No news lately? Not exactly...
Tuesday, 9. June 2009, 16:59:04
I didn't realize that it had been almost three (3) weeks since my last post, which wasn't much of a post. It was just sharing a post I'd read elsewhere. So what's happening in the land of All Things James? Um, a few things, you could say were your penchant towards understatement.
The last thing of shareable substance happened back in April. My nephew Bubba died in his sleep. I didn't write about it right away because we didn't have a definitive diagnosis for his passing. Apparently his heart stopped, which isn't common when you're a month shy of turning 24 years old. Nevertheless, it still happens sometimes. In his case, Bubba had some undiagnosed risk factors like an enlarged heart. His heart could have gone anytime he'd had too much sedative in his system: a Valium, a painkiller, or just a few beers.
None of us are happy that he's gone, but I feel better knowing that it wasn't intentional. In fact, had Bubba taken any meds that night, it wouldn't have been out of a desire to end his life. He didn't know.
After getting that closure, we've managed to have some fun around here. I'm about to start bicycle racing again after an unplanned hiatus. It's just been busy, ya know? And a couple weeks ago, we worked with the Seattle Parks Department at the Special Olympics. It's never the usual weekend away, but it was relatively uneventful. Meaning that the usual unusualities cropped up stochastically all about us.
JAMES: "Hey! Did you just hit him?"
ATHLETE: "Huh?"
J: "Don't act like that. I'll take your Coke away."
A: "Yes, I hit him."
J: "Apologize and don't do it again, okay?"
A: "Sorry." (somewhat sincerely)
J: "Hey! I saw that!"
A: "Oh."
J: "Gimme your Coke, and tell him you're sorry."
A: "Sorry." (sincerity strangely absent)
J: "Thanks for apologizing. I'm keeping your Coke."
A: "Ha-hah! You're funny, James. Gimme my Coke, buddy!"
J: "Do you want me to call your mom?"
A: (vocal sounds strangely absent)
Mind you, this was a man in his late twenties. It's not typical anywhere else, but with this crowd his behavior only stands out a little bit. As always, I'm glad we did it, even if it's never easy. At least it's never boring.
Lately, I've managed to buck my homebody trend by seeing a couple of shows. Seattle gets its disproportionate share of great live music. Bands just love playing here. Last week we had floor seat tickets to the Neko Case show. A few weeks before that, I caught my favorite band (this week anyway), Doves, at the Crocodile Cafe. Amazing stuff, which is great since I'd been waiting four years for them to come back to Seattle!
This past weekend we repeated our annual bike trek over the Cascade Mountains, along with two dozen other folks. This year's DarWin, named for the towns at the beginning and end of the route (Darrington and Winthrop, respectively), was the sixth in a row for me. It's a slog over those mountains, with 7000 feet/2100 meters of climbing over its entirety. And 6000 feet/1800 meters come between miles 46 and 87 (75 km and 145 km). It's one of the hardest things I've ever done, but I wouldn't miss it for the world.
Oh, yeah, there's also that wedding thing we're planning. It's mostly finished. We still have to send out invitations, square away flowers, and plan the rehearsal. Otherwise, we're good to go. That includes the honeymoon in (wait for it...) Kona, Hawai'i! We'll go scuba diving with sharks and sea turtles when we aren't working on our tans.
Okay, we're both a bit too Irish for that tanning thing. Otherwise, I think we'll have fun over there.
Ta-ta for now, y'all!
WIDGETIZE
Angeliki # 9. June 2009, 18:29
I wish you a long life to remember him...
It is sad when young people leave this world so sudden,
My late husband was in his late thirties and had a massive stroke. Nobody in her mid twenties images to become a widow from her husbands natural cause of death
on a happier note,
I am delighted you had a chance to see a few shows, I envy (in a good way) people like giftedactors that make an inpact to our lives.
I am very happy your bike is giving you such enjoyement.
Weddings and honemoons are always hard on a couple but the rewards are enormous!
Glad to see you back!