URGENT- Don Souden Has Had A Stroke

[Carol]

Wonderful news that Don's sister and brother-in-law are moving to Vermont. She'll soon sort everybody out - including Don! Please tell Don from me to behave himself and do what his sister says. He can get his own back on her when he is better.

Love
Carol

[Archaic]

Don's Got Mail!

Hi everybody.

Don's phone needs repair, and his brother forgot to bring his own when he visited today, so I'm still waiting for a chance to talk to Don. Hopefully in a few days.

I called Don's brother to see how things are going. I asked, "Has Don gotten any mail lately?" He replied, "Oh, loads of cards and letters!!" He said Don is proud of all the mail he has received.

Great work, guys! Please keep the cards & letters coming.

Robert, your gift arrived and Don is delighted. (I suspect he won't share.)

I sent Don a photo postcard that shows the huge smoking volcanic crater of nearby Mount St. Helens with a flashy red helicopter parked in the ash, insanely close to the crater's edge. (Yes, it's still active.)

I told him it was my new private 'copter, and I have a special permit that allows me to park it for free anywhere in the world, as long as it's on the edge of an active volcano.

Take care everybody.
Archaic

[Robert]

Looks like Don will need to employ a secretary at this rate.

[Archaic]

Hi guys.

It turns out that Don's sister isn't going to be moving East to Vermont after all; there's been a job change & they have to stay out West.

She did drive all the way up to Connecticut and got to visit him; Don asked her to say hello to everybody and thanks for the cards.

I'm really disappointed the move didn't work out, because she is so good at motivating him and dealing with the bureaucracy.

It's frustrating, because I am about as far away as I can be from Connecticut without actually standing in the Pacific Ocean!

Best regards,
Archaic

[Archaic]

Don Loves Your Postcards!

Looks like Don will need to employ a secretary at this rate.

Hi Robert. He may already have one! When Don's sister stopped in she said that an OT nurse was reading him a postcard from Great Britain.

Everybody's amazed at all the postcards he has received from all over the world, and Don enjoys showing them off to others. Postcards are really good therapy for Don. They keep him interested in the outside world, give him an alternative to just watching tv, and provide him with new things to think about and talk about with others.

Plus of course it helps him fight depression to know that his friends haven't forgotten him. Without any Physical Therapy, Don's either stuck in bed all day, or is helped into a wheelchair where he just sits. He can't roll it anywhere due to the damage to one side of his body. They don't let him go outside, because he is so prone to Pneumonia, etc. I wish to God he could go just out, breathe some fresh air and see some birds and flowers. But he can'r, so we have to try to bring it to him.

The fact that an OT nurse (Occupational Therapy) was with him gives me hope that he might start getting some kind of Therapy again, but I'm not sure if she was actually doing a treatment session with him or is one of his old nurses that just stopped by to chat. I'll ask.

I hope everybody will keep sending postcards. They literally mean the world to Don.It doesn't even matter if it's a place you've visited or not- and it doesn't matter if you know Don! If you have an interest in Ripperology and History and have done any reading of the various Ripper magazines, dissertations, and message boards you'll have read countless contributions from Don. Please don't be shy about writing to him, he'll be so pleased!

I'm really happy that his nurses are taking an interest in the postcards; that's a very positive thing for Don on so many levels. Knowing Don, he's probably throwing in 'World History And Culture' lessons with each one.

Don has expressed quite a bit of interest in Soccer (sorry for the Americanism; Football!), Cricket, and other European sports. He's a Baseball fanatic and watches a lot of sports on tv, so if you happen to have access to any kind of sports-related postcards he'd enjoy them.

Don also enjoys cards and postcards of Animals and Nature. He told me he really liked the postcard of a huge bull Elk i sent him. (Herds of wild elk are all over where I live, so I sometimes forget how "exotic" they are to others.) Got any local wildlife? Birds? Ponies? Even Hedgehogs? He'll get a kick out of that.

Which reminds me, I need to find him a Sasquatch postcard... but a genuine photograph card, of course.

Best regards,
Archaic

[Archaic]

Photo of Don

Hi guys.

Don's sister sent me a good photo of Don she took last week when she visited him.

His eyes are bright and it's apparent he was very happy to see her. Sure wish she could have stayed.

Best regards,
Archaic

[Archaic]

Update on Don & His Ripperologist Cover Idea...

Hi everybody.

