to have trouble breathing, and he lost the ability to make any verbal sounds. So Don increased the treatments to two a week and he stabilized again.

But as you know the treatments are expensive and not covered by Don’s insurance. So we are once again

Calling All Angels (and their friends)!

We need another 100 Angels to contribute $100 each to be able to continue Don’s vital treatments. And we need it soon, since as we learned losing treatments causes Don to lose vitality that can not necessarily be regained.

Don says, “I'm doing great. My IV treatments are definitely slowing my disease down. My pulmonary doctor is quite impressed with my ability to breathe compared to other people with ALS. Since I have been here for one year, he can substantiate my progress. My holistic doctor is very thorough. I go to my IV treatments two times a week, and that seems to be the right combination for me. When I dropped back to just one time my family noticed things about me like I was coughing more and exhausted by the end of the day.”

Please be an Angel and help Don again. As before, you can donate directly through PayPal to Don or write a check to me Kate Taylor and mail it to: Don Taylor, 305 W Magnolia #356, Fort Collins CO 80521. Of course, we will gratefully accept all prayers and donations of any amount towards this effort.

We have revamped Don’s website at www.HolisticLifeChoices.com/DonTaylor with more photos and more options. You can link from there to donate directly to Don’s PayPal account. In addition, when you use the SHOP 4 DON link to do your online shopping from any of over 800 stores, restaurants, theatres, and other merchants including Best Buy, Sears and Walmart, Don receives a commission! You get special discounts, find the best online price while Don earns money for his treatments. Please check it out.

Again, thank you for all you have already contributed to our cause.

Kate Taylor (Don’s sister)

What's New With Me?

2009-05-13T14:13:00.022-05:00

Here is a little story about my adventures. It's fantastic that I'm back in my college town. I feel very comfortable here because I know about the people and the Ft. Collins area. Most of all being with Mom, Kate and Bonnie is the best thing ever. The other day, I went to the Colorado State campus and sat near the Lagoon. It was a beautiful day and I realized that I like being around students because they give me energy. It's quite rejuvenating actually. Ft. Collins has been listed as a great place to live. Another feature about this town is the bikers have the right of way on all roads. Tons of bike lanes to accommodate the students. Certainly this town has grown since I went to school almost 30 years ago but it still has the small town charm in certain areas.

I do miss Hing and the kids but they came to see me once last year and twice this year. But not always together at a time. In October they came to see me during the kids Fall Break from school. Chris and Nicole stayed up at Kate and Ken's house and Nicole always wishes for snow and she got her wish. Hing stayed here with me and we really had some time to talk. The phone is nice and even video chatting but face to face is certainly better. Nicole made me a video of the visit. I will try and get her video uploaded.

Chris came here to ski in March during his spring break. This was his third year skiing in Colorado and my first time being here to cheer him on. He always goes with a family that we met through boy scouting. As it turns out their son and Chris were born on the same day! Chris received my ski "Gene" because he is an expert skier but I wish that I could ski with him. The father, Brian and I are both Eagle Scouts so we get along great. Brian took a lot of pictures and video. On their return trip from five days of skiing, the whole gang stopped by Mom's place and we watched movies about them skiing and looked at pictures. They came here during one of our warmer periods and Chris got a really good sun tan on his face but not on his eyes where he wore his ski gogles. When Nicole saw him she said that he looked like a raccoon. She was right! The big news about Chris is that he had a girlfriend. I said had because he only dated her for about two months. She is a senior in high school and he is a junior. Hing and I don't know why they broke up, but the fact that she is going to college in the fall might have something to do with it.

For my birthday in April , Hing and Nicole showed up to my surprise and stayed the weekend with all of us. It was better than when Hing surprised me on my 40 th birthday. A good friend of my family hosted a birthday drumming celebration for me. You can see it in the video below. Drum celebrations are a great way to get people together and also have known to heal. The host, Suzanne had a 3 foot community drum that was awesome! Hing took the video so you won't see her but she get a good shot of everyone attending.

As you can see from the video we had big snow storm. Nicole always asked for snow when she comes to Colorado. So she got her wish. She ran outside in my backyard and played so we could see her through my bedroom window. A funny kid and I treasure her antics. Unfortunately Hing lost her job because of the economy, but I noticed when she came to visit, she was relaxed and really enjoyed herself this time. It was good to see a renewed spirit in her again.

Here are a few pictures from this year.

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Don Taylor's Rules of Engagement for Women

2009-04-26T16:05:00.010-05:00

(Or advice from me on how to pick a man - a little bit of humor)

Below are two categories – The Keepers and The Throw Them Back
Good luck fishing!

The Keepers

o He should let you say whatever you want to say without him interrupting you.
o On your first date, he should always make you feel comfortable but especially by being a gentleman and not attempt to kiss you at the end of the date.
o He should treasure his relationship with his family.
o Watch him closely as he walks passed a mirror. He shouldn’t be obsessed with his body.
o His eyes should be on you. Not wandering around the place looking for his next victim.
o He should treat you absolutely perfect on your first date. Plus tell you where you’re going so you can dress appropriately.

Throw Them Back
o If he has to clean his car of empty junk food wrappers or containers before he takes you on a date?
o If he gives you a gift with a power cord attached?
o If you visit his apartment/home and you have trouble seeing what the color of the carpet because of all of his "stuff" on it.
o After the first date, does he call you more than once per day? He might be a stalker.
o Does he have body odor? Chain Smoker? Alcoholic? Felon? Addiction for Gambling?

How to Disengage

o First, be totally honest. Don’t talk around the reason why. Be blunt as possible. Don’t be mean.
o If you truly want him out of your life, don’t say like “I need my space right now”. That’s an open statement that tells him there’s still a chance for him to stalk you. Danger, Danger!

Why I like Sponge Bob Square Pants

2009-03-28T14:04:00.009-05:00

Dear Chris and Nicole,

Sometimes I watch The Sponge Bob cartoon here in Colorado just to remind me of the fun times we had watching it. My caregivers knew that I liked the cartoon. So one of my aids named Liz made me a blanket with Sponge Bob and Patrick as the theme. The blanket was sewn with square patches of the two of them doing funny things.

All my aids were wondering why I liked Sponge Bob so much. So besides laughing out loud when watching it, I wrote a story about it.

Below is my story and above is picture of the blanket with Liz, Barb and me. Maybe you remember them when you came here. Liz was being treated for cancer and I have good news, she is now cancer free.

Why I like Sponge Bob

The first time I saw the previews for Sponge Bob Square Pants I thought that TV cartoons reached an all time low point in cartoon history. I think Bugs Bunny and the Road Runner cartoons were the best. After all I was just getting over my hatred for Barney the dinosaur. I could not take hearing him sing that song after hearing it over and over, first with Chris and then Nicole.

Then when Chris and Nicole watched Sponge Bob and laughed out loud, I could not help but to watch it. It didn’t take long until I was cracking up too. Sometimes a little mindless humor is the ticket to unwinding the mind.

The start of the cartoon introduces you to Sponge Bob with a song. The song is creepy because of the lips of the pirate, but after a while I found myself singing it.

But the main reason why I like Sponge Bob is because when Chris and Nicole watched it they memorized one of the episodes and when we were driving in the car they would act out the entire cartoon and Hing and I were laughing so hard our sides would ache. Chris would be Sponge Bob and Nicole would be Squidward. They would do the cartoon in the car or at the dinner table. The episode was called "Pretty Patty's". Because business was slow and Mr. Krabs wanted more money. So Sponge Bob came up with the idea to color the Patty's. It never got old. Now that they’re teenagers they still watch it and announce when new episodes are coming.

Thank you Liz for making the Sponge Bob Square Pants blanket. I love and will always treasure it.

100 Angels Thank You

2008-12-14T15:58:00.012-06:00

Happy Holidays Everyone!

This posting is for all the people who donated their time or money (or just prayers) to support my new treatment process.

It was written by my Mom.

Thank you for being one of our Angels! Our whole family is grateful for the support of so many amazing and caring friends and family.
Thanks to your generosity, Don was able to start the intensive IV treatments designed to battle the ALS late in September, and within three weeks they were shown to be successful in increasing his stamina and improving his ability to swallow. The debilitating coughing was greatly reduced to a more manageable occasional light cough. His caregivers noticed that his neck and back got stronger, and the family noticed he was speaking better.

Don says, "Thank you so much for your generosity. It really means a lot to me. As many of you might know I have moved to Colorado (without my family) to get special treatment in an attempt to slow this monster inside of me. So far it is working. The most important improvement to me, since most PALS die of respiratory failure, is that my lungs gained strength after the first few treatments. That led to less coughing, improved nose blowing and best of all my breathing. And my immune system is stronger than ever thanks to my diet and IV treatments. My spirits are at an all time high. Plus when my kids had fall break, Hing and the kids came to visit. Best of all, Hing and I had time to talk and that’s exactly what we needed. My caregivers here in Colorado are wonderful. Of course, my Colorado family is taking good care of me too. Your generosity and compassion for me and my family brings tears to my eyes. Thank you so much for your love and support."

