Weekend Roundup...
This just in...Michael Jackson is STILL dead.
Now, onto other items of interest...
Got a call from my nephew (from my first go at lifelong love and contentment, aka "marriage") back in Alexandria, VA, and he told me that I'm now a "great-uncle".
I told him that although I've been labelled pretty damn good at SOME things...I've never been called "great".

I always thought I was an "OK" uncle (as uncles go...lol).
The little guy's name is Thomas, and yes, there will be pictures forthcoming.
So,after the shock of calling my nephew "POP" a few times...(and this is the SAME nephew I spent weekends playing with LEGO bricks in his parents' basement, and also the nephew I bought an ALF plushie for back in the late 80s), we chatted for a spell about things in VA.
Thing is, with my nephew Erik, he's a product of some damn fine parenting. Ron, his dad, is retiring from the Treasury Department at end of year, and he's real good people, as is Teresa, his wife. Good Catholic upbringing (and I'm Methodist, even), decent set of VALUES and PRINCIPLES, and both Erik and Alexia (his sister) have grown to become marvelous examples of how families are SUPPOSED to work.
Trouble is, not everyone likes "working" all that much when it comes to the family.
And that's a damn shame.
It's a shame for the people (parents) initially involved, because whatever children they DO bring into the world will be endowed with the SAME lack of values that they SHOULD be getting.
It's a shame for the children, growing up in an constantly changing environment, with little if any of the societal tools needed to function as civilized patrons of the human condition.
It's a shame for the educational system, for having to act like surrogate parents, trying to UNDO all the wrong things these kids squander their young lives on OUTSIDE of the classroom, while trying to empower them to become achievers, and not just be content to sit on the sidelines of life, waiting for the next handout.
It's a shame for society itself, being burdened with greater numbers of relatively DYSFUNCTIONAL people, who will (somehow) be entrusted with EVERYONE'S FUTURE. And that fallout from such a venue is too damn scary to contemplate.
Luckily, there ARE those who WILL sacrifice to make sure their children are literate, compassionate, ethical, and have integrity.
My nephew and I also talked from things like the Firefighters' supreme court decision (Erik is a firefighter...and he DOES LOVE his job), the economy (he paid off $10K of debt in less than FOUR years, right out of college...AND managed to get married AND buy a house...fantastic), some politics, and even parenting...
He's got a damn good head on his shoulders, and I'd wager it as because of influences throughout his life that made the difference. Well, that, and maybe the fact that we ALL busted on him when he was in high school and wanted to wear saggy jeans....we ragged on him like no tomorrow. And he got out of that real quick.
He's made good choices in life, got himself a fine lady as a wife (she works for the FBI...how cool is that?), and they all live WITHIN THEIR MEANS.
Hmm, seems like a lesson that MANY in the world could learn from, doesn't it?
Goes to show it CAN be done, and in today's world, many times, it HAS to be done.
Moving along...
Speaking of UNCLES, We (the missus and I) have an aunt and uncle down in Portland, Indiana (great little town - I mentioned them a few times here).

Real salt-of-earth people, too, so representative of what I remember as wonderful people you WANT in your family.

We looked forward to having them up for Thanksgiving dinners (a tradition we kind of started way back in 2002). Recently, uncle Leo has had to be placed in a nursing home (Leo is in his late 80s). Aunt Wanda is becoming increasingly forgetful, and I don't like the sound of that. Seen that happen before., with my wife's grandma.
Now this is a touchy subject for me for many reasons.
First, I come from a small family (not only in stature...har de har har).
And having come from a family of small NUMBERS (better?), it's rough when a family member becomes gravely ill. My dad passed away in the hospital at 2 in the morning on a snowy February night back in 1978, and neither my mom nor I were there. We only found out about it when a police officer came to our door to inform us.

My grandmother had to be placed in a hospital when her brain tumor grew to the point where she had seizures, and would fall down (she was tickling 90).

Mom passed a little more than 20 years after dad, and thankfully, it was quick. She had a heart attack in her home. Again, I wasn't there...only her dog and cat. I found out it later that evening when I got a call from my former wife.
Suffice it to say there are good and bad points to the way we meet our demise.
But sitting in some nursing home, to me, doesn't happen to fit my bill.
I know that today, we're WAY too busy with OUR lives to attend to those that came before us, and that's sad.
People will feud like the Hatfields and McCoys over estates, money, belongings, doctor care...whatever, but it always appears to be more about THINGS than the PEOPLE involved.
I also know that when you get old enough, you can't take care of yourself in the fashion you used to when you were 30. That's a given.
Hell, I have a lot more trouble tying my damn shoes NOW than when I was 30, and I wear glasses, and ache damn near everywhere (fortunately not everywhere all at once...yet).
But time was, that the family took care of the elder members of a family almost exclusively at home, buried them nearby (so they could be visited), and moved along in life, allowing the grieving process to work itself through.
My folks are buried together...back in Philly. I will most likely be buried HERE (not in Fort Wayne, please...somewhere in INDIANA, though). I would "like" to be buried with my folks, but I'd also rather have THEM moved to a better location. Family should stick together, in death, as well as in life.

Yeah, I'm way old-fashioned in that regard.
There will come a time when ALL of us will not be able to function as we were originally designed by the Maker,
I just hope we all are all allowed the dignity in our infirm years that we were accorded in our sprightly years.
People say we never die alone.
Wish I could have been there to tell my folks that.
Perhaps, we might be able to chat about it again...someday.
You never know, do you?
And therein lies the exciting possibilities of our journey through this life.
It might be a short trip, or a lengthy excursion, but whatever the case, it's up to US to make the best of it, and our task to be there for those that truly require our attention, because what goes around will definitely come around in this instance.
Have a great weekend, and, as always...
Stay safe out there, America.