Over Coffee

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   For those of you who remember that my husband and I look after three elderlies, I want to mention that one of them has blessedly passed away this month at the age of 88. George Miller had to be a cancer success story. We all said if we ever got cancer we were going to go to Columbus, Indiana and have Dr. Gray look after us! George was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma in about 1993. Dr. Gray brought him back from the brink of needing hospice care into a very long lasting remission state. We thought it was incredible. Colorectal cancer finally did George in, but his end of life was nothing I'd want. For weeks the wonderful and patient nurses in the hospital wing of the retirement home had to wake him up to feed him baby food and change his diaper. He had done the complete 360 degrees in the circle of life. He started life with baby food and diapers, unable to walk, and he ended life with baby food and diapers and no longer able to walk.
   We have had a long time to contemplate the happiness and quality of life of our elderlies. Medical miracles in surgery and medications have largely removed those organ failures and diseases that used to kill folks while they still knew who they were. People are living very long lives these days, but not necessarily pleasurable ones in old age, by any reasonable standard. The lucky ones are propped up by medical procedures and healthcare facilities that assist them with daily needs, which may be far beyond the capabilities of a caregiver at home. Many are sadly outliving their brains. 
   George gave us clear instructions about what he wanted done. Life itself was his Holy Grail. His mother lived to be 102 and he was determined to make that great age as well. I would encourage anybody who is reading this piece to make sure that you have medical directives for anybody you may be responsible for and for yourself as well. In our case, George wanted to be a hothouse tomato, with procedures to prolong life. Not everybody wants that. The full circle isn't for everyone. Make sure your wishes are written down and distributed to all concerned so everything is handled as you would want.

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   There is another obituary I would like to share with you which was sent in by a longtime reader of this column, Cathy Freeman of Peachtree Corners. She and her neighbors befriended a stray cat that seemed to live with them all, back and forth, for brief spaces of time, which they have now concluded must have been for about 18 years, all told. Freeman wants to let her neighbors know that Stray Cat passed away in her yard in July and is now "past all misery, hunger, and pain." His presence is obviously missed.

Stray Cat   (Photo taken in 2002).

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   The United Peachtree Corners Civic Association (UPCCA) is featuring a program on "Curb Appeal: How to enhance your house and yard" at the next general membership meeting on Monday, September 27, 2004 at Simpsonwood Conference & Retreat Center, 4511 Jones Bridge Circle, at 7:30 p.m. All of UPCCA's general meetings are open to the public at large and are free. 
   This program will feature prominent Peachtree Corners realtors, Cynthia and Robbie Stedeford of ReMax Suburban Atlanta, and landscape architect Eric King from Piedmont Landscape, who will provide a free landscape plan for three homeowners who signed up for a "Before and After" project. UPCCA vice president Pat Bruschini sent out the invitation to the homeowners' associations and was swamped by folks asking to participate. She chose three. This UPCCA meeting promises to be very beneficial to homeowners, so mark your calendars!

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   I am trying to encourage one of our fine restaurants here in Peachtree Corners, J. Alexander's, to add a "Peachtree Corners Cobbler" to their menu. General Manager Tim Landrey has finally agreed that a peach cobbler would go well with their food and has asked me to round up some scrumptious peach cobbler recipes to give to their Executive Chef Jim Filaroski for his consideration. If you have a good recipe, please e-mail it to me and I will see that it is forwarded to J. Alexander's. This peach cobbler could be a site-specific dessert or a corporate-wide addition, but if they decide to add it to their menu and it is your recipe, you will get a byline credit. We are looking for a FABULOUS Peachtree Corners Cobbler!

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   Our house was built in 1982 and it did not take long for big cracks to appear in the driveway. In fact, most of the driveways in my neighborhood have cracks, some more serious than others. When these driveways were installed, they were evidently all done on the cheap, without wire mesh or rebar reinforcement underneath. Now, twenty years later, many of my neighbors, including us, were in the market for driveway replacement. 5 Star Driveway Replacement Company arrived on the scene and their yard signs are now popping up everywhere with all the neighbors signing up. Owner Steve Freant is an entrepreneur who saw a niche market for quality work in driveway replacement at a fair price and his business is booming. Neighbors are passing the word. 
   Freant does not require a down payment. In fact, we went to Florida and his crew, all full-time cement finishers and not day laborers, replaced our driveway while we were gone. They also replaced our front walk and fixed our brick front porch steps, which had sunk about six uncomfortable inches. We consider we got a very good job and are pleased to recommend them. We actually expected to see some of our favorite neighborhood children's names written in our new cement when we got back home and were quite disappointed to find there wasn't a one!
   If your driveway looks awful, as ours certainly did, call Steve Freant at 5 Star Driveway Replacement Company, (678) 760-3626. 

   Thanks for reading. Hope all is well.


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