I am CuTRis

The "dad signal" went up and my wife was shouting about something, and when I asked her what was going on, she had her bug fighting stick, which she says is just to push the plants aside, but I know a bug fighting stick when I see one! She said there was a small rabbit in her garden laying dead on its side by her spinach. I'm the only one who grows spinach, so I told her I didn't want to deal with the dead rabbit. Then I got that look . Because of course I'm supposed to be the one to go deal with it. But then she cracked me up by telling me we should send in a probe! Suddenly I was in a Star Trek episode. I told her to grab a bag and I went and got a stick. I found the rabbit laying next to her carrots, aka, spinach. So I fished it out with the stick and then put it in the bag to put in the garbage. Yay dad!

Final Goodbyes to my aunt Donna (Curtis) Emerson.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter,_Paul_and_Mary

Jimmy Carter October 1, 1924 to December 29, 2024

In my dream, I suddenly broke out of character. I asked my deceased father when he had to go back. He kind of smiled because he knew that now I knew. So he mumbled something about 3:15. I went over to my mother, and asked if she heard what dad had said and she replied yes. After that I woke up. I lay in bed thinking for a few minutes and then I rolled over and looked at the clock. It was 3:15 a.m..

There were just four of us for Thanksgiving. I cooked, and my turkey took longer than expected. My mom thought it was the addition of all those Brussels Sprouts I added halfway through. I suspect that contributed to the delay. But dinner was good, and we had a toast to those friends and family we lost. There were five since July. One of the two cousins just two weeks ago, my wife's aunt in Sheboygan, my friend Kaikaik in July and my dad in October. It was a tough year. My job is an unknown, so 2025 will be interesting as well. May we weather the lies, tariffs and hate mongering to come. My wish is that we learn to tolerate differences, trust science, and consider the welfare of others in the future. -KJC

Last evening, I had a message waiting for me from my aunt Sharon. It was a link to an obituary for my younger cousin. He passed earlier in the week. I have to admit, that sometimes I'm bombarded with so many messages that it's hard to get through all of them. And the Facebook posts that are shares and resends get to be too much and eventually I turn them off. But this message was important. And it kind of brought a few things back into perspective. I've been dealing with an upcoming job change that has been forced upon me. I didn't realize that when I saw my cousin Jason last month at my dad's funeral, that that would be the last time I would talk to him. How would any of us know that he would die unexpectedly a month later? But yet it happened. In between all of that, we had an election and another outcome that will thrust change upon us. We live in a high-paced, ever-changing world. And it seems as though people are growing meaner and more impatient. Perhaps when...

I stopped to talk to Grace at the memory care my dad was at all summer, after my TV job tonight. I thanked her for caring for dad. She said they "clicked," and she thought of him like her dad. The other woman who works evenings said he was a good guy and funny. I'm glad I did that. There was closure in it. Definitely for me, but maybe for all of us. Maybe for dad too. Tomorrow is one month since he died.

1944-2024

Almost 25 years ago, after previously working at Hennepin County Library, which I found to be the most corrupt place I had ever worked at, I interviewed and transferred to the Hennepin County Chemical Health Division. While I soon learned that corruption and bad managers also existed at the new job, I was destined to receive an education about poverty, addiction, good and evil, and even a bit of the supernatural—within the walls of 1800 Chicago Avenue in Minneapolis. At that time, there were a lot of accusations about racism, and it was a card being used to win, over truth and logic. That’s why I’m not surprised to see people still using it now; because true or not, it usually worked. Regardless of the stress, violence and heartbreak I witnessed there, I made some great friends, and a couple of nemeses. But the friends, were special. Occasionally, someone might make a friend at a job who they stay in touch with. But most often, the friendship dies when one or the other leaves the empl...

For years I knew age was catching up to my friend and former supervisor, Beverly Welch. Now I know why I don't see her "likes" on my posts anymore. Rest easy my friend. 👍

Kaikaik... My heart hurts for the loss, yet it is glad because you were my brother. The love, friendship and respect... that, will last.

https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/d-day

https://youtu.be/jUTORC4eoGc?si=4V98LH7BjLT6ZWyW

Yet another critic of Vladimir Putin has died mysteriously. The only thing as dangerous as criticizing Putin, is fighting in the Russian military--which has a running total of 315K casualties in the war with Ukraine.

My wife was asking me about her snake plant because something was growing in it. I told her that it was about to bloom. She had lots of questions so I told her to Google it. Apparently snake plants rarely bloom. This one used to belong to my mother-in-law before she died. I told my wife that her mom was just saying "hello."

We never know with certainty whether we are speaking to someone for the last time or not. I remember last conversations with several people--sometimes I was pretty sure it was the last, and sometimes I had no idea that it was. So, it is best to always be kind to others and try to avoid holding grudges. There is a tendency these days, to be mean to one another and it is horrible. It's particularly sad when it is family members or longtime friends. We can't take much into the next realm with us, but we can take our love and our honor.

Last week the recycling truck ran into my mailbox and broke it. But this week, I lost two people. One, is emotionally broken, but believes she is always right. I watched this one grow up, so it was hard when I tried to help, and was told where to go, when I refused to validate the destructive behavior. The other, is a friend from childhood, who I first met in kindergarten. He disappeared periodically, and so when he did that again, it wasn't too concerning. But he's now dying of liver failure. In each case, the behavior is self-destructive, and the soul beneath is unchanging and unreachable. So now I feel old, numb and helpless. Each year brings more memories of people who have left. It's not as easy to fix as a mailbox.