A Dementia Night

We all went to bed by 1030. Dad had fallen asleep in the chair and was "late" getting Gpa his meds, they are not time sensitive just one needs to be taken at bed time. It is supposed to help Gpa not have anxiety. Normally it works.

Fast forward to a little over half an hour ago and I was scared awake by my grandfather opening my bedroom door and flipping the lights on. This has never happened before. He has knocked on my door every time before entering until tonight. Unless I was so dead to the world I didn't hear it, but that is unlikely as Stitch would have been awake and barking. Needless to say when the light came on both Stitch and I jumped to the ceiling. Stitch immediately raced out of my room thinking it was time for food (so I know where i rank, thanks dog). As for me I am trying to wrap my brain about what is going on! I see gpa dressed but I am pretty sure he slept in what he wore yesterday... but he is in my room yelling something that makes no sense.

Finally he gets out "I don't know where I need to be next! I need to talk to somebody and go there!" I will be honest, I was scared. He was rambling like he did a year and a half ago when he got violent on us. Then he turns to my bookcase near my door and frowns and says "and some of these are mine." I assure him, "Nooo, I promise all of those books have always been mine." He then turns back to me and yelled "I just don't know what's going on!" (After thinking about it, there were a couple of cookbooks in the bookcase that I'd given Gma as gifts, but at midnight I'm not awake enough to realize things like that.)

That's what this all boils down to. His brain can no longer figure out what is a dream, what is imagination, and what is reality. For weeks now he has been upset with us over things we find out we did in a dream of his. Sometimes we can explain to him he was dreaming, but most times he just loses focus and forgets. In this moment at midnight, though, is not the time to suggest that.

"This was easier the first time when the officer told me where to go 90 years ago." At the time this statement threw me. 90 years ago Gpa was maybe 18 months old. I then thought maybe he meant when he went into the Navy. As i type this i think he may have meant the incident in May 2016 when the police were called and he was taken to the hospital where they were able to help him get on the right meds. These are all logical guesses while trying to understand a disease that is anything but logical.

I tell him that my dad should know where he needs to be and I send out a silent prayer that it doesn't set him off. He agrees to the idea (thank you, God) and says he is going to lay on the couch and wait. I quietly go down the stairs trying not to wake my parents in the same manner i was woken up, and I softly call out for dad. Mom of course hears me and has to nudge dad awake (the man will be able to sleep through North Korea nuking us). Dad goes upstairs to see if he can calm Gpa down.

I couldn't hear their full conversation, but Gpa was all over the map. At one point, mid-sentence he stopped and asked dad if the bear rug on the wall was his. Dad answered yes. "What about the horns?" "The moose antlers are from a moose I shot a long time ago, Dad." "Oh."

At one point (I didn't hear this, but dad shared with me later) he was on the subject of sexuality. There's something my dad wanted to talk about with his dad at 12:30 in the morning!

Dad was finally able to get Gpa back to bed, told him he would see him tomorrow after work. Dad and i chatted a minute and now I am back in my room typing. Gpa apparently went right to sleep, but he is restless. He is talking loudly. I am thankful I don't work on Fridays as I have a feeling this night is not over.

Iditarod montages

From the Iditarod Facebook Page.

Faith is like a bluebird you see from afar...

Had a visitor the other night in the backyard. A Juvenile Steller's Jay spent time in our trees during a very windy part of the day. Steller's Jays are my favorite type of bird that we have. Yes, they beat out even the incredible Bald Eagle. (One of the Steller's in our yard can make the same sound an Eagle makes, it's hilarious!) With the bird just sitting there it gave me enough time to run into the house and grab my camera and big lens. I kept creeping closer to him to get different angles and what not. It was super windy so a lot of them ended up with too much motion blur, but I got a few decent ones. Check them out (and don't forget to click the "read more" to see all of them!)

Changing of the Guard: Jonrowe says Iditarod 2018 to be her last

If you grew up watching the Iditarod like most children in Alaska did in the 80s and 90s you knew DeeDee's name. If you were female, in Alaska, and growing up in that era you definitely knew her name. DeeDee Jonrowe was one of the women who people wanted to see win. Who knew she'd win. In many ways, DeeDee was supposed to champion what Susan Butcher had made common place - a female Iditarod Champion. Jonrowe was the media darling after Butcher retired to start a family. Jonrowe was as tough as they came and yet fought to keep her "femininity". She wore make up, had "styled" hair, and of course let's not forget all that pink (which as a kid I forgave because she was a lady musher poised to make it to the top).

She was a dominant name in the 90s, coming in second to some pretty fantastic champions three times, and never seeing a finish out of the top ten in that decade - except for 1999 when she scratched due to dogs balking at the winds of the Yukon River. Jonrowe has also had a difficult career due to personal crisis multiple time. In 1996 she was in a car accident that took the life of her grandmother and hospitalized herself and her husband. Her mother Peggy famously battled cancer several times throughout the last 3 decades, before finally losing the battle in 2015 just weeks after DeeDee signed up for the 2016 race, and while wildfires destroyed the Jonrowe Kennel and home. The Jonrowes lost just about every material possesion along with most of the property's structures (all but one retired sled dog, and one cat, survived thanks to the quick action of Jonrowe and her friends). In 2002 DeeDee herself was diagnosed with breast cancer. She had surgery to remove both breasts, and after completing her chemo in January she ran the 2003 Iditarod where she placed an incredible 18th place (this was the first time Iditarod would run from Fairbanks to Nome, and was difficult for all teams). Through it all DeeDee pushed through, overcame, and continued to land herself consistently in the top 20.

