Long Weekend

This weekend turned out to be a long one for a number of reasons. Our living history group participated in the annual Halifax Day celebration at Historic Halifax, NC. I was there most of the day on Friday and all day Saturday. Crowds were good (about 400 by our estimate), but the rain came in Saturday afternoon and left everything at least a little damp. I dare say every reenactor out there hates to take wet canvas home and I am no exception. In order to keep mold and mildew away you've got spread it out somewhere and let it dry. Luckily I have plenty of empty space in my office building in which to do this.

On the personal front, my dad had emergency surgery on Friday afternoon to flush a blood clot off of his brain. The surgery went well and the doctors and nurses are satisfied with his recovery to this point. Lori and I went to see him today and he's getting very restless. He's always been that way, but having to lie flat with a bunch of stuff hooked up to him isn't sitting very well with him. He continually removes things like EKG monitors and his pulse monitor on his finger. The nurse said he even ripped his catheter out, which I can't even imagine. Best of all is his attitude. When I told him he needed to calm down and behave like a good patient his response was "No I don't damn it!" After asking for a drink of water the nurse entered the room and he said "Where's my f-ing water?" Anyway, he's cantakerous at best and I wonder how much longer he'll have to stay in the hospital. He'll only get harder to deal with the longer he stays there. He is a prime case for restraint and/or sedation. God bless my mother. One day I'll be like that - its scary. At least Lori is getting a taste of it now with my dad.

It promises to be a long week ahead with site visits to Bennett Place and Duke Homestead on Monday then a trip to Vance Birthplace on Tuesday and Wednesday. There are also some other activities that I'll mention later. Should be a busy one!