The "Sad, shed a Tear" Thread

[KC]

My beloved cockatiel died at 4:40 am today.  I heard him fall off his perch and flap around on the bottom of his cage.  I went to comfort him, but there was nothing I could do for him except stroke his back and quiet him.  It means a lot to me that I was there and didn't just find him there a couple of hours later.

I've had many pets through the years, and many of them have died on me, but Jingo was with us for 25 years.  I received him as an 8th grade graduation present 25 years ago (two weeks from now).  He was about a year old at the time.  He lived with my sister's family for 18 of those years, only returning to me three years ago.  No matter how long the time between visits, he always treated me as someone very special.  He brought beauty, joy and song into our home and will be sorely missed. 

My condolences, Elizabeth! 

[The Schofield Kid]

So sorry to hear about Jingo, E77.

My condolences.

[Matt]

A beloved library worker recently lost his job due to discrimination.

http://abcnews.go.com/Lifestyle/beloved-cat-fired-job-local-public-library/story?id=40200707

[Matt]

So, after looking at that link, you'll wonder "what discrimination"?

As it turns out, this whole thing seems to have started when some bozo was told they couldn't bring their dog to work, and he/she said "Well, they allow a cat to be at the library, I should be allowed to bring a dog here."  Now, thanks to that.. this cat, who apparently had a great home and gave kids another reason to want to go to the library, needs to find a new home.

I just sent an email to the mayor, and you can do the same -- it takes one minute to do it:  http://www.new.wstx.us/city-council/

[KC]

Some people are allergic to cats, you know.

[Matt]

The cat keeps the rodents away. So now they have to spray the library with pesticides ... which get on the pages of the books (so the activists are saying). 

[KC]

That's nonsense. Some "activists" have entirely too much time on their hands.

[KC]

Just heard on the radio that the "activists" have won. The cat stays.

[Matt]

Just heard on the radio that the "activists" have won. The cat stays.

Out of all the important missions I've taken part in, it's a little sad that the ONE that actually panned out was this one... but what the heck, I'll take whatever minor victories I can get. 

[Gant]

Throughout the late 70's and early 80's me and my friends regularly made the pilgrimage to a seaside town on the east coast of England called Southend on Sea, about an hours journey away to buy our records at a small independent  record shop called Record Mart... Run by a lovely guy and avid collector called Derek.... Saving up our pocket money, buying up whatever rare American imports Derek had in stock that particular weekend... It was the beginning of a passion for collecting that is still with me to this day...
Over the years I'd gone there less and less as I'd moved further away, the last time probably about 10 years ago with my young son..

Yesterday I was in Southend on business and decided to pop in... Very sad to see the shop now closed down. A local told me the block was being re developed and Derek had closed the shop just a couple of weeks earlier. Peering thru the window everything looked exactly the same as it had nearly 40 years ago, minus the stacks of records. I thought back at just how many records I'd bought across that tiny counter with hard saved pocket money as a youngster, the fantastic music I'd been introduced to, the friends we'd meet there on Saturday afternoons and discuss our purchases...

The whole scene reminded me of that Night Gallery episode.. " They're Tearing Down Tim Riley's Bar"
and left me with a feeling of melancholy the rest of the day...

I thanked the local, took a couple of pics and left...

Time moves on I guess.... but another piece of my youth has disappeared....

[KC]

That is very sad indeed, Gant ... especially since you just missed getting there in time to say goodbye and maybe pick up a last treasure or two. Don't you wish you had a time machine sometimes?

[Gant]

Certainly do

[KC]

Our longtime member AKA23 shared some sad news with the Moderators today. His favorite uncle has passed away in London. He hadn't seen him in two years, and had been looking forward to a visit with him him in a couple of weeks, when he was going to fly over to celebrate a family wedding. Instead, now he is flying there to support his family at this tragic time. Making the loss even worse, this uncle was the oldest brother in the family and so had the place of head of the family.

AKA said it was OK to share this with the Board, so we're posting it here in the hope that some of you will want to offer your support at a time when he feels he needs all the help he can get.

—KC, for the Mods

[Elizabeth77]

Thank you, KC, for sharing that with us. AKA23's family is most certainly in my thoughts and prayers. 

[TWOMULES]

I am deeply sorry for your loss, AKA23.

[Matt]

   My thoughts are with you. Hoping you're hanging in there okay, friend.

[AKA23]

Thanks everyone for your best wishes. It is a tough loss for me. Making it even more difficult, I don't really have any friends in the area in which I live. So, I've gone from having the entire family around me in London to having to go through this grieving process alone now that I've returned to the States. I'm throwing myself into work and hoping that things will get easier over time. I posted this on Facebook and thought I'd share it with you all. I'm trying to derive some meaning from this experience and hope to be able to use it as motivation for me!

A little over a week ago today, my Dad's oldest brother, who was my favorite uncle, died from complications after a fall. In Arab culture, the oldest brother is the head of the family, so this is a huge loss for us all. I've just returned from his funeral in London. I didn't just love him. I looked up to him too, and I can't even look at a picture of him without crying. What I most admired about him was his resilience, his perseverance, and his unbelievable ability to remain hopeful and optimistic no matter what challenges he faced.

My uncle suffered from Type II Diabetes for decades, and over the course of his life, he had five heart attacks, yet through it all he kept going and remained positive. Few men could have maintained that outlook in the face of so much adversity, but he could and did. In our last conversation three weeks ago, I asked him how he was feeling and he said he was feeling good that day, but that he didn't know about tomorrow. He said that he never worried about it, and had been that way throughout his life because worrying never solves any problem.

In tribute to him, I resolve to do three things: To learn to be more hopeful and optimistic, to do everything I can to avoid suffering from the Type II Diabetes that made the latter part of his life so challenging, and to provide support and comfort to my family as we all grieve this loss. He was a wonderful man, and it's the least I can do to honor him. That will be his legacy to me.

[Matt]

AKA, I think you have more friends than you realize. You have us here, and from what I know of your job, they love and respect you there too. I've never spent a Christmas with my boss's family -- it says a lot that you were invited.

Your uncle would be very proud of your tribute.

[AKA23]

I've always liked the board and the members here, and you in particular are great, Matt. I think the people I work with do respect me and like me as a colleague. But with the exception of one person, I've never hung out with any of them outside of work. Even when I hung out with my coworker, I never talked about any of my personal struggles and usually focused on her rather than myself. The relationships at work that I have are very superficial and usually focus on our work. To me, superficial relationships aren't really reliable or true friendships.

[Matt]

To me, superficial relationships aren't really reliable or true friendships.

I agree -- I think, in fact, that's the definition of a superficial relationship.

Well, we're all here for you. I owe you a PM -- I had a virus that somehow managed to steal access to my business bank account and wipe it out (that could be its own post in this thread), so I had to scrub my computer, which took me offline for a while. Trying to get caught up now (PS, all is fine with my account -- since it's fraud, the funds were replaced, but I had to take preventive measures so it wouldn't happen again.)