Because the treatments are helping, Don has continued the IVs over decreasing intervals. He is currently doing them only twice a week and is still stable. But Don wants more than "stable," he wants more improvement, so his doctor has started some additional innovative 'frequency' treatments to help his brain connect with his muscles and mineral lithium to help his neurons. Plus Don gets very high quality, organic foods instead of the cans of corn syrup-based food usually prescribed for his situation.

Since the only therapies for ALS covered by insurance seem to be of the "make-him-comfortable" variety, none of these new treatments are covered by insurance. So as long as these treatments are helping Don, we are continuing the fundraising to cover them. Meanwhile we are posting photos and updates on Don at his fundraising website www.HolisticLifeChoices.com/DonTaylor.

My heartfelt thanks to you for helping us during this time when hope is most critical.
Our Love to you,

Don’s mother (and family)
970-221-3687

PS- You can reach Don by snail mail at
Don Taylor c/o Ruth Taylor, 305 West Magnolia #356, Fort Collins, CO 80521.

Don’s ALS Walk Team in Fort Collins, Colorado – September 2008

Don’s Team (even without his presence) in Memphis, Tennessee – October 2008

Dr. Billica's Treatment Protocol

2008-10-18T12:56:00.014-05:00

I'm both happy and sad to report that I have decided to stay in Colorado indefinitely. There are a many reasons why Hing and I made this decision. Certainly there are good and bad things about staying here. All were considered. Probably some of the important reasons is that I feel at peace here. For many years I would tell people that if I worked for FedEx and lived in Colorado, I would be in Heaven. For me it's the simple things like the majestic mountains , the climate, I would rather be cold than burning up (I cannot breathe if it is too hot), the sunsets, the snow and of course, I'm getting to know my Colorado family. That's sometimes hard to do when you are separated by miles and miles.

Oh one more thing , my sister, Kate is deep into alternative healing and knows a ton of healers that live here. Kate found Dr. Billica who has been successful with healing all kinds of diseases. Below is my personal account of taking advantage of his method of healing.

What truly sucks is being without Hing, Chris, Nicole, my TN family and my friends. But Hing and the kids came to visit last weekend since the kids had a little school break. More on their visit later.

A lot of people have been asking me "How are my treatments doing? ". So I would like to share with you this memo to Dr. Billica at the end of my third week of treatment.

Dr. Billica Treatment Protocol

When I first went to Dr. Billica the goal was to understand exactly what he had to offer, after that we agreed to use three of his treatments. The first is a very unique blend of nutrients that go directly into my blood system. The purpose of them is detox my body of waste and fill my system with antioxidants, anti fungal and nutrients to strengthen my cell membranes so they can be strong against toxic waste. Dr. Billica strongly believes that ALS could be "caught" by environmental causes. Another benefit to the blood nutrients is to make my liver stronger since it’s doing the heavy lifting to get rid of the toxins.

The second treatment is my nutrition. As it turned out the liquid food that my doctor in Tennessee gave me to keep me sustained, wasn’t really healthy for me. The bad part of my old liquid diet was all the sugar and corn syrup. So Dr. Billica’s staff examined my diet and came up with a totally organic diet. The new diet is filled with cooked vegetables and high in protein. The funny thing is one of the recipes is animal bone broth, so my sister, Kate contacted a local big game butcher and he agreed to give us all the bones that we want. Plus we have friends that volunteered to make the broth for my Mom. The good news is my strength improved almost immediately after I started my new diet. A most important thing came out of the examination of my diet and my medications. Dr. Billica found another doctor had prescribed an antacid to keep my stomach under control. The funny thing that Dr. Billica said was "Why take a medicine that prevents digestion? ". He said that is crazy. We're trying to promote digestion.

The third treatment is a little bit out there (not sure how it works) this instrument sends an electrical frequency to my throat muscles to return my cells back to the correct frequency. Apparently all of our cells vibrate at a certain frequency. This treatment definitely improved my ability to swallow more productively.

My goals at the start of my treatments were to:

Give me strength

Improve my swallowing

Increase my stamina

I’m happy to report that I have met my goals. I surprised everyone when I wanted to go out again after spending the previous day on an all day adventure. Just like the Energizer Bunny. I have a hunch that the sugar highs and lows from my previous diet were robbing me of strength.

One surprising thing that I wasn’t expecting is my lung strength has really improved. I’m looking forward to continuing to improve. My spirits are at an all time high.

Thanks to everyone that helped me get to this point with your prayers and donations.

You all are my Angels! !

Don in Colorado

My New Treatment Program

2008-09-14T18:24:00.004-05:00

Dear Friends and Family,

Most of you know that my son Donald has been battling ALS (Lou Gerhig’s disease) for almost 4 years. Even though he now can move very little, can no longer speak, and gets his food through a stomach tube, he is still as adventurous and upbeat as ever. Recently, we decided to give Don’s dear wife, Hing, and his kids, a much needed rest from Don’s “high-maintenance” caregiving, and to grant Don’s wish to vacation in Colorado.

Late last June, while my daughter Kate and I drove Don’s equipment out in his wheelchair accessible van, my son-in-law Ken flew Don out from Memphis in a private plane. Thanks to the help of lots of family and friends, Don is settled in at my handicapped-accessible home in Fort Collins. The plan was for him to stay for July, but when we realized how long it was taking to complete all his trip wishes (like see Longs Peak again, drive up the Poudre, visit Ken and Kate’s mountain home), we extended that to staying indefinitely.

We have been using our many holistic health resources to get Don all kinds of holistic healing sessions, plus body work, acupuncture, and mind/emotion/spirit support. Furthermore, Don is about to begin an innovative therapy with a local MD, Dr Roger Billica. This intensive, nutritional program has successfully helped ALS patients in 70% of its cases around the country. Don will require three IVs a day for three weeks (and the IVs are as costly as chemo treatments). Unfortunately, this new protocol is not covered by Don’s insurance. Since the family is financially “tapped out” after getting Don here for his vacation, we need help to make these treatments happen. The good news is, we will know within three weeks if Don is responding favorably to this treatment.

We need 100 Angels who will donate $100 (or more) to reach the $10,000 needed.
Of course, we will gratefully accept all prayers and donations of any amount towards this effort.

If you can be one of these Angels, please donate to Don’s PayPal account at www.HolisticLifeChoices.com/DonTaylor or write a check to Kate Taylor and mail it to
Don Taylor c/o Ruth Taylor
305 West Magnolia PMB356
Fort Collins, CO 80521.

Sincerely,

Ruth Taylor
970-221-3687

My Visit To Colorado

2008-06-22T12:57:00.009-05:00

I just wanted to tell everyone that in six days I will be taking a special flight to Colorado. The purpose is to give my wife and my Tennessee family a much needed break. They have been at it for over 3.5 years. My wife ask me for her Mother's Day gift to give her a vacation. So we all have put the plan in motion to get me there. Everybody that cares for me knows that it's been a major logistical challenge to move a near quadriplegic like me. I'm very excited about going. I will be staying at my mom's place in Fort Collins. The special thing is my brother-in-law, Ken has been searching for a airline that specifically handles handicapped people. That way I don't have to get out of my wheelchair. But unfortunately he couldn't find one that we could afford. So he is going to rent a Piper Saratoga . I won't be able to ride in my wheelchair. But we have a plan to get it there. Ken's flight instructor, Ron will be flying the plane. The best part is Chris will be coming with us. I need him to be my translator and he will help setup ERICA. Unfortunately, Chris won't be staying, he has to go back to Tennessee. Hopefully he will work on his Eagle Project for the Boy Scouts. Hint, hint.

Here's a picture of our airplane:

Let's hope our take off's equal our landings ! Although Chris asked me if he could parachute into Colorado, instead of landing like normal people. My sister, Kate tells us "Why jump out of a perfectly good airplane." I think we have a little dare devil on our hands.

Wish us calm weather on our adventure.

A Triumphant Tale

2008-02-26T17:45:00.020-06:00

Hello everyone.
It's been exactly 3 years and 1 month since my ALS diagnosis. At times I get the feelings that this is just a bad dream and I will wake up with my old body. I know that my subconscious has not accepted my condition because all of my dreams have me walking. Luckily I'm a member of world wide organization (Living With ALS-LWALS on Yahoo) whose soul purpose is to provide a support network for PALS and CALS. The LWALS Internet Forum is filled chock full of information that helps me deal with ALS. Recently, there was very exciting news like this (a 10 year study resulting in finding the single gene that causes ALS). Here's the link:

http://www.als.net/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=2520

Well ERICA is going great. She is allowing me to type faster and faster. I only have to stare at a letter on the keyboard for 0.7 seconds before she triggers a mouse click (I started at 1.0). I hear that other PALS have their ERICA's set at 0.5 seconds. As long as I have done a good job of calibrating my eye with ERICA at the start of the day, everything goes fine. During the day, I can even take a natural break, drive my wheelchair away then drive back to ERICA recalibrate and keep on working. I appreciate the way that ERICA is designed so that I can calibrate my eye without any assistance, except in the mornings to start up ERICA. About three months ago I received an upgrade to ERICA's program and now I can do more on the Internet. Surfing was hard using the old program. You could forget about doing a cut and paste, but now no problem. But what makes me excited is that I'm learning how to do everything that I used to do with my fingers and a keyboard, I can now do with my eye and ERICA's on-line keyboard. For example, most people I know are aware of the short cuts in Windows like Control A - to to select all text. Well with ERICA the Control key is not on the regular keyboard in ERICA. Real Estate is tight on my ERICA screen. Because I have to see the document or window that I'm typing on AND be able to see the keyboard so I can choose my letters (As you can see in the video below). ERICA is made up of many menus. I'm having to memorize what's on all the menus and where each key is located and how do I get to it. With each day I gain more confidence and with hope that someday, I can say that there is nothing I can't do.

