Terrible three crashes in one night in Holiday FL
Last night was crazy! I believe it was the most traumatic experience I have witnessed in the short time that I have been on this planet. A series of three accidents that change many lives in just an instant.
Yesterday; I got a text from my mom, who lives a couple of miles away from me, asking if Sarah was working. I told her she was, and that I would let her know Mom was trying to get a hold of her. My mom was looking to get Sarah to pick up dinner for my Nana. I don’t know what my parents are doing that prevented them from picking up food, but who really cares, I was it was for my Nana. I took the kids to get food for dinner, and from there went to trade them with my wife at work for work (she worked first shift, I’m working second shift). Sarah was pissed I bought dinner because now she had to cook instead of getting fast food from where my Nana was getting her food. Well I wanted healthy food for dinner, so I told her I would be going to Winn Dixie to get grub.
At dinner time (around 7 when the night stock guy came in) I went over to Winn Dixie and got what I needed to fill my empty pit, some call a belly. As I pulled into my parking spot back at work I saw a multi-car accident in the south bound side of US 19. There was a guy in a button up shirt and slacks running from his car to the car that caused the horrific string of events about to unwind in front of us. The distance between his car and the other was over 150 feet, and two other smashed cars, (4 cars total) all in the southbound lanes. He was 150 feet plus past the light heading south the girl that caused all this was 5 feet or so from the light at the intersection of 19 and alt 19. Like it will ever matter but the alleged driver was Brittany Anello, she had a blood alcohol level of .177. She was trashed, and was trying to argue with people at the scene. She wasn’t taking any responsibility for her actions. Meanwhile EMTs showed up they carted off a pregnant lady that said she could no longer see out of one of her eyes. Someone else left right after and then people from the car that caused this were hauled off also (I believe) the scene was settling down and I went inside to eat. I cashed out Brie (our day bartender) out for the evening and did some laundry upstairs for the lounge.
When I got back downstairs and took my position by the front door; I heard a bang and thought the tow trucks were finally leaving. I wanted to see them off, so I stepped outside, and instead of seeing departing tow trucks, I see a motorcycle on its side and two people blocking traffic. They were not the riders of the bike; they were saving him from being run over by speeding motorists. A nurse looking person began to aid the cyclist Mark V. Berry. Mark was riding with his father for a Sunday evening ride. As they passed our entrance way off of 19; his front brake caliper locked up causing him to go over the handlebars much like what would happen on a normal bicycle, its just he was doing 60 miles an hour or so from what was being said right there. Everyone heard a pop sound then he went flying, Mark landed on his head and stop moving. I thought he was dead, right there in front of me. His father was by his side but the first responders (who were from the first accident) were pushing him back. Mr Berry tossed his helmet to the ground and broke down into tears as his son laid motionless in the middle lane on the most dangerous road in America. Sheriff and fire trucks blocked the northbound lane leaving the southbound lanes unattended and open. Even though there was still a car in the road from the first wreck. People heading north kept the firefighters and the sheriff’s distracted because they thought they had a right to pass the emergency vehicles because they were in a hurry. Mark still motionless had people trying their hardest to save him.
Denise Gajuss sat across the street at the first accident. She is the wife of one of the tow truck drivers. She sees there is a need for more help with the motorcyclist and she and her husband began to cross the empty 3 southbound lanes thought to be still blocked by the Sheriff. First lane safe, second lane safe, third lane, I hear a motor revving up, a crash, and see a cell phone flying straight up. The phones screen
was on the glowing a dim blue display. My first thought was the mirror on the Toyota 4 Runner hit the tow truck driver’s phone and kept going. But wait, I don’t see the second person. Oh no, it wasn’t a mirror on phone, it was a person on speeding Toyota. Denise’s husband lost it right then and there. I can not blame him, I would have reacted much in the same way if I had saw my wife just two steps in front of me snatched away forever. First responders rushed to her side, but returned to the motorcyclist almost just as quickly as they left. Denise expired from the impact. She laid in the street covered with a white cloth for over an hour before being loaded into the corner’s van. Bay Flight showed up minutes after Mark wrecked his motorcycle. Before the chopper arrived he was moved to an ambulance where his body and nervous system came to life. We could hear him call out wildly in pain. The EMTs tried with all they had to help him. The tow truck driver was being consoled on the southbound side walk, when where I stood, his son arrived. Bystanders pointed in the direction of his father and a fireman started to guide him across 19, they
almost passed the fire truck that shielded his mother’s lifeless body from his site. The son knew immediately why the firefighter stopped. He broke down and pushed pass the firefighter, he made his way to his father. Consoling turned to anger and a distraught son tried in vain to make it to the driver that had taken his mother from him way too early in life. Friends and others pushed him back to his father side where he remained, for as long as I witnessed the unfolding tragedy.
The investigation process took over. Drivers angrily argued their right to pass; and still, they were forced to turn back. That really turned my stomach to see how many people really did not care what had just happen to their fellow human. I am just glad that the people trying to help out numbered the crap bags on the road.
The saddest part of the story to me is that it’s true. It breaks my heart to remember, after everything was said and done; a firefighter had to hose down the road and wash away any and all remains of what happened last night. That poor lady was just washed away and no one who traveled 19 heading south last night will know she was there or what had happen just a short time before. May God bless the people she left behind.
Goodnight drive safe.
3rd Annual Echo Florida
The 3rd Annual Echo Florida course is a comprehensive review of cardiovascular ultrasound in clinical practice. The faculty is composed of U.S. and international experts who will discuss the strengths and limitations of established and emerging technologies and illustrate how these technologies can be used to improve and streamline patient care in a cost conscious manner. There is heavy emphasis on case based learning. Topics include: Coronary artery disease including stress testing Valvular heart disease Heart failure (systolic and diastolic) and cardiomyopathy Emerging technologies including contrast and 3D/4D echocardiography Special full day session on new percutaneous interventions for structural and valvular heart disease. Case based lectures will also be presented to demonstrate how 2D and real time 3D/4D echocardiography are used to select, guide and follow these interventions.
I can not wait for this. I am not sure what all to expect but am still excited all the same. I will take many pictures and write all about my experience. Look back soon for the full scoop of things and if I will do it again.
Quick Hello
It always seems way to long between writings. I have taken up keeping a hand written journal, though that wont help me in writing to Ariana Lore Shirk. I Googled her name today and well her and I show up everywhere. . GOOD.
So Harvey is getting big and trying to walk. 
Reagan is going to be 4 a little over a month.
Macey is doing great in kindergarten.
I know you would believe that I would always have so much to write you Arrianna (I know I use different spellings, it is to help Google to find this blog) but as I am getting older I am becoming more private in my life and I only wish there was a way to just write you so only you could see these. Some day I guess.
Life is going good. I work a lot and eat a lot of sushi now. Yep lots of fresh fish. The kids and I are going to church regularly again and I plan to keep it that way. Sarah works on Sundays for now so she hasn’t been going with us. I plan on getting us to Wednesday services soon. I am studying my echo stuff on much of my free time (which isn’t much at all) I am learning a lot and am going to Disney this week for and Echo convention. I need some CEU’s. I have Saturday nights off now and cant wait to start camping in the back yard with Macey and Reagan.
Well good night.
Michael Trump
Schwinn Tourist
On my faster than I thought post I got to write a bit about my new Schwinn Tourist and since then some time has past; I am riding it all the time. I take it to my second job and to the beach (when I can); soon I hope to start taking my Tourist on longer trips. Clearwater and to my aunts would be great trips to set out on since both are 40 plus mile round trips.
There is my beast. No the back tire is not bigger than the front tire. I have been watching some videos and such on this style of bike, road bike cross over, and people seem to love it. I went from a mountain bike to this and I am very happy. I was afraid that the tires would not handle the bumps of Pasco county road ways but so far so good. I plan on taking the bike in to a local shop soon to have it looked over and made sure that everything is snug and greased and such. I don’t want to be heading down to the beach and have something fall off or come apart. So far the Schwinn has been very snug and it shifts great. I use the gears a lot because of all the street lights and traffic, in doing so I used far less energy to get back up to speed after having to slow for someone who thinks there car means they have the right of way.
There furthest I have taken my bike was a thirteen mile round trip. It was from my house to our local nice beach. The path there had so decent views and took me through down town Tarpon area. I stuck to the side walks because the roads are so narrow and yet people still try to do 40pmr. I hope Tuesday I can make another trip there.
This road bike party video give me so much inspiration to keep getting on my bike and using it to its fullest. Now don’t get me wrong, there is no way in hell I am going to be doing any of awesome stuff these guys do.
Hey Arianna Shirk,
I just want to say Hi. I hope you are well. I would love to see you some day soon.
Mike
Mountain of a mole crumbles
A mole story, make it a multi mole story.
