Good Riddence 2008, Hello 2009

2008 was not a good year, especially for me personally.  2008 did have some great moments though.

About two hours into2008 my father passed away.  He had taken ill in December 2007 and was in the hospital.  I was staying at my brother’s house in Oklahoma City when the call came from the hospital for us to get there – he had “coded.”  Coincidentally, this was the same hospital where this brother was born in December 1959.  My mom passed away 18 months before my Dad, in June 2006.   I’ve written posts saying goodbye to my mom & dad.

So now I start off 2008 at age 40 with no parents.

A week later friend of a friend needed a ride to Rhode Island to start a new teaching job.  She had just bought my friend’s used car but she was still learning to drive a stick and she wasn’t comfortable driving that distance in an automatic car much less a manual.  The drive up was great — we got to know each other on the road.  She is a black female in her 50s – a native of St Louis.  She is a Harvard PhD (undergrad too). She was a Hillery supporter, I was for Obama.  We left St Louis early in the morning of Monday the 14th.

When we arrived at our destination the following afternoon, I left her and her car at her new apartment in Bristol, R.I. (map), just south of Providence.  From that point I became a transit user.  I caught the bus a block from her new place that took me to downtown Providence (map).  After a night in Providence I took the train up to Boston.

Boston was a great experience.  It was cold out but the sidewalks & subway were teaming with people.

I flew back to St Louis arriving back at my place around 1:30am on the 18th – less than four days after leaving.  From the airport I was on the final MetroLink train.  But as we were heading back to the city the conductor announces the last stop would be Grand.  Realizing I did not want to be at the Grand stop after midnight, tired with luggage, I got off at the CWE stop and called a taxi to take me home.

The trip was certainly a good distraction from the loss of my father.

Back home I jumped right back into my life by attending a charrette in Old North St Louis on the 19th.  It was cold but I rode my scooter to get there – I didn’t own a car so my choices were few.

On Tuesday the 22nd I started the semester at Saint Louis University.

The following week started off normally enough — Gateway Mall press conference, Preservation Board meeting, Marine Villa neighborhood meeting watching residents elect new officers, and a hearing at City Hall on the morning of the 31st.  On the 24th I finally got an iPhone – the price had come down and AT&T now offered business accounts.

An Aunt of mine, wife of one of my Dad’s brothers, died in Texas on the 27th of January.

I had a real estate closing scheduled for the 31st at noon but there was a delay on the Buyer’s side — I had the Seller’s side of the deal.  That night it snowed.

The morning of Friday February 1st I snapped a few pictures of the snow from my balcony and from the roof.  I discussed having dinner with a friend.  I continued my email conversation with my friend Richard Kenney in Seattle about wanting to find a good spot at Bellefontaine Cemetery for when my time was up.  Then, around 5pm, it happened – a hemorrhagic stroke.  I’ll save the details for the anniversary of the stroke but basically I didn’t think I would survive — and I nearly did not.

I spent February 2nd – April 30th in three hospitals.  My recovery has been amazing.  I’m probably 65% at this point.  I’ll probably be at 95% in a year or so.

I started driving again in July and I bought my first tank of gas for my newly purchased car on July 14 — the day St Louis gas prices peaked.

In August I resumed work on my Masters degree at Saint Louis University.  I’m past the halfway point and I expect to graduate on December 11, 2009.

The economy took a nosedive in 2008. Foreclosures rose sharply as did the list of unemployed.

In November the country impressed me by electing Barack Obama to be President.  We’ll see how well he does.  Some are naturally upset by some of his choices for his cabinet.

Going into 2009 I’m optimistic about my own future and that of our city, state, country and world.  I’m in a better mindset than I was a year ago.

Thank you to all of you for your continued support in 2008.  Peace. – Steve

Males Dominate Readership

The reader survey is still open but I thought I’d share the results so far on one question: gender.  As the pie chart to the right shows, nearly 75% of the respondents to the survey are male.

I’m kinda shocked by this.  I was guessing maybe 60/40 but not 72/28.  I know lots of women that are into urban issues.  Is the material covered here just more appealing to men?

After the survey closes at the end of 2008 I’ll begin to prepare charts to show the answers on all questions, except the ones I’m tossing out such as sexual orientation, race & religion.

Happy New Year to my readers – male & female.

I Walked To Lunch Today

Walking downtown is one of the things I’ve missed since returning home after my three months in the hospital following my stroke on Feb 1st.  The electric wheelchair is great but there is just something different about getting somewhere only using your own power.  Walking & bicycling are the two ways to enjoy this great feeling and up to now both had been taken away from me.

I’d been practicing walking around the block in the evenings but today I walked the farthest I have since my stroke, roughly 4/10ths of a mile to a luncheon at Lucas Park Grille.

That fraction under a half mile took me 40 minutes.  Ditto for the walk back. Getting back my urban life of walking, bicycling and scooting is a great motivator.    Despite the heat and the slowness of my pace it felt great to walk to a destination.  Next time perhaps Bridge & Tunnel Pizza at Tucker?  After that dinner at Mosaic or Kitchen K, both at 10th & Washington Ave.

Please Excuse the Technical Difficulties

Technology is great when it works. A couple of weeks ago my right sidebar disappeared when I tried to add some new code. Earlier today a programmer was trying to fix that problem and the main index file disappeared. We had all this backed up but it is not accepting the backup. Good thing I’m on lots of medication for high blood pressure!

To get the site up and running again I had to at least temporarily select a new theme. Please bear with me as we get these issues resolved. A note to advertisers — your ads will be back up ASAP. – Steve

A Stroke of Insight

When I moved into my loft this past November I didn’t move any of my three televisions. I haven’t missed TV at all, I read far more now, I watch DVDs on my computer and we always have TED online. TED is an annual conference about ideas — in particular “ideas worth spreading.” I’ve watched many of the presentations. Last week I received an email with the TED top ten and there at #1 was one I had watched while in the hospital following my stroke:

Neuroanatomist Jill Bolte Taylor had an opportunity few brain scientists would wish for: One morning, she realized she was having a massive stroke. As it happened — as she felt her brain functions slip away one by one, speech, movement, understanding — she studied and remembered every moment. This is a powerful story about how our brains define us and connect us to the world and to one another.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyyjU8fzEYU[/youtube]

My stroke was different than hers in that mine was on the right side of my brain. Especially at the time my speech was slowed and slurred but it was never totally lost. My long term memory was fully intact. I recall in the hospital seeing other stroke patients able to walk and move their arms but struggling to speak. I don’t think I’d trade places with them if I could, even though reprogramming my brain to operate my left side and to give me sitting & standing balance as been a major challenge.

My short term memory is greatly improved although if you were to tell me your phone number I might struggle to remember it long enough to dial it. A note to people that use the phone — call people from the number you want them to call back on.

Dr. Taylor’s presentation is very moving, I can see why it is #1.  It has been more than a decade since her stroke.  I know that once my recovery time is measured in years, instead of months, I too will be fully recovered.  Now that will be “neat.”