Clara Virginia 'Gang' Cosgrave July 15, 1912 ~ October 14 2009

Pictured here is Mags grandmother, 'Gang' and Meself. This was taken sometime last year I believe.

This is a hard post to write. I really don't know if my words can do her justice but I'm going to give it a whirl.

'Gang', as she is known by most everyone who knew her, passed away on October 14th. I got the call at work from a crying Mags. "Gang died," was really all she could say. I told her how sorry I was and told her I would be home from work soon.

Gang was born to parents Harry H. and Clara V Getzendanner Wolfe. The Wolfes had 8 little ones total and Gang was the last surviving of them all. On the day Gang was born, Taft was in office, Photography had been invented & Teddy Roosevelt was shot by a saloon keeper just before he was to give a speech. With a fresh wound and bullet in him, he would give said speech although he would lose to Woodrow Wilson. After Wilson, Gang saw 16 more Presidents elected including the countries first African-American President, our man "B".

Irving Berlin was in vogue as well as a thriving blues and Jazz scene in Chicago and New Orleans.

Folk music legend Woody Guthrie missed sharing her birthday by only a few hours.

She, in her younger days, was fond of going to the local 'beer joint' and cutting the rug. She met and married Robert Lester Cosgrave (who would go on to become one of Montgomery Counties first motorcycle officers) and they settled into Silver Spring, Md where they would have two girls, Virginia (Bubs) and Judy.

She was heavily involved in her grand children's lives, Mags and her siblings living just a few feet away when they were growing up in the area. She helped raise them and was an influential part of their lives.

She was a great cook and although there were times they had little food or money, she would always share what she had. A lot of people claim to be good Christians and good people, but Gang was the real deal. She professed her love for the Lord and prayed several times a day. And not just for herself, everyone. You could call Gang at any time and ask her to pray for you and she would. Sometimes, if you wanted her to, she would pray on the phone with/for you. Folks referred to her as a 'prayer warrior'. My prayers go into God's inbox, but when Gang prayed, he cleared the phones and took her calls.

She made several trips a year to New Jersey to visit the New Jersey Cosgrave clan and I am glad I go to spend the time with her I did in the 9 years I knew her. She was as sweet as I am short and she truly loved everyone. She was a great cook and actually drove her own car until two years ago and tended her own garden and cooked all her own meals up until last year.

There were many trials in her life but she never lost her faith. It's what go her through the tough times and what helped her life to be 97 years old.

Earlier in the year she was diagnosed with breast cancer and she held on, fighting every step, until she could not longer battle. She wanted actually, to die at 97 like her mother did before her, which she did and when she died, she did so peacefully in her home with a smile on her face.

The service in Maryland yesterday was very well done. Gang would have been pleased. Several people stood up and spoke and there was music and of course a lot of tears. A tribute to the person that was Gang.

Gang leaves behind 2 daughters, 9 grand children, 19 great grand children and nine great-great grandchildren. not to mention a boatload of nieces and nephews. Not to mention a lifetime of happy memories. All who knew her loved her.

The world has lost one of it's finest inhabitants but Heaven has gained a bright new star.

Gang we love you and will miss you always.

“Death must be so beautiful. To lie in the soft brown earth, with the grasses waving above one's head, and listen to silence. To have no yesterday, and no to-morrow. To forget time, to forgive life, to be at peace.” ~ Oscar Wilde

Thank God This Little Monster is Off The Street!! PHEW!!!

That was sarcasm by the way. Some time ago I spoke of things in the news that make me say "Are you f*cking kidding me??." This is one of them.

In Delaware a six-year old boyo, seen here with his Mum and Dad, was suspended for bringing a Boy Scout knife, sorry 'camping utensil' to school to eat with. Well, not a knife, you know..like a combo-Swiss army type thing. Spoon, fork, knife, sewing kit, frying pan, trampoline...they all fold out... don't make me draw you guys a picture.

So anyways, young Zach had just become a Boy Scout and was proudly showing off his new Boy Scout camping utensil, and rather than covering his face in the blood of a freshly killed Doe, running his flag up the pole in the school yard, taking over the school screaming, "I'm in charge of this shit now mofos!", ( as officials feared was going to happen when they saw the spoon part of said weapon of destruction) he was simply planning on eating lunch with it. You know, fork, knife, spoon...

School officials decided that the wee lad had violated it's zero-tolerance policy on weapons and suspended him and decided he should serve 45 days in the districts reform school. Honest. Stop laughing, it's true..

