A Death In The Family
A memorial service was held yesterday for my Uncle David. (I was not really close to him.) He died on March 30th, but he was cremated, which gives you some flexibility when it comes to scheduling the service.
My sister said it best in describing Uncle David: "He was a gentle soul who never hurt anyone except himself." You see, he had a history of drug and alcohol abuse. He was also the kind of person who was a follower, as opposed to being a leader. Those two nuances make an awful combination, as you might imagine.
The cause of his death was liver cancer, brought about by Hepatitis-C. He also had cirrhosis of the liver. He was only 57 years old. That's too young to die, in my book.
I know some people might say, "He got what he deserved." I'm not necessarily inclined to disagree with that sentiment. But still, a nice person is no longer walking the earth. In his later years, he'd given up most of the substances he'd formerly abused, with the exception of beer and ciggarettes. I would also like to point out that he served honorably in the United States Army.
I have to simultaneously laugh and shudder at one thing. Last Christmas, I bought Uncle David a big box of chocolates. Well, it turns out that no one told me that he had a pretty bad case of diabetes. Yet, he seemed so happy to get that box of chocolates. Maybe he knew he didn't have much time left, so time to enjoy life while you can.
The bottom line is, don't let anyone tell you that drugs don't hurt anyone. If nothing else, they shorten lives needlessly, and they also hurt the friends and family members left behind.
R.I.P., Uncle David.
My sister said it best in describing Uncle David: "He was a gentle soul who never hurt anyone except himself." You see, he had a history of drug and alcohol abuse. He was also the kind of person who was a follower, as opposed to being a leader. Those two nuances make an awful combination, as you might imagine.
The cause of his death was liver cancer, brought about by Hepatitis-C. He also had cirrhosis of the liver. He was only 57 years old. That's too young to die, in my book.
I know some people might say, "He got what he deserved." I'm not necessarily inclined to disagree with that sentiment. But still, a nice person is no longer walking the earth. In his later years, he'd given up most of the substances he'd formerly abused, with the exception of beer and ciggarettes. I would also like to point out that he served honorably in the United States Army.
I have to simultaneously laugh and shudder at one thing. Last Christmas, I bought Uncle David a big box of chocolates. Well, it turns out that no one told me that he had a pretty bad case of diabetes. Yet, he seemed so happy to get that box of chocolates. Maybe he knew he didn't have much time left, so time to enjoy life while you can.
The bottom line is, don't let anyone tell you that drugs don't hurt anyone. If nothing else, they shorten lives needlessly, and they also hurt the friends and family members left behind.
R.I.P., Uncle David.
posted by Jim McKee at 11:22 PM
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