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My little brother

travis_mom_hug.jpgI’m writing this a few months after the fact, but still am not quite ready to write too much about it. My little brother, Travis, died on May 27th while on a canoe trip with my other brother Eric, and some friends of theirs.

Travis was only 21 years old and I haven’t seen him since he was about 14.

Here’s a picture that my Aunt Deb posted and Mom told me about last night (Aug 2nd). It’s Travis giving Mom a hug. He looks exactly as I remember him, except maybe a bit taller.

It doesn’t seem fair that this happened to him. He was the one in the family that always had a good outlook on things, great sense of humor, and seemed to always find a way to get people to laugh.

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News from the home front

DE448.jpgMom called the other day with that sound in her voice. That’s never a good sign, usually when someone’s died. She said a lady went into the school last week, the school where Mom works, and said that Carl is sick. Carl’s an old friend of mine. He used to drop by late at night, drink coffee, and watch the races on my satellite. When I’d be at work, he’d let himself in with a key, make himself a pot of coffee and watch the races on my satellite. Ha ha. I always enjoyed listening to his stories about being on a ship, the U.S.S. Cross, in WWII. Anywho, Carl had a hip replaced recently and seemed a bit down. That lady said that he talks about me often and she thinks it’d raise his spirits if I were to give him a call. So, I did.

No infection thank goodness. But he does have several arterial blood clots in his leg. He seemed in good spirits to me, but that’s just Carl, nothing seemed to get him down. He told me that his doctors said he may end up loosing a foot over it and he promptly told them that they might as well take his head off too, he’s not doing without his foot. Then he went to say that he’s been around for over 80 years, if it’s his time, it’s his time. He doesn’t really expect to make it through the surgery and that he’s ready to go.

I sure don’t want anything to happen to him, but then again, nobody wants anything bad to happen to any of their friends. About the only thing I could say after that was “well, if it’s your time and you don’t make it through the surgery, I’ll see you when I get there”. He chuckled and said I’d better, we haven’t had coffee in a while.

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A few words from George

carlin_photo.jpgGeorge Carlin’s Views on Aging

Do you realize that the only time in our lives when we like to get old is when we’re kids? If you’re less than 10 years old, you’re so excited about aging that you think in fractions.

“How old are you?” “I’m four and a half!” You’re never thirty-six and a half. You’re four and a half, going on five!

That’s the key. You get into your teens, now they can’t hold you back.

You jump to the next number, or even a few ahead. “How old are you?” “I’m gonna be 16!” You could be 13, but hey, you’re gonna be 16! And then the greatest day of your life…

You become 21. Even the words sound like a ceremony . . . YOU BECOME 21. YESSSS!!!

But then you turn 30. Oooohh, what happened there? Makes you sound like bad milk! He TURNED; we had to throw him out. There’s no fun now, you’re Just a sour-dumpling. What’s wrong? What’s changed?

You BECOME 21, you TURN 30, then you’re PUSHING 40. Whoa! Put on the brakes, it’s all slipping away. Before you know it, you REACH 50 and your dreams are gone.

But wait!!! You MAKE it to 60. You didn’t think you would! So you BECOME 21, TURN 30, PUSH 40, REACH 50 and MAKE it to 60. You’ve built up so much speed that you HIT 70! After that it’s a day-by-day thing; you HIT Wednesday!

You get into your 80s and every day is a complete cycle; you HIT lunch; you TURN 4:30; you REACH bedtime. And it doesn’t end there. Into the 90s, you start going backwards; “I Was JUST 92.”

Then a strange thing happens. If you make it over 100, you become a little kid again. “I’m 100 and a half!” May you all make it to a healthy 100 and a half!!
Continue reading “A few words from George”

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It’s a boy!

I finally broke down and decided to get Abbey a playmate. I had a Corgi in mind, but he was already adopted. There was a Jack Russell around the corner and he was available! Here’s Peanut the Jack Russell Terrier. He’s probably the most affectionate little dog I’ve ever seen. I’m not one to be stuck on decency, but the ol’ Red Rocket was so obvious in this picture, I Photoshopped the image so you’d know he’s a dog and not a horse.
peanut_06-04-12_01.jpg

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Actor Don Knotts dies at 81

don_knotts.jpgLOS ANGELES, California (AP) — Don Knotts, who kept generations of TV audiences laughing as bumbling Deputy Barney Fife on “The Andy Griffith Show” and would-be swinger landlord Ralph Furley on “Three’s Company,” has died. He was 81.
Knotts died Friday night of pulmonary and respiratory complications at a Los Angeles hospital, said Paul Ward, a spokesman for the cable network TV Land, which airs his two signature shows.

Griffith, who remained close friends with Knotts, said he had a brilliant comedic mind and wrote some of the show’s best scenes.

“Don was a small man … but everything else about him was large: his mind, his expressions,” Griffith said Saturday. “Don was special. There’s nobody like him.
“I loved him very much,” Griffith added. “We had a long and wonderful life together.”
Unspecified health problems had forced Knotts to cancel an appearance in his native Morgantown in August.

The West Virginia-born actor’s half-century career included seven TV series and more than 25 films, but it was the Griffith show that brought him TV immortality and five Emmys. Continue reading “Actor Don Knotts dies at 81”