A death in the family and randomocity

I'm sorry I haven't been around much, for the one or two of you who actually read this thing. My dad died last week and we had the funeral last Saturday.

It wasn't unexpected. He's been declining for a while and over the past few months had really taken a downward spiral. So, I was prepared when the call came. Anyway, we've had the funeral now (and thank you to everyone who attended and participated--dad would have been very happy with the service) and I'm taking some time off from work to catch up on some things that had to go on the back burner for a while.

You know what would be good? And somebody may actually be doing this, in which case, good for you! Schools should teach a class called "Life Situations" where they go over what you should do in the circumstances most of us face through our lives and which we are seldom prepared for. Like, what to do when a near relative, like a parent, dies. Maybe give people checklists of documents they'll need, and questions they'll need to be able to answer.

And, let me go on record here--when I die, I want to be cremated. Take my ashes and mingle them with Atari's and find a nice, scenic spot in the mountains somewhere, dig a hole, pour us in, and fill in the hole. Let us both return to the world and become part of the natural cycle, even if it is only our ashes. Since I can't go the Zoroastrian route and have my body eaten by sacred vultures, that is. Don't spend a nickel more on my memorial than is absolutely necessary. I won't care, trust me. Don't even have a memorial--unless you want to and know of a way to do it for free, in which case, go ahead, if it makes you feel better.

Dad's health was one thing that had been concerning me for a while. A situation with a dear friend that seemed to be unresolvable (and which I won't go into here) was another. Those are two balls that I can now allow to drop, with dad's death, and my friend's situation--at least for now--somewhat improved.

Of course, something like that seems to prompt the universe to put something else on my plate to worry about. There just has to be something, doesn't there? And I actually have an idea what the next personal crisis will be though I won't say anything here. I don't want to provide inspiration.

So, it's back to writing and maybe painting a little, too.