Gregory

It has been over half a month since I have written here. I find that I am still spending most of my time on the Alzheimer's Blog processing Gregory's passage.

So much has happened in the last month including his death, the arrangements for cremation and the cremation itself, writing an obituary for him which in part informed the obituary in the Chicago Tribune and in full was reproduced in the Windy City Times with my name in the "by-line."

There was also the planning of and experience with Gregory's Memorial at the condo (attended by over 100 people) and the Thank You Memorial at the Lieberman Center (attended by over 150 people.)

The condo memorial was comforting in the traditional Deli Tray Jewish Way including so much food: corned beef, pastrami, turkey, beef, lox, white fish salad, egg salad, chopped liver salad, onion rolls, rye bread, bagels, cream cheeses, cheddar, swiss, munster, cole slaw, potato salad, beverages, and more pastries than you would hope to gain weight over.

The Lieberman memorial brought family and friends as well as residents, residents' families, administrators, department heads, staff, CNA's, custodians, and more. Gregory was so well known and so loved by everyone at Lieberman. Food included pastry leftovers from the condo plus cookies, brownies, chocolate nut toffee, mini-candy bars, MandM's, coffee, tea, and lemonade.

The "More Than Ever Education Fund" is in full flight as Casa Norte plans for its unveiling at the First Annual Spring Education Luncheon. We raised close to $3,000 in contributions in memory of Gregory.

I drove to Battle Creek, Michigan to spend the weekend with Gregory's family. His brother and sister-in-law planned a Memorial Dinner with several of friends as well as family. Many memories were shared and stories told.

So if you haven't already, check out the Alzheimer's Blog for photos, processing, and tears as well as joy. http://mhorvichcares.blogspot.com

The Stories People Tell

People tell stories. They tell them to family, friends, acquaintances, neighbors, and sometimes to strangers they meet in the elevator or while standing in line at the checkout. Usually a person has a repertoire of stories that they tell to various people depending on the who, when, why, and where of the situation.


These stories get told over and over either because people are asked, are interesting, or because they are full of themselves. Eventually some stories get retired and new ones take their place. Actually I have known some people who retell the same stories over and over (I listen patiently) and never replace them.


I have discovered a new tendency in myself. Yes, I have my stories. Yes, I think most of them are interesting. No, I do not think I repeat them to the same person. But the new development is that I have been writing a number of my stories on my: "michael a horvich writes," "michael a horvich cares about people who care about alzheimer's," "michael a horvich photographs" and "michael's museum,"BLOGS.


I find myself telling a story and saying things like: "You may have read about this on my BLOG." "You can go to my BLOG and read about this." "Why don't you read my BLOG for a more detailed description."


Perhaps one day I will find myself saying: "You've heard the story, you've read the book, and now you can see the soon to be released movie." 
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Stay tuned for the TV series:-)