I am getting a message

       Google wants me to try the new Blogger. 😱 It's probably not going to wreck my life or my blog but, to paraphrase old Montresor (Cask of Amontillado) "I have my doubts." Being a dipsophobe (yeah, apparently this is a thing) I should stay away from Amontillado or any sort of wine as it is. I don't think I have a fear of drinking alcohol - more like I've done too much research on what alcohol does to the body to ever want to touch the stuff EVER. Also I hate the taste. Anyway, perhaps I'll give the shiny, smexy new Blogger a go another time. If I can still mess with this blog under the new system, sure why not? But if not, please yerself. I'll stick with the old model as long as I can.

      Coronavirus continues to plod across Canada and run like Usain Bolt across our neighbours to the immediate south. It's only a matter of time before North Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin become ripe for the taking. 😎 Yes, this is just a joke. Now for a public service announcement. For the love of family, community, health, and whatever gods you may or may not worship - WASH YER HANDS and SNEEZE AND COUGH IN A TISSUE OR YER SLEEVE! PRACTICE SOCIAL DISTANCING AND BE SAFE!

      Today would have been my Grandma's 93rd birthday. Damned cancer. This month it will be 15 years since she passed on. The realization hit me the other day. Is this because I'm 40 now and milestones continue to gain weight around my neck? If I remember to, I think I'll post the entry from that sad day in 2005. The weather forecast speaks of a Colorado low coming for a visit and bringing a gigaton of snow with it. At least things will look pretty for a while. The roads will also look pretty (gruesome) for a while as well.

     And now, for something completely expected.

BYE.

Impressive

      I attended a celebration of life of my aunt's second husband. She was married once before, as was he. They met at a 'new beginnings' meeting and soon grew very close. He'd struggled with the savage Crab in the past and we all thought he'd beaten it but you know how tenacious cancer can be. It came back for a grudge match and this time it was the victor.

     Ernest Gautron's passion for life was matched only by his love for his boys and for my aunt. They married in 2016 but had been getting closer and closer since 2007. He relished new experiences and chased life with great zeal. I only talked to him on occasion and only during family gatherings. Luckily we had many of those. When he talked with you he gave you his full attention and you got the sense that he enjoyed talking with you. He was deeply spiritual and I'd like to think he got fast-tracked into Les Cieux as soon as he passed on.

     The celebration was well-attended; clearly this man had made deep impressions on so many others. His family graced the podium and told stories about his life. It was a lovely afternoon. I got to see many of my relatives - my memère having sent out the all-call to our extended family letting them know about the celebration. It's tragic that I only get to see the extendeds during weddings or funerals. Why is this the way it works?

     I call Ernest my aunt's second husband because I remember her first husband as my uncle. I am a little fuzzy on how divorce works in the uncle department but my childhood remembers him as my uncle. I preferred Ernest - let's be real there - but I just cannot call him uncle. Don't ask me why. Maybe a faulty wire somewhere in my head. Anyway, that was how I spent my afternoon. It was a beautiful day for a funeral - clear sky overhead and not too warm. The church parking lot was crazy packed but I managed to find a place to park.

     Three more weeks before the end of the school year. Sigh.


BYE.

Hateful Crab!

        Not Sims-related in the least. Just me in the middle of a rage. As the two or three of you who check out this blog regularly know, I lost my Dad last September when the Crab came back for a second assault. It was officially a heart attack that took him but he'd stopped eating and was coughing a lot. The autopsy confirmed the presence of cancer in his liver and lungs. I know that cancer can come back more than once and that one is never truly safe and/or cured until they die of something completely unrelated to it. This was shocking and terrible, but not a total surprise.
       The Crab took away Alan Rickman, David Bowie, and many other wonderful people last year. I'm hoping it's just that it's been reported and announced more these days - otherwise it might seem like the number of cancer-related deaths is rising. There was a time when cancer was a dirty little secret and kept buried away in the family skeleton closet. Now there are more people surviving it because it's caught early enough for treatments to work. I'm still working through my feelings as far as Dad's passing goes. He's not here with us and he should be. It's called saudade from the Portuguese language (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saudade) and I'm neck-deep in it.
       Why am I yammering about this now? My grandma died from cancer as well - pancreatic; what took Bowie and Rickman away so quickly - and hearing about anyone dying from it saddens and angers me just a bit. It was seeing the following news that just caused me to explode a bit.

http://globalnews.ca/news/3252212/stewart-mclean-vinyl-cafe-dead/

       I love the 'Vinyl Cafe' books and admired Stuart McLean to no end. Losing him at the age of 68 hurts. As a result, I am sad and angry once again and just getting my rage on in here. Rest in Peace, honoured man. You shall never be forgotten in the Canadian heartlands and small towns. You shall be treasured and your books praised for many years to come.
      Okay. I am going to close this up before I need to break out the Kleenex.