11/12 TBI, ShmeeBI

Chuck looked very sharp in suit and tie at the Salvation Army Community Medal Award banquet. People lined up to greet him with handshakes, embraces, exclamations and tears. Chuck is a beloved man. He recognized everyone by name, shared inside jokes with some and was the toast of the hour.

Jean Hamed made us a part of the Salvation Army Women's Auxiliary table and there were tables of other community businesses and non-profits attending. The formal banquet was beautifully executed with 15 year old keynote speaker Daniel Demand who was pitch perfect in articulating what kind of a man the Salvation Army was making out of him. Award honoree was Thomas Strauss, President and CEO of Summa.

In addition to all this fuss, Chuck had weight, stretching and stamina workouts throughout the day. I'm expecting him to slip back into a coma at any moment, but he's sitting in his LaZBoy chair keeping an eye on me and answering phone calls.

I'm doing the work to expand my subbing opportunities at area high schools, plan to inquire about adjuncting at the university, and am also looking into other job leads in marketing and development. The daily routine at Gilcrest is starting to take a shape and this is giving me the freedom to see about ways for us to move forward.

We feel cared for in Barberton and I fell in love with downtown Doylestown today. I'm drawn to the safety of little towns and their down-to-earth people right now. That's a new feeling for me. Even Akron felt like a small town to me today at the banquet, full of familiar and kind people.

Tomorrow, we're attending an AFP banquet (Association of Fund-raising Professionals) at the invitation of president, Larry Becker, and have dinner plans for Friday and Saturday nights with friends.

Here's Chuck getting gym-buff, with a bevy of women attending to his every need, social engagements piling up, flashbulbs, speaking and pulpit engagements, trainers, masseurs, physical, speech, occupational therapists, fund-raising committee, volunteer corps, devoted neighbors, loving family...

He's non-plussed by all of it and just goes on through the day doing the next thing without being particularly attached to the outcome, loving everyone. I believe Net Bed Man is Enlightened.