King of the Road has taken the last exit

The long and winding road has come to a dead end. Think about it. We all have a dead end at our finish line. Ok, not everyone thinks of roads. How about dots?

If you gave me all the dots I would not have time to connect them. It takes a lifetime to connect the dots. That’s ok because that last dot - it’s a killer.

I’m writing this as I try to lighten-up a bit. Our family joke teller has passed on to his next gig today. I’ve already wept a few tears earlier today so now in the spirit of his joking I strive to write a remembrance on the lighter side of life’s road (at least I'll stay out of the ditch).

Back in Aug. 2011 in MO

I think of him as King of the Road. He has had over 6000 stitches and was thought to have died many times during his years. He has totaled more vehicles, cars, motorcycles, trucks than I have ever owned. Not all the mishaps were driving related. He worked construction and has visited a few bars during his life.

I first mentioned my uncle’s approach to his finish line in a post at the end of November. Since then it’s been a quick ride with him. Some dips and dangerous curves but also many scenic views of past memories. It was an absolute joy to share jokes with our family joke teller too. Even in this last phase of his trip, he could still joke and give a smile.

Less than 24 hours before his brakes failed, he told my cousin and me this joke.

Two blondes at a bar are asked by the bartender if they are sisters.
One quickly replies, “Oh no, we are not even Catholic.”

Two of our daughters were able to visit him on different days. Being separated by a whole generation, one daughter was curious to discover more about him and asked him about his life. I jumped into the conversation by mentioning the fact that he had two marriages. Then I learned my uncle was having a good day. He was surprisingly quick to pull my unsuspecting daughter into a joke.

King: “When I was first married, I picked wild mushrooms.”
Daughter with a puzzled look.
King: “My first wife died from a poison mushroom.”
Daughter with a concerned look: “Oh my”
King: “Do you know how my second wife died?”
Daughter: “No”
King: “A head concussion. (pause) She wouldn’t eat the mushrooms!”

All three of us had a great laugh. I believe he laughed hard enough to bounce the bed.

It was great seeing him with plenty of visitors. While in hospice, he celebrated his 89th birthday. This probably helped him going.

These past five or so weeks showed me the power of humor. Sharing a laugh creates new bonds and strengthens existing bonds. My uncle provided me a lesson without knowing it.

Hospice was a good decision. I think if you are about to leave earth on a one way no return ticket then you should turn off ground control (doctors trying to save you) and share the countdown with family.

If you want background on why I consider him King of the Road check out these older posts:

first one
second one

Wordlessly watching

Thank you falettinme be mice elf agin! Thanks to Sly and the Family Stone for that phonetic spelling.

Wordlessly watching
He waits by the window
And wonders

Wordless activities fail to contribute much for my blog. For me lyrically listening to music works well for generating a post. Not necessarily a perfect post, but judgement doesn’t belong in blogging anyway.

wonders what the little girl is wondering

I’ll start 2020 (can you believe 2020 will be the year of perfect eyesight and limited insight) with a non-correlated collection of thoughts and/or observations, and/or sentences.

It might just be me, but I'm noticing more quotes showing up around the transition into a new year. I found this one about exploring. Quote from the late astronomer Carl Sagan:

"The surface of the Earth is the shore of the cosmic ocean. From it we have learned most of what we know. Recently, we have waded a little out to sea, enough to dampen our toes or, at most, wet our ankles. The water seems inviting."

So grant me a billion or so I can fly a rocket to the moon.

As an adult who has traveled beyond our borders and watches a few documentaries, I know not everyone is fortunate to growup with the luxury of having their own room. I gather from the following song (oh this one is from a great musical documentary titled, “Echo In The Canyon”) that Brian Wilson had his own room. I eventually had my own room after my older brother left.



To round off the post (I never write a sharp post, I might hurt myself) I’ll end with a bit of twitter. While twitter speeds the sharing of words, I doubt it helps anyone with their vocabulary or writing skills. Collected tweets by Chicago Tribune columnist, Eric Zorn:

• I never say “It’s the least I can do.” I know in my heart I can always do less
• We need a follow-up song where Dolly Parton comes to her senses and thanks Jolene for taking that cheating dirtbag off her hands
• I’ll tell you who gets a bad rap. Anyone who asks me to do a rap
• His last words were, “You seem upset.”
• Fellas, if you don’t know what you did wrong, do not under any circumstances start guessing
• On your deathbed, tell everyone “pray for me.” Then make sure to leave a note to be opened after you die that says, “pray harder next time”
• Please allow children to believe in Santa. You believe in essential oils and no one is ruining it for you

My past posts related to:
Thank you falettinme be mice elf agin


Wordlessly watching

Merry Christmas

Wishing you the best of whatever holiday you celebrate. If you celebrate with kindness and love then your activity should benefit the world around your celebration. Spread the joy.

I'm re-posting a few pictures I've used in previous Christmas posts. Each Christmas offers new and different activities/events. Yet we (adults certainly) strive to recall and recreate past joyful Christmas memories. So reusing these pictures makes perfect sense to me.