A life time of sharing my physical space with brown, some pink, misplaced little photo bombing monsters, may soon be coming to an acidic end. I feel as though my physical land scape is plagued with these little things, who number close to a hundred, and am always conscious of where they are on my body as to not unintentionally snag them on anything that may have the ability to puncture, tear, or pull them off. Moles seem to take for ever to achieve a strong clot once torn open, and have no problem bleeding all day long if given the chance. I see them in pictures taken of me and they stand out like oil spots on a new drive way; I have learned 
to ignore them for the most part. I always say, “Some day I will have these possibly dangerous piles of skin taken off and live a life mole free.” I choose the ones that would go first because of their size and continuous desire to make contact with object sharper then they. Two of the first four to go look like little nipples on my back, poking through any shirt I cover them with, while the other two hide on the side of my belly, not really bothering anything but my shirtless pictures. Still, life goes on, and one day they will all go away.
I stumbled across a meme on face book while scrolling through my news feed looking for interesting things my peeps were up to.
This meme was right to the point, hinting to how a mole can be removed over time with a little help from a well know house hold product. I didn’t buy into the meme at first, thinking that cutting or heat treating were the only ways to remove them, plus I don’t often follow links away from Facebook so that I don’t get viruses and such. But the meme did plant a seed in the back of my head that started germinating almost immediately, and with such intensity I felt compelled to do a little research; I watched some video testimonials of successful removals . They were enough to give me some willingness to try this method on four of my previously chosen moles. Before purchasing the needed supplies, I read blogs and forums explaining the do’s and don’ts of using the vinegar method of mole removal. Some of the sites talked about using Iodine only and Iodine assisted technics to remove the mole. The vinegar method, according to just about every testimonial takes about five to seven days to completely remove an unwanted mole. Now I was convinced enough to collect my supplies and start testing the truths to this home remedy on my person.
I photographed most of my journey so that i could make a good review of how this all works. It has been a journey of much fun, and a little stress too. Each picture is going to show my progress relieving my body of these pesky little things.
My recipe for this method is as follows:
1) Large band-aids
2) Water proof Medical tape
3) Cotton balls
4) Q-tips
5) Apple cider vinegar
6) Iodine
This daily task includes.
Before bed; cut the water proof tape to the same length as the band-aid. Take a cotton ball out and cut it to the size of the mole so it comes in contact with as little skin as possible. The vinegar is acidic; it can and will, if given the chance, irritate the normal flesh around the mole. I did leave a lot of the cotton ball whole so that I knew it was getting enough vinegar to the mole. Soak and squeeze out cotton ball with apple cider vinegar. Place on mole apply medical tape over mole at an angle as such so that any vinegar left in the cotton ball will run down your skin and not into the glue of the tape. Open band-aid and place across the tape and cotton ball creating an X shape. You could use just the medical tape to create this X but i think using the band-aid helps to absorb some of the vinegar while you sleep. This set up will rest on the Mole over night and then be promptly removed in the morning. There may be some irritation on the skin in the morning, if it is severe, use some common sense and don’t do it again. I found most of my tissue irritation came from tearing the tape off my skin each morning. After taking off the tape and cotton ball, gently clean the area and apply some kind of A&D ointment to any irritated area less the mole. The mole will need to be left alone while cleaning and soothing the surrounding tissue; because after the undressed area is dry a Q-tip can be dipped in to Iodine and dabbed on to the mole. I would say, like, ten times a day. That is how most everyone recommends the Iodine assisted method. I chose not to follow my peers advice and went with my own plan. I will talk about that and recommend against creating new and seemingly intelligent ideas that haven’t been first tried out on someone else first. You’re welcome.
The first day after taking off the dressings was less than impressive. There didn’t seem to be any changes in the mole, except for a little paleness that could be attributed to being damp all night. The next few days were the same as the first, and my thoughts were, “this is supposed to work in five to seven day, I’m screwed. Lets research how I can speed this process up.” Looking into the Iodine assisted method looked encouraging but time consuming. “I put apple cider vinegar on my skin every night, lets put Iodine on a cotton ball and leave in on my mole over night and in the morning switch to back to vinegar.”
DON’T DO IT. I am your test dummy. I tried it and, well, the Iodine burnt my flesh! When I applied the cotton ball soaked with Iodine to my moles the slight sting was almost immediate. Now it was in no way a sting that would alarm a person into immediately removing the bandages. It was the slightest of tingling that I convinced myself was from the previous nights of using apple cider vinegar to burn off the moles. Being close to bed time, I wanted to see if the tingling sting would increase much.
After about ten minutes I made a decision to have a few shots and let the alcohol lull me to sleep and anesthetize the irritation. That worked very well allowing a great night sleep with no interruptions from the work being done on my moles. In the morning, on the other hand, was a completely different story. I woke with a start and immediately ripped off the bandages I could reach, and called for my wife to get the other two I couldn’t reach. Her reaction was a slap to the back of my head encouraging me to never do that again. We didn’t know the extent of my burns since it really just looked like the Iodine just stained my skin. Not until after cleaning around the mole did I realize the extent of my new condition. I had some pretty bad burns. With that said. I do recommend using Iodine with the vinegar but dab the Iodine multiple time a day and reserve the vinegar for the longer stretches since it is less damaging to the skin.
The following days after my self inflicted burns, I just kept applying the A&D ointment, with the aid of my wife, and just left the 
unsightly and sometimes oozing moles alone. As the moles dried up and died they formed a scab that continuously itched. As it itched I scratched, gently of course, and they were almost always on my mind. As the damaged dermis tissue healed, it too itched and let me know that what I had done wasn’t well planned out, and that the next moles on my murder list should be taken in a more thought out manner. Our skin is an amazing piece of work and heals up great while the mole just dies and falls off, as what is about to happen to this little guy. When I started taking the dead pealing skin off from around the dying mole, it was so thick from how deep the Iodine had penetrated, it felt like finger nail.
All four of my first moles are now dead and gone 
for the most part; my skin is all about healed. I plan on now starting the vinegar application again to get out the remaining roots that the Iodine couldn’t reach. I have another mole on my side that I am trying to remove with cryotherapy. I have plenty to remove, so I am going to try other methods that are claimed to work as a home remedy.
This post should not be used in anyway to treat, diagnose or anything else with your medical conditions. This is just my experience and what I would do, the same or differently, for myself. No matter how you think you interpret the above I am not suggesting you try it, nor am I giving you medical advice.
Sitting at the hospital
We are here, all three of us, at the hospital waiting for shift change so that Sarah can be started on this delivery. Macey and Reagan are at my parents house not going back to sleep like they were hopping, sorry guys.
Sarah is just laying here answering text messages and watching tv. Labor hasn’t really set in yet and may not for a while since Reagan took all day during the his delivery. She is going to try to brave this birth with out any epidural to block the pain. I am so proud of her.
I am sitting next to her waiting for my new baby boy. I haven’t had any sleep yet and am not tierd either; this alertness is not just a result of personal excitement. Last night, I had for the first time in a while a large amount of caffine after dinner and that set me up for no sleep.
I am going to cut this short and get back to enjoying my time with my wife. I’ll write later to let everyone know how Harvey’s birth day went.
Blue tooth keyboard
My parents just picked up two blue tooth keyboards and I have just kiddnappd one of them to play with for a few minutes. It is a sumacLife keyboard. The keys are a little stiff but I am sure that with time they will loosen up.
While I am here.
Sarah will be having our third baby tonight or in the morning. She is 4cm dialated so any minute now we will get to meet Harvey H. Trump. I am very excited about all of this. I am going to keep this at that and will write more when we are in the hospital tonight or tomorrow.
Duck Lust
12-12-12
I woke today just like I would wake on any other day of the week. Tired. My bother in law is in town; sleeping in the living room on a comfortable air mattress waiting to be woken up by the smell of cooking food or my two little ones jumping on his belly. Mikey doesn’t come by all to often since there is an unfortunate seventy-five mile gap between our home and his, and we generally have opposing schedules. Today though, is not one of these days. He, Sarah, the kids and I are going to have a blast and we don’t even know it yet.
Mikey made it a point to be the one to cook an amazing breakfast with our wonderful tasty fresh eggs, most of which were laid this morning while we slept in a bit. There was non left to scrap out to the birds after we had our fill. Sarah made us French pressed coffee with a splash of sugar cookie creamer to sweeten the bitterness of Black Silk. After most breakfasts we plan out dinner and the rest of the day, this wasn’t one of those days. I kinda knew what was going to be for dinner but no one was really talking about it.
My nephew showed up shortly after breakfast and Sarah started planning our afternoon. We loaded up the kids and headed to the sponge docks and enjoyed an afternoon of store front shopping. We took our time and lots of pictures, after getting home my nephew went home too. The fun started shortly after Sarah’s return from dropping off Hunter.