Again, are you fucking kidding me? 45 days in a reform school for a camping utensil?? The little dude is 6 years old. It is a camping utensil, it's not even really a knife. OK, there's a knife in there somewhere between the emergency blanket and carrot-peeler. But really, the knife is not quite big enough to slice through Mondays special of Crab cakes and Macaroni, although some eyewitnesses swear they saw the carrots tremble.

He actually had to go before a disciplinary committee with character witnesses. How does a 6 year-old find character witnesses? His mom, of course, her fiancee, Zach's Karate instructor. That of course didn't help, because Zach was in Karate, the committee assumed, he was lookin' for trouble.

Zach's Elmo doll was called but his only complaint was that Zach snored and was a bit of a blanket-hog

The committee got past that and did seem to soften until Zach's Rugby coach came up to speak. "Zach has a big heart and he never quits. He's a team player that gives his all. I love this freakin' kid!" In closing though, he referred to Zach by his on-pitch moniker, maybe hurting his case "MadDog would never hurt a fly." At which point the panel all looked over at Zach and nodded. Politely.

"There is no parent who wants to get a phone call where they hear that their child no longer has two good seeing eyes because there was a scuffle and someone pulled out a knife,” said George Evans, the president of the Christina district’s school board. He defended the decision, but added that the board might adjust the rules when it comes to younger children like Zachary.

"He pulls that knife out and there is no telling what will happen. Don't forget. He's a Boy Scout. Before we know it he'll be whipping up a campfire, tying snares, trapping bears, training the bear to attack his playground rivals, snapping asses with the emergency blanket....just causing mayhem. We can't have mayhem."

So young MadDog waits, as do his parents, for an outcome to their appeal. Hopefully, the school board will overturn their stupid-ass decision and let the little guy go back to school.

What Do You Mean You're Cutting Back on My Treats???

So tonight I harnessed CrazyDog and drove up to Route9 to see his vet, Dr. Scott. It had been a little over a year and the pooch needed two shots and a physical. Dr. Scott is a great vet and he truly cares about his patients. And he's cool too. He'll actually spend the time with you and explain all that needs 'splainin'.

So generally, CrazyDog is good in the car. He's a bit nervous by nature and he will not sit in the car. This makes his owner/chauffeur nervous, but we get there without incident. Last time we were here, CrazyDog dropped a few little Havanas on the tile floor of Dr. Scotts office. I offered to clean up after him but was told that was not necessary. A young guy, an intern I'm guessing came out of the back with a scooper and bin for the offensive offering. This time, I'm happy to report, the only thing dropped on the floor were two drops of drool. (From me when I saw the bill....)

So CrazyDog got a clean bill of health aside form one tiny thing. He is overweight. 5 pounds or so. Now I have to cut back on his feedings. And honestly, I thought his servings were spot on. 'Not so', said Dr. Scott. So he gave me a recommended dose and said to work the pooch a little more. More exercise, less treats. Bummer eh?

Anyways ...the dog is good and healthy for another year.

Woof.

Much Ado About Nothing

So Mags has been home a week now and she is still down and out. She coughs alot and is still feeling like crap. She awoke again the other night with horrible 'night-sweats' and is now developing another problem. She is under the care of some good doctors but still the time it is taking her to heal is frustrating to all of us. Especially her. Her son came over today and the boy was clearly worried about her. He began to lecture her on various ways she should be taking care of herself. I think it bugged Mags a bit but he is worried about her and it wouldn't show anymore on his face if her were wearing a neon-sign across his chin that said..well..."I'm worried about you." He left a bit frustrated. He is a great guy and is sincerely concerned about his mother. He expressed concern about her medication and was mentioning that one of the greatest threats was an error made by hospital or pharmacy regarding her medication. Wrong pills. Wrong dose. Etc. I tried to assure him that I take care of her meds and I am very careful about reading directions, warnings, side-effects etc. He was still shaken when he left. At the moment, Mags is lying down having a little siesta. Whatever this is it is kicking her arse. She apologizes for sleeping so much and I tell her that it is okay. This is part of healing. She needs the rest.

Last night and this afternoon we spent a few hours catching up on everything I had DVR'd while she was hospitalized.

I spent the morning weeding our flower beds. Getting them ready for winter. I pulled out some nasty looking things and we now have a creeping flowery kind of thing in our yard. I don't know where it came from but it is tough to remove. I also laid some of that fabricky stuff you put down to keep weeds from growing up. You know what I mean...like a blanket and you cut around the plants...I just don't know what its called. Pleased with myself, I went to the shed for some mulch to put over that and realized we had none. So tomorrow I'm going to Lowes for a bag or two of mulch. Glad I got it done early because now it is raining.

Speaking of the shed, there is no longer any signs of the rat.

