I waited till late this evening and after finishing my work for the day to write this…

It is important to tell you that I lost a friend today to death. Doc Durden was a giant of a man both in physique and in the eternal sense.

Pressed to get a COVID vaccine last week, he did. So did his wife, who felt a “little under the weather” the following couple of days, but for Doc, his health took an exceedingly dreadful turn for the worse.

Two days after getting the Pfizer dose, he slipped into a coma, and then his organs began to fail. The hospital sent him home on hospice care, and he passed quietly last night, Sunday, October 10.

My opinion — and I stress that it is only an opinion, is that there are usually underlying health conditions that the vaccine affects, causing death. As for now, I haven’t a clue what that condition, in any, could have been in Doc’s case.

Thanks for your patience and for allowing me to vent. I can do nothing else and therefore feel like I am rendered helpless in this situation.

Why these things happen is not for me to understand.

Maggie finished her General’s Chicken and asked for the bill. When her server came and laid it on the table, she also gave Maggie a single fortune cookie, which Maggie immediately cracked open.

She ate half of the cookie as she read the slip of paper: “You will die by old age.”

Maggie smiled and put the paper in her purse as she withdrew her handbook. After paying, she left the restaurant to return to work.

Maggie would never make it. As she crossed the busy street, a car ran her over and killed her.

The driver was 96 years old.

I thought of titling this “How to Take Me From Being Decent to Becoming a Would-be Murderer.”
I saw a scared gosling trying to cross a busy roadway.
I pulled over and made my way to where I could safely reach the bird.
I motioned for traffic to be aware, and drivers reacted by slowing down and moving over.
I stepped out to pick the bird up, and a truck ran over the gosling, killing it, nearly hitting me.
I went from being a kind and loving person to the wanna-be killer of that truck’s driver.

I fucking give up.

Morning arrival:
Cool, high overcast
A hint of fall snow
Leaves are scattering over the yard
But our lovely pink rose still blooms

My Cousin Elmo says, “I don’t do ‘rise and shine.’ I do ‘caffeinate and cross my fingers.’”

They met by accident on the sidewalk in front of the old folk’s home where they lived. Dark and 3:15 in the morning, neither saw the other till they each came to the walkway.

“You too?” Frank asked.

“Me, too,” Bill answered.

They headed up the walk to the front steps. That’s where Bill stopped.

“What’s wrong?” Frank asked.

“Forgot what I came back for,” Bill answered.

“Didn’t wanna admit it myself, but so have I,” Frank said.

“So, now what?” Bill asked.

“Since we’re spirits now, let’s go scare the shit outta Hal,” Frank suggested.

“Great idea,” Bill laughed menacingly.

As Ying took his final breath, he found himself in darkness no man could describe. Ahead he saw the red glow of Yangs of eyes.

They widened before blinking, “What are you doing here?”

“How soon you forget.”

“But you are a mortal and cannot be here.”

“I was mortal once, but when you took my earthly life, I became spirit like you, and I am here to destroy you.”

The Dark-one looked up from its churning cauldron, “Stupid humans, finding elucidation in symbols without understanding their other meaning. Brothers trying to kill one another, knowing not why they battle.”

Passings like these do not happen very often. It is so rare, in fact, that it needed pointing out.

Sue Thompson, known for singing “Sad Movies (Make Me Cry)” and “Norman,” passed away Thu., Sep. 23, 2021, in Pahrump, an hour outside of Las Vegas. She was 96 years old.

Tommy Kirk, known for his portrayal of Travis Coates in “Old Yeller,” was found deceased at his Las Vegas home on Tue., Sep. 28, 2021. He was 79 years old.

Michael Tylo, who played Quinton Chamberlain on the soap opera “Guiding Light,” died Tue., Sep. 28, 2021, at University Medical Center in Las Vegas. He was 73 years old.

She came to him after dark, and he took her under his many blankets. Alice Roman Nose was immensely cold, and he did his best to warm her, though she was more interested in his intimacy.

Finally, Garrett Johnstone gave in, and they spent the remainder of the small hour making love.

It was nearing sunrise when he got up and stoked the tent stove to reduce the chill. Then Johnstone returned to the pallet where the war chief’s daughter still slept.

He laid beside Alice and thanked his lucky star that she finally saw his love for her before drifting back to sleep.

Johnstone woke overheated from the noonday sun, so he opened the tent flaps to cool the interior. Next, he moved to the stove and found his coffee pot.

As he placed it on the stove, Johnstone saw Alice was no longer among the blankets. He raced to the doorway and looked out, finding not even a footprint in the freshly fallen snow.

Puzzled, he quickly dressed and stepped outside. It took Johnstone no time to find the odd-looking snowdrift a few feet to the left of the tent and Alice’s body frozen from the night before.

My Cousin Elmo says, “You know you drink too much coffee when someone asks how you are, and you answer, ‘Good to the last drop.’”