Away/Back thread

[DirtDawg]

Thanks, all. The "wake"  ceremony (greeting, eating, drinking, remembering - started at two PM, just ended at ten PM) went well, tonight. There were over three hundred people in attendance. He was a popular kid.

Tomorrow, we put him in the ground in traditional fashion.

I am completely drained of emotion. That tap can't even make a drip right now.
I had a moment of pride at one point when a really old matronly person, who I had never seen before, mentioned that she was amazed that so many good pictures of him existed. (I took most of the ones used in the slide show - they were just snapshots I grabbed during various family get-togethers, over many years. I wasn't going to spoil the first positive feeling I had had in days by admitting it to her though.)

[odeon]

Manly hugs, and all that.

[Icequeen]

Just saw this.

I'm sorry for your loss DirtDawg.

[DirtDawg]

Things should go back to near normal around here, now. It's all done.


 

[Parts]

Those things usually take me a few days just to get over the crowds at them.  Glad things are moving toward normal

[DirtDawg]

Those things usually take me a few days just to get over the crowds at them.  Glad things are moving toward normal

There were still "crowds" as of yesterday, but I was at work, literally ALL day today.

I have people who I don't know coming to my house to find out the latest contact information on my bro-in-law, because they have just heard about the tragedy.

I have been giving them all my sis-in-laws cell number, since she will properly maintain the list of well-wishers for the future and advise them in the ways they can show compassion.

Interestingly, One Point where I touched the lost boy was in his "giving back"  sense. All contributions for him, instead of masses of cut fucking flowers that just fucking die tomorrow, were set up to go to the Make A Wish Foundation, which is one of my favored (tax benefit) charities.  I did not know how closely he listened to the things I had said in passing. He may  have been smarter than I gave him credit for. I am ashamed to admit this.

[P7PSP]

I really have to stop fucking around and get ready to go. Right now it's about 20 hours until my flight leaves SFO and my place is still 90% of the mess it was a week ago and I am not packed either. I have the essentials like 10 days worth of socks, skivvies, Tsirts and other clothing so I don't have to waste time in a laundry mat, as well as tickets, reservation numbers. I still need to go to the bank and get some money out, put fresh batteries in my camera and remember to take the 2 extra cards. My sleep schedule is still fucked up from 3+ months of night shift OT so I am just going to stay up so I'll be 30 hours w/o sleep when I board and maybe I can sleep most of the 14 hours over there. One of my Union Brothers is giving me a ride to SFO @ 5:00 pm local time, and my flight leaves @ 9:00 pm so I may even nap at the Airport.
Hasta luego, I'll post from NZ if I don't get distracted, otherwise I'll be back on the 12th or 13th.

['andersom']

Wow, have a good time!!!

[Parts]

have a nice flight

[renaeden]

I hope you get some nice volcano photos.

[P7PSP]

Thanks all, renaeden I will get pics while I am at Lake Taupo but I am not sure that it will be recognizable as such to us laymem. According to the book SuperVolcano by John Savino and Marie D. Jones the largest known explosion there was ~ 26000 years ago and it was a junior version of Toba or Yellowstone Caldera type volcano as opposed to the more familiar Stratovolcano. I will get the pics anyway and I want to see if I can get samples of Ignimibrite if that is possible without pissing off the local Historian and Enviro types. In case you are not familiar with that it is a type of volcanic rock formed from huge masses of pumice type Pyroclatic flow that sit and stay hot for a very long time, llike a Katmai or Pinatubo type explosion. Now I'm sounding pedantic about something I don't know much about.

[Callaway]

I hope you have a great time, PPK.

Being used to sleeping for the night shift will probably help you sleep in Australia, anyway.  You will probably pay for it when you get home, though.

It could be worse.  You could be going to India.  Where my husband goes there is 12 1/2 hours off from the time here and it usually takes him a couple of weeks to really get over the jet lag when he comes home.

[P7PSP]

Yeah Callaway a half day sounds like it would mess up the cycle perfectly. At 19 hours ahead of us New Zealand works out to being just a 5 hour difference and one day ahead. Rota Spain is a 9 hour difference, that was hard to get usedto.

[odeon]

Have a great time!

[DirtDawg]

Enjoy, PPK!!

Return when you can.




OH, and post pics!!