This morning, the Iditarod Legend (and she deservedly owns that title) took to Facebook to report that the 46th Iditarod will be her last. The last few years have been an extreme emotional roller coaster for Jonrowe, with a lot of emotional posts coming through on social media. She also had a more pessimistic view in many of her interviews as she ran each race. While retirement seemed inevitable, the announcement was still a surprise to many in the mushing fandom. DeeDee is a recognized figure throughout the world and her name is synonymous with Iditarod.

I personally cannot remember a time when DeeDee was not a competitor in the Iditarod. Her first race was 1980, five years before I was born. She has entered every year I've been alive. Next to Libby Riddles and Susan Butcher, DeeDee Jonrowe was the next big thing. The torch passed from her to the next generation of dominant lady mushers a few years ago when Aliy made a splash first in the Yukon Quest in 2000 and then later on in Iditarod. Aliy seemed poised to be the next female super star (and she is) but now Jessie Royer and Michelle Phillips are hot on her tail ready to surpass her. No woman has been a dominant figure as long as DeeDee Jonrowe. While she may never hold the title of Iditarod Champion, she's every bit as known, loved, and respected as those who do (and in some cases she's more so). Next March may be the last time DeeDee runs the Iditarod race as a musher, but she will forever be a part of the Last Great Race.

Thank you for teaching girls world wide, but especially in Alaska, DeeDee how to stay strong and battle through the darkness! May this coming training and racing season be the best one EVER.



Share your favorite DeeDee Jonrowe memory in the comments below.

Phone Scam Alert!

Last night (June 16, 2017) as we were getting ready to sit down to dinner, the phone rang. Dad answered and the caller asked to speak with Alan Reitter. My dad said that was him, and the man on the phone said that there was a warrant out on him because he failed to appear for jury duty. Dad is scheduled for Grand Jury duty in July, and he informed the man on the phone of such. The man continued to say that my dad had incorrect information, that he'd missed his court date, and that there was a warrant out for his arrest if he didn't show up at a location to sort this all out.

Mind you, this is well after hours for the court - and it's also not "illegal" to have missed jury duty. This man didn't care, he stated he was with the Alaska State Troopers and that if my father didn't drop everything and do as he said, they'd have to arrest him.

The caller's call dropped several times but he called dad right back. Each time the caller ID said "private caller". While my dad continued to get information from this guy about this supposed warrant I kept saying it was a scam, but no one believes me without me having someone else back me up (which is a rant for another day), so I texted my friend who is a prosecutor here in Kenai. He texted back SCAM!!!!! My dad informed the man on the phone that he was going to have to call the police and make sure this was legit as "an ADA just told me you're a scam." The man's call conveniently dropped again.

My dad reported it to the Kenai Police Dept. Soon after he was done with that long call the SCAMMER CALLED BACK. I'd had enough, and I answered the phone (dad was on another call with the Alaska Office for the FBI - who gave him the number to call the office in DC!). The scammer once again asked for my dad and I asked if this was the supposed officer from the Alaska State Troopers. He said yes and that he needed to talk to my dad. I informed him that we've already talked to the police and they said not to talk to him any more. He told me that WE CALLED THE WRONG DEPARTMENT and that we needed to talk to him only. I got REALLY pissy at this point and told him absolutely not that the KPD WAS EXACTLY WHO WE NEEDED TO CALL and to STOP CALLING OUR HOUSE. He said he was going to send troopers to our house and I hung up.

We had dinner, went to the movies, came home - he'd not called again and it's been over 12 hours and no trooper has showed up to arrest anybody.

BE AWARE THAT THIS IS A SCAM.

The info the man used to Identify himself as "legit" were:

Name: "Lt. Steven Harris of the Alaska State Troopers"
Case Number: FTA 0079-81-10CV
Phone number: 907-290-3015 ext 3

Again, we've spoken with folks at the Kenai Police Dept AND the FBI and both say this is a definite scam and that it's been going around the Peninsula for a few weeks now. IF YOU GET THE CALL - CALL THE POLICE AND REPORT IT. They use it to get more statistics on who they are calling it may help them track down where they're getting info.

Feel free to share. You can contact me with more questions if need be.

Calling all readers - I need your help

I am getting ready to move into a new office (yay!) in my new job (I forget, did I mention that previously?). I'm going to have wall space to display photos on, and, well... you know me and pictures - I got a lot of them. So I'm asking for help. I'm going with an Alaska theme (I love my state) and each wall will have another sub theme...

I've narrowed down the photos and I'm now polling my friends, family, and readers to choose from those I've chosen to make the final cut. You can like/comment on as many photos as you want.

The first batch of photos is Iditarod/Mushing themed (and I have SOOOOOOO many photos it's crazy!):

CLICK HERE TO VOTE!

Bear Sighting

A few weekends ago my bestie Kassy and I went on a short road trip to Anchorage. Just an overnighter so I could get my car fixed and she signed us up to help with an Operation Christmas Child information booth at a Christian Women's Conference. It was fun, but it was a quick up and back and I was tired (I dealt with migraines all weekend). On our way home (much later than I'd originally planned but we were at the mercy of the mechanics) we were stopped just outside of Sterling. I originally thought it was due to an accident until we looked to the side of the road and saw a sow brown bear and her two yearling cubs! We spent over a half hour taking pictures and watching idiot drivers/people. This is only the 3rd time I've seen a Brownie in the wild (and so close to the road!) and the very first time I've seen cubs in the wild! So awesome!