This past October, when I gave the eulogy for my father, I described him as stoic. As the fall and winter wore on, I’ve realized that word also applies to me pretty well. Despite the roller-coaster ride of illness, emotion, and stress that shook my world for more than a solid month, I was the [...]
Posts under ‘Life & Family’
Obligatory Thanksgiving Article 2009
It is that time of year again! Our family, friends, and neighbors have all… started driving like they own the road and would run down their own grandmother for a decent parking space. Yes, the holiday season makes me a bitter curmudgeon – can you really blame me? I work near the largest mall and [...]
Blaming God
In case you haven’t been reading this blog recently, a great deal of really bad, stressful shit has hit the fan in my personal life lately. Illness, death in the family, hospitalization of my wife, and my very own mini-mental breakdown has all occurred within the past 48 days. Today it was decided that my [...]
Lessons of the H1N1 Autumn
I’m a big guy. I’ve worked stock, throwing heavy boxes of canned goods around like they were nothing. I’ve been in my fair share of altercations – most of which with my brother – and have come out on top about 50 % of the time. I’m tall-ish, around 250 lb; I could stand to [...]
Fear and Loathing in the Hereafter
Nobody wants to discuss afterlife beliefs at a funeral. Nobody wants to hear about reincarnation from Aunt Agnes or wants to hear that Uncle Theodore thinks heaven is a childish fantasy, and nobody wants to hear the laundry list of sins that Father Cox believes will damn a person’s soul to hell. Despite the relevance [...]
God Gave Rock & Roll
For Dad.
Anatomy of a Funeral
My step-father’s funeral was yesterday. It was a very long day. I have no doubt that I will be coming back to this topic frequently over the next year or so, but I’d like to just sit down and write my general impressions about the funeral while it is still fresh in my mind.
I cried [...]
Father’s Last Gift
Yesterday morning, around 5:30 am, my brother called me to tell me that our step-father had died. Although it was sudden, it wasn’t completely unexpected; he wasn’t a healthy man and didn’t take good care of himself. He was a little hard-headed like that…
I would like to think that some of my better traits I [...]
Are You Down with the Sickness? (Ooh Ah-ah-ah-ah)
Felt like crap yesterday. Massive headache, body aches, a chest cough, fatigue and dizziness. I stayed home from work. I think I’ll do the same today. I feel a little better than yesterday, but I don’t want to spread this if I don’t have to. As it is, my wife seems to be having the [...]