Henry is a good man. One of those people you just want to be nice to.

He is a short Hispanic man with a simple accent. He is also my pest control guy. So he comes by every three months and sprays the inside and outside of the house. If I see an increase of little critters, he will drop by and spray again for us the next day.

I am not a conversating fool, but I love being around people like Henry who are genuine. I find the same qualities in the elderly.

The first thing we talk about after his arrival is a quick word or two about the weather; then we discuss his kids, their sports and him coaching them. We also discuss his youngest one who has heart issues. I never ask him about that, but let him bring that up if he wants.

It’s not as if he is just being polite with his customers, but he actually enjoys everyone he meets.

Then he heads off through the house spraying something that I cannot smell, but I know he is spraying something because I see it coming out of the nozzle. Then outside around the house.

Then he knocks on the front door again as if he is someone new. I answer it, he comes in and I sign a piece of paper. It’s not a cheap signature, but it keeps the wife happy and I get to visit Henry again.

I love these two people.

You would think after a hundred years of marriage, (or something like that), the two love birds would be living a life of bliss. Not so. In the time I’ve known this amazing couple, countless times I heard Khris yell from his bed, “UMA!” when he needed something. Usually it was another vodka, and Uma would have a sour look on her face.

It was last year when one of their granddaughters had a birthday party, so they got Khris out of bed and dressed for the happy event. This provided an opportunity to get a picture of the family. They asked Dani to take the picture, but the issue was, Khris was mad.

I will not say this outright, but from an outside point of view, I would say Khris doesn’t like Uma. Here is one of the pictures Dani took of the loving couple.

Now add the rest of the family, minus a son who lives in Houston, you get this picture:

If you look close, Khris is smiling. But to get that picture, Dani had to threaten him. “Kreeees, I’m not leaving until you smile.”

Now that was back in November. Khris’ health has deteriorated and he has been in and out of the hospital. At one point, he was in a heart hospital in Houston and they were trying to determine whether to do heart surgery on the good man. The problem I understand is, once the surgery was completed he would have to go through physical therapy, which he flatly remarked he had no intention of doing. It was only after Uma came back to Victoria out of disgust, that Khris agreed. Like he was waiting for her to leave.

But the surgery never happened and he has deteriorated to the point, it is now “just make him comfortable”. They give him mediation for pain, but that is about all they can do. He was sent home where it is the best place to be when you leave this life.

Last week, Dani went to Khris like she always does before leaving to say goodbye. Usually, it’s “Kreees, do you need anything? Okaaay. Bye bye, Kreees,” and he would smile. But this time, he looked at her and said, “Dani, I don’t feel well.”

Khris has his wife, his sister and her husband, his daughter and her two girls in the house, yet he feels closest to Dani. I don’t know if it is a reflection on her or him, but when she told me what he said, it broke my heart, that she was the one who he trusted. She placed several chairs around his bed for his family to sit with him, in hopes it would raise his spirits. Then adjusted his oxygen and made him comfortable, and told Uma he was not feeling well. When Dani showed up the following Monday, she learned he was back at the hospital in Victoria and the doctors were instructed to make him comfortable as possible.

I truly love this old man, and I would have loved to spend time just sitting with him, but I have such a hard time understanding his Indian accent. But it will be just a short time when he will pass on to a better life, and he will no longer have to tell Dani he does not feel well.

The other day, Kris had problems with his oxygen level and was taken to the hospital where he could get better care. Makes sense.

Today, when I dropped by to pick up Dani, I visited with Uma like I always do. When Dani came into the kitchen, she asked how Kris was. Evidently, Uma had just returned from seeing him in the hospital.

She said, “I had to teach the nurses how to tell him, `No.”

To make sure I understood what she said, I asked, “You had to teach them to say, No?”

At this time, she was busy peeling and eating something from the garden. But when I asked her that, she stopped what she was doing and turned straight toward me and said, “Dwaine, you are intelligent. Tell me . . . ”

She paused and I thought, `Uh-oh’.

“. . . how do I to tell him `No’?”

The intelligence within me rose up like Einstein discussing E=MC₂. I explained, “Uma, the word `No’ is the most powerful word in language. The next time, just say, `No’, then walk away. If you say anything else, it gives him fuel for further discussion. Calmly say, `No’ and be firm.”

That worked with my sons, but not my daughter, but I didn’t tell her that.

She listened and agreed with me. I still wasn’t sure what she is saying `No’ about and I didn’t ask because I know how ornery Kris can be, but I am guessing it is about his vodka. But after telling her that, I suddenly realized Dani heard me, so now I will not be able to argue with her in the future.

I love this interesting little couple.

In this day of social media, you can find pretty much anything you want, yet what grabs my attention are the aircraft videos. I remember hanging around the flightline in Kandahar watching the aircraft come and go, from ‘fixed wing’ (regular planes), to ‘rotary wing’ (helicopters).

The British Harriers were an awesome thing to see. They always traveled in pairs, and a pair was always in the air around the base. Before one set landed, their replacements would take off.

And when they did, the air shook with the incredible blast causing birds to take flight. The planes were so powerful and agile, they only required a fraction of the airstrip to be airborne, and they flew just a few meters above the flightline until they reached the end. The first one would turn hard left at the end and scoot across the desert kicking up a cloud of dust behind it. The second would take off 10-15 seconds later, and when it got to the end it would angle up towards the sun and disappear. I had no way of seeing where it went.

Those amazing planes are the ones that could take off vertically. They were told they could do the vertical take off, only on the newer part of the runway that had 10″ of concrete, not the old original part with only had 5 or 6″. I remember there was a new pilot that didn’t get the memo, and the flightline commander came out pissing mad. He was pointing at the runway screeching, and probably saying words I promised Fr. Hynes I wouldn’t say.

These videos do not show the Harriers, as what we have now is much more powerful, intelligent and lethal. Because of the amazing ability of the newer aircraft, its pilots seem to be one with the plane, plus the videos show the discipline our Military maintains, enabling it to be the greatest firepower in the world. When I watch these, I know my dad would have loved to witness these, as he was at the Army Airbase in my small Texas hometown. I especially love the videos where the planes pull hard vertically, causing the air around them to be so compressed, the moisture becomes visible. In the first video, I am most certain the first jet is just a remote-control model as there is no blast under it, but the rest are the real critters.

We truly live in an amazing age, and in the years after I move on, my great- grandchildren will be a part of something I can never imagine, not even in my wildest dreams.