Category: Why So Serious?
Big apologies to everyone for the lack of content of late. It’s been a bit of a messed up July so far.
Firstly, I bruised my ribs and chipped some cartlidge being thrown forcefully into the corner of a wall. It hurt. It still hurts. Apparently it’ll take 30-45 days to heal and will feel lousy the whole time. Oddly, that’s the lesser of the double whammies that made my July what it is.
A good friend of mine died July 6th. His name was Larry Butts. (really it was!) Everyone called him LB. He’d been diagnosed with lung cancer a year ago. It was caught around stage 3 due to a tumor developing but LB did radiation/chemo.
In January of this year, he was diagnosed as being in remission. It was a big surprise that he went into remission due to the seriousness of his condition. It was a great day for a lot of people.
In May, LB broke the news that the tumor came back. And the cancer had spread as well. Stage 4. He began treatment immediately again. He chronicled his journey through cancer on a website. One of his last posts was:
“Well, the doctor told me that with the developments due to complications, if the new chemotherapy plan doesn’t work (meaning the tumors throughout my body do not shrink with the new chemicals used) he could say that I had about two months left to live.”
He died 5 days later.
I had know LB for about ten years if memory serves. I met him through my work with the folks in the local music scene in the Valley area. He was always around, singing, playing, creating drama. He and I traded e-mails quite a bit and talked about getting together and just hanging out, especially after his diagnosis. We’d do the things people do these days and something would come up or get in the way. We’d talked about doing some fireworks at my house for the 4th of July, he requested I get some mortars for him, which I did. I sent follow e-mails prior to the 4th but never heard back. Then I found out why.
LB was a good man, better than most. He was high maintenance but worth the effort. He’s a guy that I didn’t truly know how much he meant to me until he was gone. Alot of his friends are finding this out too.
I regret that I didn’t see him before he died.
If this post does nothing for me (or you) it’s to remember to spend time with people you care about now and not later. You never know when later doesn’t come.
“Had Brother’s Pizza! Watching episodes of Pawn Stars with mom. My new roommate.
I am the world’s most fortunate man!”-LB, 5 days before his passing away.
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ShareHappy Memorial Day to everyone in the States. Please take a few minutes to remember those in your family, or friends, or people you’ll never meet who fought and/or died in the service of the country. Regardless of the political arm that swings the sword, those men and women of the armed services deserve respect. Thank you to those who have answered the call. Specifically
James Thomason (Grandfather – US Navy WWII)
William E Haymes Sr (Grandfather – US Army Air Corp WWII/Air Force/Air National Guard)
William E Haymes Jr (Father – Virginia Air National Guard)
Eugene Haymes (Uncle – Virginia Air National Guard)
Kenneth Richardson (Friend – 82nd Airborne)
Paul Reeder (Friend/co-worker – Airborne (sorry Paul don’t recall your unit other than parachutes being involved)
Duane Zoldak (Oldest Friend – 10th Mountain Div – Black Hawk Down did them no justice)
LinuxKidd (Friend – US Navy)
John Inscoe (Friend – US Navy)
Marvin Gonzalez (Friend – US Navy/Naval Reserves)
Thanks also go out to the families and friends who support these folks during deployments, drills, training, etc.
Thank you.
Popularity: 22%
ShareI’m going to have to come right out at the start of this post and throw out a disclaimer. This post probably won’t be funny and therefore seem out of place here. It quite possibly could offend you. There will probably be some bitter sarcasm though… sometimes that’s enough to make it entertaining. Anyway… here we go.
There are a lot of candidates for this award. Considering the recent shootings in Arizona, it’s a pretty easy task to find evidence of failure and incompetence all around. I’d considered briefly giving the award to Sarah Palin. She’s always in the running for the award, but frankly it felt like a cheap shot… like making fun of a kid with a disability. (Yeah, I know… re-read the disclaimer.) Certainly someone connected to the whole shooting fiasco deserves it though.
Popularity: 63%
ShareDid you ever get the feeling that you’re a character in a movie? Not like that movie “The Truman Show” but that sometimes you just feel like a character in a story that someone else has written and directed. It’s not a bad thing really. Who wouldn’t want to be the star of a Stephen Spielberg masterpiece? Being Indiana Jones isn’t so bad is it? Although… maybe being the lead in “Saving Private Ryan” isn’t the best role to live out.
Popularity: unranked
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