Work is going well. We are having some issues with the second shift guys but hopefully that will be remedied soon. I'm really liking this job I think. The bosses are cool and my coworkers are cool too.

I am continuously putting songs into my iPod. It's amazing how much is there and there are still cd's I haven't loaded. Maybe today....

A Hospital is For Rest. Right?

Well, Mother Nature has been promising rain all day, the sky covered in heavy gray clouds, and now finally, she's making good. Thunder is rumbling somewhere south of here and seems to be getting closer. The rain started to fall in tiny drops as I was leaving the hospital and now home, it is falling heavier.

I just got in from a visit with Mags who is still not feeling good. Her lungs are in bad shape. She is on oxygen and still getting breathing treatments with Albuterol. The most crucial part of her recovery, rest, is not available to her because of her roommate. Her roommate is an 84 year old woman who, apparently has dementia. The woman shouts and yells all day. Her kids (who are in their 50's and 60's) come to see her and they don't talk to her. They yell. Mom is as deaf as a rock even with her hearing aids, and everything must be screamed into her tiny little ears. So they yell back and forth to each other for all of the alloted 10 hours of visiting time. She howls all night. For the nurse to come. For my wife (who she is convinced, has a twin sister staying in the room with them) to help her in and out of her bed. (She's actually always in bed) She hallucinates and one of them she was sure as certain that her doctor called her and told her she had a brain tumor and apparently she called all her kids in the middle of the night to tell them this. She yells for her kids at one in the morning. Mags has not had more than one night of sleep. That one night was her first night when her roomie a pleasant little old lady of Czechoslavakian decent. Sadly she left. The room. Not like 'this World' or anything...

Anyways. The nurses have had to come in and tell her to be quiet several times per night because she is disturbing her roommate. She becomes beligerent and this goes on and on. I wondered aloud why they couldn't just give her a little sumpin' in her Taipoca to knock her ass out, but apparently that is not allowed.

Today, after yet another night of no sleep because of Mamma CuckoPants, Mags demanded her roommate be moved. They told her no, but we can move you. Mags was like "no freakin' way. I was here first and I have a window view. Besides I'm not the problem." So her nurse today (who was excellent by the way) told her problem patient was being moved. Never happened. Hopefully tomorrow.

She'll Be Getting Her Own Parking Spot Soon

I speak of my lovely wife, who is hospitalized. She has been sick for some time now and this past weekend she was really down and out. I mean this girl is tougher than Chinese arithmetic but man oh man, she was worn out. She had run a fever since Thursday, alternating freezing, sweating buckets and slept alot. A-LOT. Not to mention the horrible cough than had her awake most of the nights. Not only does that hurt your ribs, throat etc, but it is also tough on your ticker.

On Monday she finally decided to go to the ER and she was promptly admitted.

She is receiving IV antibiotics and steroids. Plus breathing treatments and she is on oxygen. I went for a brief visit tonight and she seemed better although the cough is lingering. Hopefully she will be home tomorrow or Thursday.

She is in good hands as the staff at CentraState is taking excellent care of her.

Now We're Talkin'

$5605.00

I Smell a Rat..and See One Too

So this morning started early. I awoke with Mags and trudged downstairs to make her tea at 430 or so. She, in the meantime, had gotten up to take a hot hot shower hoping that the heat and steam would warm her and help clear all the crap out of her head/nose area. While she was showering I stripped the bed and threw the sweat soaked sheets into the wash. Mags went down to the chair and put a movie on while I crawled into the bed in the guestroom and was able to get a nice hour nap in.

After that I went out to our shed. The shed needs to be cleaned up once or twice a year and Thursday when retrieving the mower, I noticed all the bags in the shed..grass-seed, rose fertilizer, grass fertilizer, etc, etc had massive holes chewed in them. As did the large plastic snap-top container which held bird seed. Now these holes were too big to be made by the resident field mouse. I suspect a rat and when I put the mower away, something small, fast and hairy darts into the corner. I'm too tired and a little leery of tangling with a rat. So this morning I go to the shed, pull everything out ans sweep up mounds of bird seed, grass seed and rat poo. I dispose of all the offending stuff and start to put everything back into the shed.

I feel that the wee beastie must be in there still and when I almost done I decided to check my golf-bag. I lift my nine iron and sure enough, like he is being shot out of a cannon, a rat propels himself out of my bag, off my chest, down my leg and into the woods behind the shed. I close up the shed, go to the house and wash my hands with anti-bacterial soap three or so times and now I'm searching the web for ways to get rid of said rodent.

PS... anyone want to buy a set of golf clubs?