[Previous entry: "This isn't."] [Main Index] [Next entry: "Dancing is forbidden."]

11/12/2005: "Nocturne of Shaddow."

James Phillips, my great uncle, died wensday morning.

He was a good man, and a lot of people are going to miss him, including me.

And yet, I feel like an asshole because even though he was a great guy and I am gonna miss him, I don't really feel sad. Maybe I'm numb for some reason. It's odd, cause whenever the idea of something being gone forever or even the opertunity for something to happen is gone, I'm totally heartbroken/hopless/emo to some extent even. That's probally a reason why I'm a pack rat. It explains a couple of other things too.

His wake was today. The origional intent of the wake is lost nowadays, because the idea was that back in the olden times people couldn't always be sure when someone was dead, so they would put them on a table and hold a vigil for a day or two to see if in that time the person "wakes". Nowadays, we know when someone's dead. We got blips and tubes and stuff to make sure we know. It still has some purpose though, no matter how much like a birthday or wedding it may be. It's simply that when you die it brings together all the people you knew in life. I could tell that today when I was at the wake, because not only did my uncle come up, but like everyperson on my mom's side of the family showed up, as well as all of Jim's relatives, and even some people who were collgues of his kids and wife.

That was just a musing of mine that I had while I was standing outside the funeral parlor. Reminds me of what George Carlin had to say about death: "All the flowers that you should have gotten while you were alive all arrive at once. Too late.".

That's actually why I like El Dia De Los Muetros. It's not the Spanish Halloween, but actually a day when they celebrate all their deceased loved ones. Usually by throwing parties and picnics and drinking. It's esentially a day when the spirits of those pased are invited back for a celebration. It's not a scary or sad day, but it is a real celebration! Parties with dead people basically. A better way to handle death then our normal ways if you ask me.

But yeah, Jim was cool. He had trouble pronouncing "batteries", and I will miss him.







F*R*A*G: Damnit! Stop being better then me! ::Throttles::