Hillsboro just lost a big man in every way even though in stature he wasn’t very.
I always thought of Ray Franz as a big man with a big heart. I first learned to know him when I was in charge of putting together the Paul and Ray’s grocery ad for the newspaper when I was in high school. This is before they went to the preprinted insert that continues today.
He had a little office area in the basement of the business where he would draw up the ads and the posters for the windows.
As a kid you are sometimes afraid to go and talk to business people who are much older, but it was always a joy to talk to Ray. At Ray’s Celebration of Life service I learned the reason why.
I really appreciated his sense of humor. He hadn’t been around town much lately, but I know for sure he will be missed.
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I hadn’t planned to visit the new hospital until the big open house on Saturday morning. Turns out I got an early tour of the emergency room this past Tuesday night when I tripped on the steps up to the neighbors’ porch and whacked my head on the big wooden shelf or rail between the post and the house with two concrete blocks setting in my head’s way.
I was pulling up Rudy’s stroller with one hand and holding on to the railing with the other and then….
A head cut always bleeds a lot, and looks worse than it really is—and when you are on blood thinners the problem is magnified. (I once said I was on paint thinners).
I wasn’t in a position to talk my wife out of taking me to the emergency room, even though I didn’t think it was necessary. Turns out she was right because it took a couple of hours to stop the bleeding, including eight staples in my noggin before I was ready to go home.
The emergency room crew at HCH was very nice and accommodating, and so was the facility. Thanks to Sharon, Brittney, Dr. Susan, Pam and Shelby, the whole ordeal was as good as it could have been. I’m lucky.
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Our neighbors have moved, just across campus, but I’m glad Tanner was able to dig our tree holes before they moved.
We went over last Wednesday night to clean up the blood that spilled the night before. It almost was the size of Lake Michigan!
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My hair in front hasn’t settled down yet because of the big goose egg and the staples.
I do comb my hair, but for now am skipping the front part.
As Chris Farley used to say, “That’s going to leave a mark.”
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They didn’t leave anything to chance either at the HCH ER. They did a CT scan to make sure no concussion, although no more confusion than usual. It turned out negative, although they confirmed that I did have a brain in there.
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If you wish to share your comments or ideas, my e-mail address is joel@
hillsborofreepress.com.
