2022

Our conversation in January was light or there are gaps in my data restoration. By mid month
he was telling me about someone he met near him that might be interested in me. I never did hear from that guy.

January 21 – Meatloaf has died. He replies he’s tired of the one he gets at Trader Joe’s. LOL.

January 30, 2022 – Once again I make TriTip for dinner and he comes over.

Early February has us talking mostly about TV shows again. He had some procedure scheduled at Kaiser Oakland that he ended up cancelling because he drove over and they wouldn’t let him drive home.

February 19 – David comes over and we have dinner. I don’t remember this. Where’s the selfies? We’re lame in that respect.

February 28 – He has paracentesis. I think this is the first time. He says they took a gallon of fluid out. He has ascites, a bad sign that his liver is in distress. I remember this first time the procedure worked well and he went back to pretty normal sized belly after. His ankle swelling went away too.
  
March 1 – It’s Mardi Gras! I make Étouffée& King Cake and he comes over. The year we met I got the baby in the cake at Palo Alto Mardi Gras. He wouldn’t come to the party that year, but became an active participant after.

Here he is as King in 2000, in New Orleans. 29 of us traveled to New Orleans that year.

We text about the rare occurance of thunder on March 3. We chat about how our Oakland house is already being sold again. It’s listed lower than we sold it to them, but they end up selling for $400K more than they bought. Crazy prices.

March 11 – He is admitted to Kaiser for a bacterial infection due to a cap they put in his leg for a future
procedure. It was so they could radiate his liver. At some point we learned he had cancer in his liver. Two spots. Mom and I are in Palmdale at small family reunion. They discharged him before we got back and his car was still parked at Kaiser, so he drove himself home. They also gave him Nicolette and he stopped smoking.

March 14 – he came over, but our messages don’t indicate why. He sometimes just came over to say hello to mom. She liked that. She called him her second son.

March 17 –  He came over for dinner and brought dessert. I’m sure I made corned beef and cabbage boiled dinner sine it was St. Patrick’s Day. I think he brought this little cake that was delicious.

March 19 – One of our favorite performers we’ve seen together many times, Paula West, is playing a concert and we make a last minute decision to attend. We have a nice dinner at a Thai restaurant nearby. We don’t have reserved seats but end up nabbing some good ones. I remember that at this point his stomach had grown again and it was uncomfortable. The concert is good, the venue nice, but we both got tired as it went on. We contemplated leaving early, but managed to stay.

March 25 – The LGBT Alliance is hosting a dedication of a bench in the new Triangle Park outside the Event Center here in Rossmoor. We attend that and then he comes over for dinner. I say in text “I’m throwing something together.”  Who knows what.

March 27 – Howard organized and hosted an Academy Awards watching party at Event Center here in Rossmoor for the Gay Men’s Club. Our small group managed to have some fun. I baked something, cookies I think. He provided some pizzas. I didn’t stay the whole time so that Mom and I could watch at home. We both want to know what Will Smith said when he got bleeped.

April 6 – It’s mom’s birthday and we ride up the coast on Highway 1 and head back to 101 via Sebastopol. We had dinner reservations. The service was horrible and the food only OK. Mom didn’t
like hers at all. Happy 92nd Birthday! We tried. We did all enjoy the scenic ride at least.

April 7 – He has a procedure in Oakland, and endoscopy I believe. He was sedated and really out of it when I picked him up. He has the hiccups. I help him into the condo and get him in bed. He says he’ll be fine and sleep it off. We have some strange texts back and for as he’s still feeling the sedation. At 5:02 he says he just woke up. But says he’s fine. At 7:32 he texts that he just woke up.

Unfortunately this procedure would start a long bout of hiccups  that lasted weeks. They came and went a bit, but were around every day.  April 10 – he has an MRI of his liver. April 18 – he says he’s
been in bed all day because of the hiccups.

April 24 – He finally gets a MS drug that stops the hiccups.

April 29 – We make reservations to go to Sauced BBQ again. But mom’s stomach isn’t in the
mood for that. We return to Golden Palace.  to be continued…