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Ari Enjoying two of his remaining pleasures- coffee and a cigar- on David's patio.
November 26, 2004
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| Thanksgiving 2004 found the Rutkoff’s gathered at brother David’s newly remodeled house in San Diego. In attendance were David, his new tenants, Shula and Ari, brothers Donn and Ethan, with his Mrs., Patty. And, of course, Gavan and Stella (David’s four-footed furry friends). A wonderful feast was prepared, mostly by David, and shared by all. David, unfortunately, flew off Friday EARLY am to meet up with his high school’s 35th reunion. The rest of us rested and ate and rested some more. |
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Ari spent a lot of time reading, though we were unsure if he understood what he was reading. The consensus is that sometime Tuesday night he had a minor stoke as he was mumbling in a mostly Hebrew incoherency while moving his finger along the lines of English text.
His speech was also extremely difficult to comprehend, and most of what came out sounded like Hebrew type sounds and words, but they did not make any sense.
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Ever the seeker of knowledge, Ari reads the paper by the morning light in the 'great' room. |
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Friday, Shula had a chance to escape when Donn took her into 'Thrift Alley' in Poway where she was able to cruise the thrift store to her hearts content - or at least for a couple hours.
Saturday, Shula and Ari went on an excursion to see Miramar Lake, the popular local spot for joggers, bicyclists, and skaters. It was chilly and breezy, but they seemed to enjoy it.
Later in the afternoon, cousin Yehudite, her husband Aurelio, their two little girls, Tiana and Tikva, and her sister Tamara, visiting from the Bay area came by for a visit. Lots of giggles, squeals, stories, and hugs filled the room for several hours. And, of course, we all ate again.
We all thank David once again for hosting us, putting up with all of us, and for trusting us with his house and his hounds while he was away. |
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| The Commander's Post |
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LCDR David Rutkoff (Ret.) in all his glory |
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David's most recent undertaking has been to absorb Ari and Shula into his home to provide their care.
A private duty nurse comes to his house in the morning and assists in getting the 'Seniors' up and moving, showered, and dressed. David goes to work and when the nurse is finished, leaves.
Shula then attends to Ari's needs during the day, and David deals with the two of them at night.
He (David) is looking into expanding the front bedroom of his house to accommodate them better.
So far, the dogs have posed no interference,
The cats, Glenda and Munchkin, both somewhere around 16-17 years old, made the journey OK, but since then, Munchkin has unfortunately passed on. Not quite sure what happened, but from Shula's description, it sound like it might have bee a stroke or aneurism.
Glenda is getting along fine.
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| Donn's Domain |
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A big hand goes to Brother Donn for getting Shula and Ari on the plane in Alabama, and off in San Diego.
Brother Donn celebrates his big 50 this year. He spent his birthday and the rest of the Thanksgiving holiday in San Diego with the family, helping attend to Shula and Ari while Brother David went to his 35th high school reunion in Youngstown, Ohio.
Donn spends most of his time vending wines to restaurants, but also spends a day or so a week working in a wine retailing store.
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| J&WRs Southern Hospitality Suite |
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Wendy and Jonathan, at a Thanksgiving dinner a few years ago.
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Jonathan and Wendy are happily attending to their little bundle of sugar and spice, Ida (see below).
All reports indicate that things are well. Both are still employed, and they even get to see each other every other week for two whole days at a time!
JR has been having a bout with gout, and has had to make DRASTIC changes to his lifestyle and diet. But Bernie still won't go Bar-B-Que Tofu for him. Oh well.
Kila, Mitzi's daughter/playmate, is doing quite well, as is Mitzi. They are both on the same feminine cycle, and have just experienced their "Aunt Flo" coming to town.
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Ida Rose @ 2 months and 6 months |
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Ida Rose is cutting her first teeth, and has been fussy due to that. But otherwise, she is just an angel. She can't/doesn't crawl yet, but she will lay down and roll over a few times to try to get closer to us when we're playing on the floor. Next week is her 9 month check-up, and we'll find out more about when she'll get her right tear duct probed to unclog it. She was born with it obstructed and it causes lots of major eye boogers, but it's nothing serious and we've been told it's a very minor 'procedure' to unobstruct it. Still, anything that's a 'procedure' is upsetting to her papa. She has discovered she loves anything Elmo/Sesame Street, and this morning she learned how to channel surf w/ the remote control, and quit surfing when she came across a cartoon. Amazing!!
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