Here is a short version of what has transpired with Dad this year. In January, he went into the hospital after a fall. On this visit they found a bleeding ulcer, some lowered kidney functions and three blockages in his heart. They treated him as best they could and scheduled him for heart surgery in May.

In February, they decided that the kidney problem was caused by a tumor in his bladder. It was removed and it was a stage 2 carcinoma. Dad decided against any chemo and we called him every night and went to see him every weekend. My brother, Jon – who lives in Florida – spent as much time with us as he could. While at home Dad had trouble with the catheter and was in the hospital in Centre for a few days. He started having equilibrium problems and it was discovered that he had a subdural hematoma caused by the earlier fall.

In March, he had brain surgery to remove the clot on his brain and reduce the swelling. During all this, we had to keep close watch on his blood pressure and diabetes and made sure that he was eating. An old friend, Norma Weber – she and Dad had dated before he and Mom got married, contacted him and came to visit for a while and helped us take care of him.

In April, the doctors decided to let him continue on his medical regimen and see if he would get stronger and decided to wait until September for the heart surgery.

In June, he had another tumor removed from his bladder and it was still a stage 2 carcinoma, so he opted for no chemo again. This time he developed a severe urinary tract infection and had a severe diabetic incident and ended up in the hospital again for two weeks.

In late July, he was feeling bad and thought his ulcer had returned. This turned out to be heart attack number 1. He was in the ICU and had heart attack number 2. This caused problems because the medicine for the heart caused problems with the medicine for his kidneys and other things and the kidney medicine played havoc with the heart medicine. This is when they decided that he was no longer a candidate for bypass surgery. The doctors were greatly surprised that he made it out of the ICU and into a regular room. He surprised them again by making it out of the hospital and into Hospice care with us.

Dad came to stay with us in August and seemed to be doing some better. Norma stayed with him for a while and this was a real boost to his spirits. He was able to get around with a walker and a wheel chair for a while and regained enough strength to walk on his own for a while.

Things were looking up until the last week in October when his strength started giving out and he had to start using his oxygen around the clock. He had to have help getting out of the bed and finally couldn’t even do that. We kept him comfortable and had a good time on November 3^rd watching the Alabama football game with the family and some friends here. He had a comfortable night and around 8:00am Sunday morning he left us for a grand reunion with my Mom and my younger brother who had died in 1959.

It is hard getting used to him not being here. We really got to know each other and I would not give up these past few months for anything in the world. I miss him a lot.

The following is the obituary I wrote for him that appeared in the newspaper. He had a lot of friends and was special to a lot of people in addition to being a special uncle to my cousins. You may never be able to go home again, as someone once said, but no matter what, when or how – the love of your parents will always be there and that is a special blessing that each and every one of us should cherish. It’s never too late to tell someone you love them. Tell them while they are still here with you

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L. D. Hunter, 81, 114 Julia Drive SW, Rome, Georgia, formerly of 1435 County Road 69, Centre, Alabama passed away Sunday, November 4, 2007 after a short illness. He was born November 27, 1925 in Centre, Alabama to the late George Washington Hunter and Bessie Sanders Hunter.

After serving as a Corpsman in the Army during World War II, he spent his early years as a farmer and salesman for Mitchell Seed and Feed before joining the Rome News-Tribune in 1959 as a pressman. He finished his career at The Clearwater Sun as Pressroom Foreman and retired to Centre, Alabama where he spent his later years gardening and enjoying life with his family and friends. He also served many years in the Alabama National Guard. He was preceded in death by his wife of almost sixty years, Sybil Weaks Hunter; a son, Tommy Duran Hunter; and a granddaughter, Kimberly Dawn Hunter, as well as several brothers and sisters.

He is survived by two sons and their wives, Barry and Kathy Hunter of Rome and Jon and Peggy Hunter of Safety Harbor, Florida, and a daughter and her husband Joyce and Steve Port of Kennesaw, Georgia, a brother in law and his wife James and Mary Ann Weaks of Centre, Alabama and a sister in law, Mary Nell Hawkins of Gadsden, Alabama, four grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. He is also survived by a sister, Annie Mae Harrell of Gadsden, Alabama, cousins, nieces, nephews and a special friend, Norma Webber of Birmingham, Alabama.

The family will receive friends from 5pm until 7pm (Central Time) on November 6, 2007 at the Perry Funeral Home, 1611 East Bypass in Centre. Cremation will follow. At other times the family may be reached at the residence, 114 Julia Drive SW, Rome, Georgia 30165.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Heyman HospiceCare, PO Box 163, Rome, GA 30162-0163 or your favorite charity. Special thanks go to the staff at Heyman HospiceCare for their special care; especially, Connie Burris and Linda Davis.

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Dad introduced me to country music, but in the 1950’s it was mostly Ernest Tubb, Webb Pierce, Hank Lochlin and Hank Williams Senior but they didn’t seem to interest me as I was listening to the new music called rock and roll. As I got older I began to appreciate country music and now I listen to a lot of it. Dad even got so he liked the Beatles, Bob Dylan and some of the other groups I listened to as well.

Dad also introduced me to comic books and the pulps. Once a month or so, we would go to the five and dime store and get Superman, Batman, The Lone Ranger, and others. Too bad we didn’t keep them. Dad had a bunch of old fading Shadow and Spider pulps that created an interest that continues until today.

Every Saturday, our local theatre ran a double feature western, cartoons, a Republic serial and lots of previews of coming attractions. Dad would come get me during his lunch break and then join me when he got off work and we stayed until he saw everything. That meant I usually got to see them twice. What more could a young boy want.

During the last days, Dad watched the Western Channel on TV and we watched an assortment of his extra large collection of 1930’s to 1950’s westerns he had accumulated on video. He liked the University of Alabama football and on his last Saturday, we had family and friends around him watching the game. Carey, Scott’s wife, got him to give us a "Roll Tide, Roll" and other than brief conversations with Jon and me, those were his last words.

Dad, Mom and Tommy – my younger brother who died in 1959 – were all cremated and Jon has taken them to Florida where they are to be scattered. He would have been 82 on November 27 and he had a full life.

We all miss him and remember him dearly. He was unique. He was my Dad and I miss him.

I’m going to cut this issue off short this time. I hope you understand that my mind is elsewhere right now. Hope you had a pleasant holiday season and hopefully I will be back in March.

Barry