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April Update

  It's been awhile since I've posted.  Justin's situation is hard to write about, but I know there are people who want to know what's going on with Justin, my son.  In truth, he is getting sicker and weaker.  For awhile,he made great progress, talking, eating, and getting back into his power wheelchair.   Then he started getting weaker.  His left lung became covered with secretions, and he needed surgery to scrape things out. Then a CT scan revealed more new spine fractures (total of 7).  After that, he just hasn't been able to get over the hump.  This week, Justin decided to discontinue the weaning from the ventilator.  He is on full breath support and can no longer use the voice valve to talk without dangerous oxygen drops.  Pain medication has been significantly increased to help him deal with the pain. It's a tough thing for a 23-year-old to confront one's mortality.  We will continue this journey with Justin to the end to the best of our abilities.  We
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Wright Brothers National Memorial


I have a couple of weeks left on my National Parks annual pass.  My frugal nature and Julia’s thirst for knowledge led us to visit the Wright Brothers National Memorial in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina.


I have to admit that the visit was more interesting than I anticipated.  The Wright Brothers were bicycle shop guys from Ohio who just wouldn’t give up on their dream to fly.  They repeatedly experienced failure but refused to give up. 

Successes were incremental.  In this photo, you can see where each of their four flights ended up. The fourth flight covered 852 feet and nearly a minute of flight time.


The plane was attached to the rail during its lead-up to take-off.  The memorial itself is on top of a hill overlooking the runway.


I’ll always remember two things about what I learned that day.  The first is that difficult dreams usually come true as a result of adversity, repeated failures and hard work.  The second is that Wilbur Wright didn’t die in a plane crash; rather, he died at the age of 45 from eating bad oysters.  You just never know…

Living under a rainbow and enjoying our last days in the Outer Banks…



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