Why did I spend all this time telling you this? I'm trying to express to my fellow PALS who might be interested in obtaining ERICA that she is not perfect. No computer system is without flaws. I suggest that you talk with a user in addition to the salesmen. So I will end this discussion about ERICA with a joke.

What is the difference between a computer salesman and a used car salesman?

[the answer is at the end of the Blog]

I just finished a giant software upgrade project for my Boy Scout troop. As you might know I'm one of the leaders in charge of our troops record keeping application. Kind of like what I did at FedEx. A few years before Chris and I joined, the troop bought Troopmaster. The system keeps track of the boy's advancement records and activities. It's on a server somewhere out in cyber space. I have 8 leaders using it. We print advancement reports for the scouts and camping rosters for the adults. Well we went from a 2005 version to a 2008 version. I did the data conversion last Saturday. Now I'm assisting each user with their upgrades on their computers. I'm very satisfied because I typed the installation guide from scratch with my eye! And the work reminds me of the good old days when I was a Business Systems Advisor (a Guru computer guy!) with FedEx.

I'm taking all my nutrition by a tube in my stomach. Actually I had the tube for two years now. Last year I made the mistake of trying to get all my nutrition by mouth. It took so long to eat and I ended up coughing all day and night. I lost 15 pounds last year as a result. Another reason is I could no longer swallow my vitamins and medicine pills. So when I stopped eating by mouth in the fall it didn't take long for me to gain my weight back. The formula that I'm drinking via my tube is packed full of healthy ingredients plus the liquid vitamins Hing found on the Internet for me. I don't taste food anymore. But I enjoy smelling food. This disease causes a person to go through so much misery by coughing and gagging to the point where you don't care about eating anymore. A very strange thing since our civilization is centered around food. If I were to say that I don't miss eating, I would be a liar. But I equally don't miss the misery that I went through. I even made it uncomfortable from my family to see me in agony. I have always been a person that accepts the cards that I was dealt. So here I am taking each day as it comes.

[the answer to the joke is "The used car salesman knows that he's lying !]

Thanksgiving and Christmas 2007

2007-12-31T12:33:00.001-06:00

I'm happy to report that I typed this entire blog using ERICA . I'm typing this with my eyes and I get pretty lazy with punctuation and grammar so don't tell my 6th grade English teacher. I just tell my kids that i was absent the day that they taught grammar. Ha, Ha.

I hope your Thanksgiving and Christmas was grand. Our was!

We had a massive family reunion for Thanksgiving. We joked about it being a Taylor family invasion. There's the gang from Colorado : My mom. Ellie. Bonnie. Kate. James and Ken. And from Connecticut: Matthew. His wife Kim. Her two sons from her previous marriage, Maynard and Carter. And last but not least my 8 month old grandson Peyton! ! !

It took a while for me to get used to the noise level. On the Monday before Thanksgiving was Ken's birthday. The next day was my and Hing's 19 year of marital bliss and it was Maynard's birthday. I gave Hing a GPS for our 19th and she said it was the best gift ever. No one can understand me unless they're standing directly in front of me and reading my lips. So not being able to give directions is extremely frustrating. I take pride in being able to give people directions by memorizing the major routes to many of the places that we visit of Memphis. So now that I have trouble speaking I thought a GPS would be best. So now i have ERICA, for talking and hing decided to call her GPS ERIC, for giving her directions. ERICA is set to a females voice and Hing's is set to an Australian males voice. It was funny that the first time we went out with ERIC, i was attempting to tell everybody that I knew a shorter route. To bad I didn't have ERICA with me to tell ERIC what to do! !

My family really gives me such great support. They are so positive and of course it's wonderful to have one's mom here , I've always had a good relationship with my mom, sisters and their hubbies. One thing I really love about Hing's and my family is there is no drama or feuds. We can be ourselves and everyone accepts us for what we are. I can imagine that is not the case for other families. It was hard to see everyone leave.

I'm entering a very scary part of ALS, as i loose all of my independence. it was bad in September. So I went to the doctor and he gave new drug that is for people who have Malaria, so I had to get special permission. My problem was I was coughing out of control due to my diaphragm muscle were triggering a spasm. So now I'm stable. the drug has a benefit in that it causes dry mouth , which is wonderful for me since I have a tendency to drool now that I'm having trouble swallowing. i love this time of the year because of the temperature. It makes it easier for me to breath and now that I'm stable with my medicine, I'm sleeping much better. I'm not coughing and drooling as much anymore. There is a downside with the cooler weather, my muscles are stiff and my legs are cold all the time. I usually wear a blanket over my legs all day.

I came to realized that there is a reason why I am able to stand and breath (my legs and diaphragm are strong). It's because when I was in high school and college, I lived in Colorado and every chance I got, I would go backpacking or biking and over the years I gained strength in my legs and lungs. And now I'm convinced that had a lot to do with my muscle strength. So I'm very thankful that my family moved to Colorado.

ERICA and I are getting along fine. It took about two months to get to this point where can finish this BLOG. I am glad I have patience and the experts at Eye Response Technologies were extremely helpful. I think that I'm typing faster now than I did with my joystick. We're still working a few issues but i think within a few weeks I'll be beyond any major obstacles. A really cool thing about ERICA is it allows me to change the layout of the keyboard. Some of you may have received an email from me that was not complete. My sister's husband called it premature emailulation. Chris and I solved that problem by changing the position of the TAB key in the online keyboard. I think we solved that problem and i owe Chris a big thank you for helping me. I'm pretty sure it won't happen again. People kid with me and tell me that ERICA is a red head! because she demands a lot of attention.

Chris is taking drum lessons and he really gets into it. He practices everyday on his electric drum set. I was a drummer in 5th and 6th grade . Not to many people know that I played drums in a rock and roll band. We played at the 5th and 6th grade dances. Well, he's already passed me with his drumming skills a long time ago. I'm very proud of him. I hope to put a song on this site as soon as possible. With the money Chris received from Christmas, he went to the store and bought a game called Rock Band. It's a game that comes with a drum, guitar, and a microphone. The object to the game is to follow the prompts for each instrument. The singer follows along like karaoke. The game keeps up with how well you are doing and scores appropriately. Before the day was done, Chris was playing in the expert level on drums and guitar. Even Hing tried playing the guitar. What I like about the game is the music, almost all the songs are classic rock and roll.

I usually don't say much about Matthew because he was away under the sea for a long long time. Well he is back on land and should be for at least a year. That's a good thing, it will give him time to be a good father. He has an instant family with two in diapers. Oh boy. Kim and I stay in touch through email. She has four boys to deal with. It's a good thing that she had older brothers when she was growing up. Peyton is in good hands, Kim's parents live in the area. They all live in Groton, a Navy town. Remember the movie staring Julia Roberts, called Mystic Pizza where she worked at a pizza joint called Mystic Pizza in Mystic, CT. Well that town is right next to Groton.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095690/

Nicole won first place in her school for art. The title of the contest is Reflections. Nicole made a colored pencil drawing of cleaning the world of pollution. The unique part of the drawing was the people surrounding the earth, it took Nicole many days to draw. I recognized Abe Lincoln. Well, we just found out that Nicole placed in the county! We will find out where she placed at the Shelby county award ceremony next month. Yeah for Nicole!!

Here are some pictures from Christmas. The kids said this was the best Christmas ever. I have to admit, it was a wonderful for Hing and me. When Chris and Nicole are happy that makes us happy. Thanks to our Christmas Angels we were able to make Christmas even more special for Chris and Nicole.

Here's one of my favorites , Nicole is helping me open my presents.

Hing is my hero.

August Update

2007-08-10T18:47:00.002-05:00

I was hoping by this time I would be writing this message using Erica. But Erica is not that easy to master. My biggest problem is getting the mouse pointer to the right place on the screen. I'm finding that when I look at an object on the screen, sometimes the mouse pointer goes there and other times it won't. It can be frustrating, especially when I'm use to having full control. Fortunately, I'm getting good advice from a PALS of mine who is an Erica expert. I met him through the Living With ALS on-line support group.

