June 6, 2022

As the Four Seasons Foundation Board Chairman, it is my honor to share our annual report with you, our valued donors. Because of your generosity,
we have enabled patients who otherwise would not have the means to pay for care, to have the best co-created care possible. Thank you for supporting our Angel Fund, Elizabeth House, Grief Services, Compass program for children and teens, Music Therapy, We Honor Veterans programs, Home Care, Care Navigation, Palliative Care, and Hospice Care.

June 2, 2022

I have learned in my time on this Earth the strongest leaders are very often the most dedicated servants to their neighbors, especially those neighbors most in need.

March 10, 2022

Walking out from a skilled nursing facility yesterday, I was surprised by the sound of laughter. That I had been surprised made me acutely aware that I, like many of you, am guarded. I am guarded by my mask from sickness and guarded from lightness by worry. It is easy to feel inundated by fear,
concern about trying to protect our patients, our families and ourselves and uncertainty about how long this will go on. It is hard work to project a peaceful and reassuring presence to those we care for.

March 4, 2022

When COVID-19 rolled in to Western North Carolina, questions about how best to care for our community took on a different tone. Hospice families welcome us not only into their homes, but also into emotionally and medically difficult times in their lives. I will never again take for granted the true intimacy that comes with sharing space
with patients and families in person.

June 1, 2020

Years ago my first mentor in pastoral care taught me a valuable lesson.  “A short pencil is better than a long memory!”  Something I’ve taken to heart over the last 20 years of pastoral care.  The most embarrassing situation a chaplain can get into is forgetting someone’s name, especially if they just asked you to pray for them!  Oh how many times I’ve had to pray for someone, right in front of them, sweating the whole time trying to remember their names. So embarrassing! 

May 28, 2020

Y’all!!!!! Have you heard the glorious news?!!?!?!?!?!?!?  Her Majesty, the Queen of East Tennessee, Ms. Dolly Parton has released a new song in response to the Covid-19 pandemic!  There is hope and her name is Dolly! 

If you know me, you know how much I love Dolly Parton.  For Christmas one year, my grandmother gave me an autographed photo of Dolly in a gold frame!!! It was one of the best things I’ve ever gotten for Christmas.  Yes, I know my grandmother took the picture out of a magazine and signed it herself.  I’m not that dumb!  But my grandmother thought so much of my love for Dolly that she tried very hard to make me happy! 

May 27, 2020

I went to the doctor this morning for my annual physical.  I am happy to report that since Covid-19 locked us all inside our homes for the last three months I’ve only gained 15 pounds! I mean, it feels like 30 but I’ll take the doctor’s scale!

It was kind of a surreal experience. Everyone wearing masks, extra hand sanitizer everywhere.  The window at the check-in/out counter was closed and only cracked open when I needed to talk to the scheduler.  I was wearing a mask.  The doc was wearing a mask.  It felt…odd…like it was some kind of out of body experience.  It doesn’t help that my glasses fog up with every breath and I don’t have any depth perception.  The whole thing made me feel, for the first time, distant and separate. 

May 21, 2020

Years ago I was introduced to the Franklin-Covey system of time management.  I used the be that guy who carried around  5 ring binder calendar system. It was marvelous!  It had a monthly calendar, and daily breakdown calendars.  Each page had a To-Do list.  Every morning I would write down my list of things to accomplish.  We call those our “big rocks” today, but back then, it was a To Do list. 

May 19, 2020

When I was in middle school I somehow stumbled into the band room and found myself enrolled in the school brass ensemble.  I had no idea how to play an instrument.  My father played guitar some, but never taught me.  My grandmother played the piano at church, but I never found the keys in the right order.  So I had no idea why I was in this room full of 6^th and 7^th graders who’d been practicing their respective instruments for years.  But there I was, on the very last row, in the very last chair, pretending to know how to play the trumpet.  It was not pretty. 

May 18, 2020

What is they say about rainy days and Mondays?  It’s so dark outside and the rain feels cold and I just want to curl up with my pups and take a long nap.  Today is not the day for naps, however.  There’s much to be done and there’s little time to do it all.  So we press on hoping that once the day’s work is complete, we can go to sleep satisfied that we’ve done our best. Tomorrow, as Annie sings, the sun will come out tomorrow! 

At least I hope it does.  The older I get the less fun rain puddles and wet shoes becomes.  In fact, I have never been much of a puddle jumper.  I hate wet socks and cold feet!  Why would anyone jump into gross muddy water?  That’s how you get trichinosis!!! Okay, maybe that’s undercooked meat products but still…I’m sure there’s something in there I don’t want touching me!