Well, they are charging him a fine but it will be decreased if he gets the work done within a month. His attorney referred a nice guy to do the work so hopefully he can finish everything and get the city off of Bob's back. I want to scream everytime I see his house because all the houses around his are in worse shape than his is. There is always grafitti on the garages and garbage strewn all over the alley. But by God, Bob better get HIS house fixed! Ack! I hate the City of Milwaukee. Their priorities here are way out of wack. Building code violations are more important than murders, burglaries and vandalism. We'd love to get Bob's stuff into storage, in fact he has a storage locker he is renting for just that purpose. The problem is, no one to help move the stuff. I'm not worth much and Bob has moved some things despite his missing toes and the doctor's orders. Where is a supportive, helpful family when you need one? Hopefully, once his house is up to snuff with the city, we can work on getting his things out and get rid of the big white elephant (my pet name for it). Thanks for your thoughts and prayers. I'm sure they helped us in getting this resolved without too much stress. Hugs, Kathy

Nice website!! He's a little cutie!! I saw the site further down the page where his sister got to go to the dance with her daddy!! How sweet of so many to help her out with her cute hairdo, shoes & dress. She looked wonderful. We had a relative go through being hit in head with 800 lb. go cart thing this summer & he wasn't very responsive at 1st either. Breathing was really hard & he got a stomach tube. Whole family was touching him & talking to him about his kids, everything he liked, his music. 1 day he opened his eyes & from then on came out of it & now is almost 100% drs. could hardly believe it. So keep stimulating him with his favorite stuffed animal, music, silly games(even tho he can't open his eyes he can hear you!!)This young man said it was sometimes irritating to want to respond but couldn't, His 1st signs were squeezing their fingers just a little so bug Jeremy to squeeze your fingers often. They are in a kind of dreamlike state & need to get called back to the familiar & their life, drs. so appreciated the family they let them be there all the time instead of the few minutes an hour. Someone was holding his hands all the time. He had lot of other injuries but they all healed well also,it happened in July & he is back at work & can drive too! so it is possible to come back from a very bad situation. With God all things are possible! Continuing prayers for the whole family & all his medical team. Jan

Annie, my Mom didn't want a funeral either, just to be cremated and her ashes scattered at sea. And a "celebration of life" (her words). As to the celebration of life, I pretty well made it up in consultation with a chaplain she had liked. We held it a month after her death, to give everyone's emotions a little settling time. We had it in a local hall, I catered most of the food, and we invited what family and friends we knew would want to come. I gave a short talk on Mom's life, brother gave a short talk on how she affected our lives. Then we said her favourite prayer and took helium balloons in her favourite colours (which I had filled myself with assistance from my inlaws) outside and released them. During the balloon release a family friend in full Scots regalia (total surprise) played "Amazing Grace" on his bagpipes. Lots of people said it was the best "funeral" they had ever attended, and it certainly was low cost (had to be, we were really skint back then). With your large family I guess if you wanted to do something like that you could all bring food and share, which would also add to the community feel. So you'd be honouring your Unlce Marty's wishes but still have the closure a funeral gives and the chance for everyone to get together and reminisce.

Jannie, I am so happy for you! I have always admired the way you handled your illness with such grace and gentle humor. Bless the woman who so generously donated her organs so another might find health again. Bless the doctors and nurses who guided and cared for you throughout this journey. And finally - YABBADABBA DOOO and WHOOOO HOOO!