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I survived, but not all are so lucky.
Apr. 10th, 2014 02:53 pmBack from Detroit! It was a nice little trip, I'll post more about it once I'm done editing the photos, of course.
When we touched down in Orlando, my phone went nuts with Breaking News alerts about a manhunt. It seems this guy rear-ended another car on the road, which sent that car crashing right through the wall of a daycare facility. 15 people--almost all kids--were injured, some severely, and one 4-year-old girl was killed. The driver who struck the car was a convicted felon apparently not eager to deal with the police again, so he took off and ditched his SUV at a friend's house, then headed to the airport (where I'd just landed!). There he apparently rented a car and went on the run, where he remains. Obviously I don't believe he intended to cause the accident or the ensuing tragedy, so I personally don't think he deserves quite the level of villainy and opprobrium being heaped upon him. Not to say I don't think he's a scumbag who should be hauled in and forced to stand for his actions and their consequences.
Closer to me personally, while I was in Detroit I was checking Facebook and saw a post from my cousin that her father--my uncle, my Mom's younger brother--had passed away. This came as quite a shock; I had no idea he was even ill, since he wasn't that old. Like most of my family, I was never close to him--we'd see each other at holidays when I was a kid, and at (very) occasional family gatherings over the years. But I dunno, like any somewhat-close-but-distant family member, I guess I always thought he'd be around, you know? The whole thing really reinforces how screwed-up my family is, though. I called my Mom and she didn't even mention it until I did, like nothing had happened and she wasn't particularly upset about it. She didn't even know he had cancer either, though my grandmother did--she and her husband were staying with my uncle at his house to help him through the treatments, so she's the one who found him dead on the floor Wednesday night. No e-mail or phone calls to spread the news, just a post on Facebook of all places.
So now my plan for Saturday is to head up to Gainesville for my uncle's funeral service, after which we'll head to his house for some food and family time. My Mom will be there, my Dad is coming, my Mom's other brother and family, my deceased uncle's kids, my Grandma of course, probably my sister. It might actually be nice to have so much of the family together again, even if it's for such a sad reason. But that's just how my family is, none of us are very close and we never seem to make time to connect or reconnect. Even my parents. And I think most of us recognize that it's not the way it should be, and even profess to want to change it. But it is what it is, and probably too late to change. I just hope my own family doesn't end up the same way.
Okay, back to work. I hope everyone is having a good week!
When we touched down in Orlando, my phone went nuts with Breaking News alerts about a manhunt. It seems this guy rear-ended another car on the road, which sent that car crashing right through the wall of a daycare facility. 15 people--almost all kids--were injured, some severely, and one 4-year-old girl was killed. The driver who struck the car was a convicted felon apparently not eager to deal with the police again, so he took off and ditched his SUV at a friend's house, then headed to the airport (where I'd just landed!). There he apparently rented a car and went on the run, where he remains. Obviously I don't believe he intended to cause the accident or the ensuing tragedy, so I personally don't think he deserves quite the level of villainy and opprobrium being heaped upon him. Not to say I don't think he's a scumbag who should be hauled in and forced to stand for his actions and their consequences.
Closer to me personally, while I was in Detroit I was checking Facebook and saw a post from my cousin that her father--my uncle, my Mom's younger brother--had passed away. This came as quite a shock; I had no idea he was even ill, since he wasn't that old. Like most of my family, I was never close to him--we'd see each other at holidays when I was a kid, and at (very) occasional family gatherings over the years. But I dunno, like any somewhat-close-but-distant family member, I guess I always thought he'd be around, you know? The whole thing really reinforces how screwed-up my family is, though. I called my Mom and she didn't even mention it until I did, like nothing had happened and she wasn't particularly upset about it. She didn't even know he had cancer either, though my grandmother did--she and her husband were staying with my uncle at his house to help him through the treatments, so she's the one who found him dead on the floor Wednesday night. No e-mail or phone calls to spread the news, just a post on Facebook of all places.
So now my plan for Saturday is to head up to Gainesville for my uncle's funeral service, after which we'll head to his house for some food and family time. My Mom will be there, my Dad is coming, my Mom's other brother and family, my deceased uncle's kids, my Grandma of course, probably my sister. It might actually be nice to have so much of the family together again, even if it's for such a sad reason. But that's just how my family is, none of us are very close and we never seem to make time to connect or reconnect. Even my parents. And I think most of us recognize that it's not the way it should be, and even profess to want to change it. But it is what it is, and probably too late to change. I just hope my own family doesn't end up the same way.
Okay, back to work. I hope everyone is having a good week!
