Dear Friends and Family,

We got back late last night from Austin. We are exhausted.

We got to see Kenny every day for four days. It was absolutely heartbreaking to see our dear friend in his current condition. To relieve the pressure on his brain because of the trauma, the doctors took out a portion of Kenny’s skull about the size of a tea cup plate. There is a big indention in his head where the swelling has gone down.

We talked, joked, and sang to Kenny. Tull, of course, had this fantasy that when he talked to his oldest friend, that Kenny would open his eyes. That was not to be.

We met many friends of Kenny at the hospital every day. He is well-visited.

On a happier note, we got to see Roy and Mary Spence, Sandy, Helen, Will and Maggie Watkins, Mary, Helen and Clark Tipps (Helen’s sister, mom, and brother), Brooke and Taylor Boddy, Harry Friedman and wife, Judy Trabulsi, Bob Mann, Steve Late, Jo Ellen Walling (who went to kindergarten with me and Kenny), Kate Hill, Mary Gordon Spence (Roy’s sister) and Terry Tingley.

We missed seeing Beaver Gooden, Friendly Fred Forster, Don Kuykendall, and Kenny’s cousin (who is doing a Herculean job) Richard Karr, all of whom were rumored to be in and out of the Austin area.

John drove to Buda, TX, to see Macon Boddy and they had a fantastic visit.

Even though all actions were affected by Kenny, we had such a good time seeing some of our oldest, most beloved friends.

We love each and every one of you. So many of you have written to express love and support of Kenny. Do not waste a day or an hour, but live life to the fullest.

Remember, it is Texas Independence Day today. Be proud.

John and Lucinda

Update March 8, 2005

Dear Friends and Family,

It is a spring-like day here in Santa Fe. For the first time in a long time, we feel true rejuvenation.

There is some news about our dear Kenny. He is no longer in the ICU, there apparently has been some new brain activity and he is being taken off the ventilator. However, he is on a feeding tube and has not shown any real sign of waking up at this point. Keep your thoughts and prayers coming. We make sure he is told about all of the people pulling for him from this website.

We have been somewhat remiss about updating parts of this website (speaking engagements, etc.) and will get to it promptly. Suffice it to say for now that we are very busy and having a great time. Hope you all are as well.

Much love,
John and Lucinda

Update March 11, 2005

Dear Friends and Family,

We have several sad things to report.

Last Sunday, one of the respected and active members of Atalaya Search and Rescue Team was killed in an avalanche in Colorado. 32 year old John Jensen lost his life during an avalanche instructor training course. His untimely death had galvanized and saddened the SAR community nation-wide. For more information, see http://geosurvey.state.co.us/avalanche/Default.aspx?tabid=44.

We learned today that our dear friend and Episcopal priest Bob Maxwell is in the hospital in Albuquerque contemplating open heart surgery. He is the priest who came to the hospital in Albuquerque two Easters ago to give communion to John and Lucinda. John cried during the whole ceremony.

Please keep the Jensen family and Bob in your prayers. It seems like a lot of bad things have happened lately, and we must all keep our strength and our faith.

We love each and everyone of you,

John and Lucinda

March 15, 2005

Dear Friends and Family,

WOW, we are covered up! It has been snowing here for two full days and two nights, without a let-up. We have about two feet of nevada (snowfall). I-25 was closed yesterday from Albuquerque to Colorado. I-40 was closed from Albuquerque to Amarillo. What a storm. We love it.

Sunday, before the weather started, we went to visit Father Bob Maxwell at the hospital in Albuquerque. He was cheery, as usual, and today the doctors took action in several ingenious ways to prolong his life.

After we saw Bob, we decided to call another Episcopal priest that we truly love, the Reverend Bill Easter and his delightful wife, Catherine. We found out that Catherine is very ill, much to our dismay. Bill and Catherine were very supportive of us when we were in the Albuquerque hospitals. Bill was the priest at St. Paul’s on the Plains Episcopal Church when JT was an acolyte at age eleven. (I bet a lot of you did not know that fact).

Please keep Bob, Catherine, and, of course, Kenny, in your thoughts and prayers.

Thursday we are having a few people over for corned beef and cabbage, green beer, and Bushmills. It is John’s father’s birthday on St. Patrick’s Day and this will be his tenth birthday since his death. Don’t ever think that St. Patrick’s Day wasn’t a highly-celebrated day in the Tull household(s). My father used to dye his moustache green and kiss the girls (women) all night.

From the frozen steppes of Santa Fe, we bid you goodnight and sweet dreams,

John and Lucinda

March 17, 2005

Dear Friends and Family,

Last night John Tull fell for the first time. He had leaned over in the closet and went down. He yelled for Lucinda who was on the other side of the house. Long story short…..he managed to crawl to the bed and then pull himself up once he got his belly on the bed. Just like they taught him in PT/OT. Lucinda was there, but he did it all with his own strength. So we made it through Fall #1 and expect a few more as we travel.
Hope you’re all having a good St. Patty’s. We had a great corned beef and cabbage dinner with some great friends.

As always, live every day the very best you can.

Love,
John and Lucinda

3-22-05

Dear Friends and Family,

Some of our dear friends from Chicago, Donna Eckert and Fred Rademaker called several weeks ago and said that they had a two bedroom/two bath condo rented for Easter weekend in Palm Springs. They graciously asked us whether we could join them. We answered “Are you crazy? Of course!”

So we are going to drive to California starting tomorrow morning. With all the snow and rain we’ve been having (although we love every last drop of it), it will really be nice to bask in the warm sunlight.

We went to a Seder tonight that involved Jews, Catholics, and Protestants, who have formed an inter-faith alliance. It was very moving and we made some nice new friends.

We love each and every one of you. Please remember Kenny, Father Bob, and Catherine in your prayers.

Happy, happy bunny day to all.

John and Lucinda

March 30, 2005

Dear Friends and Family,

Well, we are back from Palm Springs, tired but rested and relaxed.

The condo we stayed in was just beautiful. It was on one of the golf greens and had a waterfall just outside. We had a couple of ducks that became our compadres and hung around constantly looking for handouts.

We saw pink flamingos, a mother duck with six little ducklings, and added three birds to our list (black swan, goldeneye, and Northern shoveler).

On Saturday, we spent most of the day at the pool. Tull SWAM. It was one of the first times that he had been totally immersed in water in over two years. He did the crawl and the backstroke, and did well at both.

It took us two days to drive there and two days back. We went the northern route (Phoenix) going and the southern route (Tucson) on the way home.

We went to Joshua Tree National Park, which is very near Palm Springs (we actually stayed in Palm Desert). It was very cool.

Happy late Easter to all. We love you.

John and Lucinda