Happy B-Day Danny (DesertRat), enjoy your 51st brother......

Damn! I've been gone a while it would seem. I totally missed this post and want to say I'm sorry for doing so. Also, THANK YOU for remembering. I'm humbled by your thoughts and well-wishes despite my obvious absence here.

This year has been a very emotional and stressful one for me but things seems to be calming down a bit now.

On April 6th my next oldest brother, Joe (age 52), was diagnosed with throat cancer. At that same time my wife and I put an offer on a new house about 20 miles closer to civilization and at the first of May I received an unexpected offer of employment from a well established (112 yr old ) company.

I accepted the offer of employment in mid-May because they literally made me an offer I could not refuse, began soliciting buyers for my existing businesses and entered into escrow on the house.
My brother began his chemotherapy around this same and since he was at County USC Medical Center in Los Angeles, I began making almost daily trips to L.A.

I started employment on June 1st and during this time under chemo, my brothers tumor tripled in size. He was deemed to be terminal and given six months to live on June 16th, I had to cancel the 3rd Annual Edwards AFB Herf and Tour and did a lousy job of letting people know about that even (I apologize sincerely for letting that slip by).

July came around and the trips to L.A. to be with my brother were relegated to evenings and weekends and then on July 24th my brother Joe lost his fight with the Beast and passed away. We closed escrow on the house the very next day.

We buried my brother, finalized the sale of my existing businesses and began renovating the new house in August.

September happened sometime in there and I was elected President of the non-profit I have worked with for the last 18 years in support of our military.

October was spent renovating our former house in order to get it ready for the tenants that moved in on November 1st but on the bright side; my wife had her final full body scan and was deemed to be five years cancer free and thus, cured!

Here we are near the end of the year and I'm wondering; what the heck happened? I've been beat down emotionally, stressed out financially and time has flown by like a runaway train but through it all, I come here and find out people were wishing me a happy birthday and I was totally oblivious.

All I can say is you all are a great group of people. Thank you for being who and what you are. I'm looking forward to some herfing in times to come! The So. Cal. pre-Thansgiving Herf in Glendale Ca. on the 18th sounds like a great start!

Bless you all!

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