...First off, as you may know, I am ALWAYS the guy who wears Maize & Blue colored glasses and views the Team from a "glass half full" perspective, so the struggles with the Offense and getting through the schedule thus far are trying...
BUT...
My perspective is always grounded in what happens in my own world, which is here, on Earth.
One of the Northern California Wildfires has devastated the community where I work, and the Reservation that employs me lost 6 homes, but thank God, no lives...this week is all about recovery and getting families the basic necessities.
Also found out last night that my wife's uncle, who's daughter was married this past Friday, is going through a severe mental health crisis. Don't know those details yet.
What's on my mind now is this...
Ten days ago, my wife and I received word that our 73 year old next door neighbor, Jim, had died suddenly, possibly of a heart attack. He and his wife Marianne, who is 81 and struggling for the past year with cancer, live in San Francisco and had bought a newly built home next door here in Ukiah almost 20 years ago as their weekend retreat.
We've gotten to know this couple very well over the past two years as my wife, Steph, was struggling with her own health issues and bonded with Marianne.
Jim was her rock. Growing up as a young child in a Japanese internment Camp, raised in Colorado, he ended up going to Columbia where he studied Architecture and lettered on the Swim Team. He was a successful, yet humble living architect in SF and his wife was an educator and City Council member.
Jim was soft spoken and eschewed discussing politics, even as Marianne would rally local folks for community meetings in their home. Jim was an avid golfer, and spent every day in Ukiah completing a round by foot, even after dual knee replacements...even if it was 100+ degrees outside.
He was also and exceptional chef (his hobby since working in the kitchen at an upscale resort in the NY Catskills as a teen) and enjoyed invited us over for dinner and carefully explaining his meal preparation and secrets.
Steph attended his Buddhist memorial service today in the city.
I don't know if Marianne will be coming back to Ukiah, or if she will keep the house, but my heart is heavier for Jim and his wife right now.
Some of it is because I lost my parents over 20 years ago, and some of it is because we were just getting to know this fine couple.
So please excuse me if I'm saltier than usual...and if I piss you off, don't give me a pass and feel free fire back at me...I can deal with it.
Just a rough couple of weeks is all.
BUT...
My perspective is always grounded in what happens in my own world, which is here, on Earth.
One of the Northern California Wildfires has devastated the community where I work, and the Reservation that employs me lost 6 homes, but thank God, no lives...this week is all about recovery and getting families the basic necessities.
Also found out last night that my wife's uncle, who's daughter was married this past Friday, is going through a severe mental health crisis. Don't know those details yet.
What's on my mind now is this...
Ten days ago, my wife and I received word that our 73 year old next door neighbor, Jim, had died suddenly, possibly of a heart attack. He and his wife Marianne, who is 81 and struggling for the past year with cancer, live in San Francisco and had bought a newly built home next door here in Ukiah almost 20 years ago as their weekend retreat.
We've gotten to know this couple very well over the past two years as my wife, Steph, was struggling with her own health issues and bonded with Marianne.
Jim was her rock. Growing up as a young child in a Japanese internment Camp, raised in Colorado, he ended up going to Columbia where he studied Architecture and lettered on the Swim Team. He was a successful, yet humble living architect in SF and his wife was an educator and City Council member.
Jim was soft spoken and eschewed discussing politics, even as Marianne would rally local folks for community meetings in their home. Jim was an avid golfer, and spent every day in Ukiah completing a round by foot, even after dual knee replacements...even if it was 100+ degrees outside.
He was also and exceptional chef (his hobby since working in the kitchen at an upscale resort in the NY Catskills as a teen) and enjoyed invited us over for dinner and carefully explaining his meal preparation and secrets.
Steph attended his Buddhist memorial service today in the city.
I don't know if Marianne will be coming back to Ukiah, or if she will keep the house, but my heart is heavier for Jim and his wife right now.
Some of it is because I lost my parents over 20 years ago, and some of it is because we were just getting to know this fine couple.
So please excuse me if I'm saltier than usual...and if I piss you off, don't give me a pass and feel free fire back at me...I can deal with it.
Just a rough couple of weeks is all.