After a few informational YouTube videos and a little bit of planning; My brother-in-law and I were ready to harvest a couple of ducks for a nice family dinner. We set up several strands
of twine for tying off anything that needed tying, set up a log with an empty five gallon bucket for catching anything that needed catching. We prepared a hot bath for loosening feathers, empty trash can with a fresh clean out bag. I sharpened my machete and butchering knives. We enjoyed a few shots of fireball and a half and egg sandwich before the harvest started.
Mikey and I tied off the first birds neck to a loose noose, Sarah got the video camera ready for filming and that’s when the life lessons began. Holding the duck by his wings I rested
his breast on the seasoned log, Mikey pulled firmly on the twine. I swung my machete down upon the unsuspecting duck with sorrow and joy. In one swift blow it was over, a second smaller slice to remove a little bit of remaining flesh; the body (only bleeding slightly) went to the bucket and the head to the ground still bound to the twine in Mikey’s hand. Sarah was only slightly mortified the event but did not scared away. There was very little movement from the body and after just a couple of minutes in the bucket to bleed out the lifeless semi white bird went to a hot bath for one minute to loosen the feathers from their strong hold and then hung by the foot to a nail to be plucked. The plucking process took the most time to accomplish and was very tedious. Mikey and I worked on the feathers for some time and it didn’t take long for Sarah to join in on the plucking. My wife continued to help us until the skin held no more feather. From the plucking station the bird went to a tray to have the insides removed. Mikey evacuated the chest cavity with little effort. We saved the liver and the heart to be eaten tomorrow. The feet were removed and hung to dry for later uses. From that station the bird went inside to be cleaned, quartered, cleaned again and then into the fridge to await its partner. Sarah bleached everything and Mikey and I prepared the next bird.
The second bird went just about the same as the first. I held the thin twine this time as
Mikey held the wings and machete. Sarah stayed inside to tend to the kids; she didn’t want to watch this time. There was a swing of the machete, body to bucket, head to the ground, hot bath, then to the nail to have only the breast feathers removed. The second bird was going to be skinned, cleaned, and then quartered. We only put a small incision along the breast bone and worked the flesh free by hand only using the knife for stubborn tissue connections. the wings were cut free to dry out as were the feet later on. Mikey cleaned the chest cavity on this one too and again the heart and liver were saved. The carcass was cleaned, quartered and cleaned again. Sarah, Mikey and I cleaned everything again with bleach, bagged all the unusables and started getting everything for cooking.
Its hard to explain the feelings I had during this ordeal. There wasn’t any pleasure, I think I just felt determination the most. I knew once everything started there was no going back. As soon as my arm fell toward the duck I knew that not just this ducks life was gone but so was the others. After the blow was landed it really felt like instinct took over and the cleaning process was just natural.
The ducks did taste great though and we will be having duck and vegetable soup for lunch tomorrow.
any questions let me know
Michael Trump
Goodnight and God bless.
Im up, why not?
1:00 am everyone is sleeping and I am awake; not wide awake, just awake. My posts are to far apart this year and I am allways wanting to write about something. While I try to relax enough to go to sleep, listening to some brainwave music on Pandora, and listening to Reagan and my wife snoor Im going to fill you in on a little bit of wht has been going on.
The Lincoln.
She is gone for good and all I have are pictures and memories. The Lincoln had some problems that were just a little to much for me fix at this piont in my financial life. The cooling system needed to be over hauled, raidiator, hoses, freeze/ core plugs, and the block needed a good flush. The air ride system failed; as did the window motors, locks, electric seats and the sun roof started to leak. As you see they were all minor things that just added up over time. The core plugs would have been the only major expence and if they were the only expence I would have gladly kept her on the road. At a hundred thousand miles she was only getting broken in. She was the best car I have had to date. I see more Towncars in my future though.
The Tbird
The cooling system and the brain went. I was hoping to hold onto this car for a while but two doors and two kids dont work so well together. I will miss the cold AC.
Remember a few posts ago I wrote about the pigs finding their way out of thier pen. It was quite a hassel and was happening more and more and really only when I wasnt home. These events the pigs planned out were troubling me because I didnt want them to get hurt by a dog that seen them walking down the road or hit by a car. I tried to strengthen the pen pilled dirt up higher around the fence to slow their digging. But to no end they tried me over and over. So I had Sarah stop buying meat so the deap freezer could empty a little. My budy Jonny came over one Friday night and the big brown pig got harvested. The process didnt take long since it was my second time around doing this. Jonny shot the pig and hes was heavy enough that it to three of us to get his hooks on the Dclip in the shed. This guys was a stinky fellow too. His meat was put one ice and salt for like almost 72 hours. Where in that time I added more salt and ice regularly so the meat wouldnt spoil while I waited for a day off. The salt actualy helped the meat taste better we think, and I dont think we have much of any of the meat left now. The bacon came out great… I mean Great! We still have miss piggy and wont be eating her. Next time she goes into heat Ill prolly sell her off. She now stays in her pen and still doent like me. She does love the treats I bring her though.
Since the big pig is gone and miss piggy wont be around much longer I invested in some chickens. I know, what is he thinking, well hey we got them as chicks around Easter And I wanted to see if we could get some eggs out of them. It has been almost four full months now. The first two months the birds stayed in the house in Coco’s old cage until they were big enough to go outside. The kids loved every minute of it, Reagan would wake up in the morning and run right for the cage just to see the bird. By birds I mean, six chickens and two ducks. Yes two ducks. Duck eggs are supossed to been great and if they dont lay eggs for me I know their meat tastes frickin great. Macey wanted and wants to hold them all the time; there are a couple of the chickens that dont mind her but and I have to catch them first. Reagan is still to rough while holding the birds. But he sure can catch them. He knows how to chase them into the coupe and corner them so they are easy pickins. I built the pen for them mostly made of recycled wood found on old paletts. I baught nails, screws, hindges and chicken wire. The cost wasnt to bad as long as the coupe lasts a couple years. Of all my birds onle one stands out as the coolest. He is big and black. Yes I said he; he is a rooster and is houge too. A Jersey gaint that lives up to his name. We havent give any names out yet but he may get one soon. Did I mention he is enormus next to the other chickens and is basicly the same size as the ducks. He doent mind me holding him and walking around with him either. he hasnt figured out how to crow yet. But I am looking for some one to take out his voice box so I came keep him. The birds have been feasting on all the goodies my yard has to offer and some the Denis’s has to offer too. I think I like having the birds around for now. Since they have been outside no one has messed with them except a few kids one day. I dont think they will ever again though. They chased the ducks into the road and ran one over with their bike. My neighbors caught in on their security camera. Sarah nursed the little guy back to health though and after about two and a half Weeks he was out with the othes and in not showing any signs of a broken leg anymore.
Alabama
Well they have left me hanging. Maybe not my contact. But human resources sure did. So Im still not in the echo field but I still have hope. I am going to be signing up with some echo groups and getting insured so maybe a doctor will let me do some volunteer work for them. After some time of that maybe I can get into a hospital. Time will tell i guess.
Up above i talked about getting rid of the Town car and t bird. Sarah really wanted us to get a van and with a lot of searching and saving we did find something she wanted, a 99 venture. I like it too, but it is no Lincoln. It has a new motor and Trans and rides nice. Franco motor sports hooked me up nice so I sent them my brother Johnny who needs a van too. Well in a couple weeks he will have a van too. So we are down to one vehicle now and I must save for something for me. I was thinking a little 350 Yamaha rd. One of my customers has one garage kept with low miles that I may take off his hands if I can get the price right. I may just build a gas bike though to save money all around.
The Trump Van
Well its 2:20 now and I think its time to call it a night
Only at Walmart
So last night was crazy as hell. I get off work at two am; have my shift drink then head home. When I get home I find my little girl with a 103 temp, I draw a slightly warm bath for her, give her some ibuprofen and wake up Sarah to take over while I got to Walmart to get some Tylenol to give Macey in four hours if her fever hasn’t broke. As I am leaving Walmart some young kid in a blue shirt runs up to the Jeep crying that his mom needs help. I look over and see a lady half sitting up in the parking lot and a Kia van twenty feet or so in front of her with its hazards on. I scan the area for potential trouble call 911 and drive over to where she was at, keeping my distance just incase this was like a robbery attempt. The over weight woman was half sitting up rocking around in pain. She had blood oozing from the top of a swollen foot both knees badly scoured by the pavement. There were fresh blood puddles all around her that I could tell came from her foot, and worst and funny of all she had tier marks going from the heal of her wounded foot up to the top of her over sized thigh. (It’s only funny because she ran herself over with her own van). She tried telling me she just needs me to bring her some gas so she could get to the gas station and fill up her van. I kinda laughed at her and told her she was going to need more than gas. She wasn’t injured so bas as to require me to leave the jeep and tend to her wounds. I relayed the details to the 911 operator and included our location. As I am talking to the operator the woman, who at this time I notice she is wearing a CPS “child protective service” shirt, tries to tell her son in a quiet manner to put some stuff down the storm drain just out of her throwing distance, she tells him “Its just gum wrappers”. I inform the operator if this and he asks for a better location of where we are. I start to tell him and he blurts out “there they are, right there” holy shit man how did you see us. I asked him a few times how the heck he could see us and he wouldn’t say. The cops show up I remind the officer about her putting stuff down the storm drain. And head home. Macey’s fever broke in the bath and was ready to lay down again… 430 am… 445 my phone rings. Port Richey Police. “Hey we found some stuff in the storm drain can you make a statement about what you saw.” Not right now I’m in bed.
