Thirteen years of dedicated service...................

Dutch called Cliff about 5 o'clock last evening and told him his Kia battery went dead again and he needed his help.  Cliff and Dutch are "brothers."  Cliff got up off the couch, put his sneakers on, and asked me to go with him.  The past couple of days all he has done is sleep, barely eat anything, and I've had to make him drink fluids.  

When we arrived Dutch told him he lied. The batter wasn't dead and he needed to go into the community center.  Cliff still was in a fog. 

When he figured out his friends were there for him he became overwhelmed and filled with emotion.  I was holding back my tears.

Freddie, his Chief,is to the far right.  Our neighbor, Bill, is second body on the left and Jamie in the blue shirt.  Jamie loves Cliff and is the one who organized this celebration.  

Meatloaf, chicken casserole, mashed potatoes, green beans, Cliff's favorite mac 'n cheese, coleslaw. But nothing appealed to him.  Kathy got him a small plate of mac 'n cheese and stuck it in front of him. After a while he nibbled.  

Danny, in front of the meatloaf.  I don't know all the names.  Danny and his wife are both volunteers. 

Kathy in yellow and her husband Dutch across the table.  Kathy is a cardiac nurse at Piedmont Atlanta.  It's comforting now to be surrounded by medical people.  

Nicole, neighbor Bill, Chief Freddie, and Doug, AKA Johnny Cash

Doug dresses in black consistently.is tall and walks like Johnny Cash.  He's the County Extension Director along with Agriculture/Community Development Agent.  He just got my garden soil tested for me and explained the result numbers.  

Beautiful evening.  Cliff did walk around to speak with everyone and thank them personally.  We stayed for about two hours and brought home some leftovers hoping he might eat some today.