Above is a photo of me with Erica behind me. I'm a Skallywag. Look that one up in your dictionary. And yes, I'm growing a mustache.

A friend of mine wrote this at the start of an article on ALS awareness for the Denver Post in Colorado...
'Have you ever had a dream where you’re completely paralyzed? You can’t run or walk. You can’t move your arms or scream or make a sound - you’re terrified - then you wake up…relieved it was just a dream?'

Well, lately when I wake up from sleeping and my body wants to stretch, I try to move but can't. My muscles are so stiff, they won't respond to my commands. My limbs are too heavy for the remaining muscles to lift. It takes full concentration to move my muscles. How am I doing? In a word, weak. I can't stand on my own. I can't talk. My caregivers read my lips. I can't feed myself. I get the majority of my calories via my peg tube each day. I'm worried that I might loose my ability to drive my wheelchair soon. My hands are starting to club. Soon I won't be able to move my joystick as you can see in the picture below. So I'm working frantically to transfer my programs from my laptop to Erica. Here's a photo of me operating my joystick...

Hing, my wife, and I are constantly reinventing how to take care of me. She's a master problem solver. I love her dearly.

The good news is I'm in no pain and I can still eat a little. My breathing is good and I normally get a good nights rest. I love to go out. Yesterday, Hing took me for a haircut. I was excited just to be out of the house. As an added bonus, Hing drove to a carwash and I cheered on as she washed our van. I also made it through this year without catching a cold. My relationship with my family couldn't be better. My three week visit with my Mom was fantastic, she always pumps me up. Her next visit will be in October for the ALSA Walk to D'Feet ALS.

Chris is driving now, he just got his permit. He's doing good so far. Next to Hing, Chris is the best caregiver a father could ask for. I'm grateful. Chris is very good with computers now. Last night we trained Erica how to operate the TV while I was in bed. That was cool.

Major projects are - Erica, family history, reading my book, Boy Scouts, building my music collection, and trying not to be a pain.

Well there it is, the bad and the good.

Erica and me - Week 1

2007-07-06T20:12:00.001-05:00

On Monday, I was partially trained on how to use Erica, my new eye gaze system. But I wasn't able to complete the training due to the fact that Eye Response Technologies (ERT) doesn't ship Erica devices with a fully functioning operating system. So my Eye Response representative contacted ERT to have them FedEx to me the special unlock key. The key was delivered the next day and I unlocked Erica from her cage by myself. No problem. My ERT rep/technician, Daniel Ponder, has agreed to return to Memphis next week. It's just as well, we had to order a wheelchair mount accessory, continue training, and he needs to hook me up to the Internet. I'm well versed in Windows XP, but my first attempt to hookup to the Internet failed. As an added bonus, Daniel's going to demonstrate a device that will allow me to operate my TV and stereo using Erica.

So I'm sorry to say I'm still using my laptop. And I'm going to need more practice. Yesterday, I typed the entire alphabet but it took me several attempts. I've mastered the backspace button thank you very much. Sometimes I get so excited with the fact that I'm actually typing with my eye, I start laughing out loud and loose control.

Erica is behaving herself so far, but as you know, some women are known to be 'high maintenance' and they demand your attention 24X7. Erica works by pointing an infrared camera into your eye and magically converts your eye movements into mouse movements. So I have to keep my head perfectly still. Then after the mouse cursor remains on any object in a window for a predetermined amount of time, Erica performs a left mouse click. One must be on your toes at all times. Since it's impossible for a human to keep their eyes focused on a single point the size of the letter 'O' for more than a few seconds, it can be very fast paced. Which accounts for my inordinate amount of typing mistakes.

I'm sure it will get easier for me as time goes by. I try to practice an hour each day.

My Erica eye gaze device arrived

2007-06-28T12:03:00.001-05:00

Yesterday morning, my new Erica eye gaze device arrived via our friends at FedEx. This system will allow me to operate a computer with my eye. I can't wait to use it. But first I need help setting it up and learning how to use it. That should happen early next week.

So stay tuned. I plan op doing a full documentory for my fellow PALS. So far I'm really impressed with the quality of Erica and the excellent customer service I've received from Eye Response Technologies.
To learn about Erica go to http://www.eyeresponse.com/Disabilities/ERICA_System.aspx

Memphis in May

2007-05-11T10:30:00.000-05:00

Well, I had the best weekend ever.

My friend, John Bennett (on the right), just got back from Iraq after serving for over a year and Brian Brown (on the left), our fearless leader, went out Saturday night to the Memphis in May music festival.

We ate downtown at the Bigfoot Lodge. Which is totally out of place for Memphis, since they have lots of stuffed heads of big game on the walls and a giant wood carving of the legendary Sasquatch.

The place attracts a younger crowd and a few old farts like the three of us. Good music and great food, especially the fried catfish with sweet potato fries! The atmosphere reminds me of places I've been in Colorado. They offer a four pound hamburger called the Sasquatch. If you eat it within one hour, you get it for free.

We watched a young man chugging his third 34 oz mug of beer while he stuffed a pocket full of quarters into the jukebox. When he was done, he came over to our table and asked us what song we wanted to listen to. We thought for a moment and said ROLLING STONES. He complied and we were soon listening to Start Me Up. A nice gesture on his part.

We then joined about a million people at the music festival. We found the perfect parking for my van and the event staff set up these really cool raised platforms especially made for handicap people. So we listened to the music above the crowd. Awesome.

As the sun set over the mighty Mississippi river, we saw 3 bands, TAJ MAHAL, OHIO PLAYERS, and STEELY DAN. STEELY DAN was perfect and played all their classics. They were the last band of the evening. Needless to say, I didn't get tucked into bed until 2 AM.
The next day, I bought the STEELY DAN Greatest Hits CD. Saturday night will forever be known as the ultimate Boy's Night Out! Good food, music, scenery, and the best of company. It took me all day Sunday to recover and I didn't have a hangover. Well worth it.

My Birthday Bash

2007-04-17T09:38:00.000-05:00

Boy, I love springtime ! The warm weather sooths my muscles.

My mom left yesterday to go back to Colorado. She visited for 3 weeks. I didn't want her to leave. Here’s an update describing our reunion...

Kate [sister], Ken [hubby], Bonnie [sister], Bob [hubby], and Ellie [niece] arrived on March 29th for a long weekend and left on April 2nd to go back to Colorado.

We played classic rock roll [Uncle Bob and Chris].

Here are some photos of us all at my birthday parties. To my delight, we partied all week.

Hing organized a nine course Chinese banquet at our favorite Chinese restaurant [Asian Palace] and invited the whole family. I love Chinese food, especially when we eat family style. We ate like pigs.

Another highlight was I took the family to downtown Memphis to tour Beale Street, the home of BB King and the land of the blues. We listened the live bands, ate BBQ and watched the street entertainers. No one wanted to leave.

Yes, I’m half a century.

All is well here in Elvis country. We had a wonderful Easter weekend. The day before, Hing surprised me with a neighborhood (friends) birthday party Saturday night. Mom and the kids were in on it. I came home to 20 people in our front yard holding signs and singing happy birthday.

We even made a fire in the backyard, sang songs and made smores. Everybody brought a ton of food and we cooked bunch of hot dogs and hamburgers on my new birthday grill.

Nicole played basketball out front with the boys. We didn't see much of her until after sunset. She loves b-ball and can't wait for the recreation church league to start again.

We even set an empty chair for Major John Bennett who's finishing up his tour of duty in Iraq. We expect him home in two weeks.

What a blast.

Chris’s friend Jacob sat by the campfire that night bound and determined to figure the chords 'Softly falls the light of day...' [a Boy Scout song, see lyrics below] on Chris’s new 6 string guitar and we were so happy he did. That boy's got talent.

Clayton [Jacob’s brother] would tell Jacob what note to start in; Mason [Chris’s friend] would say 'There you guys go again speaking guitar language which I don't understand'. After everyone sang the song for Jacob for the 20th time, Jacob said 'this is cool now I’m going to have to bring my guitar on the next Boy Scout campout'.

Scout Vesper
Tune: "Tannenbaum"

Softly falls the light of day,While our campfire fades away. Silently each scout should ask: "Have I done my daily task? Have I kept my honor bright? Can I guiltless sleep tonight? Have I done and have I dared Everything to be prepared.?"

Even, Nicole and Conner [neighbor] got into the act. Conner played Beatles, [Here comes the sun] then Clayton played Eric Clapton. I’m so glad our children appreciate rock and roll!

My mom baked chocolate chip cookies and filled our Easter baskets with bags of cookies. After church, we went to Hing's sister's house to pig-out. A mini-family reunion. Then an Easter egg hunt.

This last photo is my mom and Hing's mom [75 and 79 years young].

Hing took the day off on Monday and the 3 of us goofed off while the kids were at back at school. Not to mention a good nap.

Love to all.

