Well, that's done

My uncle died Saturday night. He was 68 years old. He was suffering from pneumonia, which exacerbated his Parkinson's Disease. He had trouble swallowing and was facing the prospect of having a feeding tube inserted today, so I believe it was a blessing that he died peacefully, in his sleep.

I loved him.

In February, 1964, he took me along as he ran an errand. That day he bought me this record and told me that I had to watch The Ed Sullivan Show that night. It was that night that I fell forever in love with Sir Paul.

He wasn't the best man in the world. He could be short-tempered and selfish. Sometimes his actions reflected a deficient value system.

And yet he was always good to me. I judge him by that. I remember him that way. I mourn him.

I like thinking of him as happy and whole and with God.

Sunday Stealing

Sunday Stealing: The Baker's Meme

Note: There were a bunch of rules and mandates that we were suppose to give but Bud lost them. Or hid them, either way it is his bad.

Cheers to all of us thieves!

1. If you could interview anyone on your blog (alive or dead) who would you chose and why? Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis. JBKO. My all-time idol. I want her to tell me how she kept her dignity and sanity in the face of unendurable pain and relentless public scrutiny.

2. What do you feel is your strength as a blogger? I post often and write about a variety of stuff.

3. Can you share a little bit about yourself that you have not already mentioned on your blog? Even though I love Chicago with all my heart, I am something of a renegade in regards to cuisine. I prefer thin crust pizza and put ketchup on my hot dogs.

4. If you were forced to change the name of your blog, what would you change it to? Why? "Christmas will be canceled." I'm told that I often threaten my coworkers with this -- as in, "If we miss this deadline, Christmas will be canceled and we'll all die."

5. What do you think is the most fulfilling part of being a blogger? Having a paperless, yet still perfectly organized, chronicle of my life.

6. What would you do with your last day if you found you had only one more day to live? I wouldn't want to know. It would be too difficult.

7. You’ve been doing medical research for decades and have finally found a cure. What was it that you found a cure for and why did you choose this particular ailment? The affection some still feel for bad 70s adult contemporary music. It's not only a scourge, it can lead to addiction. How else do you explain Fanilows?

8. What is your most guilty pleasure? Watching Nancy Grace on HLN. I know she's horrific. And yet I cannot look away.

9. Answer only one. What is your favorite book, movie or TV show? JFK: Reckless Youth. It covers his life from birth to his election to congress. The Kennedy family hated this book so much that they rescinded the author's access to the family papers and there was no second volume. While it is pretty juicy about his fondness for a well-turned ankle, it does a terrific job of chronicling his courage and resilience in the face of pain and obstacles that the public never knew about or could even guess. And it taught me a valuable lesson: no matter how good a life looks from the outside, you have no idea how it feels from the inside.

10. What do you think is the very best smell in the world? The one smell that can take you back to a time and place of a very vivid memory in your past? The minty/licorice mix of these throat lozenges. My beloved Grandpa kept them on his bedside and smelled faintly of them all day. I miss him very much.