Could this be a new chance at an old habbit
Finding time in my day to write isn’t always easy. I feel like i always have so much to write down and say but it isnt as easy as it used to be. I realy miss putting my thoughts to word and i miss writing Arianna on my free time. Her birthday is coming up and it is another one that i am going to miss.
I got some hopeful news on the sixteenth of this month. News that could help make life a little better for us here. Birmingham called me asking if i were still interested in a position that just became available. I am very excited and quite hopeful. I still have to jump through a bunch of hoops before i know more about my chances. Government jobs have to be hard to get I guess. Yes this is the same job that i went and interveiwed with like six or seven months ago. It was a week or so before all those huge tornatos leveled most of the surrounding areas. I hope I get it this time around, i cant wait until i get back to scanning again. Sarah has been cheking out the rentals up there and is dreaming of a new house to live in. I love her so. I know I i got excited like this before but this time should be better, and if I dont get it then well its not my time. The man upstairs has a plan for me and I just have to trust his guidence.
You know the little piggies I have just chillin in the back yard? Well they are starting to figure out how to damage the fence. They have now escaped twice this past week. I think it is time to harvest the bigger pig to prevent any furthure attempts at escape. I’ll miss the big guy but hey, we gotta eat and if we end up moving soon we cant take him with us. Plus he is getting realy big. I thougbt about putting him on craigs list but people are letting their pigs go for cheap and I have a little bit of money invested in this guy. Well i guess it is something that I still have to stew on.
I miss sitting down and just writing for hours. Boy can kids consume every waking minute of a day. I love em so much
Well for now good night i guess.
Michael Trump
he is handsome
1984
1984…
A very bad year for one person in particular…
I haven’t written in a while and I feel pretty bad about it; finding time is becoming harder everyday. But for today here goes. With having no free time on my hands; finding time to sit down and read is more impossible than the press being honest about Ron Paul. I still love to a good story and have taken to listening to them as my 2nd choice to reading. For a couple years now I have been listening to Old Time Radio shows (and have been wanting to do another article on OTR) I am not tiered of my shows at all but when I here about a good book and can find it in mp3 I try to give it a listen. The book I am so moved to write about today is 1984 written by George Orwell.
In preparing to write this; I did some searching on what others have written about it. I am amazed and enlightened by how this book has helped shape music, language and some laws. Mind you this book is only a novel, a story meant to warn of letting government get out hand. I did most of my reading in Wikipedia and the recourses are amazing. The lists of bands and songs that incorporate 1984 into their work is shocking and eye opening.
This story is very alarming and in my own interpretation a prophecy for our future if we don’t wake up and stop being Proles. This book is about one man realizing the state of his condition as an outer party member. At first only in thought; he would exercise his mind as his own. Then he takes some action and starts writing his thoughts down. Knowing that is “Big Brother” found out what he was writing or even thinking he would be considered a traitor to the party. Oceania (where Winston Smith lives) is one of only three remaining super powers after the war. Winston Smith is the main character he is the one last man in Europe. In Oceania everyone in the outer party is under strict surveillance. Big Brother is always watching. In the story it is by a telescreen (nowadays it’s via the internet with high tech algorithms that can predict major populace idealistic movements, soon enough it will be on a personal level) Winston’s story plays out at first a little slow but it develops the characters so well that there is a great emotional response to the entire story. George Orwell did such a great job that you almost feel like this story takes place to your best friend. You easily feel the joys and pains that Winston goes through.
As much as I would like to take you through Winston’s journey I would much rather know that you too read the book or listened to in some form. Take a look on Wikipedia at all the songs related to this story. You will be amazed at the songs you may or may not like that have been influenced by this book. If you have read this book; take some time and read it again. Compare it to today’s political atmosphere. If you haven’t read this book and still believe the government loves you well… there is still no hope for you as a Prole. Well I guess you could even be an outer party member just waiting for your chance to turn in you neighbors for some unforgivable act like speaking out against your government. For everyone else though spread this classic like it were written today.
Arianna Shirk I think about you everyday.
Michael Trump
Mr. Bighamsworth
Mr. Bighamsworth is no longer with us. Yeah that’s right, I finally harvested him. Well I had a little help from my friends. Here in just a bit I am going to fry up some bacon to give him a tasty taste… Okay, I just had some and wow with a little apple sauce and salt; it was great. I have been raising this pig since the beginning of March and have controlled his diet best I can. He steadily grew until about a few weeks ago then it seems as though he leveled off. About seven days before we harvested him I started up a 4000 calorie a day diet to really plump him up a little. It worked; the pigs belly really filled out. I took about an hour or so
each day and got my shed prepared for the harvest. I got bins to hold ice; I sharpened my knives, set up an AC to cool the shed while we were in it and to keep it cool while the meat chilled. I have never up to that point killed anything except a rat, so I had to prepare my mind to make sure I could kill this beast to feed my family. To a regular hunter or farmer this is done at a young age and is never thought of again. For me it is new and took a little bit too actually pull the trigger. I used Steve’s air rifle designed for hunting to put him down, my shot was right on and the large wild hog reacted the way I saw in many of videos when a pig dies. About a minute had passed and he became still. Steve reached for the black cage door to open it so we could start the cleaning process. At that point Mr. Bighamsworth stood up looked around and started eating corn. Really no joke I felt so bad and was a little freaked out. Steve reloaded the rifle and took a shot at the pig in hopes of making sure he didn’t suffer. Steve’s shot failed too and he proceeded to take two more shots. My step dad took out his 380 and finished what we started. Once Rich shot the pig Steve and I pulled out the pig, punctured it artery and let it bleed out. We washed him for a second time, hooked its legs and hung him in the now cool shed to continue to bleed out. About ten minutes into him hanging upside down Steve and I got some pictures with him and then started removing the beast’s head so it could drain any remaining blood and take away some of the pet like qualities he still had. I didn’t have time to feel bad or change my mind since cooling the meat is important in protecting the quality. My niece and nephew watched the whole thing and were more okay with what we were doing than I had ever thought possible. Steve and I started removing the skin beginning at the rear shanks furthest from the ground; gravity helps half way through the skinning process. Having never done this, I depended on Steve’s guidance and my hours of reading The Complete Book of Butchering, Smoking, Curing, and Sausage Making. Long title I know. But the book really is a great read on top of the information it contains. The kids were amazed at how we worked on the animal and never once made a gross face or acted in a way that I may give then a bad dream or harm their psyche. As we opened up the animal and the organs began to evacuate the body cavity I was stunned; not much holds our guts in. after the skin was off we completely removed all the organs and then I sawed the remaining carcass in half to better chill the meat while on ice. Once in half it was placed on ice to chill and we waited for the butcher to cut the meat into serving sizes. The butcher sliced the two halves so quickly into little chunks of meat that could be recognized like how we see at the store. I wrapped everything in paper and it is now frozen waiting to be consumed.
The other day Reagan wanted me to pick him up so bad; I put him in my lap and bounced for a minute before laying his head down and passing out. He must have been so tiered. Reagan is now seven months post meningitis and doing fantastic. The neurologist is decreasing his medicine little by little every slow passing month. Soon my little boy will be free of medicine and terrorizing the house. I cant wait.
This is my new favorite picture of the little ones; they were wrestling and Macey pulled Reagan down on top of her. I have the video on my youtube page. Well you can watch the video below this picture. Macey is really taking to having Reagan around. Even here while we are at the mall and I am writing this; Macey is making sure that none of the other kids are messing with Reagan. I just hope that there are many more pictures like this to come.
I am very happy to say that my bamboo is doing great and all the sprouted seeds are thriving under my 18 inch plant light. I have about twenty little Moso bamboo guys and about half are four to five inches tall. I am not sure when I am going to transplant them to something bigger than their current egg carton home. I might try to keep them inside until next spring when the growing season starts again. I want to give my living fence every chance I can at growing up big and strong. These guys should grow to be nice and tall giving so some much needed shade. We will see soon enough I guess; I hope I am not disappointed.
Well I have stuff to do; talk to ya soon
Yours Truly,
Mike
PS Arianna Shirk I have been thinking about you and I hope you are a happy little girl. I cant wait to see you some day.
