Yes, as many already know, Sam is at University of Utah Hospital in Salt Lake City, being treated for results of several strokes he has had in the last few weeks. My stroke, almost three years ago, was a brain stem stroke – cause not yet revealed to me, if known. His were strokes (more than five in the weeks before he was helicoptered to the U of U medical center) caused by blockages in his right carotid artery.

Part of the program is that hospitals do not allow smoking, so he is on the nicotine patch, and another try at quitting. After more than 60 years of smoking, it’s got to be a hard habit it kick. Back when we were in college, most everyone smoked. Now, almost nobody does. I quit about 25 years ago, and it was tough then.

I do believe that, among those who have quit, there are the ex-smokers, who will forever be reaching for the pack, and non-smokers, who abhor the thought of any kind of smokes. I have become a non-smoker, and hope that Sam will eventually get there.

But all that is beside the point, which is that he is in the stroke rehabilitation unit of the hospital, which includes rigorous work about six hours a day, and his spirits are good.

Here is his address, for any who would like to send a note or card: Sam Taylor, Room 2641, U. of U. Hospital, 50 N. Medical Drive, Salt Lake City, UT 84132. The phone by his bed is: 1-801-585-8286.

Talking is not, nor has it ever been, a problem for him, as opposed to me – after my stroke, particularly when tired, my speech becomes a challenge to me. Sam says they have him doing hand/eye coordination challenges/excercises in the morning: putting pennies in slots, clay, TV games, and arm and leg stuff in the afternoon. So I have no idea how long he will be there, nor what his after program will be. We play it day by day, and, as they say, “I’ll let you know.”

–aft–

My tomatoes, poor as they have been this year, caught the first frost of the fall last week, so I figure we’re into Indian Summer. I have had a total of four tomatoes, so it has not been a banner year for Old Mother Taylor. Thankfully, we have some quarts still put away from previous years, so I am not altogether tomato barren.

Those home-bottled tomatoes, especially with a couple of jalapeno peppers at the bottom of the quart, are unbeatable, both for taste and nutrition.

Along with the tomatoes, most of the flowers have had the bite of old Jack Frost. Many of the cosmos, marigolds, and nasturiums have also blackened. Since both nasturtium leaves and flowers are edible, with a lovely radish-like bite, I’m wondering what they would do in a quart of tomatoes. But with such a dearth from my garden this year, I won’t find out. Maybe next year. I’ll just ignore that thought, and enjoy the fall chrysanthemums and the last of the roses.

We just do what we can, or have to, do.