Delayed Journey

As of this moment I’m sitting in my parents’ home office, logged on through AOL, surfing the web. This is not what I had planned. According to plan, right now I should be sitting in a hotel room, logged on through CU’s modem pool, surfing the web. 😉

In other words, I haven’t left on my move to California yet. We needed to hang around today because by grandfather, Robert Bonham, is dying.
This isn’t really a surprise– his health has been declining for a while, and we all knew it wouldn’t be long (fluid in lungs, congestive heart failure, kidney problems, possible pneumonia– in other words, old age). But while packing up all my stuff today, my dad got a phone call saying that Grandpa most likely only had twelve to twenty-four hours left. That was a little shorter than expected, to say the least. So we went down to visit him one more time. I’m glad we did, too– he recognized me and wished me luck in my coming school. That’s a wonderful parting memory from the man who basically made it possible for me to even attend college.

Grandpa was never a very openly loving man. But he worked damn hard to provide for his children, and his grandchildren, and we all love him dearly and knew he cared. He arranged so I could pet a tiger, taught me to love card games, and gifted me with an analytical streak. He is loved, and he knows it. He’s made his peace– I just hope his children, my Dad and Aunt, can cope decently. It’s a hard thing for me to deal with, and I can’t imagine how it is for them. Wish them luck!

…So I guess the plan, now, is to leave early tomorrow morning, trek to Santa Barbara, unpack as much as possible, and then wing it back to Colorado for the funeral.

Thanks for listening to the rant. Life throws curveballs sometimes, and we just have to shrug, smile, and keep on stubbornly playing the game. 🙂

5 Responses to “Delayed Journey”

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Andrew,
I am sorry for you (pending?) loss. I know that sometimes you grandfather made your life a bit more difficult, but I have always felt that he was an important person in your life. Even if you never came out and said so. Anyway best wishes to you and your parents.

Gilvoro - August 5th, 2004 at 6:04 pm

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Thank you, Gilvoro. My grandfather ended up passing away at four pm on Thursday. My parents read your comment, too, and appreciate it.

But life isn’t all doom and gloom– we’re finally in Santa Barbara, unpacking and starting anew. 🙂

Paradoxdruid - August 7th, 2004 at 12:33 pm

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Is your entire family going to fly out to Colorado together, or are you going to be stuck driving back? And how was the layover in Vegas, if you still had it?

ShortSpeedFreak - August 10th, 2004 at 12:17 pm

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We ended up just driving through Las Vegas at full speed– we wanted to get to Santa Barbara before the end of the business day on Friday, to make it easier to get my key and stuff from my landlord. Plus, my grandpa had just died, so I don’t think my Dad was in the mood for gambling.

Luckily, I get to fly out to Colorado and fly back, all from the tiny airport about 6 miles from my house.

Paradoxdruid - August 10th, 2004 at 1:00 pm

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[…] It makes me feel good to know that this site is standing the test of time and becoming something I reference– yeah, looking back through the early Archives can be a lot of fun. […]

Paradoxdruid’s Rants » Blog Archive » Milestones - November 28th, 2005 at 11:20 pm

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