My Little Hope Boy

2007-02-02T17:45:00.000-06:00

One week ago marked two years since I was diagnosed with ALS. At that moment I was so upset and in shock all I could think about was ‘how could this happen to me?’ After I didn't get an answer from the doctors, the next question was ‘how long will I live?’ Again, no definite answer. Then a month after my diagnosis, I asked again and my extremely compassionate neurologist said ‘don’t worry too much right now, we’ll know more in a year.' Those words gave me hope that turned into strength. It wasn't long after, with the help of my wife, my mom and my sisters, I took a positive approach to my disease. Together, we set out to fight rather than giving in to this horrible disease.

My journey since then has been so unpredictable. Many people ask me how I'm doing. There are two ways to answer; mentally and physically. I try not to respond negatively. But first my mind focus's on my physical aspects. To be honest, last summer I thought by early 2007 (now) I wouldn't have use of my legs. But to my amazement, I can still stand up. I've never woken up in the morning and all of a sudden unable to do something that I could do the day before. Instead, I find it increasingly difficult to do my daily routine from one month to the next. Right at the moment, half way through my meal I totally lose strength in my hand and have to be fed. I don't even attempt rice or soup anymore because I end up wearing both of them. Without shoulder strength, it's difficult to lift anything. You can imagine how difficult it is to cover myself with a blanket at night. But my wife and I have learned how to adapt. She bought me a lightweight blanket and I wear silk pajamas so I don't get caught up in the blanket. Answering how I'm doing mentally is more complicated and varies depending on my stress level that day.

I also belong to a wonderful on-line support group created by the ALS Association, known as the ALS Advocacy Community. That forum has been an invaluable source of information. Membership is both PALS and caregivers. I'm convinced my strength comes from my positive family, supportive friends and the huge network of support provided by the ALS Association of Tennessee.

An example of this is the ALSA's Christmas Gift Program. The program is optional and allows members of a PALS family to submit their Christmas present 'wish list' to ALSA. Then ALSA joins the family up with a caring business in the Memphis area that wants to participate. We were blessed to have the Hudspeth Benefits Group as our host. This is a family run company offering employee benefits, insurance, mutual funds & retirement plans. They also have a heart of gold. Because of their generosity, our Christmas was better than we could ever imagine. Thank you to Bill Hudspeth's entire family. Lastly, a special thanks to Donna Climer and her husband, Wayne of C & C Techtronics for making all the arrangements!

Here are some of my experiences since the New Year:

I had to retire my trusty computer trackball and replace it with a special joystick for typing words and navigating Windows. Some of you may wonder why. For me, the frustration of not being able to type is my main driver. I have spent the past 20 years in front of computer during most of my conscious hours of the day. I love personal computing so much, I consider home computing a hobby. It goes without saying, I'd rather stimulate my brain with a computer than have it turn into mush in front of the TV. As many of my PALS know, the Internet is like a life support system. Last summer, I had to retire my mouse because it got too heavy to pickup. Do you know how many times you lift your mouse each day? Anyway, with my trackball, it was my unwanted twitching of my thumb and fingers that did it in. I found that I unwillingly was left and right clicking my trackball buttons. I use these devices, as long as can, then I switch. There is the normal learning curve with the new device but in each case, I’m typing faster than before. Some of the speed comes from my word prediction software. After the joystick, my only option will be an eye gaze system. Eyeball to mouse is incredibly more effective than using a hand to mouse device. My insurance company won’t pay for assistive technology communication devices anymore, so I’m going have to pay the difference beyond what Medicare will pay. I'm taking action right now to obtain my eye gaze system. Wish me luck!
To give my wife more relief from the daily caregiver chores, we now have a home health aid coming to bath and groom me seven days a week. I also continue to do physical therapy every other day to keep my arms and legs as limber as possible.
Unfortunately, my voice is so weak it takes a special Dick Tracy Decoder Ring to translate the words I babble these days. Even my wife is having trouble understanding me. Please continue to keep me in the loop via email as I discover new ways to communicate.

We are researching a lift. Fortunately, I can still get myself out of bed, but I’m not sure how much longer my arms will hold out. The Boy Scout Motto is ‘Be Prepared’! My wife wrote the book on that subject.

A big reason to have hope is during my last doctor's visit, I found out the DNA study that I participated in last year was extremely successful. There's a slight chance the researchers might produce a clinical trial study that will target specific genes. Perhaps this summer.

Below is my 'hope' figurine that I received from the ALS Association. I love my little hope boy. He gives me hope everyday.

Which brings me to the next subject. Ever since I can remember, I've tried to live my life to the fullest knowing I could die tomorrow. Maybe that's why I love the great outdoors so much. Not just going for a walk in a park like a common city dweller. But really getting close to nature. Looking Mother Nature directly in the eye and shouting ‘Bring it on!’ Not to brag, but I'm proud to say I’m proficient in wilderness backpacking, downhill and cross-country skiing, rock climbing, rappelling, scuba diving, etc. All individual sports. I've played team sports and enjoy them. But there aren't that many team sports that I get fully charged from. I truly feel sorry for people who have spent their entire adult life and never experiencing the truly magnificent natural splendor that is right in our backyards and beyond.

As stated before, I've always been a quiet person and the way I recharge my battery is to turn inward. I can only do when there's no distractions. What I'm talking about is the feeling of pure tranquillity. I've experienced this tranquillity in my life only while being outside in the wilderness. Here's one example (more to come in the future, I have a few more):

One time I was scuba diving in Hawaii, in a protected underwater wilderness called Hanauma Bay. I was swimming in about 30 feet of water. I was astonished at the hundreds of fish swimming all around me. They were all shapes and sizes. What amazed me the most was their colors Every color of the rainbow was represented. Beautiful. It got better. I spotted an opening in the coral reef. Below me was a clearing made of perfectly white sand. I swam to it and the fish followed me. It didn't take me long to reach the underwater island of sand. I then turned over on my back and settled to the bottom. It was so cool watching my air bubbles rise to the sunny surface. I stayed down there as long as I safely could before returning to land. When times get tough, I sometimes return to that peaceful memory place in my mind.

And now a story about positive thinking ...

BANK ACCOUNT (I received this from a PALS of mine)

A 92-year-old, petite, well-poised and proud man, who is fully dressed each morning by eight
o'clock, with his hair fashionably coifed and shaved perfectly, even though he is legally blind, moved to a nursing home today.

His wife of 70 years recently passed away, making the move necessary. After many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home, he smiled sweetly when told his room was ready. As he maneuvered his walker to the elevator, I provided a visual description of his tiny room, including the eyelet sheets that had been hung on his window.

"I love it," he stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having just been presented with a new puppy.

"Mr. Jones, you haven't seen the room; just wait."

"That doesn't have anything to do with it," he replied. "Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my room or not doesn't depend on how the furniture is arranged ... it's how I arrange my mind. I already decided to love it.

"It's a decision I make every morning when I wake up. I have a choice; I can spend the day in bed recounting the difficulty I have with the parts of my body that no longer work, or get out of bed and be thankful for the ones that do.

Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open, I'll focus on the new day and all the happy
memories I've stored away just for this time in my life.

Old age is like a bank account. You withdraw from what you've put in. So, my advice to you would be to deposit a lot of happiness in the bank account of memories!

Thank you for your part in filling my "Memory Bank". I am still depositing.

Merry Christmas 2006

2006-12-24T15:22:00.000-06:00

From the Taylor's, we wish you all good health and happiness for the coming New Year. Make the most of everyday and hug your love ones everyday.

Always,
Don, Hing, Chris and Nicole

Breakthrough in cause of ALS

2006-12-02T18:44:00.000-06:00

It appears a major breakthrough has been made in the cause of ALS. Below is a release about the announcement that was made at the International MND Symposium yesterday.

I'm glad Hing and I were participates in the DNA study. It gives me hope.

Researchers at the Translational Genomics Research Institute say they believe they have determined the genetic causes of Lou Gehrig's disease, offering hope that effective treatments for the dreaded ailment may finally be available in a few years. Researchers at the Phoenixbased institute said they have identified more than 50 genetic abnormalities in people with sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS. The finding, made public today, may make it easier to identify drugs that could halt or reverse the negative effects of those flaws.

The most common of the gene defects have never before been shown to play a role in the neuromuscular disease, the institute said.

The findings were announced earlier today at an international ALS conference in Japan.

"We have identified a fundamental understanding of what causes the disease," said Dietrich Stephan, director of neurogenomics for the institute. "With that information, we can now move forward with a knowledge-based drug exercise." He said the institute has started testing compounds that might counter the impact of the gene flaws on the nervous system. "What we are shooting for is to reverse the course of the disease," he said.

"We would be happy to just stop the progression of the disease, but we want a compound to reverse it. We have evidence that it is possible." He said the time needed to develop those drugs could be from months to as long as 10 years, but he said two years is a likelier time frame. If existing medicines can be found that have an impact on the disease, approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration would happen faster than if new compounds must be developed, he said.

An existing drug called Rilutek has been found that slows the progression of the disease.

