October 28, 2002 - Lake Retreat 3
Last Sunday was an open house, happy anniversary, happy birthday party for Ken and Cher Easdon. Last year we surprised Ken with a birthday party, and he surprised us and the Dr.'s by being there. Cancer is a strange disease at best. And Barb and I managed to surprise him again this year by showing up at the party. He had no idea we were in the area. He and Cher have just built a smaller house, on one level, and were sharing it with all of us. The guy is a fighter, has an incredible sense of humor in general and particularly as it relates to his cancer. He wears really stupid and almost obscene t-shirts to the clinic and makes the hired help take his picture, and then writes hilarious reports of the activities. He's also man enough to admit that it's not all fun and games, but his attitude is setting a standard for the rest of us that will be hard to reach. None of us really knows when we're going to leave this life and move on to whatever is next, but when you've been given a more-or-less accurate prediction of when and how, it can be a daunting task to continue to live your life to the fullest. Ken has done that and is doing it. He's already outlived all the predictions, and it looks like he's going to just continue to confound the "experts." He's volunteered for any experimental program they'll let him participate in, and refers to himself as "GP#1", standing for Guinea Pig #1. He and Cher have made many practical decisions regarding their circumstances, and maintained a great balance between laughing and shrugging of shoulders. Barb and I wish all you could have friends like these two in your lives to let you know that there is always room for hope.
On the left he's showing off his new office.....with the old chair from the office he had before he retired. One of the guys managed to capture that chair and give it to him last year at the surprise birthday. Terri is grinning because the darn chair has a unique sound when Ken turns it just right. Much like a whoopee cushion! And he delighted in doing it any time there was a quiet period in the office at work. I worked in a different building, but I knew the story of the chair anyway, as did many of us in the IT department. And then he showed off his "work in progress." I can't remember how many years he's been working on this Mustang, but it's been in the body shop for at least two years. And time well spent. Close your eyes, run your fingers over those stripes and you can't feel a thing but smooth, smooth, smooth. Beautiful paint job. That looks like Steve in the background drooling on it. Steve has one of the new Ford factory hot-rod trucks in that "arrest me" red color. Supercharged and all. I think I included pictures of it from the surprise party last year.
That's the 289 engine, only it's putting out over 300 HP. Looks tame enough sitting there, doesn't it. And then he had to open the hood and show us that the engine compartment looks as good as the exterior. Almost, but not quite, made me wish I had my little shop back.
And it was at this point that I was glad I didn't have my little shop back. Man, just look at all that dirt! Cher is a master Gardner in her own right, and we know that it won't be long before the place is looking incredible. She not only went to school to learn how to landscape, but built her own landscaping materials in their previous yard. Talented lady. Ken is explaining to Karen, Steve's wife, about the way Cher painted the gutters and downspouts to match the trim, and now the other people in the subdivision are doing the same thing. I haven't a clue who that is with her back to the camera.
It isn't just the love of old military rifles (and the shooting sports), computer stuff, hot rods, and model planes that we share, look what he (and Cher, of course) have added alongside their house! And once inside we were joined by nurse Carol Ford who takes full credit for keeping Ken alive this long, her two kids and husband. I managed to catch Barbs ear in there as well. We just got a two part story about Ken and Cher's latest adventure with the RV. This is their first RV, and they're taking things slow and easy, and thinking about what they're doing. So they emptied the fresh water tank because they didn't need it with hookups, and they'd be saving weight as well, right? Well, unless they're going for a few days into a state park that has no water hookups because it's after the season! Since the park was 40 miles from home they went and got containers full of water. Retired military tough, these two! They travel with their 4 legged house mate too. A huge red chow named Kobi. There are several of us who know Ken who have 5th wheels, and after only a few general questions about them, he showed up with it. Why not? It's a great life.