Monday, October 27, 2008

Family Passing...


As I get older, it is inevitable that the velocity of family loss will increase but it doesn't make reality any easier. In the last few weeks and months I have lost 3 members of the family. Each lived their lives on their own terms, for better or worse.

Jim – Uncle. My father's brother. Sailor. Pilot. Engineer. Father of four daughters. Patriarch of this Zivney Clan. He was the center on which our orbit wobbled. A life well spent.

Tabitha - 2nd cousin. Grand-daughter of Jim. Young. Beautiful. Talented. A collision of promise and excess. A life interrupted.

Howard – Uncle. My mother's brother. Childless. Reclusive. Alone. His doorstep was the outer edge of his universe. A life not lived, at all.

Oh. Jim, on this trip, you're not gonna need that sweater ..