Larry Marks 74th Birthday on Nov. 21

   
Larry is an amazing survival story, but it hasn't been easy. When he was diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer 8 1/2 years ago, the outlook was bleak. In 2007, not long after his diagnosis, my Uncle Dorwin asked him what he wanted for his 66th birthday. He replied, "More birthdays."

Larry continues to have a lot of bone pain, often at a level of 6 to 7 out of 10. He had a pain pump installed, which has helped some with the pain in his right leg and hip. He's also had radiation on his leg and on his left elbow, where the worst pain is now.

Last week Larry’s daughter Kim and granddaughter Jamie (visiting from Florida) took him to Kansas University Hospital to get his pain pump refilled. (I stayed home while the plumber fixed a sewer backup.) When Larry returned home, he fell in the garage. We called 911, and they took him to SM hospital, where a CT scan and X-ray showed no brain bleed or fractures. He had scrapes and bruises and of course intensified pain, but was able to come home that evening.

We have signed up for palliative care, and also had Life Alert installed.


We appreciate all the love, support and positive thoughts being sent our way.

In 2007, just after his diagnosis, we got a picture of four generations of Pepperdines: Larry with great-granddaughter Alanna (now 8 1/2), daughter Kim, Susan, granddaughter Jamie and great-grandson Logan (now nearly 12).

Published in the Central Exchange newsletter, July 21, 2015 Kudos to Susan Pepperdine and family for her father's induction into the National Agricultural Hall of Fame!

Susan Pepperdine was elected in 2014 to a three-year term on the board of the National Agricultural Center and Hall of Fame in Bonner Springs, Kansas.  On July 11 her late father, Forrest Selby (who passed away in 1970), was inducted into the National Agricultural Hall of Fame. He was a farm implement dealer in Quincy, Illinois. At one time, he had the largest individual International Harvester dealership in the United States.

Susan Pepperdine Forrest Selby

Kansas vs. the Koch Brothers

My letter was published in The Kansas City Star on Feb. 3, 2015: Consider these Kansas budget numbers: $278 million – The 2014 budget shortfall after Gov. Brownback cut income taxes on top earners and certain  small businesses. $141 million – The cuts in highway funds ($100 million) and public employee pensions ($41 million) to help  plug the deficit. $1 billion – Amount that revenue is expected to fall short in 2015. Compare those figures to these for the Koch brothers: $80 billion – The estimated net worth of Charles and David Koch ($40 billion each) – 13 times the 2014  Kansas budget of $5.9 billion. $900 million – The amount the Koch brothers plan to spend in the 2016 election to help elect politicians who  will further lower their taxes and weaken environmental and workplace regulations. Unknown – How many millions they're saving in Kansas income taxes. What we do know is the crippling budget shortfall in Kansas amounts to only about 30 percent of what  the Koch brothers plan to spend to buy the next election. It seems the only thing the Koch brothers can't buy is our respect. If only they would pattern themselves after Ewing Kauffman (“Let KC have baseball!”) instead of Marie Antoinette (“Let them eat cake!”).