Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2005 - 5:55 a.m.

Grandmother is Improving

Tarik's grandmother is improving. I learned more details about what happened. She had gone down to the kitchen for a drink, and on her way back up the stairs, fell backwards, hitting her head on the hard tile kitchen floor, cutting it open, etc. I believe today they are removing her breathing tube because, thankfully, she really doesn't need it. Other than being in an enormous amount of pain, she is doing remarkably well. She of course can't talk with the tube in, but can answer all the questions put to her that don't require a verbal answer. I think she would also like to eat a real meal since she hasn't since Saturday night at Tarik's birthday dinner. They took her pictures of Travis which made her smile, so that is a really REALLY good thing. Still, there is that statistic out there being the 80-90 mortality rate in the first 90 days following this injury that is weighing heavily on everyone's mind.

The Bakris/Hamptons may bicker, may fight, may shout at each other, may be crazy and disfunctional, may drive me and everyone else stark raving crazy, but we all love each other with an abundance, and we are a very close family. To lose Grandmother would be just devastating. She really is the second grandmother I never had and is a saint among women to be sure. Tarik is so lucky to have his grandmother at this age. I lost mine when I was still in my 20's, the one that I had growing up. He is also very lucky to see his grandparents several times a year. I say mine maybe once a year or once every two years since they lived in Tennessee.

In any event, prayers for her continued improvement. I really do have faith in her recovery. She is just one of those people, when she suffers a health scare, comes out of it.

Christmas Song Virus du Jour: "Carol of the Bells" ~ By: Mykola Leontovych

Useless Trivia Du Jour: Carol of the Bells (also known as the Ukrainian Bell Carol) was adapted from Shchedryk by Mykola Leontovych, which was first performed in December 1916 by students at Kiev University. The original Ukrainian song is based on an old Slavic legend that every bell in the world rang in honour of Jesus on the night of His birth.

Shchedryk (from the Ukrainian word shchedryj; "bountiful") is a Ukrainian shchedrivka, or New Year's carol. It was arranged by composer and school teacher Mykola Leontovych in 1916, and tells a story of a swallow flying into a household to sing of wealth that will come with the following spring. Shchedryk was originally sung on the night of January 13, which in the Ukraine is Shchedry Vechir (Ukrainian: ������ ���i�; "Bountiful Evening"), the equivalent of New Year's Eve.

Shchedryk was later adapted to an English Christmas carol (Carol of the Bells) by Peter J. Wilhousky following a performance of the original song by the Ukrainian National Chorus at Carnegie Hall on October 5, 1921. Wilhousky copyrighted and published his new lyrics (which were not based on the Ukrainian lyrics) in 1936, and the song became popular in the United States, where it became strongly associated with Christmas.