For the third visit in a row my buddy has not been able to speak. For some visits he was asleep and barely able to stay awake when the staff woke him to greet me.

This Sunday he was awake, though he didn’t speak and gave me no other signal of recognition.

I showed him the iPad and speaker I bring to play videos and asked if he wanted to watch some bluegrass gospel. I think I saw something that meant yes, so I set up the devices, logged into the VA wireless and searched for “Doyle Lawson live”.

We have watched pretty much all the Doyle Lawson videos there are, but watching them over and again is hardly a chore.

I could see his blue eyes focusing on the screen and knew he was watching and listening.

At one point I saw his lips moving as he mouthed the words to a song he knew.

This is where he is in his journey. I doubt he will rally back from this point.

He will continue a slow decline into his illness and I will sit with him when I can.

Thats all.