My wife Lisa...

...said her final goodbyes to her oldest son Thursday afternoon.

Josh was transported with a brain aneurysm from Clarksville to Skyline Hospital in Nashville by medi-flight Wednesday morning, brain dead, on a respirator and not responding to any stimuli at all.

We were going to have them turn the machines off Thursday afternoon but because Lisa agreed to donate his organs, it wasn't possible. Due to the coordination required between time of death and taking the organs, as well as notifying recipients, the young hospice lady we talked to advised Lisa that it would be best to say her final goodbyes Thursday, and after they have time to make the necessary preparations, they'll turn the machines off Friday and immediately take him into the operating room upon him being pronounced. This very compassionate woman also gave Lisa her word that Josh would not die alone, that she would be there with him holding his hand as he passed and would play some of his favorite songs if Lisa would provide her with them, which was done.
At least this way there would be some good coming from his death. Lives will be saved and maybe other mothers won't have to mourn the deaths of their children.

The entire staff there was absolutely wonderful. I was expecting them to be very business-like and cold - after all, they see this every day - but everybody that came into the room from the counselor to the doctors sat with Lisa and held her. Even the cleaning lady that was emptying the trash cans held Lisa and cried with her.
All of our questions were answered by the young lady that talked to us about the organ donations, with her even providing us with a list of funeral homes that would handle the cremation. She even so far as to give us her personal cell number and told us to call any time, day or night, if we had any questions. She also said she would call when they turned the machines off, then again when Josh passed.

Needless to say, it's been a very emotional and difficult past couple of days. Lisa is just devastated and I'm helpless, unable to take any of her pain from the woman I love and vowed to protect. The only thing I can do is to hold her and be there for her. I'm not an emotional person at all, but I've shed more tears for my wife these past two days than I have the past 40 years combined.
Please keep us in your prayers.

I'm taking a break here for at least a couple days

Lisa and myself are fine but we've had a medical emergency in the family. Out of consideration for Lisa, I don't want to disclose what it is, but we spent all day down in Nashville at the hospital Wednesday so I didn't get a chance to schedule anything for today, and I'm going to be at the hospital again Thursday so that shoots Friday's posts in the ass too. I may give you a status update Friday, I don't know. We'll see how it rolls.
I need to be there for my wife. Family first, right?
I'll let y'all know what's going on when I can, but until then I beg your patience and understanding. I'd appreciate some prayers for Lisa too, she really needs them at this time.
Thank you.

KETCHIKAN --The Timber Years

This a great video. What a life to live, not just for the adults but for the kids too.
Sent in by Elmo.

The natives are restless in LA

Protests over the death of George Floyd drew thousands of people Saturday to the Fairfax District, where a police car went up in flames at one intersection.

Flames and billows of black smoke rose from the car, which was covered spray painted markings. Sky5 was overhead when someone went up to the car and bashed its windows and vandalized it before it burst into flames.

The scene Saturday was similar to one in downtown Los Angeles the night before, when thousands walked through the streets in joining nationwide demonstrations over Floyd’s death. A police SUV outside the InterContinental hotel near 7th and Figueroa streets was consumed by towering flames.
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The shit I post on Facebook

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Target: "OH HELL NO, NOT AGAIN"

Target announced it is temporarily closing many of its stores across the country as people protest and march against the police custody death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

The list of closures includes dozens of locations in Minnesota, and several locations across the country, including Northern California. Target in a release said staff impacted by the store closes will be paid for up to 14 days of scheduled hours, including COVID-19 premium pay.
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Should've listened

Former Nashville mayoral candidate Carol Swain said she warned Mayor John Cooper to prepare for possible violence following Saturday’s protests downtown.

Cooper responded with a polite thank you — and, apparently, little else.
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Well, this is a shocker

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s daughter was arrested at a Manhattan protest on Saturday night, law enforcement sources told The Post on Sunday.

Chiara de Blasio, 25, was taken into custody around 10:30 p.m. after cops declared an unlawful assembly at 12th Street and Broadway in Lower Manhattan, the sources said.

She had allegedly been blocking traffic on Broadway and was arrested after refusing to move, the source said.
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Wednesday gifdump

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What. the. fuck.

Richmond, Virginia, Police Chief Will Smith choked back tears during a press conference in describing how rioters torched a home with a child inside and then blocked firefighters from responding.

“Last night, protesters intentionally set a fire to an occupied building on Broad Street,” Chief Smith told reporters Sunday. “This is not the only occupied building that has been set fire to over the last two days, but they prohibited us from getting on scene. We had to force our way to make a clear path for the fire department. Protesters intercepted that fire apparatus several blocks away with vehicles and blocked that fire department’s access to the structure fire. Inside that home was a child.
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Talks shit about the federal government, decides to take their money anyways

California Senate Democrats are poised to reject $14 billion in budget cuts proposed by Gov. Gavin Newsom earlier this month, choosing instead to craft a spending plan that looks for other ways to erase the state’s deficit and assumes additional money for schools and social services will come from the federal government by early September.
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Telehealth Proves Essential During COVID-19

Patients needing care should not fear catching an illness from a doctor’s office, said U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) in a press release Friday.

Telehealth, Blackburn said, has proven an immensely beneficial form of delivering treatment during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ new rule to increase telehealth access for Medicare Advantage recipients in rural areas is a solid step toward expanding coverage for Americans in need, Blackburn said.
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*****

All of Lisa's doctor's appointments over the last couple months have been by video call. It's actually been pretty nice not having to drive her down to Gallatin and me sitting in a waiting room for an hour or two.

He's been watching too many fantasy movies

STOCKTON (CBS13) — A man armed with a medieval-looking mace was arrested Wednesday night after reportedly fighting with another person.
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Brainwashing and the New Vocabulary: 12 Words and Phrases I Never Want to Hear Again

Remember how after September 11th happened, there was that nasty bill that formed the TSA and authorized all sorts of surveillance against the American people and they called it, ironically, The Patriot Act?

Of course, we knew then that the bill was anything but patriotic, however, that didn’t stop it from being passed and trampling all over the Constitution. The word “patriot” was perverted by those in power who wanted everyone to fall into lockstep with the unconstitutional searches at airports and many other invasions into our privacy.
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-Heathen

Your Wednesday Morning Florida Report

SARASOTA, Fla. (WWSB) - A registered nurse is in jail after investigators say she stole oxycodone from her Sarasota employer.

According to the pharmacy in the facility where Monica Graham was employed, the automated medication dispensing system alerted personnel to three separate transactions in which Graham used her coworker’s account to remove oxycodone from the machine.
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Good Morning

U.S. Judge Rips PG&E Resistance to Stricter Safety Measures

A federal judge laced into PG&E Corp. for its resistance to his demands that the California utility adopt stricter wildfire safety measures.

“If ever there was a corporation that deserved to go to prison it is PG&E for the people it killed in California,” U.S. District Judge William Alsup said during a virtual hearing Thursday. “PG&E is a recalcitrant criminal and I’m going to do everything within my power to protect the people of California from further crimes and further destruction by PG&E.”
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-Elmo

Farmer's daughter makes a fashion statement

Bay Area Woman Arrested For Posting Racist Notes At Homes

SAN LEANDRO, Calif. (AP) — A woman in the San Francisco Bay Area has been arrested on suspicion of posting handwritten messages at several homes, targeting Asian Americans and suggesting that those not native to the United States should leave the country immediately.

Police in San Leandro, a suburb of 89,000 just south of Oakland, said officers were called to the Heron Bay neighborhood Friday evening after receiving reports of notes containing “insensitive messages towards minorities” taped to five homes.
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Probably should wear sunglasses for that one