Finally got to speak to Don yesterday. He sounds pretty good, mentally very sharp. Asked me to say Hi to everybody for him.

I asked if they'd found his iPad and he said No, it was stolen. (Man, how low can people go? Made me so mad.)

I'm going to suggest to Don's family get him some kind of very ugly well-used Tablet or something, and we make it uglier by scratching up the lid, putting dumb stickers on it (Justin Bieber?), and applying silver colored duct tape to the lid so it looks like it's broken and held together by tape. Maybe then it won't get stolen.

Well, back to the good news: Don has a new room-mate who used to be an actor on shows like 'M.A.S.H.' and 'All In The Family'. Don said he's an interesting person to talk to, and they've had some great discussions. This is very good news, as Don has always been interested in Theater and it gives him a much better alternative to just watching TV.

Don asked me if I was OK, and my horses too, and I replied, "Yes". Then he surprised me by saying he was "worried about all the Cattle Mutilations!"
I exclaimed, "Oh, no, you're watching all the Ancient Alien/Conspiracy TV shows!!" He admitted it was true. I told him everything was fine, so far no mysterious UFO Cattle Mutilations in the Seattle area.

When I asked Don how he felt he answered "discouraged", but then immediately said he knew he had to keep fighting to be able to get out of that place.

Robert, Don said he really enjoyed and appreciated your gift and asked me to thank you.
Don also said he's been very cheered up by the postcards & photos he's been receiving, so please keep them coming! He also would like some new jokes to tell his room-mate and the nurses, so if you know any good ones please send them along.

Don mentioned again his desire to visit Eduardo in Nairobi and see the magnificent lions that are on his postcard.

Adam, Don said he wants a photo of you in your "grass skirt" and he wants the photo to be on the cover of Ripperologist Magazine!

I told Don I'm sure everyone would enjoy that, and promised I'd pass along the suggestion.

Best regards,
Archaic

[Robert]

Hi Bunny

I'm glad Don liked the biscuits, and I'm delighted he has a room-mate to chat to. Of course, Don himself had an actress in his family.

Yes tell him he will have to keep fighting to get out, since escape tunnels are probably against hospital rules.

I'll write to him soon.

[Cogidubnus]

Hi Bunny

Another card for Don in the post...when you call him next, please include me in your list of wellwishers!

All the best

Dave

[Archaic]

Hi Dave. I'll let Don know.

I just sent him a postcard of a cool antique steam locomotive that offers rides through the forests up around Mount Rainier.

Their upcoming Easter train excursion is called "The Bunny Express".

Good name. Hope it gives Don a laugh.

Take care,
Bunny

[Cogidubnus]

Risque

Hi Bunny

By contrast I sent him a card with a (rather ancient) naked lady and an equally dodgy comment - wonder which he'll appreciate best?

Lots of love

Dave

[Archaic]

My guess is you'll win the postcard competition, Dave.

I just hope your naughty postcard makes it past the front desk!
Hopefully they don't censor the mail.

Take care,
B.

[GUT]

I just hope Dave's postcard doesn't raise Don's blood pressure too high.

[Archaic]

I just hope Dave's postcard doesn't raise Don's blood pressure too high.

Don will have fun showing it to all the nurses, like a gleeful kid! I bet he would love to scandalize them. Hope they play along.

If anybody has any good jokes, that would be a terrific thing to write on a postcard to Don.

He gathers jokes to tell to everybody. Sometimes I hear them 2 or 3 times, but that's OK. Humor is a healthy way for Don to cope with his difficult situation, and besides being fun, jokes are actually good exercises for his short-term memory.

I'm going to start referring to his nursing facility as "The Seaside Home".

You don't have to know Don personally to send him a postcard!
If you've read any of the message boards, Ripper articles, etc., you've definitely read some of Don's contributions.
He'd absolutely love it if you just say Hi and tell him what you read, what you think about it, or what aspect of the case you're interested in. He'd also love to hear about a good book anyone has read or a research project; he really misses that.

If we all make a small effort we can help Don cut through the boredom and isolation of the nursing facility.

Here's Don's address again:


Fairview of Fairfield
930 Mill Hill Terrace
ATTN: Donald Souden
Southport, CT
O6890
USA

Thanks guys,
Archaic

[Robert]

Tell Don that if he isn't out of the wheelchair within the next year, I'm going to start calling him Davros.