The next step in my process of abstracting the emotions from an early photograph of Mike and Mom (see yesterday’s post), is to paint with a broad brush (literally). For me, the salient features in the original photograph my brother’s eye and my mother’s smile. Mike is probably about 12 years old here. Mike is my […]
Had a scare today. While I was at work when I got a call that our loved one’s (C’s) status had changed. She is in hospice care at home. When I got there, C’s breathing was very shallow. She wasn’t moving and did not respond beyond some slurred words, when questioned. Just yesterday was having a […]
We have been having trouble with cancer lately. Suffice it to say hospice care is the order of the day. Our afflicted loved one is in good spirits, even if not feeling that well. She likes to “tell it like it is” as well as to be told the straight story, without sugar coating. She is […]
Sometimes I have trouble thinking of what to paint. Most of the time I get ideas from books I read or trying to ‘make visible’ (to borrow a phrase from the great Paul Klee) what is in my head or in my dreams. Today a family member with whom I live had to go back to […]
I was thinking about the walk that I went on years ago, with my parents and Mike, my older brother. I took many photographs that day. In a couple of them it seems that I recorded a human connection. I cherish those instants in time, but I really wish I could have more of them […]
When I was a kid I had several methods of coping with scary movies on TV. The first was to hide behind the couch and peek out. The second, depicted below, was to put my hands over my face and look through my fingers. Dad offered to turn off the movie if it was so […]
Hospitals are places where one can get really sick. Nursing facilities are touch and go – like a box of chocolates: you never know what you’re going to get. It could take hours to go to the bathroom; nursing staff can make mistakes on medications; neighbors could have annoying hacking coughs, etc. Home, surrounded by […]
After a long hospital stay, one anticipates the arrival of a loved one back home. I couldn’t think of a subtle way to represent this so I opted for the obvious, as corny as it is. Home is certainly where the heart belongs. So be it.
I originally started this blog in 2013 to record my experiences trying to reach my severely handicapped older brother, with the hope other siblings might know they are not alone with their mixed feelings. My brother Mike, as many of you already know, is very low functioning, autistic and nonverbal. I refer you, dear reader, to several […]
For the past couple of days (see View and View – Update) I’ve posted photos of views from hotel windows. Joy and I don’t usually stay in hotels, but we traveled down south to Burbank and points south for a special reason: Our daughter Sarah’s wedding! It was a real Mickey Mouse operation. Everyone had […]