Late again… not her. lol
Blah blah blah It is late and I haven’t written in a while. Hmm, I guess all is well. My pigs are getting big and in just a few weeks we will be eating one. We also have acquired a potbelly pig; oaky we have had Miss Piggy since about a week before Macey turned two. She is a cute little thing but she isn’t becoming all that tame; she is potty trained now but isn’t all that friendly. I think she may end up becoming dinner one night. All she has to do now is bite one of the little ones and then its off to the oven. She is Macey’s pet and all but I really like having a dog and I hate cats because they don’t like getting pet a
nd neither does this little pig. Damnit I need something to pet!! Lol just playing. Macey loves the pig but she doesn’t get to pet Miss Piggy either. She has got to hit her a few times though… only when the pig is trying to take Macey’s food and Macey really wants the food. Yeah I am thinking about eating Miss Piggy now. Aren’t these things supposed to be smarter than dogs or something? We her time her is limited if she don’t come around soon.
Now the big pigs… well they are getting big. I am going to have a bunch of people over for the harvesting. You know that is how it used to be back in the olden days. Friends would come together and pick out the beast to eat. It was a group thing amongst friends and family. I have been looking into this a bit; the history of raising your own livestock and
butchering your own meat is really neat. It is amazing how chain stores have guided us away from eating parts of animals because they didn’t have enough supply. (the in demand pieces became gross and the plentiful parts became the desired.) hmm has that happened anywhere else. I now have all the knives I need and a very new butchering book. I am also so glad that my little sister Heather is going to be here for the slaughtering of the first pig. It was a shocker to me but she is ready and willing to become a hunter. We will see when the day comes. Shazzle we will see for me too when the day comes.
Reagan sat up today at the mall. We were playing on the Gulfview Square mall play ground when out of nowhere he sat up and smiled at me. It was amazing; then he fell over. I am sure he sat up last night too; he was laying down and when we weren’t looking there was a loud thump and he started crying… well there is only one explanation; he had to have been sitting up and then leaned to far back. It wont be long before he is everywhere at once; Reagan is already scooting around the house to get to what he wants to grab (like Macey’s hair)
Macey is starting to put together sentences, even though the words aren’t pronounced perfectly you can almost fully understand her. That’s my two year old She is also back to liking the water and trying to swim. She had a great time at the beach the other day with her friends. For being a two she is starting to become quite the social butterfly.
I am so far behind on my writing!! I haven’t write about the old radio yet.. I have a draft started but it is no where near done; only because I haven’t take a minute of time or an ounce of effort towards writing it. Well all good things come with time I guess. I wish I could set more time aside each day to write. I have two books in the works and my blog that needs my love. On top of that I have to fill out resumes and play with the kids and tends to my live stock. Everyday is full of adventure around the Trump house. There is a lot more to the list and I just don’t feel like listing em all.
Hmm… My 45 hour work weeks starts tomorrow, I cant wait. I like working and it makes my weekends all the worth it.
Goodnight sleep well my friends
It took all day.
This morning has not started off like any other morning. Reagan got up and around four am all upset, and with a clean diaper I laid him down next to Sarah and I. I was way to
tiered to rock him back to sleep; or so I thought. Just minutes after Sarah gave him a bottle he gave it right back to us in the garden hose manner. As you can guess I was no longer tired. We tried to comfort him and that didn’t go well for Sarah since she had to work today. Reagan and I took a trip to the living where he and I chilled in the rocking chair for about an hour then it was to the floor and amazing enough he was happy to be there playing with some toys. I tried another bottle and shortly after that he hosed down his swing with apple juice. Called the doctor and they said keep an eye on him and give him Pedi alight so he doesn’t dehydrate. Other than that there is a stomach bug going around. I am still up and wish I got a nap time today. Did I mention; I love coffee.
An update with the pigs… I have a bowie knife now for when I harvest them; and I have a butchering kit on its way from Amazon.com. The bigger of the two pigs is about ready to be taken.
Man I am tiered. I think I may lay down for a few then finish this up.
Much better…The down side. My phone was turned most of the way down and my daughter Macey found it when she got up and now its gone. I point to the table and ask her “where’s daddies phone?” she points to the table and says “phone” err.
Reagan is still resting and should be for a bit longer.
To the job hunt. Well there has been no success yet but I am not giving up. I have sent out a few more resumes and I hope to here back from them. I am going to study up on a couple of other credentials’ and such to add to my registry. Maybe that can put me a notch above the rest.
Macey’s birthday is coming up in a couple of weeks, and man she is going to be two years old now. She is doing so great with going on the potty and trying to talk to us. She plays more with Reagan now and seems to be a ton less jealous of him too. She is getting so big. And just Look at that mean face she has got on her. Wow she takes after he mama. lol. I love them both. This picture was taken right before Macey threw a fit so bad we had to leave and I didn’t get to eat dinner. You win some you lose some I guess.
Reagan is trying to scoot and trying to hold his bottles. He loves his little walker; I bungeed a steering wheel thing to his walker so he can drive, and Reagan just goes to town when the wheel thing makes noise. He and Macey got to see their peepaw yesterday and Reagan took to him quick and really looks just like his grandpa. Macey only warmed up to him when it was time to leave and peepaw had given her a bunch of chocolate. We all will miss him until the next time.
Okay well I have been working on this since 7:30 this morning and now its 2:30pm damn where has the day gone.
Reagan is feeling better now; I think.
Reagan got to hang out at the beach for the first time. He wasn’t so sure about the sand under his feet, but he like sitting in the water along the shore. We were at Fred Howard… my second favorite beach. Macey got to chase sea gulls and do a lot of swimming. she slept like a rock that night. I think we will have plenty of more beach days with the kids this year. Any one want to join us just let me know and Ill text ya when we are going.
So it might be a little hard to tell how big this guy is but he is prolly really close to 100lbs. The brown one in the back ground was how big the white one was when we got them back in March. They are both very happy here in their pen where they are feed twice a day with corn and table scraps. They are going to be some good eating real soon. Some of you may think this to be mean be it is all apart of the circle of life. so eat up.
This picture is for you “Two suns, dueling suns” people. Any digital camera over loaded with information will cause aliasing and cause your camera to create a mirror image. We do not have two suns so relax we will live on. Try taking a picture with a high quality filmed camera and you will never get “Two suns, or Dueling suns” because there is only one sun here in our solar system. Elenin could be a problem but time will tell.
You know I have two very nice cameras and two camera phone; well you would think that my wife and I would have a lot more pictures together. Well I have two months of pictures on this little laptop and guess what. There isn’t one picture of us together. I am going to have to make a real attempt at fixing this predicament. We should have tons of pics of us together. Sarah if you are reading this… I know you never do… but this time if you do; get a camera and come take a picture with me before I am old and grey and not worth photographing. That reminds me too, I really need to just start taking pictures of stuff .
Reagan has had two bottles and is keeping it down. Thank God!!!
So happy to be himself
Michael Trump
Daddy and his little girl Macey having fun at the beach. I love this little girl so much. she is learning so much so fast.
Hi Arianna Lore Shirk, you father loves you.
Trump did WHAT?
Two Thursdays ago my buddy Steve and I took care of a couple of livestock issues I had. My two penned up wild hogs are growing into fine looking pieces pork. After we handled the pigs and cleaned up the little mess I got a phone call from Birmingham Alabama. That phone call leads to a road trip; that road trip may lead to a move here in the near future.
So as far as Steve, the two yummy hogs and I go; well we, Steve and I, castrated my two bore two Thursdays ago. It started out when I first got the two oinkers; see Steve warned me that if I didn’t give those two the old snip-snip that the meat would be extra gammy and that the bore could and would most likely become very aggressive. Where does Steve get off telling me how my two male hogs will be; you ask? Well he has been around the woods a time or two and I double checked online with a few easily searched sites for his accuracy. This time he was balls on (no pun intended, lol). Weeks before we preformed act early meat preparation, I took it upon myself to do a little researcher on how to properly castrate a pig; just like any good pig farmer would do. Well after lots and lots of You Tube videos and a wee bit of reading I was confident I could perform the task ahead if Steve chickened out. At my friend’s house (not Steve’s) is where we did the deed, since the neighbors here where I live would think I was killing a kid and call the law on us. Steve took the first pig just so I could see it first hand and to instill the thought that I too could castrate my own live stock. Well when it came to my turn; it was a lot easier than I thought it would be only because it was not as gross or bloody as I thought a castration would be. Sure my pig did a lot of squealing but I think it was more because Steve had his knee on the bigger pig’s neck and less because I was cutting off his pig-hood. I have got a few hate mails and comments from the videos and picture but I think it was/is because they just don’t understand what and why that happen. So out of rash emotion they comment wildly instead of taking a step back and going “is there a reason they are doing this and is it normal” we yes it is normal and I stated the reasons above. So if any of you think this was cruel and unusual well go out in the woods tie yourself to a tree and cover yourself in something yummy. When animals come to consume you try to tell them that what they are doing in mean and see how far that gets you. Oh, your Obama Christ, yeah he won’t save you there; sorry to disappoint you. Hey, why don’t you go find something for free. It has been a couple of weeks now and the pigs are doing great, plus they love all the leftovers that Sarah, Elvis and I give them. I can’t wait to eat them.
