I took this photo after a family night out for dinner, during the time when Grandpa Marty was fighting lymphoma. This was one of the last times I saw them together under normal circumstances. Grandma Fernie helped him up the steps in front of their apartment, and they walked off together. I always get choked up when I look at it, because of the symbolism and the deep meaning it holds for me. Now that they are both together again on the other side, I feel it is appropriate to share this beautiful photo:

self·less -adjective- showing unselfish concern for the welfare of others

Dear Grandma,

I wanted to thank you for a few things. I know it’s a little late now, but better late than never.  Thank you taking me to the swimming pool and to the lake to feed the ducks a few years ago, when I was 8, and would come spend the night with you and Grandpa. I also want to thank you for cooking my favorite dishes whenever I would come over for dinner, and for playing with me in the snow and helping me make collages from the automotive magazines I was so interested in… for enjoying my baking, even though my kitchen skills had a long way to go… for teaching me how to play card games and how to speak my mind. Thank you for being a strong, upstanding role model, and for touching so many people in this world with joy and happiness even when they might not have thought such treasures were still available in their worlds. We shared a special sense of humor, you and I.
And even when you were on your sudden and untimely deathbed, barely able to speak or even stay awake, you still managed to put the people around you ahead of yourself– even making sure to ask if we had picked up the all-day pass for the hospital parking lot, so we would not have to pay extra. That was just who you were: beautiful, thoughtful, animated, strong, spirited, and selfless. You are deeply missed. I love you, Grandma.

Love,
Allen

I think this sums it up nicely:

All the banter about Fannie and Freddie is interesting but no one seems to be asking: how did the people in a democratic republic, the world’s largest economy, host to the world’s reserve currency, the only remaining super power, let their economy become solely dependent on the ability to process and reprocess debt on homes? How did we let our government legislate into being, through the GSE’s, the largest Ponzi scheme ever?

Check out the entire, excellent post: http://www.oftwominds.com/blogjuly08/alcoholic-US7-08.html