http://www.joev.com/blogs/familyandfriends/ This is my blog about things going on with my family and friends. en Copyright 2007 Wed, 13 Jun 2007 11:33:04 -0600 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Well, it's been a while since I've written. During that time, Dad was put on oxygen in December, had a brochoscopy in February or March, and had a lung biopsy at the end of March or early April. He was diagnosed with Usual Interstitial Pneumonia. It means the body is attacking the lungs as if they were foreign, and destroying their ability to absorb oxygen. On June 1, Dad was taken to the hospital. His oxygen level was at 24 and he was unconscious when the ambulance arrived. He was rushed to Piggott, where he got back up to a good level for oxygen and then on to Poplar Bluff. At Poplar Bluff, when I arrived, they told us that Dad had a mild heart attack. But the real problem was the oxygen levels. And worse still, Dad had developed a case of pneumonia. But Dad didn't seem to feel the effects of the heart attack, and he seemed to be doing reasonably well - talking and such - although the oxygen levels in his body weren't where they needed to be, even with the oxygen level set really, really high. On June 2, Dad died of respiratory failure, with Mom at his side the whole time, and with Gentry, Jody, Marty, and me there at the last as well. My father, Jack Vancil, was a great man, and there's no way to fill the void that he leaves in the lives of our family. He loved us, he labored for us, and I honestly believe that the only reason he was able to survive on the night of May 31st/morning of June 1st was all for me - so that we'd get to visit a bit. I love you, Dad. And I miss you a lot more than I show. Rest in Peace Jack Loyd Vancil December 18, 1927 - June 2, 2007 http://www.joev.com/blogs/familyandfriends/2007/06/rest_in_peace_dad.html http://www.joev.com/blogs/familyandfriends/2007/06/rest_in_peace_dad.html Wed, 13 Jun 2007 11:33:04 -0600 "The Final Trawl," and "Away Rio." Secondly, you can find out a lot about the band by going to their web site: http://www.3pintsgone.com . And third, if you have a chance to see these folks perform, you'll walk away feeling like a friend - even more so if you take the time to speak to them. That's what I did with Bill and Kath nine years ago - and they've been wonderful friends since that time. Check out their site, and check out this band.]]> http://www.joev.com/blogs/familyandfriends/2006/12/3_pints_gone_in_kansas_city.html http://www.joev.com/blogs/familyandfriends/2006/12/3_pints_gone_in_kansas_city.html Mon, 11 Dec 2006 09:06:07 -0600 The last few days, Columbia has been buried under snow. On Friday, work was closed due to the snow. I, of course, was pretty much stranded at my place. I got a few errands done, but mostly just sat around and watched TV. Saturday, with John and John's help, we got the driveway dug out. The afternoon was grocery shopping, and working with Best Buy to get the computer taken care of. Caleb came over later, and we watched basketball the rest of the evening. After church yesterday, I sat down, watched a bit of football, and got a call from Skander. He invited me out to play snow football with him and various friends. Caleb came along, also. We ended up with a good game - Skander, Shannyn, Tim, and me against Caleb, Jim, Kellen, and Lauren. I caught two touchdown passes, including one that I caught, then juggled, then caught again, then juggled again, then caught again. Playing in gloves apparently helped me, because I've never been worth a darn at football. Afterward, Skander, Shannyn, TIm, and Lauren joined Caleb and me, and we all went out to eat at Culver's. Afterward, Caleb and I caught a few last basketball games. Actually, snowy weather has been quite nice - if you leave out the ice-on-the-roads part of it. A good break from the office routine, a little bit of housework, including getting stuff out of the entrance-way, a chance to rest, and stocking up on food around my place. I just got back from lunch with my friends John and Dustin, as well as Skander. John and Dustin work at LanIt, which my old office partner started somewhere around 16 years ago. Dustin may be able to play basketball with us tomorrow night; we're playing Ott Trucking, so I hope he can make it. We had a lot of great discussion over lunch. I really enjoyed the time with these guys. I need to call John and Dustin up more often. http://www.joev.com/blogs/familyandfriends/2006/12/what_to_do_during_snowy_weathe.html http://www.joev.com/blogs/familyandfriends/2006/12/what_to_do_during_snowy_weathe.html Mon, 04 Dec 2006 13:22:14 -0600 Last evening, I spent much of the evening with Shannon Mruzik. We went out to Bandana's Barbeque to eat, and caught up on what was going on with each other. Then, as often happens, our conversation got into a debate on politics. Among the topics for debate were things such as the advertisement of prescription drugs (which, of course, treads on Shannon's future field of advertising), leadership within the political parties, viability of future candidates, "selling points" of liberalism vs. conservativism, government's responsibility to address views in a socialistic manner - especially in terms of things like welfare, and make-up and restrictions on the armed forces. Shannon and I both call ourselves conservatives, and while I consider myself extremely conservative, Shannon is FAR more so. We also talked about music, as well. However, the most interesting question, which Shannon raised, and I wanted some time to think about, was this potential debate: "Does God's gift of free will to man also constitute an obligation to vigorously defend it against anything that endangers