The $652,000 research project, which was funded by the Muscular Dystrophy Association, involved the screening of DNA samples from more than 1,200 people with sporadic ALS, the most common form of the disease, and 2,000 people without the disease. The researchers used state-of-the-art microchips developed by the Affymetrix Co. of Santa Clara, Calif. to compare the genetic makeup of ALS patients with that of nonaffected individuals.

The identified differences implicate genes that probably play a role in controlling the adhesion of nerves to the muscles, which opens a new avenue for ALS research, Stephan said. "Our findings indicate these genes produce a sort of molecular glue that attaches motor neurons to muscle. It appears that in ALS the nerve is able to peel off the muscle and, when that happens repeatedly, the nerves die," he said.

Because the brain can no longer initiate and control muscle movements, the muscles in an ALS patient weaken and deteriorate. As a result, ALS patients develop problems with dexterity, speaking and swallowing. Eventually, the patient becomes paralyzed, and in three to five years death will result when the lungs cease to function. Through it all, however, the victim is conscious and can feel pain.

There are no effective treatments, although the disease has been known for nearly 140 years. Lou Gehrig, New York Yankees star of the 1920s and '30s, was its most famous victim, and his name has been associated with it ever since.

"It's a horrible disease," Stephan said. "The neurologists who deal with the disease have it really rough. There is not too much they can offer these folks."

About 30,000 people have ALS in the United States at any one time. About 95 percent of cases are sporadic ALS, which occurs randomly, or sporadically, within the population. About 5 percent suffer from hereditary ALS, which runs in families and is better understood.

The MDA is "very enthusiastic" about the research by the Phoenix institute, said Ron Schenkenberger, senior vice president of the association.

"The sporadic form has baffled scientists for decades," he said. "Many drugs have been tested and avenues of research pursued. ... What we sought out was to determine if there are any common factors in people with sporadic ALS. That is the whole point of this science."

The project was possible because new semiconductor developments enable researchers to scan human genes more quickly, scientists said. The Affymetrix 500K microarrays used by the institute employ similar technology used in super computers, allowing the ALS study to be completed in nine months.

"Just a couple of years ago, this experiment would not have been possible because there simply wasn't a technology that enabled scientists to sift through the 3 billion molecules in the genome to find the genetic abnormalities that cause disease," said Sean George, vice president of Affymetrix.

"There is a revolution going on in research, and this study is a perfect example of how things are changing," said Sharon Hesterlee, MDA vice president of translational research. "New technology is letting us look at the genome at a level of detail that was unthinkable just a few years ago." Affymetrix scientists invented the first high-density microarray in 1989 and began selling them commercially in 1994. The gene chips, which are about 1 centimeter square, had to be further reduced in size before the complex ALS study could be accomplished, Stephan said.

The same technology is being used in searches for gene abnormalities that might cause other diseases such as diabetes, he said.

My Two Year Mark

2006-10-29T10:27:00.000-06:00

This past Friday night was a near perfect evening. Hing drove the four of us in our van during rush hour to the Memphis airport to pickup my Mom. We arrived safely and while Hing and Nicole waited in baggage claim, Chris and I went searching for Grandma. That's when things started to click. We got on the elevator to go upstairs and guess who's waiting at the door? Grandma! Next we got all her luggage and exited the airport without having to pay for parking (under 30 minute rule). With all the money we saved (ha, ha) we then took Grandma out to dinner. The kids love 'On The Boarder's' salsa and chips so we went there. The meal and service was excellent. Nicole (our picky eater) ate everything on her plate and asked for more announcing she love Mexican food. Even when I had to go to the restroom, Chris took me, open doors, stood guard outside the handicap stall because my door wouldn't close. He even came to my rescue in helping me wash my hands. Trust me, rarely I will find the soap dispensers within wheelchair reach. Later at home, I managed to lift myself out my chair to a standing position and called my Mom over and surprised her with a big welcoming hug and kiss. What a wonderful start to a much anticipated week long 'Grandma Taylor' visit from Colorado.

It's now been two years since I went the doctor thinking I had a chemical imbalance in my body. I was concerned but not worried. After all, modern medicine can fix just about anything - right? I'm convinced that's the reason why my family is glued to the TV set every Tuesday to watch the next exciting episode of 'House'. Naturally, I wish Dr. House would do his magic on me. Now a days I'm taking this ALS thing each day as it comes. Unlike others with ALS, this chapter in my life doesn't get me down. As long as I can communicate, I'm OK mentally. But I'm entering into into a phase where I'm losing my arms and hands faster than my legs. Bummer. The good news is my insurance company has allowed a physical therapist to torture me twice a week for the past month. It's helping me stay limber.

Hing, the kids and I totally enjoyed my retirement party from FedEx last month. It was nice to see everyone. It turned out to be a party of 27 close friends from both FedEx and our family. At the party we were presented with a check. We certainly were pleased with the outcome of the Don Taylor Fund raiser. Charles Hawk, Russ Johnson, Jim Sheats, Cindy Dewey & Tom Walker (to name few) did a lot and we're very grateful. I wish the donations were not anonymous so I could thank people directly. So here's a big . . .

. . . designed by Nicole. And we certainly appreciate the kind words that were said after dinner by our friends, Dawn Bennett and Brian Brown.

My typing is very slow these days, I'm using a special program that has an on-screen keyboard with word prediction since I type with my trackball that Russ Johnson and the AOD Tech Support team bought for me. I can't type with my PC keyboard anymore. My left hand is pretty much a club now. I've been working on this email on and off all week. Adaptation is the key to my success. I turn on my computer with my toe. I open doors with my foot. Thank goodness I can still bring myself to a standing position. Hing is still my primary caretaker and doing a great job. We gain strength from each other. However, I've reached the point where we needed to bring a nurse to our home to bath, groom, and it feed me. We noticed that Hing was trying to work her job, cook the meals, help with homework, do the shopping, and take care of me. My lack of strength and coordination in my hands and arms has made me into a very demanding person. So Monday through Friday I get showered and groomed by a home health aid since I can no longer do it. A person in my situation no longer can afford to be shy, now it's about survival and at the same time making sure my wife doesn't go crazy or go off the deep end of the pool. My nurse is very nice, she has 20 years of experience as a home health aid.

Back in July, I was be fitted for a BiPap device to assist my nighttime breathing. My ability to take a good breath of air decreased by 50% since this time last year. The machine forces air into my lungs with each breath. It's a fatigue fighting machine. To this day, I still can't wear the device all night long. So I recently changed from a nose snorkel to a full face mask. Perhaps that will help. Also, my machine has a heater which is great this time of year. My son, Chris has been very patient with me lately, especially when I ask him to put on my mask and take my picture.

The big thing at the moment is we just approved for social security benefits and Medicare. A very time consuming process. It's all done on-line (via a secure .gov web site), nicely done. My life story is now on a government database server. Why does the thought of that bother me? The good news is they, by law, put me at the top of the list.

Last month we hosted the BBQ ALS support group meeting at our home. As some of you know we live on a cove so when 30 PALS and CALS attended, it turned into a block party. We had 4 PALS in wheelchairs. You can imagine how busy it was. One of our PALS, Rick (seated in a blue shirt), from Mississippi smoked ribs and chicken. Ummm good.

One of the main reason for hosting was to show everyone our new addition to our home. We had a master bedroom and handicap bathroom put in. We learned some do's and dont's that we wanted to share. I also demonstrated my newly completed voice synthesizer project.

As I stated in my previous Blog, it's important turn my focus outward, like helping fellow PALS, getting involved with ALS advocacy movement, reconnecting with long lost New Jersey friends via the Internet and continuing to be active as an assistant scoutmaster in my son's Boy Scout troop. And I'm REALLY looking forward to a visit by my two sisters and my niece coming to Memphis next week in time for the ALSA Walk to D-Feet ALS on Nov. 4th.

Lastly, can you tell which one is the University of Memphis Tiger fan?

Walk to D'Feet ALS - Taylor’s Trailblazers

2006-10-12T17:46:00.000-05:00

[ Written for Don by Dawn Bennett ]

The ALS Association, Tennessee Chapter is kicking off its annual Walk to D'Feet ALS in Memphis – a leisurely 3 mile walk, appropriate for wheelchairs, strollers, and pets on a leash. There will be entertainment and food as well. I am the captain of Don Taylor’s team, "Taylor’s Trailblazers", and I am asking you to join me in the fight against ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) by becoming a member of Don’s team. The pictures on the right are from last years walk.

I’m very excited to announce that as of October 12, we have 65 “Taylor’s Trailblazers” who are going to be walking beside Don during the Walk! Six of those folks are “virtual walkers”, which means they are there in spirit, so 59 supporters that I know of will actually be present – quite a crowd! These are folks who’ve contacted me by the deadline to order Don’s team shirts, designed by his daughter Nicole. BUT, just because you didn’t get a team shirt ordered doesn’t mean that you can’t walk! You can still come down to Audubon Park on November 4 at 10:00 and walk with us. Actually, meet us a little early as we get organized, around 9:30, so you can find us – we’ll be the group gathered around Don in the red shirts. Just put on a red shirt yourself, and you’ll blend right in!

