Musings From The 10th.....

I was born in London, England and we lived there until I was almost four years old. My uncle Dan, my father's brother, used to take me for walks when I was a baby and toddler. My first vivid memory is when I was about two years old. I was walking with my uncle and saw a cat on the other side of the road. I don't know why, but the cat suddenly jumped up towards the road just as a car came by. The cat was hit, killed instantly and landed in the gutter at the side of the road right at our feet. The flies descended on the body almost instantly. Now one might think that this is just the overactive imagination combined with a childhood memory. The funny thing is that my uncle couldn't believe it when I first recounted the incident....however he did confirm it was exactly as I remembered.

My father could be a stubborn man, right until the end. We found out during our Xmas family dinner in 1989 that on Xmas eve he had been having chest pains. In fact he had spent about an hour collapsed on the floor and did nothing about it. When we heard this at dinner my father-in-law, who was a doctor, very strongly suggested that he go to the hospital immediately. He refused, and rather than create a scene, we all let it go. I remember kissing him on the cheek when he was leaving with my mom to go home. That was something it would not normally do. In fact I can still feel the sensation and touch on my lips when I think back on it. The next time I saw him was Boxing Day.  My mum called and said that he had collapsed while making a phone call to England. I raced to their place, where he was being administered to by the paramedics. They allowed me to go in the ambulance where they continued their attempts to revive him. As I watched, I just knew he was gone. Mum and I waited in...

The first person to refer to me as "Hilarious JS" was Phil Neubauer at St. Mike's. I don't remember when he first referred to me in that way, nor am I sure why he started. I am sure it was a term of endearment in some way however, I have since learned it means not to take myself too seriously.  I know there have been times in my life when I needed that reminder but didn't heed the need. The person who has reinforced that the most is my best friend and brother, Mike Flynn. I am pretty sure I get it now.......most of the time. Thanks Mike! Tanx guys!

Introspection : a reflective looking inward : an examination of one's own thoughts and feelings Introspective : characterized by examination of one's own thoughts and feelings: thoughtfully reflective: employing, marked by, or tending to introspection I contemplated creating a blog back in 2013 and started to write my thoughts, which became placeholders of sorts. The intent was to add a posts as my thoughts crystallized however, I found that most times I wrote a subject line and perhaps some of my thoughts but many were incomplete. My good intentions of completing each post dissolved with procrastination.  I am now at the point where reflection on my life seems to take up more of my thoughts and I have decided to go through each of these old posts and finish my thoughts. That is why you will see the various original dates on each post.  Do we all arrive at a time and place when we wonder what it has been about, what we have learned on the way...

 I wish that Connor would have been with Anne and I more when he was growing up.

 He was an extremely positive influence on me and in many ways he was more of a father to me than my own was.