it? Would the refusal to take on that obligation represent an offense to God?" Understand that I've always questioned whether free will is all that it's cracked up to be. Is there a great benefit in allowing man to choose to be evil? I don't see it. Obedience to a benevolent, omniscient God offers no drawbacks, as I see it, and allowing man to be willfully disobedient seems to offer no benefit to either God or man. So I've always considered free will overrated. But Shannon's question challenges that belief at a very basic level. Given that God is all-knowing, and given that he gave man free will, is there more benefit to the ability to rebel against God than I see? Did God give us that ability for our benefit? Is this simply God's kindness acting, or his wisdom and knowledge at a level beyond that we can understand? In other words, is not defending free will actually an offense against God, since he granted it to us in the first place? That should make a great topic for debate with Rick. http://www.joev.com/blogs/familyandfriends/2006/11/free_will_gift_or_obligation.html http://www.joev.com/blogs/familyandfriends/2006/11/free_will_gift_or_obligation.html Thu, 30 Nov 2006 09:38:31 -0600 Last night, Skander, Shannyn, and I went to see Casino Royale. Skander's not typically a person who watches James Bond movies, but for some reason, he was really eager to see this particular one. It was a pretty good Bond action movie, although there was definitely a sensitive side of Bond shown in this one that has never really appeared in past movies. And actually, I have to say, in the context of the movie, it really worked. All in all, not a bad film. We all caught a good meal at Panera Bread at the mall before the movie. An interesting debate over the meal was whether or not Skander is a "dirty" basketball player. And the answer? While Skander may not like it, YES, he's dirty. Even Shannyn apparently started to pick up on that fact when the two of them were in Savannah. Should make life interesting, because I think Skander is starting to come around to the fact that he's playing dirty out there. http://www.joev.com/blogs/familyandfriends/2006/11/casino_royale.html http://www.joev.com/blogs/familyandfriends/2006/11/casino_royale.html Tue, 28 Nov 2006 08:44:15 -0600 WIN!" Dad claimed the prize, which was some sort chocolate-covered something. One thing I'm never going to understand about Mom and Dad is their appreciation for flea markets. They can look through these things and find things that they like. I can spend 10 minutes, examine the entire thing - most of that time being confined to the actual time it takes me to walk through it - and determine that there's next to nothing of value there, and of the things that do have value, they're things I don't need or wouldn't spend the money on. Aunt Dott came by one day, and it was really good to see her. Aunt Dott and Mom are a lot alike, although I'd describe Mom as "quietly content" and Aunt Dott as "cheerful." The two of them actually talked for a while about how they enjoyed the things they do. I kind of wonder if Mom and Aunt Dott always got along so well - back when they were in school and such. Given the two of them, I can't imagine that they didn't. Besides Mom and Dad, Aunt Dott is the only member of that generation of the family left, and I have to admit, I find that disconcerting. It doesn't seem all that long ago that Uncle Charlie, Aunt Stella, and Uncle Doby were all around, and all of these folks were really important to me as members of the family. And the same with Uncle Jean and Aunt Jackie, although I was always closer to the Reel side of the family. Of all the deaths, though, I think Uncle Jean's hit everyone the hardest - especially Dad, since Uncle Jean was his twin brother. I don't think that Dad realizes that of all the family, his health - assuming he takes care of himself - is probably the least in question, although his feet still bother him. In looking over the Vancil family tree, there were a number of Vancils who lived impressively long lives for their generations, and Dad has grown up in the best generation for terms of health. Marty was in the field almost all of the time I was home. Marty's always working - be it picking cotton, or fixing equipment, or checking the pivots. He never seems to be happy; there's always a problem, or a worry, or a concern. He's changed a lot from the guy I always remember as being the one to crack a joke about something - albeit a corny one. In a lot of ways, he's become the serious one of the two of us. Gentry reminds me a lot of Mom in that nothing seems to rattle her. She even helped Marty out in the field on Thanksgiving. One thing I'm really proud of about Jody - Jody was just named the Friendliest girl at Kennett's High School. I can't say I'm surprised, though. Jody has a heart of gold. She always has. It doesn't surprise me at all that a lot of folks really like her. I even remember how Skander really liked her when he came down almost three years back. When I took off yesterday, it was a typical day - Mom taking care of getting everything laid out, Dad working on some chore - this time, mowing the lawn, and Marty working in the field. It's not exciting - or what I would consider fun - but Mom and Dad seem happy and content, just as they have for years and years. Would that everyone could live that way. And me? This morning, the scale read 206.5, and that after a hard evening of basketball last night. Too much spare time and too much food. Welcome back home.]]> http://www.joev.com/blogs/familyandfriends/2006/11/thanksgiving_back_home.html http://www.joev.com/blogs/familyandfriends/2006/11/thanksgiving_back_home.html Mon, 27 Nov 2006 13:59:06 -0600