As you all have become aware, through our friendship with Don, ALS is a fatal neuromuscular disease, which attacks the motor neurons making even the simplest movements of walking, speaking and gesturing impossible. Ultimately the body becomes paralyzed, yet through it all the mind remains unaffected. Remember that the Walk to D’Feet ALS is a walk to support the fight against ALS. Through my friendship with Don, I have been fortunate to become acquainted with the ALS Association and all the wonderful services they offer. The staff steps in to help families in our area who are living with the devastating effects of ALS. They offer many crucial programs including respite care and equipment loans that would otherwise cost an ALS family thousands of dollars. All of the chapter's services are offered free of charge and are funded through donations, grants and events such as the Walk to D'Feet ALS.

With the purchase of each “Taylor’s Trailblazer” t-shirt, $5 will go to the ALS Association, so we currently have $310 going to ALS as a team. Thank you so much to the folks who bought shirts and therefore made those donations! I’d sure love to see that number go up for this great Association that has helped Don and his family so much. If you’ve purchased t-shirts and would like to make an additional donation to ALS, or if you didn’t get a chance to purchase t-shirts but would like to make a donation to ALS in Don’s name, here’s what you do: Go to http://walk.alstn.org/. Click on the Memphis walk, then (in red) "Team List" – in alphabetical order you will find "Taylor's Trailblazers". The site will walk you through the rest. Also, please use this web address to find directions to Audubon Park for the day of the Walk – whether you make a donation or not we want you to come walk with Don!

I know how much Don appreciates all the support his friends, family, and co-workers have shown him since he became public with the news of his illness, and then when friends started the fundraising effort for his family – which, for those of you who were not present at his recent retirement party, Don and his family were presented with a check for the total fundraising efforts since July. Thank you all for the help that you have provided the Taylors during this time! I know that Don would love to have all of you there with him as he completes the Walk to D’Feet ALS – it would be a great marriage of those who’ve come to mean the most to him – the community who supports him, and the ALS Association that continues to help him so much with his illness.

Whether you got a chance to buy a t-shirt, make any kind of donation or not – please try to make it out to the Walk!

Thank you,
Dawn Bennett

My Voice Project

2006-09-06T16:00:00.000-05:00

Hurray! I'm happy to say I've finished my 'voice capture' project. It took me a little over a month to complete. I don't know if you know it but my voice is just about gone. I went from talking like a drunken sailor three months ago to now like a man with rocks in his mouth. I'm really pleased at this point with me synthesized voice.

I can thank Dianne Lyons, my speech therapist for linking me up with Dr. Tim Bunnell. He helped me capture my voice in a speech databank. Tim is the Director of the Center for Pediatric Auditory and Speech Sciences (CPASS) and the Speech Research Laboratory at the Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, DE. The focus of most of his research is hearing and speech problems in children, but one of his projects led to the development of the ModelTalker system which has been of great interest to people with ALS. Checkout this site: http://www.modeltalker.com/

The picture above is a screen shot of the computer application that I used along with my computer microphone to record my voice. The requirement was to repeat 1649 utterances. If you look closely, you can see an example of utterance #670 of 1649. Some are simple utterances like 'Hello' or 'I am'. Others are meaningless to me but important to the speech analyzer like 'his ard is arge'. There are even funny ones like 'my nerd farm'. It usually took me a few minutes to recover from laughing so hard after being prompted to repeat such a ridiculous phrase. Also, notice the three measurement gauges. Pitch and Loudness didn't give me problems. But Pronunciation was my biggest challenge. Most of my attempts were in the red zone. But after repeated attempts, I managed to score around 70%. I was constantly challenging myself to get the best pronunciation score as possible.

When complete, the next step in the process was to upload the 1649 utterances to the ModelTalker server. My voice was analyzed and transformed into my new synthesized voice. I then downloaded the final synthesized voice files to my computer. I have a few applications on my laptop that allow me to type words and phrases and instead of getting a fake computer-like-voice, people hear my own voice.

I have to admit my voice is not perfect because I started too late. So my message to my fellow PALS is:

A significant subset of ALS patients lose the ability to speak relatively early on in the progression of this disease and for those people, ModelTalker may provide the ability to 'bank' their voice while they are still able to speak and then use a synthetic version of their own voice in a communication device when that is later needed. Did I mention it's free.

Go to Dr. Bunnell's site at: www.asel.udel.edu/speech/ to get started! Tim is an expert in his field and a nice guy to work with.

Here are two sites that provide communication aids for the disabled:

http://www.etriloquist.com/

E-triloquisttm is a FREE PC-based communication aid for a speech impaired person. It serves as an electronic voice for those who can't speak on their own.

http://www.words-plus.com/website/products/comsoft.htm

EZ Keys XP allows the literate user to do everything from typing a letter, to engaging in conversation with a friend, to exploring the worldwide web. World-renowned astrophysicist Stephen Hawking uses the software to communicate, write papers, and deliver lectures around the world.

The ALS Advocacy Community

2006-08-25T11:51:00.000-05:00

I would like to introduce you to something completely different.

Over the past few weeks I've been involved with a group of PALS and caregivers attempting to make our communities and politicians more aware of ALS. I found myself getting excited about the fact that for the first time in a while, I'm turning my attention from an inward to an outward perspective.

Here's quote from a PALS named Chuck who lives in Florida who motivated me to get deeply involved in the ALS Advocacy effort:

'What is the nature and value of advocacy? What are our strengths and weaknesses as a community in addressing the broad and distributed issues that face us? Our community of PALS is by the very nature of where we are in solving the riddle of ALS, transient. Few of us stick around long enough to build a strong community to advocate. Our strength in advocacy seems to me, to be the few that are blessed with surviving beyond the short 3 - 5 year window, and more importantly is the CALS (caregiver of ALS) community that touches each of us PALS as we learn to live and die with this disease. As I look at many of those leading the community, I find many CALS, or family members whose lives have been altered by this disease touching their lives at a very basic and personal level. This is the community that needs to advocate on our behalf. Not many of us are around long enough to be effective advocates except in a fleeting way, while we are distracted with dealing with the realities of the disease.'

I have experienced first hand how my family and friends have immersed themselves in the task of providing support to me and my wife. Most of the time my caregivers are heads down focusing on daily caregiver chores. This is greatly appreciated.

But what happens when we are approached by newspaper reporters, TV journalists, etc. ? Like most people, I knew almost nothing about ALS when I was diagnosed. My PALS and I think the lack of knowledge is true for the public, including our government representatives at all levels.

Two days ago I had an excellent conversation with our Washington DC ALSA representative, Pat Wildman (pwildman@alsa-national.org or 1-877-444-ALSA) and he emphasized to me the following:

'The most effective approach in our advocacy for increased funding has been and continues to be, to tell the ALS story - for people with ALS and their families to let Members of Congress know the true nature of the disease and how it robs a person of the ability to do the things - like hugging their children or their parents - that most people take for granted. That ALS is a family disease; that it can strike anyone at any age; that it is fatal; and that it has no cure or effective treatment. And we need to keep delivering these messages every single day until we can prevent, treat and cure this horrific disease.'

I think all PALS should seek a one-on-one with their respective congressman and possibly their Senators. But go to the meeting with a plan. Do you remember the old 'how to move up in the world' rule that said everyone should have a prepared one minute 'elevator' speech just in case you have that once in a lifetime chance to ride in the elevator with the president or CEO of the company you presently are working for? You don't want to waste time with small talk. You need to make a lasting impression. I'm hoping you have heard of this technique. Well we PALS and CALS need a similar speech. If we are approached by friends, newspaper reporters, TV or magazine journalists, how do we maximize our moment of fame in the name of ALS Advocacy? We should have our 'canned' elevator speech we can lay on the media as well as the politicians. Perhaps this is a way to strengthen our advocacy efforts.

Come join me!

Here are two media clips that will assist you in the cause:

http://www.alsa.org/files/video/schilling.wmv

http://onbluestudios.com/alsa/

My Visit to FedEx

2006-08-03T20:20:00.000-05:00

My daughter, Nicole, created this photo of me. She's starts the sixth grade next week and wants to be a graphics designer when she grows up. The reason why she drew it will soon become clear.

This week has been like a roller coaster ride with unexpected ups and downs. It started with two doctor visits that brought a little bad news that I will explain in my next posting. But first, the good news and the reason I'm back on cloud nine. Today I was invited back to FedEx for an 'all employee' meeting with my former work group. The group is known as Express Business Systems (EBS). EBS was formed a few years back by consolidating the best and brightest computer project managers and application support employees to better support the huge information technology (IT) demands that the airline side of FedEx (FedEx Express) expects. Most people know that FedEx is leader in the field of technology. Around 350 people were invited but some couldn't attend due to them being on call to support the operation. The agenda was intriguing. The CIO of FedEx was the guest speaker, then an excellent presentation titled 'The Anatomy of a Computer Hack' by our VP of Information Security, followed by an award ceremony.

