arite, zip it! - 2 zipped it good deux mortis [24 Feb 2003|11:42am] 8:30 AM my mother phoned. Jim died last night. last surgery/chemo followups just sapped him straight out of this world. this is different than Bill. Bill was 88, partially incapacitated, serene in that he'd been saying since I was like 6 that he was at peace with the eventuality of death. he didnt lose that peace. we knew he was counting down, and he was ancient. Jim was just 60. one week younger than my father. we didnt get along when i was adolescing, shared a house yet didnt speak to each other for the better part of 2 years. as it sometimes happens, though, the problem was just that we couldnt LIVE together. once we werent, we got along like several blazing houses. he was the main instigating/positively reinforcing force in me getting as far with college as I've gotten so far, he always could find something to laugh at in any situation. (like: a week ago he told mom that since he was losing hair due to treatment he wanted a ball cap lettered "BHB", for "bald-headed bastard"...)...this man LOVED life. not that many people really ENJOY theirs. I'm a natural sourpuss and so is my mom. he helped us have fun. Often. he'd always had trouble with jobs. his career history held little stability until the last few years. he'd been teaching computer science at a community college. mom's going to suggest a memorial service to be held in its auditorium, because he LOVED that job, and his students loved HIM for his dedication. he'd only been doing it a couple years and then he had to quit. so fate saw fit to punish a rare and infectious vitality by slowly eviscerating its host over 2 years. well...fate can suck me. because THIS sucks. he didnt deserve any of this. *engages radio silence for a while of indeterminate length*

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