Now about that phone call I received shortly after washing up from barring the pigs. I had just tossed the testicles and cleaned up our mess. I had already missed a phone call from my boss when the phone started to ring again. At first, I thought, that maybe my boss was calling me from another number, that made me shutter a little and I almost stuck my phone back into its handy case. Just incase it was a telemarketer I decided to answer and have a little fun to calm my nerves from all the stress minutes before. At first is was convinced the female on the other end was going to drill me with questions. Then with perfect timing she said where she was from and I remembered that like a month before I had sent them a resume. Now this was a Thursday, she relayed to me that she needed me by Tuesday; wow that doesn’t leave me much time to plan a trip but hey, this is me we’re talking about. I got there Monday. Tuesday was the interview and it went well I thought; maybe I could have scanned a little better but I am a little out of practice and could use some extra scan time. It is now Friday and I haven’t heard anything back yet from them but these things with this company can take a while I guess. Alabama is damn beautiful; I would like to find a job up there even if it isn’t with my first try. Truly Florida has nothing on the beauty of Alabama sure we have beaches but you can only use them a few weeks out of the year comfortably. Perfect vacation time yeah? We will see (Pictures to come)
I have… I hope… soon to come a new post about old time radio, as you may or may not recall I wrote an essay for school about old time radio shows. Well I hope to have another one coming soon, there is some more to add to it and a link or two also.
It is really late and I have a double tomorrow but the kids are great and I still miss you Arianna Lore Shirk
Yours truly,
Michael Trump
What’s that smell? mmmm
Time is just flying by and I can’t seem to keep up sometimes. January 6th I passed my credentialing test and it is now almost mid March and though the jobs aren’t so scares it takes about an hour to fill out one application. With these long apps it makes it hard to just get my name out there for the world to see. I can’t wait thought till I am really making so money with out putting in fifty five hour weeks. So yeah I have been working my tail off and it is very nice to have a little bit of cash put away for a rainy day (or a new smoker grill and soon a 7mil Remington rifle).
I am so far behind in keeping up with my writing. I am thinking maybe I should get a smaller laptop to take to work and such so when I get a few I can write a little. I got to get that past the lovely wife first… I love you Punkin. Reagan is doing great, Macey is really coming along with talking and I love my wife. We got a smoker this past week and may be getting a pig tomorrow to raise and then EAT. Sarah and I are riding “grip sticks” on a regular basis now and my belly is shrinking just a tad.
So I have made it up to 220lbs and am trying to get back down under 200 but we will see how that goes with the new cooker. *that reminds me, I’ll add to the cooker part later* So yeah I am almost back on just water and lemon and when I do have soda it is the new Coke Zero stuff. To be frank; Coke Zero isn’t that bad and it is close to the same taste as regular Coke. So the Grip stick thing are pretty fun; kind of like surfing on the street (if you do it right) really its not that hard to get the hang of and it will burn the heck out of your abs if you ride it often. I’ll give it a few more weeks and try to stick with the better eating and see what happens with the weight.
Tomorrow Jonny Suburban and I may be going to pick up a live pig from somewhere in Lake Land. I got a smoker this week and can’t wait to raise me up a little pig into something big enough to fill two smokers. Yesterday for Sarah’s birthday I smoked up some chicken and Bush’s grilling beans; I put the beans in a casserole dish and stuck it right in the smoker with the chicken and holy crap did they turn out great!! The chicken was so juicy and the skin was nice and crisp and not soggy at all. Oh yeah we had some corn on the cob too. We didn’t get the juiciest corn so it wasn’t perfect but it was still as mouth watering as all the rest of the food in the greatest cooking apparatus ever invented. Tonight Jonny and I smoked some country style ribs and some chicken drumsticks and again they were fricken awesome. I needed to smoke some more because all the meat at Sarah’s birthday party was eaten up and I needed some food for work this week so I am not spending more money than I have too.
I am saving up for a rifle and I hope to have it by next paycheck now. I am getting a 7 millimeter magnum; Remington long rifle with scope. I am going to spend this summer at the shooting range getting in practice so next hunting season I will be ready to take my first wild game. Hog I hope. Don’t worry I will be eating what I kill and will be thankful for every piece of meat I harvest. Some will be smoked, some will be grilled and some will be crock potted. After I get the hang of the rifle I am going to try using a bow too.
Speaking of crock pots! Well almost every year I toss my old crock pot and but a new one. Over the years I have spent a small fortune on these great little cookers. I toss them out when they crack and leak all over my counter; only because I was never told about how I could prevent this messy predicament. I just found out that I can buy crock pot liners and amazingly I can keep on cooking even with a cracked leaking pot. I can not believe that after all these years now no one ever told me about them. I only learned of these liners when I received a catalog for some restaurant equipment and packaging stuff. Now I can cook on and when this new pot cracks I know that I can just pick up some liners and get right back to cookingJ
Reagan has been seeming to be doing great and has a new neurologist now.
Yeah his first neuro was a “pardon my French” a Fucking Douche! He wanted to take my son off his better of the two meds and up the med that could limit his learning potential if left on it to long. The guy didn’t even know why Reagan was there to see him except that Reagan had a seizure. He didn’t know why or even that my son was in All Childrens. I wanted to knock the guy the hell out. The new place he is going to is like an hour drive but is way the hell worth it to know that my boy is getting better care. When we went to the new Neurologist they though I had misunderstood what the first guy was saying until I showed them the prescription and the doctor was truly stunned that another doctor would have set a kid on such a terrible path. On a happier note Reagan is starting to roll over now and loves to try to stand and look out the window. He giggles when I tell him nonsense jokes and babble back at him. This kid is just so great he makes me want to cry everyday I know he made it through the meningitis.
Macey is such a little girl now. She is growing so fast now and is getting such a
personality. She will be carrying on full conversations here anytime soon. Her imagination is amazing for being so young too; she will play will her little toys and you can just tell that her mind ins going a million miles an hour as she creates stories for her toys to play out. When PBS is on she I glued to the “tvt” until regular shows come on and then it is back to playing. She just love company its like she is a little socialite. I can’t wait until she is taking and I can put up a video of her just babbling on and on. She is getting along with Reagan more and more every day. It is cool that she is adapting well with everything.
It would be nice to pick up one of those mini laptops to travel a little easier than this one. Just so I have something to do my writing on and look for free pigs to bring home and feed for a week then eat them.
Well it is getting late and I want to get in some reading while the house is still quiet. I am on the third book of the Percy Jackson series then I can finish my “Lost Hero” book that has been put on hold half way through. “I wanted to know what some of the characters were talking about and the only way was to read the Percy Jackson series.
Well good night Arianna Shirk
Michael Trump
Michael Trump R.C.S.
Well well well, I have become way behind on filling everyone in on what is going on with little Reagan. Most everyone knows that he is home now and is doing great. The last I wrote he was six days sick and he is now nine days well. Yes Reagan R. Trump came home on Christmas eve around five in the pm. Having Reagan come home on Christmas eve was the greatest Christmas present ever; I thank god everyday for this wonderful little package. Okay well back to the hospital; Reagan had a hearing test and one final blood work up a few days before we all got to leave the 8th floor and head home. The
audiologists came down in the mid-afternoon hooked up these little sensors to his ears and forehead. The way the machine works I guess is that it is kind of like an EKG in the sense that it can pick up on little electrical impulses sent off by nerves. Well that is how it work. The test seemed to take forever, mainly because the equipment they were using kept killing batteries and had no wall power hook ups. But after Reagan calmed down and quit knocking off the sensors they were able to take a good test and as it turns out; Reagan passed his test with flying colors. The Audiologist said she was impressed with his hearing after all that had happen, Thank god. Now every six months till he is three he will getting hearing tests to make sure that he will be progressing like every other kid on the planet. All of his final blood tests came back great too and from there we just had to wait for him to finish his IV treatments and then we were off. Christmas eve was really hectic since Sarah was so ready to go home and we had Macey the last two nights who was also very ready to go home. Poor Macey was going through hell not being at home and having mommy and daddy around. She was throwing fits every night and I tell you what as soon as we were home Macey was right back to normal as if nothing had happen at all. These last nine days have been great and stressful all at the same time. Reagan is up at night and Macey has decided the fits are the way she can get what she wants and since it isn’t working I hope she grows out of that soon.
