- DaughterGeeding and I used to watch Young Sheldon together. We haven’t been able to watch it together for various reasons this year. I didn’t watch a single episode until last night, and that’s just because it dealt with his father’s death and was the series (not season, but series) finale. His father died of a heart attack, and Sheldon was about to move to California for college. Of course, I couldn’t help but think of my father, who went into cardiac arrest three days before I graduated high school. Now that I think about it, that event happened 30 years ago this month. And thanks to a pacemaker, I got four borrowed years. Sheldon had no such luck.One scene kept replaying in Sheldon’s head. He ate breakfast at the kitchen table as his dad said goodbye to the family and drove off to work. Sheldon regrets not saying anything to him as he walks out the back door, and as the scene replays, he keeps changing the outcome to something kinder and more wholesome, stuff he regrets he didn’t say or do. That kinda happened to me. Dad and I got into a big argument. I left mad, straight to Bryan Ringo’s house (I think) for a graduation party. When the party ended, many of us decided to continue to party at my house. When I arrived, there was an ambulance in the front yard. After that moment, I always ensured my last words to anyone I’m close to is, “I love you.”Another thing I could relate to was Sheldon taking one last walk around the house before packing everything up. He wanted to remember it just as it was so that he could reminisce as an adult. I remember doing that with my childhood home, the only house I ever lived in. Lastly, I connected with the theme of trying to enjoy all the time you can with someone because you never know when it will end. You think your parents will be around forever when you are young, like Sheldon and I were. From that moment, the only commodity I valued was time. The dollar wasn’t my currency, time was, it was the most valuable thing to me. And that’s one reason why I took the divorce so hard. Many will argue I couldn’t get over the person I was married to, but that’s not it at all. The thing I grieved most was the loss of the family unit, the time together, and all the memories I thought that was going to be made for them to cherish fell through my fingers. With the loss of time comes the loss of opportunities to influence your kids, especially if you have a vindictive spouse that alienates them from you.
- I’ve heard stories from several Cowboys players who played with Roger Staubach about how supportive of a friend he is. For instance, some of them literally had their day in court. I remember three for sure, Thomas “Hollywood” Henderson, Drew Pearson, and Harvey Martin. They all said that Staubach was the only one who ever showed up, and for some of them, their day in court was after their playing days and haven’t talked to the man in years. That really left an impression on me, and I try to be that friend. It’s one reason I was in a Denton County courtroom earlier this month as my friend Tony and his ex-spouse needed to settle a custody battle. Thankfully, the judge not only ruled in his favor but gave him more than he and his attorney requested, though he had to concede on one little issue, he was perfectly fine with and offered before. It was certainly an embarrassing defeat for his ex-spouse. We were talking about the hearing recently and his time on the stand. His ex-spouse’s attorney’s first question was, “You remain depressed to this day because you can’t get over your spouse leaving you?” His reaction and answer surprised me, so I asked him about it. His answer started with spontaneous laughter. He had to retain composure quickly, and then he said that wasn’t the case at all, and he’s been over her and their relationship for quite some time. I inquired about the laughter, and he said it surprised him that it happened. He didn’t mean to laugh and certainly didn’t want to show disrespect to the judge; it wasn’t planned, and he never expected that particular question, but that was his natural response. He spoke to his counselor about it, and they both agreed it marked a major milestone in his battle over grief from divorce and loss of family. His subconscious was speaking; it was his authentic self coming out like it was some proclamation to the world that any claim she made about him being unable to move on was ludicrous. Upon reflection, he said that was a moment of vindication and showed growth he was unaware he made.
- Incredulous – Traffic study halted after screenshots leaked of memo sent out by megachurch (Lakepointe) staff urging members to help manipulate the results
- “They asked lifegroup leaders to share with their classrooms and their other members to sign up to drive around 10 laps during a one-hour time period for five days from May 14-19,” said Amanda Cunningham, who stopped being a member of the church in March. She shared screenshots with WFAA of the scheme. “It laid out a plan to create false traffic patterns and mislead the city,” Cunningham said.
- Congresswoman Boebert’s son was in court last week. Although she didn’t attend to support him, she did make it to a New York courthouse to support the previous president.
- Out of curiosity, I looked up the name for the menu that appears when you perform a right-click. It’s called a context menu.
- Dutch woman, 29, granted euthanasia approval on grounds of mental suffering
- On the appointed day, the medical team will come to Ter Beek’s house. “They’ll start by giving me a sedative, and won’t give me the drugs that stop my heart until I’m in a coma. For me, it will be like falling asleep. My partner will be there, but I’ve told him it’s OK if he needs to leave the room before the moment of death,” she said.
- In a few decades, if not sooner, our politicians in the U.S. will be debating this topic. This one is unique; I grant you that because it’s mental suffering. But in the case of former President Jimmy Carter, who has been in hospice for the last year and a half, shouldn’t someone at that age and state of health have the choice of ending their suffering?
- Speaking of which, I pray he goes before the end of the year. I believe there’s a good chance Trump will be reelected, and I don’t feel he’d handle Carter’s death (and a grieving nation) as gentle and dignified as Biden would.
- Everyone grieves the loss of a parent in their own special way. Some people want to be alone, others want to be with family. Then you have those who have to immediate post a TikTok video about it.
https://twitter.com/MadisonKittay/status/1791130558124155060 -
Larry David himself couldn’t come up with a funnier bit than this pic.twitter.com/T39C3b78Kb
— Sam Cahn (@samcahntent) May 16, 2024