The highlight for me was seeing and talking with all my old colleagues. I was sorry a few couldn't be there. It hasn't been that long since I've seen everyone, but when you are use to feeling the daily pulse of everything that goes on in an organization, and then you leave (not by choice), there is a loss of continuity. Being greeted by my friends and being recognized by my VP, Susan Matthews, and my boss, Bob Baxter, brought me back in an instant with a rush of joy. Susan is a passionate person, one the many reasons why I liked working for her. Bob Baxter always reminded me of my dad, they both are extremely intelligent. I'm not sure how many noticed but there was a moment when Susan announced the Don Taylor Charity Fund Drive (http://www.dontaylorfund.com/) that I had an uncontrollable burst of emotion and fought hard to fight back the tears. My mind wanted me to jump up on stage with Susan, turn to the crowd and give them a heartfelt thank you. But my body wouldn't allow that to occur. Please let it be known to everyone that was what I was thinking. The fund site was created external to FedEx by an extremely talented webmaster and a former employee of mine, Russ Johnson. My family is extremely grateful for what my friends at FedEx are doing to help us emotionally and allow others to assist financially. Especially the efforts of CharlesHawk, another former employee of mine, who recognized the need and is leading the charge.

When I got home I explained my day to the family at the dinner table. A month or two ago my children didn't understand why we needed help. In their own way they were aware that we were cutting back, but silently accepted the fact. It is such a blessing to have friends and family who care. For example, we are thankful that Nicole's soccer coach and his wife, Kevin and Sherrie Scardino, organized an effort to have meals delivered to our home by the parents of Nicole's soccer team. When I described the compassion I had experienced today at FedEx, it clicked with Chris and Nicole. After dinner, Nicole went to our computer and drew this picture of me.

A Message to my Friends

2006-07-12T11:20:00.000-05:00

Just about everyone I know would agree that I am a quiet person. Mainly because I feel I don't have the 'gift of gab' or elaborate writing skills compared to others. However, I do not consider myself as a private person. Private people don't like to share their personal lives with others. For those of you that know me well, I enjoy listening rather than talking, but I love to talk about my family adventures with those that have an interest. I usually go out my way to insure that people like and accept me as a person. My ten years at FedEx have been very happy. The spirit of cooperation and dedication made going to work a pleasure. During the work day, I always focused on the task at hand rather than the social aspects of an office environment. For that reason I took pride in my ability to effectively facilitate and collaborate with groups of people to get the job done. For me the job came first, everything else came second. I never really liked to talk about my problems.

It has been 22 months since my first symptoms of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The initial emotional pain and anguish after my diagnosis in January 2005 was unbearable. My strategy was to avoid the full disclosure of my illness for as long as possible, for the following reasons. First of all, ignorance is bliss, especially for our children. Secondly, even though I have the highest regard for my friends and coworkers and I know the feeling is mutual, I intuitively knew the knowledge of my terminal illness could damage our relationship and my career. Once you learned of my illness, I noticed each one of you handled the grieving process in your own way. I can't tell you how much I appreciate the support given to me and my family.

I've been tracking the progress of my disease and comparing it to the national standard. I fall in the exact dead center of the charts. I have a classic case of ALS. My major concern at this point is that I'm becoming more dependent on my wife for daily needs and it will only get worse. I can no longer walk, dress, or shower on my own. I can barely bring a fork to my mouth since my arm and hand strength is so depleted. It has taken me three hours over the course of two days to type this document. I don't mind. I've taught myself, by reading and corresponding with other ALS patients around the world (we have our own network) that it's not worth getting frustrated. I just accept the fact that it takes me longer to do things. Attitude is everything.

Since June 1st, the day I went on disability, I have been reading a great deal about how people react to people with ALS. If a friend or coworker thinks the person with the ALS is a private person, they're more than likely to leave that person alone. Please understand that I don't want to be left alone. Email is preferred. Personal visits are certainly appreciated as some of you know, but my voice is not what it used to be. The good news is I will soon be getting a new communication device that will help me talk via my laptop computer. I'm fairly certain most of you would be interested in seeing it. Stephen Hawking uses it. I'm looking forward to taking the next step in enabling me to type emails and talk more effectively.

Again, thanks for your continued support to me and my family.

The Title of my Blog

2006-06-09T11:52:00.000-05:00

There's a meaning behind the title 'Out of the Blue Too' that I've assigned to my Blog. Here's the story...

My main goal is to make my Blog meaningful. Meaningful to my family, friends, and fellow ALS PALS. With that in mind, I thought of my Dad. You see in November of 1995, my dad suffered a brain stem stroke. He was paralyzed from the nose down. We were asked by the doctor's if we wanted to keep Dad alive. We told them it was not our decision, it was Dad’s. My Dad was able to communicate by blinking with his eyes. “Yes” was one blink, “no” was two. So we asked him if he wanted to live. You could tell by his reaction the answer was "Hell Yes". It was almost like he wanted to know why we were asking such a stupid question in the first place. To be honest, I admired his determination yet at the same time I didn't understand why a person would want to live in such a horrible state. But my Dad was very intelligent. He knew the brain could teach itself how to make the body function again. After a ton of physical therapy, Dad regained the use of one arm and was able to drive his power wheelchair and feed himself. He totally amazed us all.

This brings me to the topic for today’s Blog posting. My Dad learned to use a computer and was able to type using one finger. It wasn’t long before my Dad started writing articles for a local magazine. He had his own column. His column title was “Out of the Blue”. In the fall of 1996 he wrote his first article. He describes the shock of surviving the worst type of stoke known to man.

My Dad died in December of 2000 due to reasons unrelated to his stroke. I decided to name my Blog in memory of him and the strange fact the I’m facing the same challenges he faced not long ago.

Lastly, up until a month ago I had no idea what the Blog was, so before I created this Blog, I read a few hundred on Blogger.com. My first reaction was one of amazement. What surprised me the most was how much people had to say about nothing. It made me wonder what these people did all day. I guess people just love to write about themselves and don't mind sharing their personal lives with the world. I wonder if loneliness is a factor. I found many examples of "Dear Diary". Of course there were the ones from other countries that I couldn't the read at all. But I basically came away with the idea that a Blog can be anything that you want it to be. I decided to make mine meaningful.

My Situation

2006-06-05T19:40:00.000-05:00

I've been battling with ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) for almost two years now. I found out for sure in late Jan 2005. It started in Aug of 2004 with lower leg and feet cramps. A month later, fasciculations (muscle twitching) began all over my body. Then my left hand started to weaken, particularly my left index finger. My left side of my body was weakening faster than my right which was good since I am right handed.

My wife and I are dealing with it the best we can. We're pretty much over the shock now.

At the moment, I can feed myself but holding a glass up to my lips is a struggle so I use a straw. In late March 2006, I had a feeding tube put in my stomach as a preventive measure since I'm starting to have trouble swallowing. I can standup but not for long so I use a power wheelchair and on occasion I use a walker.

I stepped down from management at FedEx in Nov 2005 due my weakening voice and not being able to get around as well. I was working full time at FedEx until mid-May 2006. On June 1st, I went on disability. I prefer to think of it as 'early retirement'.

People have told me all my life that I have lots of patience. But I find I'm getting frustrated with not being able to do all I want to do. Last year I gave up hiking and camping with the family and the Boy Scouts. I've always been an outdoors man. At home, I love to cook, but without the arm and hand strength it's difficult. Each day I'm thankful for what I can still do for myself. My independence is very important to me.

My spirits and hopes are high. In fact, the picture above is me on my first 'early retirement' adventure. I've always felt 'the glass is half full'. In addition to my wife, her family, my Mom and Sisters have been giving me great support. Of course, I'm hoping they will announce a treatment or cure in 2006.

My 1st Day

2006-06-01T23:43:00.000-05:00

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Today was my first day on full disability from work. I was just shy of 22 years in the U.S. workforce. My life and career has allowed me to travel all over the continental United States, Alaska, Hawaii, Canada, and Europe. I consider myself luckier than most for having seen very beautiful parts of the world. I've climbed most 14,000 foot mountains in northern Colorado, including the East Face of Longs Peak (shown above). I've scuba dived in Hawaii and off the southern coast of California. I've camped at the foot of Mt. McKinley and took pictures of the Eiger. I've snow skied the Appalachians , the Rockies and the Alps. I've seen the Eiffel Tower, the Mona Lisa, Dachau, Anne Frank's house and the Little Mermaid (I'm happy to say she had her head on that day). I've held a Captains rank in the Army and recently stepped down as a computer systems manager at FedEx. I'm happily married and deeply in love with my wife and three children. Of all my experiences over the years, I've learned that if you don't have family, you are not living to your fullest extent. Over the past year, as I've entered into this new phase of my life as an ALS PALS (Persons with ALS), I've noticed my disease can be (some days more than others) the center of my universe. I don't think that is totally healthy. So I'm going to strive to live my life to the fullest and I intend on using this BLOG to share my journey with my family and friends. Please enjoy.