Ron and Rozella

We spent Saturday with Ron and Rozella.

If you have read this blog long you remember me talking about them before. But this is the first time in decades that we have spent a whole day with them.

Rozella is a big time accordion payer, classical accordion, sort of rare nowadays. She teaches and enjoys it a whole lot. Their new house has a nice garden area for Ron, who loves to putter in the dirt.

Ron’s Alzheimer's made him retire from his career as a pastor, when he was in his mid 50’s. Dear old Alz cut him out of some of his best potential years as a pastor, and cost his members his accumulated wisdom.

Now he is at that awkward age, just 60, but not retired officially, not eligible for lots of programs for retired people. But they have a good attitude.

Their 4 children were young when we first met them. We were good friends with the kids and they remember us with a smile (maybe they are just kind to old people, hmm). We met 3 of them Saturday.

It is with a heavy heart that we left their house Saturday night. For one thing it was dark and the route to their house was circuitous at best and a challenge I was not sure about, but we made it to the familiar freeway and on home.

I will think of Ron and Rozella often. We will keep in phone touch. They do not have a working computer and do not do internet, so that form of communication is out, but I will talk to Rozella often.

Having to deal with Alz is the pits, but having close friends go through the same thing makes it into sort of a reverse looking glass.

Damn disease.