My test is in a few days and I feel far from ready and well I think I’ll be getting a tutor here in the new year. I don’t care just as long as I pass this damn thing; I want to be working in the hospital soon and so bad. Home pro is okay but far from what I need and want, and the liquor store is fun but it is nights… late nights; my newest adventure is chilling at a hotdog stand making a nice wage for a days work. I work there just one day a week so the owner can have a day off. Its fun though, and having these different jobs really keeps me from getting bored and such.
Reagan and Macey are doing well together now and Macey is seeming to adjust well. She does enjoy his toys more than he does. Reagan is looking around now and can train his eyes on anything he wants. He really loves his swing. It swings side to side and has like a mobile on it so when he is awake he entertained. There is also a mirror and he will look
and you through it too, now weather or not he knows I’m not in the mirror is a different story. I cant wait for it to warm up a bit so we can go to the park and get lots of outside picture of Macey and Reagan. I have a cool new camera thanks to my step dad Rich. He gave me his Cannon SLR and I plan to wear that thing out like I did to my Lumix. Don’t get me wrong the Lumix still works great but it is getting old and sometimes a little touchy when it comes to turning on and focusing. I think I have had it three years or so and have taken almost 100 gigs of photos (not on the RAW setting) so yeah the Lumix has my vote. We will see how well the Cannon holds up to my usage. I guess it may be a bit before I start getting some great pictures of him and until then there will always be my little Macey. …………………
So I ran way out of time and never got to post the above and now I am going to finish the above on 1/11/11. That’s a whole lots a ones.
I’ll start from the bottom. I haven’t really had the chance to use the camera to much but we (Sarah) got a great picture the other day when I had a morning off. Look at him just standing there at less than two months old. Okay okay I am just playing; I set him over the couch so he could look out the window (just like his daddy). I noticed that if I stuck the pillow there it would look like he was standing. This not taking picture leads into two other stories. Hmm which to start with.
When I started this post I had just a few day ‘till my test and now it has been a week since my test. Up above I wrote that I was prepared to fail and that getting a tutor wouldn’t be such a bad thing right. So I studied my ass off up until the test writing and rewriting things I wasn’t sure about. Making mental imprints of images that I could render up if needed for the test. My brain was on fire and coffee wasn’t putting it out. I locked my self in the old black room the day before the test only coming out for refills on coffee and short walks to calm the brain. I consumed plenty of fish oil gel caps and a few extra vitamins so my brain had plenty of fuel to run on. By night fall I had most of what I wanted in memory floating there repeating itself. Ya know when you think about something so much you like start to see it. My practice tests were still falling short of what I thought was acceptable and was sure I would be saving for another test. Before I laid down, I got down on my knees and prayed to god; I prayed that he would help me to retrieve what I had already knew and to give me clarity for the test. My prayer was very humbling since it has be a while since I have prayed on my knees. I slept on the couch so that I could get a full night sleep and not have the kids wake me up. My brain was going a hundred miles an hour and falling asleep really became a challenge; I woke up with just six hours of sleep and was ready to go; I prayed again for help remembering everything I had studied in school up until now. I started out leaving the house with plenty of time and after stopping for gas, high energy breakfast consisting of pickled sausage, salt & vinegar chips, a Rock star energy drink and a five hour energy; I also had to get air for the tires. The air was unexpected and only put me just a little bit behind; by the time I made it to 19 and alt19 the story change. Traffic was backed up and moving at a snails pace; as it turns out 19 south was flooded over with all the rain from the night before. That set me way back and I had to call the testing place because if your late you could be denied the chance to take the test. They gave me an extra half hour to get there and it was right to the minute when I got there. That place was very secure and it was like going into visitation at a prison. I had a camera on me the whole time, and a micro phone recording everything I said. One last prayer to god and I was off to try my best. When the first few questions came up I was thinking either I am delirious or this test is going to start messing with me. But no, the questions were written in no way like how the practice questions were. I finished the three hour test with one hour and forty-five minutes remaining. That really started to scary me. I clicked finish and holy crap!!!!!!!! I passed, Right there on the screen. I was ready to faint. And couldn’t wait to get outside and tell everyone I could. A thank you prayer was said while I waited for the testing people to come let me up from the desk. I call everyone I could and got home to my wife who was so happy for me.
I had a bit of running around to that same day and since then; I have just completed a seventy-five hour work week. Tonight it my first night of in a while and I am ready for freakin bed. Next week is almost the same and so is the week after, they will probably be like fifty hour weeks and soon after that I hope to have sent out a few hundred new applications with my CCI Registered Cardiac Sonographer title on it. Wish me luck because we are moving on up. I cant wait to break free from New Port Richey. Soon enough.
A tired father, goodnight
More to come
Reagan and the Meningitis monster
My son Reagan has bacterial meningitis and is in stable condition as of right now…
Friday, December 10, 2010, midnight, Reagan feeds as normal, with no signs of any kind of distress or illness. Twenty minutes later, while trying to burp the little guy, he spits up. No problem; I continue to pat his back and eventually get the nice size burp that we are used to hearing. I laid my little guy down beside my wife so they could hang out. I use the restroom and cool off by the fan a little; trying to burp him can bring me to a sweat if he doesn’t want to let one up. Sitting down on the bed next to Sarah and Reagan, I thought he looked like he needed to be readjusted a little more comfortable. I reached down and started to lift him. Everything in his little belly came up to form a fountain above his mouth, lasting only a second or two. I was amazed at how far he could send that little bit of milk.
We quickly cleaned him up and began to pat him again, waiting for that big burp (ya know, the one that forced all his food out). He quickly grew angry and very unhappy with every pat, then we got a toot from the other end. “SO you have gas, ay? I can fix that.” I rocked his legs, rubbed his belly, and rotated him around to help the gas move along. Without much effort, we got plenty of gas to evacuate the bowels. He continued to scream with all his might. Now I have seen this before with Macey and other little ones; “I’ll go get some gas relief stuff, that will help him.” I say to Sarah. After learning that my normal CVS is no longer twenty-four hours, I went to the Wal-Greens and picked up some store brand gas drops. That trip turned out to be a forty-minute tour of New Port Richey, and my little Reagan was still crying when I got home; Macey slept through it like a champ. I could see the stress in Sarah’s eyes. Reagan got his drops and calmed down shortly after but never fully settled down; he whimpered all night, and Sarah held him close to her while I tried to rest for work in the morning.
Sarah gave him drops every hour or so (The dosing instructions followed closely.) By morning, Reagan still wasn’t feeding well, but I managed to get him to drink an ounce, and he unwillingly to gave it back shortly after. We decided to call the doctor; they could get us in by 3pm… okay, so he will be fine till then. “If he gets worse, call my mom and Rich and have them race you to the hospital, then call me.” I said to Sarah as I left for work. Well, he got worse a lot worse while I was at work, so much, so Sarah described him as being zombie-like in appearance and alertness. I told her to call my mom and get to the hospital as quickly as they could.
She called my mom and then the doctor; the doctor got her right in and after looking him over had Reagan admitted to the hospital before Sarah and my mom could get to the hospital by car. I got to North Bay only a minute after they did and was inside before Reagan was moved to his temporary room. Sarah was right about the zombie look; Reagan was gray, his skin looked lifeless. Oh my goodness, he just laid there in my arms, all limp and barely whimpering. I wept. I was so scared and felt so helpless… he couldn’t make eye contact and didn’t respond to voice or touch. I called to him, wishing for any sign he could hear me. It took a while for the hospital to get an IV started so they could give him fluids. Three nurses tried, and three nurses failed at threading their smallest IV into his tiny veins. Their biggest concern was how dehydrated he looked to them. They didn’t see how pink and full of life he was just a day before so they couldn’t understand our concern at how much his appearance changed. North Bay doesn’t have a baby ward, so they only tried to stabilize him until All Children’s transport could pick him up for a transfer.
Everything that the doctors tried to give him by mouth just came back up shortly afterward. It was noon, and Reagan had not held down any milk or medicine in twelve hours. We all were scared for him then because we had no answers, and he looked like he was getting worse like his life was fading right before our eyes. After the nursing manager got an IV in his arm, a left-sided twitch started to show itself. It seemed to originate right from the IV site, went up the left arm into the back, and worked its way down the left side. The ER doctors didn’t think too much of it when I brought it to their attention, but the All Children’s transport team gave him some medicine to stop the (what looked like a) seizure. It took a while for the transport team to get to North Bay because of northbound traffic. Still, once the transport team arrived, they got all the information up to present and seemed to be handling the situation a lot better than the hospital staff.
I left ahead of the ambulance, and Sarah rode along with Reagan. My headstart allowed me to get some food just before I got onto 275, and when I was pulling out of Taco Bell, here came Sarah and the All Children’s wagon. I followed them the rest of the way to the hospital.
Sarah and I followed Reagan inside, holding on to each other for dear life. About seven people and a doctor were waiting for Reagan, who looked even more lifeless than I last saw him. The team began to work aggressively on him. Trying to stabilize him. Trying to figure out what was wrong with him. Our admitting doctor appeared to be concerned and not just “doing” his job, but passionately trying to save my kid. His passion and concern made me feel more comfortable. Now around eight in the evening, we repeated what had happened since midnight and told him what the other hospital had thought about him and the new-onset witching. They drew more blood and got my mini-me ready for a lumbar puncture. “Lumbar punctures are normal for really sick baby’s.” The doctor said.
The techs put Reagan on his side and curled him up so the doctor could clean the back. When the doctor started to push the needle through his skin, Reagan let out most of the gas build up inside him and got a little laugh out of the staff and me. The mood in the room turned quiet and somber when his spinal fluid slowly started to leak from the open-ended needle. I watched the doctor’s face turn from a pale white to a bright red… Not a blushing red but a serious red. He gave a nod to someone who quickly left the room. As he got a better look at the fluid coming out the doctor
uttered “Oh crap, this isn’t good” I couldn’t hold back anymore and started to cry while standing above Sarah out of her line of sight. It was incredibly hard to see him in pain and crying, and now knowing that there was something very wrong with him, I was devastated. A Chaplin stepped into the room behind Sarah and me with the nurse the doctor nodded to. He was there to comfort us with what the doctor was about to say. After the doctor got what he needed as far as fluids, he came up to us and explained the seriousness of the situation and that they were starting him on a broad spectrum powerful antibiotic. The ER doc said he wasn’t sure if Reagan would make it through the night. He said he was sure Reagan was fighting meningitis, and with as sick as he was, it had probably been too late. As soon as they knew more, they would let us know. The Chaplin held us and prayed while we cried in heartache and fear.
An echo tech came down and started an echo while I was in the restroom; when I got back, I was pleased to see an echo and started naming off the heart’s anatomy as I saw it. The tech was pretty stunned, probably because I looked like a total scrub after the day we just had. I got to see the whole echo and liked what I saw; no leaks or holes. The cardiologist came down to see Reagan just as the tech finished up, and he also liked what he had seen and was pleased to know that I knew what I was looking at. He explained that his heart looking good was a good thing and that almost anything could be treated. He also promised to come to visit Reagan throughout our stay with them. It wasn’t long after the trauma team stabilized him that my little Reagan was sent to PICU and started what could be a three-week treatment. Three A.M., we get to sleep.
The first night was scary, his alarms went off every few minutes, and I didn’t sleep a wink. They had the antibiotics running through two separate IV sites to get in as much as they could as fast as they could. The staff hooked him up to an EEG machine to watch his brain activity, EKG to watch his heart, and gave him heated O2 for comfort. Presently, Saturday sunrise, Reagan was alive, still not moving, but he was alive when I woke up.
The Neurologist and CDC doctors came to see us. The Neurologist told us that she had seen Reagan had a couple seizures throughout the night. Even though we couldn’t see them physically, she was going to start him on some anti-seizure medicine to stop them until the infection was gone. But there could be a chance that he may have to stay on them for a few months depending on how he responds to everything happening around him and the medicine. She gave us a glimmer of hope by saying he could be on medicine for a couple of months. The CDC doctor showed up shortly after the Neurologist left and told us all about meningitis and the difference between viral and bacterial and that he only had one or the other.
She explained that he was in a ton of pain since the infection is in his fluid surrounding the brain and spinal fluid. His seizures were coming from the right side of the brain; this is why we saw them on the body’s left side. She told us it would be a while to grow the bacteria and that there was a good chance that it wasn’t viral. If he had both, it would be like getting struck by lightning twice in the same day, so she wasn’t concerned about him having viral meningitis but still had to test for it.
After she left, Sarah finally got to pump some milk and filled four 2.5 ounce bottles with her liquid gold, “as the nurses put it.” We just stood by Reagan and watched him closely throughout the day. We were not allowed to hold or touch him as he was quarantined for his and our protection. My mom and Rich came down later on that Saturday evening with Macey; we learned quickly she wasn’t allowed in the PICU at all, for her own safety. My parents brought us some nice food, and it was so great to see my little Macey. Sarah and I had a chance to run home and get some clothes and supplies for our extended hospital stay. and to see Jonny’s armhole. He, my best friend, was bit by a spider, and it had left a massive hole in his arm.
When we got back to the hospital, and everyone left, the night nurse gave me the greatest news of all. I got to hold Reagan for the first time since all this mess started. I held my little guy for a couple hours until I could no longer hold my eyes open. Oh it was so great to be able to have his littleness resting in my arms again.
Holding him really helped out since while I was holding him his heart rate went down and his blood pressure came back up. I was so happy to know that he was comforted by me holding him. This Sunday morning, I woke up late and felt still so tired. They have run so many tested on him today. We got to see the Neurologist and the CDC doctors again today. The cardiologist also stopped in to see if Reagan was doing okay and was very happy to see that his heart rate came back down. The Neurologist was pleased to see that the anti-seizure meds were/are working. Sometime this week, if he still hasn’t had any more seizures, she would send him in for an MRI to see if there will be any brain damage from meningitis.
The CDC doctor thinks she narrowed the Bacteria down to two different types and will know for sure on Monday what he has. This doctor reminds Sarah and me so much of my sister Heather from the way she dresses to the way she talks; it really is uncanny. I got to talk to one of my bosses last night, and he told some of the people at work that he knew I talked with often, about what was going on, and he was pleased that my son seemed to be improving. They have us on a prayer list now, and I won’t be losing my job for missing work. Sarah got to hold Reagan just a little while ago
and I am so proud of her trying to comfort our little baby.
Sarah is handling this very well now that she knows he should be okay once everything is said and done. There is a chance that he may have some hearing loss and maybe some other learning disabilities now from all this. So he will have a specialist following him through his childhood to monitor his milestones. For now, he is stable and can only get better. I would like to thank everyone for your prayers and for thinking about my little boy. He will make it through this, and everyone that hasn’t met him yet will get a chance soon enough. Well, I will finish this post up and try to get to hold him again before dinner time…
The Heart broken Michael Trump
Reagan :01 / The Meningitis Monster :00
As of the start of this blog, Reagan has been sick for six days now, but continues to get better as the antibiotics’ course through his tiny baby veins. Reagan has a rare strain of meningitis and seems to have been put under control for now. With every heal prick his blood tests come back a little better and a little better. Though with his rapid progress and seemingness to be on the up side of things there is still no telling when we will be leaving this rest stop for the sick. I was figuring early next week due to his quickness to heal; a
social worker had a different idea when we would be leaving though. Yesterday this social worker came by to see us and to ask more questions than I thought she needed to know the answers to, but to please her, because Sarah was in the shower, I answered the questions. And then she proceeded to tell me that my little boy who was so close to death five days earlier was getting out tomorrow (now today). My jaw dropped; this morning (now yesterday) the CDC Dr. told me two weeks minimum for him to be here for treatment and could be longer just to be on the safe side. “Um yeah my son has bacterial meningitis, I am pretty sure they are not letting him leave this hospital until his treatments are complete.” “I’ll have to check because it says he is leaving.” “He wont be leaving, just find the CDC Dr. she knows what is going on.” “Okay well we will see you guys latter.” So yeah we are still here and will be here till at least the 17th maybe till Christmas still. Yesterday evening after Reagan woke up for the night, that’s right he has his days and night flip flopped he wakes up about nine and is up till three or four, we went down for an MRI on his brain. This morning when I awoke to the CDC Dr. coming in the room and my eyes adjusted to the lack of sleep, I saw on the Parent Notes board, MRI: NORMAL. Thank god. The CDC Dr. assured us (well Sarah was still sleeping) that there seemed to be no brain damage and she is sure that he will make a great recovery. Viridans Streptococcus couldn’t keep him down, there is anything going to keep him down now.
This morning I wanted coffee so bad I could taste it… well I couldn’t taste but I wanted to. Shortly after Sarah got up I went down to the cafeteria to take a gander at the coffee booth thing stacked full of three dollar coffees. I got one for Sarah and one for me; if we didn’t have to stay here for another week or so I would have thrown it at them. Sun Cruz has better tasting coffee and its free. Most of the food down there is pretty good but their coffee really needs a Folgers boost!!
The neurologist just came in and said everything is looking great and that she wants to keep him on his ant seizure medications for the whole treatment just to make sure everything has cleared his system and will be okay.
Reagan is back to being a little piggy and wants to feed all the time, now the midwife at
Sarah’s doctors office said that was fine and that she should try to feed him when he wants and that would help her make more milk to appease his growing appetite. Plus as long as he is peeing and pooping; he is getting enough and there is no need to supplement him with anything else.
Well we have lots of people to call and to fill in about how much better he is doing now.
Again thank you everyone for you prayers.
Michael Trump a happy father
This was at home before he got sick… more pictures soon to come.
Michael Trump 